I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 236 Even the Emperor Has Never Seen You

Sima Chengzhen smiled and joked.

"Princess, you seem to have no interest in chess. Why don't you go and see the guests?"

Princess Yuzhen was also frank; she had her attendants write down the chess score and then bowed with a smile.

"I will play chess with my master another day."

Guest room.

After resigning from his official post, Wang Wei was quite carefree. He set off from Luoyang and traveled all over the country, visiting various scenic spots and making many friends along the way. Among them, the most special was his friendship with Meng Haoran in Xiangyang.

Meng Haoran actually experienced the legendary dream of immortals and even met an immortal.

Meng Haoran himself said that every few months he would receive two letters containing anecdotes about his travels, talking about the Five Sacred Mountains and the two rivers.

Wang Wei had also read a few words from the letter; even in just a few sentences, he could sense the spirit and vigor of the letter.

Unfortunately, for several years now, no one knows where the immortal is.

Wang Wei sighed softly.

At least he had discussed things with him.

Thinking about it this way, I felt a little relieved.

Inside the temple, the princess's maids were all secretly observing the newcomer. He had traveled a long way, and although his clothes were slightly disheveled, they couldn't conceal his elegant and refined demeanor.

She bent down to straighten the fine wrinkles in her clothes from the road, the jade pendants at her waist jingling softly.

Her graceful figure and radiant beauty were captivating.

Even the Taoist priest sweeping the courtyard kept looking up and glancing at him several times.

Princess Yuzhen arrived and witnessed this scene.

……

……

Li Bai was walking at the foot of Mount Tiantai.

Seeing several carriages parked nearby that looked familiar, he spoke to Yuan Danqiu.

"What a coincidence, someone else is visiting the mountain."

When Yuan Danqiu saw the carriage, he noticed its exquisite carvings and bronze ornaments tied to its four corners. It did look somewhat familiar; the carriages of aristocratic families often resembled this style.

"He must be from a prominent family."

Li Bai nodded casually, not taking it to heart.

The group, wearing wooden clogs, walked along the secluded mountain path once frequented by the Xie family. As they walked, they could hear birdsong and the occasional soft voices of people talking on the mountain, mostly monks and Taoist priests.

Yuan Danqiu said:

"I heard that Master Sima Chengzhen has been living in seclusion on Mount Tiantai for the past two years, practicing Taoism and keeping company with the birds and mist. I wonder if it's true. If we go up there, we might be able to see him."

Sanshui and Chuyi were both curious.

They knew very few Taoist priests at the foot of the mountain, except for the abbot of the Taoist temple in Luoyang, Master Taihe. Judging from Master Yuan's tone, he seemed very respectful.

Sanshui asked curiously, "Who is this Master Sima?"

Faced with the curious child, Li Bai and Yuan Danqiu patiently explained.

"He is the current Shangqing Master, who has lived to a very old age and has been treated with respect by several emperors. He entered Taoism at a young age and has repeatedly advised the emperors not to imitate the talk of ghosts and gods."

"A Taoist priest who has reached this level can be called a national teacher."

The first-year students didn't understand.

"But there are ghosts and gods in this world. We've seen them. When you were on the boat before, you even attracted a big fish!"

They remembered it clearly: the fish's tail slapped them, splashing water all over their faces.

"There are ghosts and spirits."

Yuan Danqiu said, "It's just that ghosts and gods are difficult for ordinary people to see. People like me and Taibai, or Sanshui Chuyi and you, can naturally spend their whole lives seeking immortality and asking questions, and there is nothing to regret about wasting time."

"But if the emperor seeks immortality and asks about the Dao, it will require the entire nation's resources and waste countless manpower and material resources. Therefore, one should not follow the example of seeking out ghosts and gods."

Sanshui and Chuyi seemed to understand but not quite.

Sanshui muttered, "We haven't even seen the emperor yet..."

Jiang She smiled upon hearing this.

He patted their soft, fluffy heads. "Even the emperor has never seen you."

These words were spoken casually, but Yuan Danqiu and Li Bai couldn't help but take another look.

Sunlight filtered through layers of leaves, dappling the other person's blue robe with flickering light. His tone was flat, his face expressionless, as if he were casually speaking to a child.

The two younger disciples were unaware of this.

They grew up in the mountains, and the most prosperous place they had ever been was the Taoist temple in Luoyang. They were fascinated by emperors and Taoist masters, and curious about what princes and nobles were like.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, wearing hiking clogs, he pulled his shoes out of the cracks in the rocks, panting heavily.

"How long did Sima Chengzhen live? Was he longer than my grandmaster?"

Their grandmaster was the longest-lived person they had ever seen, and they had even witnessed several wars.

Yuan Danqiu smiled.

"It should be less than that of Master Jiwei."

Sanshui asked curiously, "Is he as skilled as his senior?"

Jiang She smiled.

“Everyone has their strengths. What I know, my master doesn’t know, and what my master knows, I don’t understand. It’s hard to tell who is better.”

Both young disciples nodded. Hearing this, they decided to show even greater respect to their Master Sima Chengzhen.

They looked at each other.

He asked again on the first day of the lunar month.

"Will we be able to find immortals if we go up the mountain?"

Sanshui chimed in from the side.

"I heard that several hundred years ago there was a fairy in Tiantai Mountain who formed a bond with a mortal. She was named Liu Ruan. I wonder if we will be able to see her this time."

She looked up at the mountain road.

The group hadn't been climbing for long when they encountered a winding mountain path, a babbling brook, and the occasional call of monkeys. It was somewhat similar to their own Yunmeng Mountain; they wondered if what the storyteller had told them was true or false.

Li Bai wasn't particularly interested in any goddesses or immortal women; they had already asked the Old Deer Mountain God, and there were no mountain gods on Mount Tiantai anymore.

She nudged Yuan Danqiu, making him hand her the water bottle.

Jiang She chuckled.

"It's Liu Chen and Ruan Zhao."

Jiang She let the two children ask him questions one after another, smiling but not answering.

Without shattering the aspirations of the two young disciples.

He strolled leisurely through the mountains. Yuan Danqiu and Li Bai's clothes were stained with grass and grass scraps, leaving a few blue marks, making them look somewhat disheveled. The two children, Sanshui and Chuyi, had their hair disheveled from being caught on tree branches.

The two cats had already run off into the wild, leaping far away, much faster than a person could walk.

Wherever Jiang She went, the grass and leaves bowed low, and the dust and filth avoided him.

From a distance, one small mountain path seemed particularly clean.

They walked for several hours, until the afternoon when the sunlight was at its brightest, before they finally reached the top of the mountain.

Li Bai and Yuan Danqiu, panting heavily, helped each other climb the last stretch of the mountain path. When they reached the top, they were both disheveled and exhausted, so they sat down on the ground.

Yuan Danqiu sat down next to him and handed him a water pouch.

He laughed heartily.

"I'm afraid that when Liu Ruan went into the mountains to gather herbs and encountered the fairy, he would be just as disheveled as we are today."

Many birds are kept on the mountain.

Li Bai looked up.

Birds fluttered overhead, the bright summer sunlight shone on his face, and in the distance, the soft laughter of women could be heard. A maid, dressed in flowing robes, carried a basket of washed fruits. These people surrounded a young woman, chatting and laughing as they walked.

At this moment, the woman was wearing silk sashes, and the light, fluttering ribbons reflected in his eyes like a dream.

Gorgeous and ethereal, it is not of this world.

【Ask for monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)