Beneath a plum tree, a young man and an old man discussing the Dao?
Several True Persons exchanged glances, none of them understanding what the sentence meant. They had no idea what significance the old man and young man beneath the plum tree held.
They were all True Persons capable of founding their own lineages of the Dao, yet before this Daoist who had pushed open the rotten wooden door and emerged, they acted with utmost deference. They simply stood quietly as he studied the poem on the white paper. After a very long time, the Daoist placed the sheet on the stone table beside him and said nothing.
The sect's leader looked to be middle-aged. Dressed in a plain Daoist robe, he cupped his hands slightly and asked, "Senior, you've emerged from seclusion today."
"Have you gained something?"
The Daoist's expression was utterly calm. "I have gained nothing."
"The Heavenly Emperor banished me here. Unless I can fathom the Great Dao, I cannot reclaim my place in the ranks, nor take a single step down the mountain. I've sat in stillness for a thousand years and gained little insight."
"My spiritual inspiration has dried up. I can neither advance nor reach sudden enlightenment."
"Perhaps this is the punishment."
He sighed softly, then paused. After a long moment of thought, he continued, "But today I dreamed of this person. Perhaps he is connected to my chance to leave this place. Your sect's disciples travel the world. You can keep an eye out for him. If you find something, I will surely repay you."
Everyone returned his courtesy.
The plain-faced Daoist, whose features were wholly unremarkable, waved his sleeve and said mildly, "You may leave."
After the Daoists' many True Persons had departed, someone else asked the sect leader:
"Since this is a fated opportunity, should we use Ziwei Doushu, astrology, and divination to deduce the secrets of heaven and search for this young man?"
The sect leader smiled and shook his head. "What the Dao seeks is affinity."
"If we are fated to meet, we will meet."
"If we are not, forcing the matter will only create resentment."
"Why trouble ourselves?"
"The Dao follows nature. Why cling to things? Those who act will fail; those who grasp will lose. Go now."
The other True Persons all bowed and took their leave. They returned to their cultivation and breathing exercises, and to teaching their disciples, leaving the matter unmentioned. It was only passed along among the ordinary disciples as a casual instruction; no one fixated on it. Yet across the world, it still stirred faint ripples. Meanwhile, Cui Family's youngest daughter—the peerlessly beautiful genius Cui Yuanzhen, whose looks were like those of an immortal banished from heaven—successfully became a disciple of the Head True Person. She practiced with her sword, and had a fine destiny of her own.
The next day, Su Yue'er, dressed in red, and the young man from the Cui Family were preparing to descend the mountain.
Cui Yuanzhen saw them off.
After just one day in the sect, she had already traded her worldly clothes for the Daoist robes. Her three thousand strands of dark hair were tied up with a Daoist hairpin.
Her bearing was otherworldly, and her features beautiful. Yet the cinnabar mark between her brows, with which she had been born, lent her a sharp, three parts killing intent.
Though she had not yet fully grown, it was already clear she would become a rare beauty.
Many had already sought her hand. A few years earlier, an old man surnamed Li had passed through on his travels and laughed as he told her she ought to cultivate. Why marry into a high-walled household?
Even if she truly wanted to start a family, she should form a bond with an immortal.
And so, she had taken to the Dao.
As she walked along, she saw scenery utterly unlike anything in the mortal world, each vista possessed of its own grace. She could hardly bear to leave.
But as she was about to descend the mountain, she saw that the towering mountain gate had been redone. The original, imposing words had been removed and replaced with four lines of verse—more poem than couplet.
Cui Yuanzhen stared in surprise, stopping in her tracks.
She lifted her sword and eyes to the words, murmuring:
"White Jade Capital in the Heavens, Twelve Towers and Five Cities."
"An immortal strokes my crown; I tie my hair and receive longevity."
Her expression shifted. At first, she had thought it far less grand and imposing than the couplet that had been there before. Yet, for some reason, the more she turned the lines over in her mind, the more she felt that these mere twenty characters held endless Spirit Charm and effortless grace. Their lingering resonance was deeper and richer than that of the old couplet, and she liked them even more.
The young girl, who had always been praised for her looks and talent as though she were an immortal banished from heaven, committed the poem to memory. Smiling, she asked the fellow disciples beside her:
"This poem has such extraordinary grace."
