Chapter Twenty-Five Reunion

  Thank you for the reward from book friends!

  Outside the Mingde Gate, Chen Yi and Sun Simiao bid farewell to their teacher and fellow students.

  After two nights and one day of mental struggle, Chen Yi made a "difficult" decision, which was not to follow Sun Simiao's master and apprentice back to Zhongnan Mountain, but to stay alone in Chang'an and find the person he wanted to find.

  As for Chen Yi's decision, Sun Simiao was not surprised at all and accepted it readily. After giving some separate instructions and telling Chen Yi how to contact him when needed, he would return to Chang'an soon, then led three disciples to set foot on the journey back to Zhongnan Mountain.

  Chen Yi naturally went out of town to see him off.

  After crossing into the Tang Dynasty, he was rescued by Sun Simiao's disciples. Emotionally speaking, he had a bit of attachment to them and wanted to be with them forever. It's only been a few days since they met, but it's hard to part ways, and there's a sense of sadness. Especially towards Ning Qing, this little Taoist nun, he felt an irrepressible affection, and separating from her made him feel like something was being pulled out of his heart, leaving a deep sense of loss.

  Ning Qing, riding on the horse, had an unhappy face. The smile that originally floated on her face was no longer visible. Her gaze at Chen Yi had a blaming meaning. Yesterday, after Chen Yi told her his decision, she got angry and teary-eyed, with her small mouth pouting long and her eyes full of hatred. But today, in front of Sun Simiao and the two senior brothers, she didn't dare to show any anger.

  "Sun Daochang, you slow down, take care all the way!" Seeing Sun Simiao reining in his horse, Chen Yi also stopped and bid farewell with a bow.

  Sun Simiao and his disciples were riding horses back to Zhongnan Mountain. They got up early in the morning, preparing to arrive at Zongsheng Palace before dark.

  This divine doctor's physique is really good, at such an old age, he can still ride a horse and gallop for dozens of miles, going back and forth to Mount Zhongnan without taking a carriage. This makes Chen Yi very respectful and envious. He has also observed Sun Simiao's skin and hair up close, and finally came to the conclusion that this old Taoist's physical condition is even younger than he imagined, full of vitality. Eternal youth is what everyone hopes for, Chen Yi also yearns for his body to be like Sun Simiao's in the future, able to stay young forever, even at an advanced age, still not showing signs of aging!

  Sun Simiao looked at Chen Yi with a smile, slightly returned the courtesy and said: "Ziying, I will return to Zhongnan Mountain for a few days. It shouldn't take too long, at most one or two months, maybe just a few days and I'll be back in Chang'an again. After I leave, you can continue staying at Anlai Inn, don't worry about the room fee, I've already arranged it! If anything happens, just tell the shopkeeper and he will help you solve it!"

  "Thank you, Master Dao, for your thoughtful arrangement!" Chen Yi hastily expressed his gratitude.

  Sun Simiao still smiled and gestured to Chen Yi not to be too polite, then said: "Zi Xiang, during this period of time, you should intensify your search for the person you are looking for. I hope that when I come to Chang'an again, I can see that you have reunited with the person you are looking for! A lucky person will naturally have a good omen, and I believe you can do it!"

  "Thank you, Daozhang, I hope everything will be as you said!"

  Sun Simiao didn't say anything else, saluted Chen Yi, turned his horse around and rushed south first. The two male disciples Wang Chong and Liu Hai followed after bidding farewell to Chen Yi with a fist bump. Ning Qing, who was lagging behind, looked at Chen Yi dazedly for a while after her master and two senior brothers had run ahead, her face filled with unspoken desolation. "Ziying, I'm leaving, take care of yourself in Chang'an!"

  "Qing'er, take care on your way, I believe you will soon return to Chang'an with Sun Daozhang. When you come back to Chang'an, I'll take you out to play again!" Chen Yichong urged with a smile, "Hurry up, or you won't be able to catch up with your master and two senior brothers!"

  Ning Qing looked at Chen Yi with a hesitant expression, but in the end didn't say anything else. He just gave Chen Yi a deep look, turned his horse around and chased after his master and two senior brothers. Chen Yi stood still, watching until Sun Simiao and the others disappeared from view before returning to the city.

  The horse ridden by Chen Yi was given by Sun Simiao, a white mare of fairly good quality, three years old, and also his means of transportation for the time being and in the future. Horses in this era were like cars in later generations, once you get used to them, you can't do without them.

  Chen Yi rode his horse back to the inn at a leisurely pace, and after entering his room, he lay down on the couch with his head propped up, thinking about his plans for the future.

  In the days of living with Sun Simiao's disciples, although I felt that my daily habits were very different from theirs and had a sense of restraint, I didn't dare to show my personality and could only arrange my life by myself. But once we parted ways, Chen Yi still felt a bit lost and didn't know how to spend his days. Humans are social animals, they like to eat and talk with others, doing these daily activities alone will give people a feeling of loneliness, especially in Chang'an where I have no relatives or acquaintances, and having made enemies with some people, Chen Yi now strongly wants to find the followers who used to follow him.

