Searching for Books

A fiery crimson cloud drifted slowly out from Yin-Gathering Mountain.

The cloud wobbled wildly as it flew, veering left, then right, rising into the sky one moment and sinking the next. Fortunately, there were so many clouds here that no one noticed it for the time being.

Luckily, it soon steadied and began descending at a leisurely pace, passing first through the sea of milk, then through the sea of iridescence, before weaving among the mountains.

Atop the cloud, Yunqi held a yellow paper talisman inscribed with cloud clerical script. At the center of an auspicious-cloud pattern formed by layer upon layer of the script, a string of purple dots traced the Big Dipper. Yunqi rested his thumb on the Dipper's handle; as he rubbed it, the fiery cloud moved with him. It was wonderfully convenient.

Daoist Ji Xuan had given Yunqi this cloud-controlling talisman especially after learning that he had yet to master circulating qi. Bought on its own, the thing would have cost a fair amount of money!

He followed the route he had taken there, passing Immortal Ten Thousand Mountain, Great Ten Thousand Mountain, and Cuckoo Valley before returning to Little Ten Thousand Mountain.

Little Ten Thousand Mountain had numerous landings. This time, he did not stop at Lesser Yang Ferry, the one closest to his residence, but went straight to Orchid Pavilion Ferry near the summit.

Upon landing, he rolled up the talisman. The cloud beneath his feet dispersed with it, becoming a thread of red that climbed onto the left side of his chest and gathered into a simple crimson coiled-dragon pattern imbued with divine intent.

He had given this fiery cloud a new name: Dragon Chariot.

He headed up toward the All-Teachings Institute at the summit.

Yunqi had not been on Little Ten Thousand Mountain long, but the institute's library was the place he had visited most often, and he already knew it exceedingly well.

This time, he had come for the matter Master Su Kong had mentioned yesterday: building a temple within his mind.

He had thought it over carefully. If he was going to do something, he ought to do it properly. Besides, Master Su Kong had emphasized yesterday that this concerned thought condensation and palace-opening.

The two most important aspects of constructing a Daoist temple were its architectural specifications and the divine images enshrined in its halls.

The first, Daoist temple architecture, had a history spanning tens of thousands of years. Every school and sect had its own traditions, and master builders through the ages had brought forth the new from the old, producing a complexity beyond description. Still, with so many buildings standing before him, there had to be patterns he could trace. He needed to read more, observe more, and understand the underlying structure, particularly the forms and applications of basic components such as beams, pillars, bearing blocks, brackets, bricks, tiles, and lacquer. The rest was merely a matter of aesthetic accomplishment and time.

Learning had never been difficult.

The second, the divine images to be enshrined, was somewhat troublesome for him.

Yunqi had always held gods and spirits in reverence. Though he had now barely stepped through the mountain gate, this world remained unfamiliar to him.

Yunqi did not know whether this library contained the illustrated guides he wanted. Nor did he know whether he could focus his mind upon their images.

As thoughts fluttered through his mind, Yunqi had already entered the library.

The All-Teachings Institute's library formed a square ring around a square pond in its center. Its name was, accordingly, the Square Pond Library.

Inside the entrance, the library's index covered a screen wall twice a person's height. He stepped closer and carefully searched the tiny, fly-sized regular script.

Soon, he found what he had come for. Once he knew the approximate locations, he began making his way through the square-ring building.

He first stopped before a bookshelf several people tall and began searching again. His gaze settled on several places in succession, and he used a ladder to take down the books one by one.

They were:

"Daoist Temple Construction Manual"

"Southern School's Principles of Craftsmanship for Enshrining Gods"

"Shi Clan Construction Regulations"

"Ten Directions Monastery Garden Design"

"Blessed Lands and Grotto-Heavens of Daoist Temples"

"Record of Great Halls and Small Shrines"

"Yongle Encyclopedia: Specifications of Daoist Temples Through the Ages"

"Viewing Mount Wudang"

"Treasured Guide to Bronze and Stone"

"Treatise on Woodworking"

"Origins of Lacquer Colors"

He carried these books to the lending desk and registered them using the jade pendant at his waist.

