Chương 222: Old Man Solitude

There was no more unexpected developments for the remaining part of their journey. Hua Yao brought Long Feng over to a lush environment; a rarity within these barren lands. It was a valley hidden behind mountains. The air was fresh, the natural energies was dense and the valley was quite beautiful. From the sky, Long Feng could see that there was a waterfall pouring down from the top of a mountain into the valley with powerful force.

A large flowing river was formed by this waterfall, adding an extra touch of masterpiece to this valley. In the center of the valley, Long Feng could see a small wood cottage standing there. Such a building was rare among cultivators who preferred towering palaces and pavilions, so Long Feng was quite surprised to see it. Behind the cottage was a farmland! A fairly large area covered with mortal crops, grains and other things. But without exception, all of them were normal crops.

And a pile of large woods were gathered some distance away from the cottage, looking like someone had been cutting woods recently. All of these… wasn't this the exact setting of a mortal's life? A farm, cutting wood, a small cottage? Long Feng was speechless. It was hard to believe that the guest Elder of the Yihua clan was living here. At the same time, he grew curious towards this unique guest Elder.

"Our guest Elder is quite eccentric. You'll find out soon. But If you can gain his approval, then the advantages you'll get won't be little" Hua Yao saw Long Feng's curiosity and explained with a smile.

"Let's go down" He slowly descended with Long Feng till their feet touched the grass filled valley. Hua Yao proceeded to lead Long Feng to stand a short distance away from the cottage and bowed his head respectfully"Senior, Hua Yao is here with Long Feng as you requested" There was no response for a few minutes but Hua Yao wasn't fazed, actually remaining bowed without complaint.

When Long Feng was finally beginning to believe that there was probably no one here or the guest Elder has stepped out for a bit,"Little boy Yao, it's been a few years. You seem to have gotten more… beautiful" An old voice drifted over from within the cottage, making Hua Yao to smile shyly. Long Feng peeked a glance at Hua Yao's 'beautiful' feminine face and he couldn't refute the old voice. The cottage's curtain was pulled apart by a pair of shriveled old hands and an old man slowly walked out, his steps unstable.

He was very old, looking like he was in his twilight years, and he gave off no aura whatsoever. No matter how Long Feng scanned him with his soul power, the result told him that this old man was a mortal. But how could that be possible? There was only one explanation. This old man was much stronger than Long Feng's soul power could sense.

"Senior!" Long Feng also clasped his fist out of respect, after all this old man certainly looked like he could be a few hundred years old.

"Hmm" the old man nodded at Long Feng, the smile on his wrinkled face looking uglier than a crying expression.

"Little Yao, you've done well. You can return to the clan" The old man waved at Hua Yao, sending him off. Hua Yao nodded respectfully and walked away, flying into the sky after walking some distance away. Long Feng was then left alone with this old man.

"Little kid, you're Long Feng?" The old man slowly asked, his hands held behind his back.

"Junior Long Feng greets Senior" Long Feng lowered his head and replied.

"No need to be overly polite. Just call me Old Man Solitude!" The old man slowly walked past Long Feng and spoke.

'Old Man Solitude?' Long Feng was startled. This name… wasn't it a bit too shabby? But it didn't concern him anyway so he didn't care.

"Go in and make a pot of tea kid. You do know how to make tea right?" Old Man Solitude paused and glanced behind him curiously. Long Feng nodded hesitantly.

"This junior knows a bit""Good. The tea leaves and pot are on the table. Take them out and start a fire by the side" Old Man Solitude nodded gratifyingly. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Long Feng's brows twitched fiercely but he suppressed his confusion and walked into the cottage. Looking around, there was nothing special.

Just a bed, a mat on the floor, table with the tea pot, cups and leaves, and another corner where the cutleries for cooking and eating were kept.

"Is this old man solitude truly a mortal?" Long Feng's confusion increased. He didn't focus on this thought as he quickly picked up the tea leaves and the pot and walked back outside. He was a bit startled to see the old man, now shirtless, slowly lifting a large axe and bringing it down on a large wood, splitting it into two parts. The man's shirt was thrown on the floor carelessly as he continued chopping the woods.

