(Since so many people said they didn't understand this chapter, I decided to add an explanation at the beginning. In sequence, what I wrote was: lucid dreaming, also known as nightmare paralysis; consciousness leaving the body during a dream; reciting sutras in the dream while being harassed by spirits; and nourishing the body after the out-of-body experience ended. All of this was adapted from my own personal experiences.)
Bone-piercing cold seeped relentlessly through the surrounding well water, draining the warmth from Wang Qi's body and leaving him in unbearable torment.
This dream again?
Almost the instant Wang Qi entered this scene, he realized something. Through the murky haze, he raised his head and looked up at the patch of sky above the well...
The flickering light of flames lit up the night sky, accompanied by rising cries of slaughter and agonized wails.
Suddenly, he felt an icy embrace...
In an instant, the scenery around him vanished, and he jolted awake from the dream that had haunted him for nearly ten years.
Before his eyes lay a shabby room. Deep blue moonlight shone through gaps in the wooden boards, letting him make out what seemed to be every furnishing inside.
This was Wang Qi's own room, and he was lying on his own bed.
But when he turned his head, he abruptly saw a beautiful woman in palace attire sitting sideways at his bedside, watching him quietly, with what seemed like a faint air of gloom...
Wang Qi felt unbearably heavy. He wanted to sit up, but could not manage it.
He began to struggle, feeling as though his body were vibrating rapidly, trying to break free of some restraint...
Fortunately, he had practiced this many times before. After struggling for a moment, he abruptly sat up in bed and said soundlessly, "Aunt Yun, sorry for the wait."
The beautiful woman in palace attire was Aunt Yun, his wet nurse.
Aunt Yun did not answer. Looking somewhat gloomy and subdued, yet exceedingly gentle, she lowered her head... She seemed unwilling to meet Wang Qi's eyes.
Wang Qi paid this little mind and asked again, "Where's A Bao?"
Aunt Yun still made no sound, merely pointing toward a corner of the room.
Wang Qi followed her gesture and saw a six-year-old boy in sumptuous clothes, looking like the young son of a wealthy family, apparently doing somersaults in that corner...
"A Bao, come here. Stay closer to me."
Wang Qi called out.
At his voice, the little boy named A Bao hurried over on his short legs... Though obedient, he too kept his head lowered, unwilling to meet Wang Qi's eyes.
Looking at the two "people" beside him, Wang Qi felt a surge of sorrow welling up within him.
He quickly reined in his thoughts and stopped dwelling on it. Repeated experience had taught him that he must not let his emotions fluctuate at a time like this. His mind had to remain utterly peaceful and calm.
Without further hesitation, he straightened his back and began softly reciting a sutra:
When Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva practiced the profound perfection of wisdom, he saw that all five aggregates were empty, and crossed beyond all suffering and hardship...
Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does not differ from form. Form is emptiness; emptiness is form...
Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no sensation, perception, mental formations, or consciousness...
No ignorance, and also no ending of ignorance...
Gate, gate,
Paragate,
Parasamgate,
Bodhi svaha...
As Wang Qi recited this Heart Sutra, which he had brought from another world, numerous shadowy human figures gathered around him.
At that moment, Wang Qi's little room seemed to have slipped free of spatial constraints. It was hard to imagine how so many people could squeeze inside.
Yet there they were, drawing closer with gloomy faces, raising their heads to stare directly into Wang Qi's eyes... Now, however, Wang Qi refused to look at them. He merely sat quietly reciting the sutra that, in this world, only he knew.
He then repeated the heart mantra 108 times before stopping.
At that moment, Aunt Yun, who had been sitting sideways at his bedside, suddenly stood and lightly swept her flowing sleeves, as though cleaning his room... All those shadowy things were swept away like "dust."
Wang Qi felt mentally exhausted and wanted to sink into a deep sleep.
Just then, A Bao gently tugged on his hand and pointed overhead...
"Right, I still haven't finished the practice Uncle Dashan assigned... All right, I know."
Wang Qi answered, then struggled a little, as though breaking free of the last few restraints. Suddenly, he rose lightly into the air...
He looked down and saw his body lying perfectly intact, fast asleep. Yet he had already passed through the rafters and reached the rooftop.
