Before long, Cheng Zhi had finished half a cup of tea.
"Sir, since that old man who was putting on an act was using deception, are there truly immortal arts in this world?" Magistrate Cheng cradled his cup, sipping it carefully without setting it down.
"There are."
Magistrate Cheng probed further.
As if making casual conversation, he brought up the recent goings-on in Xiangyang.
"I wonder if you've heard. The people who dreamed at the Lu Family's home that day experienced a lifetime in their dreams, and afterward, many of them underwent strange changes. Some had never read certain books, yet their hearts remembered the principles within. Their studies at the academy improved by leaps and bounds. Those who didn't know better might have thought Wenqu had possessed them."
"And Lu the Eldest, who used to be so mired in scholarly learning that he knew nothing of poetry, suddenly blurted out a beautiful line at a gathering with friends last night. My brother-in-law kept pressing him about it."
"Fortunately, Meng Haoran was there too. He replied that the line sounded familiar, as if he'd heard it in a dream."
"Sir, what do you make of it?"
Magistrate Cheng spoke with a keen light in his eyes.
Jiang She lowered his head and took a sip of tea.
"More or less what you're thinking, Magistrate."
He asked, "Are you hoping to ask about immortals?"
Caught off guard by the expert's bluntness, Cheng Zhi froze. He wasn't annoyed, though. Instead, he laughed heartily. "You saw right through me, sir."
He said, "I'm a worldly man. In the past, I thought only of studying and entering officialdom. After passing the imperial examinations, I threw myself into the machinations of the court. I never learned much about immortal arts."
"Meeting you made me realize that there's another path in this world."
"The Dao is so wondrous. A single great dream can make someone sleep for seven days, yet the sights and experiences of forty years in that dream remain vivid as ever."
"I can't help but admire it and yearn for it."
Jiang She asked, "Do you wish to seek the Dao, Magistrate?"
Facing such an expert, whose attendants were all gods of mountains, rivers, and waters, and whose visitors included literary talents like Li Bai and Meng Haoran, Magistrate Cheng didn't hide his thoughts. He said:
"I am somewhat curious."
He thought for a moment, then added, "Perhaps I'm also a bit like Lord Ye, who professed to love dragons. If you asked me to read Daoist scriptures and meditate at dawn, I could do that. But if I had to enter the mountains, cultivate the Dao, cast aside worldly fame, and keep away from people, that would be another matter... I'm a worldly man."
There was something charming about the magistrate's temperament.
"Knowing your own nature is already rare," Jiang She said.
"You understand what you seek, Magistrate. That's something many people can't manage in a lifetime. It's rare to meet someone so clear-sighted."
Magistrate Cheng laughed as well.
He had just finished his cup of tea. Jiang She poured him another, and the two sat listening to the birds in the forest. They said nothing, yet together they had already tasted the true flavor of the moment.
"What is this tea called?"
"It clears the mind and sharpens the senses." The magistrate lifted his cup and asked.
"It's coarse mountain tea. It doesn't have a name," Jiang She said. "If you like it, Magistrate, I can have someone pack some for you to take home. It'll help relieve the fatigue of poring over official documents."
"Did you grow it yourself, sir?"
"I did."
"It's quite unlike the teas in fashion these days. It has an unhurried, rustic charm and an air of the immortal," Magistrate Cheng praised.
He remembered something and added, "I nearly forgot. There's another important matter I came here to discuss."
"Yesterday afternoon, the county office sent men to arrest those three swindlers. Their crimes weren't limited to Xiang Prefecture; people in neighboring Deng Prefecture had suffered even worse. I also heard that although they couldn't wield the fire art known as 'Breath-to-Flame,' they truly used illusions to cheat people out of their money."
"I feared there might be more to it, so I came to ask you about them."
"Zhang Zhenmei claimed that he learned his illusions from a fangshi. The man said he was like Luan Da in the time of Emperor Wu of Han: 'I can turn lead into gold, block the Yellow River's floods, and obtain the elixir of immortality.' He claimed to have all manner of abilities."
