Chapter 28: Seeking an Old Friend on Qingcheng Mountain
The journey to Qingcheng Mountain was over a hundred li.
The surroundings of Yizhou cities had well-developed transportation and many main roads. There was also an official road leading to Qingcheng Mountain.
In his previous world, this bit of distance could be covered in less than two hours. However, it was hard to cover it within a day no matter how fast one walked in this era. Having the official road indeed made it convenient for travelers. Otherwise, even more time would be spent finding and navigating the mountain paths.
To arrive early, one must depart early.
Song You had already begun packing his traveling bag.
At this time, there was another knock at the door. “Knock, knock, knock...”
Song You went to open the door, and standing outside was Constable Luo.
“Greetings, Mister.”
Song You was somewhat surprised and looked down. “Constable, these are...”
“The persimmons in my hometown are ripe. Yesterday, my family sent some over, and they're very sweet although they don't look great. We have too many to finish at home, so I brought some over for you to taste too.” Constable Luo held a woven bamboo basket filled with lantern-like persimmons. “There aren't many, just enough for a taste. I hope you don’t mind that there are too few.”
This constable really knew how to choose his words.
How could Song You refuse?
Thus he accepted the basket, picked out the small lantern-like persimmons one by one and displayed them on the stone table.
Allowing Lady Calico to sniff them closely, Song You returned the empty bamboo basket to Constable Luo. Thinking deeply, he said, “Thank you, Constable Luo. However, I have another favor to ask.”
“Please feel free to ask, Mister!”
“Yesterday, I had the fortune to befriend Prefect Yu at the goulan washe. The prefect has already given me an ink-stick and then a felt blanket. It would be impolite to refuse such kindness but I felt indebted. After much thought, I decided to give him a painting as a return gift. However, I have to rush over to visit my master’s old friend on Qingcheng Mountain and it’s not convenient for me to go over. I recall that you pass by the Prefect's official residence on your way to work daily, so I would like to ask you to deliver it for me since it’s convenient for you.”
“Prefect Yu!” Constable Luo was immediately taken aback.
That was a senior official of a prefecture, a high-ranking frontier official.
Yizhou was a large prefecture in Great Yan, governing an area equivalent to two or three regular prefectures. It was economically wealthy and flourishing culturally, making the Yizhou prefect even more important than other prefects.
But Prefect Yu was not just any prefect.
Prefect Yu had a great reputation for his literary and political achievements. His appointment to Yizhou was actually a demotion. Compared to such a prominent figure, Luo was just an unimportant constable who had inherited his position through his family. Even just becoming acquainted with such a person could bring many benefits.
This wasn’t asking him to help deliver a gift. It was clearly good fortune that Song You was bestowing.
“I will definitely deliver it!” Constable Luo promptly accepted the scroll.
Deliver it on the way to work? He will make a special trip right now!
“Thank you, Chief Luo.”
“I should thank you, Mister.” Constable Luo carefully took the scroll and left.
Song You stood at the door watching his departing figure, motionless and lost in thought.
It seemed he was getting increasingly entangled.
Song You originally did not want too many entanglements with other people, for reasons he couldn't quite explain. Unexpectedly, he found himself increasingly involved with others after residing in the city for two or three months, despite living in seclusion. It seemed unavoidable.
Just like asking Constable Luo for help today…
Song You originally didn’t want to do it, yet he didn't want not to do it. It was really a dilemma worth contemplating.
After much reflection, there was only one answer.
Perhaps his way of thinking was wrong to begin with.
This journey after descending the mountain was meant to involve interactions with people, or perhaps part of its very meaning was derived from such interactions.
“Daoist priest, are you dead?”
“Not yet.”
“Oh.” Lady Calico had been watching him for a long time and sighed in relief.
“Why do you say that?”
“I saw that you weren't moving.”
“I was just thinking.”
“Thinking.”
“Let's go.”
“Let's go.”
Song You still had some distracting thoughts in his mind. However, he took his traveling bag and letter, and walked towards the city gates along with Lady Calico.
He thought as he walked and things became clearer.
Once he had thought things through, he felt completely refreshed.
Only then did he notice someone had planted osmanthus flowers, filling half the city with fragrance.
The road did not seem long anymore.
Speaking of Qingcheng Mountain, it was indeed famous as a Daoist mountain in Yizhou and throughout the entire southwestern Great Yan. However, Qingcheng Mountain was vast and well-known, attracting many recluses who built temples or cottages on the mountain. Although the Daoist skills and cultivation levels of these recluses varied, most of them had neither cultivation nor Daoist skills. They simply admired the Daoist way. However, there were indeed many temples on the mountain.
