Notes on Longevity

Chapter 116 The Great Dao Scripture, Volume Three Thousand, She Li Recounts Embarrassing Stories

It was noon when the four entered the deadwood forest. They stopped and ate their dry rations together, leaning against the broad tree trunks, and rested for a while.

The bare forest looked rather pleasant in the midday sun and gentle autumn breeze. After finishing his meal, Ping An took out a Taoist scripture from his chest and started reading during his break.

Yang Shouren, who had been following Ping An closely, couldn't help but glance at the scripture Ping An took out. He saw the words written on it: "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. Profound and mysterious, the gateway to all wonders."

He tilted his head as he looked at the words above, and suddenly felt a heaviness in his head.

Yang Shouren grew up with his parents from a young age, and his days were filled with nothing but martial arts practice. It wasn't that his parents wouldn't let him read, but rather that he simply couldn't concentrate on it.

He also knew that his parents had spent their lives wandering the martial arts world, and their hard-won retirement was all in the hope that he could study more so that he could pass the imperial examinations and become a scholar or a tribute student.

They knew that with their own and the village schoolteacher's combined knowledge, they couldn't possibly teach Yang Shouren to become the top scholar, so they naturally considered the worst-case scenario.

However, to their utter surprise, Yang Shouren would fall asleep as soon as he started reading, and he was the kind of person who couldn't be woken up no matter what they did. But when it came to practicing martial arts, he was more energetic than anyone else, and he could practice for days and nights without sleeping.

Seeing Yang Shouren's condition, they gave up on the idea of ​​sending him to school and focused him on martial arts training until he was fifteen or sixteen years old.

One day, he suddenly stopped practicing martial arts and instead buried himself in a book. The two men thought that Yang Shouren had finally stopped feeling sleepy while reading, and they were thinking of asking the tutor for help again, since he was willing to study, even if it was late.

Just like the imperial examinations for scholars, some people are still studying hard even when they are over fifty years old, and it is not a big deal if they are a little late.

But when they got closer and saw the book Yang Shouren was reading, they were stunned and didn't know what to say. It wasn't exactly a book of classic texts; it wasn't useless, yet it was the most mentally taxing book.

Biographies of Merchants, Guanzi, Shangjun Shu, and Salt Merchants of the World.

The couple shook their heads helplessly as they looked at the books in Yang Shouren's hands and beside him. Curious, they asked Yang Shouren, "What are you doing looking at these books?"

Yang Shouren tilted his head, frowned, and said, "I met a merchant when I went into the city a couple of days ago. He gave it to me. And I think what he said makes a lot of sense. Merchants can make you rich and worry-free for life, so I want to become a merchant."

The couple was at their wits' end. What could they do? They couldn't learn the classics, and they couldn't spend their lives learning martial arts! If they ended up following in their footsteps, it would be too late for regrets.

Later, they sent Yang Shouren to Huangzhou to learn business from a former friend, who then married his daughter to him.

"Hey! Oh!" Yang Shouren suddenly felt sleepy when he saw the words in the book in Ping An's hand. He lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Ping An quickly helped him up and asked if he was alright. He shook his head and waved his hand with the dry bread in his hand to indicate that he was fine.

"That's good, that's good." Seeing that Yang Shouren was alright, Ping An sat back down and continued reading the book.

The text Ping An was reading the *Tao Te Ching*, a classic text left by the Taoist sage Lao Tzu before his ascension. The text is divided into two volumes: *Tao* and *De*, encompassing the myriad things of heaven and earth, as well as the principles of governing a country, preserving oneself, and understanding one's true nature. Although the content is the same for all readers, their understanding differs. Ordinary people who read it merely learn the form of the Tao; those who cultivate the Tao see something different—their state of mind, the things they see, and the path they walk reveal the form of the Tao. They can exist outside the Tao, yet also within it, and thus their understanding is different.

Ping An had already memorized the Taoist scripture perfectly, but he remembered that both his master and the ancestor had told him that the Great Tao scriptures consisted of three thousand volumes, and that they were always new to him. So, no matter how well he had read them or how deep his understanding of them was, Ping An would take them out to read and ponder them whenever he had free time.

Under another tree, She Li placed her bundle aside, sat cross-legged, focused her mind, and contemplated the laws of the Great Dao, desiring to see the heavens and the earth, and to see herself.

Xiao Changgong sat under a tree opposite She Li, watching the group with boredom, his heart filled with worry and longing for his vixen.

As the sun began to set, She Li's meditation ended. He stood up and said to the others, "It's time to get going."

So Yang Shouren helped Ping An carry the basket, slowly placing it on Ping An's shoulder, and followed Ping An's steps toward the edge of the withered forest.

The group emerged from the forest and continued their journey toward Huangzhou.

On the way, Ping An suddenly asked why She Li had hit Xiao Chang Gong that night.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Changgong quickly covered She Li's mouth to stop him from speaking.

She Li rolled her eyes at Xiao Changgong and slapped him across the face. He had only intended to say something brief, but he chose to tell Xiao Changgong everything because of his "disrespect."

"Six months ago, I returned from my travels in the Wu Kingdom and met Xiao Changgong when I passed through Liangzhou. He told me that a snake demon was causing a serious disturbance in a nearby town and asked for my help."

"You can't even defeat a snake demon? You've lived for over five hundred years in vain." In a teahouse, She Li sat by the window on the second floor, mocking Xiao Changgong as she stared at the pedestrians below.

Xiao Changgong took a sip of tea, rested his chin on his hand, and stared at She Li with a wronged expression. "You know, I'm just a little fox. How could I possibly defeat such a big snake demon? I'm lucky I wasn't eaten by her."

She Li chuckled, "Aren't you fox demons quite skilled in charm magic? Look at you, tall and handsome, couldn't you just use a little trick on her? Why do you have to resort to violence?"

Xiao Changgong stared coldly at She Li and said irritably, "If that snake demon had been able to fall for her trick, I wouldn't have almost been beaten to a pulp by her."

Looking at Xiao Changgong's aggrieved face, She Li couldn't help but laugh. He said, "Don't make that face. People would think you're some young wife who's come out to play the victim."

"Just tell me if you'll help me or not." Xiao Changgong ignored She Li's unpleasant words. He stared at She Li with great disappointment, as if she were saying to him: "You're a demon yourself, and instead of helping your own kind, you're helping this Taoist priest rid the people of evil. Now that I'm in trouble, you not only don't help, but you're also mocking me."

She Li looked at Xiao Changgong's resentful face and smiled. He'd only been joking; was it really necessary to make such a fuss? He poured himself a cup of tea and asked, "Where is that snake demon?"

(End of this chapter)