"He roams the mountains and rivers like a god, with many disciples and followers at his side. Zhang Zhenmei was the one who never joined his school."
Cheng Zhi gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
He set down his teacup and rose from his seat. Speaking in his capacity as the county magistrate, he said solemnly—
"We mere mortals probably can't tell whether these immortal arts are real or fake. If they're real, there's nothing we can do about him. If you encounter this man or any of his disciples, please keep an eye on them. If they truly have abilities and don't harm anyone, let them be."
"But if they're a scourge, please rid us of them at once!"
"That's only right." Jiang She rose and steadied Magistrate Cheng as he moved to bow. "Thank you for telling me, Magistrate."
"As a cultivator, it's my duty to eradicate evil paths and uphold the righteous Dao."
"Sir, your righteousness is admirable."
"You flatter me."
After seeing Magistrate Cheng off, Jiang She sat alone in the courtyard.
He thought back to Luan Da.
He had read about Luan Da once, when he was studying. Luan Da had lived during the Han dynasty, initially serving as an official in a vassal kingdom. Later, Emperor Wu of Han heard that Luan Da possessed immortal arts and could communicate with immortals, so he appointed him to office. He eventually ennobled him as a king, and Luan Da's fame spread far and wide.
But many of Luan Da's claims failed to come true, and he couldn't communicate with immortals. Disappointed, Emperor Wu had him cut in half at the waist.
That fangshi compared himself to Luan Da...
Who knew whether he didn't know how Luan Da's story ended, or whether his Daoist arts were so profound that he didn't care about the comparison.
Meanwhile, beyond the city, a mountain stream flowed through a bamboo grove.
Li Bai sat on the ground, facing Old Deer Mountain God.
"Little friend, why did you ask me here?"
Li Bai hesitated. He didn't mention his conversation with the gentleman, saying only, "I've long admired the immortal path and would like to learn more about it. Mountain God, can you point me in the right direction?"
White Deer Mountain God smiled, his wrinkled skin creasing like the bark of a pine.
Stroking his beard, he said, "If you wish to learn about cultivation, the Daoist school has many methods. Study its scriptures and pass on their teachings, and you can not only understand your own nature but also set foot on the Dao Path."
Li Bai had read plenty of Daoist scriptures.
He had entered the academy at fifteen. While his classmates studied the Confucian classics for the jinshi examinations, Li Bai knew he had no hope of passing the imperial exams and often read Daoist scriptures in secret, wondering what true immortals were like.
Later, he befriended Yuan Danqiu, a Daoist priest, and Master Meng, a reclusive sage. The three shared similar temperaments and had devoted themselves to cultivation for some time.
They had even tried gathering herbs like immortals, eating the wind and drinking dew, and living in thatched huts.
But all it earned them was a serious illness.
They had never found the true path to cultivation.
Perhaps the herbs they gathered weren't immortal herbs—not like the Ginseng King the old Mountain God had nurtured for more than eight hundred years. But the Ginseng King had already gained a measure of human understanding, and Li Bai couldn't bear to harvest him. Mortals filled the world like ants and insects, yet many spent their entire lives without ever glimpsing the path. Li Bai thought to himself.
He said, "I know a little about those things."
Old Deer Mountain God smiled faintly and went on.
"Then it seems you wish to learn about spirits and deities, or tales of ghosts and gods like Mountain Imps, Wood Guests, City Gods, and Earth Spirits."
Li Bai immediately replied:
"That is exactly what's on my mind."
Old Deer Mountain God couldn't help but chuckle.
The Mountain God didn't point it out. Instead, he thought for a moment, stroked his long beard, and said leisurely, "Seven days from now, a Earth Deity I know will enter the Dao. When the time comes, his doors will be thrown open, and he'll host a great feast for the demons and gods. All the Spirit Demons within five hundred li should come to offer their congratulations."
"You're welcome to come and see for yourself, little friend."
Then Old Deer Mountain God added,
"You could also invite the gentleman to come along."
Before you continue