Reborn: Revenge of the Concubine's Daughter

Chapter 49 The secret of agerasia

Through the contact with Bai Yangbai in the previous life, He Danggui confirmed that the so-called prediction of future and ability to help people change their fates were all his tricks. Bai Yangbai was not an immortal, but a human.

However, he was the human most like an immortal in the world. He was one of the smartest people in the world. Every official trained by him could be promoted step by step; every strategy proposed by him could succeed naturally; every business he was engaged in could be profitable.

Bai Yangbai could really be called a master consultant. At least He Danggui never saw he lost.

The most peculiar thing was that Bai Yangbai was neither an official nor a businessman. When he was penniless, he went to show off in the imperial court or shops to get some money. When he didn’t lack money, he would like to act as a beggar in the streets, doing something that other beggars dare not do, such as going into a restaurant to beg for eating with others, and then being thrown out by safeguards of the restaurant. He once told He Danggui that he would be thrown out more than 50 times a year.

Of course, he used another face when he begged for food. In his words, he should experience all kinds of things in the world. Not only should he enjoy wealth and honor, but also experience the life of beggars.

Bai Yangbai had a lot of skills, including the disguise skill that many people knew. But people didn’t know that the face of Bai Yangbai they saw was not his real face. In order to hide his secrets, Bai Yangbai changed his appearance in front of others all the year round. No one had seen his real face.

Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang believed in Taoism and liked to make friends with Taoist priests to refine pills and make mercury. Therefore, he wanted to recruit Bai Yangbai as a Royal Prophet in the imperial palace. However, Bai Yangbai took the Emperor’s recruitment as the plague. To avoid this recruitment, he didn’t live in his luxurious house but begged in the street all the year round. The Emperor was so angry that he sent all the elite imperial guards to catch Bai Yangbai alive, but they always failed.

Countless princes, nobles and merchants wanted him to work for them, but no one could succeed. Bai Yangbai resisted the temptation of high rank and wealth, but took the initiative to assist Zhu Quan, the Emperor’s 17th son, as his teacher and consultant.

At that time, Zhu Quan was just a little boy of 11 to 12 years old. He was also a son of the concubine and not outstanding among over 40 sons and daughters of the Emperor. Before he was granted the title of Lord and took office in Daning Prefecture, he had no protection from his mother’s clan. He had always been an ant without real power but with the risk of death in the political storm in the capital.

Under the guidance of Bai Yangbai, Zhu Quan grew up rapidly. At the age of 15, he was granted the title of Lord Ning by the Emperor, and was transferred to take office in Daning Prefecture, a northern military town, to guard the frontier with Inner Mongolia. Two years later, Lord Ning’s strength gradually grew. He led 80,000 soldiers and horses as well as nearly 10,000 leather chariots, including the most elite Mongolian cavalry “Duo Yan San Wei”. Even the Lord Yan who was very influential among the lords controlled only 100,000 soldiers in the north at that time.

However, the above skills were not the reason why He Danggui was interested in Bai Yangbai. Her strong interest in Bai Yangbai stemmed from his secret that she discovered by accident in the previous life.

When He Danggui was 22, she and Bai Yangbai went to work in Yingtian Prefecture and were hunted down by a group of well-trained killers. Bai Yangbai’s kung fu was as weak as hers in the previous life. So, Bai Yangbai soon suffered several injuries and was in danger. He threw out his usually used smoke shell for escape and stunned all the killers along with He Danggui. Only he was still awake because he had taken the antidote.

He Danggui woke up and found that she was in a ruined temple and Bai Yangbai who was lying beside her was blood-soaked, so she hastened to cure him. Untying his shirt, she was shocked by his translucent and fair skin which was even better than the skin of many girls. The skin on his body was absolutely different from that on his face.

Then, she found an obvious boundary in his shoulder. Above the boundary, the dull yellow skin was covered with wrinkles, while under the boundary, the skin was flawless and fair. So, she guessed that Bai Yangbai used the disguise skill to hide his real face. Then she wanted to find out who he really was and why he lived with that mask.

After taking the lifelike mask off, He Danggui was shocked by his face which was pale because of the loss of blood.

In the early years of Hongwu Period, Bai Yangbai had already been active in the northwest frontier. Regarded as a saint by the local people, he also was called the Dragon King because of his skill in making clouds and rain. If he was a teenager at that time, after 30 years, now he must be over 40 years old. But there was a face of a boy who was about 16 to 17 years old in front of her. It was fantastic!

Then, Bai Yangbai woke up and found his secret had been discovered. However, he just begged her not to tell his secret to others but had no intention of killing her. She promised him, and then she pestered him for the secret prescription for agerasia.

The eternal youth was a big temptation and a dream of countless girls. At that time, He Danggui thought that Zhu Quan would love her all the time if she had the eternal youth and beauty.

