Notes on Longevity

Chapter 62 Entering the Imperial Court and the Top Scholar's Residence, Smoke Rises from the Village of the Top Scholar

The year was the 45th year of the Shangyuan era, on the 20th day of the plum month, near dusk.

Fuyun Prefecture, Beishan County, Longtan Village.

At his master's request, the thirty-two-year-old Qingshui, dressed in a Taoist robe and carrying some provisions, descended the mountain to travel for two years. He descended from Zoumaguan, traveling east to south, and arrived at Longtan Village, located in the southeast of Yanchao, bordering the Southern Kingdom. At this moment, thick smoke rose from every household in the village, echoing the golden clouds in the sky. He stood at the village entrance, looking up or staring at the words written on the walls.

"The residence of the top scholar? The village of the third-ranked scholar?" This village was somewhat different from the other villages he had seen along the way.

Normally, once you enter a village, there's a sign indicating what kind of village it is. But the village before him was different; it not only had a wide stone gate supported by massive stone pillars, but also a long red embroidered ball hanging horizontally across it.

Under the red embroidered ball is the name of this village—Longtan Village.

On each side was written a sentence: "A skillful pen reveals erudition, leading to entry into the imperial court and the residence of the top scholar."

The other side reads: "Immortals dwell in the deep pools and high mountains, while smoke curls from the chimneys of the Flower-Exploring Village."

Shimizu, intrigued by the two sentences, walked straight into the village, filled with doubt. He was curious; if what the sentence said was true, this village had once produced a top scholar (Zhuangyuan) and a third-place scholar (Tanhua). But what he was even more curious about was who taught in this village, someone who could have produced such a scholar! He wanted to see for himself.

When he passed through the stone gate and entered the village, he found that the village and the stone gate at the entrance were not in harmony.

The village inside the stone gate was no different from any other ordinary village: low mud-brick houses, and a withered tree, about a person's height, that had been dead for who knows how long. On one side, as far as the eye could see, the rice stalks were beginning to glow golden. This ordinary village was nothing special.

It was early summer, and the sky darkened later than in winter or autumn. People were still walking back and forth in the fields, talking to each other around the unripe grain. Although he couldn't hear them, he could guess what they were saying. They were probably talking about how well the grain was growing this year and how much tax they would have to pay.

But that wasn't what he cared about. He just wanted to find a family to ask about the stone gate and grab a bite to eat.

He touched his nearly empty food bag, his steps quickened, and he looked around to see if there were any houses with their doors open.

But after walking past more than a dozen houses, he found that all the doors were closed. Apart from the fields and the kitchens with smoke rising from them, there was hardly anyone in the courtyards of any of the houses. So he became even more curious: where had everyone in the village gone?

After passing a few more houses, Shimizu was thinking of leaving as soon as no one was around, but! Finally, perseverance paid off!

As Shimizu passed by a house, he saw a boy of about fifteen or sixteen and a girl of about the same age sitting in the space between the two houses. But judging from their faces, they seemed to have something on their minds.

"Is your illness really incurable?" the girl asked.

"I've seen many doctors, but none of them can help." The boy's face showed a bitter expression like autumn leaves falling to the ground, silent yet heartbreaking.

"It's okay, I'll always be with you." The girl forced a smile through her tears and slowly leaned closer to his lowered face.

Upon hearing this, Shimizu walked over and asked the two of them with concern, "What illness is it? How can it be incurable?"

The sound of clear water startled the two of them, and they looked up sharply at the young Taoist priest in front of them, who was wearing a Taoist robe and had a bag slung across his shoulder.

"Are you a Taoist priest?" The young man looked at Qingshui's attire and asked, somewhat uncertainly or incredulously. "Indeed," Qingshui replied with a smile, answering the young man's question.

"You're probably not a Taoist priest from the Mangosteen Temple, are you?" the girl said, looking at the very new-looking Taoist robe.

Shimizu asked in confusion, "What, is there a Taoist temple here too?"

"Yes! It's the Mangosteen Temple!" The girl stood up excitedly when she mentioned the temple, her face beaming as she stared at Qingshui. She slowly said, "This temple has existed for a long time and has had a few Taoist priests, but hardly anyone has ever been there. It wasn't until three years ago that a Taoist priest about your age came and everything changed."

As the girl spoke, she looked Qingshui up and down.

"A Taoist priest about my age came? And then things changed?" Qingshui was confused and continued to ask, "How did things change?"

"Did you see that huge stone gate when you came in?" the girl asked knowingly, looking at Qingshui with a proud expression.

“I see it.” Shimizu nodded, wondering what was going on with the two children, and then humbly asked the girl, “It says ‘Top Scholar’s ​​Residence’ and ‘Third Scholar’s ​​Village’ on it. Is it because a top scholar and a third scholar came from here?”

"Of course!" the girl exclaimed excitedly, pointing to a bamboo grove behind them. "That Taoist priest is amazing! He turned two scholars who failed the provincial examinations into the top scholars in the imperial examinations in just one year. Isn't that incredible!"

"Amazing!" Shimizu was stunned for a moment after hearing the girl's words, and then said to her.

After receiving Shimizu's approval, the girl continued talking, but Shimizu couldn't hear her. His gaze and thoughts were already fixed on the bamboo forest on the mountain.

The girl's words had greatly shocked Qingshui, making him even more curious about the Taoist priest who had come to this bamboo forest three years ago. What had he done to enable two people who had failed the provincial examinations to pass the imperial examinations and directly rank among the top three in the palace examinations on their second attempt?

"But he doesn't give lectures very often now."

This was the first thing Shimizu heard the girl say when he snapped out of his thoughts, which made him even more confused. If she had such abilities, why didn't she continue teaching her?

"Because the Taoist priest went into seclusion, saying he wanted to comprehend the Taoist methods of longevity and immortality." The girl looked at Qingshui with doubt, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Are there really immortal gods in this world?"

Shimizu didn't reply, but simply shook his head. He took a deep breath: "Do you know what that Taoist priest's name is?"

“I don’t know his name, but his Taoist name is Qing Xuanzi,” the girl replied to Qing Shui.

After learning the Taoist's name, Shimizu originally intended to go directly to the bamboo forest, but he saw the girl sitting against the wall and the silent boy squatting down, asking him to extend his hand.

Seeing the boy's listless face, ravaged by illness, Qingshui felt a pang of heartache. He took the boy's pulse, frowned, and asked, "What's your name?"

"Yang Boliang."

(End of this chapter)