I'm Really Going to Become an Immortal
Chapter 117 - 106: Do you envy the endlessness of the Yangtze River?

Chapter 117: Chapter 106: Do you envy the endlessness of the Yangtze River?

It was as if he was bidding farewell to the past, and he had to start a new beginning seriously!

Chen Yun didn’t say even a single word to that so-called white moonlight. He just quietly went to the hotel where Bai Shi and the others were staying and woke them up.

They began another day of touring.

Having come to Jiangnan Province, it was natural to make the most of the time and visit every accessible place.

The planned route wasn’t complicated.

In the morning, they would explore a scenic area, and in the afternoon, they would look for some tasty food.

Chen Yun had to admit, Runzhou City’s scenery, cultural heritage, and cuisine were all world-famous, but the city’s tourism economy just couldn’t seem to develop.

He didn’t know why.

But that didn’t impede him from taking his friends around.

It was roughly nine o’clock in the morning.

Chen Yun was already standing atop Jinshan, the mountain in the story of Water Floods Jinshan.

He looked thoughtfully over the entire Runzhou City.

Bai Shi and Sun Huwen excitedly took pictures as keepsakes, while Jiang Anping silently pulled out his cellphone, comparing the rankings of steps in WeChat.

Compared to the mountains in Shu, Jinshan wasn’t high, but it was the legends associated with it that lent the mountain its significance.

Descending from the mountain, the group visited Jinshan Temple and then quickly moved on to their next destination.

Apart from Bai Shi, the other three were energetic youths. The youngest, Jiang Anping, was only twenty-three, and the oldest, Sun Huwen, was just thirty, while Chen Yun was a spirited young man of twenty-six.

Even Bai Shi, after all, had once been a cat burglar.

So, everyone had the energy to climb the mountain.

It was only ten-thirty in the morning.

The group, brimming with vigor, had already arrived at Beigu Mountain, where stood Beigu Tower, the very place referred to in the verse, "From whence can one behold the state entire? Beigu Tower amidst the boundless landscape."

On the way up the mountain.

They saw the Iron Tower built in the first year of Tang Bao Li by Tang Weigong Li Deyu, the stele of Abe no Nakamaro’s poem "Looking at the Moon and Longing for Home" left by the Japanese Envoy to Tang China, the ruins of Ganlu Temple, and the plaque scribed by Mi Fei claiming "the foremost mountains and rivers under heaven"...

Until at last, on the mountain peak, they saw their final destination for this trip—the Beigu Tower.

Beigu Mountain wasn’t tall, rising just a few dozen meters.

Nothing like Jinshan, from which one could gaze upon the entirety of Runzhou City in its magnificence.

It was renowned not for its height but for the impressive view from Beigu Tower atop the mountain.

Looking out from Beigu Tower, one could see the vast expanse of the river, its shimmering water like a giant dragon majestically winding eastward.

Boats plied the waters in a bustling yet orderly fashion, creating a picturesque scene in harmony with the clouds in the sky and their reflections on the water.

To the east, the Runyang Bridge stretched across the north and south banks of the Yangtze River. The grandeur of modern engineering interwoven with the beauty of nature created a unique tapestry.

Here.

The presence of the Yangtze River felt particularly prominent.

One of the mother rivers of Hua Country’s civilization, it has witnessed a long, millennium-old history.

Merging seamlessly with modern humanities and natural scenery.

Only here.

Could one understand the feelings of Xin Qi Ji when he wrote, "How much history has risen and fallen over the ages? Leisurely, the Yangtze River keeps flowing on."

How many historic events.

Have been washed away by the endless waves.

Just standing here, one could keenly sense the finiteness of human life and the infinity of the natural world.

Bai Shi, Sun Huwen, and Jiang Anping were also seriously taking in the view.

The Yangtze River might not be as vast as the sea they had seen before.

But the feeling it evoked was different.

It encapsulated over five thousand years of history, nurturing and chronicling the long development of Hua Country’s civilization.

Here, one could almost tangibly experience the illusion of history and time in flux.

After watching for a while.

Bai Shi and Sun Huwen began earnestly taking photos to commemorate their visit.

Jiang Anping stood beside Chen Yun, imitating him as if even the posture Chen Yun assumed while gazing into the distance had to be replicated with flair.

Chen Yun didn’t pay much attention to his surroundings.

His gaze was fixed on the ceaselessly flowing Yangtze River and the surrounding cultural landscape, stirrings of emotion faintly arising in his heart.

He remembered when he once looked upon the Yangtze River, feeling like most people do, a subtle envy for the river’s endlessness deep inside him.

But now...

Things were a bit different.

Perhaps it was the influence of Evolution, his first reaction upon seeing the rolling Yangtze was how he might conquer it beneath his feet.

This conquest wasn’t about swimming through it.

But an unconscious contemplation.

When his thermal sight might stand downstream, resisting the ceaseless upstream current, and evaporate all that water into mist filling the sky.

When his fists might be robust enough to, with a single punch, disrupt the vast river’s flow or divert it with merely the wind and ripples of his punch.

He didn’t wish to destroy.

But he couldn’t help wondering about the outcome of a direct confrontation between his physical body and nature.

He had changed from the past; he no longer envied the Yangtze’s endlessness, he just felt that the river would most likely not best him after all.

"Sorrow for our lives is transitory, envy for the endless Yangtze."

On a deeper level, this phrase reflects the profound insight and helpless sentiment of ancient Chinese literati and officials towards the philosophy of life and the universe.

