Chapter 2843: Old Man Zhang
Zangjin Baihu was startled by Zhang Ruochen's appearance at this moment.
"Go ahead, you can make your move now!" Zhang Ruochen gazed at the starry sky and spoke thus.
Zangjin Baihu's tiger eyes gradually revealed a human-like sorrow. "Are you really alright?"
"I'm fine, but I have to leave immediately, before Yao Yao comes out. Help me one last time?" Zhang Ruochen's eyelids drooped, his eyes were murky, and he held a wooden staff in both hands, looking as if he might collapse at any moment.
Zangjin Baihu could no longer sense what Zhang Ruochen was thinking.
Yet, it could tell at a glance that Zhang Ruochen wanted to escape.
To escape to a place where no one could find him, to bury himself.
That way, no one would know he was dead.
As long as Chi Yao couldn't find his body, there would always be hope in her heart.
A person, as long as there is still hope in their heart, will always find a way to strive to live.
He needed to give Chi Yao that sliver of hope.
Zangjin Baihu felt a deep grief in its heart. "Will you come back?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled, his eyes vacant, as if he had already fallen asleep.
"Roar!"
Zangjin Baihu let out a long howl, charged forward, its body growing larger and larger, erupting with brilliant golden light, attacking the two demon clan gods outside the formation.
The tiger's roar was desolate, as if it contained the anger and sorrow to tear apart heaven and earth.
The Space Chaos Worm flew down from Zhang Ruochen's finger, biting out a space wormhole.
Zhang Ruochen stepped into it and left this planet.
After many space jumps, arriving somewhere unknown, the Space Chaos Worm exhausted its power, transforming into a colorful ring that coiled around Zhang Ruochen's finger.
Zhang Ruochen then fell onto a blue life-bearing planet, lying on the ground, utterly weak. With all his remaining strength, he took out a Eon Sacred Medicine that could increase lifespan and consumed it.
But it was useless.
His lifespan had completely dried up, leaving only a small cluster of life fire. Taking any elixir could no longer extend his life.
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes, looking at the blue sky and white clouds. Beside his face were tender green grass blades, with dewdrops sliding off them, wetting his hair.
"Alright, this place will do."
Zhang Ruochen had no desire to move at all, only wanting to lie quietly on the ground, listening to the wind and birdsong, feeling the coolness of nature.
Let go of all love, let go of the guilt in his heart, let go of the exhausting responsibilities, let go of longing, let go of attachment, let go of all the grudges and entanglements of the world, and no longer think about the past.
Be a stone, be a piece of dead wood.
Just die quietly in the wilderness, with no one knowing, and no need for anyone to know.
"Creak! Creak!"
The sound of wheels turning came from far to near.
"Dad, there seems to be someone lying over there. I'll go check." A soft, cheerful young girl's voice sounded.
Footsteps reached Zhang Ruochen's side.
A slightly warm and soft hand first touched Zhang Ruochen's nose, then felt his forehead.
"Dad, this old man is still alive. Let's save him!"
...
Zhang Ruochen was lifted onto an oxcart, which was piled with various items: iron tools, vegetables, fruits, wine jars, and so on.
The oxcart moved slowly, arriving at a small town.
The surroundings became lively, gradually filled with all kinds of sounds: shouts, the calls of oxen and horses, the sound of water, laughter, and crying.
Zhang Ruochen's consciousness was clear the entire time, but he simply didn't want to move or speak, so he remained like a vegetative person, maintaining a sleeping appearance.
The girl who saved Zhang Ruochen was called Xiao Lin.
Her father's surname was Mu.
This father and daughter ran the only inn in the town.
Calling it an inn was generous; it was very simple, with only one dining hall and five guest rooms. Now, one of those five rooms was occupied by Zhang Ruochen.
The father and daughter were very kind-hearted, always taking care of the "unconscious" Zhang Ruochen.
Every day, Xiao Lin would bring medicinal soup to feed Zhang Ruochen.
Morning and evening, she would wash his face and wipe his hands.
She also invited the town's physician to check on Zhang Ruochen.
Soon, a month passed.
Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power had actually fully recovered. As a spiritual power god, even in the weakest twilight years of his physical body, he was still very powerful.
He could wake up.
But he simply didn't want to wake up.
He kept calculating when that wisp of life fire inside him would finally extinguish.
This calculation lasted for over half a year.
Zhang Ruochen had thought he could only live for a few days at most, and after completely losing his will to live, he should die even faster. But that wisp of life fire was exceptionally tenacious, refusing to go out no matter what.
One morning, a battle broke out in the inn's backyard.
Two big white geese fought with the yellow ox tied to the cowshed railing.
The two big white geese were fierce and aggressive, their attacks as powerful as two elephants, their cries harsh, their gazes domineering. Sometimes they would fly up, using their flat, long beaks to twist the ox's thighs and the soft flesh of its belly.
They could twist off a large tuft of cow hair.
As the ancients said, "Better to be bitten by a dog than twisted by a goose."
The ferocity and attack power of geese were evident.
Their position as the top combatants among domestic fowl and livestock was unshakable. Just their honking cries could scare off cats, ducks, and other ordinary opponents.
Facing the attack of the two big white geese, the yellow ox was clearly no match. It could only rage and run around the railing in circles to escape. Soon, the rope on its nose got completely tangled around the railing from its frantic running.
White steam puffed from its nostrils, and it couldn't move, left to the mercy of the geese.
