Chapter 197

"Yes..."

Bai Zhu smiled.

"This time, I'm going to a very, very far place to pick herbs, and I might not come back."

"Take Qiqi with you..."

Qiqi replied immediately, and Bai Zhu shook his head with difficulty.

"Sorry, not this time..."

"I asked Miss Ganyu to take care of you for me... After I leave, she will come to pick you up."

"Miss Ganyu... should take better care of you than I do; after all, she is similar to you..."

Bai Zhu looked at Qiqi with some sadness.

His life was like a fleeting shadow, a sudden moment.

In less than a hundred years, he had done many things.

In the long river of history, these were all great feats, and he would be remembered by history.

Such a life was already a life that countless people could not crave.

But why...

was he so unwilling?

After he died, how long would memories of him remain?

Was his life just a fleeting spark in Qiqi's eyes?

In these decades of being together, how much color could he occupy in Qiqi's long life ahead?

He seemed to have many things he still wanted to do.

But his time was up.

People sigh that they are unwilling for their lives to be ordinary, but most people's lives are ordinary after all.

People sigh that they are unwilling for their lives to be short, but all people's lives are short.

"Youth is easy to grow old, and time is clear."

Bai Zhu looked up at the sky; how many corners of this vast world had he seen?

"Qiqi, what a pity..."

"There are still many places in this world I haven't seen, many people I haven't met, many things I haven't finished..."

"Qiqi, I don't want to go..."

"I really don't want to go..."

"I envy you so much; even if you are ignorant, even if you have no memory, you can stay here for a long, long time."

"I really don't want it to end like this..."

A few cloudy tears slid down the corners of Bai Zhu's eyes.

The extreme weakness of his body made him understand that he had reached his limit.

He had saved many people and extended the lives of many.

Only when facing himself did he not know what to do.

"Mr. Bai Zhu... if you don't want to go, why can't you stay?"

Qiqi asked in confusion.

Bai Zhu was silent, and after a moment, his eyes gradually brightened.

"Stay..."

"Mr. Bai Zhu, if you don't want to go, why don't you find a way to stay?"

Qiqi looked at Bai Zhu curiously, and the latter straightened up with difficulty.

"How to stay?"

"Qiqi doesn't know..."

Qiqi shook her head and said again:

"But Mr. Bai Zhu said that if there is something you want to do, you must persist forever. Even if everyone says it's impossible, you cannot give up."

"Dreams cannot be forgotten."

Bai Zhu's mind shook, and boundless waves surged.

"Dream... my dream..."

"Longevity! Longevity!"

Bai Zhu stood up with difficulty, stumbled to the steps, and looked up at the sky.

The obsession and dream that had been sealed in his mind in the past broke through the shackles.

Young vitality returned to his body.

Bai Zhu's hunched figure gradually straightened, the wrinkles disappeared, and his face returned to youth.

That gentle and confident smile returned to his face.

"Longevity! Longevity!"

Bai Zhu shouted up at the sky.

"My dream was never to treat and save people and leave a name in history! It is longevity!"

"If I attain longevity, I can save more people! I can do more things!"

"If I attain longevity, I will have no regrets!"

"I want to stay! I want to stay forever! I want to see all the scenery in this world!"

"I want to live for a long, long time and enjoy life!"

Bai Zhu suddenly bowed to the sky, facing the surging and turbulent firmament, and said loudly:

"Mortal Bai Zhu, thank you, Sect Leader, for your mercy. Today, Bai Zhu has seen through myself."

"What Bai Zhu seeks has never wavered! Longevity!"

"Mortal Bai Zhu begs the Sect Leader to bestow the opportunity for longevity!"

"From now on, I will never look back!"

As the words fell, the extremely real world before him shattered.

In the dark, a voice full of gratification sounded.

"Good!"

Bai Zhu's heart shook, and he returned to the array. Changsheng, who had entered with him, had already reached Qiqi's side.

She was looking at him with worry.

Bai Zhu raised his hand to look; he was young and full of vigor.

Having experienced that moment of decades of old age, Bai Zhu was now even more eager for longevity.

This obsession had been carved into his bones.

"A fleeting life; is this the means of an immortal? Truly miraculous!"

In just an instant, he had experienced a lifetime of years, and there was a hint of vicissitudes in Bai Zhu's eyes.

His medical skills, the medical experience he gained in that illusion, were all preserved.

The illness in his body had also been washed away by the spiritual energy of the Heart-Questioning Array; with his current medical skills, he could easily eradicate it.

With just this medical skill, he could shock all of Teyvat in minutes if he went out.

But this was not what he needed.

What he wanted was only longevity!

That longing for longevity became even more intense.

"Bai Zhu, are you okay?"

Changsheng called out to him with some worry.

Having personally experienced the Heart-Questioning Array, she understood how terrifying that test was.

She had walked through the story of Medicine Lord Mountain again, looking at the past of the Mountain King and the Jade Immortal.

This time, there was no tragedy.

She had almost sunk into it; if it hadn't been for the sudden clarity at the end, she would have failed.

Bai Zhu raised his head and stared at Changsheng, saying softly:

"Changsheng, wait for me."

Changsheng was stunned for a moment and didn't answer.