Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 137 Imperial Edict (Part 2)

"The Way values ​​nature, the Law follows one's inherent nature, and the Technique reveals the virtue of water. Therefore, it neither creates nor kills, but only follows the teachings of Taiyi, returning to the source of the infinite."

As the hem of his Taoist robe swept across the threshold, Lü Shang suddenly stopped, seemingly lost in thought, and said, "The supreme and ultimate Dao is called Taiyi, and the innate and noble meaning is called the Golden Decree. Encompassing this supreme and noble meaning, and encompassing the supreme innate, this is called the Taiyi Golden Decree."

"If this method is successful, it may be called the 'Taiyi Golden Decree'."

He walked out of the courtyard with his hands behind his back. His figure in the morning light had lost all its ferocity, and was as gentle as a clear spring among the pines, yet it contained a powerful force capable of uprooting mountains and destroying peaks.

Just as Lü Shang closed his doors to guests and was practicing his own Dharma, eight bronze wind chimes hung under the eaves of the Mingde Gate in the southern part of Daxing City, tinkling in the morning breeze.

A young man dressed in a blue cloth shirt with a bamboo basket slung over his shoulder slowly walked into the city, mingling with the crowd of people carrying loads and pushing carts.

"Daxing,"

The young man's clear eyes dimmed slightly as he glanced at the mottled talismans on the stone wall of the doorway.

"It's rare that this talisman still exists, but unfortunately, everything has changed."

Looking at the calamity of Yongjia, at the request of the Sima imperial family, he had painstakingly carved the talisman. The young man shook his head, stepped out of the shadow of Mingde Gate, and the morning light fell on his blue cloth clothes, the cloud and thunder patterns on the hem appearing and disappearing with his steps.

After passing through the five arched passages of Mingde Gate, the towering 10-zhang-high (approximately 33 meters) ward wall came into view. The drainage ditch in the center of the street meandered like a silver chain, and the new leaves of the locust trees on both sides gleamed with an oily sheen. Caravans of merchants from the Central Asian countries, carrying the scent of frankincense, brushed past, and Persian brocades shimmered in the sunlight.

The young man stood in the middle of Zhuque Avenue, looking at the ruts on the bluestone pavement under his feet, and murmured, "This Daxing City of the Sui Dynasty is different from Chang'an during the Sima Dynasty. It is truly a new dynasty with a new atmosphere."

As he spoke, he bent down, his fingertips gently tracing the still-damp morning dew in the ruts. The coolness seeped into his skin along the lines of his palm, and in a daze, he could even discern a few wisps of faint spiritual energy in the moisture.

Then, the young man gently twirled his fingertips in the morning dew, and those few wisps of spiritual energy suddenly curled and coiled like living things, gathering into a tiny vortex of water vapor in his palm. At the very center of the vortex, the constellations were faintly reflected.

"I was wondering why I felt a sudden connection as soon as I entered Daxing City. It turns out that I had an old friend in Daxing."

"Bei Zhu, it was him!"

After seeing through the secrets of heaven, he sighed softly.

"Unexpectedly, Bei Zhu was born into a prominent family in Guanzhong in this life, born into a wealthy and noble family, enjoying a life of luxury and honor from a young age. After twenty years of wealth and glory, I wonder how much of his heart still yearns for the Dao in this life?"

The swirling water vapor at the young man's fingertips vanished in an instant, and the morning dew seeped into the ground along the cracks in the bluestone slabs. As he stood up, the cloud and thunder patterns on his sleeves flickered, as if a dragon's roar was hidden in the wind.

"Bei Zhu, Bei Zhu, what kind of temperament will you have in this life?"

“If you weren’t destined to become an immortal in this life and had no hope of ascending to immortality, I would really like to take you as my disciple, either by patiently guiding you or by giving you personal instruction, and teach you the Taoist methods of Juqu Mountain, to see how you will be when you remember your past life with the help of the Shangqing Taoist lineage.”

"Just thinking about it makes me laugh!"

My gaze swept across Zhuque Avenue and I saw locust leaves fluttering in the wind at the front of the street. A young man walked northeast along the street, the hem of his clothes shimmering faintly.

