Seeking an Expert in the Mountains

The people most shocked by the case of Master Guanghong were the city's nobles.

What contact could ordinary folk have had with Master Guanghong? At most, they had seen him when they went to Taian Temple to offer incense. They knew only that Taian Temple had such a great monk. But most of the nobles in the city who yearned for the path of immortals and Buddhas had deep ties with him. They either often invited Master Guanghong to their residences for tea and lectures on the scriptures, or frequently visited him at Taian Temple. Some even told him their innermost troubles.

Who would have thought that this great monk was such a person?

Yet what shocked them most was the great monk's death.

They had witnessed Master Guanghong's abilities: turning paper into soldiers, sending dreams in the dead of night, and having a Yaksha protect the Dharma, not to mention all kinds of wondrous arts. They would have believed it if someone said he was a bodhisattva descended into the mortal world. But now they had learned what it meant for there to be someone beyond the person, and a mountain beyond the mountain.

The Prefect of Yizhou was named Yu Jianbai. He had placed second in the Changyuan Year Two examination and was also someone who yearned for the divine, Buddhist, and immortal path. However, he had had little contact with Master Guanghong.

It was not because he had known this day would come, nor because he knew Master Guanghong's heart was crooked. Prefect Yu was simply a choosy man with exceedingly high standards. After hearing about Master Guanghong's dealings with other nobles in the city, including no small amount of money changing hands, he found it impossible to reconcile Master Guanghong with the true great man in his mind.

If a man like that could not attain immortality and Buddhahood himself, how could he possibly lead Prefect Yu onto the path of immortality?

Some time ago, the county magistrate of Yi Capital had told him the details of the case involving Master Guanghong. Since then, he had grown interested in the Young Mister from Tianshui Lane. After summoning the constable in charge of the case and carefully questioning him about the Young Mister, Prefect Yu felt that although the Young Mister differed from the completely otherworldly immortal he had imagined, he was still a rare great man in this world.

At least, he was far above Master Guanghong.

Thus, he formed the intention to make his acquaintance and pay him a visit.

Yet toward those one admired and yearned for—whether great practitioners, masters of music, or painters of extraordinary skill—one naturally had to lower one's attitude and refrain from using the conveniences of one's position.

He had also heard that the Young Mister enjoyed peace and quiet, which had truly troubled him for quite some time.

At last, he learned that the Young Mister often went to the Tile House in the north of the city to listen to storytellers, and recently had also often gone to listen to the qin outside Lord Yang's residence. Prefect Yu finally found an opportunity to make his acquaintance—

He rarely went to the Tile House to listen to stories, but listening to the qin was an elegant pastime. Even when official duties kept him busy, he often invited close friends to his residence to play the qin for pleasure. Yang Jinsheng was a renowned master of refined music in Yizhou, and Prefect Yu had naturally visited him before and shared some acquaintance with him. He could begin there.

Prefect Yu had even thought it through. If, upon meeting the Young Mister, he found that he was indeed as Constable Luo had described, he could take the opportunity to invite him to Yang Jinsheng's home as a guest and introduce the two of them. That would count as catering to the Young Mister's interests.

"Prepare the horses."

"My lord, where are we going?"

"Pine Hut."

"Yes."

Prefect Yu stepped outside and glanced at the sky. He was quite pleased, and happily mounted his horse and set off.

Today was a cloudy day.

"Crisp autumn skies—just the season for heading out to seek people," Song You murmured as he stared at the sky.

The sky outside was blue, with white clouds drifting through it, yet the sun was not harsh. A cloud happened to be blocking the sun, leaving the whole world neither gloomy nor overheated, but cool and exceptionally refreshing.

The weather should remain like this for the next few days.

It was the best weather for going out.

Three Flower Lady happened to be pouncing around the courtyard catching bugs. She heard him speaking but did not quite catch the words, and was very curious.

"What did you say?"

"We should go out of the city and look around."

At that, Three Flower Cat immediately stopped what she was doing and turned to stare straight at him.

"Where are we going?"

