When I was seventeen, I saved a Han man named Chen Huaiqing. He had followed the whispers of the Immortal of L…
When I was seventeen, I saved a Han man named Chen Huaiqing. He had followed the whispers of the Immortal of Longevity, seeking an antidote.
I despise that title. I'm no immortal, just look different from the folk here. And I certainly can't "shatter venomous swarms with a single roar." I'd learned only from Granny how to command them, not conquer them.
Chen Huaiqing told me stories of the world beyond—of the jianghu, of temples and shrines, of festivals I'd never heard of. I listened eagerly, but Granny warned me: "Outsiders' hearts are poison. One look, and your eyes will rot." She'd seen it herself in her youth, back when she roamed the martial world refining the Longevity Parasite. That's how she'd gone blind.
Before he left, Chen Huaiqing spoke of the jianghu's endless poison feuds. "I need that antidote to save my family," he pleaded. My heart softened. I stole Granny's formula, hid it inside a lamp, and gave it to him.
As he left the village, I watched his silhouette fade into the mists of Deerforage Grove. The lamp's glow flickered like a struggling dying moth. Later, I heard he'd proclaimed himself a "Disciple of the Immortal of Longevity". Yet he never sent word, never returned to thank me.
Granny scolded me. "You know nothing of men's hearts. This is their nature. Kindness goes unrewarded."
That year, for my birthday, she entrusted me with the Toad King. "The Everlasting Parasite stays within," she said. "Many covet it. If I'm gone, it will protect you all. But once used, there's no turning back."