Chapter 2544

The old lady looked at the old man in the painting and muttered: "The ancestor's original name was Meng Sheng, courtesy name Changming, from Chang'an. He was born in the first year of Linde of the Great Tang, which is 664 AD. Later, after he began to practice to seek longevity, he called himself the Hermit of Longevity and changed his name to Meng Changsheng. Ancestor Meng is the respectful name of our Jiang family for him."

"Meng Changsheng..." Ye Chen muttered, not having heard this name, but he was not too surprised.

This painting itself looked very old, and the old lady's family had been passed down for 1,600 years. It was not so surprising that this person in the painting was an ancient person of the Tang Dynasty.

At this time, the old lady added: "When Ancestor Meng was young, he passed the imperial examination and became an official in the court. But later, because he accidentally obtained the opportunity to practice, he resigned from his official position and brought his wife and children here to practice with peace of mind. But his wife and children passed away one after another due to a cold shortly after arriving here, leaving only him to continue practicing;"

"Ancestor Meng practiced here for decades, until the 14th year of Tianbao of the Great Tang, which is 755 AD, before he left this place temporarily and went down the mountain to travel."

Hearing this, Ye Chen said with some surprise: "755 AD, at that time, Ancestor Meng was already over ninety years old..."

"Yes." The old lady replied: "But according to my ancestors' memories, when they met Ancestor Meng in the 15th year of Tianbao of the Great Tang, which is 756 AD, Ancestor Meng was exactly as he looked in the painting, not at all like an old man near a hundred years old."

Ye Chen looked at the painting again, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Although the old man in this painting is withered and thin, he is energetic. Combined with the era, the average life expectancy of people was only fifty-plus years, and an old man of fifty-plus should look older than an old man of seventy or eighty today.

Therefore, the person in this painting, against the background of that era, looked like he was in his forties, which is equivalent to an energetic old man in his sixties today.

But when he was over ninety, he was still like this, which proves that he did master spiritual energy!

Otherwise, even if he accidentally obtained one or two Rejuvenation Pills, combined with the era background and average life expectancy, it would be very difficult to live to such a large age.

Ye Chen remembered the old lady's self-introduction at this time, so he asked: "Grandma Jiang, when we met in Mexico, you once said that your ancestors were doctors for generations, and the medical skills were broken until the An Lushan Rebellion. Did this happen when your ancestors met this Ancestor Meng?"

"Yes." The old lady nodded and said: "756 AD, it was the most serious time of the An Lushan Rebellion. An Lushan occupied Chang'an and opened the first year of Shengwu. My ancestors, their parents, and grandfather all lived in Chang'an. His grandfather and father were both imperial physicians in the court. They escaped before An Lushan occupied Chang'an and went south all the way, but they encountered rebel troops near here. The rebels killed all the ancestors' relatives. At the critical moment, it was Ancestor Meng who fought and killed all the way, and rescued my ancestors from the rebels' knives. That year, my ancestors were just six years old."

Ye Chen suddenly realized: "So your ancestors survived, but the medical skills of the ancestors were lost, right?"

"Yes." The old lady nodded slightly and added: "At that time, all the medical classics passed down by the ancestors were in the luggage along the way. It is said that there were at least three or five boxes. But at the critical moment, the ancestor's father saw Ancestor Meng killing his way here, so he stuffed a genealogy and two Phoenix Bone Vine bracelets into the ancestor's arms, and then the ancestor's father used kerosene to burn all the medical classics. Since then, the Jiang family's medical skills were lost..."

Ye Chen couldn't help but sigh: "Countless classics were lost in such turmoil. Your Tang Dynasty ancestors knew what Phoenix Bone Vine was, but now, almost no one in the whole of China or even the world knows about such things. Our current traditional culture and Chinese medical skills are all citing classics, but they don't know how many classics have been buried in the long river of history..."

Speaking of this, Ye Chen suddenly remembered something and asked in surprise: "By the way, Grandma Jiang, you said the bracelets were a pair?"

"Yes!" The old lady said firmly: "Both bracelets were made of Phoenix Bone Vine. They were originally a pair and were the family heirloom of the Jiang family. After the ancestors were saved by Ancestor Meng, Ancestor Meng recognized that the bracelets were made of Phoenix Bone Vine, so he asked the ancestors if they were willing to give one of the bracelets to him. In return, he was willing to accept the ancestors as disciples. The ancestors were helpless at that time, so they naturally agreed without hesitation. And Ancestor Meng was indeed a gentleman. He only wanted one of the Phoenix Bone Vines and asked the ancestors to keep the other one well."

Ye Chen asked again: "Then your ancestors also learned spiritual energy from this Ancestor Meng?"

"No." The old lady shook her head and sighed: "It is said that those who have the talent to master spiritual energy are hard to find among millions of people. If you don't have this talent, you can't step into the door of spiritual energy even if you practice hard for a lifetime. Let alone my ancestors, even Ancestor Meng's wife and children didn't have this talent..."

As she spoke, the old lady pointed to the painting of the child reading and introduced: "My ancestors lived by Ancestor Meng's side for more than sixty years. They said they were servants, but they were more like Ancestor Meng's adopted sons. Ancestor Meng raised them by his side, taught them to read and paint. These three paintings were all painted by my ancestors when they were old. The last one is his self-portrait when he was old."

Ye Chen listened with emotion and couldn't help but sigh: "It seems that this Ancestor Meng is indeed a god-man. Not only does he have great magical powers, knowledge, and painting skills, but he is also compassionate, which is really rare..."

"Yes." The old lady nodded slightly, and then added: "My ancestors lived by Ancestor Meng's side for more than sixty years, until 820 AD, the 15th year of Yuanhe of the Great Tang..."

"At that time, Ancestor Meng was already nearly 160 years old, and my ancestors were already 71 years old. That year, Ancestor Meng told my ancestors that if his cultivation could not break through, or if he could not refine the pills he wanted, he was afraid he would not be able to live to two hundred years old, so he decided to find another cave dwelling more suitable for closed-door practice;"

"When the master and servant parted, Ancestor Meng gave my ancestors some money and a pill, and ordered my ancestors to enter the world to live. He promised my ancestors that when he found the way to longevity, he would definitely come back to give my ancestors a chance;"

"My ancestors were reluctant to part with him, but they knew that the master and servant's fate had ended, so after the two said goodbye, my ancestors entered the world, married a woman in Jiangyang Prefecture not far from here to continue the incense;"

"Three years after marriage, he brought his wife and children back here to settle down, hoping to stay here to guard the tombs of Ancestor Meng's wife and children, and also hoping to wait for Ancestor Meng to return here. This wait lasted for dozens of generations, more than a thousand years..."

Ye Chen had some doubts in his heart and said: "Your ancestors were already seventy years old when they parted with Ancestor Meng, and they were still able to go down the mountain to marry and continue the incense. This is really incredible in that environment. Could it be that they all relied on the pills given by Ancestor Meng before he left?"

"Yes." The old lady sighed: "Ancestor Meng gave my ancestors two pills in total. One was given when my ancestors were fifty, and the other was given when the two parted. According to the ancestral teachings left by my ancestors, these two pills are treasures on earth. Just take one, and it can make people twenty years younger, so when the ancestors entered the world to marry, although they were seventy years old, they looked like they were only thirty."

Ye Chen was shocked and blurted out: "Grandma Jiang, is the pill Ancestor Meng gave your ancestors called Rejuvenation Pill?!"