Notes on Longevity

Chapter 66 Entering the Deep Mountains, One Sees No Immortals; Qing Shui Speaks Frankly About Going to Kunlun

“If the mind does not die, the Way will not be born.” Ping An sat on the stone platform, originally looking at Qing Shui’s wrinkled face, but slowly lowered his head: “Master told me this before, but I don’t quite understand.”

"It's normal not to understand, because no one can ever give a definitive explanation for this statement. It's all about gradually understanding it through one's own life experiences. Just like your master, when I asked him what it meant, he told me..."

"In the past thirty years, I have gone from being speechless at birth to opening my mind through reading for the first ten years, learning the etiquette of the world, respecting my parents, and loving my relatives and friends; in the next ten years, I studied hard to obtain official rank and seek the well-being of the people. Although I failed the exams many times, I still had a passionate heart and was willing to be a reckless scholar. But in the last ten years, I became the top scholar at the age of twenty-six and held a high-ranking official position. However, in the end, I was criticized and ostracized by the public because of my lack of propriety, which led to my downfall and forced me to leave the capital."

"Although I was demoted, my ambition remained! But the world was too vast and the court too far away, which made things even worse. Finally, I happened to flip through the Taoist canon and saw a sentence: 'Is it true that immortals are immortal?' So I devoted myself to studying Taoist methods, seeking longevity and the way to become an immortal, and had no interest in state affairs. After that, I resigned from my post and went into the deep mountains to meet the immortals."

Inside the thatched hut, Qing Shui watched as Qing Xuanzi stood behind the straw curtain. He lifted one side and spoke to the outside.

Shimizu remained silent, unsure of what to say. However, he suddenly remembered his wanderings and asked, "How many years have you been cultivating in the mountains, Senior Brother?"

“Three years.” He turned around and looked at Qingshui Avenue with a puzzled expression.

"After three years of cultivation, have you had any thoughts? After three years of cultivation, have you seen any immortals?" Qingshui continued to press.

"I have been studying the scriptures diligently for three years and have gained some knowledge, but I have never seen an immortal," Qing Xuanzi replied.

"If that's the case, why don't you go down the mountain and take a look outside?"

Shimizu's words left him silent for a long time. Since he came up the mountain, he had devoted himself to studying scriptures and Taoist practices every day, and even when he taught and answered questions for the villagers at the foot of the mountain, he had never thought of going out.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Qingshui smiled and asked, "What is this so-called Dao, Senior Brother? What are you seeking in terms of immortality and becoming an immortal? Have you ever thought about it?"

Qing Xuanzi remained silent, stunned. These were questions he had never considered since arriving on the mountain. What was the Dao? What were immortals? He suddenly felt that these two concepts had become extremely unfamiliar, as if he were encountering and hearing about them for the first time.

"Since you haven't considered this, Senior Brother, wouldn't staying put be like being stuck in your ways, blinded by a single leaf?" Qingshui continued to press, "The Dao is never a single thing. The Daoist scriptures say, 'There is something undifferentiated and complete, which existed before Heaven and Earth. This is the Dao. And the Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, Three gives birth to all things. The so-called all things are everything encompassed by Heaven and Earth. All of this is the Dao.'"

As twilight deepened and dusk approached, Ping An remained silent on the stone platform atop Zoumaguan Mountain. But he was different from his master. From birth, he had followed his master on long journeys, meeting many people, though he was too young then to understand their language. But as he grew older with time, he gradually began to understand what he hadn't comprehended before.

Just like he said in his conversation with the Old Ancestor Yuyang that day: "You may not understand the master's meaning, but you should still follow it."

He had never understood why his master was so obsessed with seeking the secret to immortality and becoming an immortal, but after listening to Qingshui's explanation, he seemed to understand.

In his youth, Master was an ambitious official who wanted to change things, but the struggles in the court and outside the martial world had worn down his spirit. He retreated to the mountains to cultivate Taoism to escape the infighting in officialdom, or perhaps simply to find peace and quiet. Until he met Master Qingshui.

"Since you are traveling, where do you wish to go?" It was the beginning of midsummer in the forty-fifth year of Shangyuan, at the fourth quarter of the hour of Wei.

After packing his bundle early in the morning, Qing Xuanzi first bid farewell to the other two Daoist priests. Since it was inconvenient to bring so many books on his long journey, he handed them over along with his completed homework.

Master Minghui looked at Qingxuanzi preparing to descend the mountain with Qingshui with a face full of satisfaction, and instructed him: "Wandering is an extremely important practice in cultivating the Tao. It allows one to see all living beings, all things in heaven and earth, and to see the whole world. If you are determined to seek immortality, you can go east to Penglai. This place is not far from that immortal mountain."

But the Taoist Changhui said, "Hey! Don't listen to this old man's nonsense. Your mind is unclear and you are full of resentment. Even if you go to Penglai, do you think the immortals will see you? I think you should go west to Kunlun. If you travel this way, your mind will naturally change."