From the foot to halfway up the mountain, there were reportedly dozens of temples of various sizes.
However, the temple Song You intended to visit was not one of those few who were the largest, the most famous, or the oldest temples. It was the mid-sized Fuqing Temple which was halfway up the back of the mountain.
One could tell from its name that it was probably a legitimate Daoist temple.
Words like “Fu”[1] and “Qing”[2] were commonly used in Daoist temple names. Names lacking Daoist charm like “Hidden Dragon Temple” were non-mainstream. Such temples were either too ancient, having been named before these naming conventions became customary, or not legitimate.
Both applied to Hidden Dragon Temple…It was both ancient and not legitimate.
Fuqing Temple’s connection with Hidden Dragon Temple dated back to Song You's master’s master. At that time, his master’s master was traveling around the world like Song You now, and met the future owner of Fuqing Temple soon after leaving the mountain. After his master’s master returned from his travels to take over Hidden Dragon Temple, the Fuqing Temple owner would visit Hidden Dragon Temple almost every year. He would usually also bring along his disciples and students to exchange cultivation insights and ask for guidance on magical mysteries.
After the owner passed away, his disciples continued the tradition of visiting.
This relationship was maintained until Song You's master’s generation and now it has continued to Song You's generation. At least so far, Song You still remembered Fuqing Temple. Fuqing Temple also visited annually, so the bond remained.
Thus, he could ask for their help in delivering the letter.
In this era with high mountains and long rivers, although there was a postal system, it was not open to commoners, making communication difficult. Sometimes, a letter was indeed worth a fortune.
However, Song You had never been to Fuqing Temple.
He would have to walk slowly and ask for directions along the way.
Fortunately, Song You had great patience, and in addition he had Lady Calico's company. Thus, each step of the journey was remembered clearly and full of meaning.
Halfway through the journey, good things kept happening.
First, an old man driving an ox cart saw that he was a Daoist walking alone and gave him a lift.
The ox pulling the cart had delivered vegetables to the city in the morning and was already tired. Its owner felt compassion for it so he let it walk slowly on the way back with the empty cart. It was about the same speed as Song You’s pace but it allowed him to save some energy.
Not long after bidding the old man farewell, he encountered a merchant caravan moving much faster than the ox cart. Seeing him in Daoist robes, they stopped to ask about him and then gave him another lift.
Surprisingly, they reached the foot of Qingcheng Mountain by evening.
However, it was too late to ascend the mountain, so Song You had to find a Daoist temple at the foot of the mountain. He presented his ordination certificate to prove his identity, and respectfully stated his purpose in coming. The owner allowed him to stay in the guest room for the night. In the evening, the owner even brought down some cured meat and prepared a good meal for him although the bragging and drinking session during the meal was hard for Song You to handle.
***
Yidu, Prefect Yu's official residence.
Prefect Yu stood with his hands behind his back in front of a newly mounted painting that had been hung up.
The painting was simple…
A few brushstrokes depicting a tree trunk and branches, without showing the top or bottom, and a few random splashes of cinnabar representing red plum blossoms. On the tree was a cat delineated with diluted ink in a very freehand style. There was nothing else.
Prefect Yu was a cultured person with considerable skills in painting. Though he found the painting simple and the technique unremarkable, it had an inexplicable charm. The simply-depicted cat was unexpectedly lifelike.
The more he looked, the more lifelike it became.
After staring at it for a long time, he actually felt sometimes that the cat seemed to be moving, turning its head, blinking, or raising its head to admire the flowers. Yet, upon closer inspection, it was the same as before.
This painting had a wondrous charm.
Especially since it was a gift from the Daoist priest.
Thus Prefect Yu had it mounted and hung in his room that afternoon.
Something miraculous happened.
After Cold Dew and Frost Descends, it was Start of Winter[3]. Not only were the city's residents anxious, but even the mice in the prefect's residence were quite restless. They often scurried around the house, making a lot of noise at night. Unfortunately, the prefect was able to manage the city's residents but he found himself at a loss when it came to these little creatures sharing his residence. It gave him quite a headache.
After hanging up that painting, it was surprisingly quiet for the entire night.
There was not a single sound.
Prefect Yu thought he might have slept soundly and missed the noise. Yet after asking his wife and the servants, they all said that the previous night had been peaceful, as if the mice had collectively gone on vacation.
Prefect Yu was even more secretly amazed.
Even the court’s State Preceptor might not possess such abilities.
1. 福 which means Good fortune. ☜
2. 清 which means Purity ☜
3. 19th of the 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese calendar. ☜
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