Chapter 146: Disciples of the Same Master
Chapter 146: Disciples of the Same Master
The group walked out through Xizhi Gate. Beyond that gate stood Yuquan Mountain!
Because most of the drinking water for the Imperial Palace was drawn from Yuquan Mountain, Xizhi Gate was also called the Water Gate!
After walking several miles past Xizhi Gate, the outline of Yuquan Mountain gradually appeared.
It was still early. The morning light was just breaking, and the fog was hazy. From afar, Yuquan Mountain was hidden in the mist, and Longquan Taoist Temple was also located within Yuquan Mountain.
They traveled for more than two hours. Wang Shouren, who was following on foot, was neither flushed nor out of breath. He was very agile and kept up a fast pace.
After walking several more miles, they finally reached Longquan Taoist Temple.
Outside the temple’s main gate, several Taoists had built thatched huts, seemingly for the purpose of receiving visitors. Seeing the arrivals, they paid little attention, thinking they were ordinary pilgrims.
Fang Jifan got off the carriage, fanning himself. His disciples followed closely behind him. Wang Shouren was also among them, which felt very out of place. Fang Jifan only glanced at him but said nothing.
At Fang Jifan’s signal, Xu Jing stepped forward and handed a name card from the Fang Family to the Taoist who was greeting visitors.
The Taoist looked at the card, appeared surprised, and glanced up at Fang Jifan. He seemed to take Fang Jifan more seriously and personally led Fang Jifan and the others through the main gate.
They ascended along the rugged mountain path and passed by the Jade Emperor Hall. Although the temple was prosperous with incense, it was still early, so there were few pilgrims.
After passing the Old Law Hall and Qiu Zu Hall, more Taoists appeared. Several young Taoist apprentices stood at the moon gate connecting Qiu Zu Hall to the side halls. The greeting Taoist whispered a few words to them.
One of the young apprentices said arrogantly, “Further in is where our Master practices. Ordinary people are not allowed to enter. Only Sir Fang may go inside. Sir Fang, please come. The Master invites you to the Three Pure Ones Pavilion to speak.”
Disciples and dogs were not allowed inside.
Fang Jifan looked back and gave his disciples a sympathetic glance.
But honestly, bringing a group of Confucian Scholars here did seem a bit like he was causing trouble.
Still, seeing how fierce these young apprentices were made Fang Jifan a bit annoyed. Were they acting tougher than him?
Ouyang Zhi and the others stood still, ready to wait outside. But Wang Shouren’s heart trembled. The “Master” mentioned by the apprentice—could it be Puji Zhenren? Would Puji Zhenren actually meet with this Young Master Fang? Hadn’t the Perfected Master been in seclusion for many years and never received outsiders?
By then, Fang Jifan had already entered through the moon gate and followed the apprentice into the Three Pure Ones Pavilion.
The pavilion was entirely built of granite, imitating wooden structures, and had six floors. It stood tall, reaching above the clouds. Once inside, he saw arched stone doors and windows with relief carvings. There were corridors all around, and a spiral stone staircase led upstairs, allowing one to climb to the top.
Fang Jifan walked up the stone steps, seeing statues of Taoist figures along the way. They were all made of white marble, with simple carvings, dignified faces, and smooth, natural drapery.
When he reached the top floor, he saw a man with white hair and beard who seemed to have received a report and was eagerly waiting for him.
This person was undoubtedly Puji Zhenren Yu Daochun.
Yu Daochun had repeatedly invited Fang Jifan to Longquan Taoist Temple, but Fang Jifan ignored him. At first, Yu Daochun thought there was no chance and didn’t push it. However, the more he read Fang Jifan’s scripture, the more he felt it was a priceless treasure. He was deeply shocked!
In the end, he had no choice but to contact the Office of Taoist Registration. Through the Office of Transmission, they made a request to the eunuch Wang Yan, who served the Grand Empress Dowager. Only then did they manage, with great effort, to have Fang Jifan come.
Yu Daochun’s reason for inviting Fang Jifan was simply to see what kind of person he really was.
But when he saw the real Fang Jifan, so young, although he had been prepared, he still felt a little disappointed.
Because this guy was way too flashy, with fancy clothes and a proud horse—there wasn’t a bit of a cultivator’s demeanor about him.
How could someone without a Daoist heart write such a scripture?
So Yu Daochun didn’t even greet Fang Jifan properly and bluntly asked, “What is the meaning of ‘tranquility and non-action’?”
Fang Jifan felt like laughing inside. This old Taoist seemed to be testing him.
Fang Jifan answered directly, “I don’t know.”
“…” This was a bit awkward.
If one observed carefully, it wasn’t hard to see the white beard under Yu Daochun’s chin trembling.
You don’t know? Then how did you write this scripture?
He couldn’t help but say, “Fellow disciple, have you never studied Daoist Studies?”
Fang Jifan didn’t want to lie to him and looked at Yu Daochun seriously. “No!”
To his surprise, Yu Daochun’s face lit up with joy. “Now that is a true master! Fellow disciple hides his talents deeply—isn’t that precisely ‘tranquility and non-action’?”
“…” Fang Jifan was really… dumbfounded.
Could it be explained that way? He was just telling the truth—how did that become ‘tranquility and non-action’?
