Unintended Immortality

Chapter 87: Journey to Yunding Mountain

“Ah...!” Lord Li's face twisted in agony as he stumbled out of the room.

The moment the “Clear Conscience” pill entered his mouth, it dissolved in the wine, releasing a taste that was sour, pungent, bitter, and spicy all at once. The sensation surged from his mouth straight to the top of his head, then sank deep into his organs, making his entire body feel as if it were being pricked by needles.

Eventually, all the sourness, pungency, bitterness, and spiciness converged into one spot, resulting in a pain that felt like his heart was being twisted by a knife.

The pain was so intense that he could hardly breathe and walk! It was so intense that death seemed preferable to this agony! Was this how those poor families he had bullied felt?

Supporting himself on the railing, Lord Li descended the stairs. His each step accompanied by a cacophony of clattering sounds, as if something hard and sharp-edged was rolling down the steps instead of him walking down.

His mind drifted back to the conversation he had with the Daoist priest before swallowing the “Clear Conscience” pill.

“After taking this 'Clear Conscience,' you must only do good and refrain from doing evil. If you find doing good difficult, it will serve as your penance, a repayment for the wrongs of your past. But if you gradually find doing good more enjoyable than doing evil...”

“And then what?”

“Then congratulations, you'll have gained two 'clear consciences.'”

“...”

“Sir! Sir, are you alright?” A different voice rang in his ears. He struggled to open his eyes and looked up, seeing the innkeeper standing before him.

Strangely, even though his heart was filled with overwhelming sourness, pungency, bitterness, and pain, his vision became clearer. He saw the worry on the innkeeper's face—mixed with curiosity and tinged with gloat. The innkeeper seemed afraid something might happen to him here, but not out of concern for his well-being.

“Leave me... alone,” Lord Li barely muttered these words before stumbling out the door.

Barely a few moments passed before the innkeeper, curious about where he had gone and what he was doing, went to the door and was startled when he saw him stumble back in.

“Sir... you...”

“The... The money for the wine...”

“Oh...” The shopkeeper let out a sigh of relief and then cheerfully said, “What's a bowl of wine worth? Consider it my treat to you, sir.”

Lord Li leaned against the doorframe, his face flushed and twisted in pain, cold sweat pouring down his face. Yet, it seemed as though he heard the shopkeeper say, “What's a bowl of wine worth? It’s not worth as much as watching this fool suffer.”

“No... No, I insist...”

“Eight wen.”

“...” Lord Li couldn't speak. He just reached into his robes, fumbled around, and pulled out a handful of coins before handing them to the shopkeeper.

“Sir, here's your change.”

“...”

“Hehe! Take care, sir!”

“...” Lord Li stumbled out of the door once more.

The pain in his heart was so intense that he could barely stand. The world spun around him, his vision darkened, and his sight narrowed. Everything seemed to blur together.

He couldn't tell where he was going, but his mind was remarkably clear. When he finally looked up, he realized that someone had caught hold of him, saying something. After listening closely, he realized they were pleading with him, asking him to settle a debt.

It seemed to be a vegetable farmer from outside the city—someone he owed money to and hadn't paid.

Was this yet another knife twisting in his heart? How much did he owe?

Only five hundred wen. Just five hundred wen...

“...” Lord Li pulled out some money. At this point, nothing else mattered to him. He was willing to do anything to lessen the pain, even just a little. With great difficulty, he mumbled, “It's my fault, I mistreated you. I'll kowtow to you. Please, sir, call the others. Call everyone I owe, and bring them all to my house. I'll settle everything today...”

The peddler said something, but Lord Li couldn't make it out. He just tried to find his bearings and then headed toward his home.

Right now, the most important thing was to repay his debts, to atone for his sins. Every debt he owed, every person he bullied, every wrong he committed.

However, the horse just stared at her with its large, shiny eyes. It maintained the same steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow while walking behind the Daoist priest.

What was going on? She had just fed it! They had agreed on this!

But the little girl wasn’t discouraged. She continued to walk backward, facing the horse, chanting like a spell, “Come on, horsey, follow me!”

“Careful, Lady Calico, you might trip.”

“I won't trip.”

“Is that so?”

“Ouch!” The little girl fell to the ground but quickly got up.

The first thing she did was to turn around and check if her new clothes were damaged or dirty. Seeing only a bit of dust, she lightly patted it off. In the next moment, she raised her head and stared at the Daoist priest. She furrowed her brows in deep thought, as if suspecting that her fall had something to do with him. Whether she was hurt or not didn't seem to concern her at all.

“It wasn't my doing.”

“Then why did I fall right after you mentioned it?”

“Maybe I saw a pit on the road behind Lady Calico and reminded you because of that.”

“Is that so...”

“Lady Calico, if you left the inn like this, the shopkeeper must have figured out that you’re a cat demon.”

“But I have new clothes...”

“Then there's nothing else we could have done.” Song You glanced at the little girl as he finished speaking.

The clothes were made just this morning.

He had initially thought that since the weather was warming up and Southern Art County produced fine fabric, it would be a good opportunity to get some cloth to make summer clothes for Lady Calico. While he was at it, he might as well make something for himself as a memento.

However, during the process of buying the fabric, the difference in aesthetic preferences between the calico cat and Song You became apparent. Song You preferred simple and clean designs. The calico cat liked patterns, the more intricate, the better.

In the end, they compromised and bought three different-colored fabrics. A light-colored fabric was used to make a bodice, a brown one for a short shirt, and a crimson one for a skirt. Though all were solid colors, the combination turned out quite attractive, thanks in large part to the skill of the third lady of the Jiang family and Lady Calico's natural beauty.

Before long, they had left the county town.

It was now March, with grass growing and warblers flying. The sun was shining brightly, and catkins floated in the air. Song You stopped at the city gate, turning around to look at the narrow, old gate.

The word “Southern Art County” was written in a neat and upright manner.

“Where are we going?” The little girl had climbed onto the horse's back again, lying down and hugging the horse's neck, turning her head to look at him.

This was a good question.

Pingzhou was a land of many mountains and rivers, filled with tales of monsters, ghosts, immortals, and gods. Many famous figures and poets had come here for its reputation, and the scenic spots were too numerous to count.

To reach Yunding Mountain, they would have to cross most of Pingzhou.

If they headed straight there, the journey would be over a thousand li. Perhaps it would take half a month, most of a month, or even a full month, and they would arrive.

But with so many famous mountains and rivers and such extraordinary scenery, how could they pass by without stopping to admire them?

Most of these scenic spots were recorded in the book Yudi Jisheng. The book described the locations in relation to Pingdu, the administrative center in Pingzhou, detailing their positions in different directions and distances from Pingdu. This gave a rough sense of the distances and directions, allowing him to plan a route.

“I'm asking you! Where are we going?”

“Lady Calico, just follow me.”

“Oh...”