Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty: The Girl Named Ruirui

The next day, Amu did not go to the Luo Yun Cliff for cultivation. Instead, he went directly to see Tieyun with Lishui to discuss the matter of going down the mountain.

"Going down the mountain?" Upon hearing that Amu and Lishui wanted to go down the mountain together, Tieyun frowned slightly.

Going down the mountain was not impossible, but Tieyun was concerned about Amu's safety. After all, Amu possessed a great treasure, yet his cultivation level was still at the Xiu Tong stage, which was almost negligible. Lishui, on the other hand, was a Xiu Tong who could not even cultivate a仙根 (immortal root).

These two going down the mountain could not be taken lightly.

"Senior Brother Tieyun, please allow us! We haven't left the Northern Cold Sect's territory, and we can return in a day. There won't be any problems," Amu pleaded, guessing Tieyun's concerns.

Tieyun looked at Amu and Lishui. Lishui had her head lowered deeply, not daring to meet Tieyun's gaze, as if she had done something wrong.

"Alright!" After a moment of hesitation, Tieyun agreed. "Amu, you must carry the spirit summoning talisman I gave you! Just in case."

"Senior Brother Tieyun, don't worry, I understand!" Amu said happily.

"Thank you, Uncle Tieyun!" Lishui was also delighted.

With Tieyun's approval, the two were quite pleased. They bid farewell to Tieyun and boarded the Heavenly玄飞碟 (Xuan flying saucer), flying off into the distance.

Watching the two leave, Tieyun couldn't help but shake his head with a bitter smile. Then he formed a hand seal, and a paper crane flew out of his palm, heading straight for the Tianzi Peak in the east of the Northern Cold Sect.

Although they hadn't left the Northern Cold Sect's territory, and it was unlikely that anyone in the Northern Wasteland would dare to harm the Northern Cold Sect's disciples, Tieyun still made some arrangements to feel at ease.

Amu and Lishui, riding the Heavenly Xuan flying saucer, traveled several miles in an instant, even though the current flying saucer was only powered by spirit stones and could only exert one-tenth of its full power. A journey of a thousand miles could be completed in less than an hour.

They soared through the air, crossing the vast expanse of the Northern Cold Sect. The towering mountains and snow-covered landscapes stretched out before them, making their hearts feel light and their spirits uplifted.

"Truly, the life of an immortal is blissful!" Lishui exclaimed, and Amu laughed heartily.

Lishui led the way, and they soon arrived at a mortal village to the east of the Northern Cold Sect.

The village was small, with only a few dozen households, scattered and irregular. Overall, it was not dilapidated, but it was certainly not wealthy.

There were many such mortal villages within a thousand miles of the Northern Cold Sect. They mostly lived by hunting and gathering herbs, occasionally selling good items at the immortal markets near the Northern Cold Sect to earn some money for their livelihood. With good luck, they might even obtain some spirit stones from the immortals, which they could use to trade for better things in the future.

At this moment, Amu and Lishui landed the Heavenly Xuan flying saucer in front of a house.

The house had two mud-brick rooms and a small bamboo fence. The yard was small but very tidy.

"Ruirui! Ruirui!" Lishui called out.

Amu couldn't help but chuckle to himself: "Ruirui! What a beautiful name. She must be a common friend of Senior Brother Lishui."

As soon as Lishui's voice fell, the door of the mud-brick house opened, and a girl in a green dress came out.

"Brother Lishui!" The girl, though dressed simply, exuded a fresh, elegant, and ethereal beauty.

"Ruirui!" Lishui was clearly delighted to see Ruirui. If Amu hadn't been there, he might have rushed through the fence to her.

Ruirui, who seemed to miss Lishui a lot, hurriedly walked a few steps, opened the fence gate, and looked at Lishui with tender affection.

Seeing this, Amu couldn't help but feel a bit awkward: "Did I come at the wrong time? I feel like I'm a third wheel!"

"Cough, cough!" Amu cleared his throat.