After passing through several neighborhoods, by the time we reached Banzhengfang, the sun had already gilded the vermilion door knockers with golden light, and the aroma of sesame cakes wafted from the tavern on the street corner.

He suddenly stopped, his gaze falling on an oxcart beneath the wall of the neighborhood.

From the Wei and Jin dynasties onward, nobles all favored oxcarts, and those who could ride in oxcarts were invariably from prominent and high-ranking families.

The oxcart's shaft was painted with vermilion cloud patterns, and the edges of the wheels were inlaid with three-inch-wide bronze ornaments that gleamed coldly in the sunlight. The carriage curtain was made of Shu brocade, with a moon-white background embroidered with a black bird with outstretched wings. Half of a green jade pendant hung from the front of the shaft, which made a clear and melodious sound when it was struck as the oxcart swayed. This was the clan emblem of the Han clan of Guanzhong.

The young man's fingertips trembled slightly in his sleeve, guided by a divine secret, seemingly entwined around the oxcart.

"It's him?"

He calmly gathered the bamboo bundles together, slowly approached the oxcart, and suddenly heard a low, hoarse cough coming from inside. The brocade curtain was lifted halfway.

From this half-angle view, the young man saw the face of the person behind the brocade curtain.

"What a beautiful face,"

Even with the life experience accumulated over many lifetimes, the young man couldn't help but sigh upon seeing the face of the person behind the brocade curtain.

With her elegant appearance, gentle demeanor, brows like misty clouds, eyes like cold stars, and skin like bright jade, she was indeed a person who could captivate anyone who looked upon her.

"Han family, Han Jin," the young man said thoughtfully, watching the oxcart disappear into the distance.

As the sun climbed to its zenith, the young man straightened his bamboo basket and strolled along the wall of the neighborhood, his shoes making a soft sound as they rubbed against the bluestone slabs.

"Bei Zhu looks much better in this life than in his previous lives."

"If I have the chance, I must test his character and see if he is still one of us."

As the sun began to set, its afterglow fell upon the vermilion gate of Banzhengfang. The young man paced along the gate wall for a long time, already having made up his mind.

He turned and walked to the tavern on the street corner, ordered a pot of cloudy wine and two plates of sesame cakes, sat down on a low stool facing the street, and leisurely began to eat and drink.

The aroma of sesame cakes mingled with the turbid wine as the young man ate. Holding half a crumb of cake, he suddenly noticed an empty seat next to him, where someone had sat down.

"Fellow Daoist Xuanlang, it's been many years. You're still as carefree as ever,"

Upon hearing this, the young man glanced at the newcomer and said casually, "So it's Master Yunfang. Why aren't you cultivating in seclusion on Zhongnan Mountain, waiting for your gathering at Shisun Mountain four hundred years from now? Why are you also mingling in this mortal world?"

Master Yunfang stroked his beard and chuckled. With a casual flick of his sleeves, the wine pot on the table tilted automatically, pouring wine precisely into the rough porcelain bowl in front of him. He said, "The gathering at Shisun Mountain is still a long way off. I'm just feeling restless and want to see the new dynasty's atmosphere. I just didn't expect you to be in Daxing as well."

"I heard that you went down to Juqu Mountain a few years ago and cultivated the Great Elixir in Qingxia Valley of Luofu Mountain. I suppose you have succeeded in the Great Elixir and come here to help people and save the world."

Su Xuanlang shook his head, tapped the table with his fingertips, causing the wine to ripple slightly, and said, "Yunfang, you make it sound so easy. The great elixir of Luofu Mountain has been completed, but how easy is it to save people and help the world? In this mortal world, people's hearts are clouded and their obsessions are deep, far from the clear and orderly methods of alchemy."

"Fellow Daoist, it is precisely because people's hearts are clouded that we need people like you and me to clear the clouds and let the sun shine through them!"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Yunfang's smile remained unchanged. He reached out and caught a withered leaf that had fallen from the eaves. The withered leaf miraculously came back to life in his palm, and tender green buds quietly sprouted out.

"A golden age, a golden age indeed, but I wonder how long this golden age can last,"

Su Xuanlang brought the wine bowl to his lips but did not drink it. His gaze lingered on the bustling crowd on the street through the rim of the bowl.

(End of this chapter)