Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 349 - 220: Year after Year, the Frog in the Well

Chapter 349: Chapter 220: Year after Year, the Frog in the Well

Daxia, year thirty, and once again came the spring and autumn of the fifth year.

The leaking house always seems to meet with ceaseless overnight rain; the heirloom treasure has coiled up in Gu Wen’s arms, watching as water continuously drips down. It looks up at Gu Wen and calls out a few times.

"It’s nothing, just a little rain; the house won’t collapse."

Gu Wen had long grown accustomed.

After the myriad transformations to the mundane, this house had also been standing for about forty years. Even buildings made of steel and cement need inspections, let alone a wooden house.

If it hadn’t been for Xiao Yunyi’s major repairs some time ago, it would have probably collapsed.

Now, the only reason he remained here was that Gu Wen had nowhere else he wished to go, and this was a place where old acquaintances had lived.

Suddenly, the door was opened, and a figure in white clothes, wet with rain, entered the room.

Yu Hua looked at the indoor drizzle with a touch of helplessness and said, "Let’s go into Grotto Heaven."

Inside Grotto Heaven, clouds drifted faintly, and the Spirit Fields were overgrown with wild grass.

Yu Hua took out a specially made Qiankun Bag, pouring out its contents—a mix of letters, Pills, food, dried fruits from various places, and some trinkets.

Gu Wen opened the letters; the first was from Jiang Fugui.

Having left, Jiang Fugui had used Gu Wen’s name to enter the Outer Disciple ranks of the Yuqing Sect, and was now in the later stages of Qi Cultivation. He had even taken on the role of instructing newcomers and was currently leading newly initiated disciples.

Besides his longing and inquiries about Gu Wen’s welfare, the letter mostly contained trivial sect affairs.

[Mr. Wen, being an Immortal is not as good as I imagined, not as good as being the Emperor. When are you coming out so I can continue to follow you?]

Yu Hua, sitting beside him, said, "He doesn’t have the talent for cultivation. It’s only through many Pill consumptions and bone-cleansing that he’s able to cultivate Qi. For him, reaching Golden Core is the limit."

"Five hundred years with a Golden Core is enough. This old boy has big ambitions; that’s why he feels it’s a strain."

Gu Wen ruthlessly exposed Jiang Fugui and then opened the next letter, from Chi Yu Zi, with just a few brief words.

[I listened to your advice and stayed in the Yuqing Sect. When are you coming out?]

Yu Hua said, "According to the Magic Skill you provided, Chi Yu Zi’s five senses have improved somewhat, and she can now see things."

"Isn’t she restoring her taste first to drink wine?"

A smile spread across Gu Wen’s face as he remembered the alcoholic Chi Yu Zi, their camaraderie having begun with a jar of wine.

The third letter was from Xiao Yunyi.

Without any formalities, the letter sought Gu Wen’s instruction in Swordsmanship.

"An unsentimental fellow, you are. Others write to inquire after me, and here you are asking for my guidance in Swordsmanship."

Although Gu Wen muttered complaints, his smiling expression didn’t waver. He immediately began to use cloud-patterned paper to write, using words as a substitute for his sword, to answer Xiao Yunyi.

The fourth letter was from Lu Chan, the last one, its contents cleanly and elegantly penned inquiries, restrained to the point of alienation.

Gu Wen commented, "This girl truly believes I’m going to die, speaking so cautiously. Not a word about how she’s getting on, nor about what the world beyond the heavens is like."

Lu Chan seemed the youngest in appearance, a girl of about fourteen or fifteen, but was indeed the most emotionally intelligent, which also made her seem especially distant.

"Are there no others?"

Yu Hua replied, "Hee Huan and Lan Yongning have likely gone into meditation; they probably don’t even know that ten years have passed."

Most prodigies enter Immortal Land with high cultivation, similar to Chi Yu Zi, who was already a True Monarch; a single session of meditation could easily span decades.

Seven days passed in a flash.

As Gu Wen bid Yu Hua farewell, he said, "Don’t come the next time."

Yu Hua’s smile was as radiant as any flower as she responded, "You’ve said this at least three times, yet each time you see me, you can’t stop smiling."

"Then next time I won’t smile."

"If you don’t smile, next time, I won’t bring anything when I come down."

After teasing each other for a bit, Gu Wen didn’t need to send her to the heavens, as Wu Kong had already dispatched a Rainbow Bridge. Yu Hua, like an Immortal descending from above, rode the wind away and left Immortal Land.

The warmth and smiles on Gu Wen’s face gradually faded, turning as solemn as pine trees atop high mountains, and he returned to his house to sit in meditation.

Thirty li outside the dilapidated house, a thin mist lingered, impenetrable by mortals beyond ten steps.

Year-round, there were over a thousand imperial envoys stationed there; with just a word from Gu Wen, Daxia would build palaces for him and pay tribute with three thousand beauties.

The second Emperor of Daxia was already forty years old, not too old but no longer young, and he had begun to harbor thoughts of seeking immortality.

-----------------

Daxia, year thirty-three, a middle-aged man with graying hair dressed in brocade, traveled alone thirty li to reach Jiang Family Village.

The place had been desolate for decades, the former village reduced to ruins and rubble.

He made his way to the edge of the village, following his memory, and called out towards a small courtyard in the bamboo grove, "Mr. Wen, your nephew has come to see you."

Long time passed with no response, when suddenly a black and white cat leaped out from the yard, curiously sizing him up with a clear, child-like voice, "Who are you? Why do you look exactly like the Immortal?"

The middle-aged man bowed respectfully, "If the Immortal you speak of is named Gu, then I am his nephew. I hope the immortal beast can relay my message."

"Who is the immortal beast?"

"You, am I mistaken?"

"And what does ’in down’ mean?"

"..."

Jiang Jucai fell silent for a moment, then rephrased his words, "Please help me notify the Immortal inside the dwelling."

"Why should I help you?"

The cat tilted its head, a small glowing sun on its fur, its round eyes filled with pure curiosity.

It had never wandered more than a hundred meters from Gu Wen. Since Jiang Jucai was the first person the sentient treasure had seen besides Gu Wen, it bore him no malice.

Any other creature, the sentient treasure would have captured for amusement, and if it liked the taste, brought back to the Immortal to nibble.

Inside Grotto Heaven, there was always a place designated for the bodies that the sentient treasure brought back, a pile of bones and rotting flesh, eerily resembling a Demon Cave.