Originated from mountains and seas, life never ends

Chapter 149 Still Alive

After Yan Ying and Xiao finished their instructions, they hurried out to take care of things.

Meng Liyun and Xiao stared at each other for a long time before they slowly spoke.

"What... happened?" Meng Liyun asked tentatively.

Xiao:......

Xiao seemed a little speechless: "What are you going to do?"

"Me?" Meng Liyun was stunned, not understanding what he meant. "What can I do? Am I not going with you?"

"...What about her?" Xiao turned his gaze to the woman beside her, his eyes calm, "Do you know her?"

"..."

Meng Liyun blinked: "Don't you remember?"

Meng Liyun looked at Xiao's confused eyes and was somewhat speechless, but it was expected: "It's still the person you are looking for..."

As he spoke, he took the woman's arm and smiled at Xiao: "This is my mother."

The woman's eyes moved slightly as she looked at Meng Liyun, seeming a little moved.

Xiao stared at the woman and thought for a while before recognizing her: "Ah..."

Meng Liyun: ...

Meng Liyun knew at a glance that he still hadn't remembered it.

"Forget it." Meng Liyun held her chin and glanced at the corpse on the ground - Yan Ying had already asked someone to deal with it.

Yan Ying seemed to have told the bandits below. There were constant noises coming from outside, and they must be packing up. Meng Liyun and the others didn't need to stay here, so they got up and went back to the house to pack up.

"Mom, why are you following me?" Meng Liyun had already packed her things when she got up, and now she just needed to pack the rest.

"I, your father and I were worried about you, so we wanted to see you off... We saw you standing in front of the notice for so long, and we were afraid you might do something stupid and get into danger, so we came to check on you." The foster mother stammered, and then she straightened her back again after thinking of something. "Just like what happened just now, it was so dangerous. If he had used that thing to hit you for a few more seconds, you would have been dead. The owl just now was not in time either... I heard him tell you to run first, why didn't you listen?"

Meng Liyun's eyes darkened when she heard her talk about what happened just now.

"...I just want to try it out and see the difference between us." Meng Liyun curled her lips, slung the packed luggage over her shoulder, and walked to her adoptive mother, "You go back, I'll walk the rest of the way by myself."

"This..." The adoptive mother frowned, still worried about her.

"Oh..." Meng Liyun was helpless. She held her hand and said softly, "I have to go on this journey. Do you remember what you said to me on the first day I went home?"

The foster mother's eyes moved slightly and her expression was embarrassed.

"You told me that everyone has their own experiences. Even if I can follow him for a while, I can't follow him for a lifetime."

Meng Liyun held her hands, looked into her hesitant eyes, and chuckled, "Doesn't this sentence apply to me too?"

"But you are only a teenager, how can you--"

"Xiao was only in his teens at the time, right?" Meng Liyun scratched her head, her eyes slightly shifted, "I also know that I am different from him and I am still too weak... But I still want to make my own way."

"Besides, you've seen him these past few days, haven't you? He's still a good guy." Meng Liyun said with a soft smile, "He's still the same as before, no change."

The adoptive mother looked at her quietly, her eyes a little out of focus.

Meng Liyun didn't urge her. She looked at her and waited for her response.

"……it is good."

The foster mother lowered her eyelashes and nodded.

"Go."

……

"Why don't you let me follow you?"

Meng Liyun pouts and looks at Xiao pitifully.

Xiao glanced at her and remained unmoved: "You should go back with your adoptive mother."

"Why?" Meng Liyun put her hands on her hips and said unconvincedly, "My mother told me to go for a walk by myself."

"Because you don't listen." Xiao gave her a cold look, "I told you to run, why didn't you run? Why are you trying to show off with Yan Ying?"

At this time they had already come out of the mountain village and arrived at the town they had reached yesterday.

Yan Ying and his men were still packing their luggage, saying they would be done and moving away in half a day. Yan Ying buried the two bodies on the hillside and helped to erect a tombstone. Perhaps it was because of the cooperation between Meng Liyun and him that he felt good, and his personality was just what he wanted, so he pulled Meng Liyun to recognize her as his sister.

Meng Liyun was very surprised when she heard the news, but seeing Yan Ying's sincere look, she thought about it and agreed.

Anyway, it won’t do any harm to make some connections.

Meng Liyun crossed her arms and thought so. Xiao and Yanying gave Xiao many instructions, and Yanying also gave Xiao a lot of gold and silver as a reward.

Looking at the gold and silver jewelry that were shining brightly, Meng Liyun couldn't help but squint her eyes.

"We are going to migrate to a faraway place, so it's useless to carry so many treasures." Yan Ying said this, and also gave some to Meng Liyun, his new sister.

When they arrived at the town, Meng Liyun bought another carriage for her adoptive mother, sent her to the city gate, and let her sit in it and go back quickly.

"Liyun, I..." The adoptive mother sat in the car and wanted to say something to her.

