I am the Immortal for Eternal Life

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As the voice fell, there was no response. The young Junwang cautiously stepped forward. The room was quiet and simple, furnished with only a bed, a table, a qin, and a bookshelf. Scattered across the floor were fragments of old texts. A young maiden, around sixteen or seventeen years of age, was seated there. Dressed in fine silk, her brows were clear and refined, her eyes large and gentle, with pupils especially dark and luminous. She held a chess piece between her fingers, studying an unfinished game. After a long silence, she had yet to make her move.

Her voice was clear but not cold as she simply said:

“You’ve returned quite late.”

“Did you meet those two Daoists from Lianyang Temple?”

The young Junwang chuckled: “I did. Elder Sister, your foresight is truly remarkable.”

“Everything happened just as you predicted!”

“Those two also noticed the unusual changes in the city, so they went around sprinkling realgar water. But that man is quite extraordinary. Today, he didn’t use realgar water at all; instead, he brought medicinal herbs to dispel cold and support righteous qi, using them to aid the common folk. To be honest, I never expected that in the heart of Zhongzhou, there would be others who share the same judgment as you.”

“That little Daoist was rather interesting as well.”

“We ended up having such an engaging conversation that I lost track of time.”

The young maiden’s expression remained restrained. She simply replied:

“That is a good thing.”

The young man watched as she played chess. Since childhood, he had studied the four arts—qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting—so he recognized this as the famed ancient game Trapped Dragon. From the state of the board, he could tell that she was still troubled by their current predicament. After some hesitation, he finally spoke:

“Elder Sister… why…Father has already passed away, and we barely managed to escape the capital. We should be keeping a low profile, staying hidden, doing nothing at all. But now, Elder Sister, you’ve set up porridge shelters, contacted city officials, and had them sprinkle realgar water.”

“I know that by doing this, you are seeking [renown]. That way, you can gain [the people’s hearts] and earn the recognition of the Qing faction.”

“But what use is it now?”

“It will only make Second Uncle even more determined to kill us.”

Qiong Yu studied the chessboard carefully and asked: “Do you think this is about seeking renown and winning the people’s hearts?”

The young Junwang replied: “Is it not?”

The young maiden did not answer. After placing another piece, the game finally shifted from [Trapped Dragon] to [Slaying the Dragon]. With a sigh, she rose to her feet and said, “Put the board away.” The young Junwang obediently knelt and carefully collected the pieces, placing the black and white stones back into their containers.

Qiong Yu coughed several times, her health seeming particularly frail. Sitting by the warming brazier, she finally answered his earlier question:

“Of course, it is not for renown.”

“It is simply to save lives.”

“You are overcomplicating the matter.”

The young Junwang was stunned. “Ah?”

Qiong Yu continued: “Just as you said, if we stand out too much, we may indeed provoke Second Uncle’s killing intent. But if we do nothing, many common folk will suffer from illness and struggle to survive the winter. We are merely taking a risk, but these people face the real threat of sickness and even death.”

“Since we can see this happening and have the chance to change it, why wouldn’t we?”

“The Dao of Immortals cherishes life, and the Dao of Man is no different.”

“If, even in times of obscurity, we act without righteousness or integrity, then even if we someday rise to great heights, we will only care for ourselves.”

The young maiden looked at her younger brother. Seeing that he still seemed unconvinced and was about to say something about how [one of noble birth should not risk themselves needlessly], she calmly asked:

“Besides, do you truly believe that if we simply behave and stay out of sight, Second Uncle will let us live?”

At that, the young Junwang was silenced.

The young maiden reached for a hairpin and idly stirred the beast-head incense burner beside her. Her wrist was fair as frost, and her fingers especially long and slender.

For a moment, only the faint rustling sounds in the room remained.

After a while, the young commandery prince, still somewhat unconvinced, muttered: “These words… were they spoken by that Master Qi in your dreams again?”

The young maiden replied: “It is not only about listening. One must also see, and one must think.”

“He spoke to me, yes. But I have also witnessed his actions. I have pondered them.”

“And only then did I come to believe his words.”

“The ancients say that hearing one side alone leads to darkness, while listening to all sides leads to clarity—but even that is not entirely correct.”

“All things in this world—if you do not see them with your own eyes, experience them with your own being—you will never truly understand them.”

The young Junwang straightened his chest and, though lacking justification, still spoke with confidence: “Then if listening to only one side leads to ignorance, does that mean I can stop reading books?”

Qiong Yu’s reply was succinct. “No.”

