Still Cultivating

The Earth Deity looked at Jiang She.

"My surname is Jiang. I'm a mountain recluse from the Shu Region."

"So you're Mr. Jiang!"

The Old Temple Master greeted him with respect, not daring to underestimate him.

Behind him, several Daoists also bowed. They didn't take offense at the other man's modesty. The young Daoist was especially puzzled. Wasn't this tall, middle-aged man supposed to be the Mountain Master? Why was this gentleman speaking with him?

The Old Temple Master had brought several Daoists with him, and the pilgrims all looked over.

They whispered among themselves.

Curious about what was happening in the temple and why so many Daoists had gathered together.

Could the county magistrate have come?

The Old Temple Master smiled leisurely. "It's already noon. Have the two honored guests had lunch? If not, why don't you join us for some vegetarian food?"

"Our Pure Void Temple may not have much else, but the vegetarian food is quite good. I trust it won't disappoint our honored guests."

Jiang She accepted.

"Then we'll trouble you."

The group walked together. Along the way, they could hear pilgrims whispering about the immortals they'd encountered on the mountain.

Even after they reached the dining hall, they heard people holding their bowls and discussing it. One muttered, "I've been coming to this mountain fifty times, if not a hundred. I come up to offer incense on the first day of every month and during every holiday. How come I've never seen an immortal?"

"Forget immortals. We haven't even seen the demons from the stories. They say the demons hold feasts in the mountains, but I reckon that Er Niu kid was just talking nonsense!"

Jiang She couldn't help smiling when he heard that.

The Old Temple Master noticed and said with a chuckle, "Mr. Jiang, did you find that amusing?"

Jiang She nodded. "To live one's whole life in blissful ignorance, safe and healthy—that's the best one could hope for. There's no need to ask about ghosts and gods."

The Old Temple Master considered this, then laughed. "That's true. Such good fortune is rare."

He sounded him out. "Someone once said that the famous mountains and great rivers of this world all have wondrous beings within them. Ordinary people simply can't see them, and the two sides don't interfere with each other."

The Earth Deity Mountain Demon suddenly spoke.

"When Mountain Gods and Earth Deities hold a nighttime banquet, Mountain Ghosts and Spirit Demons attend. Naturally, people can't see them."

The Old Temple Master paused.

Did that mean...

The commotion these past two days about immortals on the mountain really had been a feast held by mountain spirits. They'd let a few words slip while chatting.

And ordinary people had overheard them?

Jiang She suddenly recalled something the county magistrate had entrusted to him, and asked the old Daoist about it.

"Have you heard of a fangshi who claims his Daoist arts rival those of Luan Da, from Emperor Wu of Han's time? He says he can turn stones into gold, repair breaches in rivers, and refine an elixir of immortality. One of his unofficial disciples swindled several thousand strings of cash nearby. The county magistrate has already convicted him."

The Old Temple Master asked gravely,

"Do you know this man's name, sir?"

Jiang She shook his head.

"The county magistrate only said that the man was well versed in illusion techniques and had many skills. He had quite a few disciples who served him at his side."

The Old Temple Master thought it over carefully, then said regretfully, "I believe I've heard something about him, though I can't recall where. I'll have my disciples look into it."

The Mountain God also agreed. "I'll investigate when I return, or ask the other Earth Deities."

They were seated at a table tucked away in a corner of the dining hall. It was noisy inside, and ordinary conversation couldn't be heard from even two feet away.

A young Daoist brought over the food, interrupting their conversation. Each of them received a bowl.

The Old Temple Master heard the Mountain Master call himself "this minor deity."

His chopsticks nearly slipped from his hand and fell onto the table.

The Mountain Master of Black Stone Mountain had been violent-tempered before beginning his cultivation. Even afterward, he hadn't been particularly fond of dealing with mortals. The Old Temple Master had assumed Mr. Jiang was an old friend of the Mountain Master's, but then he'd suddenly heard him say "this minor deity."

The Old Temple Master was so shocked that he nearly lost his wits.

For a Mountain God of a particular region to call himself "this minor deity"...

Then the identity of the Mr. Jiang before him was...

"Please, you do me too much honor," the Old Temple Master said at once. His aged hands trembled as he steadied his chopsticks, then he looked around the dining hall and beckoned over a young Daoist.

He spoke to him for a while.

"Ask around and see if anyone knows. If no one does, then investigate," the Old Temple Master said.

"Thank you, Temple Master," Jiang She said.

The Old Temple Master replied, "Since someone in Xiangyang has been using Daoist arts to deceive people, we should investigate thoroughly and uphold the Dao."

