Chapter 26: Longevity is like a Dream
It was already dark in the small courtyard house in the north of the city.
Song You had finished writing his letter a while ago and had folded it neatly, placing it on the table. He sat opposite Lady Calico, who had reverted to her human form. The blanket on the bed was folded neatly and placed on the inner side.
An oil lamp was lit in the room, casting flickering shadows.
Song You asked, “What spells do you know?”
“I can catch mice.”
“That's your skill, but it doesn't count as a spell.” Song You shook his head.
“I can consume incense, remember everyone who ever offered incense to me, and find them,” Lady Calico quickly added.
“That's your divine power, but it doesn't count as a spell either.” Song You shook his head again. “Besides, you have already distanced yourself from the Divine Dao now. If you don't consume incense for a long time, your divine powers will gradually dissipate by themselves.”
“I am very smart.”
“That's also your skill.”
“Then I don't know any spells...” Lady Calico couldn’t help sounding a bit dejected.
“Now that you have already transformed, why don't I teach you some spells? How about that?”
“Great!”
“What do you want to learn?”
“Everything!”
“You can only choose one.”
“Why?”
“A spell can’t be learned in a day. Even mice are eaten one bite at a time. Moreover, many masters and recluses with true cultivation only know one or two spells in their lifetime. It is enough to allow them to traverse the world freely and even be worshiped as local deities.” Song You looked indifferently at her. “On this Way, quality is valued over quantity.”
“What do you know?”
“I know the fire element spell. It can burn ghosts at a low level, burn demons at a middle level, and burn gods and devils at a high level. Once you reach the peak, you can even burn a city or a country like the Fiery Sun True Lord.”
“This is great! It sounds powerful!”
“Do you want to learn it?”
“If I learn it, will I not feel cold anymore?”
“Do I seem to feel the cold?”
“Then I won't learn it! I’ll learn something else!”
“I know the water element spell. Depending on your cultivation level, you can breathe underwater, create great waves, and summon rain and snow. Once you reach the peak, you can change the course of great rivers and alter the color of the seas like the Ocean Rending True Lord.”
“If I learn it, can I go into the water to catch fish?”
“You don't need this spell to catch fish. Even ordinary people can catch fish without going into the water,” Song You said. “Also, they can catch a lot.”
“Then I’ll learn something else!”
“I know the earth element spell. Depending on your cultivation level, you can raise walls from the earth, turn stones into soldiers, and sit on mountains as a deity. Once you reach the peak, you can raise mountains and sink valleys like the Thick Earth Celestial Worthy[1].”
“Is it difficult?”
“You can master the basics in a few years.”
“Are you good at it?”
“I have some skills, but I'm not as good as I am with fire.”
“Then I'll keep choosing.”
“I know the wood element spell. It can promote the growth of all living things, make flowers bloom and trees bear fruit out of season, as well as make dead branches sprout. Once you reach the peak, you can bring the dead back to life, maintain eternal youth, and achieve immortality like the Immortal Elder of Eternal Spring.”
“Monkeys would definitely like this!”
“I also know the metal element spell. You will be able to swallow knives, break blades, turn stones into gold, and transform the ground into steel. Once you reach the peak, you will be impervious to swords or spears and unstoppable like the Gold Spirit Official.”
“How do you swallow a knife?”
“You will be able to swallow a knife into your stomach without getting cut.”
“Why would you eat a knife?”
The little girl widened her large puzzled eyes.
“If you don't like it, I also know talisman spells. It can drive away ghosts and demons, summon thunder and fire, and has countless variations with infinite uses.”
“But I'm a demon.”
“I know the spirit communication spell, which allows you to converse with ghosts and gods.”
“I don’t like talking to gods.”
“Don't feel inferior.”
“What does inferior mean?”
Song You went silent then shook his head, “I also know the Art of Telekinesis. It allows you to fetch objects from a distance and return them to their original place. For example, filling an empty cup with water or raising a goblet of wine to finish it.”
“If I learn this, can I make mice come to me by themselves?”
