Scripture of Purity and Tranquility

Master and disciple returned home. Su Ziyang took a shower, changed his clothes, and bandaged the wound on his arm. When he came out of the bedroom, he saw his master sitting upright and solemn in a chair in the living room.

"Master!" Su Ziyang greeted his master cheekily.

"Kneel!"

Mr. Mengfei's stern bark startled Su Ziyang. He couldn't understand how his master, who had been all smiles just moments ago, had changed his face in the time it took him to shower.

Seeing that his master was angry, Su Ziyang didn't dare resist. His knees gave way, and he knelt before Mr. Mengfei.

"Do you know what you did wrong?" Mr. Mengfei looked at Su Ziyang kneeling on the floor.

"Master, I... don't know what I did wrong. Why are you angry?" Su Ziyang looked at Mr. Mengfei with an innocent expression.

The innocent look on Su Ziyang's face made Mr. Mengfei even angrier. "I'm asking you! When you first learned acupoint striking from Jiang Kui, what did he tell you at the start? And what did I warn you about when we left his house? Go on, tell me..."

"Uncle Jiang said acupoint strikes could make ghosts and gods tremble, and that such a powerful art shouldn't be used lightly. You said I could only use the massage techniques to treat illnesses and save people, not to fight!"

Su Ziyang thought for a moment before stammering out his answer.

"And what did you do?!"

"Master, I was wrong!"

"You were wrong? You'd better know you were! I'm telling you, if I hadn't gotten there in time today, you'd be a cripple! Do you understand?! Do you think severed tendons in your hands and feet are a trivial matter?! You're only twenty-four!!! How would you have lived the rest of your life? Huh?! Did you even think about that?! Why do you kids nowadays do things without considering the consequences?! I ought to slap you... I..."

As he spoke, Mr. Mengfei rose from his chair and raised his hand to slap Su Ziyang.

Hearing his master's words, Su Ziyang felt a lingering fear. He knew he had truly been wrong and didn't dare dodge. He merely closed his eyes, ready to steel himself and take a couple of blows from his master so he could vent his anger.

Seeing Su Ziyang's eyes squeezed shut, Mr. Mengfei lowered his raised hand.

Su Ziyang waited a while, but the slap never came. He secretly opened his eyes and looked at Mr. Mengfei, only to find him looking back helplessly, the anger from moments ago gone from his face.

"Hehe, Master, I really was wrong. I didn't have a choice then, either. A few of my classmates were there, and I couldn't just stand by and watch them get beaten up! Besides, didn't I make up with Bai Pengyu and the others?" Seeing that his master was no longer angry, Su Ziyang started running his mouth again.

"I can't even be bothered to hit you. Do something wrong, and you have to be punished!" Mr. Mengfei paid no attention to Su Ziyang's cheek.

"Master, I was wrong. I'll take my punishment, I'll take it!" Su Ziyang said with a chuckle.

"Then listen up! From now on, you'll copy out 'The Scripture of Constant Purity and Tranquility as Spoken by the Most High Lord Lao' ten times every day to temper your character! Keep every page you copy safe! I'll inspect them later! And if I ever catch you fighting and stirring up trouble again, I'll personally cripple your martial arts! I'll turn you into a frail scholar of a doctor, too weak to truss a chicken!"

Mr. Mengfei pointed at Su Ziyang as he spoke fiercely.

Kneeling on the floor, Su Ziyang listened to his master's punishment and knew he was truly no longer angry. He chuckled and said, "Got it, Master. Can I ask a question, then?"

"Speak!" Mr. Mengfei said softly, looking at Su Ziyang.

"Master, what's 'The Scripture of Constant Purity and Tranquility as Spoken by the Most High Lord Lao'?" Su Ziyang stared sincerely at Mr. Mengfei, blinking his big, curious eyes.

Mr. Mengfei closed his eyes, rubbed his forehead, and sighed. "Ah, what a sin! Can't you look it up online yourself?! Why don't I personally teach you how to use the internet, too?!"