These books came in paper, bamboo slips, or leather, but all were ordinary books without divine intent. They could be bought or borrowed, and borrowing cost nothing; compensation was required only if they were damaged.

Yunqi never forgot anything he read, so naturally he chose to borrow them rather than waste money.

Leaving the books at the lending desk for the moment, he returned to search the vast sea of books.

He went up to the second floor. Paper books and bamboo slips grew fewer on the shelves, while leather scrolls, silk, jade tablets, and gold leaf became increasingly common.

After wandering for a long time, Yunqi arrived before a row of bookcases. Most of the contents here were albums and scrolls, largely made of silk and gold leaf. They gave off a faint radiance and looked truly sacred.

He scanned them one by one, reading the titles:

"Complete Compendium of Immortals of the Three Teachings-Fragment-Copy"

"Primordial Wilderness Mountains and Seas Illustrated Guide-Fragment-Copy"

"Illustrated Star Lords of Di Jun's Heavenly Court-Fragment-Copy"

"Illustrated Star Lords of Haotian's Heavenly Court-Fragment-Copy"

"Diagram of Mountains, Rivers, and the State-Fragment-Copy"

"Gods on the List-Fragment-Copy"

"Eight Divisions of Orthodox Gods-Fragment-Copy"

"Famous Demons Through the Ages-Fragment-Copy"

"Bai Ze Diagram-Fragment-Copy"

"Erlang's Mountain-Searching Diagram-Fragment-Copy"

"Observations from the Journey West-Fragment-Copy"

"Ascension Portraits of the Eight Great True Persons of the Tang and Song-Copy"

Yunqi could not help laughing. Why were they all fragments and copies?

These things could not be casually leafed through, either. They all carried divine intent, which would slowly dissipate once they were opened. He would have to pay for them first.

These illustrated scrolls were far from cheap. The thickest volume, the Complete Compendium of Immortals of the Three Teachings, cost fifteen gold even though it was only a fragment, and a copy of unknown provenance at that. The cheapest of the others still cost one gold.

Yunqi's purse was looking decidedly thin.

He had intended to consult plenty of books, just as with temple architecture, so he could feel confident in his choice. As things stood, however, his options for the principal deity to enshrine in his mental temple were rather limited.

His search grew even more meticulous.

After a long while, his eyes lit up. A scroll had caught his attention. A paper strip sealed it, bearing the clear inscription:

"Standing Portrait Screen of Haotian's Twenty-Eight Lodge Star Lords-Fragment-White Tiger Seven Lodges Scroll-Warring States Rubbing."

Yunqi was no longer wholly ignorant. He knew that Haotian's Heavenly Court had twenty-eight lodges, the seats of twenty-eight Star Lords. These Star Lords were all demonic spirits who had attained the Dao, their bodies united with the five elements and yin and yang. They were eminently suitable for visualization as an inner landscape deity, though they had attained the Dao around the transition between the Shang and Zhou, rather a long time ago.

But the twenty-eight lodges were also divided among the Four Symbols. The White Tiger's seven lodges contained both solar and lunar aspects, as well as the complete five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, with their yin and yang, giving him plenty of choices. A rubbing like this, containing a complete set within a fragment, cost only a hundred and fifty taels. Yunqi felt it offered better value than the other fragments.

Without much hesitation, he picked up the scroll and continued searching the area with it in hand.

But Yunqi found nothing more suitable and settled on the White Tiger Seven Lodges Scroll.

At the lending desk, Yunqi watched the Daoist in charge of the library produce a little sword and slice into his gold. A piece weighing one and a half taels was gone, with the same deftness Daoist Ji Xuan had displayed earlier. I need to learn that trick too, Yunqi thought.

He did the sums. The All-Teachings Institute had granted him five gold in total, and buying the cloud and books had already consumed half of it. Add the forty taels of silver spent treating the people of two streets to drinks last night, and this money was disappearing far too quickly!

Here is the new book. Please leave plenty of messages and comments.