The day after his body returned from steaming.
True Person Chengchu came over.
Cheng Xinzhan was rather surprised. He had merely sent a message through his Nascent Soul's Spirit Breath, asking whether she needed the Immortal Mirror lately. If not, he wanted to summon it over to study. He had also asked whether she was busy or in seclusion, as he had some questions about manifesting Inner Landscape Deities that he wanted to consult her on. When he finished, she told him to wait a moment. Thinking she had something to attend to, he did not disturb her further. Unexpectedly, after a short wait, it was the True Person herself who arrived.
Cheng Xinzhan went out of the monastery to welcome her.
"This retreat of yours is wonderfully quiet and elegant, Master."
It was True Person Chengchu's first visit. She looked at the Daoist monastery amid the peach grove and spoke in admiration.
"I only wanted somewhere peaceful."
Cheng Xinzhan answered with a smile.
True Person Chengchu looked at the couplet on the courtyard gate and softly read it aloud.
"The mountain peach says nothing, yet its fruit hangs heavy. The generous earth has a voice, its mighty words blazing bright. Take nature as your teacher."
Savoring the meaning of the couplet alongside Cheng Xinzhan's reply, she asked with a smile,
"What is this, Master? After so much activity, are you seeking stillness? After all these busy years, could you already be thinking of retiring to the mountains and forests to write books and expound your teachings?" Cheng Xinzhan shook his head.
"I do have that wish, but I was born to toil. From the present circumstances, it isn't time to retire yet. I expect I'll have to keep busy for quite a while!"
True Person Chengchu smiled.
The two