The young Junwang slumped in disappointment, propping his chin up as he dazed off for a long while. He truly had no desire to read. Compared to studying, aimlessly daydreaming and letting his thoughts wander boundlessly was a far more delightful indulgence. After some time, a question that had long weighed on his mind finally escaped his lips. “So, Elder Sister, is that why you wish to find that Master Qi? Is it because he is an extraordinary talent, and you want to bring him under your command?”

Qiong Yu set down the hairpin in her hand.

She picked up a brush from the table and tapped it against his forehead. A crisp sound rang out before she placed the brush back down.

“Wrong again.”

“Great vessels take time to form.”

“The world’s great talents all have unyielding pride. To befriend them is already a great fortune.”

“Who could ever truly command them? You must never entertain such thoughts.”

Her tone carried a rare sternness. Only when she saw her younger brother nod in agreement did she give a slight nod of her own. After a brief pause, she continued:

“I seek him only because, when I first awakened from that dream, he was the only thing I could still remember clearly. That truly was a nightmare of an experience… It took me days just to distinguish what was a dream and what was reality—to discern whether it was I who saw the Mountain God Qiong Yu in my dream, or whether the Mountain God Qiong Yu, before her fall, dreamed of her younger self.”

“Before I could even steady myself, I had to face our father’s passing… and then our youngest brother falling into the lake.”

“And originally, the next to die from poisoning should have been me.”

“I had no other choice but to try and change fate.”

The young Junwang fell into silence.

That period had truly been a time of hardship.

Because of his sister’s foresight, he was spared from drowning in the lake.

Afterward, under her instructions, they spent more than half a year leveraging the Cui family’s influence to finally escape the imperial city. Over the past year, he had watched as his once lively and mischievous sister gradually became quiet and reserved. Most of the time, she merely gazed out the window at the falling leaves, her eyes calm and distant.

When they left the capital, she sighed softly, pointing toward an ordinary mountain and saying: “I wish I could climb Dingyan Peak one last time.”

“To play the qin and watch the falling leaves drift into the flowing water.”

“But alas, I never will again.”

Back then, he could not comprehend her emotions. Now, he seemed to understand—if only a little.

Qiong Yu said: “As for seeking out Master Qi, it is simply because… in that dream, most things were blurred and indistinct, yet everything related to him remained exceptionally clear.”

“If I can find him, then I will know that what I dreamed was no mere dream.”

“A dream within a dream, a life within a greater dream.”

“One walks through the world as if traversing a grand illusion—fleeting, ephemeral.”

The young Junwang felt lost in the mist of these words. Curious, he asked: “Then why did you stop searching for him?”

“Did you realize he was merely a figure from a dream?”

“No, I simply came to understand what he was doing. That’s why I knew searching through records and seeking scholars would never lead me to him.”

Qiong Yu answered:

“Because of his past, he spent his dream constantly seeking answers and wishing to do much for the common people. He lived his life with empty sleeves, untouched by wealth. Unmarried, he remained beyond the entanglements of noble clans and aristocratic factions. As he once said, only those without father, mother, wife, son, or daughter could act without hesitation.”

“In the capital, as an official, he was bound by the rules of the great houses—so he simply discarded that esteemed status and became an administrator elsewhere, working for the people.”

“When the path of a civil official was obstructed—then he chose the road of a military officer, leading campaigns against demon nations.”

“When he was demoted, he became a teacher. When he was confined, he wrote books to pass on his knowledge.”

The young Junwang, clothed in noble splendor, propped his chin on his hand and gazed at his sister as she spoke of this youth from her dream.

From her words, it was as if he could truly see that upright figure, walking step by step through the mortal world.

He saw him journey from a young scholar to a court official, then to a general and a prime minister, only to reach old age with a weary heart.

After a moment of silence, he sighed and asked: “Then, Elder Sister, did this Master Qi of yours ever accomplish what he set out to do?”

Qiong Yu shook her head.

“No. Perhaps the dream itself imposed its limits—he never did uncover the truth he sought.”

The young Junwang was taken aback. He hesitated before asking again: “And what of his wish to serve the people?”

“That too, was left unfulfilled.”

“In the end, he was ‘propped up’ by fame, reduced to an ornament of the court’s prosperity—unable to act.”

The young Junwang was puzzled and asked: “What’s stopping him is…”

His voice paused and he suddenly understood.

The one who stood in his way—could only have been the Emperor.

After a long pause, he murmured_ “This was a road he could never have avoided.”

“What a pity for Master Qi.”

“So, Elder Sister, do you believe he gave up?”

“That from then on, he simply chose to roam freely? That too, does not seem so bad.”