"Oh!" Su Ziyang nodded. "Master, I have another request!"

"Speak!"

"Could you teach me that Lion's Roar skill of yours?"

Mr. Mengfei stared wide-eyed at Su Ziyang kneeling on the floor. "Get out!"

With that, he raised his hand to beat Su Ziyang. Su Ziyang flinched in fright and hurried into the bedroom, muttering as he ran, "If you won't teach me, you won't teach me! Why hit me? Honestly!"

"Oh, you little brat! You'd better stay hidden in that room!" Su Ziyang's shameless behavior left Mr. Mengfei half angry and half amused.

"I'm done fooling around with you. I have something to do, so I'm going out. When I come back tonight, I want to see those ten copies of the scripture. If you haven't finished, just you wait!"

Su Ziyang was truly afraid of getting beaten and didn't dare leave the bedroom. After waiting a while, he heard Mr. Mengfei say something in the living room, followed by the sound of the door. Su Ziyang peered into the living room through the crack in his bedroom door. Mr. Mengfei really had gone out! Relieved, he came out of the bedroom.

He turned on the computer and searched for "The Scripture of Constant Purity and Tranquility as Spoken by the Most High Lord Lao."

Only then did Su Ziyang learn about the scripture. "The Scripture of Constant Purity and Tranquility as Spoken by the Most High Lord Lao," or the Scripture of Purity and Tranquility for short, contained 591 Chinese characters in all. It was one of the important scriptures for Taoist cultivation.

Su Ziyang familiarized himself with its contents. Not daring to slack off, he took out a stack of A4 paper and began copying it with a fountain pen.

"Lord Lao said: The great Dao is formless, yet it gives birth to heaven and earth; the great Dao is without feeling, yet it sets the sun and moon in motion; the great Dao is nameless, yet it nourishes all things. I do not know its name, so I call it the Dao. The Dao has purity and turbidity, movement and stillness; heaven is pure and earth turbid, heaven moves and earth is still; man is pure and woman turbid, man moves and woman is still. From the root it descends and flows to the branches, giving birth to all things. Purity is the source of turbidity, movement the foundation of stillness. If people can remain pure and tranquil, heaven and earth will all return to them... Those who comprehend the true and constant Dao attain it for themselves; those who attain and comprehend the Dao are forever pure and tranquil!"

"Whoever has this scripture and understands it shall be untouched by calamity and obstruction, and a host of sages shall guard their door. Their spirit shall ascend to the upper realms to pay homage to the exalted immortals. When their merits are complete and their virtue fulfilled, they shall move the divine lord. If they recite and uphold it without faltering, their body shall rise on purple clouds."

Su Ziyang carefully copied out the scripture stroke by stroke. He read it through once, then took another sheet of A4 paper and began copying it a second time.

By the sixth copy, Su Ziyang felt something different. His previously restless heart had unexpectedly begun to fill, from the inside out, with a trace of serenity. The feeling was impossible to describe, but it was serenity nonetheless, as though it came from deep within him.

Then the Qi in his dantian, which he usually drew upon in great amounts only when cultivating, slowly began to circulate through his body on its own. The circulation was quite slow, but it was happening entirely without Su Ziyang's conscious effort!

Su Ziyang's attention was completely absorbed by the profound scripture beneath his pen, and he was entirely unaware of the changes in his body.

...Click. The sound of the door lock pulled Su Ziyang out of his tranquil meditation. He came abruptly to his senses and discovered that, without realizing it, he had copied the scripture more than thirty times.

Mr. Mengfei looked at the state Su Ziyang was in and smiled knowingly. "This child can be taught! It seems you've already experienced some benefits from the scripture!"

The moment he came to, Su Ziyang had felt the changes in his body. Compared with a few hours ago, his heart was calmer, and a mysterious feeling had appeared within him, profound and subtle!

