Chapter 1: Hearing of Immortals

The third day of the eighth lunar month.

The autumn rain of the White Dew season was good weather for Fenghuai, a small county on the edge of the deep mountains. The summer heat had dissipated, the crops were ripe, the deer and rabbits in the mountains were plump, and the stream fish were waiting for the net; it was a leisurely time a few days before the harvest.

Pei Ye had been in good spirits these past two days. At this moment, carrying a fishing rod and a creel, his straw sandals went "paji paji" as he stepped across the stone bridge at the edge of the county town. Just as he stepped down from the last stair, an old face with a rat-like appearance leaned in eagerly: "Little Brother Pei, did you catch anything good?"

Pei Ye did not stop his pace, glancing sideways: "Yeah."

It was Old Xiangzi, a crazy widower who lived in the courtyard next door. This time, Pei Ye couldn't help but take an extra look at him, because on his dirty forehead, a crude, unfamiliar symbol was drawn in blue-green pigment. It was clearly drawn by his own trembling, weak hands, looking both strange and ridiculous.

Seeing the youth notice his handiwork, Old Xiangzi seemed to have received a reward. His spirits boosted, he leaned in front of Pei Ye, tilting his head back and forth to show it off: "Hehe... hehe..."

Pei Ye couldn't help but smile. Withdrawing his gaze, he satisfied the old man's wish and asked: "What do you want with me?"

Old Xiangzi's expression suddenly became excited. He straightened his back, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he immediately covered it. He bent over and looked around, then leaned into Pei Ye's ear and whispered: "To become an immortal."

"..."

"To become an immortal! To become an immortal!" Old Xiangzi's eyes shone with a bright light; it was clear he was desperate to share this with someone. "I have a way to become an immortal. Little Brother Pei, give me a hand, and the two of us will become immortals together. No illness, no disaster..."

"..." Pei Ye couldn't be bothered to deal with his latest round of madness. "Go do it yourself."

Old Xiangzi had been acting strange for more than a day or two.

He had lived alone for many years, had no children, and took care of his own food, clothing, and travel; his mental state was also not quite normal. A few years ago, one could still see him running around the streets playing with the neighbor's little girl, but now that the girl had grown up and married, she was unwilling to get close to him, and he spent his days tinkering with these gods, ghosts, Daoism, and Buddhism.

Old Xiangzi was not a devout believer, nor did he rely on incense offerings. He was just good at casting a wide net. Today he worshipped Buddha, tomorrow he paid respects to the Dao. Mountain gods, little ghosts, River Lords, Dragon Kings, Yama, and City Gods had all received a few sticks of incense from him. There were also strange sects and various gods he had heard about from all sorts of places, all of which could occupy a seat in his home.

Moreover, Old Xiangzi didn't understand the doctrines; he relied entirely on his own whims. When others finished plowing their fields and urged him to hurry and plant so as not to miss the farming season, he would lie on his bed and say, "My land doesn't need plowing." When others asked why, he said, "I believe in the Buddha this year, and the Buddha will do the work for me."

This joke was widely circulated in the east of the city, so one could imagine Pei Ye's attitude toward him.

Old Xiangzi saw his indifference and explained anxiously: "No, no, this time it's real! Believe me, I slept in the ruined temple in the east of the city yesterday and heard it with my own ears. The big-eared beggar who begs under the big willow tree was enlightened by an immortal and has already become an immortal..."

"Oh."

"Aiya, why don't you believe me? You have an illness, and I have an illness. If we become immortals, won't we be completely cured?"

"I'm not ill."

"Yi—hui ji ji ji!"

"Concealing one's illness and avoiding the physician. I am indeed not ill; it is an injury, and it cannot be cured."

"Who cares what it is! Can't an immortal cure it? Maybe the immortal will descend to the mortal world tonight. If we don't go, there won't be a share for us!" Old Xiangzi said earnestly. "I really saw it with my own eyes. The big-eared one has already become an immortal, over a zhang tall, wearing armor, majestic and awe-inspiring!"

