Chapter 119: A Millennium of Dao Cultivation Destroyed in an Instant

  "Mom, no wonder! Although Grandma is nice to me, I just feel that the other uncles and aunts don't have any familial feelings towards me at all!" San Hong suddenly felt enlightened upon hearing this.

  Lin Qingran sighed somewhat embarrassingly, "Honghong, it's not that Mom intentionally deceived you and didn't tell you the truth. After all, our family doesn't have any relatives and is quite lonely. Having a kind and benevolent grandmother, you wouldn't be too pitiful;

  At that time, in such a chaotic situation, everyone was worried about their own safety, and she helped me out of my predicament, which is how we have our peaceful little family now.

  "As for my uncle and aunt, we didn't have a close relationship to begin with, so it's normal that our feelings towards each other are somewhat cold. They did help us out when we needed it, but this illness of mine is what people call a 'bottomless pit'. When people help others, they usually only lend a hand in times of urgency, not indefinitely. Back then, their attitude was quite normal."

  "Red Red's mom, you're saying that old lady isn't even your aunt, oh my, you've been hiding it pretty well."

  "Alas, that kind old lady, unfortunately she passed away when I was lying in the hospital, and I couldn't even see her off." Lin Qing said with a sigh.

  "Mom, the deceased is gone, don't blame yourself anymore. I'll get someone to help take care of Zhang Qiang more. The elders do good deeds and the younger generation enjoys the blessings, this is a common thing."

  "You must have been one of those who drifted here during the rustication movement back then. Many families were torn apart during that era, and children scattered all over like dandelion seeds. However, if you can provide me with some clues, I might be able to help you find them. It's said that as people get older, they start to care more about things they didn't think much of when they were young. Perhaps your long-lost siblings or relatives who went their separate ways are also thinking of you from time to time."

  Song Shuwei made a few indirect attacks, hoping that Lin Qingran would speak up. As long as she spoke up, everything would be easy to handle. Old Man Lin on the other side had been waiting for his little daughter to do so.

  Lin Qingyan remained silent for a long time, shook his head, and then pursed his lips to say: "Shu Yu is an honest child. Those old things from years ago, just thinking about them makes my heart thump, and this body has only just recovered in the past few days, can't bear to be exerted."

  "Mom, if it's uncomfortable, let's just forget about it, okay?" Shan Hong comforted her with concern.

  Sang Dawei chuckled and said, "Just take care of yourself first, don't worry about others. Heaven gives people two hands, just like chickens have two claws, digging and scratching, everyone has their own way to make a living."

  His crude and unrefined analogy surprisingly made sense, causing the three people who heard it to burst out laughing and let go of their worries.

  So, everyone reached an agreement. After dinner, Sang Hong took Song Shuyu out to have some fun and take a look around. Sang Dawei was in charge of contacting the relatives and arranged for them to gather at the hotel booked by Song Shuyu on the day after tomorrow at noon to treat them to a meal.

  Song Shuyu took out his phone, intending to have the driver come and pick them up. Xiang Hong raised her hand and hung up his phone, smiling disdainfully at him: "Can't you just be a commoner for once? What's the fun in taking such a fast car for a spin?"

  "This is quite far from Lao Miao Street." Song Shuyu felt that her suggestion lacked practical possibilities.

  "Let's take a bus! Dad and Mom, we're leaving." Sang Hong said, pulling Song Shuyu out the door.

  Song Shuoye thought that since it was just for fun, he would do whatever made him happy and didn't say anything else. After all, in this city, he had lived for several years and wasn't unfamiliar with it.

  As soon as they got out of the residential building, Shang Hong immediately let go of Song Shuyu's hand and put both hands into her pockets.

  Song Shuyu didn't understand why he suddenly received such a cold reception, lowered his head to take a look at himself, his clothes were neat and tidy without any wrinkles, his leather shoes were shiny, there was nothing that couldn't be seen.

  He took big strides to catch up with her and walked alongside her. With a lift of his arm, he naturally wrapped it tightly around her waist, lowering his head to chuckle softly:

  "You didn't say that lovers are hand in hand, did you? Now that we're both wearing casual clothes, let's take the opportunity to be intimate and make up for past regrets all at once."

