Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

Song Changsheng was suddenly alarmed, only then realizing he had actually spoken his thoughts aloud. He quickly laughed it off. "It’s nothing. Which one of these are we taking?"

Zhuang Yuechan, not suspecting a thing, pointed to the more rounded Flying Ship on the left. "That’s the one. It departs at Noon today and will only take a month to reach Meng Province."

"Noon, huh? That’s soon. Let’s board."

The two walked up the lowered wooden ladder to board the ship. Soon, a white-haired old man blocked their path. He stiffly presented his own Waist Token and said, "My name is Jiangg Qing. I am the Steward of this Flying Ship, responsible for passenger registration. Where are you headed?"

Song Changsheng glanced at it and saw the words "Wanlong Commerce Association" on the Waist Token. ’As expected of a colossal Commerce Association that spans several Cultivation Realms,’ he thought. ’You really can see them everywhere.’

"We’re disembarking in Meng Province," Zhuang Yuechan said softly.

"Within the Daqi Cultivation World, it’s one thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones per person." Jiangg Qing took out a piece of beast skin paper and brandished it, on which the fares to different regions were recorded.

But strangely, while the trip to Meng Province cost one thousand Spirit Stones, the trip to the Gusu Kingdom, which bordered Meng Province, only cost nine hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones. The fare to the kingdom after Gusu even dropped as low as five hundred before gradually increasing again.

"Hey, there’s a problem with your pricing, isn’t there? The Gusu Kingdom is farther away, and it’s only nine hundred Spirit Stones. I’m only going to Xi Province, so why is it fifteen hundred Spirit Stones? Do you take us for suckers?" a dissatisfied middle-aged Cultivator behind Song Changsheng yelled.

Song Changsheng was also a bit curious. Xi Province bordered Meng Province, so the journey was even shorter. Why was the price so much more expensive?

He didn’t believe the Wanlong Commerce Association was deliberately ripping them off. After all, they had a reputation built over several thousand years. Even if they practiced some form of differential treatment, it couldn’t possibly be this blatant.

Jiangg Qing had clearly faced this kind of questioning before. He responded coldly, "After the Flying Ship starts, it requires a great deal of time and energy to reach its maximum speed. Although your journey is short, the ship has to decelerate upon arrival and then accelerate again. The energy consumption for this is enormous.

"This is a huge waste of time and energy. According to the Commerce Association’s original plan, the first stop on this route should be the Gusu Kingdom. The only reason you’re able to disembark within the Daqi Cultivation World at all is because of a special request from the Great City Lord.

"If you can accept the price, take a seat. If you can’t, get off the ship now. The price is non-negotiable."

Jiangg Qing was incredibly blunt. The middle-aged Cultivator’s face turned pale, then livid. With a cold snort, he turned and got off the ship. Fifteen hundred was no small sum for him.

After hearing the explanation, Song Changsheng roughly understood the reason. Simply put, the longer the ship flew continuously, the faster its speed would become and the less energy it would consume. That was why the fares to places like the Gusu Kingdom were cheaper.

However, the distances to places like Xi Province and Meng Province were too short. The ship would have to decelerate just as it was starting to pick up speed. This cycle of acceleration and deceleration was very energy-intensive.

It was just like air conditioners from his previous life—frequently turning them on and off didn’t save electricity but actually increased power consumption.

So, it was understandable that the fare was more expensive. Someone had to bear the loss, right? The cost is always passed on to the customer.

Besides, for an organization the size of the Wanlong Commerce Association, a mere few thousand Spirit Stones was nothing. This was more about giving face to the Great City Lord; otherwise, they wouldn’t stop in the Daqi Cultivation World at all.

That was why the old man’s attitude was so poor. Take it or leave it.

Jiangg Qing turned his gaze to Song Changsheng and his companion. "Are you two riding or not?"

Song Changsheng winced. Two thousand Spirit Stones for two people was definitely not cheap, but there was no helping it. They had to make good time.

Just as he was about to bite the bullet and pay, he suddenly remembered his VIP Card. It was said to grant a 30% discount at any Wanlong Commerce Association establishment. ’This should work too, right?’

Thinking of this, he took out his Silver VIP Card.

Jiangg Qing, who had been growing impatient, did a complete 180 the moment he saw the card. He hastily bowed and said, "So it is an Honored Guest Elder in my presence! This lowly one was blind. Please forgive my offense, Your Excellency!"

