Notes on Longevity

Chapter 147 The Way of Heaven and Earth is Nature; You, Me, and All Living Beings are the Way.

Dao Yisheng sighed and continued, "Taihua told me before that he would help me overcome the tribulation, but I don't know if I can make it through."

The woman in green looked worried and seemed to be thinking about something. She muttered to herself for a moment before asking, "Is Master Taihua, who is three hundred years old, very powerful? I heard him say that he went to Kunlun."

"Of course! Let me tell you, Taihua is more than just powerful. He told me before that he's only one step away from becoming an immortal. If he does, then I'll be a friend of an immortal. Also, Taihua keeps a deer at Yunshan Temple. That deer is incredibly intelligent, its body is as white as snow, and it's as tall as an ancient tree reaching into the clouds. Especially its eyes, they're so colorful!"

When Dao Yisheng started talking about Taihua, he became very talkative. If it weren't for his blind eyes, he wouldn't look like someone who had just been injured.

Green Robe leaned against the window, quietly listening to him recount Taihua's past and how she met him.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Two hundred and forty-five years ago, at the Chuyun Temple in Chuyun Mountain, a white deer circled around a tree.

"Oh dear, what brings Uncle-Master Bailu to the outside of the temple today?"

Mount Chuyun is high, so high that one can enter the clouds. The clouds and mist swirl around it, obscuring everything. Only after noon, when the clouds and mist dissipate, does the true face of this mountain become visible.

It was early morning when two young Taoist priests emerged from the clouds and mist at the foot of the mountain.

"Look, why is Uncle Bailu circling around this tree?" A young Taoist priest spoke from the clouds and mist, but due to the layers of fog, his appearance could not be seen. Only two Taoist robes could be seen standing in the fog.

The ethereal cry of the deer, lingering in the air, and the white deer circling the trees, are puzzling.

“I don’t recall there being any trees here,” someone said.

“Indeed, judging from the way this tree has grown, it’s been almost three hundred years. Could it be a demon?” the Taoist priest asked, puzzled.

"It is a demon, but it doesn't quite resemble one."

How to solve it?

"Uncle-Master Bailu wouldn't act like this when encountering a demon."

"Indeed. Has Uncle Taihua returned from his travels?"

"I returned yesterday."

"Let my martial uncle take a look."

Amidst swirling clouds and the distant calls of deer, a young Taoist priest, carrying a whisk and a large gourd on his back, emerged from the mist.

Upon hearing the sound, the white deer turned around and came to the Taoist priest's side.

This person was none other than Taihua.

He looked up at the white deer, which was half a head taller than him, and stroked its short fur. But the white deer's gaze was not on Taihua; instead, it was curiously staring at the thick sycamore tree in the clouds.

Taihua lowered his hand, his expression solemn, and looked towards the parasol tree.

He gazed at the sycamore trees shrouded in mist and exhaled softly: "Heaven and earth create all things, and all things possess a spirit. Where do you come from?"

"Is this your first meeting?"

The woman in green sat back down at the wooden table, resting her chin on her hand and staring at Dao Yisheng with great curiosity.

"Yeah, that's right." Dao Yisheng chuckled. "Don't let his serious demeanor fool you, he's actually quite a character too."

Dao Yisheng and Dao Yisheng gasped, momentarily speechless. He shook his head, muttering to himself, "No. That word doesn't sound like him being stupid? But that's not right either. He's not stupid! In other words, he's just a moron!" "A moron?" Green Robe looked distressed. Judging from what Taihua had told him during the day, Taihua didn't seem like a moron at all!
"This guy only puts on an act in front of strangers. Once you get to know him, he's a complete idiot. A hermit, indeed! He's nothing like one!"

Dao Yisheng's words were full of disdain for Taihua, but Green Robe knew that only he dared to speak of Taihua in such a way.

"And let me tell you, every time he came back from his travels down the mountain, he would squat in front of me every day and tell me about what he had seen and heard. Although I enjoyed listening, sometimes I couldn't stand having someone nagging me for days and nights."

"What? You still don't want to listen?"

The night was deep, and the moonlight hid behind the dark clouds, only peeking out from under a rather unusual sycamore tree not far from a Taoist temple on Chuyun Mountain.

The huge gourd was placed to one side. Taihua sat cross-legged, his brows furrowed, his face flushed, staring intently at the sycamore tree in front of him.

"How could I not want to listen?" A voice came from the sycamore tree, and a young, mischievous tree face suddenly appeared. He looked at Taihua obsequiously, apologizing repeatedly, and said, "But you've been talking day and night, aren't you thirsty, hungry, or sleepy? I'm just worried about you."

"It's alright," Taihua laughed, pointing to the gourd beside him, "There's water in this gourd, I'll drink it when I'm thirsty, you don't need to worry about it!"

"Don't you really need to rest? And are you sure this gourd of yours is full of water and not wine?" Dao Yisheng stared at Taihua with a bitter look on his face, as if he had no will to live.

"Hey! How can you talk like that?" Taihua's speech was somewhat slurred, his tone fluctuating. "This Daoist master has nothing in his gourd, where would he get wine from! You really know how to joke."

"You just said this gourd has water in it!" Dao Yisheng roared, feeling like he had been tricked by Taihua.

"Hey! That's not right!" Taihua looked slightly drunk, his body unsteady, almost falling over: "I'm a Taoist priest, a monk, I don't touch wine, women, or meat, how could I possibly drink alcohol?"

"Am I talking about one?" Dao Yisheng asked speechlessly.

But Taihua didn't respond to him. He just hiccuped and said to himself, "I only drank some wine from the gourd before I came here. And you know what, it's pretty strong. I'm still a little tipsy a few days later."

"Aren't you a monk? Don't you abstain from wine and women?" Dao Yisheng gritted his teeth.

Taihua said sternly, "Yes, but this gourd is filled with water."

"You just said the gourd was empty."

"No way, this gourd contains heaven and earth, how could it be empty?"

"Isn't it for water?"

"It's not water! It's wine!"

"I can't stand you anymore!" Dao Yisheng finally couldn't hold back any longer. The thick sycamore tree twisted and conjured up a blurry human figure, glaring angrily at Taihua.

"Ah! We are all cultivators, we should purify our minds." Taihua swayed precariously.

"You're talking nonsense! You're playing me for a fool!" Dao Yisheng raised his fist to swing at Taihua.

Taihua, however, didn't care. Instead, as he became more intoxicated, he said, "Where is the Way in this world?"

Dao Yisheng was stunned upon hearing this, and stopped throwing his fist.

"Hey! You're wrong! You and I are both the Way."

Taihua finally got drunk and collapsed to the ground with a thud. He was heavily intoxicated and drowsy. He let out a soft "Ah," and murmured, "The Tao that can be spoken of is not the constant Tao. The name that can be named is not the constant name. You and I are all things of Heaven and Earth. Heaven and Earth call this the Tao, which follows the natural order. Therefore, you and I are also the Tao."

(End of this chapter)