Chapter: 5250

Old Madame gazed at the old man in the painting, murmuring, "Lord Meng's real name was Meng Sheng, courtesy name Changming, from Long'an, born during the Tang dynasty of the Lulin year, which was 664 AD. He later started practicing Qigong to seek immortality and renamed himself Meng Changsheng, which is how our Jiang family refers to him."

"Meng Changsheng..." Yi Chen muttered to himself, not familiar with this name, but he wasn't too surprised either.

The painting itself looked like it was from a very distant era, and Old Madame's family had inherited for over 1,600 years. The person in the painting was an ancient figure from the Tang dynasty, so it didn't surprise him that much.

At this point, Old Madame continued, "When Meng Changsheng was young, he passed the imperial exam and became a high-ranking official, serving in the court. However, later on, due to unexpected circumstances, he resigned his position, brought his wife and children here, and dedicated himself to practicing Qigong. Unfortunately, his wife and children fell ill with pneumonia shortly after arriving, leaving only him to continue practicing..."

"Meng Changsheng spent decades meditating in this place until the Tang dynasty's Tianbao 14th year, which was 755 AD. It was then that he temporarily left this place, went into seclusion, and wandered in the mountains."

The look on his face changed slightly. "In 755 AD, Old Master Meng was already over ninety years old..."

"Yes." Old Madame replied. "But according to my family's ancestral memories, when he met Old Master Meng in the Tianbao 15th year of the Tang dynasty, which was 756 AD, Old Master Meng looked exactly like the one in the painting, with not a hint that he was nearly a hundred years old."

Lei Chen gazed at the painting again, his heart full of astonishment.

The old man in the painting, although thin and gaunt, exuded vitality. Combining this with the era's background, people generally lived to be around fifty or sixty years old, and even those who were over fifty looked much older than someone in their seventies.

So, the person in the painting, set against that historical backdrop, appeared to be around forty years old, comparable to a spirited elderly man of sixty today.

It was amazing that he could still look like this at the age of ninety or more. This was proof that he had truly mastered the essence of Qigong!

Otherwise, even if he had coincidentally obtained a few rejuvenating elixirs, combined with the era's background and average lifespan, it would be very difficult for him to live so long.

Lei Chen recalled Old Madame's earlier introduction, so he asked her: "Grandma Jiang, when we met in Mexico, you said your ancestors had been practicing medicine for generations until the An Lushan Rebellion, when they lost their medical legacy. Is that what happened at the time when your ancestor met this Old Master Meng?"

"Yes." Old Madame nodded. "In 756 AD, it was the height of the An Lushan Rebellion. Anluo occupied Chang'an, marking the beginning of the Sheng Wu era. My ancestor and his parents, grandparents, originally lived in Chang'an. His grandfather and father were both palace physicians, who fled out of Chang'an before Anluo's occupation and made their way to the south. But on this route, they encountered rebel forces, which killed all my ancestor's family members. At a critical moment, it was Old Master Meng who rode into rescue, slashing down with his sword and saving my ancestor from being beheaded, when that year my ancestor was just six years old."

Lei Chen's eyes widened in understanding: "So your ancestor survived but lost the medical legacy of his ancestors, right?"

"Yes, that's true." Old Madame nodded slightly and continued: "All the medical classics our ancestor had inherited were carried in his luggage. According to legend, there must have been at least three or five chests, but at a critical moment, my ancestor's father saw Old Master Meng approaching with his sword, so he put one genealogy book and two Feng Bone Handcuffs into my ancestor's bosom. Then, my ancestor's father set fire to all the medical classics and lost the family's medical legacy from that day on..."

Lei Chen couldn't help but sigh: "Numerous classics were lost in this turmoil, and even in Tang Dynasty times, our ancestors knew what Feng Bone Handcuffs were. But now, almost no one in China or even around the world knows about these things. We're currently inheriting traditional culture and Chinese medicine, yet we don't know how many classics have been buried in the long river of history..."

As she spoke, Lei Chen suddenly thought of something and asked in surprise: "Wait a minute, Grandma Jiang, you said there were two hand cuffs?"

"Yes," Old Madame replied firmly. "Both hand cuffs were made by Feng Bone Handcuffs, originally a pair, and they were our family's treasured heirloom. After my ancestor was rescued by Old Master Meng, he asked if my ancestor would like to give him one of the hand cuffs as a reward. My ancestor agreed, and Old Master Meng indeed turned out to be a virtuous person who only took one Feng Bone Handcuff and let my ancestor keep the other."

Lei Chen asked again: "So your ancestor also learned about spiritual energy from this Old Master Meng?"

"No," Old Madame shook her head, filled with nostalgia. "According to legend, those born with natural mastery of spiritual energy are extremely rare, and even among millions of people, only one or two might possess it. Without that gift, even if someone practices for a lifetime, they can't enter the realm of spiritual energy. Not just my ancestors, but even Old Master Meng's wife and children didn't have that gift..."

As she spoke, Old Madame pointed to the wall painting of a child reading books: "My ancestor didn't have that natural talent, so he became a servant to Old Master Meng, essentially like a foster son. Old Master Meng raised him in his household, teaching him to read and paint, and these three paintings are all my ancestor's works from his old age. The last one is his self-portrait as an elderly person."

Lei Chen listened with reverence and couldn't help but sigh: "It seems that Old Master Meng was indeed a divine being, not only possessing great spiritual power, learning, and artistic skill but also having compassion and kindness. He's truly hard to find..."

"Yes," Old Madame nodded slightly and then continued: "My ancestor lived alongside Old Master Meng for over sixty years, until the year 820 AD, during the Tang Dynasty's Da Tang Wu era..."

"When the master and servant parted ways, Old Master Meng gave my ancestor some money and a pill, instructing him to enter secular life. He promised that when my ancestor found the way to longevity, he would definitely return and grant my ancestor an opportunity;" JrNovels.com