Chapter 57: Being an Immortal is Wonderful, and the Mortal World is Wonderful Too

Among the scholars, Wang Jin was considered quite young, being only around twenty years old, and he was easily prone to intoxication. Only after the man asked a second time did he recall and reply.

"I have read some, but how did you know?"

His fellow student said, "My family has some collected editions, and Brother Mojie happened to ask my cousin about them."

Wang Jin did not know why his elder brother had suddenly developed such a keen interest in Daoist scriptures. He thought for a moment and said, "I am not sure either; perhaps the atmosphere of revering the Dao in Luoyang has grown stronger lately."

"Your elder brother probably wants to take a look as well, then."

"With so many books in the world, having read the teachings of the Buddha, one cannot omit the teachings of the Laozi and Zhuangzi."

In his words, Wang Jin held deep admiration for his elder brother.

After all, his brother Wang Wei had shaken Luoyang with his literary fame at the age of fifteen, passed the imperial examinations and placed first as the top scholar at twenty-one, and was well-versed in the musical arts, leading to his exceptional promotion to the Director of the Imperial Music Bureau. His youthful brilliance and literary renown had long since spread throughout the Great Tang, and he was now only twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

Meanwhile, Wang Jin had yet to pass the metropolitan examination.

Their voices were not low, and those around them heard the conversation, casting curious glances their way.

Yuan Danqiu also caught a bit of it.

He said to Mr. Jiang and the others, "That scholar's elder brother is Wang Wei. Luoyang is truly extraordinary; one can encounter remarkable figures everywhere."

Li Bai naturally knew of Wang Wei and had even heard his poems.

Listening to the musical melodies accompanying the chanting of poems, he showed little interest.

"No matter how remarkable he is, is he more remarkable than the master?"

Seeing him act this way, Jiang She vaguely recalled certain rumors he had heard previously and could not help but smile, a hint of mischief in his expression.

Before Li Bai could ask, Jiang She raised his wine cup and looked toward the Mountain Deity.

"Lumeng Mountain has lost its Mountain Deity yet has now risen to great fame once again. Will this cause any trouble?"

The old Lu Mountain Deity was also candid. "Before leaving, this humble deity already handed over the mountain seal to another. Furthermore, the master of Black Stone Mountain helped adjust the terrestrial veins there, so no major disturbances will arise."

Li Bai could not help but raise his eyes.

Did not the Mountain Deity say he was only accompanying them for a leg of the journey?

So he had already entrusted the mountain seal to someone else and made arrangements long ago.

He had laid aside the supreme position of a mountain lord, devoting himself entirely to the pursuit of the Great Dao.

With a sudden realization in his heart, Jiang She made a quick mental calculation and asked, "Was it given to that fierce tiger of the mountains?"

"The master's discernment is as fine as autumn down."

Holding his wine cup, the old Lu Mountain Deity smiled as well, joking self-deprecatingly, "Who knows? If some emperor dreams of it again, Lumeng Mountain might just be renamed Tiger Head Mountain."

Yuan Danqiu, however, did not think so.

"That might not be the case. With such a rare occurrence as meeting an immortal, by any account, it can continue to bless this mountain for several centuries."

As the group spoke, discussing events decades or centuries away as casually as describing the scenery of tomorrow, the wine and dishes were served. Indeed, they tasted quite exquisite; even the roasted camel hump lacked any gamey odor. The estate's chef was truly skilled—no wonder this dish was so famous. Partaken alongside the wine, it made one feel a lingering attachment to the bustling splendor of the mortal world.

Half a dou of wine was emptied.

Most of it had been consumed by Li Bai and Yuan Danqiu, while Jiang She and the old Lu Mountain Deity only drank a few cups, finding amusement in listening to the chatter of the diners in the hall.

Both Li and Yuan were somewhat intoxicated.

Upon returning, their heads touched the porcelain pillows, and they fell fast asleep before long.

***

Returning to the courtyard, Jiang She sat beneath a tree, leaning against a low armrest and gazing up at the bright moon in the sky. The moonlight cast upon the ground looked like scattered, lingering snow.

The night did not hinder his vision, and he picked up the cultivation notes of the heretical Daoist to read.

He read of joy and delight.

He read of unbridled freedom.

He read of regret and obsession.

He read of life and death.

The bustling scene of Luoyang's worldly splendor witnessed earlier that evening overlapped with the serene hardship of Daoist cultivation.

The old Lu Mountain Deity pushed open the door and saw the immortal reading by the moonlight.

His robes draped over him like seamless heavenly garments as he walked over and asked with concern, "It is so late, why is the master reading here? Is there something weighing on your mind?"

Noticing the handwritten manuscript on the table, he understood in an instant.

Jiang She said gently, "Mountain Deity, tell me about the matters of cultivation."

The old Lu Mountain Deity sat cross-legged opposite him, with only a stone table separating them. Jiang She thought for a moment, and seeing no wine in the room, he reached out and summoned two cups.

