When Zhao Zhijing and Zhao Xuanyi heard that the Zhao family had established a foundation in the Cultivation World and already had four Qi Refining Immortal Cultivators, their expressions were excited, and they were thrilled.
After exchanging a glance, they quickly confessed to Zhao Sheng that there was also a cultivator in the Zhao family.
Zhao Yujie, fifteen years old this year, with three spirit roots: metal, wood, and fire, and a cultivation of Qi Refining First Layer.
He was Zhao Xuanyi's third son and also Zhao Sheng's great-grandson.
Zhao Sheng was exceedingly surprised upon hearing this news.
But when he learned of another unexpected piece of news, he abruptly stood up and asked, nearly losing his composure, "What did you say, Yu Yan is still alive? Where is she now?"
Zhao Xuanyi nodded and said, "Grandfather, Auntie Grandma is indeed still alive. She is currently living in seclusion in Moling City, a place you should know. Additionally, Jie is also there."
Upon hearing this, a glow suddenly appeared on Zhao Sheng's thin and aged face, and he said impatiently, "No, I need to go find her now."
As he spoke, his figure flashed, and he instantly appeared at the door.
"Ninth..."
Before Zhao Zhijing could call out a second time, Zhao Sheng's figure had already vanished from the room.
Witnessing this, Zhao Zhijing and Zhao Xuanyi looked at each other, speechless.
The next day, Zhao Er the coachman drove the carriage swiftly into Moling City, finally stopping in front of a small courtyard.
After getting off the carriage, Zhao Sheng looked at the plaque on the doorway that read 'Zhao Mansion,' feeling very emotional and also increasingly guilty.
Back in his day, while arranging for his family members' escape, he negligently left Wang Yu Yan behind.
He always thought she and the Wang Family had perished in Fragrant Swallow Valley, never expecting that she had survived the ordeal.
As Zhao Sheng was slowly recalling past events, a sudden sound of qin music came from over the courtyard wall.
The music was halting, as if a beginner was playing an unfamiliar piece.
However, to Zhao Sheng's ears, a long-forgotten ancient qin piece resurfaced in his mind.
High Mountains and Flowing Water,
Ah, it's been such a long time since I last played.
Thinking this, Zhao Sheng lightly tapped his foot, lifted gently off the ground, and then floated over the wall, landing in a garden with mountains and waters.
At that moment, in the Octagonal Pavilion in the center of the garden, a handsome young man sat behind a qin table, awkwardly plucking at the ancient qin before him.
Seeing this, Zhao Sheng suddenly felt as if he had returned to that afternoon seventy years ago when two beauties walked together, their eyes full of expectation and their smiles charming and sweet.
Just then, the young man noticed Zhao Sheng's figure, his expression drastically changed, and he asked cautiously and defensively, "Who are you? Why are you trespassing in my Zhao family's property?"
Zhao Sheng looked at the young man who resembled him in appearance, and with a kind smile and a gentle tone, he said, "Don't be afraid, child! I mean no harm. I am here today just to see an old friend whom I have not met in a long time."
Not mentioning it would have been better; as soon as he spoke, Zhao Yujie became even more nervous.
"Who exactly are you? Speak, or don't blame me for being rude!"
As he spoke, Zhao Yujie flipped his right hand, and suddenly two red talismans appeared in it.
Zhao Sheng saw this and couldn't help but laugh silently, finding it ironic that a first meeting between grandfather and great-grandson was so tense.
It would be too ridiculous for him to fight his own great-grandson.
Additionally, revealing his identity was tricky as without proof, how could his great-grandson possibly believe him?
Fortunately, Zhao Sheng hadn't grown completely senile and seeing the ancient qin, he quickly thought of a solution.
"Hold on!"
Seeing his great-grandson eagerly ready to start a fight, Zhao Sheng quickly said, "The piece you just played was incorrect, High Mountains and Flowing Water isn't played that way."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yujie exclaimed in surprise, "You know I was playing High Mountains and Flowing Water?"
Zhao Sheng smiled and said boastfully, "I composed that piece of High Mountains and Flowing Water, so you tell me if I know it or not."
"Impossible!"
Zhao Yujie suddenly grew angry and coldly said, "Granny has said that only a few people in the world know this piece. You couldn't possibly be one of them."
Hearing this, Zhao Sheng smiled slyly and said, "Why not? People can lie, but music does not. Come, let this old man show you what it means to seek a soulmate with High Mountains and Flowing Water."
As he spoke, Zhao Sheng extended his right hand, his fingers curling and pressing downwards virtually, causing five streaks of purple-blue Innate True Qi to burst forth from his fingertips, instantly connecting to the qin strings two yards away.
As Zhao Sheng continuously pressed and plucked in the air, the ancient qin strings were manipulated by the Innate True Qi, and sounds ethereal and wonderful emerged, quickly spreading from the garden to the surrounding courtyard.
While Zhao Sheng played, the qin music was sometimes grand and natural, with ups and downs like tall mountains, and sometimes flowing and soft like water, rich in implication.
Hearing this familiar music, Zhao Yujie stood frozen on the spot, his mind filled with confusion: "Who is this one-armed old man? Could it be…"
Clang!
However, in the midst of playing, the qin strings suddenly went haywire, emitting a harsh clang.
Everything abruptly stopped.
