The New Year drew near, and the mortal world brimmed with festive warmth. There was no shortage of delicious food: cured meat and fish, dried dates and fruits, all laid out as if to release a year's worth of stored-up abundance. Children, relatives, and friends were welcomed to eat their fill. It was much the same up on the mountain. When Qi WuHuo had left the Eastern Sea, the Azure Dragon had been quite generous and given him many treasures of gold and silver.
The young Daoist hadn't accepted those things, but the Azure Dragon had still stuffed him with quite a few pearls, so he didn't lack for food or spending money. The young Daoist had always lived simply and paid no mind to such extravagant comforts. As for the Three Pure Dao Ancestors, they were even more so. Whether it was lavish indulgence or plain daily life, to the Dao Ancestors it was no more than a breeze passing by, or the warmth of the sun.
Fine food and wine could be enjoyed to one's heart's content; coarse wine and dry rations could just as well inspire a song. To do as I pleased—that was true freedom.
At that moment, the young Daoist sliced cured meat into a pot to boil, then added meatballs and tofu that had been left outside to freeze in the bitter winter cold and cut into chunks. He tossed in winter root vegetables, then added cabbage leaves that had been struck by frost and looked rather wilted. Together, they simmered into a meal of the mortal world—less than elegant in appearance, but steaming hot and inviting.
It tasted wonderful.
At least, Listening Truth, who had been on tenterhooks lately and had lost more than ten pounds, was eating with great gusto.
Only the