  Xiang Hong raised her hand without hesitation to untie the arm that was tightly wrapped around her small waist, and when she looked up, she saw her neighbor Zhang Dama returning from her morning exercise on the second floor. She hastily leaned against Song Shuyu, smiling and greeting her.

  "Let's go out and have some fun with friends!"

  "Ah, Auntie, your habit of exercising in the morning is really good."

  Smiling slyly as they brushed past each other, he turned his face and continued to struggle against the steel hand and iron wrist.

  "Xiang Hong is back, and with a boyfriend too, great!" Mr. Li, who was walking his bird, held up his bird cage and greeted her with a smile.

  "Hehe, Master is back early, it's time to eat dinner." Xiang Hong supported the smile on her face.

  ……

  Within less than a dozen meters, they encountered several acquaintances one after another. San Hong's small face was so embarrassed that she said: "Let me go, okay? If you continue like this, I'll lose all my dignity at home. My good reputation of being well-behaved for over a decade is ruined by you in just a few minutes."

  She smiled and nodded at familiar people she met, then whispered to Song Shuyu not to be so intimate with her anymore.

  "Love should have the posture of love, this is absolutely what you strongly demanded." Song Shuyu looked at her crazily, laughing very confidently.

  "This is my home entrance, warmth should have a limit, and pay attention to the influence." Sang Hong gritted her teeth.

  "Generally speaking, the whole city is your home, can't I even hold your little hand? Isn't this torturing me? My hands are shaking and it's really uncomfortable."

  Song Shuwei replied objectively, with a straightforward and majestic tone, as if his hands were born to hold the small waist of Sang Hong.

  Xiang Hong continued to grind her teeth, and helplessly said: "Okay, now let me go, don't be so intimate. Wait until we sit on the bus outside and leave this one mu three fen place, you can be as affectionate as you want."

  "Really?" The fleeting glint in that man's eyes made one suspect he was brewing up another small scheme.

  "Really, I won't go back on my word." Xiang Hong cleverly replied with a mouthful of agreement.

  Song Shuwei pursed his lips and smiled lightly, releasing his hand in response. He casually inserted both hands into the pockets of his windbreaker, took a half step back, and strolled alongside her with an air of nonchalance.

  As soon as they came out of the alley, they arrived at the bustling commercial street in front. Yesterday evening when they came over, it was still peaceful and quiet, but now it's bustling with energy.

  "Didn't this street used to be empty last night when we came over?" Song Shuyu was puzzled, he didn't remember the direction wrongly, how could it change overnight.

  "Now you understand why I didn't let anyone come pick us up, right? Generally speaking, before 10 am, it's impossible to get through here." San Hong looked at the confusion on his face and couldn't help but laugh lightly.

  The entrance of the alley is lined with various breakfast stalls, wafting all sorts of aromas.

  This street is the nearby morning market.

  Some farmers from the suburbs who have a little extra vegetables at home use bamboo baskets to carry their unsold vegetables and come to sell them at the early market. The rough wooden frames are filled with fresh and tender vegetables of all colors, which is pleasing to the eye.

  Some small stalls selling needles, threads and sundries, some stalls selling cheap clothes can be opened by pushing a tricycle. After people stroll around the nearby square, they come here to buy what they need, a bunch of green vegetables, an old pumpkin, or simply with their hands behind their back, leisurely looking around, feeling the vitality of this place.

  "It's quite interesting." Song Shuyu looked around, seeing those simple and cheerful faces, he was relieved that this place could preserve such a rustic early market.

  Can the sharp contradictions between urban management and mobile vendors be alleviated in this way?

  "Look, that's the root of Platycodon."

  Song Shuwei was taken aback, narrowing his eyes to take a closer look: "Chrysanthemum? So sturdy." He sighed, thinking of the pendant hanging from Sang Hong's neck, and couldn't help but laugh. No matter what, he just couldn't associate the two together.

  "I don't know if there's a possibility of hiding a spirit inside." Xiang Hong raised her hand to touch her chin, and crouched down to take a look.

