True Person Shi's sermon actually preached a philosophy of moderation: sell books at eight-tenths of their price, fire pills through nine refinements. Its central idea was this: leave room in everything; never push things to the limit. Not contending was contending, and contending was not contending... in the end, wouldn't you still have to return obediently to the Supreme Lord's furnace?
Applied to the present situation, its meaning went without saying. The cultivators present were all accustomed to guessing at riddles, and understood these little twists and turns perfectly.
True Person Shi spoke expansively for an hour to convey this idea, even demonstrating his arts as proof. The heady essence of the Dao left his listeners almost intoxicated.
When he finished, True Person Yan of the Minister of Works Prefecture was about to ascend the pavilion, but a figure had already beaten him to it. Looking up, they saw that it was True Person Quan, one of the Leisurely Clouds and Cranes of the Four Wilds, whom they had not seen for a long time.
True Person Quan's face was the deep red of a ripe jujube, his voice like a great bell. He was straightforward and concealed nothing.
"In days gone by, I never understood the shock of autumn; now I prepare my sorrows in advance. A mighty wind shines upon the old homeland; a waning moon hangs over the tower at the fourth watch. Beyond the heavens, a lotus-blossom sword; in the mortal world, a bamboo-leaf boat. We chance to meet on this cool night, yet it is unlike wandering in a dream..."
His words were much more direct. When young, one did not understand autumn's chill; when old, wind and cold invaded the body. He was saying that if young disciples like them did not know to