bookbashuk Chapter 1 Yu Jing
Chapter 1 Yu Jing
Sichuan, Baiyun Mountain.
"A stick of incense reaches the Jade Capital, inviting the gods from the nine heavens."
The Three Pure Ones descended upon the lotus throne, and the Ten Kings of the Underworld opened the gates of hell…
The embers of paper money flew everywhere. While the priest outside was reading the eulogy, Liu Yingying, a staff member of the town's Taoist Association, looked impatiently at Village Chief Huang, who was smoking a pipe, beneath the rusty statue in the Baiyun Temple.
"After the passing of the former abbot, Baiyun Temple should, according to regulations, be closed and await takeover by the local Taoist Association!"
"As for Master Yi Chuan, I'm sorry, although he is the only disciple of the late abbot, the requirement to succeed as abbot is a bachelor's degree and ordination from the local Taoist association. His education and qualifications do not meet the requirements, the regulations! Do you understand?"
Liu Yingying's eyes were cold as she slammed her hand on the table. The village chief, Huang, across from her, took a few puffs of his cigarette and spoke with a bitter expression:
"Child, I understand the rules you mentioned, but the situation is truly exceptional. Yi Chuan is already ill, and now that the old abbot is gone, he has nowhere to go without Baiyun Temple..."
Village Chief Huang put down his pipe, his brows furrowed like tree bark, and his eyes glanced at another young woman standing under the statue in the main hall.
To be honest, Liu Yingying is already quite pretty. Her neat high ponytail and fitted suit accentuate her graceful figure while adding a touch of heroism. However, she pales in comparison to the woman under this statue.
The woman wore a plain black windbreaker, no stockings, but rather jogger pants and black leather boots. Even so, her slender figure was still noticeable. She didn't smile much, but she didn't seem cold either. Standing quietly under the statue in the shop, she attracted the attention of many villagers who had come to help with the old abbot's funeral arrangements.
Although she came from the town's Taoist Association like Liu Yingying, this woman remained silent throughout, standing quietly under the statue after entering the main hall.
Liu Yingying was getting impatient with Village Chief Huang repeating the same few sentences over and over again, so she slammed her hand on the table and interrupted him.
"This is a special case and doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of the local road maintenance association. You should contact the county women's federation!"
"Where are Yi Chuan's parents?!"
Upon hearing this, Village Chief Huang puffed out his beard, glared, and spat heavily: "Don't mention those two beasts! Ever since Xiao Chuan got sick, we don't know where they've gone! Otherwise, how could this young boy be a Taoist priest here?"
"Village chief, let it go, don't make things difficult for this staff member..."
Just then, a faint voice approached from afar. Liu Yingying looked up and saw a young Taoist priest dressed in white mourning clothes standing close by.
"I'm really sorry, but I really can't make decisions about the Baiyun Temple." Liu Yingying stood up firmly, looking at the thin Taoist priest in front of her.
He was rather thin, which made his mourning clothes look very large and loose. You could even see his prominent cheekbones on his face. His hair was tied up at the back of his head, and only his eyes were somewhat otherworldly.
This is Yi Chuan, the only Taoist priest currently at Baiyun Temple.
Yi Chuan smiled slightly at Liu Yingying, his face as pale as paper, his eyes revealing a mixture of relief and desolation.
Baiyun Temple—this was the only thing the old abbot left him, and it was what Yi Chuan wanted to protect.
But there were too many things he couldn't hold onto in his life, so even if he was unwilling, he could only let go.
"It's alright, anyway, I won't live much longer..."
After stopping Village Chief Huang from trying to persuade him, Yi Chuan's eyes swept around and he also saw the young woman who had come with Liu Yingying under the statue.
Compared to the dusty and weary villagers of Huangjiaping, this young woman was truly a refreshing and unique sight in the main hall.
As if because of Yi Chuan's gaze, the woman turned her head and noticed Yi Chuan's Taoist attire under his mourning clothes, and spoke for the first time.
"Master, has this statue been continuously worshipped in your temple?"
The woman's voice was gentle and soothing, like ripples spreading across a clear spring pond.
Yi Chuan looked at the statue and shook his head: "I don't know, but it has been enshrined here since I came to Baiyun Temple three years ago."
"Does the Taoist priest know the taboo name associated with this statue?"
"True Lord Baiyun".