Facing the vast cosmos, they lamented the brevity of human life while also finding solace in the natural world. Through their admiration for nature’s eternal phenomena, they expressed a longing for an ideal character and an everlasting spirit.

But as for the present Chen Yun.

He felt that it was still not certain who was more everlasting between the Yangtze and himself.

This was confidence, as well as enlightenment.

Chen Yun was gradually becoming aware that maybe he was slowly becoming an outsider to this long historical river, stepping out of the river itself.

This wasn’t to say he was no longer affected by time.

He felt that he had gradually become distant from the worldly affairs, as if normal human society had become two parallel lines that never intersected with him.

Someone had said,

"As a person grows in stature, mountains become smaller and eventually get trampled underfoot."

Chen Yun faintly felt

that he was unconsciously looking at everything from a much higher perspective.

He couldn’t ignore the fact that in many ways, he was starting to differ more and more, and as an individual, he was slowly transcending his species.

Musing,

a voice suddenly sounded beside him.

"What are you staring at so intently?"

Jiang Anping’s calm voice carried a hint of curiosity.

Chen Yun turned toward the voice and saw Jiang Anping with his arms crossed over his chest, imitating his own far-off gaze.

But it seemed he felt it wasn’t quite right and switched to a posture with hands clasped behind his back, mimicking Chen Yun’s calm and contemplative expression.

Seeing this,

Chen Yun smiled and said, "I’m looking at Guangling City across the river. A college classmate called this morning and asked me to visit."

"Guangling? The one known for its ’fireworks in March, beneath Yangzhou’?"

Jiang Anping looked curious,

clearly somewhat tempted.

"Yeah, want to go together?"

Chen Yun asked with a smile.

Before Jiang Anping could answer, Bai Shi next to them chimed in cheerfully, "Count me in!"

This led Chen Yun to roll his eyes helplessly at this tag-along, but considering Bai Shi was a big dog watcher, he didn’t say much.

"How about we take the car ferry?"

Chen Yun pointed to the distant Yangtze River, where ships could be faintly seen traveling across.

Before the construction of the Runyang Bridge, crossing the river was done by car ferry. Even now, with the bridge in place and its steep toll fee, many still chose the car ferry.

Chen Yun thought everyone might be interested in this.

And sure enough, everyone agreed to the suggestion.

A car ferry is a vessel designed specifically for transporting vehicles across water. It features propulsion and steering devices at both ends, allowing it to dock without turning around and making it possible for cars to board and disembark without reversing, thus shortening the ferrying time.

Besides cars, a car ferry typically carries passengers, and the fee for crossing the river is quite modest.

Truth be told, even Bai Shi, who had seen much of the world, had never taken such a cross-river car ferry, not to mention the two landlocked kids beside him.

Being in Jiangnan Province for this rare visit, it was natural for them to experience this mode of transportation they had never tried before.

························

Somewhere in a residential area in Runzhou City,

a man with delicate fingers stood outside a security door, holding a bag of boxed lunches, knocking on the door with his free hand.

His features were stern, his gaze as sharp as an eagle’s.

His hands, as though carefully sculpted by God, were long-fingered and agile.

The next moment,

in the dim room, with all curtains drawn, a burly man’s eyes snapped open, and he rose slowly from the couch.

His face was resolute, etched with the marks of time, his hands were thick and sturdy, each callus telling stories of countless tough and resilient battles.

The calloused hands slipped on a pair of brass knuckles, as he stepped quietly to the door.

After checking through the peephole and making sure it was the boss, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He hurriedly opened the door.

"Boss, what did that bastard say?"

The burly man asked, placing the boxed lunches on the table while looking at the man in front of him.

Ever since they had found out that Old Third and Old Fourth had gone missing, they had decisively fled from Qixi City to here.

Regardless of what had happened to Old Third and Old Fourth, they knew they couldn’t stay in Qixi City any longer.

"Although we’ve had several dealings before, this time he charged me a lot of money."

The man addressed as the boss said, his face showing a trace of coldness.

He really wanted to end that bastard with a knife, using the methods he had on homeless drifters, spilling his guts.

But he restrained himself.

"Boss, should we take care of him..."

The burly man hinted, drawing his calloused hand across his neck twice, clearly also wanting to deal with that bastard.

Before joining this criminal group, he had made a name for himself in bare-knuckle boxing.

He always preferred physics to philosophy.

"Old Second, let’s try to avoid unnecessary trouble." The boss gestured with his hand, "At least he did help us obtain some of Qixi City’s police dispatch and arrest records from that day."

Saying this,

he and Old Second ate their meals while reviewing the records for anything that might be related to the disappearance of Old Third and Old Fourth.

But as the twilight deepened,

they still hadn’t found anything.

They couldn’t tell if the records the bastard sold them were incomplete or had issues, or if there truly was no information related to the disappearances of Old Third and Old Fourth.

In silence,

their expressions grew very grim.

They still had no clue about where Old Third and Old Fourth were, and they didn’t dare go back and investigate.

They had fled in a rush, only knowing that Old Third and Old Fourth had suddenly lost contact.

"Tomorrow morning, we’ll take the car ferry across to Guangling on the other side of the river. I know someone there who can get us fake IDs."

"Let’s get some fake identities, then find somewhere far away to hide for a while."

After thinking it over, the boss decided to stop pondering the whereabouts of Old Third and Old Fourth.

Considering the urgent situation, it was best to make their escape first!

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