"To another pce of longevity,” Liang Yudong held her hand, his face showing no sadness, only a sense of relief.

  A-Liao lifted her head, tears glistening in her eyes: “Are you going too, Master? If you can't make the elixir of immortality…”

  "With the ginkgo seed, there's no need to go,” Liang Yudong lightly scratched her nose and pointed sideways behind them, saying, “Look over there.”

  A-Liao turned around to see a tall ginkgo tree, its branches lush and leaves abundant under the starlight.

  Liang Yudong walked over, gently pcing his palm on the trunk, silently reciting a few incantations. A faint green light emerged from beneath his hand, tracing a beautiful arc in the air before nding in his outstretched palm.

  A-Liao looked at the round, plump fruit in his hand and wiped her tears away, saying foolishly, “This ginkgo seed… looks different from the ones I usually see.”

  "Of course it looks different. The ginkgo seed is a divine object from heaven, taking a thousand years to mature. I've calcuted the time; tonight is the moment the ginkgo nut ripens. Mo Bai was too impatient,” he sighed, leaning against the tree trunk and sitting down. “She was originally a white cat that died of illness, buried by her owner beneath my true form three hundred years ago. Because she was infused with my spiritual energy and nurtured by the sun and moonlight, she became a yaokai. Over time, her true form and my true form became a shared entity. If I can't escape this camity, she will also turn to ashes with me.”

  "Then... then Master, hurry up and add the ginkgo nut into the medicine! That way, you can make the longevity elixir!” A-Liao said urgently.

  "I′ll be able to make it tonight,” Liang Yudong said with a sense of relief, smiling at A-Liao. “But after taking the medicine, I need to go to a distant pce to recuperate alone for a while. During this time, you must take care of yourself.”

  "How long will you be gone?”

  "Ten years.”

  "Okay. I′ll wait for you to come back, Master.”

  A-Liao sat down close to Liang Yudong, wrapping her arm around his, afraid that if she loosened her grip, he would disappear.

  The mountain wind rustled, and everything was silent. On the mountaintop, there were only the two figures leaning against each other and the sound of their long breaths...

  "A-Liao, do you think living forever is good? Immortality?”

  "Of course it's good! If every day is spent happily, then living forever would make happiness endless.”

  "What if one is not happy?”

  "Master, what does it mean to be unhappy?”

  "For example... when your sister Mo Bai disappears, or just imagine that I disappear as well.”

  "Don't! I... I hate being unhappy. I don’t want days that are unhappy!”

  "I don’t want days that are unhappy.’ Hehe, A-Liao, that's a great way to put it. Then promise me that you′ll be happy every day from now on.”

  "Mm. I understand. I will obediently wait for Master to come back.”

  In the morning, Liang Yudong disappeared.

  At the top of the mountain, there was only A-Liao, still asleep against the ginkgo tree...

  Two nights ter, the town experienced a once-in-a-century torrential thunderstorm, with bright lightning almost tearing the sky to shreds.

  After a night filled with fear and trepidation, people welcomed the sunlight of the following day.

  "The thunder st night was terrifying!”

  "Did you know? The old ginkgo tree outside Yucai Primary School was struck and split in half!”

  "Is that true?”

  "My nephew lives in that vilge over there. It's quite eerie; I heard it was struck and split in half. The roots were bsted open, and there′s a big hole where they found a skeleton—no one knows if it′s a cat or a dog!”

  "That's really scary... What's been going on tely? First hail, then a thunderstorm. Is the weather acting up?”

  In the evening, people in the neighborhood gathered together, chatting eagerly about st night's thunderstorm.

  "I've already waited twenty years." The woman seemed accustomed to the taste of `floating life′ tea. Only half a cup of tea remained. "He didn’t come back."

  I turned to look at the thin ginkgo tree in the backyard.

  "You′re a tree yaokai too, aren′t you? Can you help me find him?” She leaned forward, eyes welling with tears. “He left me a whole chest of gold. If you find him, I′ll give you everything that′s left.”

  "You still can't read, can you, A-Liao?” I replied, dodging her question.

  She was taken aback, then nodded shyly.

  "That's good then,” I said with a chuckle.

  She looked at me, puzzled.

  "You′ll always remember him, won′t you? And all those days you spent together,” I said, taking a sip of my tea. "Remember the happiness you promised him.”

  "Yes.” Her voice was filled with a soft but unwavering resolve.

  I set down the cup and pushed the gold bars back towards her. "Please go back.”

  "Miss Sha, you..." She was taken aback, then disappointment washed over her.

  "Live happily. Perhaps there will be a chance for reunion.”

  I stood up to see her off.

  "Boss dy, you... you actually turned down so much gold!” One of the workers, Pang Zi, emerged from behind me, gazing after A-Liao's departing figure, menting.

  (T/N: 胖子; Pàng Zǐ is Fat, 瘦子 Shòu Zi is Thin. In the original script, they are called the fat one and the skinny one; to avoid body shaming, the transtor will continue to use Mandarin to refer to them, meaning they will not be transted into English.

  The assistant, Shòu Zi, tapped rapidly on the calcutor, figuring out how much that pile of gold would fetch at today′s rates—and how much good food, fine clothes, and luxury items it could buy.

  Ignoring them, I reached into the air and pulled out a booklet. The yellowed cover was neatly inscribedYaokai Spirit Longevity Formu."