Lishui, hearing this, blushed slightly and introduced Ruirui: "Ruirui, this is my junior brother, Amu!"

"Um! Hello, Junior Brother Amu!" Ruirui also seemed to realize her behavior was a bit inappropriate, and her cheeks turned slightly red, adding to her charm.

Amu saw that Lishui and Ruirui were quite a match, with Lishui in his white robe looking scholarly and Ruirui in her green dress looking graceful.

If Amu didn't know that Lishui was usually honest, he would have suspected that Lishui and Ruirui had secretly pledged their love.

"Amu greets..." Amu paused, then glanced at Lishui, unsure how to address her.

Actually, there was no need to ask. Amu just wanted to tease Lishui a bit because he usually seemed so serious.

"Call me Ruirui!" Lishui didn't speak, but Ruirui did.

"Amu greets Miss Ruirui!" Amu winked at Lishui, meaning to say, "Look how much more open the girl is than you."

Lishui pretended not to see Amu and quickly changed the subject: "Ruirui, I heard from a fellow disciple that your grandfather is ill?"

"Yes!" Ruirui's eyes welled up with tears. "Brother Lishui, let's talk inside!"

Ruirui then led Lishui and Amu into the house.

The house was clean but extremely simple, with many old and worn-out wooden furnishings, indicating that Ruirui's family was very poor.

In the inner room, an old man with almost completely white hair lay on a wooden bed, his body emaciated, his eyes closed, and his breath faint.

Ruirui's eyes filled with tears as she looked at her grandfather. "Grandfather has been unconscious for seven or eight days. We've given him many herbal medicines, but they haven't worked. The villagers say that Grandfather is old and... and..."

Lishui quickly went to the bedside, took Ruirui's grandfather's wrist, and felt his pulse, frowning.

"Brother Lishui, how is Grandfather?" Ruirui knew that Lishui was quite knowledgeable in medicine.

Moreover, although Lishui was just a Xiu Tong of the Northern Cold Sect, in the eyes of mortals, he was almost like an immortal.

Lishui did not answer Ruirui's question but turned to Amu. "Amu, can you give me one each of your Root Nourishing Pill and Qi Restoring Pill?"

Since Amu had known Lishui, this was the first time Lishui had asked for something from him. Amu quickly took out the two jade bottles from the Qiankun如意镯 (Qiankun如意 Bracelet) and handed them to Lishui.

Amu hadn't taken any of the pills in the bottles. The Root Nourishing Pill was probably useless for Amu's cultivation speed, and he hadn't had the chance to take the Qi Restoring Pill.

Lishui took the jade bottles, poured out one pill from each, and had Ruirui dissolve them in yellow wine, then fed them to the old man.

"Ruirui, Grandfather's qi and blood have long been depleted, and there is no way to save him. These pills will wake him up in half an hour, but he can only live for seven more days," Lishui sighed deeply.

"Brother Lishui, you are an immortal's disciple, is there no other way? Please, save my grandfather, save my grandfather!" Ruirui cried.

"Ruirui, if there were a way, how could I not save Grandfather? The pills I just gave him are the best I can do. Other immortal sects' pills would now be toxic to Grandfather! His body cannot withstand such potent medicines!" Lishui shook his head helplessly. How could he not want to save Ruirui's grandfather?

"Grandfather! Grandfather!" Ruirui burst into tears. She had sent someone to bring a message to Lishui with great hope, but she never expected Grandfather's condition to be so dire.

"Ah! Ruirui, life is finite, and we cannot force it!" Lishui didn't know what to say, so he gently stroked Ruirui's head to comfort her.

"Brother Lishui! I can't lose Grandfather!" Ruirui suddenly threw herself into Lishui's arms and sobbed.

At this moment, Amu could only sigh. Lishui was right, "Life is finite, and we cannot force it."

Amu silently left the room and sat on a green stone in the yard, looking at the small village. He couldn't help but think of Liuzhen, his master, and Yu'er.

Mortals live for only a hundred years, but can cultivators and immortals live forever?

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