Volume Four: High Mountains and Flowing Water Chapter Thirty-Eight: Indulging in the Splendor of Nature

A two-day holiday can hardly be described as purely relaxing or joyful. As one grows older, the days of diligent study and intense contemplation remain memories of the past. When the weekend arrives, it is time for rest and respite.

On the first day of his break, Chen Chen traveled through mountains and rivers, using his phone to document the landscapes of his hometown. His footprints spanned across streams and valleys, rural fields, and local orchards. His new running shoes pressed against the earth of country lanes; even when the mud made it difficult to find a foothold, it remained the home he knew best. The places where Chen Chen’s parents accompanied him were not the carving workshop of Old Chen, nor the school campus, nor the distant lands where his parents resided.

On the second day, Chen Chen mounted his father’s motorcycle to explore the landscapes of a foreign land. Yes, during the decade that had passed in the blink of an eye, Chen Chen had earned his motorcycle license during his summer break. Seizing the weekend, he climbed onto his beloved little bike.

As he sped through tree-lined country roads, his motorcycle surged against the wind. It was just as the sentiment in his heart suggested: "The road ahead is long and far, my face covered in the dust of the world, all for the sake of the mountains and rivers."

It is said that in the mortal realm, certain places are bestowed with the name of "Fairyland." Chen Chen rode his motorcycle across vast distances, and the place he was heading toward was precisely one such fairyland. In his past life, Chen Chen had embarked on many journeys, but in this life, the places where immortals had attained enlightenment were exactly what he wished to investigate.

After riding over a hundred kilometers, passing through the annals of time and landscape, the wind whistled sharply by his ears, and the distant scenery remained hidden within the wind and rain. Chen Chen had never been to this place; he had merely sought directions from passersby and set off in haste with his pack.

"The ideal place to seek the Tao and find the immortals; the young scholar travels to the immortal mountain. With endless forests and immortal roots for company, the word 'Tao' is boundless for one who becomes a god."

At twenty or thirty years of age, Chen Chen’s footprints had already reached distant mountains and waters. Stepping into this prosperity to arrive at a secret realm of immortal traces, all the joys of previous lives were now but fleeting memories. They say seeking the Tao is fraught with difficulty, and leaving no tracks in the snow is merely a sign of shallow fate or deepening winter.

Chen Chen’s little motorcycle passed through several towns and crossed several districts. By the time he reached the district where the immortal mountain stood, he was already hungry. He parked his bike to play the guest, ordering a simple meal to satisfy his hunger. Along the way, he had met fellow travelers; halfway through his journey, passing through these lands, he felt the hospitality of the locals despite being a stranger. One must not forget that traveling alone to a foreign land, without kin or acquaintance, he offered only a pure heart and a bit of coin to fill his stomach.

After eating his fill and paying the bill, Chen Chen packed his bags and set off once more. Half the journey was behind him; looking ahead, the distant mountains vanished, replaced by peaks that resembled immortal dwellings. In his ears, the whispers of immortals seemed to ask of his journey, for he was traveling to the immortal mountain to meet the immortals.

Chen Chen continued on his way. On this journey, he was Chen Chen, yet he also held another name. But in this life, how many grievances and entanglements are merely observed? How many names are simply labels? Chen Chen was still on the road. This journey might lack bounties or missions, but his intention was to accumulate more life experience. Travel time is not something one has every day. It was a moment of leisure, the right time, a good itinerary, and a perfect destination.

Chen Chen had passed the distant immortal gate’s inspection. Although his cultivation in this life was mediocre, the many techniques cultivated in his previous life sometimes manifested in the mortal world. On this trip, he paid his respects to the immortals residing in the immortal land, where the names of the immortal caves adorned the guest territory.

Halfway to the mountain, a torrential rain began to fall. The distant mountains were veiled in mist, with peaks appearing and disappearing in the ethereal haze. It looked very much like the immortal mountain of his imagination—incredibly mystical. He pressed on with his motorcycle, a pure heart driving him forward. Legend held that the immortal mountain contained an immortal cave, and the cave contained an immortal.

The immortal seeks the Tao within the cave; the cave is famous for the immortal. This was how Chen Chen imagined it—that on that immortal mountain, there must be an extraordinary person, seeking the Tao and nearly breaking through the bottleneck to attain enlightenment and become an immortal. The cave itself appeared somewhat inconspicuous, perhaps only large enough for one person to practice and meditate. Suddenly, one day, the immortal had an epiphany; the moment of enlightenment was at hand. In that instant, the immortal fused all they had learned, broke through the Great Tao in one fell swoop, and descended upon the world. Since then, the name of the Immortal Cave had become legendary.

Seizing this opportunity and encountering this immortal fate, Chen Chen cherished this journey of seeking the Tao. He drove straight up the mountain, finally arriving at the Immortal Cave at dusk. At that moment, he saw the three characters "Immortal Cave" carved into the gate of the mountain, the ink of the iron-willed calligraphy appearing as black lacquer. On both sides stood immortal peaks, and within the cave area, there were many inns, along with medicinal herbs and vegetables being grown.

Chen Chen had walked through the mortal world and arrived here without realizing it. Now, the forest peaks displayed their heights at dusk, and the sound of springs flowed through the pavilions and terraces. Chen Chen found an inn and rented a room for one or two hundred yuan a day. After paying the fee and deposit, he placed his luggage down and went out for a stroll.