"True Lord Baiyun?" the woman repeated, her fair brows gradually furrowing into a deep frown as her gaze returned to the statue.
Unlike the statues in other Taoist temples, this statue enshrined in this unnamed little temple is made entirely of iron, about two meters tall, and its exterior is covered in rust, making it almost impossible to recognize its original appearance.
"According to the county annals, the Baiyun Temple on Baiyun Mountain in Shaping Village was built less than fifty years ago, but the craftsmanship of this statue dates back to at least the Ming and Qing dynasties or even earlier."
Yi Chuan let out a soft exclamation. He had no idea that the iron lump left behind by the old abbot was actually an artifact.
The woman continued to speak at length:
"According to the county annals, there was only one ancient temple in this area before the Ming and Qing dynasties and even earlier. It was a focus of attention during the anti-feudal campaign in the 1970s. However, when people went up the mountain with demolition tools, the entire mountain suddenly experienced an earthquake, and the ancient temple disappeared without a trace, leaving not a single brick or tile behind. It became a secret for a time."
The county annals record the name of that ancient temple as "Yujing".
The woman's eyes were calm, and Yi Chuan couldn't tell if she was talking to him or to herself.
Village Chief Huang listened from the side, then nodded, clearly aware of this past event.
"You seem to know quite a lot about this believer." Yi Chuan bowed slightly, sensing that this woman from the town's Taoist Association was somewhat strange.
At least she was different from Liu Yingying, who stood arrogantly beside her.
"pity……"
Noticing that Yi Chuan's gaze remained unchanged, the woman shook her head, stepped forward, and gently stroked the rusty texture of the statue, saying nothing more.
This was an extremely impolite act in the Taoist temple, but Yi Chuan, who was about to lose both the temple and himself, had no intention of stopping it.
-----------------
After three days of mourning, the old abbot's funeral arrangements were finally completed. Villagers carried their belongings down the mountain in twos and threes. Liu Yingying and the woman followed Village Chief Huang up the stone steps. The two walked very fast and soon left the villagers and Village Chief Huang behind.
"I never expected that someone like you, a PhD in History and Folklore from Sichuan University, would disguise yourself as someone from the Taoist Association and come with me to this small place," Liu Yingying teased, glancing at the woman in the black windbreaker beside her.
Her name is Song Ling, and she is Liu Yingying's high school classmate. A few days ago, she learned that Liu Yingying was coming to Baiyun Temple in Shaping Village, and suddenly asked to come along as well.
On the stone steps, Song Ling withdrew her gaze from the Baiyun Temple that had disappeared into the mountain scenery behind her, shook her head, and remained silent.
"Are you still looking for that place?" Seeing the disappointment in Song Ling's eyes, and recalling Song Ling's strange reaction in the main hall, Liu Yingying spoke as if suddenly realizing something:
"Did that statue originate from the place you're looking for?"
"Mm." Song Ling nodded gently.
"Could this Baiyun Temple be connected to the place you're looking for?"
Song Ling pondered for a long time, then shook her head:
"The statues are ancient artifacts, but the perspective is new."
"If I could meet the late abbot, perhaps I could learn something, but unfortunately..."
Song Ling looked up at the sky with a wistful expression, revealing her long, fair neck.
As those elderly people from back then have passed away one after another, the secrets she had been searching for have probably disappeared into the dust of history.
"Actually, all Taoist temples in the world are pretty much the same. In the few years I've been in the Taoist Association, the Taoist temples I've come across are all pretty much the same. They're just tourist attractions packaged as ancient sites, making money from entrance fees and incense offerings. It's about using the present to observe the past. The place you're looking for is probably the same." Liu Yingying thought for a long time and tried to comfort her.
"No, that place is different, absolutely not the same!"
Upon hearing this, Song Ling suddenly stopped on the mountain road, her tone serious, unlike anything Liu Yingying had ever seen before.
According to the county annals, a local chieftain during the Ming Dynasty once left behind this sentence:
[Upon arriving at the Jade Capital, one can witness the cycle of reincarnation, the rise and fall of countless dynasties, and the fleeting nature of the alternation of the sun and moon, realizing that life is but a moment and insignificant.]
Song Ling spoke slowly and deliberately, her eyes bright and resolute.
"I see."
After a long silence, Liu Yingying nodded with difficulty, although she did not believe that such a magical place existed in the world.