"I know, I know." Meng Liyun patted the back of her hand soothingly, "Don't catch a cold, don't blindly believe what others say, don't be stubborn, don't be aggressive, and don't belittle yourself...right?"

After hearing this, the adoptive mother looked dazed and seemed a little sad.

"Okay." Meng Liyun patted her hands comfortingly and smiled at her brightly, "Don't worry."

The adoptive mother stared at her, touched her face nostalgically, and nodded gently.

"Please say hello to dad for me." Meng Liyun watched the carriage gradually go away, and turned back to look at her adoptive mother and waved.

The adoptive mother seemed to smile and waved at her.

Looking at the carriage going further and further away, Meng Liyun was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but suddenly she saw it turn back.

"No, Liyun, you have offended those immortals this time, will you -"

"No, no." Meng Liyun hurried forward to hold the horse and said to her, "Did you forget? I'm following Xiao. You saw him fighting with that old man, right? He's really powerful."

The adoptive mother knew that she was comforting her. Thinking about the scene she had seen, she was still a little worried: "But he didn't have time to take care of you at that time. What if——"

"Oh, it was an accident." Meng Liyun scratched her head. Although she didn't want to say anything more, she still patiently persuaded her mother by looking at her worried expression. "I always ran away before. Don't you know me? When I encounter danger, I run faster than anyone else."

Meng Liyun said, making a funny expression: "I'm just curious about those people. I got hit this time, so I know... I won't dare to do it again in the future."

Meng Liyun talked a lot to her adoptive mother and made more promises. Only then did her adoptive mother leave reluctantly.

Meng Liyun had just breathed a sigh of relief and went to find Xiao, but she didn't expect him to say this to her again.

"Well...that's just curiosity." Meng Liyun shifted her gaze and pouted, secretly feeling that he was as nagging as her mother.

"I told you before, didn't I? Don't come looking for me." Xiao's attitude did not soften at all because of her laughter. He still said in a cold tone, "You said before that you went to Xiong'er to see the bandits. Now you have seen them. It's time to separate."

"Then you promised to let me go to Lishan with you! Doesn't it count?" Meng Liyun frowned and argued.

"That's because nothing like this has happened before." Xiao was unmoved. "If your foster mother had acted a few seconds later, you and Yanying would have been in danger. Have you ever thought about this?"

Meng Liyun was speechless.

Xiao glanced at her coldly and said, "Now that you have killed those two people, if their companions knew about it, they would not let it go... When you followed me as a child, didn't you also know how that woman held you hostage?"

When Meng Liyun heard him talk about the past, her expression darkened.

"But now that I have learned some skills, I won't do that so easily—"

"What about this morning?" Xiao interrupted her, "You think you have learned some skills, but that's just your feeling. You haven't proven to me what you said."

Meng Liyun fell silent after hearing this.

Seeing that she didn't say anything, Xiao stopped and turned to leave.

Meng Liyun led the horse silently and followed him.

Xiao stopped walking. She stopped too.

Xiao looked back at her and continued walking.

Meng Liyun continued to follow.

Xiao stopped again and turned to look at her.

Meng Liyun hung her head, lowered her eyes, and said nothing.

……

After walking and stopping for several times, Xiao finally sighed as if giving up.

"never mind."

When Meng Liyun heard this, her eyes moved slightly and she slowly raised her head.

Xiao looked at her helplessly and said, "Just follow me."

Meng Liyun paused, the dark light in her eyes faded away, and she smiled again.

"but--"

Before Meng Liyun could speak, Xiao spoke again.

"This is your own decision, so you have to bear the consequences yourself." Xiao Zhengzheng looked at her, with a frightened cold light flashing in his dark eyes. "If you are in danger, I will not save you. If you die because of this, you can only blame yourself for your incompetence. Do you understand?"

Meng Liyun paused, looked at Xiao's cold eyes, and did not speak for a long time.

Perhaps Xiao thought she was frightened, so he slowly withdrew his gaze, turned around and was about to leave.

"That's it."

Xiao turned around and met Meng Liyun's sparkling eyes.

Meng Liyun looked at him and smiled, her eyes narrowed into two crescents.

"……as you like."

Xiao said, turning around.

……

"I really don't know what you guys are doing? You're so slow."

Ranran looked at the two people who were coming slowly and couldn't help but complain.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was delayed yesterday by something." Meng Liyun didn't know whether Xiao told them the reason, so she just apologized vaguely.

"It's almost noon and we were just about to set off. We've been delayed for almost a day." Ranran frowned.

"If you think it's too slow, we can continue on our journey at night." Meng Liyun smiled and looked at Li Heng, who had been silent and only looked them up and down, "Can we go now?"

"Of course." Li Heng met her gaze, paused, and smiled at her, "But when traveling at night, the old man in your car..."

"That's right, it sounds nice, but how can my old bones bear it..." Ranran thought she was muttering softly, but in fact, her words were heard by everyone.

