Chapter 21: Fellow Daoist

Li Bai approached, setting down the wine flask, and asked, "What summons does Lord Jiang have for me?"

Jiang She replied, "The other day, I opened your Heavenly Eye, allowing you to see those things. Yesterday, I forgot to retract this skill. Seeing ghosts and spirits all day is not a blessing."

"Fortunately, you are brave enough not to be frightened. Otherwise, that would be my fault."

Li Bai instinctively touched his eyes.

He could now see some strange things. Occasionally, he caught sight of something that startled him, but with time, he grew accustomed. Being able to see ghosts and spirits added much more interest than others had.

He had stayed on Mount Lumen for quite some time.

He gathered herbs with Yuan Danqiu, visited friends with Meng Haoran, lived happily and freely in the mountains, and often attended poetry and literary gatherings at the local noble estates.

Confident in his familiarity with the city of Xiangyang, inside and out.

Now he realized—

There was a hanged ghost before the Lu family mansion’s tree. Mount Lumen was home to many wild spirits and magical creatures, and even an ancient mountain god who had lived over eight hundred years.

He understood that Emperor Guangwu of Han’s dream was no falsehood.

Another world had always existed here.

Mountain ghosts saw his form; spirits sensed his presence. Gods and ghosts had lived here unchanged for decades.

Ordinary people were simply ignorant and unaware.

Li Bai asked, "If this ability were taken away, would I still be able to see the mountain god?"

Jiang She smiled, "The mountain god is the lord of the land and rivers, not a ghost or spirit. If he wishes you to see him, you will."

His meaning was clear: if the mountain god chose to hide from humans, then no one could see him.

Li Bai asked again, "Could I still see the mountain spirits then?"

"No."

Li Bai quietly pondered for a moment, then cupped his hands respectfully.

"Lord Jiang, may I keep this Heavenly Eye?"

"I have never witnessed such celestial and divine matters in my life. I came from Shu Prefecture to Xiang Prefecture, traveling over a thousand miles. The most I’ve seen are reclusive Daoists. Those highly regarded alchemists possess skills far inferior to the three tricksters who fooled the Lu family."

"Naturally, one should not equate noble hermits with swindlers who cheat money."

"Daoists are not bad; they simply are not what I seek. What I seek is the path of the immortals."

"The true path."

"Not incense offered to gods, nor the daily clanging of bells."

"Confucius once encouraged his disciples, saying, ‘To hear the Way in the morning is enough to die content at dusk.’"

"I feel the same."

The courtyard was quiet; Yuan Danqiu had gone out to visit friends. Only two servants remained in the southern room, their voices faint behind closed doors. Only Li Bai and Jiang She stayed in the courtyard.

Leaves rustled softly.

One stood while the other sat beneath the tree’s shade, enjoying the coolness.

What Li Bai had seen in recent days was too strange. To linger seven days in a dream world was unimaginable, yet that dreamland was the playground of ants beneath the tree… All these thoughts piled in Li Bai’s heart.

When he was young and studying, the path of immortals he read about now revealed just a glimpse before him.

It was too magnificent, profoundly mysterious.

Li Bai paused briefly, then continued.

"I had only read such stories in books before. Meeting Lord Jiang, I’ve seen that Mount Lumen truly has a mountain god, witnessed the ant kingdom beneath the tree, and traveled in dreams. I cannot help but sigh in wonder."

"Previously, we lived dull and ignorant lives. Are we not like those ants beneath the tree?"

"Now, having heard this, it’s like a fish out of a drying pond finding water again."

"I treasure it as if it were my life, unwilling to lose it. Hence, I cherish it even more."

Jiang She listened carefully to Li Bai’s yearning and reverence for the Dao.

He nodded.

"I understand."

"If you wish to keep it, you may, as long as you do not fear."

After Li Bai spoke, the questions pent up in his heart surged forth like fresh bamboo shoots after rain. He looked steadily at Jiang She and asked persistently,

"One more question."

"Why have you not taken me as your disciple, Lord Jiang?"

He asked seriously; Jiang She did not respond lightly.

He pondered carefully before answering,

"I am also a wanderer, with no plans to take disciples yet."

"Moreover, disciples must be chosen carefully. Teach no one unworthy, impart no knowledge to the wrong person. How to know if someone is suitable for the Dao requires time to observe."

"I have known you less than ten days. How can I make such a decision so soon?"

He had met Li Bai, Meng Haoran, and Yuan Danqiu through a great rain. When Li Bai lit incense, he too felt moved, thanking the mountain god for sheltering them from the storm.

Unexpectedly, the mountain god of Mount Lumen was an ancient stag.

Granted ten more years of life, fate bound by rain, inevitably entwined with worldly affairs.

And standing beside him now, speaking with him, was Li Bai.

Was he an ancient man?

Or a man of the present?

Jiang She was momentarily dazed, feeling something indescribable and a hint of regret. When he recovered, he saw Li Bai still waiting for him to speak.

He smiled.

Picking up the wine flask from the table, he reached for two cups hidden in the kitchen and poured wine into them. The surface of the wine was frothy, having been filtered twice, a misty, clear white.

Li Bai gazed at the cups.

He was now more attuned to the supernatural. He recalled the cups were stored in the kitchen—how had they appeared on the table?

For a moment, he watched Jiang She pour the wine silently.

Jiang She pushed a cup toward Li Bai.

The wine flask pressed on a sheet of paper recently written upon, with a few drops spilled—but the ink remained untouched, unmuddied.

Jiang She held the wine cup.

The tree’s green shadows formed a cluster, sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting flecks of light on the table, the chairs, and the two men, bathing them in scattered brilliance. Around them, silence reigned; even the air seemed tinged with green.

It felt as if the surrounding ghosts and deities could not hear their conversation.

Jiang She pondered, lifting the cup.

"If you wish to cultivate the way of the immortals, the fate is not yet ripe."

Li Bai asked, "When is one destined?"

Jiang She smiled, "That is for you to realize on your own."

"Like now, traveling together, chatting about worldly tales, encountering strange stories of ghosts and gods, and watching the excitement—is that not delightful?"

"Companions on the journey may come and go."

"Bound by no fences."

"Then one might call each other Dao friends."

Raising his cup, Jiang She smiled, "I invite you, Taibai, to drink together."

"Is it agreeable?"

His words were frank and open-hearted. Regardless of magic or cultivation, they could discuss the Dao together, travel the path as comrades, witness the world, and become Dao friends.

What truly counted as fate?

Whether one could cultivate the way of immortals?

These questions remained unspoken.

Li Bai simply stopped pursuing them, lifted his cup, tilted his head back, and drank deeply, laughing heartily.

"Nothing stands in the way."

He no longer felt the awkwardness of seeking a master, and between them, there was no need for formal respect. It was like chatting and drinking with friends.

It felt much like that rainy day when a few of them huddled in the mountain temple to wait out the storm, their encounter a twist of fate.

Leaves swayed in the air, rustling in the breeze.

Li Bai sat down on the ground, sipping wine, and said,

"Lord Jiang, earlier when you fetched these two cups, what method did you use?"

"Like retrieving objects from afar."

"Retrieving objects from afar?"

"Yes." Jiang She gestured to a bird on the tree.

"Come here."

The bird appeared in his hand, dazed for a moment, then fluttered its wings and flew away. Feathers dusted the wooden table, which Jiang She brushed away with a hand, erasing all traces.

"Marvelous!"