  The stall owner was an old man with a white beard and a spirited appearance. Upon hearing this, he burst out laughing immediately:

  "You little girl are really naive, do you think that the essence of Angelica dahurica is radish? It's so easy to get sick like that? That's just something that exists in legends, I've lived half my life and have never seen anything like it."

  Song Shuwei also lost his smile and leaned in close to her ear, whispering: "Greedy little girl, just enjoy the good things secretly."

  "Is this from the mountain or cultivated at home?" Xiang Hong knew she had misspoken, smiled indifferently and changed the subject.

  "Of course it's wild, the roots were much bigger in the early years. I once dug up a tangerine root as thick as a bucket, now look at them, they've all become this arm-thick size."

  The old man looked at these two people who were dressed in bright and beautiful clothes, and they didn't look like the food and drink men and women of this small place at all. He knew that they couldn't afford to buy anything, so he sighed and went to attend to other customers who were squatting down to pick out their purchases.

  "Oh my, isn't that San Hong's little girl?" A shrill female voice came over, the warmth and familiarity in her tone of puzzlement was not concealed at all.

  Xiang Hong heard the sound and raised her head, following the sound to look over, and actually saw the plump casino owner Wang Jinhua, immediately stood up and smiled at her.

  Wang Jinhua's eyes were venomous, and she had already seen Song Shuyu standing at one side of the stall. Although the entire morning market was bustling with noise, she spotted that figure in an instant, which stood out even more than a crane among chickens.

  Where did this noble person come from?

  She actually saw Sang Hong along with Song Shu Yu, but at that time Sang Hong was lowering her head, and for a moment she couldn't see her face clearly, so she wasn't quite sure.

  He Sanhong raised her head, confirmed that her judgment was undoubtedly correct, and immediately came over with a hearty laugh, opening her extremely fat arms to give her a big hug.

  "Girl, this body is so chubby, when did you become a little fatty?"

  Xiang Hong smiled seriously: "The army's food is good, and if you don't get fat, it's a waste of the country's resources."

  "When did you come back? When are you leaving?"

  Wang Jinhua carefully sized up Sang Hong and found that this girl had really changed a lot since she was eighteen. In May, when she took Sang Hong to buy clothes, she was still a stubborn little girl, but now she had the gentle and charming qualities of a young woman.

  "Let's take a break for six or seven days, okay? Introducing you, Brother Song, this is Aunt Wang, who has been taking care of me since I was little." Turning to Wang Jinhua, "This is my boyfriend, Song Shuyu."

  Xiang Hong generously introduced them to each other.

  Wang Jinhua wiped her palm on her clothes and smiled, extending her hand: "Nice to meet you, my mahjong parlor is just over there, I'll have Honghong bring you over to play when she's free."

  Song Shuwei's face revealed a hint of a smile upon hearing her name: "Mm, thanks for taking care of my Honghong."

  "No need to be polite, neighbors should look out for each other anyway. Honghong is such a well-behaved girl, and this half of the street's old shops all love her. She's become a model for us to teach our kids to be filial!"

  Wang Jinhua politely and timely praised Sang Hong, and took the opportunity to take a glance at Song Shuyu. This person, even if not wearing a military uniform, had an extraordinary elegance, truly noble and extraordinary. She couldn't help but exclaim that Sang Hong was indeed lucky, and had actually met a diamond Wang Lao Wu!

  Xiang Hong and Song Shu Yu exchanged a glance, pursed their lips and smiled.

  "Oh dear, look at my memory, the family is waiting for me to buy oil strips and buns, haha, Honghong, don't be polite, take some time to bring your boyfriend over to play a couple of rounds!"

  Wang Jinhua said as she waved goodbye to them, walking away with a smile on her face, but getting farther and farther away until she disappeared into the crowd.

  "Come on, let's walk down this street. At the pace we're going, it'll be time to eat when we get to Temple Street." Shan Hong also smiled and urged Song Shuyu, who was walking leisurely.

  The two of them looked at some new things and then went out onto the street, standing by the road waiting for a bus.

  "Let's just forget about it." Song Shuwei reached into the pocket of his windbreaker and pulled out his wallet, opening it to take a look. Inside were pink bills and many cards, but no small change for taking the bus.