"To seek out local men of talent and repute."

"Where are we going?"

"Yesterday, Constable Luo said that west of the city there's a county called Siyuan County. In Xinzhuang of Siyuan County, there's a Laoying Mountain where a strange man lives. Why don't we go pay him a visit?"

"Where are we going?"

"West, out of the city."

"Oh."

Three Flower Cat sat upright and waited for him.

Three Flower Lady knew that humans were inferior to cats. Going out was more troublesome for them.

Still, once they decided to leave, they left.

Song You changed into the Daoist robe that made things convenient for him. He did not bring much else, just a bundle. After buying some dry provisions and packing them inside, he went straight out of the city toward the west.

Only one cat accompanied him.

Fortunately, there was an official road.

They crossed who knew how many mountains along the official road. In any case, they passed two bridges and walked from morning until afternoon before finally seeing Siyuan County. After finding an inn in the county and settling in, he spent the remaining daylight asking around the small county town for directions to Xinzhuang and Laoying Mountain. He set out early the next morning.

The road stretched for dozens of li, with three or five pavilions and more than ten smoky villages along the way.

Xinzhuang was a beautiful place.

Behind it rose mountains a thousand ren high, buried deep in white clouds. A small river wound through the village, its waters murmuring. Household after household was veiled in mist. When they came over the mountain, the scene that met their eyes looked like a landscape painting.

It was indeed a place where a strange man might live.

After asking around the village, they headed toward its far end.

"It's so far."

Song You could not help sighing.

Visiting friends and seeking people in this era was truly difficult. No wonder so many excellent farewell poems had been left behind.

Then he heard Three Flower Lady softly imitating his words from behind, as if she too felt that the mountains and waters stretched on forever. Song You turned his head and asked, "What's the farthest place Three Flower Lady has ever gone?"

"The home of someone who came to offer incense."

"That isn't far either."

"It wasn't as far as here."

"If only we had a mule."

"If only we had a mule."

There was a trace of yearning in Three Flower Cat's eyes as well.

"We're here."

Song You stopped walking.

Three Flower Cat raised her head and looked where he was looking.

Before them stood a bamboo courtyard, with bamboo fencing for walls, a thatched roof, and a hedge enclosing the yard. Several chickens pecked at food inside.

Song You gave the door a light knock, and a young boy came to open it.

"Who are you looking for, sir?"

"My surname is Song and my given name is You, with the courtesy name Menglai. I'm a mountain dweller from Lingquan County, here to visit Master Kong. Might the master be home?"

"Are you an old acquaintance and friend of my master's?" The boy carefully looked Song You over, then frowned, feeling that he did not seem like one. "Or have you come because of his fame to buy wood carvings?"

"I came because of his fame."

"You came at the wrong time. My master isn't home."

"Oh?"

What rotten luck.

Song You paused, then respectfully saluted again. "May I ask where the master went, and when he will return?"

"Master went to chop wood. I only know that he's somewhere on this mountain, but I don't know exactly where." The boy raised his head and looked past Song You. "He'll be back before dark."

Song You turned around and looked where the boy was looking.

The white clouds ran deep. How could anyone know where he had gone?

"Thank you."

Song You cupped his hands toward the boy in thanks. When he saw the boy turn and go back inside, he thought for a moment, then led Three Flower Lady toward the great mountain.

He intended to pass through the flowers and travel straight into the depths of the white clouds.

The mountain was lofty and imposing, yet its ranges stretched far and wide. The summit lay hidden deep within the mists, and only the mountainside could be seen. The clouds and fog shifted endlessly with the wind. Anyone who said an immortal lived within would surely be believed. Before this colossal mountain, the two figures—one large and one small—soon became two insignificant specks.

The mountain path was difficult. A woodcutter sang at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing endlessly through the mountains. Strange birds also called out, their voices clear and ethereal, washing the soul clean.

Song You followed the woodcutters' path uphill. Before he knew it, he had entered the clouds. His vision was obstructed, and beyond several zhang, nothing could be seen. The movements of beasts prowling nearby sounded almost demonic. When light and blue gradually began to show through the layers of white fog before him, Song You knew he was about to break through the clouds.