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  Chen Yi couldn't stay in the inn all day by himself.

  In the future, there was advanced information consulting, with networks and TVs to accompany him, staying at home wouldn't feel boring. However, even so, it didn't make Chen Yi a shut-in, he liked going outdoors, feeling the sunshine, breathing fresh air, and getting close to nature. After crossing over to the Tang Dynasty, in this era without movies, TV, or internet, without Ning Qing's company, he couldn't stay put in the inn. Plus, there were too many things that needed him to "explore", many people needed him to visit, of course, he had to go out and take a walk! After seeing off Sun Simiao and his disciples, staying in the inn for about an hour, thinking about all sorts of things, he decided to still go out and stroll around.

  Dressed neatly and carrying the essentials, Chen Yi walked out of the inn under the watchful eyes of the portly shopkeeper and the little waiters.

  Everyone has a desire to follow the crowd, wanting to find someone will definitely go to places with many people, and wanting to be found by others will also go to places with many people or more frequent destinations. Chen Yi decided to still head towards Dongshi and Xishi, these two relatively lively areas.

  Because his residence was close to Xicheng, Chen Yi rode his horse directly to Xicheng.

  Back in Xicheng, he still felt the hustle and bustle inside, like a small commodity market of later generations. The sound of hawkers filled his ears, and all sorts of strange objects were on display in the shops. Many of them were things that Chen Yi had never seen before. However, alone by himself without Ning Qing's company, he had no interest in buying anything. His eyes were fixed on the passersby brushing past him, hoping to find someone he knew or who knew him.

  Walking past the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, he saw that Hu Ji was still there soliciting customers, but Chen Yi no longer had the courage or interest to enter. He silently walked by. It's not very reasonable for one person to come to this kind of place alone, and considering the grudges he had formed with people when he came here before, his heart was shrouded in gloom. To go inside again would require courage, or perhaps some more realistic reasons!

  After walking for a while in the crowded streets, Chen Yi felt his enthusiasm waning. With so many people around, it was not easy to find someone or get noticed, just like in later times at a bustling train station during Spring Festival or a meeting of tens of thousands of people - trying to find one person was extremely difficult. He lost interest in continuing on and walked out of the west city gate.

  Standing on the street with a horse in hand, an endless loneliness surges up, once again feeling at a loss for what to do or where to go.

  Dong City doesn't have to go, there are many people there too, it's not easy to find someone and be found by others, where should I go then?

  As soon as the idea occurred to him, Chen Yi thought of another place - Qujiang Pool. It was also a popular tourist destination, which had been listed as an imperial garden during the Sui and Tang dynasties but was now open to the public as a park where scholars and literary men liked to gather. Many literati and elegant guests would drink wine and discuss poetry there. The young masters and misses of Chang'an City often went there for different purposes, especially on pleasant days like today. Maybe he could find some surprises there!

  As soon as the idea came up, Chen Yi immediately took action and rode his horse straight to Qujiangchi in the southeast direction of the city.

  After spending about half a short period of time, Chen Yi arrived at Fang Street, not far from Qujiang Pool. At the park entrance, he found a place to stable his horse and followed the crowd to take a look at Qujiang Pool, which was full of flowers and vitality.

  The current Qujiang Pool and the Qujiang Pool Relics Park in later Xi'an are roughly located in the same place, but their architectural styles are completely different. The path into the park has a pedestrian walkway, and next to it is a driveway for horse-drawn carriages. As Chen Yi walks along, he occasionally sees horse-drawn carriages with different decorative styles, representing different identities, passing by the park entrance and driving into Qujiang Pool, but he doesn't know where they are going.

  With his hands behind him, he walked slowly, and another carriage drove past him. Chen Yi naturally turned his head to look at this beautifully decorated luxurious carriage, which was a natural instinct, the human eye's tendency to chase after new and strange things.

  As Chen Yi Chao was watching this horse carriage, the speed of the horse carriage slowed down, and someone lifted up the curtain to look outside.

  Because of a layer of gauze, Chen Yi couldn't see clearly who was sitting in the car, but it made him curious.

  The horse carriage slowed down and then continued to move forward, eventually disappearing from sight. Chen Yi gathered his thoughts and continued walking into the garden. As a newcomer to this very famous place, he first thought of going inside to have a good tour, treating himself as a traveler who came in search of fame!

  But just as he was looking around for a place with the best view, he heard someone greeting him.

  "Master Chen, I didn't expect to run into you here!"

  The sound came from a path on the side, and after hearing the call, Chen Yi immediately stopped in his tracks, looking towards where the sound was coming from. After seeing clearly who it was that had called out to him, he was very surprised!

  Sometimes, some things are really coincidental. He stood on the street and changed his mind slightly, meeting a special person at a certain place!