"Though my Pure Void Temple is no famous temple, it still has a duty to do so."

The vegetarian meal at the Pure Void Temple lived up to its name. In truth, it was a hearty bowl of mixed-grain rice, with millet, rice, yellow millet, wheat, and beans all cooked together. On top were seasonal vegetables grown by the Daoists on the mountain: tender shepherd's purse, crisp cucumber, and soy-braised eggplant, along with two slices of tofu.

A bowl like this cost only eight copper coins, and tasted light and refreshing.

The three chatted as they ate.

During the meal, Jiang She asked about some Daoist methods for refining elixirs. The old Daoist was generous and held nothing back, explaining everything clearly.

"Elixirs are born from the vital essence of heaven and earth."

"The Great Elixir follows the Five Phases, each serving as the origin of the next..."

"Take the Golden Liquid Elixir, for example. You take a pound of gold and soak it in the Flowery Pool for a hundred days... The gold essence then rises to the surface, looking like purple frost. Once this Golden Liquid enters the mouth, all five organs give birth to gold."

"It draws on the principle that metals and stones never decay, never die, and never perish."

The old Daoist finished speaking.

Then he added, "The Golden Liquid Elixir is a recipe passed down through the generations. The Pure Void Temple is a small temple in a humble place, without the funds for such things, so we've never tried it."

Though he didn't know the identity of this eminent guest, the old Daoist still offered a word of caution.

"I've only heard of a Daoist in Jun Prefecture who took an elixir and died. The art of refining elixirs is indeed part of the Dao, but one must be cautious about consuming them. Of course, if you have some other method, different from what we ordinary folk know, then naturally it may be possible."

The Old Temple Master explained things in greater detail than Yuan Danqiu had.

This gave Jiang She a faint outline in his mind. Some thoughts were taking shape, and he wanted to seize them before they slipped away.

He thanked him. "Thank you, Temple Master."

"Would it be all right if I borrowed your fine premises for a while? I'd like to try something."

"Please, sir, make use of them as you wish!"

The group had finished eating and sat at the table, listening to the din of the dining hall. Some men wiped away their tears as they prayed for their families' health and safety. Some, dressed in fine silks, told their companions they'd bought a beaded necklace from a stall at the entrance to pray for wealth. A young woman, her face as lovely as peach blossoms and plums, blushed shyly as her mother brought her to offer incense and pray to choose a good husband.

There were also students from the county school who vowed to place high in the imperial examinations, hoping Wenqu would protect them and the Star of Literature lend them aid.

All the ways of life, and all the things people held dear, were different.

The Old Temple Master hesitated.

The chance to meet the Mountain Master and an eminent cultivator was too rare.

Though it was somewhat presumptuous, he couldn't help asking:

"When I was young, I once met an old man who saved my life. He called himself the lord of the mountains and rivers, but never said which mountain's Mountain Lord he was. Seventy-eight years have passed since then, and now I'm old."

"I wonder if you know him, honored guest. Is he... still alive?"

The Old Temple Master described the old man: an elderly figure with hair and beard completely white, and a gentle, natural expression.

His description matched what the Earth Deity Mountain Demon had just said.

Looking at the old Daoist before him, with his own hair and beard completely white, his back somewhat stooped and the skin on his face thin as a cicada's wing, creased with wrinkles,

Jiang She spoke. "He's still cultivating."

"He's the Mountain God of Lumen Mountain."

The Old Temple Master's stooped back, leaning forward, suddenly relaxed. "That's good. That's good..."

He looked dazed, murmuring with emotion:

"So he was the Mountain God of Lumen Mountain. No wonder... It was so close by, so very close..."

Seventy-eight years had flowed by like water, passing in the blink of an eye.

A mortal's hundred years were but the time it took an immortal or god to flick a finger.

He was old and nearly dead, while the benefactor from those days was still cultivating.

How wonderful.

Tears began to stream down the Old Temple Master's face. He lowered his head and wiped them again and again with his rough, bark-like old hands, speaking softly.

"Please forgive me for making a spectacle of myself."

"Thank you, sir."

Jiang She and the Earth Deity said nothing, leaving the old Daoist time to grieve and rejoice.

A Daoist from the temple spotted the Old Temple Master's distress from afar and bent down to check on him. The Old Temple Master couldn't speak for a moment and only waved him away, letting him know he was all right.

After a while,

he finally raised his head again. His eyes were red, and his temples were white.

The Old Temple Master said, "Since you wish to try refining an elixir, please come with me to the alchemy room."