“If you master it, you certainly can.”
“Then I want to learn this!”
“Then you must be patient. It takes ordinary people several years to master the basics. At first, you can only fetch objects which you know and belong to you that are not far away. As your mastery deepens, you can fetch other peoples' objects too. Once you reach the peak, you can fetch and place items freely from a thousand li away as long as you know where they are.”
“How long does it take to catch mice?”
“For ordinary people, it takes at least more than ten years, and several decades at the longest.”
“Can you catch mice?”
“I have only mastered the basics.”
“Then...”
Lady Calico tilted her head and thought for a moment. “Then let me hear more.”
“Very good, listening more and choosing wisely without making rash decisions is a good thing.” Song You praised. “You are indeed very wise.”
“Hurry up and tell me.”
“I know the spell to summon beasts and birds. Once you start learning, you can make wild beasts and mountain birds become intimate with you. You can make them understand what you mean and you will also be able to understand them. As your mastery improves, you can even command wild beasts, mountain birds, and even rare birds and unusual beasts in the world to do your bidding.”
“Um...” Lady Calico tilted her head and thought for a moment. “This can surely make mice come over by themselves, right?”
“This can indeed.”
“Then I want to learn this!”
Song You smiled but then said, “However, nothing in the world is perfect. Every spell has its limitations. If not, it has flaws, weaknesses, or things that counter it. For example, this spell to summon beasts and birds requires the practitioner's heart to be completely calm and full of benevolence when casting the spell. The slightest bit of guilt or regret is unacceptable, even if you cannot perceive it yourself.”
“I don't understand.”
“It means this spell is a mental cultivation technique. Anyone who learns this, regardless of their mastery level, must first cultivate their mind.” Song You paused. “Achieving complete calmness and absence of guilt or shame depends on the cultivation of one’s character. Some need to be lifelong vegetarians, while others just need to avoid using it to harm animals. Only a few individuals of extraordinary talent in the world can use it to deceive and harm living creatures.”
“I don't understand.”
“You can use it to call mice over. However, if you use it to catch and eat them, the spell will fail. You will never be able to use it again afterwards and your many years of cultivation will be wasted in one day.”
“Cats naturally eat mice.”
“That's different.”
“Why?”
“For example, every time I cast this spell, I am actually using a heart filled with pure benevolence toward those animals. Thus the animals are affected by this benevolence. Combined with the spell, they then also respond with pure benevolence toward me. However, if I abuse their benevolence with the help of this spell to deceive and harm them one day, I will no longer be able to keep this heart filled with pure benevolence.” Song You paused.
“Even if you can do now what very few individuals can and feel that doing this is right and proper without the slightest bit of guilt or shame, as you continue to cultivate and learn over time, you'll gradually understand the difference in this. By then, years of hard cultivation will be irrevocably lost.”
“I don't understand.”
“You'll understand gradually.”
“Oh.” Lady Calico continued to look at him expectantly.
“I also know the Art of Dream Creation. At a low level, you can enter dreams and deliver messages via dreams. At a middle level, you can create dreams and trap people in them. At a high level, you can weave dreams into the world, making people live in them without them knowing.”
“I can dream by myself. Why enter someone else's dream? Is it fun?”
“Do you still remember what was the first spell I mentioned?”
“I forgot.”
Song You was speechless.
“It’s your fault for mentioning too many.”
“Maybe.”
“Why do you know so many?”
“I only know a little about each.”
“Still a lot.”
“I'm very powerful.”
“Oh.”
“What do you want to learn? Have you decided?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then what do you remember?”
“Immortality.”
“Haha...” Song You couldn't help but chuckle.
It seems that immortality is not only the ultimate pursuit of humans but also the ultimate pursuit of other living things.
It’s a pity...Song You wasn't sure if mastering the wood element spell could truly grant eternal youth and immortality. Even if it really could, only the Immortal Elder of Eternal Spring might have reached the peak in this world.
