Chapter 42: We Have Encountered a Celestial Being

The four children stared, their eyes wide.

Zhao Erlang looked at his own hands, then at the living donkey braying in front of him, stunned for a moment. It took several heartbeats for him to react.

"A donkey!"
"Where did this donkey come from?"
"Is this the magic trick Uncle was talking about? How did you do it?"

The eldest son of the Zhao family looked at the donkey, his eyes filled with unconcealable wonder and astonishment. After staring for a long while, he gathered the courage to reach out and touch it, feeling the animal’s coat.

It was warm.
It felt much like the horses outside.
Yet, just moments ago, he had watched with his own eyes as the donkey was cut out of paper by a man. The paper was Xuanzhou paper he used for practicing calligraphy, and the scissors were his mother’s sewing shears. They were things from his own home, items he had seen hundreds, thousands of times.

"Could it be that a celestial being has come?"

They looked toward the gate, to the spot where the gentleman had been standing. They saw only the receding silhouette of a carriage driving away.

Zhao Erlang immediately gave chase, running off.
Zhao Erniang shouted, "Mother—Mother—"
"Father—"
"Something amazing has happened! Come and see! The paper turned into a donkey—the paper Big Brother used for calligraphy has turned into a living donkey!"
"We’ve met a celestial being!"

By the time the Master of the Zhao estate, his wife, and the old matriarch hurried over, they found the donkey lowered, nibbling on the tea leaves by the gate. Zhao Erlang was being carried back by a servant, his chubby body twisting and turning, his face full of indignation.

The Master of the estate inspected it carefully, even reaching out to touch it. It was truly a living donkey—ash-brown, with a large head, long ears, and sturdy limbs. There were several just like it on his estate.

"...It really is a donkey."

Madam Zhao frowned. Having seen it with her own eyes, she felt it was even more miraculous. She looked at the four children. "Did it really turn from paper?"

The four children chimed in all at once. "That gentleman said since he saw we liked horses, he would give us this treasure."
"Yes, that’s it! We watched him borrow the paper and scissors. He didn't cut it very well—Big Brother didn't say anything then, but I knew he thought the paper-cutting was crude and not fun at all."

The eldest brother glared at his younger brother, then said, "Erlang reached out and touched it, and then we saw the paper donkey drift down. Once it hit the ground, it became a living donkey. I’ve been watching it; it’s no different from a real one... Father, who exactly was that gentleman?"

The Master of the estate was filled with awe. He looked down to meet four pairs of shining eyes. He felt speechless; he was still marveling at such a profound and divine person, yet the little ones were only thinking about the donkey. He stroked his beard and pondered for a moment.

"Do not call him a gentleman anymore."
Zhao Erlang looked down, confused.
"You should call him a celestial being!"
Zhao Erlang looked up again, his eyes bright.

The Master of the estate patted the child’s head and chided, "You children have no sense of propriety."

The youngest Zhao child grew increasingly regretful. "Father, why did you have them stop me? If it weren't for them, I might have met the celestial being, become his disciple, and learned immortal arts. Then I could just cut out a few cows, and you wouldn't have to feel so pained every time you buy cattle... When I learn, maybe I can even turn grain into gold, and our family will be rich."

The Master of the estate was torn between laughter and tears. The child’s wish was simple and born of a desire to help the family. Feeling a bit awkward, he coughed and scolded, "You can't even read your books well, and you want to learn immortal arts? We had a guest today, and I didn't scold you, but you were stammering through the 'Classic of Filial Piety.' Your eldest brother was already studying the 'Great Learning' when he was your age."

"Tomorrow, you will copy it out properly. You are not to touch this paper donkey until you finish..."

As he spoke, the donkey vanished with a "poof."
The Master of the estate stopped mid-sentence, craning his neck to look. A piece of donkey-shaped paper lay on the ground, still appearing as if it had just been cut, with the texture of the Xuan paper and a faint greenish hue.

Zhao Erlang was startled. With tears in his eyes, he cautiously touched the paper. Seeing the donkey turn back into a living creature again, he breathed a sigh of relief, wiped his eyes, and glared at his father.

The Master of the estate was lost in thought. He called out again, "Paper donkey."
Seeing the donkey transform back, he tested it twice more. Everyone watched in wonder; from the old matriarch to the children and the servants, all were struck with awe, not daring to make a sound.

Finally, the Master of the estate carefully picked up the paper donkey and looked at the others. He sighed, "I even warned that gentleman that the post house was haunted. Now I see, who knows who was afraid of whom, haha..."

"Do not speak of this to anyone. Even though a donkey is not a rare thing, and it wouldn't bring disaster to the Zhao family, if you want to play with it in the future, you won't be able to if word gets out. Do you hear me?"

The four children nodded, staring longingly at the paper donkey in their father's hand. Zhao Erniang tilted her head, looking at the light, fluttering paper donkey, recalling the words the celestial being had said while they watched the cat sleep.

The Master of the estate murmured, "This is the magic of a celestial being..."

***

On the imperial road, the others had naturally seen the miraculous donkey. Though they didn't see exactly how it was done, they had heard Mr. Jiang borrow the scissors and paper from the Zhao family.

Yuan Danqiu’s eyes were bright. He respectfully asked, "Master, what art is this?"
"I just thought of it on the spot," Jiang She replied. "There is no specific method."

Yuan Danqiu’s heart itched with curiosity. The more he associated the paper with the living donkey, the more restless he became. He couldn't stop thinking about the dumbfounded looks on the children's faces and wondering what the Zhao family would do next.

What a rare treasure, what a profound Daoist art. To think that a celestial being could be so powerful... to imbue an inanimate object with spirit and suddenly bring it to life.

However, no matter how thick-skinned Yuan Danqiu was, he couldn't bring himself to press Mr. Jiang further, so he had to endure it. Jiang She noticed his thoughts.

"It’s just a toy for children. If you want to use these paper donkeys and horses to travel, it certainly won't work." He pointed out the flaws of the paper donkey: "First, it cannot touch water or fire. Paper becomes soaked in water and burns in fire."

"Second, there is a flaw in its transformation. It is merely a spark of the world’s spirit, relying on the paper cutting to manifest. If its true name is called out by someone, it will revert to its original form."

Yuan Danqiu and Li Bai’s eyes lit up as they listened. The two servants, hearing this as well, felt a mixture of awe and envy. They watched Jiang She sitting casually on the carriage shaft, one leg curled slightly, the other hanging naturally, looking completely at ease.

This was truly an immortal.

The carriage traveled for the afternoon, and by evening, they reached a post house. Up ahead, officials were verifying the travel passes—the legal documentation of the Great Tang.

The Old Deer Mountain God did not have such things; back when he was young, the world was still the land of the Han. He simply reached out and tapped lightly in the air.

The post official swayed slightly, glanced casually at the documents of the group, and seeing they were together, paid no mind and went back to chatting with his companion.

"What happened to that man?"
"Who knows? Ever since his wife died and the child was gone, he’s been deranged. He just talks nonsense all day and is afraid of everyone. It’s a pity. Wang San used to be a good man. Every year at the New Year, everyone would line up at his house to slaughter pigs; his threshold was almost worn down."
"How could a perfectly fine man go mad?"
"Who knows? Perhaps he offended something unclean." The middle-aged post official said this, thinking of his own duty at the post house. He cursed and shrank his neck, muttering, "Sooner or later, I’ll spend some money to get transferred elsewhere. It’s bad luck."