  Xiang Hong smiled complacently and signaled him to put away his wallet, pretending to be generous, saying: "I'll pay for your ride."

  Song Shuwei looked at her mischievous appearance and immediately reached out to hold her hand: "Does squeezing onto a bus require a lot of strength?"

  "Haha, you silly thing, it's already past rush hour, the traffic is loosening up, why would you need to squeeze in?"

  Xiang Hong looked at him with a face of resignation and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  Song Shuwei let out a faint sigh of relief, but his face showed a hint of regret: "Alas... this hero has no use for his martial skills in this place!"

  Just then a bus arrived, and several people waiting near the stop sign swarmed onto the bus.

  Song Shuwei watched the two men standing behind them with vigilance, having been stared at and sized up before, but this kind of discomfort was really unbearable.

  He calmly pulled Sang Hong's hand and waited until everyone else had boarded before leisurely getting on the car.

  Xiang Hong threw in three coins and looked for a seat in the carriage.

  Song Shuwei took a glance around and didn't see an empty seat, so he didn't plan on sitting down. He simply raised his hand to grab the armrest and stood beside Sang Hong.

  He stood in the carriage with his windbreaker open, tall and upright like a jade tree swaying in the wind, his eyes gazing leisurely at the scenery flying by outside the window.

  Suddenly, he felt a slight movement in the pocket of his windbreaker. Instinctively, he raised his hand and grabbed it hard. He caught an arm, and when he looked down, the large hand at the end of the arm was holding his brown wallet.

  Song Shuwei's eyes were cold and calm as he turned sideways to glare at the owner of the arm, then picked up his wallet and put it back in his pocket.

  Xiang Hong snorted with laughter, gloating as she looked up at him with her head tilted back.

  "Brother, spare those who should be spared. I didn't recognize Mount Tai when I saw it, and I've offended you." The little thief spoke in a soft tone, but his face showed no fear at all.

  Song Shuwei said in a low voice: "Driver, drive the car to the police station, there is a thief on the bus."

  "Who's the thief? You're dressed up like a dog, shouting 'stop thief'." The little thief then pulled out a dagger and stabbed him in the waist.

  Xiang Hong stared at the clumsy thief in silence, and as expected, Song Shuyu pinched his arm and he immediately fell onto the floor of the car.

  Song Shuwei lifted his foot and stepped on the guy's left wrist that was holding the dagger, and the guy immediately screamed in pain.

  The passengers in the car all dodged and squeezed to both ends of the public vehicle.

  The little thief's accomplice took advantage of the chaos and slipped away, wanting to grab Sang Hong as a hostage and let his companion go.

  He rushed over, stretched out his arm and was about to strangle Sang Hong's neck. Sang Hong clenched her right fist and gave him a punch without looking back, immediately beating him until his right eye sparkled with golden stars and tears flowed profusely.

  Xiang Hong sprang up from her seat with a "whoosh", lifted her foot and kicked his ankle, and he fell onto his partner's body with a thud. The two of them let out a simultaneous shriek.

  The accomplices of the thief in the car were apparently not just one, and someone started shouting: "Open the door, I want to get off, driver, we've arrived, I want to get off."

  The driver hesitated.

  Xiang Hong spoke up, "Even when stealing, one should have some integrity. Take a look at the passengers on this bus, how many of them are wealthy? Sometimes the money you steal is someone's life-saving money, it's best to do less of these things that go against your conscience."

  If you can gather a few people to form a gang, then go find those corrupt officials and embezzle their money, that would be satisfying. But this way, you're just bullying ordinary people, what's the point of that!

  "I'm ashamed of all you big men."

  Her crisp voice made all the passengers in the car listen with astonishment, and then they all burst out laughing, soon someone started applauding.

  There were passengers in the car. Looking at the two people I met today, they were so handy and came up with a burst of energy:

  "In about 500 meters ahead, there is a police station. The driver will take them in. From now on, we can have an easier time taking the bus. Although they'll be released in just a few days, isn't it better to have one more peaceful day?"

  "Yes, this group of people is acting recklessly on this train ride, and it's not the first time we've seen it!" Someone immediately spoke out in righteous indignation.

