These days, nobody knows about the mythical bird. Everyone sees its head shape, and with the exaggerated publicity, the black-and-white mythical bird transforms to become the embodiment of the Black and White Impermanence, a rare auspicious bird that guides the deceased on their path, helping them find their way home.
Cheng Caiyun was happy to hear that the two cranes were alive and well. Half-jokingly, she said, "Then I'm relieved. When I one day close my eyes, perhaps they could send me off, allowing me to experience the feeling of riding a crane to the West."
"..."
Beside her, Yue'e anxiously said, "Mother, you are in good health and will surely live a long life. I still wish to honor you well, so please don't say such things in the future..."
Xu Qing remained silent.
Cheng Caiyun seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "Living too long is not a blessing. Leaving peacefully at the right time is a fortune earned from past lives."
After saying this seemingly unrelated sentence, Cheng Caiyun continued, "A few years ago, Scholar Xu left to make a living and was gone for over ten years. Before Old Wu at the Paper Mache Shop passed, he instructed his family to make sure the neighborhood in Underground Street organized his funeral."
"Unfortunately, Old Wu never had Scholar Xu send him off."
Xu Qing opened his mouth, but in the end, he just sighed.
How can things in this world always align perfectly? Wu Yaohua was nearly twenty years older than Cheng Caiyun, and at ninety-three years of age when he passed, Xu Qing was at that time entangled with the Ghost Law by the Yin River and missed Wu Yaohua's final affairs.
"Three months ago, I went to Wujue Slope outside the city to visit Old Wu. He lived a fulfilled life, with countless descendants, all talented, truly an accomplishment. Cheng Caiyun should not feel too sorrowful."
Xu Qing wasn't a heartless person. After resolving matters at the Yin River and returning to the mortal world, the first thing he did was go to Wujue Slope to hold a special service for Wu Yaohua.
Old Wu's life truly was without regret, save perhaps for the unfinished paper mache business.
However, the Wu Family brothers were quite understanding towards their old father. Although the Paper Mache Shop couldn't continue, they allowed Wu Yaohua enough freedom to indulge in crafting papermen and paper horses, fulfilling their father's hobby.
After going around in circles for half a lifetime, Wu Yaohua's life ultimately became represented in Xu Qing's hands as paper mache creations...
By evening, Xu Qing had just seen off Cheng Caiyun and Yue'e when Daoist Yizhen arrived angrily accompanied by Bai Qiuyu and the Pure Temple Master!
"Xu kid! Explain yourself to me. What do you mean you hooked up with a disciple of my Five Elders Temple and even had a child?"
"..."
Xu Qing glanced at Bai Qiuyu, who had inherited Cheng Caiyun's shop and also her taste for gossip, then at Daoist Yizhen, who wanted to dig a hole and disappear, and couldn't help but cough lightly.
"Temple Master, you misunderstand. It's not what you think..."
However, after Xu Qing explained, Pure Temple Master became even more enraged, "If you're looking for a Daoist nun, go elsewhere. Why mention my Five Elders Temple? Now everyone thinks it's a disciple of our temple who had a child with you, ruining our reputation..."
Wasn't the Five Elders Temple's reputation already ruined by Hu Baosong? Despite this thought, Xu Qing was in the wrong and had to endure the scolding from the Pure Temple Master.
Nearby, Daoist Yizhen couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward, "Junior Brother Xu did this for the sake of cultivation, and I didn't take it to heart. Master, please don't blame him anymore..."
It was better if the disciple didn't speak, as once he did, the Pure Temple Master became even more furious.
Disciples, once grown, are beyond control. How come each and every one of them sides desperately with outsiders?