His actions were slow and precise, yet all Long Feng could see was a very experienced mortal doing what he did best; chopping wood.

"This is really confusing" he sighed as he stood there watching Old Man Solitude as he chopped his wood.

"Why are you standing there? The fireplace is by the side. Start a fire and make the tea!" Old Man Solitude soon discovered Long Feng standing still, staring at him incredulously and he couldn't help but chide.

"Y-yes senior!" Long Feng came back to his senses and looked around, spotting the fire place the old man was referring to. He walked briskly over and began to clumsily start a fire.

"Ai…I said call me Old Man Solitude! Enough with the politeness you little kid" old man solitude chided again as he chopped another wood into two equal parts. Then he turned to the fireplace where Long Feng was staring at the small pieces of woods there speechlessly at the fire that just wouldn't appear.

"Kid, you're so inexperienced! You can't even start a fire? Which bush have you been living in?" Old Man Solitude sighed as he put down his axe and walked over slowly. Long Feng lowered his head and moved aside for the old man who kept muttering inaudible things. The old man expertly bent over and arranged the pieces of woods. A couple of minutes later, a fire was blazing.

"That's how it's done kid. Now you make sure it doesn't burn out. Go ahead and make the tea. This old me still has other things to do" old man solitude walked back to his woods, picked up his axe and continued to chop away. Long Feng stood in shocked speechlessness as he watched the old man continue his chopping. What exactly was going on? Today seemed to bring so much unexpected developments that left him either lost, confused or speechless. Sighing helplessly, he began to get the tea ready.

An hour passed quietly with the sounds of axe chopping wood merged with the sound of the waterfall hitting the river, echoing endlessly through the valley. Old Man Solitude's back was covered in sweat and he looked exhausted. He put down the axe again and looked back at Long Feng who was staring blankly at the colourful liquid he somehow made. When he tasted it, his face scrunched up in blackness"What the hell did I make? Poison? It's so bitter!" And thus, he simply stood there blankly, unable to decide what to do.

"Ah… this kid, what exactly can you do?" Old Man Solitude shook his head helplessly as he walked over, his chest glistening with sweat.

"Um… I can fight…" Long Feng replied softly.

"Aiyah… fighting? Will fighting feed you? This old me hates fights. It's better to live your life peacefully in seclusion!" Old Man Solitude shook his head again and replied. He walked over, fetched some of the colourful liquid Long Feng made and took a sip. His expression instantly turned as black as the pot"Pah! Kid! What did you make? Do you want to poison this old me to death?" Long Feng's was embarrassed as he traced his nose bridge with his fingers.

"Ah. Forget it. Watch and learn how it's done!" Old Man Solitude sighed and poured the colourful liquid away before beginning to make the tea himself. Long Feng was slowly entranced by the gracefulness and skill contained in the Old man's movements. Half an hour later, the tea was ready. When Long Feng taste it, he could only sigh and wonder what exactly he made earlier because that… certainly wasn't tea.

"Kid, how does it taste? Good right?" Old Man Solitude asked as he also took a sip.

"Hm. Senior is really great at making tea" Long Feng nodded.

"That's right. It's much better than that poison you made earlier" Old Man Solitude smiled proudly, his words leaving Long Feng speechless.

"Making tea is an art kid. It requires patience, calmness and dedication to master it. Just like everything else in this world. There are ten thousand renowned Daos, but there are infinite things in this world. To me, the Dao is infinite. In my insignificant perception, anything can become a Dao, even making tea, or just breathing. And every Dao can only be perfected by oneself through endless patience, perseverance and practice.

A useless Dao is only useless because the person is on the wrong path, and even a strong Dao could be wrong. Who knows what is the right path?" Old Man Solitude slowly spoke, his voice suddenly sounding solemn and deep as the ocean as he took another sip of his tea. His words made Long Feng to freeze. His brain processed the words rapidly. He had a feeling that he had grasped something, yet when he focused, there was nothing. This feeling was very confusing.

