I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 20 Magic
Jiang She has been staying in the courtyard that Li Bai bought for the past few days, along with Yuan Danqiu.

He had intended to rent a small courtyard for a month or two, as he still had some money to spare and could earn more if necessary. But Li Bai refused no matter what.

If we keep refusing, I'm afraid I'll have to buy him a house.

So they settled down here.

Xiangyang is also a nice place, unlike Sichuan where the sun rarely shines. The midday sun is almost scorching, making the stone slabs for sitting dry and white, so people have to hide in the shade of the trees to rest. It cools down again in the evening.

Because there is a divine being here.

A gentle breeze will come naturally.

Divine light is hidden within.

Jiang She sat under a tree, with paper spread on a wooden table, and was writing with ink.

As I write, I reflect on what I've seen and heard over the past few days.

Having secluded himself from the world for ten years and rarely interacted with others, he has now come down from the mountain and ventured out. The human relationships, the supernatural beings, the demons and Taoists, and the interesting stories of the marketplace he has encountered in the past few days are richer than what he has experienced in the previous ten years.

Maybe it's time to go out for a walk sooner.

It is said that eight hundred years ago, a mortal saved a white deer, and the mountain god and the mortal made a pact. In Jiang She's memory, that era is history.

For Tang Dynasty figures like Li Bai and Meng Haoran, they were also figures from the past.

Those who come after will view the present as we view the past.

Jiang She made no sound while writing.

A bird fluttered over from the courtyard wall, shaking its feathers, and seemed to regard him as part of the tree or a wooden stake, and perched on his shoulder.

The pale yellow bird tilted its head, revealing two tiny, bean-sized eyes, and rolled around and scratched itself, its head resting on its clothes.

Jiang She's movements became lighter, and his writing became much gentler.

I was afraid of disturbing it.

A cat was perched on the wall, its head tilted back, its rear end sticking up high, its paws outstretched, its round eyes fixed on the bird rubbing against Jiang She's shoulder.

These are a litter of cats kept by the neighbor.

I don't know whose family it is, but they keep it to catch mice. Jiang She sat there writing all morning, and every now and then he would see a few tiny cat heads peeking out from the wall. They were only a month old, and seemed to have been born from the same litter. They were very affectionate, pouncing and playing with each other, biting each other's fur.

Today I must be here to hone my skills.

They weren't even as big as mice, but Jiang She was worried that the mice would bully them.

Fortunately, the mother cat was lying not far away, swishing her tail. With an elder in the family watching over her, she probably wouldn't suffer any losses.

The shadows under the trees were lush and green. The cat stared at the birds for a while, then heard a chirping sound from somewhere. It immediately looked over and tried to pry the chirping insect out with its paws, its tail held high as it swept the leaves.

The birds took the opportunity to flap their wings and fly away.

Jiang She looked it over.

This is a small black cat.

Its entire body was covered in black fur, with no stray hairs in sight. It walked with a slight limp, and the blue membrane in its eyes had not yet faded. It was truly a very small kitten.

He also has a rather fierce temperament.

It has a bit of a temper, is a bit bigger than its brothers, has a round, fluffy head, and blocks its brothers and sisters from catching its insects first.

It's bound to be a skilled mouser in the future. If someone wants to hire it, they might need to buy a few more dried fish and salt.

After a while, the cat put down the unfortunate worm, its tiny paws yawning.

Suddenly.

Its fur stood on end, and it arched its back, jumping a few times on the wall, waiting for the other cats to pounce on it.

Jiang She looked around for a while, then continued writing.

He was quite curious about the illusions, or rather, the blinding techniques, used by Zhang Zhenmei, the swindler.

In ancient times, someone read the book "Huainanzi" and saw that mantises could hide in leaves and conceal themselves. If ordinary people could obtain such magical leaves, they could also conceal themselves. So, he took two leaves from the village entrance where the mantises were hiding and covered his eyes.

He went home and asked his wife:

"Do you see me?"

The wife replied that she could see.

