90,000 Years of Longevity

Chapter 8: Fragrance of Rice

Ye Bei sat quietly without drinking tea or talking.

His eyes were quietly looking in this lobby.

The lobby area was small. However, there were many things here.

On the wall opposite Ye Bei, there was a landscape painting.

In the painting, the sky was dim, and a group of crows was falling on the old trees entwined by withered vines as if they were also constantly wailing.

There was a rush of water under the bridge and smoke from the households on the side of the bridge could also be seen.

A thin horse on the ancient road drove hard against the westerly wind, but the sunset gradually lost its luster and fell from the west.

This painting had no traces of imprints.

But at a glance, one would instantly know that it was an extremely precious antique.

When he saw this painting, Ye Bei's heart was fluttering, and he couldn't help but remember that when he was wandering around, he had passed through a small village and met a teenager who liked to write poems.

At that time, on a whim, he used a brush and paper to paint.

Finally, the painting was given to the boy...

Many years later, the boy grew up, saw things and thought about people, and wrote a sequence that had been passed down through the ages.

"Withered vines and old trees, faint crows, small bridges and flowing water, people, ancient west wind and thin horses, the setting sun and the heartbroken people are at the end of the world."

But no one in future generations knew that the so-called heartbroken man did not refer to Ma Zhiyuan, nor a lone traveler, but the calm appearance of Ye Bei leaving the village alone in the cold night. 

He did not expect that the poem was actually derived from a painting, and the painter was still alive after countless years!

...

"Little An." Ye Bei was very quiet. His thoughts drifted far, after a long time, he slowly recovered and yelled softly in his mouth.

"Master!" Wang An, who was kneeling on the ground, trembled.

After that, Ye Bei didn't need to speak anymore.

Wang An continued, "Master! It's because I didn't do a good job... If I had destroyed the Zhao Family earlier, this would not have happened! After this time, I will destroy the Zhao Family!"

"En."

"Master... just now there is no need to let Zhao Kun go, that kid is too rude, he should be killed!"

"En."

"Master!..."

Wang An was still going on. What happened to Zhao Kun just now made him very uneasy.

However, when Wang An kept talking, Ye Bei turned his head and set his sights on Wang An. The latter was startled for a moment and immediately calmed down.

"Little An... you are old."

The voice was calm as if narrating a fact, and there was a bit of alternation in the tone, and in those wise eyes, it seemed that everything had been seen through.

Ugh

As for Wang An, after hearing this, he took a halt, and then tears couldn't stop from the corners of his eyes.

At this moment, his hair was much paler than before.

He wanted to explain but his throat choked and he couldn't speak for a long time.

Kunlun Mountain Old Immortal...

In this world, he had always been a cold-faced, ruthless, and mysterious existence... But today, his image had been refreshed time and time again. If anyone else saw it, he would have been shocked from ear to ear.

Yes! Getting old... years were not forgiving, even the glory of the past the great things that had shocked the world had been wiped out by the years, and few people knew.

Everyone thought that you were easy to bully and would not live long.

When he was young, he walked out of Kunlun Mountain and followed Ye Bei's orders, in this whole world, who would dare not follow his orders?

When he was young, he could quell a war with a word!

When he was young, countless people knelt, begging to give him money and a lot of privileges.

How come it became like now, being bullied, and by a junior at that?

"Master, I..." It was a long time before Wang An uttered these words.

"That painting is not bad! It's beautiful... Little An, I'm hungry. I haven't eaten your cooking for a long time. I don't know if your skill is still there." Ye Bei murmured while glancing down at Wang An.

Wang An wiped his tears.

He knew very well that Ye Bei didn't want to see him like this now.

Try to make yourself look calmer! Try my best to squeeze a faint smile on my face, "In the past few years, I have been cooking and honing my cooking skills in the Longevity Temple every day while waiting for your return, Master! I know what you like to eat, I will order people to prepare the freshest ingredients and put them here every day. This day has finally come, I will cook for you now."

After speaking, Wang An stood up with some difficulty.

In those tearful eyes, joy could be seen.

Eighty years had passed...

He was waiting every day!

Year after year, day after day...

Those complicated vulgar things were meaningless to talk about at this time. It was because he thought too much and cared too much. After all, he was just a layman, and in many cases, he simply could not understand what Ye Bei was thinking.

Perhaps the things he cared very much about, in Ye Bei's eyes, were nothing more than passing away.

...

After decades of practicing, Wang An was better than many gold medal chefs in cooking.

He was wearing a white apron.

He used the most primitive earthen stove to make a fire...

Ye Bei in the lobby could clearly hear the sizzling sound of the vegetable, oil, and smell the smoke from the firewood.

Thirty minutes later.

Wang An took off his apron and brought a plentiful dish to the table. All the dishes were served, every dish was what Ye Bei once liked the most. 

"Master, everything is ready."

After putting the last dish on the table, Wang An stepped aside, bent down slightly, and said with a respectful tone.

"The dishes are good, the cooking skills have improved." Ye Bei glanced at these dishes, picked up the chopsticks, but while holding the dishes, he said lightly.

"Yes, Master." Wang An lowered his head and answered softly.

"Little An, sit down, let's eat together." Unexpectedly, Ye Bei called out to him.

"Master, I..." Wang An hesitated.

"Sit down!"

"Yes!" Wang An didn't dare to talk about it anymore, he knew very well that once Ye Bei made up his mind, nothing would change. If he talked about it again, it would only disappoint Ye Bei.

Sitting tremblingly, Wang An did not move his chopsticks but picked up vegetables for Ye Bei.

However, at this time, Ye Bei slowly said, "Unfortunately, I like a lot of dishes, though your cooking skills are not bad, you can't make all my favorite dishes by yourself..."

Wang An's face changed suddenly while holding the vegetables.

Puff!

He knelt down with a plop, and his body couldn't help shaking.

This move made Ye Bei quite surprised because he just sighed casually, but in Wang An's eyes, things were not that simple, there were many people who had followed Ye Bei. 

Ye Bei had a hobby, he had lived for too long and he liked too few things. Only the 'excellent food' part had not changed for tens of thousands of years. Therefore, he was used to letting everyone who followed him learn how to cook well.

Everyone would cook some dishes that Ye Bei liked to eat...

But today, Wang An was the only one.

The Longevity Temple made such a big noise but those people had not yet appeared! Could it be that they... attempted to defect?

1. Ma Zhiyuan Yuan Dynasty dramatist in the tradition of musical comedy, he's also one of the Four Great Yuan Dramatists.