Meng Liyun kept smiling, as if she hadn't heard anything at all: "Ah, I found her a ride during this time, and she has already gone back."

Speaking of which, she had asked her adoptive mother about the restaurant she had taken her to when she was dressed up, and her adoptive mother told her that it was an intelligence point before she washed her hands a few years ago. The original Miss Qin was very familiar with her, and she didn't know if the current hotel owner had any relationship with her.

There should be none.

Meng Liyun thought about it and narrowed her eyes.

After all, the accountant didn't understand anything about the code words that my mother spoke to her.

"Ah, is that so..." Li Heng was a little surprised, but he didn't feel embarrassed. He smiled and said, "Then let's set off now without further delay."

Meng Liyun nodded and looked at the owl beside her.

The owl looked at her as if sensing something.

Meng Liyun winked at him and said, "Get in the car. They are riding horses, you might get tired if you run on the ground."

Xiao:......

Xiao seemed to be helpless about her weird words and actions. He looked at her helplessly and got into the car.

"By the way, where are Jiliang and the Quanrong Kingdom that you talked about with that immortal?" Seeing that he was going to drive the car, Meng Liyun didn't hesitate and shrank into the car to speak to him quietly.

“……” Xiao looked at her and remained silent.

Meng Liyun was puzzled and tilted her head.

"...I don't know." Xiao turned his head, looking a little uncomfortable.

Meng Liyun:?

Xiao didn't explain and just remained silent.

Seeing this, Meng Liyun thought he was worried that she would go, so she stopped asking.

Looking at the scenery along the roadside, Meng Liyun unconsciously relaxed a lot. She put one arm on the window, stared at the charred marks on her body, and somehow whispered what she thought about the old man and Ji Liang in the morning.

"…So actually, I think he didn't do anything wrong. His heart is good, but his behavior of repaying kindness with enmity is a bit despicable."

After Meng Liyun finished speaking, she looked outside in a trance. Suddenly, as if awakened, she started and realized what she had said. Thinking of the murderous intent in Xiao's face when facing the old man, she couldn't help but become nervous.

She waited for a long time, but Xiao never scolded her or said no.

Didn't you hear that?

Meng Liyun looked at him tentatively. She didn't think Xiao couldn't hear this, but why did he remain silent...

Meng Liyun thought back to the time when she had spent time with him, trying to find something that could help analyze Xiao's personality, but after thinking for a long time she could not come to any conclusion. She only remembered that his childhood seemed very miserable.

"…You are right."

Xiao, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke and looked at her inexplicably.

"According to what you said, those who have no means or no talent will indeed be grateful to them." Xiao looked forward again, keeping a distance from Li Heng and the others. "But have you ever thought that what Jiliang added was only lifespan."

"...What do you mean?" Meng Liyun was slightly stunned.

Xiao glanced at her and said, "Living in bed with half of your body paralyzed for hundreds of years is still considered living."

Meng Liyun paused.

"Jiliang cannot cure diseases. It can only slow down your physical development. It cannot cure serious diseases, such as paralysis and epilepsy... In this case, blindly increasing lifespan without any understanding will only increase people's suffering." Xiao said calmly, "Not to mention that it is impossible for them to share the method of longevity with the people without distinction."

"The charity you want is simply impossible for them." Xiao said calmly, "For most cultivators, cultivation is for immortality, and the longest-lived one only lived to nearly a thousand years old. If immortals are everywhere, then for them, wouldn't all the efforts they have made since entering the Tao be a joke?"

"But their cultivation not only prolongs their life, but also provides them with many magic spells..." Meng Liyun was puzzled and retorted, "Aren't these enough to satisfy them?"

"Then what is your purpose in seeking immortality?" Xiao looked at her, "Isn't it to watch the dynasties change, the generations pass on, and the changes in the world? Aren't you seeking to be different from others?"

Meng Liyun was stunned: "Why do you think so? Is that what you think?"

"No." Xiao said without hesitation, "I practiced only because my master said he would teach me these self-protection skills. I heard these words from a dead monk."

The dead...monk?

Meng Liyun frowned strangely.

"He said he still had a few hundred years left before his death, but he was killed because he was fighting with someone for a spiritual object... You see, even if his life span was increased, there is still a risk of being killed." Xiao turned his head and his voice returned to calm, "And the formation they talked about is simply impossible to realize."

"why?"

"Because for many spiritual beasts, their bodies are just vessels to contain their souls, and their power comes from their souls. The reason why Ji Liang is like this is because the energy contained in the depths of his soul has nothing to do with his flesh and blood." Xiao said in a cold voice.

"And Jiliang is not something that anyone can use to extend their lifespan." Xiao turned his head and looked at the scenery in the distance. "The so-called increase in lifespan is actually Jiliang integrating his own scattered spiritual power into the human body to change the human physique... Jiliang can take back this spiritual power at any time, but he has never done so."