Unintended Immortality

Chapter 195: North or South

changjing was growing colder day by day. fortunately, the weather had been decent in recent days.

the houses within changjing were not as spacious as those outside the city, especially the residences of the shops in the western district, which lacked courtyards for drying cured meats and had to hang them outside instead. however, not many people made cured foods.

in recent days, anyone passing through willow street could see the shop displaying the characters for “dao” and the sign “rodent extermination,” with cured meats hanging at its entrance. after a few days, they added sausages and preserved meat.

strangely, there was often a cat lying in the sun at the entrance, sleeping, yet it never stole any meat. in fact, whenever other cats or dogs approached, it would immediately wake up and chase them away.

passersby found it quite remarkable. a writer of miscellaneous tales considered it one of the curiosities of changjing and recorded it in his book.

when the cat was absent, the daoist would take its place. in any case, someone had to be there to keep watch.

sometimes both the daoist and the cat were present, with the cat often sound asleep at the door, while the autumn winds sent countless leaves falling. the daoist would sit on a stool outside, placing the leaves one by one onto the cat until it was buried beneath them.

the cat was aware but paid no mind.

after a while, song you decided to bring the meat back inside, hanging it on the beams of the cooking room, and stopped taking it out to dry every day.

changjing gradually transitioned from autumn to winter. the neighboring female hero had not yet returned. the scholar ghost had also not come back.

the winter in changjing was a bit colder than in yizhou, and the daoist had already changed into winter clothing. as the days grew colder, he lit the stove and often boiled a kettle of tea and skewered some meat to roast, skipping a meal in the process. he would sit by the window on the second floor with a book, spending the entire afternoon idly passing the time.

in the evenings, he would take a stroll to see the winter scene of changjing.

like yizhou, changjing shed much of its prosperous facade in winter. the impoverished people in the western district resembled stray cats and dogs, who, although appearing to have some semblance of order in spring, summer, and autumn, truly wandered at the edge of life and death in winter.

perhaps one night, those huddled in their homes or even on the streets would fall asleep, only to find themselves frozen stiff by morning.

people at the tea house said that every day, someone died from the cold.

“the afflictions of the times...” if the south was like this, how much worse must it be in the north?

song you was sitting upstairs, with a book placed in front of him.

this book was the yudi jisheng that he had bought in yidu. he had opened it to the very first page, which featured a simple map of the great yan.

in front of him, the stove was burning, and a kettle was bubbling on top, with steam rising. inside was official tea brewed with red dates and sugar.

beside the stove lay a calico cat.

the daoist reached out to lift the kettle and placed it at the edge of the stove, filling one cup and one small bowl with tea. one was an ordinary earthen cup, while the other was exquisite blue-and-white porcelain, showcasing bright red tea.

in the earthen cup, the color was not easily discernible. but in the intricately carved blue-and-white porcelain bowl, the tea appeared clear and bright red, making it visually stunning.

“here’s some tea for you, lady calico.”

“i’ll let it cool a bit before drinking.”

“alright.” song you tightened his paper coat. “good for you, lady calico. you've mastered the ability to change form, so you can transform into any kind of clothing you want.”

“i’m quite impressive.”

“by the way, we've been in changjing for three seasons now. after this winter, we should be leaving.”

the calico cat immediately lifted its head to look at him. “are we leaving again?”

“there’s still some time.” song you replied, “but we should start preparing in advance.”

“will we come back?”

“of course.”

“oh...”

perhaps because she had never tasted sweetness before becoming a spirit, once she gained her powers, she realized how wonderful this flavor was. therefore, every time song you brewed tea, he would add quite a bit of sugar or honey.

although it was common to put sugar in tea during the winter in changjing, after drinking it for a long time, song you also worried about his health.

***

one morning a few days later... the morning light shone through the thick fog.

what was today perfect for? it was perfect for both wandering and sleeping.

song you slept until he naturally woke up, then took the mount cang map and left the city with lady calico.

it wasn’t that he was afraid the mount cang map would be lost at home, but without the jujube-red horse, it would be impossible to sleep outside in winter without blankets, so he treated it as a storage artifact.

strolling leisurely through the city, he saw countless hardships faced by the common people. after exiting the city, he headed toward mount beiqin. although the path was familiar, the scenery was already unfamiliar.

the further they walked, the colder it became, and the stronger the wind blew.

they spent a day at the foot of the mountain and slept outside for one night. when they got up the next morning, they saw that mount beiqin was covered in white.

lady calico still looked like a cat; her little feet weren’t wearing shoes. as she stepped down from the wool felt, one of her front paws barely touched the ground before she quickly pulled it back and looked up at him.

“it’s so cold outside.”

“do you want me to carry you?”

“no!”

“you won’t feel cold if you keep walking.”

so, one person and one cat packed up their belongings and put them into the painting, then carried the painting box and continued on their way.

after walking a while up the mountain, they finally saw the snow.

song you initially wanted to hold lady calico or invite her into his pouch, but she was too proud and insisted on walking by herself, leaving a trail of plum blossom paw prints on the frosted ground.

the deep mountain world under winter frost and snow was extremely quiet. it seemed as if all the birds had vanished, and although there were houses in the mountains, no footprints could be seen on the road. besides the occasional sound of snow falling from broken branches, almost no other animals or insects could be heard.

thus, the sound of broken branches dropping snow became a kind of decoration of silence, not only failing to disturb the quiet but rather accentuating it. compared to the chirping of insects in summer, it was almost absurdly quiet.

the further they climbed, the thicker the snow became. one man and one cat moved slower as they walked.

this time it took nearly a whole day, and they finally arrived at the former hut of doctor cai by dusk. unfortunately, they still couldn’t find him; it even felt as if doctor cai hadn’t returned at all in the half-year since their last visit.

song you had no choice but to stay overnight at the door of doctor cai's hut. the next morning, he continued deeper into mount beiqin.

not long after setting out, the path disappeared. looking up, he saw nothing but a vast expanse of white mountains.

“hmm?” song you turned his gaze to a mountain on the left.

on that mountain, there was a path, as if a boulder had rolled down from the peak, leaving a distinct mark in the snow. however, the trail was not a straight up-and-down line and didn’t appear to be caused by a rolling stone from the mountaintop.

song you exchanged a glance with lady calico and stepped toward that direction. as they got closer and could see clearly, it indeed wasn’t the result of a rolling stone. so, they followed this trail and continued on their way.

once again, they climbed over mountains and hills. after ascending a small hill, they looked ahead and saw the end of the trail.

in the midst of the white snow-covered mountains, there was a small lake, its surface steaming. the lakeside had pines and bamboos, along with a few thatched huts, all covered in snow, creating a mottled white appearance. a small boat floated on the lake, and in the distance, they could see a figure in a raincoat sitting quietly in the boat. the person was fishing peacefully, the scene incredibly tranquil.

song you exchanged another glance with lady calico and then set off.

the grass was deep, and the snow was heavy, sometimes coming up to their knees. they then slowly made their way to the edge of the lake.