The two fell silent and walked side by side for a long time. Remembering the bright-eyed young Taoist priest in the hall, Song Ling suddenly spoke up: "Yingying, can't we really leave this Taoist temple to them?"
"Song Ling, you shouldn't get involved in the local Taoist Association's affairs..."
Liu Yingying waved her hand, interrupting him forcefully, clearly not wanting to continue the topic.
She turned around and looked one last time at the small Taoist temple hidden in the verdant mountains.
Even if it's dilapidated, it's still a business with income from incense offerings. Nowadays, Taoist temples are all haphazardly built, and people have been eyeing this place for a while.
Even if everything else were compliant, Liu Yingying knew that those people had the means to snatch Baiyun Temple from a penniless Taoist priest...
Song Ling nodded slightly, but ultimately said nothing more. She quickly walked ahead of Liu Yingying and went down the mountain in silence.
-----------------
As dusk fell and the sky dimmed, a crimson shadow, like a cloud, appeared on the entire mountaintop.
After seeing off the villagers, Yi Chuan stood on the stone steps in front of the Taoist temple. The mountain wind was biting, blowing his faded Taoist robe. He coughed violently twice, his face turning sickly pale.
Watching Village Chief Huang and Liu Yingying disappear into the mountains, knowing he couldn't stand the wind any longer, Yi Chuan closed the door and went into the main hall.
Baiyun Temple is not large, with only two courtyards. The front is Baiyun Hall, and the back is the side room where Yi Chuan lived. Since the old abbot left, all that remains of the temple for Yi Chuan are the cold bricks and tiles.
Although Baiyun Hall is a hall, its interior is extremely simple. There are no banners, pennants, canopies, or hanging ornaments. There is only an incense burner and candlesticks with a statue of a deity in the center.
He began cleaning the main hall, sprinkling water to remove dust. Yi Chuan expressionlessly washed away the dirt that had been brought in from the floor tiles. Then, he stood panting in the main hall, staring blankly at the gradually darkening sky outside.
Knowing he didn't have much time left, he hoped that when he passed away, Baiyun Temple would at least be respectable, so he cleaned it very carefully every day.
"My physical strength is getting worse and worse."
After a self-deprecating laugh, Yi Chuan closed the temple door, moved the mourning basin aside, sat cross-legged on the prayer mat in front of the statue, holding a yellowed scroll of scripture in his hand, calmed his mind, and began his evening prayers.
"That which is purely Yin and has no Yang is a ghost; that which is purely Yang and has no Yin is an immortal; that which is a mixture of Yin and Yang is a human. Only a human can become a ghost or an immortal..."
"There are five ranks of immortals, and three levels of magic..."
"A human immortal obtains a method within the Dao, and a technique within that method. The five elements' energies, though confused and misunderstood, solidify the physical form, rendering the eight evil plagues harmless..."
The hinges of the White Cloud Hall were badly rusted, and the wind creaked as it blew in through the cracks, collapsing the pile of ashes in the funeral basin and tilting the long incense sticks on the offering table.
Yi Chuan put down his book, got up, and firmly inserted the long incense sticks into the incense burner. He then looked up at the statue of the deity.
"In the beginning of time, who spread the Dao...? Are there immortals in this world?"
Like kings, generals, peddlers, and commoners throughout history, Yi Chuan asked the question that every dying person had on their mind at the moment of their death.
The hall was empty and deathly silent. In the dim candlelight, he gazed forlornly at the statue, his chest heaving.
Stomach cancer is not as scary as you might think. If it is detected early and the tumor is removed when it first appears, and with aggressive treatment that costs a lot of money, you can survive for more than five years.
But Yi Chuan clearly didn't have that kind of luck. He could sense that his time was limited to these few months, which is why he didn't try to win over Liu Yingying and Feng Guan during the day.
He had just been reading "The Collection of Teachings of Zhong Lü", which, through the words of Lü Zu, expounded the theory of "Three Methods and Five Immortals", corresponding to the five kinds of Dao fruits: Heaven, Earth, Gods, Humans, and Ghosts.
The "Yunji Qiqian: Daojiao Sandong Zongyuan" records: "When the Dao fruit is perfected, one ascends to the true realm." The "Dao fruit" here is similar to the Buddhist concept of "fruit position".
Three years ago, when Yi Chuan was first led to Baiyun Temple, he asked the old abbot this question.
"The spirit of a ghost immortal remains undimmed, while the spirit of an earth immortal lives forever... Is there truly such a thing as the path to immortality?"
