The Three Teachings Converge into One: The Path of the Mortal and the Saintly is the Same

Poetry:

Sudden rains for ten days in a row have pressed down on the south of the Yangtze River, causing dikes to collapse and waves to destroy villages and temples.

A lone figure in green robes stems the raging tide, while the spirit tree silently nourishes the earth's vital energy.

In the early summer of the tenth year of Jinghe, the climate in Jiangnan, the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty, suddenly changed. After the onset of the plum rain season, there was not a single sunny day. Torrential rain poured down for seven days and seven nights without stopping. At first, it was just a light drizzle, but it gradually turned into a downpour. The Milky Way seemed to hang upside down as it crashed into the territory of Pingjiang Prefecture. The Qingxi River swelled by several feet, overflowing its riverbed and eroding its banks. The once gentle and picturesque Jiangnan water towns were transformed in an instant into a watery hell.

Since Su Qingxuan implemented the Three Religions New Policies, Qingxi County had been a prosperous agricultural and bustling place, with its people living in peace and contentment, much like a paradise. However, this time, natural disasters, coupled with hidden man-made calamities, turned it into a disaster-stricken area in Jiangnan. The main river embankment of Pingjiang Prefecture upstream had long been secretly breached by Shen Wanjiang, the younger brother of the local tyrant Shen Wanshan, in collusion with the cronies of the emperor's brother-in-law Liu Chengye. They used iron axes to chisel through the core stone of the embankment and then covered it with mud and sand, waiting for a torrential rain to cause the embankment to collapse. First, they wanted to frame Su Qingxuan for his ineffective river management and damage his reputation; second, they wanted to use the flood to destroy the foundation of Qingxi's new policies and plunge the people back into hardship; and third, they wanted to plunder Qingxi's wealthy rice and cloth shops to enrich themselves.

At dawn that day, the sky was still as black as ink, torrential rain poured down, and lightning and thunder tore through the sky. Then, with a deafening roar, the main embankment upstream of the Qingxi River collapsed! A towering flood, like a ferocious beast, swept down the river, carrying mud, sand, broken logs, and rubble, instantly engulfing villages, fields, and markets along the banks. White walls and black tiles were shattered by the waves, and fertile rice paddies were completely submerged. Cries for help, the roar of the waves, and the howling wind and rain mingled together, echoing through the heavens. The entire Qingxi County was plunged into utter devastation.

The Su family courtyard was located on a high ground in the east of the town. Fortunately, it was not directly swallowed by the flood. However, half of the old osmanthus tree in the courtyard was broken off by the strong wind, and the vegetable patch in the corner was completely submerged in mud and water. The dusty silver coin on the stone table was washed to the ground by the rain and stuck in the mud. Just like in this chaotic world, integrity and moral character were crushed into dust by the wind and rain.

Su Qingxuan had been standing under the eaves since midnight, his robes draped over his shoulders, intently watching the rising river. He clutched the imperial jade pendant and ancient bronze seal tightly in his hand, his Confucian inner cultivation naturally flowing, the energies of the three religions surging within his dantian. His brow furrowed slightly, a heavy burden weighing on his heart. