Unintended Immortality
Chapter 57: The Swallow Youth

Early next morning, the weather was cloudy.

The martial arts competitions of the Great Liujiang Gathering would last for three days, and today many jianghu people were heading to the Swallow Immortal Terrace again.

Song You saw the pavilion again, and he saw the small winding path leading to it. However, today there was no hazy mist, and everything appeared very clear.

He had no worries and continued to walk up.

It didn't take long before he arrived at the pavilion.

He sat cross-legged again, quietly observing the scenery.

Anqing's mountains and rivers were beautiful in both clear and rainy weather, each having its own charm.

Not long after, a swallow flew in from somewhere in the sky, still flying randomly, up and down, left and right, but never leaving the sky above Swallow Immortal Terrace. This reminded Song You of summer evenings when swallows would always be flying and frolicking in the sky agilely like this, giving people a sense of freedom and carefree existence.

Song You stood up and brushed off the dust.

He cupped his hands and bowed to the sky, saying, “You have lingered here for a long time, why not come down for a chat?”

The swallow continued to fly randomly in the sky.

Some of the jianghu people below were also amazed…

It was indeed too early in the season for this.

However, everyone knew this place was called Swallow Immortal Terrace and had heard the rumors about Swallow Immortal Terrace and the Swallow Immortal, so when they looked up, they felt some respect besides surprise.

But as they watched, the swallow disappeared.

In the pavilion halfway up the mountain, there was now a youth.

This youth looked around fourteen or sixteen years old, slender, with red lips and white teeth. He was extremely beautiful, and at first glance, it was hard to tell if he was male or female.

The youth's beauty was difficult to describe in words.

In this era, there were many descriptions of peerless beauties and jade-like gentlemen in books, but in fact for various reasons, truly good-looking people were rare in reality. And due to the limitations of makeup techniques, a person's beauty was truly natural if they looked good, which was rare. The appearance of this youth before him was unmatched in any era, whether past or present.

Because he was not an ordinary person, naturally, no matter how beautiful an ordinary person was, they could not compare to him.

It would not be surprising if he were a demon.

If a demon took human form and intended to pursue beauty, most of them would look like this.

But this youth seemed extremely shy, or extremely afraid of people, or perhaps extremely afraid of Song You. He stood at the edge of the pavilion, his eyes evasive, not daring to look at him. He greeted him with raised hands. “I am Yan An, greetings to you, Mister...”

“I am Song You, greetings.” After returning the greeting, Song You asked, “Am I occupying your place?”

“No, no..."

“You seem very uneasy. Are you perhaps afraid of me?”

“No... that's just my nature...”

“I see.”

Seeing his unease, Song You nodded and did not dwell on the issue, as it would only make him more uneasy. “I wonder what is your relation to the Swallow Immortal in the rumors?”

“He is my ancestor...” The youth stood very far away, truly like a frightened bird.

His voice was similar to that of a human boy going through puberty.

After answering, he took a deep breath and, summoning his courage, asked, “May I ask, Mister... are you the one who eliminated the water demon in Lingbo County?”

“How did you know?”

“I came specifically to replace you, Mister.”

“Hmm?”

“My ancestor heard that the water demon in Lingbo County was eliminated by a passing master, and it was said that this master was leading a horse and had a calico cat with him...” The youth glanced at the calico cat beside Song You. Though he was now much larger than the cat, he was still inexplicably timid.

“After eliminating the demon, the master headed towards Anqing County. My ancestor speculated that you would come to Anqing, so I was sent to look for you in the city. However, after searching these few days, I couldn't replace a Daoist priest who led a horse and had a cat with him. It wasn't until you inadvertently came to the pavilion on this mountain yesterday that I came over for a look and found you.”

“This pavilion...”

“It was originally built by my ancestor when the Great Liujiang Gathering first started for watching the event. As my ancestor’s body grew progressively weaker later, people seldom came here.” The youth said, “There are some mysterious principles here, and without profound cultivation skills, one cannot see this path or this pavilion.”

“I see...” Song You then looked at the youth and asked curiously, “But since you discovered me yesterday and were here, why didn't you come to me then?”

“I...” The youth blushed deeply, “I was scared...”

“Scared of what?” Song You laughed, “I don't eat people.”

“It's not because of you!” The youth hurriedly explained, as if fearing he might misunderstand, “It's just my nature. I've been timid since I was young, useless, and afraid to speak to people. Although my ancestor had given the order, I...” He trailed off without finishing.

Song You originally intended to laugh again to show his amiable gentleness and ease the youth's tension before responding.

However, seeing his flustered and timid expression with extreme shame amid his fear as well as his trembling body, Song You could not help but put away his smile and earnestly said. “I cannot agree with your words. Even if you don't like interacting with people, it's just your unique personality and preferences. Simply because of this, how can you say you are useless?”

“Ah?” The youth couldn't help but sneak a glance at him, only to see the earnestness amid this Daoist priest's gentleness.

“Don't you replace me strange, Mister?”

“Not at all. People in this world are diverse, each with their own personality and life. I believe demons are also the same.” Song You said, “You must never belittle yourself.”

The little demon was stunned for a moment.

Actually, it wasn't completely self-belittling, his ancestor had always said so since he was young. Being afraid to speak and interact with people was just being timid and useless. Everyone thought so.

But this Daoist priest's view... was actually a strange one, something he had never heard before.

“You...”

“Ah? Oh, my apologies!”

“No matter.” After Song You finished speaking, he looked at him.

Unexpectedly, the youth stood there very awkwardly, his eyes darting around, not knowing where to place his hands, even feeling uncomfortable about where he was standing.

The pavilion fell silent for a few moments.

After waiting for a while, Song You finally said helplessly. “You were specially sent by the Swallow Immortal to replace me. Don't you have something to say to me?”

“Oh, oh!” The youth finally seemed to remember and hurriedly bowed to Song You. “My ancestor would like to invite you to our home for a chat.”

“When would that be?”

“Now...” The youth sneaked a glance at Song You. “Is that possible?”

“I would also like to witness the Swallow Immortal's glory earlier.” Song You showed a regretful expression, pointing ahead, “Unfortunately, the Great Liujiang Gathering is happening right now.”

“Then... how about tomorrow?”

“No disrespect to the Swallow Immortal, but as you know, tomorrow will be the most exciting day of the Great Liujiang Gathering.” Song You apologized, “I happened to have made arrangements with an acquaintance to watch the heroes' competitions together tomorrow.”

“No problem, no problem...”

“What about tonight?”

“That’s possible!”

“Good.”

“Then...”

“It's settled.”

“I will come to replace you before dusk...”

“I will wait for you here.”

“Then...”

“Oh, by the way…”

“What is it, Mister?”

“I have something to ask you.”

The boy saw the Daoist priest smiling and then looking up at the sky behind him, his eyes seemingly shining, “Is the scenery in the sky better than on the ground?”

“This...”

The youth was stunned for a moment. “I don't know...”

“Then never mind.”

“I...”

“No problem.” Song You's expression remained gentle. “I was just asking casually.”

“Then…”

“Take care.”

With a puff of gray smoke, a black and white figure shot into the sky, as if it was afraid of being late. It quickly flew far away and disappeared into the clouds.

Song You shook his head, not surprised.

Even among humans, there are so many strange and diverse individuals. There were so many kinds of demons, it was normal they should have all kinds of personalities.

He then sat down again to watch the Great Liujiang Gathering.

The weather was fine today, and the jianghu people who came for the gathering seemed to be in better spirits, competing more eagerly. However, while everyone gathered chaotically below at the Swallow Immortal Terrace, shouting continuously, only Song You remained in the mountainside pavilion, watching the grand jianghu event for half a day, as well as appreciating the shifting clouds.

***

There was a saying, “Only places with roads are under the control of the imperial court.”

This statement was actually quite accurate.

In this era, this was indeed the case. Great Yan spanned 18,000 li from east to west, and over 10,000 li from north to south. Despite its seemingly vast territory, actually only a very small portion was under the court's control. Once one left the cities and the major as well as minor roads built by the authorities, the influence and control of the court declined sharply.

The farther away, the lesser the control.

Beyond Anqing County, there were still major and minor official roads. Beyond these official roads, many intersecting small paths led to various large and small villages, each with its own fields. But aside from these, Anqing also had ten thousand mountain peaks and forests.

These were places difficult for people to reach.

It was hard to imagine that there could be a large rustic courtyard house hidden in these mountains.

“Flap, flap, flap…” There was the sound of wings flapping.

A swallow flew in and transformed into a black-and-white-clad youth who landed in the main hall.

In front of him sat an old man in a chair.

“Ancestor…”

The youth hurriedly bowed, eyes fixed on his toes.

“Cough, cough... No need for formalities!”

Silence.

“Why did you return so late today?”

“Today…”

“Speak louder! Raise your head! You are in front of a family member, cough…”

The old man coughed as he scolded, “You haven't done anything shameful, so you should be open and upright. You’re always like this, who will respect you outside?”

Silence. The youth didn't dare to speak.

His ancestor was naturally correct, it was all teachings meant to guide him and for his own good. He dared not refute.

But inexplicably, he thought of that Daoist priest.

At that moment, the old man's voice startled him again. “After these few days, did you replace that Daoist priest?”

The youth hurriedly replied, “I found him…”

“How was he?”

“That Daoist priest... his cultivation skills are profound. He immediately saw the small path and pavilion that you concealed on Mati Mountain!” The youth reported honestly, “I have arranged with him to bring him here tonight.”

“Did you ask if he is from Hidden Dragon Temple?”

“I… I forgot…” The youth's face turned pale immediately.

“What are you doing?”

The old man angrily struck the floor with his crutch, making a rattling sound. “If you forgot, then you forgot. What's the big deal? What can I do to you? What are you afraid of? You're the only junior in the clan who has achieved transformation into human form. But with your timid demeanor, what can you accomplish?”

The youth did not dare to respond.

Perhaps it wasn't fear, but shame. He felt useless for failing at even such a small task. Maybe it was also fear, but absolutely not fear of being scolded by his ancestor.

“Go now.”

The old man waved him off weakly.

He just felt that the current younger generation was truly not as good as previous ones.

The youth also turned and walked out with his head down.

But after taking two steps, a thoughtful and hesitant look appeared on his face. After walking a few more steps, he finally turned back, and said with a trembling voice, “Ancestor, I’m thinking of…thinking of fetching a Swallow Pill...”

As soon as he said this, he immediately added his reason. “Because…because when I go again to invite the Daoist priest over tonight, it would not be appropriate to ask him to walk here.”

He secretly glanced at the ancestor, fearing rejection.

And it wasn't just a simple fear of being refused.

However, the old man merely waved his hand without even looking up. “It's rare for you to have your own opinion for once...”

“So?”

“Go!!” The old man was angered by his uselessness.

This was followed by another bout of coughing.

Silence.

The youth quivered and hurriedly ran out.