"You damned old man, you're always going against me, aren't you?" Master Minghui grabbed Master Changhui's hair, and Master Minghui didn't back down either, pulling on his ears with both hands, making Changhui cry out, "Ouch! Ouch!"

Seeing the two fighting, Shimizu tried to separate them, thinking, "Why must we fight like this when we're both disciples of the Daoist sect?"

But Qing Xuanzi stopped him, smiling helplessly: "The two Daoists have always been like this."

Shimizu looked at Qingxuanzi with a puzzled expression, then at the two of them, and indeed, it was true.

Although they were fighting, they were both careful with their strength, unlike the rough and tumble fighting in the marketplace.

And so the two descended the mountain amidst the Taoist priest's bickering, which happened to be the day the villagers went up the mountain to attend the lecture. When the villagers encountered the two on the mountain, seeing Qing Xuanzi carrying a bundle and realizing he was about to leave, they all bowed and said, "Taoist priest, when will you return?"

"Wandering the world, seeking immortality and enlightenment, I know nothing," Qing Xuanzi said to the villagers. "The villagers of Longtan Village will never forget your guidance, Daoist Master. If you encounter any difficulties, please come back anytime."

The villager's words made Qingshui frown slightly. He had thought these villagers would beg Qingxuanzi to stay, after all, someone who could simultaneously teach both the top scholar and the third-ranked scholar was no ordinary person. But he didn't expect the villagers to let him leave so easily. They didn't try to stop him, only saying, "If you encounter any difficulties, come back anytime."

This shows the high regard the villagers held for Qing Xuanzi; they almost treated him like family. He suddenly felt a pang of regret. He regretted saying those things to Qing Xuanzi.

Qing Xuanzi bid farewell to the villagers, but they escorted the two of them to the village gate. He bowed and clasped his hands in greeting to the villagers, saying, "Qing Xuan is ashamed. I have been fed by a hundred families, but now I must leave. I hope that the hundred families will forgive me."

"Master, your talent is extraordinary. Even the most renowned scholars in the land wouldn't dare claim they could produce a top scholar. Yet you have already produced the first and second-highest scorers in the previous imperial examination. This achievement is unparalleled. Now, the six scholars have already gone to the capital and haven't returned. At this hour, the imperial examination has ended, and they must have passed the palace examination. Your merit is commensurate with the food provided to a hundred families for three years; the hundred families are eternally grateful."

Shimizu remained standing blankly beside Qingxuanzi, unsure of how to express his feelings. This was a scene he had never witnessed during his several descents from the mountain and his many wanderings.

After a few words of reflection, Qing Xuanzi waved goodbye to them and turned to leave. But as the two walked forward, the villagers slowly followed behind.

Qing Xuanzi sensed their footsteps, turned around and called out to them, "Go back. I probably won't be coming back."

Shimizu saw some villagers secretly wiping away tears on the narrow road. One person even pushed his way out of the crowd and ran into the village.

The villagers stood there, motionless and silent, while Qing Xuanzi simply watched them, his mind filled with memories of them.

Soon, the villager ran back, shouting as he weaved through the crowd to stand before Qing Xuanzi. It was a boy he recognized; his name was Yang Boliang, the boy he had met that day.

The boy, panting, looked at Qing Xuanzi, still holding a lantern in his hand. He said, "Daoist Master, here you go."

"What is this?" Qing Xuanzi had never seen such a lantern before. The lantern was palace-shaped, with six sides, and the candles inside were burning.

Each lantern has a human silhouette on its screen, and the silhouette rotates as the screen rotates.

The rotating light screen revealed silhouettes one by one. It depicted a bamboo mountain, and on one side of the mountain was a young Taoist priest holding a book, speaking to a group of people sitting in front of him.

“This is a revolving lantern,” Yang Bailiang replied.

"A revolving lantern?" Qing Xuanzi took the lantern and examined it carefully. The silhouettes on it unfolded slowly like a painting as the lantern screen rotated.

"Alright, I'll take it. You all go back now." Qing Xuanzi said to Yang Bailiang, then called out to the villagers, "I probably won't be coming back. If I do have the chance to return, it will be because I haven't achieved immortality and have grown old. If you still remember me then, please leave me a place to rest in after I've passed away!"

After saying this, Qing Xuanzi took the lantern and left without looking back. Qingshui, watching the villagers weep, felt he had made a mistake. He shouldn't have let Qing Xuanzi go down the mountain to travel.

But now he had no choice but to bow to the villagers and turn to chase after them.

After catching up with Qing Xuanzi, he remained silent for a while, then looked at him and asked, "Since you are traveling, where do you intend to go?"

Qing Xuanzi thought for a moment and replied, "Seeking immortality and inquiring about the Dao naturally means heading towards places where immortals reside."

Qingshui asked, "Penglai is the closest place to here. Are we going to Penglai?"

“Master Changhui said that my mind is not clear and it is not appropriate for me to go to Penglai.”

"So you're going?"

"Heading west to Kunlun."

(End of this chapter)