"Then since he has become an immortal, shouldn't he ascend to heaven?" Since the two were going the same way for the moment, Pei Ye said perfunctorily.

"That's right! He ascended to heaven!"

"..." This answer was somewhat beyond Pei Ye's expectations. "He isn't begging under the big willow tree right now?"

"He's not! No one else can find him, only I know. He is..." Old Xiangzi hesitated for a moment, looked around sneakily again, gritted his teeth, and whispered even more softly: "Little Brother Pei, I'll tell you secretly, he drank immortal water and became an immortal."

"Then you go drink it too."

"It's gone!" Old Xiangzi slapped his thigh. "There was only a bottom left in the cup. I was afraid of pain, so I... I fed that immortal water to a cat, and the cat became an immortal! Fire couldn't burn it, and a knife couldn't cut it. Little Brother Pei, you are very capable, but you can't be slashed by a knife without bleeding, right? Let me try..."

He reached out to pull the dagger at Pei Ye's waist. Pei Ye was quite speechless and reached out to push him away: "I'm familiar with this story. Auntie Zhang said she saw you carrying a dead cat. Is that the one you said became an immortal?"

Old Xiangzi froze and said anxiously: "Yes, no! No, no. The cat died because it didn't draw this!"

Old Xiangzi extended an index finger from each hand, pointing at the crooked blue-green symbol on his forehead: "Look! Did you see it? I've realized it! If you want to become an immortal, draw this first. The big-eared one had this on his head that day. With it, drink the immortal water, and you can become an immortal. Little Brother Pei, you should quickly draw one too. Let's get the immortal water together and become immortals together. Won't your illness be cured then?"

Pei Ye said nothing. At this point, he had already passed the alley where his house was. He knew Old Xiangzi couldn't follow him much further.

He had long had experience in dealing with Old Xiangzi; the more you paid attention to him, the more energetic he became.

A big catfish was a River God, the widow at the city gate was the Queen Mother of the West, a stone picked up by the stream was a Heaven-Mending Stone, and now there was immortal water. Old Xiangzi wasn't deliberately deceiving people; he really couldn't distinguish between delusion and reality.

Old Xiangzi chased after Pei Ye, chattering endlessly. Pei Ye simply acted as if he didn't exist. Finally, he stomped his foot in anger: "You don't believe me! Then I'll go find it myself! When I become an immortal tonight, I'll come over to annoy you first!"

When he left, he stepped on the water with a very loud "paji paji" sound.

But only a few breaths later, the "paji paji" sound walked back. The old man lifted the bamboo creel: "Share a fish with me!"

Pei Ye rolled his eyes: "Didn't catch any!"

Having shaken off Old Xiangzi, Pei Ye walked toward the west of the city.

Starting two years ago, Pei Ye never dared to wantonly experience the coolness of rainwater, but even if he lay in his room wrapped in a quilt on a rainy day, the pain in his chest and abdomen would still flare up nine times out of ten.

There were still a few Pulse-Protecting Pills left from what Physician Qian had prescribed, but the strong liquor to be taken with them had run out. Feeling that he wouldn't be able to escape this time as the weather turned, Pei Ye had to go to the wine shop to get some.

However, just as he arrived in the west of the city, seeing the wine gourd in his hand, a familiar face called out: "Are you going to Old Zhang's to buy wine? He's not opening his shop anymore! He sold the shop a few days ago, made a fortune, and moved to the prefecture to live a happy life. Now if you want to drink, you have to go to Old Lu's in the north of the city!"

Pei Ye then headed toward the north of the city. This detour meant passing the big willow tree. Pei Ye took a deliberate look and really didn't see the tall, lame, big-eared beggar under the tree. Instead, there were two bailiffs who didn't know what they were asking about.

It was said that the big-eared one had made a mistake in practicing martial arts in his early years, was found by someone he had offended, and had his legs broken. His family had also suffered repeated misfortunes, his relatives had passed away one after another, and he had finally fallen into a state of despair.