Leaving the inn, Chen Chen realized that the Immortal Cave was not just a small hole in the wall. Through the ages, it had long since developed into a tourist attraction. The magnificent mountain gate was enough to illustrate its scale. As for the cave where the immortal attained enlightenment, Chen Chen feared he had already arrived. There was no tiny cave, no crude environment, no archaic atmosphere, and no mysterious surprise of finding an immortal treasure.

However, Chen Chen was sensible. Walking through the immortal mountain, he saw an endless stream of tourists and passed fellow travelers who seemed to possess many immortal techniques. Chen Chen was somewhat surprised to find such a peach-blossom spring in the mortal realm. There were vegetables planted there and paved roads laid out. The rain in the immortal mountain had just stopped, and the trees seemed exceptionally fresh.

Chen Chen stepped out of the inn and headed straight for the depths of the cave area. The altitude where he stood was one of the higher peaks in the surrounding area. On those high mountains, there were many opportunities and many households of immortal families. Chen Chen had not come to rob or act as a thief. Though the mountain held worldly treasures, the treasures had no owners, yet the land had a name. Though the mountain held noble immortal dwellings, if the immortal did not invite, one should not seek.

Chen Chen had come with the intention of seeking the Tao. Of course, he might not be the same person he once was, but fortunately, the paths of the Tao are varied, planting the seed that this life is not that life, and that all three lives have their own forms. After looking around for new perspectives, he arrived at a bridge. People crossed the bridge by the thousands, and the water beneath flowed back to the mortal world.

Chen Chen reached the temple of the Immortal Cave, where the incense burned steadily. He dared to observe the mountain for a while. A mountain dweller passed through Chen Chen’s body and lit three sticks of incense in the temple. The incense was lit to pray for peace, and the peace sought was a new fate. As the new fate began to rise, the guest left the temple, and the pilgrim leaving the temple became Chen Chen once more. In his current state, Chen Chen could not offer incense to the master of the temple; this was his limitation. For thousands of years, no one knew why, but such was the rule.

Parting from the temple, Chen Chen set off again. This time, he went toward the mountains and waters before him. The towering peaks were now within arm's reach. The pavilions and terraces were set out like a grand formation; one could not enter this realm without a destined fate.

The incense before the altar gradually dripped away, and Chen Chen spent the day as a carefree immortal in the mortal world. It was not that the mortal pilgrims left without reason, nor that the warmth of human emotion was absent. He walked and stopped, seeking fate in the immortal mountain and survival among his fellow travelers.

That evening, Chen Chen returned to his room. He took out brush, paper, and ink, and composed a poem:

"Today’s journey is like a military expedition; the flowers along the road resemble those of the past.
The road reaches the ethereal scenery of the cloud-covered mountains; sudden mountain rain wets my clothes.
Searching for the Immortal Cave within the Immortal Cave; after the crossroads, I reach the bridge.
Lighting incense in the temple to pray for peace; again I see six ranges framing a single peak.
Flowing water fills the heights; streams and rivers merge into the vast expanse.
Cool breezes brush past the clouds; the sight of swimming fish clarifies the heart as the path returns.
High are the mountains whose locations are unknown; immortal techniques and fates are gifted to the predestined.
The mountain hides a scene within its peaks; I hide a scene within my hometown."

With the poem and painting finished, Chen Chen ate dinner, bathed, changed his clothes, and went to sleep. At that moment, the mountain stood ten thousand fathoms high, and the pavilions and flowing water remained in the mortal world. His body and soul lay in the high dwelling; when would he wake from the dream and return to the world of men?

Chen Chen’s journey ended here. The beautiful mountains and rivers, the immortal cave high on the mountain—Chen Chen was only here in the mortal world. He had walked ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers; he had walked through the years of foreign lands. At the end of time, he had seen prosperity after prosperity. The threads of fate had long been sown, and the myriad of ancient times would eventually forge a different you and me.

The next day, Chen Chen woke up early. A fierce wind blew clouds into the sky, and a cold rain descended upon the mountain. Chen Chen left the inn and went to a souvenir shop. There, he wanted to find a local specialty as a symbol of the journey's completion. He walked into the shop and asked about fate, wishing to find an item that would recognize him as its master. Fortunately, after looking through the entire shop, two items seemed to call out to him. One was a folding fan inscribed with the words "Clear Fragrance," and the other was a feather fan inscribed with "Zhuge Wolong."

Chen Chen reflected on his life’s learning. A folding fan is the favorite of scholars and gentlemen, while a feather fan is a magical treasure for immortal practitioners. Chen Chen picked up the folding fan; it was inscribed with the words "Clear Fragrance." There was also a poem written on it, which Chen Chen did not read in detail. The other item, the feather fan, was imprinted with the Innate Bagua diagram.

Chen Chen did not have many things he loved in life, and thinking that there was nothing he was particularly skilled at, he chose the "Clear Fragrance" folding fan as a token of his trip to the immortal mountain, as it aligned with his love for the works of scholars and gentlemen.

Having finished this, Chen Chen went to a nearby restaurant to eat, and after the meal, he drove back. On the way home, he even gave a passerby a ride down the mountain. Fortunately, everything had come to a satisfactory conclusion. Chen Chen headed down the mountain with a sense of haste. He had not brought much money, was traveling alone, and the school term was approaching. He did not linger and hurried back.

As Chen Chen drove, halfway home, the sky opened up with a violent storm. The journey was hurried, full of wind and rain, as if masters were casting spells and battling in the abyss of the heavens.