The next day at dawn, the Old Dragon King came to visit.

He brought some Spiritual Wine; its taste was quite good.

Chen Changsheng expressed his thanks for the Elixir from last time, but the Old Dragon King just waved his hand, saying it was nothing.

“This time, I came because there’s something I wanted to hear your thoughts on.”

Chen Changsheng said, “Is it about the Desolate Sea?”

The Old Dragon King nodded. “As you probably sensed too, that Great Wall collapsed. The Ancient Times Evil Spirits locked away inside escaped. Even though cultivators from the Cultivation World set up a barrier to block them, in the end, half got away. And ever since that Great Wall fell, the Heavenly Secrets have been thrown into chaos.”

“Ancient Times Evil Spirits?” Chen Changsheng paused.

The Old Dragon King looked at him. “Didn’t you know?”

Chen Changsheng shook his head. “I only knew something happened over there. I didn’t ask about the rest.”

He found it strange. Where did Ancient Times Evil Spirits come from in the Spirit Cage?

Chen Changsheng asked, “Are these so-called Ancient Times Evil Spirits easy to destroy?”

The Old Dragon King said, “I heard they’re very hard to deal with.”

“That’s odd…” murmured Chen Changsheng. From the sound of it, these weren’t monsters from the Demon Realm either. So what were they?

“Hundreds of cultivators couldn’t hold them back. Later, Zhao Yuqing appeared and stopped the chaos, or more than half would have escaped.”

The Old Dragon King said, “I hear those Evil Spirits were all shrouded in black smoke. Probably nothing good. Plus, the Heavenly Secrets are in disarray. Things probably won’t be peaceful for a while.”

Chen Changsheng waved his hand dismissively. “Let them stir up trouble. I just don’t want it to involve me.”

The Old Dragon King blinked. “You weren’t like this before.”

Chen Changsheng simply said, “I’m tired of it.”

He didn’t want to get involved with these messy affairs at all.

Seeing this, the Old Dragon King said, “But I think pretty much the same as you. Let them cause trouble, as long as it doesn’t reach my Dragon Palace.”

The Old Dragon King added, “Also, there’s one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“Some say that after the Great Wall collapsed, a gourd and an Immortal Sword slew many Evil Spirits.”

Then the Old Dragon King looked at Chen Changsheng’s waist. “What happened to the Wine Gourd you used to carry?”

Chen Changsheng said, “I lost it long ago. I don’t know where. Thinking about it now, I probably need to get it back.”

“Oh?”

Seeing this, the Old Dragon King asked no more; he knew the answer now.

He then said, “If you’re planning something, just tell me. I wouldn’t help others, but for you, I’ll do my best.”

Chen Changsheng paused. “Dragon Lord, you might be mistaken.”

“Then consider me mistaken.”

Chen Changsheng sighed. He knew it was hard to explain clearly.

Even though he was somewhat connected to the Great Wall’s collapse, he truly didn’t know about the Evil Spirits. And the Disrupted Providence? That wasn’t part of his plans either.

Chen Changsheng looked at the Old Dragon King. “There seem to be many things left unsaid between us and the Dragon Lord.”

Neither friendship nor interests should make the Old Dragon King go so far to help him. This wasn’t like Ying Zheng’s character.

The Old Dragon King smiled. “If I told you, I would die.”

Chen Changsheng roughly guessed why, so he didn’t press further.

Perhaps it had to do with that Flood Dragon, the ‘Ah Man’ Li Niangui called out for by the river that day? But that ‘Ah Man’ probably wasn’t the same anymore. It must belong to a later time.

The Old Dragon King left the wine and rode his cloud back home.

He’d come today suspecting Chen Changsheng had something to do with the Great Wall. But now it seemed Chen Changsheng didn’t need his help after all. That was just as well; it saved trouble.

Chen Changsheng drank some wine and sat thoughtfully in the courtyard.

So that Great Wall had fallen…

Where did the Buddha’s Child go? And what about ‘Yu Xuan,’ the Heavenly Dao? And Qing Tianyou—was he still alive?

He only cared about how these old friends fared.

Not that he was cold-hearted, but there was no reason for him to care about anything else.

Busybodies never end well.

…

In recent days, Cao Fa had organized stories sent back by Third Master Jin over the years.

He’d originally planned to perform them for Mr. Chen at the Teahouse stage.

But seeing how Mr. Chen hadn’t come much lately, he instead wrote them down.

One afternoon, when not telling stories, he decided to pay a personal visit.

Entering the courtyard, Cao Fa first saw Mr. Chen sitting in a chair. Then he noticed Ping’an wielding a Wooden Sword and Ruyi sitting nearby doing needlework.

“Mr. Chen,” Cao Fa called out, then looked at the two children. “And these two are…”

“Kids from the next courtyard. Ping’an and Ruyi,” Chen Changsheng said.

Hearing this, Ruyi pouted. “Uncle Chen, I’ve told you many times. I’m not a kid!”

“Alright, you’re not a kid,” Chen Changsheng said.

Meanwhile, Ping’an, upon seeing Cao Fa, exclaimed, “I’ve seen you before!”

“You’re the performer from the Teahouse! I’ve heard you tell stories.”

Cao Fa smiled, cupping his hands respectfully. “I didn’t expect Young Master Ping’an has attended my shows. My thanks.”

“Ah…” Ping’an scratched his head, embarrassed. “Not a young master. Just an ordinary kid.”

Cao Fa chuckled. “It’s all the same.”

He then sat down and handed Chen Changsheng the book he brought, explaining its contents.

Chen Changsheng flipped through it, exclaiming, “Third Master Jin wrote so much over the years…”

Cao Fa said, “Some stories are true events, some likely came from flashes of inspiration in Third Master Jin’s mind. The most obvious sign is how a story begins: If it’s made up, there’s no specific place name. If it’s real, it’s clearly named.”

Chen Changsheng kept flipping. Some stories indeed started with descriptions of scenery, others directly named locations.

[Late winter, 15th year of Xinglong. Travelled to Jieshi Fang, Haiping Prefecture. Saw glowing clouds above the sea, as if the Penglai Immortal Island was there…]

[Solar Term of Insects Awaken, 16th year of Xinglong. Went north, travelled to the capital of Jiangning Prefecture…]

Such beginnings often marked true stories.

Turning the pages, Chen Changsheng suddenly saw a familiar place name.

[Late spring, 16th year of Xinglong. Travelled to Autumn Moon Market in Yan County. Heard elders in the Civic District speak of a Flood Dragon crossing water at midnight, its cry startling the night…]

Chen Changsheng’s eyes lingered on this chapter.

It described the night of Moyuan’s Water Crossing. The collapse of the West Bridge was mentioned too.

He turned the page to more content.

[The next day, by the West River near Autumn Moon Market, met an Old Farmer Zhang. He claimed to have seen a True Immortal, dwelling outside the Civic District on Flowing Cloud Immortal Mountain, within a Taoist Temple…]

Seeing Mr. Chen intently reading this particular story, Cao Fa glanced at it.

“This one’s third-hand, as told by others to Third Master Jin. They remain uncertain if the Immortal mentioned within is real or not.”

“However, the tale of three generations of Zhangs — prospering and declining: The father ran a Wine Tavern, the son gained Immortal Fate, yet the old man himself struggled most of his life. Three generations spanned over a hundred years — truly feels like a dream.”