The Scammer Meets a Hard Nut to Crack

Su Li sighed and poured the last drop of wine from his flask onto the ground.

"Sizzle—"

The wine seeped into the soil with a faint sound.

In this lifetime, Saina had passed away peacefully.

Perhaps it was because Su Li had constantly used his spiritual energy to soothe her body, sparing her from the torment of illness that had plagued her in their previous life.

At eighty years old, she had still been able to get out of bed and pick a couple of cucumbers the day before she left.

That night, the moon was quite round.

Saina lay in Su Li's arms, her wrinkled face rubbing against his chest, which remained as firm and smooth as ever.

"Su Li," Saina's voice was very soft, laced with a weakness that sapped her strength, "you're a monster, aren't you?"

Su Li was combing through her sparse white hair, his hand pausing for a moment. "Don't talk nonsense. I'm your husband."

"What kind of husband doesn't age for sixty years?" Saina smiled, a hint of mischief in her expression. "I've known for a long time. You aren't like the rest of us. You are the clouds in the sky, and I am the mud on the ground. For this mud to have clung to the clouds for two lifetimes, my ancestors must have been burning incense."

"Stop it," Su Li felt a lump form in his throat.

"I have to say it." Saina gripped his hand with surprising strength. "After I'm gone, don't waste your time in this village anymore. This wretched place cannot trap you. Go out and see the world. Go see the great oceans and the ships that fly. Take my eyes with you and see just how big this world really is."

"Alright," Su Li promised.

Only then did Saina heave a sigh of relief, her cloudy eyes slowly closing.

"In the next life... don't look for me," she muttered as her final words. "Find a fairy who can bear you children, and don't let an ugly old woman like me occupy the latrine without doing anything."

Su Li didn't speak; he only held her tighter.

He did not let go until the body in his arms had turned completely cold.

The mountain wind blew, swirling a few withered yellow leaves.

Su Li snapped back to reality and tossed the empty wine flask aside.

"Clang."

The flask rolled a few times and came to a stop beside a cluster of wildflowers.

He stood up and brushed the dirt from his trousers.

His movements remained agile, his spine as straight as ever. Sixty years of time had left no trace upon him; if anything, it had only deepened his ethereal, otherworldly aura.

As Su Li stood there, he made the mountains and waters seem like mere background scenery.

His face was blindingly fair, his features appearing as if carved from the finest jade, every line radiating perfection.

His eyes, in particular, were as black as bottomless pits; one look from him was enough to make anyone feel as though their deepest secrets had been laid bare.

"Time to go."

Su Li did not look back at the tombstone.

The words that needed to be said had been spoken, and the wine that needed to be drunk had been finished.

When a person dies, it is like a lamp being extinguished; any further lingering was merely sentimental.

Though he had been trapped in Wading Village for sixty years, and though his cultivation had remained stuck at that damned bottleneck without a single step of progress, he had no regrets.

What is the point of cultivating immortality?

Isn't it all about keeping one's heart clear and at peace?

If one were to abandon their own wife for the sake of the so-called Great Dao of Longevity, then what they cultivated would be nothing more than a heartless stone.

Su Li walked down the mountain path.

Wading Village was different now than it had been sixty years ago.

The low, thatched cottages had long since vanished, replaced by rows of neat red-brick houses with tiled roofs.

A small square had even been built at the village entrance, featuring a marble fountain of unknown purpose; though it rarely produced water, it looked quite impressive.

The Su Family Smithy was still there.

However, it was no longer under Su Li's management.

Ten years ago, he had transferred the shop to the grandson of Old Wang from next door.

The boy lacked exceptional talent, but he was diligent and capable of maintaining the family business.

Su Li didn't return to the shop; he headed straight for the village entrance.

He carried no luggage.

He only had a small bundle on his back containing two changes of clothes and the small iron hammer he had used for decades—the one that never deformed no matter how hard he struck.

As for money?

Su Li felt the thick stack of gold notes tucked inside his robe.

That was the wealth he had accumulated over the decades by selling his "divine weapons."

Wealthy, handsome, and powerful.

Su Li felt that he was currently the very definition of that legendary "max-level player slaughtering the newbie village" setup.

Just as he reached the village entrance, he ran into a few old men playing chess under a tree.

These old men were all people Su Li had watched grow up.

The little brats who used to run around the streets with snot dripping from their noses had all turned into decrepit geezers covered in age spots.

"Yo, Master Su!"

Seeing Su Li approach, the old men scrambled to their feet, nodding and bowing with an attitude even more reverent than if they were greeting their own fathers.

In Wading Village, Su Li was a living legend, the village's most prized treasure.

Who didn't know that the eternally youthful blacksmith of the Su family was a master with profound abilities?

"Master Su, where are you headed?" a toothless old man asked with a wide grin. "Are you going to town to pick up supplies? Shall I have my eldest grandson drive you in the cart?"

Su Li waved a hand.

"I'm not coming back."

He didn't stop walking, merely tossing the words over his shoulder.

"Where are you going?" The old men were stunned.

"To see if the ocean is truly endless."

Su Li's voice was light, yet it carried far.

The old men looked at each other, watching that figure—carrying a small bundle and standing as straight as a sword—gradually disappear at the end of the village path.

The sunlight spilled onto Su Li, gilding him with a golden edge.

That silhouette looked a bit lonely, yet possessed the carefree air of one who had finally found release.

Once he crossed the boundary of Wading Village, Su Li felt a distinct difference.

The stifling weight that had pressed upon his heart for so long seemed to fade as the distance grew.

The circulation speed of the [Sword Spirit Root] within his body suddenly accelerated by a fraction.

Though it was only a fraction, for Su Li, who had been stuck for forty years, it was like sweet dew after a long drought.

"As I thought."

Su Li stopped and looked back at the village, which had already shrunk to a tiny black dot.

"This place is too small."

He took a deep breath.

Even though the air was still mixed with the scent of dust and cow dung, he could somehow smell the sweet fragrance of freedom.

Ahead lay the main road.

The road stretched wide toward the sky.

The black horse he had bought for ten gold coins certainly had good stamina.

Although it looked a bit thin, it ran with the wind at its hooves and didn't have many bad habits.

Su Li sat in the saddle, his body swaying with the rhythm of the horse's gait.

He didn't need to squeeze the horse's flanks; the beast seemed to possess human-like intelligence, trotting steadily down the center of the road and even knowing how to dodge potholes on its own.

The sun climbed higher.

Su Li reached up and pulled the brim of his bamboo hat lower.

He had picked this thing up at the village entrance specifically to hide a face that was far too flashy for the road.

Better to avoid unnecessary trouble; if he caught the eye of some young maiden or wife while traveling and they insisted on following him to the death, that would be a nuisance.