’The card is as useful as ever.’

Song Changsheng quickly helped Jiangg Qing up. "Let’s recalculate. There should be a discount, right?"

Jiangg Qing discreetly wiped a bead of cold sweat from his forehead and said with an embarrassed laugh, "Your Excellency jests. Please, come inside."

’Are you kidding me? A Silver VIP Card holder has the same status as one of the Commerce Association’s Purple Mansion Elders. Trying to charge a member of the top brass... Do I even want my job anymore?’

Seeing that the steward had completely dropped the matter of Spirit Stones, Song Changsheng gained a new appreciation for the unremarkable-looking card in his hand.

He glanced at the somewhat stunned Zhuang Yuechan beside him and said, "Then I..."

Before he could finish, Jiangg Qing immediately beamed and said, "It is this lowly one’s honor to have you and your wife aboard. Please, come inside. I have already prepared the best room for you."

The man had obviously misunderstood something, but Song Changsheng wasn’t foolish enough to correct him. It saved them several hundred Spirit Stones, after all. Besides, ’just because she isn’t my wife now, doesn’t mean she won’t be in the future, right?’

He nodded slightly. "Lead the way, if you would."

Jiangg Qing carefully led the two to a room on the top floor of the ship’s superstructure. The sign on the door read, "Celestial Number One."

"The accommodations are simple, so I ask for Your Excellency’s forbearance. If you need anything at all, just ring the bell on the table, and someone will come to assist you."

Despite what he said, the place could hardly be called "simple." Although it was a single room with a sitting area, it was fully equipped with a Guardian Array and a Spirit Gathering Array. The furnishings were exceptionally luxurious; even the carpet was made entirely of white Fox Demon fur.

It was almost as good as the cave residence Muu Guibai had granted him.

"Thank you for your trouble."

"It is this lowly one’s honor. I wonder if the Elder would like to pay a visit to this ship’s Guardian Elder? This lowly one can pass on the message," Jiangg Qing asked cautiously, still bowing.

’On a Cross-Boundary Flying Ship, the Guardian Elder would have to be a Purple Mansion Cultivator at the very least.’

Song Changsheng thought for a moment but declined. He was just catching a ride; there was no need to disturb the man.

He didn’t know that as he spoke, Jiangg Qing let out a huge sigh of relief. The only reason for the steward’s switch from arrogance to reverence was his fear that Song Changsheng would report his earlier poor attitude to the Guardian Elder.

Since the Honored Guest had no intention of paying a visit, it proved he hadn’t taken the slight to heart. His job was safe.

It couldn’t be helped. In the Wanlong Commerce Association, status was everything. Although Song Changsheng was only a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he had the Silver VIP Card, which made him an Honored Guest Elder—a being Jiangg Qing could only look up to.

As for how someone with his Cultivation level obtained such a card, that was none of Jiangg Qing’s concern. It was only two boat tickets, after all. Keeping his job was what mattered.

"Then this lowly one will take his leave."

As he watched Jiangg Qing withdraw, Song Changsheng suddenly felt a pinch on the soft flesh of his waist. The grip was strong enough that he even felt a twinge of pain.

He turned his head to see fair, slender fingers pinching his waist and twisting a full one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. Their owner was looking at him with a half-smile. "Since when did I become your wife? And since when did you become an Honored Guest Elder of the Wanlong Commerce Association?"

Song Changsheng grinned. "I never said you were! He misunderstood. Why didn’t you correct him just now?"

Hearing this, Zhuang Yuechan couldn’t help but roll her eyes. "Do you think I’m an idiot? That was a thousand Spirit Stones."

"Oh, so it was for the Spirit Stones. And here I thought you were tacitly agreeing," Song Changsheng sighed, his voice full of mock dejection.

"In your dreams." The pretty face under Zhuang Yuechan’s veil flushed slightly. For some reason, her words seemed to lack their usual conviction.

But when she saw Song Changsheng’s teasing smile, how could Zhuang Yuechan not know she’d been "flirted with" again? A wave of irritation washed over her, and she couldn’t help but tighten her grip. Seeing Song Changsheng grimace in pain, she instantly felt all her "frustration" vent away.

What she didn’t realize, however, was that their relationship seemed to be gradually crossing a certain boundary...

...