Fortunately, Xiao Lin arrived in time, scolded the two big white geese away, and saved it.
Looking at its pathetic, foolish appearance, it had both lost the fight and lost face.
As Xiao Lin untied the rope, she said, "You're the most cowardly. You're so big, yet you can't even beat two geese. If you weren't needed to pull the cart, I'd have you slaughtered for New Year's and eat hotpot beef."
Zhang Ruochen, sitting by the window, had been watching for a long time and unconsciously let out a laugh.
Hearing the laughter, Xiao Lin looked up.
Her clear, bright eyes showed joy. Ignoring the need to retie the yellow ox, she ran straight into the main hall, cheering, "Dad, Dad, he's awake, awake..."
"Who's awake?"
"The old man is awake!"
"You mean the old man we picked up half a year ago? Quick, quick, let's go see."
...
Old Mu and Xiao Lin quickly went upstairs.
Zhang Ruochen, however, was still staring at the backyard. The yellow ox was as stupid as ever—even though it wasn't tied up, it stood still, not knowing to run. It was very comical.
Old Mu pushed the door open and walked in, looking at Zhang Ruochen sitting by the window. "You really did wake up. Thank heavens."
Zhang Ruochen stood up. "Thank you both."
Xiao Lin poked her small face out from behind, her hair tied in two braids, very cute. She smiled at Zhang Ruochen. "We picked you up from the roadside half a year ago. Old man, what's your name? Where's your home? How did you end up lying in that wilderness?"
Zhang Ruochen had already let go of everything, but her word "home" brought it all back. His eyes dimmed. "I... have no home."
Xiao Lin was about to ask more, but Old Mu scolded her, making her stick out her tongue in fright.
Old Mu said, "No home? That's fine. From now on, this is your home."
"Then you'll have to help out. There's too much to do at the inn, and I can't handle it all," Xiao Lin said.
Old Mu said, "Xiao Lin, the old gentleman is still very weak."
"It's okay, I'm mostly recovered. I can handle some chores. Don't call me 'old gentleman,' boss. I don't deserve it. My surname is Zhang..."
"Then we'll call you Old Man Zhang," Xiao Lin said.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "Fine."
And so, the Linxing Inn in the small town gained a new worker named "Old Man Zhang."
Calling it an inn, it was really just run by Old Mu and Xiao Lin.
Few people stayed overnight, but quite a few came to eat.
It would get busy around mealtime.
Zhang Ruochen could do very little: help collect dishes and chopsticks, add firewood and bring water, and take care of the yellow ox and the two big white geese.
Old Mu was a jack-of-all-trades. He could brew wine, do woodwork, repair walls and replace tiles, and cook. In his free time, he could beat a wooden clapper and sing a rustic tune.
"A hundred years like drunkenness, the heart full of spring.
Reclining high on Eastern Mountain, a single cloud.
Anger, right and wrong brush away dust, wear away, the infinite people of past and present."
...
The wooden clapper was an instrument made of a round stick and a rectangular wooden board. When struck, it made a deep, resonant sound.
Zhang Ruochen, having nothing else to do, also learned the wooden clapper and the tune.
Reciting a few lines each day was quite enjoyable.
Time flowed like water.
Xiao Lin turned sixteen, growing into a graceful young woman. She learned to wear makeup and dress up, and even fell in love with a young man surnamed Yun from the town.
At the age of sixteen, what maiden's heart wouldn't stir?
They made promises of eternal love under the locust tree outside the inn, cuddled under the moonlight, and carved both their names into the stone wall.
These were the best times, the best years.
Of course, it affected Zhang Ruochen—he had more work to do than before.
Until one dusk, the young man surnamed Yun came to the inn to bid Xiao Lin farewell. He was going to a sect a thousand miles away to learn martial arts, promising that once he entered the sect, he would come to take Xiao Lin with him.
But once he left, he never returned.
According to the Yun family, the young man successfully entered the sect and became a disciple of an elder. Now, with a bright future ahead, he was focused on martial arts and rarely contacted his family, only sending a letter home once a year.
But Xiao Lin had great faith in him. Every dusk, she would wait under the locust tree, looking toward the sunset, toward the most beautiful part of the evening glow.
Ten years passed like a single day.
Over these ten years, Old Mu had repeatedly asked matchmakers to find a suitable husband for Xiao Lin. They found many, with excellent conditions, but Xiao Lin refused them all.
What good husband could compare to the evening glow of ten years ago?
She firmly believed that one day, the young man in her heart would, at the most beautiful dusk, drive a splendid carriage from beneath the setting sun to take her away. That was the vow between them.
And so, another ten years passed.
Old Mu, now as white-haired as Zhang Ruochen, lay sick in bed, no longer able to cook or sing his tunes.
Zhang Ruochen sat by the bed, holding his hand. "Old Mu, if there were a chance for you to recover from this illness, even to live to a hundred or two hundred years old, would you want it?"
Old Mu closed his eyes and shook his head, speaking weakly, "No need. Living to this age is enough. Besides Xiao Lin, I have no other wishes in this life, and I don't want to hope for anything more. Old man, you're the one who can live... Xiao Lin... Xiao Lin... Dad can't... be with you... anymore..."
Xiao Lin was no longer the little girl she once was.
This year, she was thirty-six, the new owner of the inn.
Old Man Zhang was still that Old Man Zhang, not dying for over twenty years, his life stubbornly tenacious. Even the two big white geese and the old yellow ox he raised lived as long as he did.