The first time he tried this, he had indeed been so frightened that he immediately "shrank back." Now, however, he knew that as long as his heart held neither sorrow nor joy and remained entirely unruffled, he could maintain this state.
Come to think of it, this state of neither sorrow nor joy, neither thought nor desire, was a knack he had grasped through his frequent recitation of the Heart Sutra.
Now he seemed able to sense clearly that he had two bodies: one lay on the bed in the room below, while the other stood here on the roof, waiting for the day's first ray of sunlight.
Suddenly, he felt a great, brilliant light from between heaven and earth shine upon him, sending his soul into a daze...
Instinctively, he twisted sideways and plunged straight down.
Boom!
The eyelids of the reclining Wang Qi suddenly trembled, and his eyes opened. He was still in his room, but now the faint light of dawn streamed through the gaps in the wooden walls.
Clear birdsong brought with it a taste of morning.
The next instant, he felt as though his entire body had been plunged into a hot spring. An intense warmth coursed through him, wonderfully comfortable.
Every muscle in his body felt as though it had been massaged, and even his previously exhausted mind recovered remarkably well.
Only A Bao and Aunt Yun had vanished without a trace.
Bang, bang, bang!
Someone pounded hard on the door of his little hut, hard enough to make him worry that the shabby little door might shatter.
"Qi, lad! Time to get up for morning practice!"
Wang Dashan's rough voice came from outside, brimming with energy.
Reluctant to interrupt the comfortable sensation, Wang Qi silently savored it for about a minute... Only then did the intense warmth throughout his body rapidly subside.
Yet in that brief interval, the pounding at the door was already on the verge of becoming demolition...
Wang Qi hurriedly called out, "I know, Uncle Dashan! I'll be right out!"
He quickly and nimbly got up... He was a hunter living in the mountain wilderness, after all. He slept wherever he could, had no need to wash up, and hardly had any clothes to straighten...
To think he had once loved cleanliness and cared about his quality of life. By now, cruel reality had long since taught him his place.
He opened the door to find Wang Dashan waiting impatiently, clad in animal skins, with a tiger's back and a bear's waist.
The moment he emerged, a scolding greeted him. "You little rascal, don't you know how important morning practice is? The first breath of outside air each morning can nurture your primal yang. It's crucial to cultivating your lesser yang qi."
He dressed like a mountain hunter, but spoke with the bearing of an instructor in a wealthy household.
"I know, Uncle Dashan!" Wang Qi retorted without the slightest fear. "You're already in your early forties. Why are you still so hot-tempered? If you can't calm your restless heart and cultivate tranquility, how are you ever going to enter the Dao through martial arts?"
"You little brat, who asked you to run your mouth..." Looking utterly worn out, Wang Dashan launched straight into cursing... He was a rough man; when he couldn't win an argument, all he could do was curse.
Though they appeared to be at loggerheads, Wang Qi and Wang Dashan had depended on each other for survival for ten years. Though not father and son, their bond had long since surpassed that of father and son.
Yet as Wang Dashan grumbled and cursed, his expression suddenly darkened. Somewhat hesitantly, he said, "Last night, I felt as though yin entities were gathering. Did Lady Yun and the others come again?"
Wang Qi nodded solemnly and answered, "Yes. A Bao and Aunt Yun both came. They seemed to be doing fairly well."
He had not hidden his unusual abilities from Wang Dashan.
Wang Dashan wrestled with his conflicting feelings before finally saying, "You should do less of this from now on. Yin and yang are separated, after all. Too much contact with yin entities will damage your own yang qi."
This time, however, Wang Qi did not answer. He simply went outside, gathered his qi, and sprang into the air, landing on the roof and sitting cross-legged.
He knew this spot well. After all, he had only just left it.
Then he closed his eyes and began meditating to cultivate his qi, entering cultivation directly without bothering about Wang Dashan stamping his feet in anger below.
Down below, Wang Dashan could only shake his head helplessly, looking completely at a loss.
He had raised Wang Qi for ten years, yet had never once struck the boy. Nor had he ever known what to do with this child, who was far too sensible for his own good.
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