"Let me see how your copying turned out!" Mr. Mengfei picked up the papers on the table. The instant he did, he was stunned by Su Ziyang's handwriting, which looked like chicken scratch. "Your handwriting...?"

Su Ziyang knew his handwriting was ugly, so he chuckled. "Master, my handwriting's a little ugly!"

In fact, Su Ziyang's handwriting had once been beautiful, but for some reason it had grown uglier and uglier after he entered high school.

"It's not just a little. It's an affront to refinement... You'd better practice!" Mr. Mengfei was at a loss. "With handwriting like this, how did you get into university? Huh? And you even got into a master's program?"

Hearing Mr. Mengfei mock him, Su Ziyang flushed slightly. "Master, that's no way to put someone down. You can say my handwriting's bad, but you can't disparage my studies!"

Su Ziyang spoke with righteous confidence. Mr. Mengfei rolled his eyes at him. "I can't be bothered with you! I'm telling you now, I have something to do and have to leave tomorrow morning. I only came this time to see how your cultivation has been going lately! Seeing that it's going pretty well puts my mind at ease."

"Master, you've only been here a day and you're already leaving! Stay a couple more days!"

"No, I have important business."

"What business?"

"Grown-ups' business. Kids shouldn't ask!"

With his master leaving the next day, Su Ziyang turned down Bai Pengyu's invitation to go out and have fun. After a simple dinner, master and disciple began meditating and cultivating.

The night passed without incident, and Mr. Mengfei left early the next morning. Su Ziyang tidied up briefly and also arrived at the clinic early.

Su Ziyang had just reached the second floor when he saw a familiar figure standing outside his door.

"Good morning, Daoist Jin!" Su Ziyang greeted him first.

"Good morning, Xiao Su!" Hearing Su Ziyang call to him, Daoist Jin returned the greeting.

After unlocking the door, Su Ziyang saw that Daoist Jin was still standing there with no intention of going to his own examination room. Curious, he asked, "Daoist Jin, is there something you need?"

Hearing Su Ziyang address him, Daoist Jin stepped nervously inside. He took a box from the crossbody bag behind him and placed it on Su Ziyang's examination desk.

Su Ziyang looked at the box and saw that it was a phone. It was a brand-new model, too, one that cost nearly ten thousand or more.

"Daoist Jin, what's this?" Su Ziyang looked at the phone, somewhat puzzled.

Daoist Jin blushed slightly and rubbed his hands together. "Xiao Su, I'm truly sorry about yesterday. I misunderstood you and even injured you, and I saw that your phone broke in the fall yesterday too. So I bought you a new one after work last night. You must accept it! Take it!"

"Daoist Jin, this... I can't accept it!" Su Ziyang realized it was still about yesterday. "You had your reasons, and I understand. Besides, I was partly responsible for what happened yesterday too. My master even scolded me for it! This is much too expensive. Please put it away!"

Hearing Su Ziyang say that, Daoist Jin's face grew redder. He kept rubbing his hands and said, "Xiao Su, you're still angry with me, aren't you?!"

"Really, I'm not. Daoist Jin, please don't overthink it! I'm really not angry!" Su Ziyang hurriedly explained.

"If you're not angry, then accept it!" Daoist Jin took the phone straight out of the box and put it in Su Ziyang's hand. "Really, I bought it for you! If you accept it, that means you're not angry with me. If you don't, you're still angry. If you won't take it, I really won't be able to face you! Besides, I'm quite a bit older than you, so I count as your elder, don't I? Didn't you say it yourself? When an elder gives, one must not refuse! Take it, take it!"

Seeing that Daoist Jin was sincere, Su Ziyang felt that refusing would put him in a difficult position. His own phone really had been damaged badly enough that it was barely usable, so he steeled himself and nodded. "Then thank you. This is the first time I've received such an expensive gift!"

"You're welcome! You're welcome!" Seeing Su Ziyang accept the phone, Daoist Jin turned and left, his heart full of joy.