I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 279 The Art of Divination, The Three Thousand Great Daos

Inside, Xing Hepu brewed tea to entertain the two, and the rising steam suppressed the biting autumn wind outside.

He poured tea for the two of them.

Xing Hepu held his teacup contentedly and said:
"The so-called method of divination and deduction is nothing more than a method of calculation that uses the stars and the timing of heaven and earth to make predictions."

"Whether you call it Taoist magic or categorize it as numerology, the difference in name and form is not significant in reality. Tao is the essence, and numerology is the application; essence and application share the same origin, and the manifest and the subtle are indistinguishable."

"I am merely using this opportunity to glimpse the world and seek enlightenment from it."

"This is the path to immortality."

"Of the three thousand great paths, I have attained one."

As Xing Hepu spoke, he pushed the teacup aside.

He took the bamboo tube he always carried with him from his waist, poured out the bamboo tokens inside, and demonstrated it to Jiang She on the spot.

The bamboo tally sticks on the table kept changing.

When Xing Hepu was doing divination, his eyes were very bright and he spoke very quickly.

The Book of Changes says: "The number of the Great Expansion is fifty, but its use is forty-nine."

Xing Hepu took out a bamboo tally stick and placed it aside.

“This ‘one’ is not used, to symbolize Taiji, still and motionless.” Then, he casually divided the remaining forty-nine bamboo sticks into two parts, “dividing them into two to symbolize the two.”

It symbolizes the beginning of the universe and the separation of Yin and Yang.

Then, Xing Hepu took one piece from the right-hand side and hung it between his left fingers, "hanging one to symbolize three."

Thus, the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Man were established.

Xing Hepu used four bamboo sticks as a group, and used his left and right hands to count the two piles of bamboo sticks respectively. He said, "Counting them in groups of four symbolizes the four seasons."

It simulates the changing seasons.

At last.

He held the remaining bamboo tallies between his fingers.

Xing Hepu said:

"The 'qi' is placed on the 'she' (扐) to symbolize the leap year. There is a leap year every five years, so the 'she' is placed again before hanging."

"...The number of Heaven is twenty-five, the number of Earth is thirty, and the total number of Heaven and Earth is fifty-five."

With one hand, he swept all the bamboo tallies aside, scattering them all over the table.

Xing Hepu laughed loudly.

"This is why—"

"It is through change that spirits and deities can operate!"

Xing Hepu let the bamboo abacus be scattered on the table. He picked up a cup and took a sip of the slightly cooled tea to moisten his throat.

Looking at Jiang She, Xing Hepu said:

"Therefore, the sun, moon, stars, human lifespan, and death are all beyond calculation."

"It is all within heaven and earth."

"Everyone has their destiny, and everyone follows this law."

Jiang She looked at the bamboo abacus on the table and felt a sense of emotion.

This is already an extremely profound art of divination, and Xing Hepu's previous understanding of the celestial bodies can already be considered impressive astronomy.

He said, "It is indeed a wonderful method."

Xing Hepu was surprised.

"I only explained it once, and you understood it, sir?"

He had told these things to the servants in his household many times before, but they would forget them as soon as they heard them, and he would have to tell them all over again the next time.

In his earlier years, Xing Hepu wanted to pass on the teachings to his family. He talked to his wife, parents, brothers, and even younger generations, but none of the more than twenty members of his family understood.

His wife also failed to learn anything and died at the age of sixty.

Not to mention the disciples of Chongxuan Hall.

They're all born with brains that look like pigs.

Even if Xing Hepu is generous and doesn't keep anything to himself, no one can truly understand it.

Jiang She thought for a moment.

"I know a little."

He didn't ask anyone to bring paper and pen to calculate, nor did he reach out and touch the bamboo tallies that Xing and Pu had placed on the table.

Instead, he calculated it in his mind.

He spoke of the rising and setting of the sun and moon, the changes in a thousand-year-old family, and the life and death of dynasties.

Xing Hepu initially didn't take it seriously.

Upon hearing Jiang She begin calculating the stars, his expression gradually became serious.

They gradually became more cautious.

Even at the end, he knelt upright and listened attentively with the monks. He occasionally asked a few questions, all of which were answered.

Often, just a few words are enough to enlighten Xing Hepu.

They discuss events of the past and observe the imperial family.

What I see are all kinds of people, and what I can casually calculate is the rising and setting of the sun and moon.

The sky gradually darkened.

Xing Hepu was reluctant to get up and light the candles, lest he disrupt the day's idle chatter. He was about to ask the high monk to light the lamps when he saw Jiang She casually flick his finger, and the candles on the wall were already lit.

The bright, flickering firelight reflected in Xing Hepu's eyes.

He didn't have time to ask questions.

"Sure?"

Jiang She said:
"Throughout history, there has never been a country that did not perish, nor a family that did not fall."

"In the past, Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms, a feat that will be remembered for eternity, yet Qin only lasted fourteen years." "And how long can the refined elegance of aristocratic families endure?"