Zhao Sheng's body stiffened, and he slowly turned his head towards the garden's side gate, where a frail, white-haired old woman was standing.
Fifty years of wind and snow had eroded the beauty of the past, but Zhao Sheng still recognized the identity of the person in front of him at a glance.
The two stared at each other for a long while until Zhao Sheng's surging excitement gradually calmed down, and he managed to speak with difficulty, "Yu Yan, I... I have come back."
Wang Yu Yan, looking at the one-armed old man under the Octagonal Pavilion, felt exceedingly conflicted.
Fifty years was too long, too long, erasing too much anticipation and passion.
She had thought she would be uncontrollable, but when they truly reunited, Wang Yu Yan found herself unusually calm, like a wife who had lived alone for decades suddenly seeing her long-absent husband, feeling still that familiar.
Wang Yu Yan slowly walked up to Zhao Sheng and calmly greeted him, "It's been a long time, are you okay?"
Zhao Sheng suddenly fell silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I'm fine. And you?"
"Not good at all!"
Zhao Sheng was immediately choked up.
Seeing him like this, Wang Yu Yan suddenly laughed.
For an instant, it was as if they were back in the past.
She complained, "So many years not seen, how did you become so foolish? Where have your sweet words from your youth gone?"
Zhao Sheng shook his head and sighed, "Ah, I've gotten old! So old I'm almost muddled. You've gotten old too, we all have!"
Wang Yu Yan didn't respond but shifted the topic, "What about Yuqi? Is she still well? Is her temperament still as impetuous as before?"
At her words, Zhao Sheng's expression stiffened, and after hesitating a moment, he said in a deep voice, "Three months ago, Sister Qi passed away!"
The smile that had just appeared on Wang Yu Yan's face instantly vanished without a trace.
After a long while, her eyes brimming with tears, she murmured, "Gone, all gone. Now in the Wang family, only I am left."
Zhao Sheng quickly tried to comfort her, "You still have me."
After hearing him, Wang Yu Yan shook her head and said coldly, "You are not of the Wang family."
Zhao Sheng felt a bit disheartened and thus emphasized, "I am the son-in-law of the Wang family, and moreover, Chengle, Yu Jie, and many grandchildren also carry the Wang family's blood. Yu Yan, you are not alone."
Ah!
Suddenly,
a cough interrupted their conversation.
Looking over, they saw Zhao Yujie standing there with an embarrassed expression near the Octagonal Pavilion.
...
Three days later,
in the northwest corner of the Zhao family's ancestral graveyard, a new grave was erected.
Zhao Xuanyi and his wife, along with Zhao Yujie and several other great-grandchildren, solemnly performed the three bows and nine kowtows ritual in front of Wang Yuqi's stele.
Seeing this scene, Wang Yu Yan beside Zhao Sheng was already sobbing uncontrollably.
Perhaps greatly shocked by this, Wang Yu Yan suddenly fell ill that very day and didn't recover,
Driven by a sense of guilt, Zhao Sheng, despite being weary, stayed by her side every day.
Due to her old age, Wang Yu Yan's illness showed no signs of improvement; initially, she could still get out of bed and walk around, but later, she became too weak to leave her bed.
During Wang Yu Yan's illness, Zhao Sheng took care of her while secretly arranging for Zhao Xuanyi, Zhao Yujie, and some Zhao family members to covertly migrate to Dragon Carp Lake.
The Zhao family had just settled at Dragon Carp Lake, which was in dire need of people.
Moving some family members there at this time would quickly solidify the family's foundation.
Decades earlier, Zhao Sheng had realized that Zhao Cheng's couple, one lazy by nature and the other a cultivation fanatic, were not suited for managing the family business.
Zhao Xuanyi was the family head on this side at Nanyang, known for his capability.
Once he arrived at Dragon Carp Lake, he could just support Zhao Cheng's couple in managing affairs and ordinary family members.
As batches of Zhao family members continuously migrated to Dragon Carp Lake, time also flowed little by little.
Three years later, the autumn wind was bleak and the leaves fluttered in the wind.
In the Zhao family's ancestral graveyard near Wang Yuqi's grave, another tombstone was erected.
Zhao Sheng, with entirely white hair and a wrinkled face, sat on the stone steps in front of the tombstone, staring at the rows of characters on the tombstone, his expression vacant, silent for a long time.
Long after, as the sunset descended and dusk fell,
Zhao Sheng shifted his body and suddenly sighed deeply towards the tombstone, whispering, "Yu Yan, I said I would give you a status, but you never agreed while alive. Do you want me to owe you for a lifetime?
Ah, I once wrote Sister Qi a poem to pledge our love. Now I'll give you one too. So you won't tell Qi I was unfair when you see her."
The autumn wind blew the withered leaves off the stele, revealing the few lines on it:
"Asked of the world, what is love, that commands life and death to adhere?
Old wings fluttering across distances, how many times through cold and heat?
Amidst joys and sorrows, partings are the worst, with even more lovesick fools.
I might say:
Vast miles of clouds, mountains of evening snow, whose shadow goes alone?"
As the sunset slowly declined, the bleak autumn wind stroked the letters on the tombstone again and again.
Zhao Sheng, supporting his frail body, rose from the stone steps, his form stooped, and shuffled towards the distance...