90,000 Years of Longevity

Chapter 288: Lu Wencheng

The late Qing Dynasty.

East China...

There were no bustling streets, no crowds, and no high-rise buildings. Looking at the four directions, there was only a desolate and thick white smoke that constantly floated from everywhere.

Even the air was filled with a decadent breath.

Of course, there would still be streets formed by a few small buildings.

It was just that most of these streets were occupied by foreigners. 

Those foreigners were all wearing suits, walking through them with their heads high, their faces were different from the depression around them. They looked prideful and confident.

Of course, in the streets, occasionally some Chinese people wearing common clothes also passed through.

Whenever they saw foreigners, they would come forward to flatter...

"Hello, Mr. Will, you are out shopping again, I recently bought a very beautiful white tiger, do you want to try it? 20 grams of opium will do..." A man in his thirties with a dull look had his head lowered and his body bent as if he was a puppy while speaking.

"Mr. Glen...you said yesterday that you can take me out of this country. I want to go to the United States. As long as you can do it, I am willing to do anything." A woman who seemed to be only in her twenties was kneeling on the ground and with tears streaming down constantly begged a foreigner.

In the street, there were too many scenes like this.

In the same city, the presence of another unremarkable street was completely different.

The street was very narrow.

Strictly speaking, it was just a small alley.

There was a rotten smell in the air, and it was extremely hot and stuffy under the sunlight.

But both sides of the street were full of people.

These people's clothes were tattered, their faces were pale, full of dirt, looking very weak.

Compared to people who flattered foreigners in other places, they looked even more unbearable, like a puddle of mud.

At the same time, almost everyone held a tobacco rod in their hands.

Some people looked at the tobacco rod in a daze.

Some people smoked obsessively, raising their heads from time to time, spitting out a puff of white smoke, the numb face, sometimes sluggish, sometimes showing a silly smile, there was no way to see whether they were enjoying it with bliss or pain.

In this environment, in the middle of the street, two teenagers were walking side by side.

These two teenagers were completely different from those around them.

Between the two, a young man dressed like a commoner, with a long braid, looked like a typical guy from the Qing dynasty, but his eyes were full of fine light and his complexion was ruddy. Obviously, this era had not caused him too much influences.

The other young man was dressed in a white robe. His shoulder-length hair was scattered naturally. He looked spotlessly clean. He carried his hands on his back when walking, he looked no different from a celestial from the ninth heaven.

"Sigh! Sir, these people are crazy. They give all the valuable things at home to foreigners for some inferior opium. Even their daughters and wives were sold by them in order to get the opium. They don't even recognize their brothers and parents anymore. This is an era of complete destruction. Perhaps our kingdom is really over!"

As he walked, the common boy kept frowning.

Maybe it was because the appearance of the people around was so miserable, he finally couldn't help it anymore as he sighed, and then said hoarsely to the boy in the white robe next to him.

"The changes of the times are all like this!" The white-shirted boy looked indifferent.

He saw too much.

He saw countless more miserable scenes than this.

The situation on both sides of the street at the moment, to a certain extent, had no effect on him at all.

But this was not the case with the common boy.

"Sir, you are right. But... no matter how bad this era is, these people are innocent. They are just born in this era by mistake. If possible, I am willing to help them." The common boy said seriously. 

The boy in the white robe reacted flatly, "Oh?"

"Rather than selling those antiquities to foreigners, it is better for me to buy them. After all, antiquities are what we have."

"But in the end, those antiques will still be used to buy opium."

"...I can dissuade them! If these guys continue to smoke that thing, they will definitely be completely abolished in the long run. After I have money, I can help them rebuild their homes. As long as they have enough food, they will definitely be willing to live better."

"What you need to save is not these few people, but this country and even this era."

"I..." The boy in the shirt wanted to say something, but after the word came out, he couldn't say anything next.

Yes!

He was just playing stupid.

The bad thing was this era.

Even if these people were saved, what could be done next?

What should be destroyed would still be destroyed.

Even if he forcibly intervened, it was still absolutely impossible to stop the torrent of this era.

"Sir, let's just forget about this era. I only want to save this street. Of course, in return, I will try my best to collect the things you need for you in the coming years." After a long time, the common boy spoke again.

"You can." After hearing this, the boy in the white robe did not hesitate to answer very casually.

"Thank you, sir."

He was originally frowning, but he was overjoyed when he heard this answer. Although he had not known the boy in the white robe for a long time, he knew very well how much weight this word represented.

This word was equivalent to directly saving all the lives of this street.

These two teenagers were naturally Lu Wensheng and Ye Bei.

When they first met... it was in the late Qing Dynasty.

...

"The years are rushing; I don't know how many pieces the little guy collected back then." On the street, Ye Bei murmured softly in his mouth.

Next to him, when Gongsun Bo happened to hear this, he secretly felt a little strange.

But after he witnessed Ye Bei's miraculous methods, at this time, he didn't dare to say anymore but silently led the way.

Time passed quickly.

About twenty minutes later, Gongsun Bo stopped in front of a half-hidden antique shop.

The corners of his mouth moved as he was about to speak to Ye Bei. 

But without warning, a discordant voice came first.

"Hey, if you two have nothing to do, don't get in the way. Today, I have to go in and smash this shop. A damn bastard here obviously sold fake things, it's fine that he charged a high price, but he didn't pay attention to me at all."

The speaker was a 25-year-old man.

Behind him were two menacing men, carrying two baseball bats in their hands.