Elaborate on the world of mortals

Chapter 847 Why cling to the past?
Listening to the melodious cry of cranes, Yan Bo, with a smile on his face, flew over many beautiful rivers and mountains of the former Dayan. Looking down from the sky, some places were peaceful and tranquil, while some places were still filled with smoke.

The direction Yan Bo was heading was the former capital of Dayan. Of course, he was referring to Zhongling Prefecture after the capital moved south, not the old capital when the country was founded. The white crane was always with him.

Yan Bo was not surprised by this, because as far as he could remember, at this time of year every year, some white cranes would indeed fly to Zhong Ling Mansion. In that magnificent royal garden, there was a large wetland with a lake that was reserved specifically for the white cranes, and there were people specifically raising them.

It is a very good dining hall for the white cranes. A considerable number of them will settle there and stay until the right season before continuing to migrate. Some of them will simply stay there for the winter.

But now there may be no such good place for Baihe.

Today’s Zhongling Mansion no longer seems to have the prosperity that Yan Bo remembered, but it is still a big city on this land.

Yan Bo Yufeng was suspended in the air, looking down at the former capital of Dayan. It seemed as if the bustling image of the past was still before his eyes.

The Baiyu Taoist Temple, where everyone from high-ranking officials to ordinary people clamored to enter and burn incense, has long been in ruins, and anyone who was related to it may have been executed many years ago.

Even the master Han Shiyong was beheaded in public.

Yan Bo even seemed to be able to see that scene, seeing the crowds outside the execution ground, waiting to see the Taoist Tianyu, whom they once admired, being beheaded. How much they admired him in the beginning, and how loudly they cheered when they saw the Taoist being beheaded later.

"Woo woo woo. Woo woo."

The sound of cranes' cries brought Yan Bo back to reality. He looked around and then up. The white cranes that had just flown with him had not left yet and were circling around and above him.

"唳"

The leading white crane at the top cried, and the cranes in the group seemed to vaguely understand its meaning.

Follow him and you will have food, just follow him!

Although Yan Bo was already an immortal, he obviously did not understand the "crane language". After thinking for a while, he threw out another handful of tender lotus seeds, which were scrambled for by the white cranes in the sky.
After doing all this, Yan Bo temporarily stopped paying attention to Bai He and fell downwards. His figure flew over the location of the former Dayan Imperial Palace. The once magnificent palace was now in ruins.

The large lake in the imperial garden that was once carefully cared for has now almost dried up and become overgrown with weeds. Many of the precious trees in the imperial garden have also been cut down and used as firewood by the common people. It is obvious that the people who now occupy this land do not want to or have the energy to repair the imperial palace.

When flying over the Golden Palace, Yan Bo thought of the past. He had once met the Emperor of Dayan here with his master and grandfather. At that time, the Baiyu Dao was at its peak.

'Yan Bo, the Taoist priest, is the Shangyuan Master of Baiyu Tiangong'

The eunuch's high-pitched voice seemed to echo in my ears. Yan Bo was full of confidence at that time. Thinking about it now, the sigh was ridiculous and absurd, as if it was a dream!

I have seen the prosperity of the past and the tranquility and desolation of the present. When I wake up from a dream, just like many other dreams, the past is gone.

Grandmaster Han Shiyong was naturally dead and could not be deader. After so many years, Master Liao Wenzhi could not be alive either. But Yan Bo felt something in his heart and knew that not everyone on Bai Yu Dao was dead.

With this thought in mind, Yan Bo did not land in the capital, but flew up into the sky again on the wind, heading towards the direction where he felt the sensation.

Yan Bo flew past the former imperial garden, and a group of white cranes in the sky actually followed him. As he walked, they flew in groups over the former royal wetlands.

This group of white cranes obviously has many extraordinary spiritual beings. Perhaps, in addition to the leading white crane, many of them also have memories of living here in the past.

"Wow—"

The white cranes flew away shouting. The leading white crane looked down and saw a dilapidated shed on the edge of the former imperial garden wetland. Now someone opened the door and walked out.