  Song Shuwei said: "I believe that thieves also have a way, now I say two roads, you choose. First, the driver drives directly to the police station, everyone testifies, and the police will make a record and file a case. We are busy and don't have time to sit there; second, let you go, you use your family members' names to make an oath, and in the future, do not commit crimes on public buses."

  "Haha, people like this have lost all sense of shame, and making vows is just a matter of moving their lips."

  A passenger spoke up, his tone full of ridicule.

  "Then who can go to the police station to testify?" Song Shuyu asked.

  Everyone in the car fell silent, then they all said they had something to do. Since the thief didn't steal anything, just let them take an oath and release them, who can afford to delay with them, wait and wait.

  Song Shuoye smiled knowingly, took out his phone and said to them: "Now, you can swear in the name of your loved ones, and then I'll let you leave." After finishing speaking, he snapped a few frontal photos of the two.

  Those two people knew they had met a troublesome person today, so they exchanged a glance and reluctantly made an oath, one in his mother's name and the other in his wife's name.

  "Alright, you two shouldn't commit crimes on this bus route again. If you do, your photos will be spread online and you'll be listed as second-level fugitives. Don't worry about being imprisoned or heavily sentenced, just enjoy the consequences of your own actions." Song Shuyu finished speaking and put away his phone, lifting his foot to release it.

  Xiang Hong also relaxed her feet and said to him: "Let's just consider it a good deed for today."

  "Let's hope so, after all we came to the temple today to burn incense, it's better to be lenient in all things."

  Song Shuyu smiled self-deprecatingly, knowing that making a thief take an oath to restrain himself was as difficult as getting a drunkard to quit drinking. However, staying away from this road might still be somewhat possible.

  Two people got off at Temple Street and walked along the old temple street surrounded by incense, Shang Hong whispered: "Did you really take a photo of those two people?"

  "Hmm, not only did I take pictures, but also recorded videos. I plan to send this stuff directly to the police station that manages that area and have it archived. If they really didn't do anything wrong, then it'll just become a funny story. But if what they said isn't true, then let them get caught."

  "Could it be that I'm accompanying you back to your hometown in the midst of my busy schedule, and we can sit in the police station and have a thorough conversation?"

  Song Shuyu had a serious look on his face.

  Xiang Hong nodded and ran to the door to buy incense and fruit, while Song Shuyu gazed at the ancient locust tree with a thousand years of vicissitudes, and couldn't help but feel melancholy. Watching through the worldly phenomena so quietly, would it feel bored?

  How many infatuated men and resentful women will still remember him?

  In any case, life is an irreversible one-way street. Just live and savor the various flavors of life.

  Song Shuwei watched as Sang Hong lit the incense with a standard posture, bowed and offered incense with both hands, then knelt on the cushion in front of the merit box, kowtowed, prostrated himself, and recited the words with a standard tone.

  He looked at her seriously, this little girl, doing everything with such meticulous care.

  Only after she knelt down and got up did he think he could pull her away, but who knew that Sang Hong took out incense again.

  He couldn't help but ask curiously: "Haven't you already paid your respects just now?"

  "That's instead of kowtowing to Uncle, now it's my turn." She explained with a smile.

  "Ah——could it be that when speaking with gods, one can only say one thing per incense stick? Who made this rule?" Song Shuyu was shocked.

  "There's no rule, it's just that you, as the godson, introduce her to your godmother in this way, which makes it more formal. From then on, you'll also be under her protective wing."

  Xiang Hong said solemnly, then bowed and inserted the incense into the incense burner, knelt down and whispered to the gods for a while.

  Song Shuwei took advantage of her bowing head in prayer, pulled out his wallet, drew out a stack of red bills, and threw them into the donation box, which was considered to be his filial piety as an adopted son-in-law.

  Xiang Hong stood up and bid farewell to Lao Ganniang, then pulled Song Shuyu's hand and turned into the temple.

  "When did you establish your faith?" he asked in a low voice.

  "What? Faith? Ha, I'm a person who's been used to being independent and self-reliant since childhood. I'm the kind of guy who wants to burn incense when he sees a temple and go in to confess when he sees a church. What faith do I have?" San Hong said with a laugh.