The old charlatan didn't answer him immediately; he only charged him 207 yuan as an apprenticeship fee and told him to figure it out for himself.
This realization took three years.
After reading through the entire "Collection of Teachings of Zhong Lü" over and over again, Yi Chuan knew the answer in his heart, but he still held onto hope and was still unwilling to accept it.
Yi Chuan didn't want to die. He was only in his early twenties, a time when he should be enjoying the prime of his youth.
"uh-huh……"
Yi Chuan groaned and clutched his chest, the pain in his chest churning again. He struggled to lift his head and look at the dilapidated statue in the White Cloud Palace.
He knew that the origin of this statue was not exactly honorable. According to that old charlatan, Baiyun Temple was extremely poor back then, and he dug this statue out of a ravine in the mountains and spent a lot of effort to move it back to the temple.
However, given the popularity of Baiyun Temple, this statue is clearly just being moved to a different location to continue rusting.
His consciousness was already blurred. Yi Chuan leaned against the offering table, black blood spilling from his mouth.
Illness strikes like a landslide; in the days since the old abbot passed away, he hasn't even been able to eat steamed egg custard.
"I'm only twenty years old..."
"I don't want to die!"
With a thud, Yi Chuan collapsed weakly to the ground, clutching his faded Taoist robe in anguish. His eyes, which had been filled with grief and indignation, turned deathly gray, and he slumped into despair.
The candlelight flickered, casting a striking contrast between the faceless statues in the hall and Yi Chuan's pale, distorted face.
Yi Chuan's pupils began to dilate.
"May we be reborn in the next life... so that you will not be stubborn iron, and I will not be Yi Chuan..."
boom!
The moment Yi Chuan closed his eyes, a mountain wind suddenly burst open the temple gate and poured in, extinguishing the oil lamp and scattering incense ash all over the ground.
The moonlight shone into the main hall, clear and bright as water, illuminating Yi Chuan and the rusty statue.
As if a spirit had not forgotten him, Yi Chuan, who had already lost consciousness, inexplicably sensed that the faceless statue was growing larger and larger, almost bursting through the main hall.
His perspective kept shifting, and in Yi Chuan's perception, the statue gradually transformed into a white-robed deity, pulling him closer like a vortex.
That was beyond the description of the five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and touch. In an instant, Yi Chuan felt that the White Cloud Palace was filled with red light and purple flames, as if heavenly flowers were falling in disarray.
"The path is enlightenment, the fruit is nirvana."
"After swallowing a golden pill, I realized that my fate was not in the hands of heaven."
He gradually saw clearly that three inches above the top of this white-robed deity was a fragmented ball of light.
A final burst of energy before death? A mirage?
"It doesn't matter anymore..."
Yi Chuan was in a state of ethereal consciousness at this moment. He saw himself lying on the ground covered in incense ash.
There couldn't be a worse ending. Like a sudden awakening, he felt a profound sense of enlightenment. He floated up, his consciousness flying into the ball of light...
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Shaping Village at the foot of Baiyun Mountain
Liu Yingying and Song Ling were invited to the village chief's home, unaware of the hidden story behind it. The village chief still wanted to try to persuade them about the Baiyun Temple.
By this time, dusk had fallen and the sky was shrouded in darkness. While waiting for the food, Song Ling rested her chin on her hand and looked out of the house listlessly, her eyes narrow and long.
Strangely, at this moment, several farmers carrying hoes passing by outside seemed to have been paused, their bodies trembling slightly in the darkness.
They seemed to be looking up, gazing in one direction.
Song Ling, looking puzzled, lightly walked out of the village chief's house and curiously looked in the direction the villagers were gazing.
With just one glance, her figure froze, and then her pupils suddenly contracted.
"The sky... is on fire!!"
Someone shouted something in my ear, and then everyone started shouting. More and more villagers heard the noise and ran out of their houses. Children doing their homework, pregnant women with big bellies, and even the village dogs lay on the ground whimpering.
That direction leads to Baiyun Mountain.
At this moment, a red cloud was covering the entire Baiyun Mountain, which looked like a mountain mist from a distance, just like it was on fire!
boom!!!!
A deafening roar erupted, as if the sky had collapsed and the earth had crumbled. From Song Ling's perspective, a beam of white light suddenly shot out from the red clouds, piercing the dark sky...