But… Fang Jifan knew that this person was the key to the Grand Empress Dowager’s change in attitude toward him. A theoretical purist like Yu Daochun in Daoist Studies was indeed rare. Nowadays, Zhengyi Taoism’s main focus was no longer on tranquility and non-action. The kind that said, “Don’t bother me, don’t interrupt my cultivation,” belonged to Quanzhen Taoism. Zhengyi Taoism emphasized engagement with the world—such as finding a female disciple to have children, telling fortunes for people, performing rituals for the deceased, writing talismans to ward off ghosts, and occasionally working as feng shui masters, using a luopan to assess geomancy.
This Puji Zhenren, however, clearly cared more about theory. He was the honest type among Taoists, not very good at handling affairs.
So, deep down, Fang Jifan felt a bit of respect for Puji Zhenren.
Yu Daochun looked at Fang Jifan with a faint smile. He thought to himself, since this young fellow disciple said he had never studied Daoist Studies and didn’t know what ‘tranquility and non-action’ was, it showed that he truly embodied the saying of ‘non-action.’ It wouldn’t be right to press him further on Daoist Studies.
He then said with a smile, “Where did the ‘Collected Commentaries on the True Scripture of the Dao and Its Virtue’ come from?”
As he spoke, he stared intently at Fang Jifan, observing the subtle changes in his expression.
Fang Jifan chuckled. “It just came to me.”
Anyway, things were already like this, and he was thick-skinned. When he lied, there were no flaws.
Yu Daochun’s wrinkled eyes suddenly gleamed with a sharp light. With some astonishment, he said, “It just came to you out of nowhere? That… seems a bit too incredible. Fellow disciple, to be honest…” He paused, then continued, “I’ve always had this question. The insights in this scripture are far above those of the current Taoist Sect. But you are just so young.”
Fang Jifan knew that this Puji Zhenren was still probing him, so he said playfully, “Isn’t it strange for the word ‘incredible’ to come from a Perfected Master?”
Yu Daochun’s heart trembled. Awkward…
Yes, what did he, Yu Daochun, do? He was a religious figure who believed in deities. His disciples even made a living by catching ghosts. Now, if he went around calling things ‘incredible,’ wasn’t he undermining his own livelihood?
At that moment, Fang Jifan laughed heartily. “But come to think of it, when I was young, I actually received guidance from a master…”
Although he had left the old Taoist speechless, Fang Jifan also knew he needed to come up with a convincing reason. Otherwise, judging by Puji Zhenren’s demeanor, he would keep asking until he got to the bottom of it.
“Oh? May I ask who it was?” Yu Daochun naturally wanted to get to the bottom of it. He seemed even more interested in this.
Fang Jifan felt like laughing. So you’re checking my background for the Grand Empress Dowager, huh?
So Fang Jifan said with great seriousness, “Speaking of it… ah, it’s an old story. I was only seven or eight years old when I met an old Taoist. When he saw me, he grabbed me and babbled about me having an extraordinary bone structure, saying he wanted to take me as his disciple. As you can imagine, Perfected Master, I was just a child and naturally tried to avoid him. But that person was so thick-skinned, like sticky candy. He mumbled something about a celestial being descending to earth and insisted on teaching me Daoist Studies. I held my nose and learned a little bit, and then he left. I never saw him again after that.”
“…” Yu Daochun was stunned.
Just like that?
When you were a child, someone begged and pleaded to teach you?
“Oh? Do you know who this Perfected Master was?”
Fang Jifan said calmly, “I think I heard him say his name was Wei Dayou.”
Wei Dayou was the original author of “Collected Commentaries on the True Scripture of the Dao and Its Virtue.” Though he lived in the early Ming Dynasty, over a hundred years ago, if he were alive, he would probably be over 120 years old. But in matters like this, since there was no one to disprove it, Fang Jifan could claim he had learned from Wei Dayou, which would somewhat explain the origin of the scripture.
But as soon as the name “Wei Dayou” left his lips, Yu Daochun was stunned again.
His expression was extremely dramatic—first, his face stiffened, then his eyes grew cloudy. He grabbed Fang Jifan urgently and asked, “When did you meet him?”
“Five years ago!” Fang Jifan hadn’t expected Yu Daochun to be so strong; his wrist hurt.
Suddenly, Yu Daochun choked up. “My Master is still alive?”
Master…
Wei Dayou was Yu Daochun’s Mentor…
Was the world really this small? Fang Jifan was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped.
In truth, aside from knowing that Wei Dayou had compiled “Collected Commentaries on the True Scripture of the Dao and Its Virtue,” Fang Jifan knew nothing else about him.
Yu Daochun sobbed, “Originally, this Longquan Taoist Temple was founded by my Master… But forty years ago, Master suddenly left the mountain and never returned. I thought… Master had long passed away. I never expected that he was still alive.”
Fang Jifan looked at Yu Daochun, who was over seventy, and thought about Wei Dayou, who would be over 120 if he were still alive… His mind buzzed, and he suddenly felt a bit uneasy. Would he give himself away?
So Fang Jifan added, “He was alive five years ago. As for now, I don’t know.”
In Daoism, there were many stories of ascension to immortality or secrets of longevity. Since Wei Dayou was Yu Daochun’s Mentor, it was easy for him to believe that his Master’s long life was only natural—after all, his Master’s cultivation was profound.