Chapter 58: Cause and Effect

  "Wu Liang Tian Zun, I've seen the Daoist friend." Mo Wen caught up with the Daoist walking in front and bowed his head to speak. This person had a peach wood sword on his back, held a yellow cloth package in his left hand, and carried a bag of rice in his right hand, with about half a bag of rice inside.

  "Aoki Ko returns the gift." The middle-aged Taoist had no free hands, so he could only nod in return.

  "Daoist friend, is this a return from a distant journey?" Mo asked.

  Qingmouzi raised his left hand to glance at the yellow cloth bundle containing various magical instruments, then turned around with a smile and replied, "Exactly, little brother's eyes are sharp."

  "I am a poor monk from the north, and I have arrived at this place where human life is unfamiliar. May I be allowed to travel together?" Mo asked again with his head bowed.

  "All of you are family under the Three Pure Ones' seat, what's wrong with traveling together? Little brother, where do you want to go?" Qingmu Dao Ren nodded and stepped forward.

  "Nanxian Jingzhou." Don't ask about Mai Bu and Qingmu walking side by side, Old Wu followed behind.

  "Jingzhou is indeed far from here, little brother, what business do you have to cross rivers and seas to go to that distant place?" Qingmu Dao Ren asked.

  "At a friend's dying request, I sent his remains back to his hometown." Mo Wen didn't ask any questions.

  "At such a young age, you are already so burdened with responsibility, truly rare." Qingmu Dao Ren spoke in praise.

  Mo Wen shook his head humbly and changed the subject, "I've traveled from north to south and seen and heard many astonishing things. It seems that my fellow disciples of the Three Pure Ones are not treated with courtesy in Jin State. As a fellow Daoist from this region, you must know the reason behind it."

  Qingwu Dao Ren heard this and turned his head to glance at Mo Wen, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "Young brother, you're still young and must not have been practicing for long, plus you're not from around here, so it's no wonder you don't understand the reason. In fact, my Sanqing Sect has been treated coldly by the Jin people for many years."

  "Why is it so?" No one asked back.

  "This matter is not caused by a single reason, but rather the accumulation of many factors. If I were to elaborate, it would take more than just a short while." Qingmu Dao Ren shook his head and said.

  "Up ahead, where the banner is waving, must be a tavern. I still have some silver on me, and I'd like to invite you for a few cups of wine, don't decline." Mo asked, pointing forward as he spoke.

  "Since little brother has sincerely invited me, I'll shamelessly accept." Qingmu Dao Ren nodded in thanks.

  After a while, the two of them arrived at a wine house by the road. At this time, it was cold and there were not many people on the road. Moreover, it was late morning, so there were few customers in the store. After the three of them entered the store, they chose to sit down beside the fireplace. Mo asked for wine and dishes, and ate and drank with that Taoist priest.

  "Little brother, who is that?" Qingmu Dao Ren looked at Old Five eating noodles on the table next to him.

  "He was originally a junior member of our household, but when I fell on hard times and my life was in danger, he saved me. He has been following me ever since, and I have always treated him as a brother."

  "It's like this, let's call over the others." Ogiwara said, seeing that Mokichi had ordered a considerable amount of food and drink.

  "Never mind, let him be." Mo Wen shook his head and said. Habits that had been cultivated for many years were hard to change overnight. A banquet was a relatively formal occasion, and Lao Wu always thought he shouldn't sit at the same table as him.

  Then it was the turn of pouring wine and toasting each other. Although Qingmu Dao Ren had been a Taoist for a long time and his behavior was measured, Mo Wen could still tell from some details that he was hungry in his belly. Seeing this, he simply urged him to drink and eat without hurrying him to speak.

  Many people talk more after drinking, and Qingmu Daoren is no exception. After three rounds of wine, he also talks more. "Little brother, do you know about the First Emperor?"

  "It's natural to know, what did fellow Taoist ask you?" Mo asked with a nod in response.

  "I'd say the reason why people don't like us Taoist disciples is because of what happened back then. The First Emperor was obsessed with alchemy, and at that time, alchemists were just like today's Taoists. The First Emperor was cruel by nature, conquering various countries, killing and torturing many people, and after unifying the world, he foolishly sought immortality. A group of unscrupulous alchemists took advantage of this and swindled him with their silver tongues. The First Emperor wholeheartedly believed in the alchemists' words and used every method to search for the elixir of life, but unfortunately, he ended up empty-handed and still couldn't escape death. From then on, the reputation of Taoism was tarnished." Qingmu Daoist said, stopping to take another sip from his cup.

  Mo Wen heard the words and nodded slowly, Qingmu Dao said that what he said was also told by Lao Fuzi before, but Lao Fuzi was born with a moderate temperament and did not want to criticize the ancient emperors, so he only mentioned this matter in passing and did not elaborate.

  Let's not talk about the Qin dynasty, as it was too long ago. You should know that during the Han dynasty, Emperor Wu of Han was a wise and capable ruler who opened up the Silk Road, defeated the Xiongnu, and was considered one of the greatest emperors in history. However, he made the same mistake as the First Emperor of Qin - he sought to live forever. As Daoists, we know that even if one masters the secrets of the Dao, seeking immortality is like trying to pluck a star from the sky. But Emperor Wu was blinded by his power and position, and he ordered the recruitment of Daoist practitioners to concoct external elixirs on a large scale.

  The emperor's decree was sent out, and officials from all over the country scrambled to supply the best medicinal herbs. However, those who responded to the call were mostly charlatans who knew nothing about the true art of alchemy. The genuine method of refining elixirs was unknown to ordinary Daoists, let alone these fake practitioners.

