Watching the young Daoist draw gradually nearer through the rain and mist,
the local spirits of the mountain gazed at his back and whispered among themselves:
"Is that young Daoist the reason for all that commotion just now?"
"Impossible. It absolutely can't be."
An old man no taller than five feet, with a beard trailing to the ground, stroked his long whiskers and brandished a wooden staff as he gave his opinion. "The force of it just now was like heaven and earth were about to be overturned. Forget an old pine tree like me, blown until my spirit was blocked and my five senses vanished—even the Mountain Gods had their doors blown shut, and the land itself was swept away."
"Even the door curtain was blown clear upside down."
"Upside down!"
"It was so absurd that even this old man had to laugh."
"With a commotion like that, something must have happened in heaven. This child merely happened to be there."
"May I ask, roughly where am I?"
"I seem to have gotten a little lost."
"Oh, this is where Ju Yun Peak of the Left Path lies, in Central Province Prefecture City."
The old Pine Tree Spirit answered without thinking, then froze. Where had this passerby asking for directions come from? He raised his head and saw the young Daoist watching him. The boy's expression was gentle; as he asked, he had leaned forward slightly beneath his umbrella. He thanked the old tree for the answer, then turned to leave. The old pine stood there, stunned, as if frightened out of his wits.
The spirits of this place were all "frightened."
Or rather, they looked at one another, utterly awkward.
Even highly cultivated Daoists couldn't hear their whispers. Only Mountain Gods and earth deities could.
How had this