Unexpectedly, Bai Yangbai agreed immediately. But he declined to tell He Danggui the prescription for agerasia and just let her find him every 10 days. He prepared the medicated bath for her. He Danggui took a bottle of medicated water away secretly, and tried to figure out the formula. Unfortunately, there were many medicinal materials in the medicated bath she had never seen, and the composition and temperature of the medicated bath were changed slightly every time.

When Bai Yangbai found she took away a bottle of medicated water every time to study the formula, he was quite angry. Then he told her that he would not help her if she continued to figure out. So, she had to give up.

Because of Bai Yangbai’s magic medicated bath, her appearance had no change after 4 to 5 years. Gradually, she became younger and more beautiful. When she was 27 years old, her skin was still delicate and smooth, and as white as snow. She looked like a blooming girl of 16 to 17 years old, which was envied by all concubines in the Mansion. Many concubines bribed her maids to enquire about her diet. But finally, they failed.

As a saying goes, “You can wear out iron shoes in fruitless searching, and yet by a lucky chance you may find the lost thing without even looking for it.” He Danggui just went to a restaurant to have a meal, but she happened to meet Bai Yangbai. It was the fate. So, she decided to continue to figure out the secret prescription of agerasia.

Seeing He Danggui’s greedy and longing look, Bai Yangbai was scared with his fine hairs prickling. Obey order presto! Who was this lady? He felt that she could know his inner thought from his mask! For the first time in his life, he was in a state of panic in her aura. But he didn’t panic even when he faced the imperial guard.

Her first request was letting him take off his mask. He was not very afraid because he knew that the girl identified him. This situation had happened many times. Some people let him get his mask off after recognizing him by his voice, his style, or his tricks. So, they wanted to make friends with him, the Taoist Sage who had the disguise skill. In this situation, if he admitted his identity, others wouldn’t really uncover his mask but would be more enthusiastic to entertain him.

The girl let him shout that “I’m the killer!” just because she wanted him to be caught by officials and then sent him to the Emperor. In this situation, he also didn’t fear at all because the Emperor respected him so much and gave him gold, beauties, horses and big houses every time.

While her second request was letting him take off his coat. This request made him scared. Did she know his secret that the skin on his body was different from his face? Even, did she know he looked like a boy of 17 years old?

Actually, his disguise skill included the bigger suit and the smaller suit. The bigger suit needed him to soak himself in a medicated bath in order to dye his skin tawny and then change his face into an elder’s face; while the smaller suit just changed his face, hands and hair into an elder directly. But his body was still fair and delicate as a young man. And today, he used the smaller suit. If he took off his coat in public, everyone in the restaurant would see his aged face and young body. Then his secret would be leaked out!

Bai Yangbai gathered his Zhenqi constantly to hit the acupoint on his legs, but it was useless. He signed subconsciously, “Why didn’t I practice in usual?”

He looked the devil up and down again. She was plucking out the crab meat idly using her fine fingers. Then she poured the ginger vinegar on the crab roe and the crab meat and pushed the plate in front of the girl next to her, watching the girl eating with a pleasure.

“Priest, help yourself. Come on! Eat the crab!” He Danggui said to him with hospitality. Then she pushed the plate to him.

Bai Yangbai was wordless, and then he asked, “Miss, do you already know who I am?” His voice became low and attractive, which was totally different from the flattering and high voice before. No one could image that it was from the same person.

Observing the lines on the crab’s shell, He Danggui made puzzling remarks idly, “To admit that you know what you know, and admit what you don’t know. Whether I know or don’t know, just the immortal knows, you know and I know.”

Fuck! Bai Yangbai was annoyed, “Do you have a bone to pick with me? Why do you frame me?”

He Danggui raised her eyebrows and replied, “You have lived such a long life, but why are you dumb this time? The saying goes, ‘A man was innocent, but he is guilty now because he has a jade’. You are a jade and you have so many jades in your pocket. You can’t blame others who covet you.” And she thought, “Yes, I want to set you up.”

Bai Yangbai frowned and asked coldly, “Who send you? I want to speak with your boss straightly! What do you expect from me?”

“Ha-ha.” He Danggui laughed. She took a sip of tea and said, “You do muddle. You came to me when we were eating here. I can’t divine like you. How can I predict the meeting and conversation between us? If I want to frame you, I can stun you and take what I want from you slowly.” Hearing her words, Zhen Jing was shocked. But He Danggui drank her tea again, “But I don’t do that because I don’t want too much and can get what I want without killing you. Hey, do I treat you well?”

Looking at her pretty and cunning face, Bai Yangbai asked again, “What do you want? Bring it up now. I might say yes.”

He Danggui grinned, “I want to take you as my disciple because you are gifted. So, you should call me Master.” If she asked for the secret prescription of agerasia, Bai Yangbai wouldn’t give her. Even he did, the secret prescription must be fake. In the precious life, he didn’t give it to her although they knew each other for many years. So, she should play with him this time to get the secret prescription someday.