The young Junwang saw his elder sister looking at him with an expression as if she were gazing at a fool—filled with regret and pity.

“You’re wrong again.”

Her wide sleeves draped down as she spoke. In her tone, there was a trust toward that old friend, as if it were no different from the trust she had in herself.

“Give up?”

“Impossible. All along his journey, he has never given up. If he could not succeed as a court official, he sought an assignment elsewhere. If he could not achieve his goals as a civil official, he became a military officer instead. If even as an official he could not accomplish what he wished, then he simply resigned and did it on his own.”

“With his nature, when he realizes that the path of an official cannot allow him to do what he desires—”

“He will merely change his approach.”

“If my guess is correct, he has already embarked on the path of cultivation.”

“He will seek out the answers he wishes to know, and he will rescue the common people who are worth saving.”

“If that is the case, then the years ahead are long, and the Dao is arduous. Neither he nor I are people who would easily give up. As long as we do not perish, there will come a day when we meet again along the path. So why be so fixated on finding him now?”

The flickering light from the incense burner cast a reflection in the young girl’s eyes. Suddenly, she asked: “Hmm, then let me test you. From our Master Qi’s experiences, what have you come to understand? Have you gained anything? And regarding my reason for saving lives this time—if Master Qi still remembers the events in his dreams, how would he approach breaking the problem? Write an essay on it.”

“Let me see your progress.”

The young Junwang’s expression slowly froze.

Ah??!

The girl lowered her gaze calmly. “Go read.”

“One hour.”

“Ah?”

“Two hours.”

“Ah, alright, alright!”

And so, the young Junwang obediently left. Qiong Yu did not use the incense stick beside her. Instead, she casually pulled a hairpin from her hair and used the wooden pin in her hand to poke at the snow-white ash, absentmindedly creating many tiny holes in the fine, charcoal-burned residue. The small embers buried beneath the ashes, nearly extinguished, suddenly flared back to life, releasing a gentle warmth.

One end of the wooden hairpin was singed red, emitting a faint fragrance of burning wood.

The girl suddenly smiled.

As she rose and spun, her skirt swayed like a lotus blooming and fading.

She held only the wooden hairpin, casually using its scorched-red tip to write.

In one fluid motion—

“A heart as firm as iron, mends the cracks in the heavens.”

The young girl smiled faintly as she examined her calligraphy. Then, she tossed aside the wooden hairpin, her black hair cascading down like a waterfall.

She paid no heed to the charcoal stains that had smudged her white sleeves. Instead, she spoke calmly:

“Qi Wuhuo.”

“It should be so.”

After hatching, Qi Wuhuo’s peacock ate to its heart’s content and promptly fell asleep.

The young Daoist tucked it into the hidden pocket of his robe. He walked for an entire day, yet the little creature still had not awakened. Meanwhile, the little Daoist Mingxin, brought some meat porridge for his master. The old Daoist first smiled warmly and thanked him, patting the young disciple’s head. Then, pointing at the damp and dirtied Daoist robe, he pulled out an old bamboo rod and asked: “Little Daoist, is your backside itching?”

“Are you aware of my bamboo stick’s might?”

“Would you like to test my ‘stir-fried pork slivers with bamboo strips’?”

The young Daoist listened from not far away as the old master simply gave the little Daoist Mingxin’s palm a few light smacks—not too hard, not too soft—before pulling him aside to explain, patiently instructing him on what to do and how to do it. “It’s fine if your clothes get dirty, but what if you catch a cold?” His voice was nagging but warm.

Qi Wuhuo thought of his past.

His parents. His teacher. His master.

In the distance, the old Daoist’s admonitions continued.

Inside the scripture hall, the young Daoist gazed at the nearing full moon, lost in thought. His parents had scolded him too when he was young. He had played in the water just as recklessly. Usually, his father would wear a dark expression while his mother tried to mediate. She had been angry too, but the moment his father pretended to raise his hand to discipline him, she would suddenly panic, turn on his father instead, and begin to scold—

“Be gentle! Don’t hit the child too hard!”

“Ugh, you’re so clumsy. Move aside, let me do it!”

The youth recalled his mother’s anxious yet exasperated expression. And then, all of a sudden, he let out a chuckle.

But his laughter soon faded, slowly dissipating into silence.

He listened to the old Daoist’s distant nagging.

For some reason, his heart ached just a little.

Just a little—really, only a little.

He lay sprawled across the table, burying his face in his arms, quietly staying still.

Ah, the moonlight is so beautiful… The full moon is approaching.

It should be a time for reunion.

Qi Wuhuo thought to himself.

It is also the time for the Mingzhen Dao Alliance…