Fortunately, he hadn't been arrogant in the martial arts school back then. Pei Ye smiled self-deprecatingly, and as his steps crossed, he had already passed the big willow tree and headed straight for Lu's wine shop.

Before long, the raised wine banner was in sight. Pei Ye quickened his pace and arrived at the door.

Lifting the curtain, a burst of noisy liveliness immediately rushed into his ears, and the heat mixed with the aroma of wine rushed toward his face, drawing a clear boundary between the small shop and the cold rain and fog outside.

There were always more people in the leisurely season. Pei Ye bypassed the men who were leaning against each other, flushed with wine, stepped over the legs stretched out casually on the ground, and placed the gourd on the counter.

"Uncle Lu, fill it up."

"Alright." Lu Youcai was in his forties, his eyebrows like knife carvings. He pulled off the gourd cap and walked to the wine barrel. "Little Pei, ever since you moved, you've really come less and less often."

"There's no help for it. Without the money from selling the house, it would cost me half my life," Pei Ye said with a smile.

"Sigh, the blessed suffer for wealth, the unblessed suffer for themselves. Little Pei, you can be considered blessed. You have to look at the bright side; only then will there be hope for the days ahead."

"That's right, I have nothing to be dissatisfied with." Pei Ye took the gourd. "Still four qian?"

"Nonsense!" Lu Youcai's eyebrows stood up, and he slammed the filled gourd on the table. "Have I ever asked you for money before? Why are you acting like a big shot when you're a poor ghost now?"

Pei Ye laughed out loud, still counted out four copper coins, and insisted on pushing them in front of Lu Youcai: "It's precisely because I'm a poor ghost now that I have to calculate everything clearly."

Lu Youcai sighed and accepted the copper coins. Just as Pei Ye was about to bid farewell, Lu Youcai suddenly said: "By the way, I see you went out of the city again? You must be careful these past two days. It seems like someone outside the city was eaten by tigers or wolves."

"It's fine, I don't go deep into the mountains." Fenghuai relied on the mountains for its livelihood, so it was inevitable that herbalists and hunters would get lost in the mountains. Although it didn't always happen, it wasn't unheard of. Pei Ye didn't pay too much attention to it.

"It's not in the mountains, it's outside the city." Lu Youcai corrected. "Someone saw it this morning. Outside that ruined temple in the east of the city, there was only a torn garment and blood left. The person was gone, bones and flesh alike. No one knows who the victim was."

Pei Ye froze: "Where? The ruined temple in the east of the city?"

"That's right. This beast dares to run so close. The people in the east of the city are all worried that it will enter the city at night to eat people."

Pei Ye remembered Old Xiangzi's words and frowned: "Did you report it to the officials?"

"Of course I did. Bailiffs went over there early this morning."

Pei Ye remembered the two bailiffs under the big willow tree. It seemed the government had already found the victim, so he stopped worrying. He bid farewell to Lu Youcai, went out, picked up his fishing rod and creel, and walked home.

Pei Ye's house was right next to Old Xiangzi's dilapidated small courtyard, and it was just as dilapidated.

Pushing the door open and walking into the courtyard, he lifted the creel. Inside were some medicinal herbs he had picked along the way.

Pei Ye took out a few, put them into a stone mortar, and ground them into a fine powder. He then took out a clean piece of cloth and went to the corner of the wall to pick up a pitch-black ball of fur from a basket.

Pei Ye lifted this little black cat, stared into those jade-like, bright eyes for a while, and gently placed it on his lap to examine it.

On its small, soft belly, the bandage was slightly stained with blood. Pei Ye knew that underneath was a fatal wound.

This black cat was picked up by Pei Ye when he went fishing by the stream yesterday. Its belly seemed to have been cut by a sharp stone or something similar, leaving a long wound.

