Immortal Travel of Longevity

Tong Residence, Autumn Moon Market.

Everyone expected the celebration today to proceed smoothly, but trouble started during the morning greeting of guests.

Far more guests arrived than invitations had been sent out.

“Do you have an invitation?”

“I don’t have one, sir, but please accept this gift for Young Master Tong instead. No need to record it in the gift book. Years ago, Young Master Tong saved my wife’s life. Now, on his wedding day, I’ve come especially to give my blessings.”

“I see…”

The gift clerk, hearing this, invited the man in. One extra guest didn’t matter. However, what happened next took him completely by surprise.

It wasn’t just one person!

Some traveled miles to deliver a basket of eggs. Others carried sacks of rice and flour. One man had even butchered his own animal and arrived carrying its leg…

In the end, nearly a hundred extra people showed up. Without exception, they were all people Little Miracle Doctor Tong had helped in the past.

The sheer number of unexpected guests left the clerk at a loss. He hurried off to find Doctor Tong.

Tong Caizheng stared in stunned silence for a long moment after hearing the news.

He turned to look at his son, busy elsewhere, and felt a complex mix of emotions.

Tong Caizheng sighed heavily and spoke a single sentence: “… Truly worthy of our ancestors.”

But what about the extra guests?

How could they turn away people who had come all this way? While most insisted they didn’t want to trouble him, Tong Caizheng personally urged them to stay.

“We can’t possibly add to Little Miracle Doctor Tong’s burdens! Everyone, lend a hand moving tables and chairs!”

“All right!”

“You people…” Tong Caizheng found it both exasperating and touching.

Watching them pitch in, he felt a sudden lump in his throat.

Tong Caizheng cupped his hands respectfully. “Then I shall trouble you all, good neighbors.”

When chairs ran short, they borrowed more. When food wasn’t enough, they rushed to buy extra.

Several large pots were set up, and two cooks were urgently hired to prepare food.

Worth noting, all the guests pitched in, no one sat idle or put on airs. Though flurried and messy, a great deal of trouble was saved.

That day, the Tong residence overflowed with guests.

Over thirty tables filled the entire street, making it Autumn Moon Market’s liveliest event in decades.

The guests carried different accents and were strangers to each other, yet they all interacted warmly thanks to ‘Little Miracle Doctor Tong’.

Tong Caizheng made a special trip to the ancestral hall. He lit three incense sticks and quietly recounted the scene he had witnessed.

Once done, he hurried back to work.

Approaching noon, the wedding procession awaited outside.

The groom, Tong Zhihuan, dressed in red robes, mounted a handsome steed. To the beat of drums and gongs, he rode out toward the market’s edge.

Many people paused to watch him pass.

“That’s Little Miracle Doctor Tong, right?”

“Congratulations! Congratulations!”

Respect shone in every onlooker’s eyes.

Tong Zhihuan, a humble mountain doctor, never expected to be held in such high esteem. It seemed to have happened quietly, without his noticing. Only today, in a daze, did he truly realize.

Outside the Flowing Cloud Temple gate.

Moyuan and Hu Junhan gazed into the distance.

“Why aren’t they here yet?” Moyuan grumbled.

Hu Junhan leaned against the gateframe. “Soon.”

“Giggle, giggle, giggle…”

Silly laughter came from behind. Moyuan turned.

There stood Yu Hongjin, cheeks flushed, clutching a wine jar. Her clothes were spattered with liquor. The potent smell reached them from several paces away.

“She drinks at her age?” Hu Junhan blinked. “Aren’t you going to discipline her?”

“Me!?” Moyuan reacted sharply. “She’s not my child!”

“I never said she was. Why so tense?”

“…”

Moyuan gritted his teeth, struck by an intense urge to smack Hu Junhan.

Moyuan snatched the wine jar from Yu Hongjin’s grasp.

“Huh?”

Yu Hongjin stared, bewildered.

Moyuan took a huge, defiant gulp. “It’s mine now!”

Instantly, Yu Hongjin’s eyes welled up.

“Give it back! Give it back, give it baaack! Waaaaah…”

She dropped to the ground, wailing and thrashing about, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I’m NOT giving it back!”

“WAAAAAAAH…”

Drunk Yu Hongjin cared little for pride, but steal her wine? Unbearable sobs overtook her.

Hu Junhan glanced at Moyuan, sighed faintly, but offered no help.

“Tch…”

Unmoved by the passionate weeping, Moyuan guzzled down the entire jar. He then tossed the empty vessel back at Yu Hongjin.

Yu Hongjin caught it, peered inside, and saw… only emptiness.

“It’s… gone…”

Hiccups shook her frame as renewed wails echoed around.

“I HATE you!” Between sobs, childish insults flew. “You’re mean! You stole my wine! You’ll never grow tall! You’ll wet the bed when you sleep!”

Moyuan: “…”

A snort of laughter escaped Hu Junhan. “Better go calm her down. The wedding procession’s due. We forfeit all dignity if she carries on like this.”

Moyuan rubbed his forehead. “I genuinely want to squish her.”

“Then squish her,” Hu Junhan replied flatly.

Moyuan rolled his eyes. Defeated, he fetched a smaller wine jar from inside the temple.

Yu Hongjin clutched it, scrutinizing its size. “It’s not as big as the old one!”

“Take it or leave it. Refuse, and I WILL squish you!”

Drunken Yu Hongjin met this fierce glare and unleashed another torrent of wails.

“Can’t even soothe a child properly,” Hu Junhan remarked mildly.

Moyuan’s face darkened. “Bark once more, dog, and I squash you next!”

Hu Junhan merely smiled silently, his gaze steady.

You broke it; you fix it.

Trapped, Moyuan clumsily picked up the crying Yu Hongjin.

“HOW do I get her to shut up?” he hissed at Hu Junhan.

“Not my expertise. Don’t ask me.” Hu Junhan shrugged.

Moyuan attempted an awkward imitation of mortal women soothing babies – rocking her gently.

It backfired. Yu Hongjin bawled harder!

Thud… thud… thud…

Moyuan spotted the wedding procession winding its way up the mountain. He froze slightly.

“They’re here. Time sensitive,” Hu Junhan intoned.

“I KNOW!” Moyuan shot back. He glared desperately at the crying bundle. “WHAT. WILL. MAKE. YOU. STOP?”

Yu Hongjin’s sobs instantly melted into petulant sniffs.

“Want… carry me on your shoulders? Please?”

“You… did… WHAT!?”

“Waaaaaah—”

Moyuan clenched his jaw so hard it creaked. A strangled “Fine,” escaped.

“Yay!” Yu Hongjin giggled. Before he could react, tiny legs scrambled over him until she perched triumphantly on his shoulders. She happily resumed slurping wine.

Moyuan stood ramrod stiff, veins pulsing on his temples, fists clenched white.

“Heh heh.” Yu Hongjin grinned, oscillating gleefully while gulping wine.

Moyuan wore an expression suggesting he could consume someone raw. The little girl in red on his shoulders simply beamed, proudly hugging her jar. Hu Junhan observed them, a deeply perplexed expression flickering across his face.

Yu Hongjin suddenly peered down curiously. “Dark Horsey, why can’t you walk?”

“…”

Moyuan’s voice was dangerously icy. “I eat fish.”