Immortal life was something unattainable for many.
In this world, cultivation existed with supernatural magic. However, this path required immense talent and background to get far.
Wang Chang was the exact opposite of immortal life and cultivation. He lived a normal life in a rural village far away from competition and destruction caused by cultivation.
Nearing the age of 70, Wang Chang stood in his courtyard, silently enjoying the scenery of the lively village. Children of various ages and heights ran around the village streets and carried makeshift toys. They embodied the vigor of life.
It was poetic that the old Wang Chang faced the youth at this moment. His eyes hid melancholy as something had been bothering him forever.
"Dear husband, are you watching the children again?"
A young woman at the age of twenty walked out of the house. She held a basket in her hand filled with fresh fruits. Her face was ordinary with no satisfying features to admire.
Wang Chang turned around and smiled. He took a mango from her basket and bit into it like a rabid dog.
"H-Hey!?"
His wife, Luo Nuying, widened her mouth in shock. As the juices leaked from Wang Chang's mouth, he stared at his youthful wife. His memories with her for the past fifty years flashed in his eyes.
Time seemed to have forgotten to carry her forward. She was still the same person he met on that fateful day. Her ordinary beauty looked so enchanting to his country bumpkin eyes back then.
Yet, that same face appeared fake and insincere.
Wang Chang licked his lips and sipped the mango juice in the fruit all the while maintaining eye contact with his wife.
She gulped and took a step back in fear.
"D-Dear, did I do something to anger you?"
Her words were filled with sincerity, concern, and a little bit of fear.
Wang Chang didn't answer her. Rather, he turned around and watched the children playing in the streets. His eyes lost focus as he remembered a sentence an old friend told him a long time ago.
"Powerful cultivators do not age. Is your wife a cultivator, Brother Changchang?"
Those words knocked on Wang Chang's heart every night. He kept pushing it off as a misunderstanding but the truth was right before him. His wife was a cultivator.
From the first time he met her and to the present, she had never told him the truth. As a faithful husband, he was heartbroken and felt betrayed.
"Why did you pick me?" Wang Chang asked, his voice trembling.
"Why? Hadn't I told you countless times, Dear? It's because you were kind."
"Kind?? Hahahaha…" Wang Chang laughed deprecatingly. "I must have looked ignorant to you."
"Dear, what…?"
Luo Nuying took a step forward and raised her hand to touch his back but stopped midway.
"Kill me. At least, I will die in the hands of my true love…"
Wang Chang closed his eyes and resigned himself to fate.
"K-K-Kill??! Dear! What are you babbling about?!"
Luo Nuying couldn't take it anymore and embraced him from behind. Her warmth transmitted through his robe and reached his skin.
This familiar warmth felt oh-so-cold.
"You must be able to make it look like I died of old age."
Wang Chang didn't relent.
"Why!"
"You!??"
Wang Chang turned around, staring at his wife Luo Nuying.
He couldn't help but pause.
Tears streamed down her face, and her face was filled with sadness. She ran forward and pressed her face against his chest and wet his robe.
"I…"
Wang Chang was stunned speechless. He was certain she was a cultivator with a long lifespan as that was the only plausible explanation.
But seeing her like this made his heart ache. Maybe, maybe he was wrong, and she had an illness that made her age slower. Yes, that was it. Wang Chang convinced himself repeatedly.
A faker would never show this much real emotion.
"Dear… Are you growing senile?"
After a while, Luo Nuying asked and lifted her gaze to match his. The two stared in silence.
"I think so. I'm sorry."
Wang Chang bit his lip and looked away from her. He felt regretful that he said such awful words to his beloved wife.
"Dear…"
Luo Nuying embraced him tighter.
Wang Chang stood in silence and guilt. He sensed her feelings and knew that everything she said came from her heart.
As the guilt slowly consumed Wang Chang, his left arm started hurting. For now, he ignored it because he wanted to let his wife calm down first.
But before that could happen, his heart constricted. He widened his eyes and took a deep breath. He turned to Luo Nuying and saw her confused eyes staring back at him.
"Ahh…"
Wang Chang fell over in his wife's arms.
"Dear!!"
Luo Nuying screamed. She raised her hand and placed it on his heart while panicking.
"Don't. Let me die in peace."
Wang Chang smiled at her. He knew his time had come, and he was happy for the memories he made with this cultivator.
He was uncertain earlier but he realized he was right when she tried to touch his heart. Those eyes and movements told him she could fix his heart attack. However, knowing that she was really a cultivator was enough for Wang Chang.
It made him feel at peace.
"Dear…"
Luo Nuying kneeled beside him and pressed her forehead on his heart. She gripped her dress tightly as she fought an inner battle.
"Is… Luo…" Wang Chang struggled to speak. Luo Nuying swiftly lifted her head and waited for him to finish. "...Nuying your… real… name?"
Wang Chang was curious. He powered through the feeling of lightheadedness with the anticipation of her answer.
"..." Luo Nuying turned her head away. "...Yes."
"Ah…"
Wang Chang stared at the clear blue sky and slowly closed his eyes.
"..."
Luo Nuying stared at her dead husband in a daze. She recalled his earlier words and knew he had guessed her true identity. She hit her forehead hard against his chest, hoping that it would revive him.
"I'm so sorry… I truly did… love you."
Luo Nuying uttered as she cried further.
She couldn't stop until a few hours later. Her whole fifty years spent with Wang Chang radiated within her heart.
"I have to let go or I won't step into the throne…"
Luo Nuying murmured to herself while looking like she had lost her soul. Her eyes were unfocused and her body was uncharacteristically straight.
"I…"
Luo Nuying bit her lower lip and leaned forward. She kissed Wang Chang on the lips.
"I can't."
Luo Nuying waved her hand and a stream of pure, white lights disappeared into nothing.
"That should… let him reincarnate."
Luo Nuying stood up, feeling a lot better. She stared at his lifeless, cold body and a tear fell onto the soil.
"If you ever find me again, I will show you who I am. If you die in your next life, I will move on and rid myself of you."
As those words came out of her mouth, Luo Nuying covered her eyes. Tears couldn't help but fall further as she knew that the chance of her meeting him in the vast world was closer to none than anything else.
She proceeded to bury him without the courage to look at his corpse. She kept her eyes covered and left without informing anyone.
The woman known as Luo Nuying appeared in this village fifty years ago and disappeared as silently as she came.