As for whether the Immortal Elder of Eternal Spring was immortal due to the power of wishes, religious faith or magic power, or whether the Immortal Elder of Eternal Spring even existed or is still around, who knows?
“Daoist priest.”
“Hmm?”
“Why aren't you speaking?”
“Have you ever heard any Daoist songs?”
“No.”
“There's a Daoist song that goes well...”
***
Prefect Yu sat at the seat of honor, and an attendant entered.
“Prefect, I have returned.”
“Did the Daoist priest accept it?”
“He accepted it.”
“I was right to send you.”
“You flatter me, Prefect.”
“It’s fine as long as he accepted...”
Prefect Yu dismissed the man with a wave of his hand, and then fell into contemplation.
In these times, the Immortal Dao is like the bright moon overhead, mysterious and unreachable. Generations of literati and literary masterpieces have added a layer of unique color to it. It was common for literati and scholars to aspire toward the Immortal Dao. Some great talents even simply fancied themselves as banished[2] or impure immortals. They often dreamed that one day they could suddenly look up at the moon, find poetic inspiration after getting drunk, or achieve sudden enlightenment through some opportunity like ancient poets. They would then leave behind this mortal world, gracefully becoming immortals, thus gaining carefree eternal lives.
Prefect Yu had aspired toward the Immortal Dao and longevity since he was young. He had even invited three or five friends to go to famous mountains with him to seek immortals, but to no avail. Now nearing fifty, he still often searched for pill recipes to concoct pills of immortality for himself to consume.
With each pill he took, he felt he distanced himself a little further from the mortal world.
The Daoist priest he met today might not be an immortal, but he was indeed one of the rare masters he had encountered in his life. Unfortunately, their conversation did not yield the answers he desired.
Perhaps his acquaintance with the Daoist priest was too shallow and the Daoist priest was naturally unwilling to say too much to him.
But what could be done?
Who could guess the thoughts and preferences of these reclusive masters? Previously, he had heard that the Daoist priest enjoyed listening to the qin, so he confidently tried to use Yang Jinsheng to draw closer to him. However, who could have anticipated that he only wanted to listen to the qin and had no interest in the person playing it behind the wall? It was already fortunate that he happened to see him fiddling with an ink stick.
Moreover, he should be content…Even these few words today were astonishing enough.
Prefect Yu couldn't help but fall into deeper contemplation.
Were there truly no immortals when heaven and earth were first separated?
Were there no immortals when the sun and moon were first born?
Then how could one become an immortal?
Surely immortals should be able to live forever, right?
Or couldn’t they?
He sat there, pondering, fantasizing, and immersing himself in these thoughts until it gradually got dark.
His wife came to call him to extinguish the lamp and go to bed. Lying on the bed, he still kept his eyes open, staring into the void of darkness. The moonlight outside the window was faint, and he began again to think about the immortals in the Moon Palace. If he became an immortal, he would be sure to fly often to the Moon Palace too to enjoy himself.
Somehow, he fell asleep.
In his drowsiness, he seemed to hear someone singing. The lyrics were profound, the voice somewhat aged, the melody crude, yet it had a natural and simple leisurely charm. It made him think of an old Daoist, and this voice must naturally have drifted over from a temple deep in the mountains, carrying the scent of incense.
“Since ancient times, flowers do not remain in bloom for long,
The moon has never been full for long.
No matter how much gold and jade you amass,
You can't buy immortality.
Is there a thousand year old crane among birds?
Rarely does one encounter a centenarian in the world.
Life is busy, death is obscure.
If you want to wake, when will you awaken?
If you want longevity, how can you get longevity?
Where have the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors[3] gone?
Where are the high-ranking court officials of past dynasties?
Just look at the historical records, who can escape impermanence?”[4]
1. Title of deities in the Daoist pantheon. ☜
2. Immortals who have been banished from Heaven for some offense. ☜
3. Mythical earliest rulers in ancient China. ☜
4. Lyrics of local folk song “Libation to the Dead” from Northern Sichuan, Longan District. ☜
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