"Was it written by the founding master on Heaven's Pillar Peak?"
The Daoist recognized the junior sister who had been accepted as a disciple by the Head True Person as soon as she entered the mountain gate. He smiled, cupped his hands, and replied:
"No."
"It was seen by the founding master in a dream, written as a young man and an old man discussed the Dao beneath a plum tree."
"Its grace is extraordinary, and it carries more of an immortal's bearing than the original. That's why we disciples replaced the couplet with it."
Cui Yuanzhen nodded in understanding. "I see."
Su Yue'er recalled the whole tale, then saw the couplet and couldn't help longing for such a thing. She smiled, thoroughly satisfied, and said:
"To discuss the Dao in a dream and write such ethereal, immortal lines—it really is something only an immortal would do."
"Being able to come out and witness something like this makes the trip worthwhile."
"If I'd stayed at home, I'd never have encountered anything like it."
"Right. When I get home, I'll tell Father's disciples and make them jealous!"
Thinking of the young man her father valued so highly, she considered it for a moment:
I'll tell Qi WuHuo, too!
It'll broaden his horizons.
The axe blade sank into the firewood, then split it cleanly in one stroke.
The wood fell to the ground in two even halves.
Qi WuHuo chopped wood and made a fire to cook. Now that he had spells, he could save himself a great deal of effort.
Even while cooking, he continued leafing through the Record of Becoming Immortal and the Mountain God's cultivation notes. The old man, who had seemed set on leaving that very day, sat nearby stroking his beard and sipping tea. Yesterday, he had said they would leave in three days, and he no longer seemed in any hurry.
He said they were going to meet someone, but wouldn't say where they were going or whom they would see.
He only smiled and said it was very close by.
Then he joked that, at the time, he had given Qi WuHuo three choices: gold and a hundred years of life, or meeting that beautiful young daughter of the Cui Family, who was like an immortal banished from heaven, and introducing them to one another.
Since Qi WuHuo had turned it down back then, he wouldn't take him along now, either. This time, he was only going to meet an old friend.
Qi WuHuo might know him, and perhaps recognize him when they met.
That only made Qi WuHuo more curious.
He set aside the notes. His understanding of cultivation had largely come together, and his mind had opened up.
He remembered that he had told the Guardian Divine Generals in the mountains he would give a lecture soon. He had no idea how long the visit with the old man would take, so he could give his lecture in the mountains first, then go with the old man to visit someone. While they ate, he mentioned this to the old man, who smiled and asked, "You're going to lecture on the Dao in the mountains?"
"Yes."
"Just like the Mountain God used to?"
"Yes."
Qi WuHuo nodded. He had a pill furnace from Tantai Xuan and planned to refine some pills for the spiritual beasts in the mountains. The pills could help them improve their vitality and cultivation. The old man stroked his beard and nodded, then lowered his head to read some kind of scripture. As Qi WuHuo was leaving, he remarked casually:
"The Golden Crow and Jade Rabbit spur each other on; the Sun and Moon Twin Orbs depart and return."
"Refine the elixir and make the medicine; in the mortal world, only the ashes of longevity remain."
"If you're going to refine pills, you need a method. This is one of the General Principles, so you won't have a pill furnace in your hands and yet not know how to use it—or use it poorly. As for the Golden Crow and the Jade Rabbit, how the Method of Mutual Catalysis guides your energy, and what the Sun and Moon Twin Orbs are, I already told you when you were cultivating. I won't repeat it now."
"I enjoy refining pills in my spare time. I can't stand seeing good things wasted."
"So I thought I'd mention it."
The old man looked up, stroked his beard, and smiled:
"Since you're going to lecture, do it properly. There's no harm in saying more."
"Form good affinities, and you'll reap good fruits. Travel the world; act without striving, and yet leave nothing undone."
"Yes."
Qi WuHuo shouldered his basket and walked out in his blue clothes. He heard the old man casually add a few words.
They sounded ordinary.
Yet somehow, unlike his usual gentle murmur, they carried a different significance. He said mildly:
"Don't tarnish the name."
Qi WuHuo paused, turned, and cupped his hands.
"Yes."
Before you continue