Red Dust Path

The Three Holy Mothers' Daoist Temple was a jelly noodle shop in an ancient town beside Bamboo City.

That's right, a jelly noodle shop.

As the Three Holy Mothers changed clothes and opened for business, several old bachelors nearby hurried in to patronize the shop, their eyes greedy. Clearly, they weren't there for the jelly noodles.

"Living among ordinary people?" Lin Huang guessed at the Three Holy Mothers' deeper meaning.

"What are you standing there for?"

"The peas have already soaked."

"There's a grinder in the back."

The Three Holy Mothers had changed her look, but her words were still terse. Lin Huang raised an eyebrow but didn't argue.

He dutifully went into the kitchen, ground the soaked peas into a paste, then separated out the pea starch under the Zither Saint's guidance and started making jelly noodles.

"First, add one part water and stir until evenly mixed."

"Then add five parts boiling water. Remember to add a little salt, and stir vigorously."

"Cook over low heat."

"When there are no bubbles or lumps..."

"Put it in the refrigerator."

The process wasn't complicated. Lin Huang quickly made a batch and looked over at the Three Holy Mothers.

"Make a batch. The oil, salt, sauces, and vinegar are over there."

Lin Huang was a little impatient, but he still cut up a portion of jelly noodles and dressed it.

The Three Holy Mothers didn't stand on ceremony and began tasting.

"Not translucent enough. There are bubbles in the middle. Failure."

"The pieces aren't cut evenly. Failure."

"Too salty. Failure."

Lin Huang's brow twitched. He suddenly wondered if the Three Holy Mothers had tricked him.

"As a Sage..."

"One who understands one method understands them all."

"Yet you can't even make jelly noodles."

"And you call yourself a Sage?"

"Ridiculous."

"Utterly ridiculous."

Lin Huang fell silent for a moment, nodded, and said nothing. He turned and went back to the kitchen to make another batch.

"Not salty enough."

"Not spicy enough."

"Not sour enough."

Lin Huang's brow furrowed completely. "You can't please everyone. I may be a Sage, but I'm no cook."

"You can't please everyone."

"So offer only one flavor."

"One flavor can cover a hundred."

Lin Huang began to think. He'd already realized the Three Holy Mothers was using the jelly noodles to guide him.

"You're too stupid."

"Thankfully..."

"I didn't take you as a disciple."

Lin Huang didn't respond. He stepped aside and watched the Three Holy Mothers make the jelly noodles.

The steps were the same, the movements the same. It was only a simple task, and with a Sage's skill, she could make sure every batch turned out exactly alike.

"So the key is in the seasoning at the end?" Lin Huang watched closely.

The Zither Saint made her jelly noodles with only salt, the Chess Saint used only vinegar, and the Calligraphy Saint used only chili peppers.

"Could anyone actually eat jelly noodles made like that?"

Lin Huang found it amusing as he watched the Three Holy Mothers send up the three portions.

A moment later, the customers began singing their praises.

"I've eaten jelly noodles all over town, but yours are the best."

"These are so good!"

"Awesome! Thirty-two thumbs up!"

"They're really that good?" Lin Huang didn't believe it. He went over and tried the first bowl, the Zither Saint's, which she'd seasoned with nothing but salt.

After one bite, Lin Huang froze. It tasted entirely of salt. She'd added too much; it was a little bitter and a little salty. It tasted bitter and salty going down, but somehow warmed his heart.

The second bowl was the Chess Saint's, made with nothing but vinegar.

Sour—sour to the bone. But after the sourness came sweetness. With every breath, a soft, mellow sweetness filled his mouth, as if everything were sweet.

The third bowl was the Calligraphy Saint's, made with nothing but chili peppers.

It wasn't spicy at all at first. Only once it reached his stomach did he feel a ball of fire rise within him.

"Sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy. What you've made isn't jelly noodles. It's home, affection, life, and your Dao."

Lin Huang spoke slowly, understanding what the Three Holy Mothers wanted to teach him.

"He liked jelly noodles."

"So he only taught us how to make jelly noodles."

"For three thousand years."

"I thought the Mortal World was bitter, so I used only salt."

"I thought the Mortal World was sour, so I used only vinegar."

"I thought the Mortal World was spicy, so I used only chili peppers."

The Three Holy Mothers finished speaking and looked at Lin Huang. "What does the Mortal World look like to you?"

Lin Huang thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know."

"You don't even understand the Mortal World..."

"And you want to sever yourself from it?"

"Ridiculous."

