Li A nodded and said to Verdant Green Maiden, "A disciple's path lies beyond these walls! On the road, out in the world. I haven't finished walking it yet."
Who could ever walk that road to the very end?
"Very good, very good!"
Verdant Green Maiden gave a slight nod, then glanced over the others and sighed. "Then perhaps this is the last time we'll meet! Great Dao Ascends to Heaven, and the path stretches boundlessly. I hope I'll see you all again in a hundred or a thousand years. When that day comes, I'll treat you to meat."
Everyone's expressions turned solemn, and they bowed in unison.
"We accept the True Person's blessing!"
No one was surprised that Verdant Green Maiden spoke so casually of a hundred or a thousand years.
Twenty years had passed since she came to Crane Call Mountain Tai Ping Daoist temple, yet her appearance had never changed!
Who could fail to see the mystery in that?
Only because they all belonged to the same Daoist temple could they address her as a True Person. If they met her elsewhere, they would surely bow in reverence and call her Immortal Goddess.
Verdant Green Maiden chose a new abbot from among those staying at the temple. After entrusting him with all the affairs of Tai Ping Daoist temple, she set off.
"Take good care of Tai Tai and Ping Ping. Their descendants will be National Treasures one day."
Before leaving, she reminded them again and again.
"We will obey the True Person's decree!"
Zhang Sheng never got to see Verdant Green Maiden choose a new abbot for Tai Ping Daoist temple.
Two years earlier, he had passed away and been buried at Dragon Tiger Mountain.
"Life's regrets number eight or nine out of ten..."
"I'm sorry."