It was hard to say if it was a house cat or a wild cat. There were many households in the city that kept cats, and they mated indiscriminately without restraint, gradually forming a group of cats that scavenged in the blurred zone between the county town and the deep mountains.

In all fairness, this cat was very beautiful. Its whole body was jade-black, with no mixed colors, its fur was fine, it had no scars or diseases, and it didn't have the cunning and fierce temperament that wild cats developed from fighting.

If cats had a society, its temperament should be that of the nobility. When Pei Ye treated its wound, it didn't cry out once, nor did it resist, appearing calm and ladylike.

Untying the bandage, the wound had already congealed. Pei Ye applied new herbal medicine and re-bandaged it perfectly.

After dealing with it, Pei Ye walked into the house and pushed out an old man who looked like a fierce ghost.

If the old man stood up, he should be taller than Pei Ye, but Pei Ye knew there was no such opportunity. The old man leaned on a rough, simple wheelchair, his whole body motionless, as if even his breathing had stopped, like a piece of withered wood that had passed through the years.

In the dim daylight, the details on his face were even more ferocious—the scars on his cheeks were like flesh centipedes, spreading all the way into his scalp and neck. His eyes had completely disappeared, leaving two pitch-black holes. His white, withered hair was sparse, and large patches of his scalp were exposed.

"Grandpa Yue, I'm going to start practicing swordplay. It's just past the Shen hour now, and I'll practice until a quarter past the You hour."

"Good, I'm listening..."

When the old man spoke, his neck had to be stretched taut, his chin lifted toward the sky, and his back slightly left the wheelchair, using all his strength like a cormorant swallowing a fish, looking both ridiculous and terrifying.

The so-called sword practice was the sword art that the old man taught Pei Ye after Pei Ye's "Dantian Seed" was damaged, claiming that "at least you have the possibility of learning it now."

The process of teaching was also too difficult and peculiar, because this sword art was created by the old man in his heart after he became paralyzed. The old man had neither practiced it himself nor could he see the youth's movements, so he could only rely on his hearing to judge whether the youth's movements were standard and whether his force was applied correctly.

Fortunately, the old man was indeed close to the Dao in sword art. Even so, he could always point out Pei Ye's mistakes with a single needle. Of course, there were inevitably times when he really couldn't hear or answer Pei Ye's questions. At this time, the old man would say: "Practice blindly, it's not in this."

But no matter what, this was indeed a high and subtle sword art. After two years of practice, Pei Ye's sword moves had become more pure and skilled, he had gained many insights into sword theory, and his sword sense had become better and better. He could already be called a master of the sword, but he had yet to truly learn even a single form.

Even the realization that "I haven't learned it myself" was something Pei Ye only vaguely realized after his sword art had progressed to a certain level. Before this, he once thought that practicing those sword moves to be exquisite and skilled was enough, and he had never seen the higher layer of the realm.

"When you truly learn it, I will definitely be able to hear it." The old man said so. "Maybe even see it."

But this was clearly not today. Pei Ye practiced for the full time as usual and raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Perhaps because of the sweat, his forehead felt a bit itchy, so Pei Ye wiped it twice more.

Seeing the cold wind becoming heavier, he pushed the old man back into the house and began to tidy up the meal, while at the same time boiling a pot of warming medicine for himself.

Although a not-so-small rain had already fallen in the morning, the black clouds had not dissipated at all. Instead, they became even heavier. At this moment, it seemed as if they could no longer bear the pressure and began to drizzle.

The desolate wind and bitter rain, the dilapidated and cramped small courtyard, the withered and thin jujube tree in the courtyard, the paralyzed old man with a terrifying appearance, and the old sword with a worn scabbard constituted the place where Pei Ye had lived for two years.

The willow branches hanging into the courtyard were brushed against his face by the wind. The youth casually tore off a section, pulled out the wooden core, held it in his mouth, and blew a crisp and loud whistle.

He raised his head, and the horizon swallowed the last trace of the afterglow.

Night had fallen. ===== CHAPTER 2 =====