So the man repeatedly took leaves and asked his wife about them. His wife was tired of it and couldn't bear the annoyance. One day she answered, "I don't see them."

Great joy.

They thought they were blinded by a leaf and couldn't see Mount Tai.

He went to the market, covered his eyes with leaves, and tried to buy something. He was arrested and questioned by the officials. The magistrate, upon learning the truth, laughed and released him. The story is humorous, but in Jiang She's view...

It's not entirely false.

Such illusions truly exist in the world, capable not only of concealing one's form but also of making others see the illusions one desires, thus obscuring the truth.

If one's Taoist cultivation is profound and one's magical skills are superb.

It might actually be able to block out Mount Tai.

Jiang She pondered as he wrote. Finally, he stopped writing, read through the entire text, and added three more characters.

"Blinding technique".

He put down his pen and looked up at the courtyard wall, but the little cat heads were gone. He looked where the leaves were covering the area, but the mother cat was nowhere to be seen.

They must have left.

The sun was getting stronger; it was noon, and while the yang energy was gradually setting, the sun was at its hottest point of the day.

A few trees are planted in the corner, leaving a shady spot. April and May are almost the best time of year. The shades of green, deep and light, shine in the sunlight and ripple in the wind, almost like a pool of water, sparkling and shimmering.

A gentle breeze was blowing, and it felt refreshing.

A cool table was set up in the courtyard, and two brooms made of tree branches leaned against the corner of the courtyard.

This is the entrance to a small courtyard, shaped like the Chinese character "口" (kou). Because it's the innermost household, it's significantly larger. The master bedroom is on the north side, with Jiang She and Yuan Danqiu living in the side rooms on either side. Li Bai had intended to offer the master bedroom to him, but he declined.

Having already received so much, don't take advantage of others.

There were odds and ends stored on the south side, and two servants lived there.

There was a small garden behind it, which was supposed to be a vegetable garden with a small plot of land. But Li Bai was a generous spender who didn't do any productive work. He was good at spending money but knew nothing about farming, so he had it turned into a garden. He planted some peonies, roses, crabapples, azaleas, chrysanthemums, and wintersweet haphazardly, thinking that flowers would bloom in all four seasons and each would have its own unique scenery.

There are also pomegranates, which we grew ourselves for our own consumption.

I planted two more tea trees, waiting to process the tea myself and brew it to drink.

At this time, some scholars and recluses preferred coarse tea and wild game.

Savor the true pleasure in it.

When Meng Haoran came to visit, the three of them would either sit in the courtyard to enjoy the cool air or go to the garden behind the house, where a small pavilion had been set up to provide shelter from the rain and offer beautiful views.

Jiang She thought for a moment.

Zhang Zhenmei's illusion technique is quite interesting.

However, it's all fake after all, and anyone with a bit of knowledge can see through it. It can only fool some country bumpkins.

It's not really true.

With a few simple modifications, it can be used.

He picked up a calligraphy brush and examined its shape.

In a flash, the brush curled up, its shape changed, and the ink on the belly of the brush colored it, turning it into a small wooden carving in his hands.

It appears to be shaped like a cat, remarkably lifelike, with an arrogant expression, somewhat like the mischievous, majestic cat on the wall.

Jiang She couldn't help but chuckle.

Place it on the table, pressing it down on the paper Fang wrote down.

The ink marks above, which read "Blinding Technique," also extend their strokes, rearrange them, and float on the surface of the paper.

This should be another method.

Li Bai walked in from outside, carrying a wine pot, pushed open the door, and strode in.

The room was completely quiet.

I was stunned.

The withered leaves swirled on the ground, and the courtyard was cool and quiet; for a moment, even the birdsong could not be heard.

Lush greenery, bathed in dappled sunlight.

A person dressed in blue sat under a tree, surrounded by dappled sunlight and shadows. In front of him lay paper and an ink dish, as if he had just finished writing.

Jiang She looked at the person who had come and waved.

"Taibai".

"come over."

　It's a pity that there isn't a single chapter in the draft.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)