He took a porcelain flask from his sleeve and poured the contents into the cups.

The old Lu Mountain Deity paused.

Sensing the surge of the primordial azure qi of heaven and earth and looking at the porcelain flask, he was suddenly reminded of the elixir bottle the master had shown him before; they looked quite similar.

"This..."

Jiang She said, "Though the rosy clouds wine of Chicheng is fine, it cannot intoxicate ghosts and gods."

"I think this cup should suffice."

He pushed the cup toward the old Lu Mountain Deity.

"This... how could this humble deity..."

"The Mountain Deity may ease his mind," Jiang She said. "I invite the Mountain Deity to drink simply because I noticed you did not drink quite to your heart's content earlier."

"How could mortal wine compare to this?"

Jiang She smiled.

"What difference is there? Clear wine, turbid wine, or immortal wine—the only goal is a single intoxication."

The old Lu Mountain Deity picked up the cup with utmost care. Although he possessed Daoist magic and could easily ensure not a single drop of wine spilled from the vessel, he felt the same careful reverence he had experienced when he was first appointed as a mountain deity and tuned the terrestrial veins for the very first time.

He took a small sip.

His entire body relaxed, and his heart filled with astonishment.

After a moment of thought, he said, "This humble deity was born a wild deer in the mountains, stumbling into sentience by chance. Yet I possessed only consciousness and could speak human words; I knew nothing whatsoever of cultivation."

"I was caught by a mountain hunter and thought I was surely going to die, but a scholar bought me."

Jiang She asked, "Was it Scholar Lu?"

Every wrinkle and whisker on the old Lu Mountain Deity's face radiated deep nostalgia.

He nodded.

"It was him. Later, when he heard me speak, he was terribly frightened and released me back into the mountain. Yet, out of curiosity about such miraculous things, he would secretly visit me in the mountain and even bring me fruits from down below..."

***

"Later on, he borrowed many books for me. In those days, books were not as easily obtained as they are now. He never mentioned the hardships he endured; I only came to understand them much later."

"I understood a bit too late; by then, he had already passed away."

Events from eight hundred years ago were recounted by the old Lu Mountain Deity at a leisurely pace, as familiar as if they had happened yesterday.

He had pondered them in his heart countless times.

The moonlight filtered through the ancient pagoda tree, casting frost-like white shadows upon them both.

Jiang She listened quietly.

"The Mountain Deity knows the difficulty of cultivation, which is why, after attaining the Dao, you often preached the Law to the beasts of the mountain."

A rare, ashamed smile appeared on the old Lu Mountain Deity's face.

He humbly declined, "What is there to speak of? It was merely some meager insight. Some things I told them, I later realized were incorrect and not the true path; they cannot compare to the Great Dao."

Yet Jiang She knew that it was already quite remarkable.

The Mountain Deity spoke again.

"I observe that the master seems to have few dealings with people; previously, you must have been living in quiet seclusion."

Jiang She replied, "It has indeed been a life of peace and purity."

Since the conversation had turned this way, he leaned against the armrest and recounted how he had practiced in the mountains for many years with little human contact. Initially living in a town, his appearance remained unchanged over several years, causing the neighbors to grow fearful and whisper among themselves in gossip.

It was only after overhearing them that he realized this and felt a wave of emotion.

"I figured that if I did not leave soon, those mortals would likely report me to the local magistrate."

Imagining the scene, the old Lu Mountain Deity could not help but chuckle, stroking his beard in amusement.

"When mortals speak of seeking immortals, most of them are like Lord Ye who loved dragons only in theory—yearning for it when hearing of its untamed freedom, but when truly given the chance, unable to let go of worldly vanities."

"Even if they can let go, regret often follows afterward."

Jiang She agreed.

What he shared with the old Lu Mountain Deity were amusing anecdotes. Yet, in truth, there was a later chapter left untold—

Afterward, he laid aside his long-held aspirations, treating his existence purely as a journey through the world, no longer harboring any thoughts of returning.

He simply resolved to descend the mountain and travel abroad.

Thus, he stepped into the vast, bustling mortal realm.

He met many figures from history: Li Bai, Yuan Danqiu, and Meng Haoran at the mountain temple in Xiangyang, and heard of Wang Wei's great renown in Luoyang.

He also met those unrecorded in historical annals: mountain deities, earth gods, fierce tigers, the neighbor's eldest son Xu, Magistrate Cheng Zhi of Xiangyang County, the old abbot of Qingxu Temple, Master Zhou Ling of Jin and Yuan...

And in the days to come, he would witness many more people.

The cat curled up in the bamboo basket let out tiny, rhythmic snores.

Jiang She chatted with the Mountain Deity for a long time, drinking wine and listening to the wind rustling the leaves until the moon reached the center of the sky. The cat finally woke up, yawned, and stretched its limbs. Hearing voices, it trotted over with its tail held high.

It let out a soft mew at the figure beneath the moon.

Jiang She stroked the cat gently.

Being an immortal is wonderful, and the mortal world is truly wonderful as well.