Time went by, the long river of years continued to flow.
In the endless years...
There were countless people and things that Ye Bei had seen. Apart from the mystery of longevity, there were too few things that could make him worry about.
But…
The painting in front of him was definitely one of them.
Sitting on the stone chair, Ye Bei watched quietly.
In the picture...
There was a woman in a white dress.
The woman had long jet-black hair, her fingers were like cutting green onions, her forehead had pearl-like cinnabar, and she had slender legs. She was an unparalleled beauty in the world. No matter what era it was, she was a peerless beauty who could make a country plunged into chaos.
But…
When looking at this painting, Ye Bei was not admiring her beauty but remembered one thing after another.
Those things were strange and familiar.
There were only a few sides between himself and the person in this painting...
His thoughts drifting...
"Superior Immortal, have we ever seen each other?" Ninety thousand years ago, at the ruins of the Heavenly Court, at the gate of the southern sky, a girl in white clothes smiled back, her beauty made it untouchable for mortals.
Ye Bei floated past. Hearing this voice, he stopped gently and looked back indifferently. He felt that the girl was a little familiar, but couldn't think of where he saw her, so he shook his head and sighed, "Maybe... she's just similar!"
"Immortal! Have we ever seen each other?" Seventy thousand years ago, at the flooding Yellow River, demons were everywhere, and a young girl was full of tears and her voice was lovely.
Ye Bei raised his hand and the flood retreated back, saving hundreds of millions of people. Hearing this call, he suddenly looked back and found that what he was seeing was similar to the ancient times' thousands of years ago, but was obviously different. He shook his head and sighed, "In this world, there are many similar people, maybe... it's just we have met by chance and encountered with each other somewhere in the past."
"Young master! Have we ever met before?" Two thousand years ago, on the street of Xianyang City, a young girl followed the crowd and walked gently, her face full of peach blossoms.
Ye Bei walked idly with his hands behind his back, and when he heard this sound, he turned his head suddenly as if the endless years had all solidified at that moment, but after returning to his senses and was about to ask, the girl had disappeared and there was no trace left.
"Glancing back and smiling, she revealed a hundred charms..."
"There's a beautiful woman in the north, peerless and unique, one glance at the town, she empties a whole country…"
On the stone table in Three-Legged Dragon Manor, Ye Bei retracted from his thoughts, he spoke softly and murmured.
These two lyric poems were created by Ye Bei, but they had been passed down by the world, and they had long forgotten the creator of it. When history was revised, someone arbitrarily tempered it and included even his name on it. According to its literal meaning, it's called "a classic work for admiring beautiful women".
But only Ye Bei knew that these two lyric poems were not for admiring anyone. Instead, he, Ye Bei created it for the mystery of longevity and lonely exploration.
When Wang An heard this, the astonishment in his eyes did not disappear, "Master! Is this person..."
Although he did not state his question clearly, Ye Bei immediately understood the meaning. However, he did not answer. After a long time of silence, he shook his head slightly and said, "Little An, do you think there is reincarnation in this world?"
Reincarnation?
Wang An paused.
He followed Ye Bei for a long time...
He knew many secrets in this world and at the same time maintained a sense of awe in this world.
However, he never thought about the profound issue of reincarnation.
Looking at Ye Bei who was waiting for an answer...
Wang An thought for a while and replied softly: "Master, I believe in reincarnation..."
"Why?" Ye Bei slowly rolled up the scroll which was spread on the stone table.
Wang An bent over and said respectfully, "Because there is longevity, so naturally there is also reincarnation. Master, your existence is enough to explain everything!"
Oh?
After hearing this answer, Ye Bei had already rolled up the entire scroll, and the corners of his mouth moved slightly, his complexion still flat and smooth.
"Yeah." Ye Bei voiced out two simple words with a slight sigh.
"Master, who is the person in this painting...?" Wang An couldn't help but ask in a low voice again.
Ye Bei had rubbed the scroll slightly and put it in the sleeves of his long gown. Then he looked at Wang An and muttered in a low voice, "She? Maybe it's a reincarnation of an old person, maybe she's just a similar beauty, or maybe she's just a clue to the puzzle and nothing more than that."
"Master! This old slave doesn't quite understand!" Wang An was still puzzled, but his heart was shaken as if he knew some great secret.
Ye Bei said with a chuckle, "You don't need to understand! In addition, today's matter will never be passed on to another person."
"Yes, sir!" Wang An nodded respectfully, not daring to ask more.
At the same time, the woman who was just so clearly embedded in his mind, as if she was a fairy, was a little vague. But for three seconds, the image of the woman suddenly blurred.
...
In the kitchen.
Jin Rufan bent over and stood in front of the mouth of the earthen stove, gently pushing the firewood inward with his cold hands.
He felt some warmth when the red flame was beating and making a clattering sound.
Liu Zhiyun was on the sidelines, carefully and meticulously washing the dishes with warm water.
The three were in the kitchen...
But it was extremely silent.
Whoosh!
Until the big pot was burned red, Zhao Bingsheng poured vegetable oil into it and poured the cold braised pork into it. Liu Zhiyun, who was washing the vegetables, couldn't help but speak with a very small voice, and with a sigh, "Old Zhao, these dishes are already cold, and even if it's hot again, it won't taste great. The ingredients are still here, why don't you make a fresh one?"
"No need!" Zhao Bingsheng's voice was very cold, and he immediately refused.
Liu Zhiyun shook his head, "Why is this?"
"Master said just now... Just heat it up is enough! I... don't need to continue cooking." His voice trembled a little.
After Jin Rufan put a block of wood in the fire, he wrapped his hands together in front of the beating flame, and gently rubbed them. As his hands gradually warmed, he sighed slightly, "Old Zhao! You know... we have no choice! The master is back... and with him there, we will never dare to mess around!"
"En!" Zhao Bingsheng just hummed and didn't say much.
Click...
His old and feeble hand, holding the spatula, kept flipping the dishes in the pot back and forth.
When the dish was hot and reloaded on the plate, Zhao Bingsheng said again, "The Zhao Family is gone! That is the gift from master. He took everything away today; I don't blame him! But... Old Jin, Old Liu, we have always grown up together. Over the years, we have worked together on many things... I want to ask you one thing, is it possible?"
"Old Zhao, you say it!" Liu Zhiyun stopped.
"If it can be done, I will never refuse!" Jin Rufan raised his head and looked at Zhao Bingsheng who was extremely old and crumbling.
Zhao Bingsheng looked serious, "The Zhao Family is gone, and I don't have any thoughts about it! I just want to... after I die, I want someone to bury my ashes at the foot of Kunlun Mountain, under the pear tree in the farm courtyard, there's no one there, that land belongs to our Zhao Family."
"All right." Although he didn't know what Zhao Bingsheng meant, Liu Zhiyun and Jin Rufan readily agreed.
If they could survive today... it's just a matter of effort for them.
But with Jin, Liu agreed... Zhao Bingsheng's serious expression relaxed a lot, he whispered in his heart with endless sadness, "I betrayed the master! Abandoned the Zhao Family! In this life, there are not many promises to keep... but, what I promised you back then, I will definitely do... grow up in a farm, watching the pear trees, though we did not live with each other, we will sleep next to each other."
...
After half an hour, the dishes had heated up.
Jin Rufan and Liu Zhiyun made two more dishes each.
The three of them each held their trays and walked towards the inner courtyard of the Three-Legged Dragon Manor.