National Division

Chapter 4 Getaway

Liangyi Hall
As the abbot of Qingyang Temple, Daoist He Shou, spoke, all the students in the hall turned their surprised, mocking, disdainful, or indifferent gazes to the burly young man in brocade robes.

Shen Xian thought for a moment, met Crane Guardian Daoist's gaze, and said in a clear and passionate voice: "People in the world are busy and scheming, mostly for the four words: power, money, fame and lust. If you want to be carefree, first, cut off all desires, and second, cut off all delusions. If you are in a state of selflessness, you can get the four words: carefree and unrestrained."

Upon hearing this, Daoist He Shou looked at the handsome young man with a cold and sharp gaze, nodded, and said, "Power, money, fame, and lust—these four words truly capture the petty desires and ambitions of all living beings. The state of selflessness, where one cuts off all desires and severs all delusions, is the threshold of the Dao."

As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Shen Xian, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

This young man usually practices martial arts, but it is quite rare that he has such insight.

Liu Yu, who was not far away, was dumbfounded.

Clearly, no one expected that Shen Xian, who was usually "all brawn and no brains," would actually say something like this... well, words that deserve praise from the abbot.

No, someone else must have taught him!
As the saying goes, judging others by oneself, Liu Yu simply did not believe that Shen Xian could have any extraordinary performance.

After all, we grew up in the same place, so who doesn't know the other's background?

Pei Shen stared at the brocade-robed youth who had been speaking eloquently, raising an eyebrow and his gaze becoming somewhat obscure.

The Shen family of Lanxi was, after all, a prominent family with a long tradition of scholarship and poetry. Even though he was a descendant of a fallen illegitimate son, he still possessed some cultural heritage.

After Shen Xian finished speaking, he bowed to Daoist He Shou and slowly sat down as well.

Crane Guardian nodded and said, "Only by reaching the state of 'no self' can one attain true freedom and ease. You may all remember this."

"take note of it."

The people in the hall were only surprised for a moment by the fact that a student who was usually a poor student had suddenly become motivated, before they refocused their attention on the lectures of the Crane Guardian.

Shen Xian also focused his attention on exploring the Yin-Yang millstone in his mind.

There was still no other reaction. If it weren't for the faint, mysterious light still emanating from the spiritual platform, it would seem that everything before was just a dream.

He always believed in accepting what comes and going, and since the treasure didn't have much of an impact on him at the moment, he simply pretended it didn't exist.

The voice of the Crane Guardian Daoist, as clear as unpolished gold and jade, rang out: "Today, we will begin a new lecture on the chapter of Zhuangzi's dream of becoming a butterfly."

Zhuangzi's dream of a butterfly is also a famous work by Zhuangzi.

Crane Guardian Daoist's calm and unfathomable gaze swept over the students in the hall, and he said in a deep voice, "Who can recite this passage?"

At this moment, several people in the hall had already raised their hands in unison.

Beneath the thin, slender eyebrows of the Crane Guardian Daoist, his aged eyes fell upon the futon in front of him, and he asked, "Gu Mian."

"is teacher."

Gu Mian responded softly and stood up.

His voice was clear and resonant, like pearls falling onto a jade plate, with a touch of melodiousness and clarity.

After Gu Mian finished reciting Zhuangzi's Dream of a Butterfly, Crane Guardian Daoist said with approval in his eyes, "Not bad."

Gu Mian modestly declined for a moment before taking his seat at the signal from Daoist He Shou.

Shen Xian, on the other hand, was reading Zhuangzi's Dream of a Butterfly. This chapter was actually quite short, with only a few hundred words in total.

However, he is now in another world, and it is unknown whether he is Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of Zhuang Zhou.

At this moment, Daoist Heshou began to explain the meaning of Zhuangzi's dream of a butterfly, and everyone in the hall listened with great interest.

"What is materialization?" Crane Guardian suddenly asked.

All the students present scratched their heads, completely baffled.

Shen Xian also pondered these two words. The excerpt from "Zhuang Zhou's Dream of a Butterfly" is taken from "On the Equality of Things," which tells the story of Zhuang Zhou's distinction between self and things.

Crane Guardian raised his thin, slender eyebrows, looked intently at Gu Mian below, and said, "Gu Mian, you answer."

Gu Mian said, "The so-called transformation of things should be that man and the Dao become one, and the self and things are forgotten."

Daoist Heshou remained noncommittal, gesturing for Gu Mian to sit down, then turned to Pei Shen and asked, "What do you think?"

Pei Shen put on a thoughtful expression and said, "Zhou and the butterfly must be separate. With separation comes unity. It seems that they are both integrated into the Dao, which can be called the transformation of things."

Crane Guardian remained noncommittal, then turned to Shen Xian and asked, "Shen Xian, you answer."

Shen Xian thought for a moment and said, "Teacher, my two fellow disciples have already expressed all my thoughts, and I have nothing more to add." In fact, he didn't have any particularly unique insights.