"Ai… old me is getting old. I speak such rubbish sometimes. Don't force yourself to understand kid. If you're destined, you will understand. If not, you will simply stress yourself to death" old man Solitude whispered as he walked towards his cottage.

"It's getting dark kid. Do you plan to sleep outside?" He shouted when he reached the cottage and turned to see Long Feng still standing at the same spot without moving. Long Feng cleared his thoughts and looked up to see that the sun had already set and darkness was rapidly spreading. He shook his head and walked over to the cottage, his gaze on the old man now filled with respect and admiration. In his eyes, the old man was much more mysterious than before.

Even if someone beat Long Feng to death, he wouldn't believe that those words were spoken by this old man were just foolish ramblings. This man could very possibly be an expert in disguise!

"You'll sleep on the mat kid. I don't share my bed with men. I'm not into that" Old Man Solitude's shameless words instantly shattered the mysteriousness he possessed in Long Feng's mind. Unable to find the words to reply with, Long Feng simply walked into the cottage and sat on the floor mat, ready to cultivate through the night.

"Hey kid! What are you doing?" Old Man Solitude asked curiously. Long Feng rolled his eyes inwardly"I want to cultivate senior… I mean, Old Man Solitude" he replied. Old Man Solitude smiled, seeming to like the name, but then he frowned again"Cultivate? Kid, the night is for resting. If you can't even follow such basic laws, how do you even cultivate? What's the fun in cultivating at every minute kid? Just lay down and sleep" he chided. Long Feng was once again rendered speechless.

He suddenly has a feeling that this old man Solitude and Yan jian… were a bit similar. Both of them seemed to think of cultivation as a stressful waste of time.

"Go ahead, lay down and sleep!" Old Man Solitude urged. Long Feng could only give up the idea of cultivation that night and reluctantly lay down on the mat to sleep. Seeing this, old man Solitude nodded in satisfaction and climbed into his bed too. Snoring sounds gradually filled the cottage a few minutes later.

"Are you kidding me!" Long Feng wanted to scream at this moment. Why was he so unlucky today? Forcefully calming down, he closed his eyes and also fell asleep barely a few minutes later.

The next morning, Long Feng woke up feeling very energetic and clear minded. He was filled with shock at the exhaustion that actually filled his body last night, as he fell asleep within minutes. Now, he felt much better than yesterday. Even the air seemed to be cooler than ever before. He only has this feeling back when he used to sleep in the Long clan without worries.

Since he left, he'd been forced to either cultivate through the night or sleep with his perception spread out, ready to open his eyes at any moment. That was undoubtedly very tiring and exhausting to his mind. But last night, he fell asleep so deeply and easily that it surprised him. His bone deep cautious nature seemed to have vanished and he slept as though he was still living with his father in the clan.

"That old man… who is he? To actually make me subconsciously lower my guard and caution around him?" Long Feng narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, the curtains were pulled apart and light flooded into the dim room. Old Man Solitude slowly walked in, a bowl of steaming hot porridge in his hand. Glancing at Long Feng, he placed the bowl before him and smiled"Kid, you're finally awake. Considering how deeply you slept, I thought you wouldn't wake up today at all" Long Feng smiled apologetically"Don't worry.

Here, have this bowl and eat up. We have to go to the farm later after cutting some wood" old man Solitude gestured at the bowl before Long Feng and said. Long Feng didn't even have the strength to ponder on the words of the old man. He strangely felt hungry, something that wasn't supposed to happen, at least not now. He picked up the bowl and began to eat like he had been starving for days. Old Man Solitude watched him silently with a faint smile"Poor kid. You must've been hungry for days."

Long Feng didn't speak untill he emptied the bowl then let out a satisfied sigh, feeling full.

"Thank you old man Solitude" He put down the bowl and thanked the old man staring at him.

"Ah it's nothing. Just remember that you'll cook lunch later. And if you make up some poison or burn my house, I'll break your arms" Old Man Solitude replied with a grin on his wrinkled face. Long Feng's words stuck in his throat as he sat there speechlessly, not knowing what to say.

'cooking?' Long Feng wanted to cry. Today was going to be… exciting.