With just a few words, one could sense the loneliness within. Xing Hepu was in a daze, and he subconsciously could not believe it. Jiang She then said, "But according to the astronomical calculations I made before."

"On the first day of the tenth month, there was a solar eclipse."

"Let's see if it's verified."

A solar eclipse proves nothing; it's just a normal celestial phenomenon and has nothing to do with whether the emperor is wise or whether there are treacherous officials in the court.

Xing Hepu naturally understood this principle.

There's no need for Jiang She to say it.

He could also calculate that there would be a solar eclipse that day.

"Is there any way to save them?"

Jiang She looked at him and said, "You can give it a try."

There was paper and pen in the quiet room. Jiang She ground the ink and casually wrote a few lines on the paper. When Xing Hepu came to his senses, he found that only he and the high monk were left in the quiet room.

Mr. Jiang and the cat left sometime ago.

There was only one sheet of paper left on the table.

Xing Hepu picked up the paper and saw two lines of text written on it.

"Flowers adorn the brocade, and oil is poured over a raging fire."

Beside this line, there is another sentence: A casually written note, sparse and utterly silent.

"How long can such glory last?"

Chongxuan Hall is situated in a bustling area, near the imperial city, and also close to the residences of many princes and nobles. It is a quiet and secluded place amidst the hustle and bustle. Now, as evening falls, the moonlight shines on the bamboo grove behind it, and the autumn wind blows in from outside the window.

It was quiet all around.

But Xing Hepu inexplicably heard the sound of tearing silk.

……

……

Outside the gate, Jiang She walked out of Chongxuan Hall. The outside world was still bustling, with bright lights all the way and every household had lit candles.

Looking around, one can see—

A private banquet was in full swing inside the mansion of a high-ranking official. The lights were dazzling, dancers were gracefully performing, and officials were drinking and chatting happily.

The Taoist priests of Taiqing Palace observed celestial phenomena.

Jiang She walked through the bustling city, not wanting to be seen by the patrolling Imperial Guards, so no one stopped him. He walked all the way out of Daning Ward.

The long street was deserted and quiet under curfew, except for the patrolling guards and watchmen, and only this one figure.

We strolled leisurely along the road until we reached the nearby Dongshi Hepingkangfang.

Inside the neighborhood, singing and dancing suddenly became lively.

In the taverns along the street, Hu women danced the Hu Xuan dance, their steps quick and rhythmic. Holding silver jugs, the aroma of fine wine filled the air, and laughter echoed everywhere.

Scholars playing chess.

A scholar was intoxicated by calligraphy.

Some of the waiters were literate, and they loudly recited the poems and prose that had been taken down, their voices so clear that they echoed throughout the restaurant, drawing cheers from the entire tavern.

The sounds of string and wind instruments, laughter and chatter, poetry recitation, horses' hooves and wheels... all come together.

Listening to the poetry and laughter, Jiang She said:
"It's not at its peak yet."

The cat followed behind, having overheard so much talk today, but it understood almost nothing.

But she remembered one thing and shouted it out.

"You and the sorcerer forgot to tell that monk's fortune!"

Jiang She and Xing Hepu chatted amiably. At first, the monk said a few words, but as the two became more engrossed in their conversation, their discussions on astronomy and geography became increasingly complex, and their divination and deductions reached a profound level. The monk then fell silent and listened attentively from the side.

Jiang She then remembered this matter.

He responded with a sound of agreement and said frankly:
"forgotten."

The night watchman's clapper echoed through the alleys, occasionally accompanied by the banging of a gong and loud shouts:

"The second watch has passed, the third watch is approaching—be careful with fire—"

"Bang! Bang! Clang—"

Jiang She walked past him. Cats have keen hearing, and when the gong was too loud, the cat would hide behind its ears and run faster.

A man and a cat, bathed in moonlight and treading on morning frost, returned to their house in Shengpingfang.

Pushing open the door, Jiang She noticed that they hadn't been back for two months, and the floor was covered in dust. He decided to ignore it and wait until he woke up.

Tomorrow I will go to the stalls set up by the neighbors to buy food.

"Let's go eat a bowl of 'bo tuo' tomorrow. The 'bo tuo' in Chang'an is a bit more expensive than in Yanzhou, but it's very delicious."

"Do you want lamb or chicken?"

The cat was almost asleep, its voice muffled.

"mutton……"

Jiang She closed his eyes.

Inside Shengpingfang, some neighbors were still awakening from their dreams. The woman, still dressed in her night clothes, got up and discussed with the head of the household: "You know, that house has killed another family. It's really vicious!"

When the family members opened their sleepy eyes, they grumbled with dissatisfaction:
“They’ve been dead for almost two months… Why are you bringing this up again? I think if those people were a little faster, they would probably have been reincarnated by now.”

The woman woke him up.

"I was thinking about whether our family could move away."

"The house is free?" The head of the household yawned heavily, rolled over in the blanket, and mumbled sleepily, his voice still heavy with drowsiness.

"Which neighborhood doesn't have dead people? It's not like we live here, so don't even think about it. We still have to work tomorrow, it'll be dawn soon..."

【Ask for monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)