Looking at the young man's handsome face and listening to his words, Crane Guardian Daoist remained indifferent.

Liu Yu's gaze, however, held a hint of mockery. He thought to himself, "I knew it. This Shen Xian is still the same as before. I don't know where he heard those remarks earlier."

After all, the abbot had already been explaining the chapter "Free and Easy Wandering" for several days, so it's understandable that County Magistrate Shen would have spent money to have someone teach Shen Xian some of it beforehand.

Crane Guardian looked at Shen Xian and pressed, "Have you gained any insight?"

Shen Xian thought for a moment and said, "Between waking and dreaming, there is no difference between truth and falsehood. A person's life is nothing more than using the false to cultivate the true."

In fact, Zhuangzi's dream of the butterfly not only mentions objectification, but also explores the illusory nature of the essence of existence. He doesn't care about what is real and what is false.

Crane Guardian remained silent for a long time before saying, "What a fine example of using the false to cultivate the true."

With a sigh, he turned his deep, calm gaze back to Shen Xian and asked, "Anything else?"

Shen Xian's face seemed to show a thoughtful expression as he said, "When falsehood is taken for truth, even truth becomes falsehood; when nothingness is taken for something, even existence becomes nothingness."

Upon hearing this, Daoist He Shou paused for a moment, then looked deeply at Shen Xian and said, "It is truly rare for you to have such enlightenment. However, the debate on existence and non-existence mostly originates from the Buddhist school."

Shen Xian shook his head and said, "Not entirely. The Tao Te Ching says, 'The nameless is the origin of heaven and earth; the named is the mother of heaven and earth.' The Buddhist school only grasped a part of it."

The Great Jing Dynasty revered Taoism and suppressed Buddhism. While it did not regard Buddhism as heresy, it certainly did not have a very good impression of the Buddhist community.

The Taoist He Shou was speechless and said, "Your comprehension is truly rare."

Liu Yu stared in disbelief, clearly finding it hard to believe.

Shen Xian received praise from the abbot again?

No, is the abbot laughing?
Pei Shen stared intently at Shen Xian, thinking to himself, "I knew it! How could the Shen family of Lanxi really be such good-for-nothing playboys?"
Crane Guardian's gaze, as calm as still water, swept over the students below before he continued recounting Zhuangzi's dream of the butterfly.

It seems that the question just now was just an interlude.

Before they knew it, Master Crane Guardian had been talking for two hours, and the incense sticks had all gone down.
Shen Xian listened patiently, but his mind was already wandering, thinking about what to eat later.

He admitted that what Crane Guardian said was correct, but he... was hungry.

As a martial artist, I cultivate martial arts and eat grains, so I get hungry quickly.

"Speaking of which, according to Uncle Zhao, this level three of the Acquired Realm is not weak even in the martial arts world. Since martial arts can be used to break the law, the imperial court will probably have even more powerful Innate Realm martial artists to suppress it, otherwise they will be unable to control the situation."

As Shen Xian pondered, he couldn't help but think of his past life, the martial arts dream of a generation, riding through the world on horseback, surrounded by countless beauties.

What kind of wandering knight, what kind of love song, what kind of rebirth of Zhao Moujing...

Ah, what a sin, what a sin, to have desecrated this Taoist temple.

However, since the Tao follows nature, there should be no hindrance, right?

Then, as the bell rang, the class ended with Shen Xian's daydreaming.

Shen Xian and the other students left the main hall and went to a side hall to eat and rest. In the afternoon, they would practice the Taoist scriptures and review the sutras taught by the abbot earlier.

At this moment, Pei Shenxing approached and asked, "Brother Shen, you truly were a man of few words, but when you spoke, you astounded everyone."

Shen Xian was eating some snacks at the moment, and mumbled, "Brother Pei, I was just lucky, I just said a few words offhand."

He should not act too flamboyantly now, lest he cause unnecessary trouble.

Pei Shen smiled and said, "I understand. Great skill appears clumsy, and great wisdom appears foolish."

Shen Xian didn't offer any further explanation. She picked up the Misty Tea prepared by the maid and used it to suppress the slightly sweet pastry in her mouth.

Liu Yu arrived at this moment and said with a smile, "Brother Shen has just received a prize from the abbot. Why don't I host a celebration for you tonight at Zuifeng Tower?"

Shen Xian looked at Liu Yu and said dismissively, "Brother Liu, what's there to celebrate? Every time the abbot teaches, he praises Gu Mian. If you're going to treat someone, you might as well invite him. If he succeeds in his studies and becomes a high-ranking official in the future, he might be able to help you out."

Gu Mian came from a poor family, and as his name suggests, he studied very diligently and was the top student at Qingyang Temple.

According to my memory, the imperial examinations in the Great Jing Dynasty tested knowledge of Huang-Lao and Zhuang-Zhou philosophy, such as the Tao Te Ching.

Liu Yu was rebuffed and looked somewhat displeased.

(End of this chapter)