Chapter 347: Life

Seventy years into the age of heroes.

With each generation of Jianghu citizens receiving education, the emergence of geniuses, and the advancement of technology, the Jianghu experienced an explosive growth in technology after completing its basic industrialization.

There were even mobile phones now.

Although they could only make calls.

But this was already pretty good. Shi Feizhe, holding his mobile phone, arrived in Yong Province.

He was here to attend Shan Xu’s funeral.

Shan Xu had died.

He died of old age, at the age of one hundred and ten.

When Shan Xu was young, he was often attacked, poisoned, and seriously injured. Even after becoming a True Person, it was a stroke of luck that he could live to the age of one hundred and ten.

His funeral was not grand. Besides his family, only Shi Feizhe and a few fishing friends attended.

“In this life, I actually died of old age. It’s truly unbelievable.”

These were Shan Xu’s last words before his death.

Watching Shan Xu being buried, Shi Feizhe thought back to the first time he met him.

Shan Xu was being hunted down by that someone, and even fought desperately for him, a stranger.

Shan Xu was truly one of the few good people in the Jianghu!

He was always straightforward with others and never plotted against his friends.

Such a person should have been killed in some corner of the old Jianghu. Yet, he muddled through, got married, had children, and eventually enjoyed a peaceful old age.

Life was truly strange.

After reminiscing about Shan Xu’s life, Shi Feizhe declined Shan Juanjuan’s offer to see him off. He walked on the road, preparing to slowly return home.

Now the roads were completely paved with asphalt.

For these past decades, he had been living a secluded life at home, observing the changes in the Jianghu.

The Chairman of the Jianghu had been constantly changing, from Guan Shan to Huang Xueshu, and now it was Zhou Jiaxing.

The Jianghu seemed to be slowly forgetting him.

“Old man, where are you going? I’ll give you a ride!”

As he was thinking about these things, Shi Feizhe saw a white car parked by the roadside, and a young man inside spoke to him.

The shape of the car was similar to those from Shi Feizhe’s previous life, but the power source was different.

Gasoline internal combustion engines combined with True Qi engines were a unique feature of the Jianghu.

The young man in the car, perhaps seeing an old man walking on the road, thought he might be in need of help.

“No need to be polite, you go ahead!” Shi Feizhe smiled at him.

His current appearance was that of a small old man with hair, a bit like Yuan Jiuzhong back then.

He was, after all, over a hundred years old. If it were in his previous life, he would probably be dead already.

In the Jianghu, he still had some lifespan left, but not much.

He probably wouldn’t live to be a hundred and forty or so.

“It’s so hot out. Where are you headed? If it’s on the way, it’s no trouble to give you a ride!” the young man in the car said enthusiastically.

At this time, the weather was indeed hot. It was August, and the temperature was over thirty degrees Celsius.

Shi Feizhe looked at his enthusiastic and sincere face, thought for a moment, and said, “I’m going towards Ji Province. Are you heading that way?”

“Hey, that’s perfect. I’m going to Qiuyang City. Want to go together?” the young man said.

“That would be great! Thank you very much.” Shi Feizhe said as he got into the car.

The air conditioning inside the car was on, making Shi Feizhe feel much cooler instantly. He looked around the car. It was an ordinary family car, plain but comfortable.

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“Hey~ It’s no trouble at all.” the young man said. “Respecting the elderly and caring for the young, isn’t that our tradition?”

Decades ago, there was no such thing as respecting the elderly and caring for the young!

Shi Feizhe thought back to when he first arrived in the Jianghu, the only person who showed him kindness was Hua Xiaomei, who had ulterior motives.

“How should I address you?” Shi Feizhe asked.

“My surname is Hua, Hua Taiping.” the young man said as he started the car.

Your surname is Hua too?

Shi Feizhe looked at the young man and found that he did not resemble Hua Xiaomei at all.

Hua Xiaocheng and Hua Xiaomei were dead, Hua Chonglang had disappeared, and Hua Miaomiao had gotten married.

Was this young man related to the Hua Family?

As he started the car, the vehicle steadily drove on the asphalt road, quickly reaching seventy to eighty kilometers per hour.

“The surname Hua? That’s quite rare!” Shi Feizhe said. “There used to be a Hua family in the Demon Sect in the past.”

Hua Taiping said, “That’s ancient history. I heard my grandfather talk about it when I went back to my hometown this time.”

“Your grandfather was from the Demon Sect’s Hua family?” Shi Feizhe asked.

“My grandfather was a servant of the Hua family back then. It was only after Commander Guan liberated Yu Province that my grandfather was able to turn his life around. He was given land and could live a new life.” Hua Taiping said as he drove.

“Then your grandfather must be quite old, right?” Shi Feizhe said.

“Over a hundred years old, but he’s still in good spirits. He can eat more meat than I can, he can finish a whole bowl of fatty meat in one go!” Hua Taiping said.

“Being able to eat and drink well is a good thing!”

“But now he has high cholesterol, yet he keeps clamoring for meat and alcohol every day. I came back this time to take him to the hospital for a checkup.” Hua Taiping sighed.

My grandfather, who was so strong when I was young, now acts like a child in his old age.

He even says things like, “Eating meat and drinking alcohol can add a few years to my life. Without meat and alcohol, I wouldn’t be able to live a single day!”

“Their generation, perhaps because they lived through tough times when they were young, now enjoy eating meat and drinking alcohol.” Shi Feizhe said.

“Actually…” Hua Taiping said, “Sometimes I think their generation had it good.”

“How do you mean?” Shi Feizhe asked.

“Although their generation suffered a lot, they must have been very fair and happy, right?” Hua Taiping said. “Our generation is more tired.”

“Actually, it’s not really tiring, it’s just a feeling of… injustice.” Hua Taiping added.

“Why do you say that?” Shi Feizhe asked.

“You may not understand how competitive our generation is. After graduating, it’s hard to even find a job.” Hua Taiping said. “And even if you find a job, it’s not a good one.”

“I really regret not going to graduate school or passing the civil service exam.”

“At least it would be much better than now.” Hua Taiping complained.

“I see you have a car, your income should be pretty good, right?” Shi Feizhe said. “You may not be at the top, but compared to those below you, you’re more than comfortable.”

“Sigh~ This is all earned by bending my knees. My current job is as a customer manager, I’m the ‘B’ side.” Hua Taiping opened up, “Internally, I’m tortured by my boss, constantly chasing after performance targets.”

“Externally, I’m constantly flattering clients. Sometimes, I even have to let clients take advantage of me, like losing money playing cards, paying for drinks, and so on.”

“I earn a lot, but it’s all earned through bowing and scraping. Every day is a mental torture. If I really had a choice, I wouldn’t want to work for a single day.” Hua Taiping said.

“There are so many people who would kill for the chance to kneel and earn money, and it’s your turn! You have to kneel with skill, talent, and ability to earn money!” Shi Feizhe said with a laugh. “This is life!”

Hua Taiping said, “You actually understand this! You’re absolutely right. This damn thing is life!”