  As a result, after more than ten years of effort and enormous expenditure, only a few elixirs were produced, most of which were toxic and would shorten one's lifespan instead of prolonging it. Emperor Wu was not a fool, and those charlatans could not deceive him forever. In the end, he became enraged and ordered the execution of all the alchemists involved. He also issued an edict to ban all other schools of thought and promote Confucianism exclusively.

  The Daoist master, Qingmu, had been drinking quite a bit, but once he started talking, his words flowed like a river.

  Mo Wen nodded again, having also heard of this history, but not in a lecture hall, rather on the streets from storytellers. Moreover, he understood the method of alchemy that Dao Ren spoke of, and whether or not the elixir was successfully produced did not solely depend on whether the herbs were extraordinary, but also on the cultivator's skills, the cauldron used, as well as the yin-yang timing; if one didn't understand these principles, it would be impossible to produce beneficial medicine.

  "The two chaotic events of Qin and Han have made the reputation of my Taoist school unbearable, and since the name of Taoism was misused by treacherous people during the Han dynasty to plot great rebellions against the emperor and high-ranking officials, it is not worthy of promotion and dissemination, and its influence has greatly diminished." Qingmu Daoist said this as he raised his cup to ask for wine.

  Mo asked the cup to respond, and then put down the wine cup and opened his mouth again. "The words of the Taoist friend are reasonable, those unlearned and unskilled villains deceive the world and steal fame, damaging the reputation of my Taoist family. If I encounter them in the future, I will definitely take action to punish them."

  Qingwu Daoren waved his hand repeatedly, "What I said earlier was not the main culprit, the main culprit is a foreign religious sect that was introduced to China during the Later Han Dynasty. At first, this sect had no magical powers or abilities, they learned from us Taoists in setting up altars and practicing internal alchemy, but now that they have grown powerful, they turn around and repay kindness with resentment."

  "What have they done that is so heinous?" Mo didn't ask what foreign sect Qingmu Daoist was talking about, because he knew very well who Qingmu Daoist was referring to.

  "The Taoist sect has never done anything wrong, it's just that its teachings are favored by the emperor and the people. As one thing declines, another prospers, under this principle, my Taoist followers have decreased in number, while their temples have more incense guests. Qingmu Daoist sighed and shook his head, pointing to the cloth bag on the table, "I heard from my master that previously, doing rituals would bring a hundred gold coins as reward, but now there are fewer people asking me to do rituals, yesterday I was busy for half the night, and only got these coarse grains."

  "If I had known this earlier, I wouldn't have taught them our sect's magic and etiquette on that day." Mo Xiang frowned and said.

  "It's too late to say these things now, besides the downfall of my Taoist disciples is also related to the current social trend in Jin State. The aristocratic families and officials of Jin State all value idle talk, and this foreign religion is most skilled at it, so it is favored by the aristocracy." Qingmu Daoist poured wine from a jug.

  "What is Qingtan?" Don't ask me, I'm puzzled too.

  "Seated conversations, no wine or tea is served. Some last one or two hours, while others go on for three days and nights." Qingmu Dao Ren said with a curl of his lip.

  "What's the point of talking?" Don't ask, just ask.

  "Mostly it's about the way of human beings, seemingly with elegant and mysterious words, but actually empty and confusing people's minds." Qingmu Daoist pointed east with his hand, "That White Sand Pavilion's Mingyang Daoist is a virtuous and eloquent person, who debated with the old monk Gautai from Bodhi Temple. Guess what was the outcome?"

  "It's probably lost." Mo Wen smiled bitterly and shook his head.

  "That Dharma assembly had a crowd of ten thousand spectators, and the nearly eighty-year-old Master Mingyang was so enraged that he lost his temper and threw that old monk off the high platform before the assembly even ended." said Qingmu Daoist.

  "Why?" Mu asked in surprise and curiosity.

  "We speak to make people understand, but that old monk does the opposite. He speaks in a way that confuses people, and ultimately leads to Master Mingyang's anger and violence." Qingmu Daozhang said.

  "Since we can't reason with him, let's just leave. It's not good to resort to violence in front of so many people, and the onlookers will misunderstand us as being angry and humiliated." Mo asked, shaking his head.

  "It was indeed the case. That time, the royal family was in charge of the Buddhist assembly, and afterwards, the royal family was very displeased. Some days ago, an edict was issued to seal off the Baisha Temple." Qingmu Daochang shook his head and said.

  "What's with the edict? Isn't the imperial surname of the Jin Dynasty supposed to be Sima?" Mo Xun furrowed his brow and asked, an edict being a privilege exclusive to the emperor, no one else was allowed to use it.

  At this time, there were other diners in the wine house. Qingmu Daochang lowered his voice and said, "Jin State is now sharing the world with the king."

  "What's going on?" Mo asked in puzzlement.

  Unexpectedly, Qingmu Daochang didn't answer his question, but instead stood up and packed his things. "Alright, it's getting late, I still need to hurry back to the Taoist temple to deliver rice porridge. Thank you, young brother, for inviting me."

  Don't ask, seeing the situation, he hastily took out silver coins to settle the bill. Qingmu Daochang waved his hand repeatedly, "I'm going to turn right from the front, you still need to head straight south, we can't travel together, eat some food and then leave."

  "Thank you for clarifying," Mo Wuji stood up and bowed, "I have another question to ask, after heading to Jingzhou, I want to find a place to cultivate, do you know where I can go?"

  Aoki Michinaga had already packed his bags, and upon hearing this, he slightly hesitated, then raised his hand to point westward. "If you're not afraid of fierce beasts, you can head southwest."

  Mo Wen Xun did not ask again and thanked him once more, Qingmu Daozhang bid farewell and left...