He quickened his pace, and the view before him indeed opened wide.

The sky was an incomparably pure blue, like a hemispherical canopy. Behind him, a sea of clouds surged, wave upon wave. The afternoon sun hung slanting at the edge of the sky, so bright it could not be looked at directly, surrounded by a halo of light that seemed extraordinarily holy.

Three Flower Cat's eyes went round, and Song You also stood there for a long while.

What a pity. Song You asked the woodcutters in the mountains, and then asked the wild beasts, but all he gained was a landscape filling his eyes. He never encountered Master Kong, who excelled at wood carving.

Master Kong had been a woodcarver for generations, so many generations that no one knew the exact number. He had been obsessed with wood carving since childhood, as if born for it. By the time he reached adulthood, his skill had already reached perfection. It was said that when he was forty, one of his works had stopped carving and come alive, running wildly around the house and frightening quite a few people.

The story was widely circulated throughout Siyuan County.

Thus, outsiders often came because of his fame to seek wood carvings from Master Kong. However, no one had ever heard of another carving coming to life afterward.

When Song You first heard of it from Constable Luo, he had made up his mind to visit Master Kong. He had even placed Qingcheng Mountain, an extremely famous Daoist mountain in Yi Capital and throughout Great Yan, behind it on his itinerary.

He simply wanted to see how a wood carving came alive.

He had thought he might encounter Master Kong on the mountain, and that a little shared fate would make conversation easier. Unfortunately, he had not met him going up, nor had he met him coming down.

Perhaps he was not on this mountain, but another.

Still, each stretch of mountain and each length of river was cultivation.

Not a single step beneath one's feet would lead one astray.

It was dusk when they descended the mountain, and Master Kong had already returned home.

When Song You paid another visit, he finally met the real person.

"My surname is Song and my given name is You. My master gave me the courtesy name Menglai. I'm a mountain dweller from Lingquan County, and I came because of your fame." Song You still bowed respectfully. "This morning, I heard that the master had gone deep into the mountains to seek wood and cut trees. On a whim, I went into the mountains to seek you as well. Unfortunately, our fate was insufficient, and we failed to meet."

"Haha! The mountain is so large. Where did you expect to find me?"

Master Kong was nearly sixty. His head was already covered in silver frost, but his complexion remained ruddy and his body was in excellent health.

He had presumably heard about it from the boy.

Many people had visited him over the years—high officials and nobles, famous people, and men of talent. He had seen people wait for him outside his home, but never anyone who had gone into the mountains to look for him.

The clouds here ran as deep as the sea. How could anyone seek out a person?

"Please, come inside and sit!"

"I would be impolite to refuse."

The bamboo house was cool, with wood and wood shavings covering the floor.

Three Flower Cat followed Song You inside, looking left and right. Only after Song You sat down on a long bench did she withdraw her gaze, leap up after him, and settle beside him.

Song You looked at Master Kong, and she looked at Master Kong too.

Song You looked at the boy, and she looked at the boy too.

Master Kong exchanged a few pleasantries with Song You, but soon his gaze was drawn to the calico cat.

The calico cat had a well-proportioned body. Though she had many colors, they were distributed without disorder, making her more pleasing to human eyes than most calico cats. Yet the more he looked, the more he felt that her body possessed a beauty difficult to describe. Every part seemed exactly right; any more would be too much, and any less would be too little.

If that were all, it would have been fine.

But for some reason, Master Kong knew at a glance that this cat was no ordinary one. Her expression was lively and seemed to contain intelligence. Every change in her gaze was worth pondering, far beyond what any ordinary animal could compare with.

"This cat..."

"I forgot to introduce her to you, Master."

Song You held a cup of tea, his tone indifferent, but his words were direct. "This is Three Flower Lady of the Cat Temple in Nanhua County. I happened to encounter her after coming down from the mountains, and we agreed to accompany each other and travel through the mortal world together. Master need only treat her as a person."