He was a pale-haired, old man with trembling steps. He just looked up at the sky, stretched out his hand and uttered a few hoarse calls.

"Cluck cluck."

The old man's voice imitated the cry of a crane. Some white-feathered cranes, including the leading white crane, turned their heads to look downward. Even Yan Bo, who had already flown away on the wind, looked back at the distant Dayong Palace.

"Lilulululu."

The leading white crane cried a few times, which made Yan Bo in front slow down. Then he turned back on the wind, and the flock of cranes followed the leading crane and circled back to the palace.

A little mink peeked out from under the neck feathers of the leading white crane and whispered something.

"It's him!"

The old man below was still shouting. Although he was old, his eyesight seemed still very good. When he saw the white shadow coming back in the sky, his voice became a little more excited.

"Cluck cluck."

“Swish, swish, swish.” “Patta, pat, pat.”

A total of more than a dozen white cranes fell down, and Yan Bo also fell down among the intertwined white feathers. However, the old man did not see clearly, and was just excited looking at the dozen white cranes.

The white cranes were flapping their wings, pacing, calling, and playing. A few of them gathered around the old man and shouted.

"I'll get you something to eat right away. I'll get it right away."

At the edge of the nearly dried-up wetland, the old man excitedly walked towards the shed where he lived. Some white cranes followed him, and after the leading white crane joined in, all the white cranes followed.

Yan Bo looked at the old man and the cranes thoughtfully, and slowly walked over.

The old man quickly got out half a wooden barrel of sprouted wheat grains, and scooped a lot of loaches from several water tanks and mixed them in the wooden barrel. Then he walked out with excited steps, and sprinkled the contents of the wooden barrel with a wooden ladle. The cranes were vying for food nearby and making a lot of noise.

"Eat, eat, I'm here so you can have a bite to eat, eat"

The old man kept scattering things, and looked carefully at each white crane with his cloudy eyes. He became more excited every time he saw one he knew.

"Oh, you're still here. I'm glad your foot has healed. And you."

He Yunqiao, who had transformed into his original form of a white crane, also took a few steps closer. His tall crane body was even taller than the slightly hunched old man. The latter seemed to recognize this extremely handsome white-feathered crane very quickly when he saw it.

"It's you. I remember you. You are still the same as before, refusing to eat what I feed you. You are also my lucky crane. It was because of you that His Highness favored me. Was it you who was in the Golden Palace that year?"

He talked on and on, and his words were sometimes not very coherent.

"Old man, do you live here?" The sudden voice scared the old man. He thought it was a white crane that could speak human language. When he turned around, he found that there was an elegant middle-aged man standing next to him.

"You, who are you?"

"A wandering gardener heard that this is the Great Yan Imperial City, so he came to see if there are any rare flowers or plants."

The old man looked the visitor up and down, and seeing that he had a peaceful face, he gradually calmed down and scattered everything in the wooden barrel, causing the white cranes to fight for it while playing.

"Gardener, gardener, hehe, hehe, I don't know how many people covet the treasures in the Dayan Palace. Soldiers, bandits and refugees have come here countless times. I didn't expect that after so many years, there are still people who are still thinking about something."

The old man said this with sarcasm as he looked at the newcomer, but the other person had a calm expression without any anger. He finally realized that the newcomer had no ill intentions, and his expression also calmed down.

"I have lived here forever. I fled here for a while during the years of the collapse of the world, but later I came back."

Yan Bo looked at the popularity and actually knew something, but he still asked.

"The old man looks quite old, why did he come back?"

It can be heard from Yan Bo's words that he knew the old man's background, but the old man did not notice. He just smiled and looked at the white cranes around him.

"I was originally a eunuch in Dayan Palace who was responsible for feeding cranes. I had no relatives, no wife, no children, no one to rely on, and nowhere to go. Life was miserable in this cold and harsh world, and only the white cranes were my comfort. If I wasn't here, where would I be?"

The old man looked at the white crane beside him, tears welling up in his eyes.

