Notes on Longevity

Chapter 63 The Great Way is Simple: Why Talk About Injustice?
The sun set behind the bamboo forest, and the leaves rustled in the summer breeze. Qingshui walked alone up the mountain path, carrying a lantern.

Along the mountain path, Qingshui encountered villagers from Longtan Village coming down from the mountain. Among them were elderly people, young people, and children.

When they saw Qingshui, dressed in a Taoist robe, bowing to him respectfully, they knew it was due to the influence of the Taoist named Qingxuanzi.

He bowed slightly in return to the greetings of the crowd. One of the elders, seeing him walking through the bamboo forest in the darkness, offered Qingshui his lantern. He wanted to refuse, but the elder said he could descend the mountain without the lantern.

Seeing the villagers, almost all of them carrying a lantern, Shimizu couldn't resist their enthusiasm and gratefully accepted their help. Then, amidst their conversation, she continued walking up the mountain.

"Master Qingxuanzi is so young, yet his knowledge is truly astonishing!" exclaimed a young man holding a book.

Beside him was a young man of similar age, carrying a lantern: "Yes! I've never heard him say anything like that in books or from my teachers. Not only that, but he also speaks of Taoist magic better than the other Taoist priests."

As the two young men were talking, another young man came over, his words tinged with doubt: "I heard from other Taoist priests that Master Qingxuanzi was once a high-ranking official, but for some reason he was demoted and became a county magistrate in our Beishan County."

"Then why did he become a Taoist priest?"

"do not know"

Shimizu's mind was filled with doubts. Why would someone like this choose to cultivate Taoism? At the same time, he was also troubled by the boy named Yang Boliang.

Even someone as skilled in medicine as myself was helpless in treating his illness. I couldn't even identify what it was. Because I didn't know the cause or the source of the illness, I dared not prescribe anything and could only watch helplessly as he suffered.
The bamboo forest on the mountain was very tall and the road was long. Qingshui carried the lantern and walked for a long time before he could vaguely see lights shining in the distance.

Seeing the lights meant the Taoist temple wasn't far away. So he quickened his pace and walked towards the lights.

But when he arrived at the so-called Taoist temple, he stood there dumbfounded.

Is this a Taoist temple?

This was his first reaction when he saw the large thatched hut in front of him.

The thatched hut had three hanging straw curtain doors, each with a lantern hanging above it. Through the larger gaps under the curtain doors, one could see that there were also lights inside, and people were pacing back and forth.

Upon seeing that there were people inside, Qingshui performed a Taoist salute and called out to the thatched hut, "Qingshui, a wandering disciple of Zouma Temple, apologizes for disturbing you fellow disciples."

Hearing the noise outside, the people inside lifted a corner of the straw curtain. When they saw Qingshui, dressed in a Taoist robe and claiming to be a wandering Taoist priest, step out from behind the curtain.

These are two elderly men.

Qingshui looked at the two men, then glanced at the motionless straw curtain on the far left, and bowed to the two Taoist priests, saying, "Qingshui greets my two senior uncles."

He originally thought that the person with Qing Xuanzi was also a Taoist of similar age to him, so he called out to the straw curtain as "Senior Brother". However, he did not expect that there were two old men, so he changed his address.

"Master Changhui of the Shanzhu Temple." The Taoist priest stood in the middle of the three rooms. Under the light of the lamp above his head, his black and white hair each occupied half of his face, intermingling together. His two broad eyebrows stood upright, which made his solemn face even more majestic, just like the immortals among the Four Emperors and Eight Immortals in the Taoist temple, displaying their divine spirit.

The other was kind-faced and smiling as he looked at Qingshui: "Daoist Shanzhu, Mingxue." "Qingshui greets the two senior uncles." After the two Daoists introduced themselves, Qingshui bowed again in greeting.

"You are a wandering traveler, but where did you come from?" Chang Hui's voice was filled with anger, authoritative and domineering.

"Fuyang is a place of breathtaking natural beauty," Qingshui said softly upon hearing this.

Upon hearing this, Chang Hui raised an eyebrow, his voice low and gentle, yet still imposing: "Your esteemed presence is renowned throughout the land. What brings you here today?"

Or perhaps it was Chang Hui's angry roar that shook the heavens. As he spoke these words, he tricked a young Taoist priest into lifting the straw curtain and walking out with a calm expression, looking at the clear water facing Chang Hui.

When Qingshui saw the young Taoist appear, he didn't bother to listen to what the young Taoist had to say. Instead, he looked at the Taoist in front of him who was about the same age as himself and thought to himself, "This must be Qingxuanzi."

After Chang Hui finished speaking, seeing that Qing Shui did not answer, he followed his gaze to Qing Xuanzi.

“So it was Xun Jinggong.” Minghui, who hadn’t spoken until now, suddenly said. He came to Changhui’s side, patted him on the shoulder, glanced at the thatched hut, and gestured for him to go back.

Changhui understood immediately, turned around and followed Minghui back to their thatched huts, then extinguished the candles inside. Only the two of them remained outside.

"Senior Brother Qingxuanzi." Qingshui greeted him with a bow after the two entered the room.

"May I ask who you are?" Qing Xuanzi asked, his brows furrowing slightly as he heard him call out his Daoist name.

Qingshui smiled faintly, bowed, and replied, "I am Qingshui, a wandering disciple of Zoumaguan. I heard about your deeds when I was at the foot of the mountain, and I found them quite amazing. I have come here to learn from you. Please enlighten me, senior brother."

Qingshui smiled faintly. From what he had just heard, he knew why Qingshui had come to find him: "Senior brother, you flatter me. Qingxuan just noticed that there are few scholars in the village. Although I have already entered the Dao, I still care about the world and want to teach more scholars to bring benefits to the people."

"Senior brother, you have the world in your heart and lofty aspirations. But I heard that you resigned from your official post and entered this mountain to cultivate the Dao. Why is that?" Qingshui asked directly, waiting for Qingxuanzi's answer.

Qing Xuanzi shook his head and sighed. Although he didn't utter a word, his face showed a lot of helplessness. Qing Xuanzi turned around, lifted the straw curtain, and said to Qing Shui, "Senior brother, please come in."

Seeing this, Shimizu also slipped through the gap in the lifted straw curtain without any hesitation.

His first impression of the world beyond the thatched hut was that it was very long and vast. But when he went inside, he discovered that the hut was actually quite small.

The hut was very simple, with a straw mat spread out on the ground. After walking about five steps, you would reach the end of the hut. Beside the straw mat, another straw mat about four feet in size was also spread out on the ground, on which neatly and orderly lay a Taoist robe that had been washed until it was faded and many books.

"This humble abode has no walls, please make do with it, Senior Brother," Qing Xuanzi said to Qing Shui, describing his lodgings. He smiled, showing no embarrassment whatsoever, but rather composure.

Shimizu didn't find the place shabby at all. Instead, he said, "The greatest truths are the simplest. Why complain about feeling wronged?"

(End of this chapter)