The elderly woman gazed at the old man depicted in the portrait and softly said, “The true name of our ancestor is Meng Sheng. His courtesy name is Changming, and he was born in Chang’an during the Tang Dynasty, specifically in the first year of Linde, which corresponds to 664 AD. He referred to himself as Changsheng Jushi andter adopted the name Meng Changsheng. We, in the Jiang family, honor him with the respectful title Meng Laozu.”


    “Meng Changsheng…” Charlie repeated, unfamiliar with the name yet not overly surprised.


    The painting appeared ancient, and given that the olddy’s family lineage has been preserved for 1,600 years, it was not shocking that the figure in the portrait was someone from the Tang Dynasty.


    At that moment, the olddy continued, “Meng Laozu was a Jinshi, having excelled in the imperial examinations when he was younger, and served as an official in the court. However, heter chose to resign from his position to pursue the path of cultivation. He came to this ce with his wife and children to dedicate himself to his practice. Tragically, his wife and children passed away not long after due to a severe illness, leaving him alone to continue his journey of cultivation and travel down the mountain.”


    Upon hearing this, Charlie felt a wave of surprise and remarked, “In 755 A.D., your ancestor Meng was already in his nies…”<h3 style="background-color:DodgerBlue">


    “Indeed,” the olddy responded. “However, ording to my family’s records, when my ancestor encountered Old Ancestor Meng in the 15th year of Tianbao during the Tang Dynasty, which is in 756 A.D., he appeared just as he does in the painting—far from resembling a man nearing a hundred.”


    Charlie looked back at the painting, filled with admiration.


    The man captured in the artwork is slender yet exudes a strong spirit. In an era when the average life expectancy was barely fifty, a man in his fifties would typically look far older than the man depicted, who seems to be in his forties. Thus, in the context of that time, he appears to be akin to a spirited elderly individual in his sixties today.


    Yet, to have maintained such vitality into his nies suggested that he had indeed grasped the essence of spiritual energy!


    If not for some miraculous Rejuvenation Pills, achieving such a remarkable age would have been nearly impossible, especially considering the historical context and average lifespan of the time.


    At that moment, Charlie recalled the olddy’s earlier introduction. He asked her, “Grandma, when we met in Mexico, you mentioned that your ancestors practiced medicine for generations, and it was only disrupted during the Anshi Rebellion. Did this coincide with your ancestors’ encounter with Meng?”


    “Yes,” the olddy affirmed, “In 756 AD, during the peak of the Anshi Rebellion, Anlu Mountain seized Chang’an, marking the beginning of Shengwu. My ancestor lived in Chang’an with his parents and grandfather; both his grandfather and father were imperial physicians. They managed to escape before Anlu Mountain took over Chang’an, but unfortunately, all other family members were killed. It was at this critical moment that Ancestor Meng fought through the rebels to save my ancestor, who was just six years old at the time.”


    Understanding dawned on Charlie, “So your ancestor survived, but the family’s medical knowledge was lost, correct?”


    “Exactly,” the olddy nodded slightly. “All the medical texts passed down through our family were packed away. There was at least one box containing them, but when the danger arose, my ancestor’s father saw Meng Laozu cutting through the enemy. In a rush, he ced a genealogy tree and two phoenix bone and vine bracelets into my ancestor’s arms, and then he set fire to all the medical books. Since that day, the Jiang family’s medical heritage has been lost…”<fnd828> N?w ?ovel chapt?rs are published on f?ndnovel</fnd828>


    Charlie sighed, “Countless invaluable texts were lost in such chaos. Your ancestors knew the significance of phoenix bone vine in the Tang Dynasty, yet today, few in Huaxia—or even the world—are aware of it. Our current traditional culture and Chinese medicine often reference ssics, but we remain unaware of how many treasures have been lost to the river of history…”


    As he spoke, Charlie suddenly recalled something and asked with surprise, “By the way, Grandma, you mentioned there were two bracelets?”