"When we are lucky, white cranes will still descend, and it seems that we can vaguely see how glorious our Great Yan was in the past. My ancestors promised that I would be in charge of the Crane Lake in the palace. Now, I am the only one in this huge imperial city."

Yan Bo also sighed.

"I didn't expect that the last loyal person in the world of Dayan would be you."

"loyalty."

The old man repeated the word again without saying anything else. He put down the barrel and carefully sat on the ground. He just watched the white cranes playing around and paid more attention to the leading crane.

"Old man, it is fate that we meet. Don't stay here any longer. Come with me and find a quiet place with plenty of water and grow some flowers and plants. You can also wait for the white crane to come!"

Yan Bo approached the old man.

"I have been through many hometowns along the way. No one remembers the former Dayan anymore. Everything is a thing of the past. There is no need to cling to it anymore. You can feed the cranes anywhere!"

"Yes, anywhere is fine. But I don't have much time left to live, and I can't go back to the secular world."

Yan Bo smiled.

"Then don't go back to the secular world. I am also familiar with some strange and medical skills. You can still live a comfortable life for a few years if you take care of your health. There is no need to wait any longer. No one from the Jian family will come back!"

The old man looked at Yan Bo blankly, with a bit of surprise on his face, but the latter remained calm and nodded with a smile.

After a long time, the old man gradually showed a relieved expression.

"It's okay, it's okay"

He said "Okay", but the old man looked at the white crane with reluctance.

Yan Bo felt something and looked at the white cranes around him, especially the leading one. He knew that these white cranes were very intelligent and the leading one might even have intelligence.

"The old man is reluctant to leave this Crane Lake. You all accompany me all the way. Can you also agree to Yan's unwelcome request and take this old man with you for another flight?"

The white-feathered crane in the lead had never eaten lotus seeds, nor the tender wheat and loaches here, and now walked over with graceful steps.

"Cluck cluck."

The white crane cried out to the sky for a while, and several white cranes nearby actually bent down.

Yan Bo's eyes lit up, he understood what was going on, and looked at the old eunuch who had a look of surprise on his face.

"By the way, old man, my name is Yan Bo, what's your name?"

The old man stood up with Yan Bo's help.

"I, what's my name?"

The name Yan Bo sounded familiar to the old man, but he couldn't remember it for a moment, and he seemed to have almost forgotten his own name. It seemed that he had thought for a while before he remembered his name.

"Yes, my name is Yuan Zhaoning."

"Okay, please get on the crane's back, Yuan Bo!"

Yan Bo cast a spell to wrap the old eunuch with spiritual energy, and motioned him to sit on the back of the crane. Each of these white cranes was very tall, and was more than enough for a hunchbacked old man to sit on.

Yuan Zhaoning was a little dazed for a long time. Suddenly he remembered something and his expression became excited.

"Yan Bo? Yan, you are the eldest disciple of Master Liao, and you are the grandson of Master Tianyu?"

"The past is gone, let it go. I did it this way, and so should you, Yuan Bo."

The old man looked at Yan Bo's calm expression and his own excitement subsided. However, he did not rush to get on the white crane, nor did he go back to the shed to pack up his things. Instead, he hurried to the other side of the Crane Lake and then lay down in the mud to search.

Yan Bo walked over with a slight frown and saw the old man turning over a stone in the mud and taking out something wrapped in black cloth from it.

When he opened the thing again, what was revealed was a jade object with a few large characters engraved at the bottom, which read: A great treasure destined by heaven, may you live long and prosper!
The old eunuch wiped the imperial seal with his sleeve and looked at Yan Bo with a relieved smile on his face.

"The past is gone, and perhaps Dayan will never come back, but this is a treasure from heaven, it has blessed this land with peace and prosperity, and it should not be buried here. If the treasure doesn't return to Dayan, there will always be someone who deserves it."

After a long time, a few crane calls were heard from the former imperial garden, and then a group of white cranes soared into the sky and flew away, some of which were carrying people on their backs.
(End of this chapter)