Now Lin Huang knew the Three Holy Mothers really was guiding him. He hurriedly asked, "How can I become a god without severing myself from the Mortal World? And why did you stop me from becoming a Demigod?"

"You can't become a god."

"To cling to a meager existence..."

"That's what being a Demigod means."

The Three Holy Mothers' answer made Lin Huang draw a sharp breath. He couldn't believe it. "Is the Demigod path the wrong one?"

"If you can become a god, naturally you won't become a Demigod."

"The road to godhood only goes forward. You can't turn back."

"There's no such thing as walking only halfway down a path."

The Three Holy Mothers glanced at Lin Huang.

"Understand the Dao amid the Mortal World, uphold the Dao, then use your Dao to replace Heaven's Dao. Those are the Three Steps of Treading God."

"You haven't understood your Dao."

"If you sever yourself from the Mortal World..."

"You can't become a god."

Lin Huang took a deep breath and bowed solemnly to the Three Holy Mothers. He'd nearly gone astray. "Please teach me."

"There are three paths to godhood."

"The Heavenly Path, the Earthly Path, and the Human Path."

"To take the Heavenly Path, you must extinguish your emotions and sever your nature. It's a path of slaughter, destruction, and mercilessness."

"To take the Earthly Path, love all and kill none. It's a path of redemption, protection, and benevolence."

"To take the Human Path, you can't sever yourself from the Mortal World. It's a path of attachment, loyalty, and madness."

Lin Huang nodded. He understood the principle. "I wanted to sever myself from the Mortal World so I could take the Heavenly Path and prove the Dao through mercilessness."

"You can't."

"Without understanding the Dao amid the Mortal World, where would you get the great ruthlessness, the great mercilessness?"

"You can't take the Earthly Path, either."

"Without understanding the Dao amid the Mortal World, where would you get the great compassion, the great benevolence?"

"If you take the Human Path, you can't sever yourself from the Mortal World."

"So for now, you can't sever yourself from it."

Lin Huang hesitated, then sighed. He knew the Three Holy Mothers was right. He had no great ruthlessness, so extinguishing his emotions and severing his nature to prove the Dao through mercilessness was impossible. And if he took the Earthly Path, where would he find the great compassion to redeem, protect, and cherish all living beings?

"So I can't sever myself from the Mortal World just yet." Lin Huang rubbed his brow and looked at the Three Holy Mothers.

"What about you? Did you take the Human Path or the Earthly Path?"

For once, the Three Holy Mothers fell silent. After a long while, the Zither Saint let out a quiet sigh. "We took the wrong path. We can't become gods in this life."

"But I have no regrets."

"How could I regret it?"

The Chess Saint and the Calligraphy Saint each picked up the thread. Seeing that Lin Huang didn't understand, they continued.

"Our Dao was originally the Earthly Path."

"We entered the Dao through the zither, chess, and calligraphy."

"We should have delivered all beings from suffering."

"But he died."

"We no longer need this Dao."

"We no longer need to become gods."

"If we became gods..."

"We would forget the bitterness of the Mortal World."

"The sourness of the Mortal World."

"The spiciness of the Mortal World."

"We will not take this path."

The words were simple, but Lin Huang understood. He looked deeply at the Three Holy Mothers and asked, "Why has no one become a god in a hundred thousand years?"

"The Hundred Sages Reform Heaven."

"The Human Path flourished."

"Once the Human Path flourished, how could anyone become a god?"

Lin Huang was stunned. The reason no one had become a god in a hundred thousand years was that the Hundred Sages Reform Heaven had caused the Human Path to flourish.

Suddenly, Lin Huang thought of something and asked, "Could it be that among the three thousand Divine Beings and billions upon billions of living beings, no one has become a god through the Human Path?"

The Three Holy Mothers nodded silently.

"When your heart is in the Mortal World, how can you become a god?"

"We've only heard that the Heavenly Path can lead to godhood."

"The Earthly Path can lead to godhood."

"No one has become a god through the Human Path."

Lin Huang's expression turned solemn. "If no one has ever become a god through the Human Path, then I definitely can't choose it."

"It hasn't happened before."

"That doesn't mean it can't happen in the future."

"You haven't yet understood your Dao, so you can still choose."

"If you want to take the Heavenly Path, remember: Heaven is not benevolent; it treats all things as straw dogs."

"If you want to take the Earthly Path, remember: the earth's disposition is receptive and devoted; Great Virtue Carries All Things."

"If you want to take the Human Path, find an obsession and never let it go in this life."

"No matter what..."

"Sell jelly noodles for three days first."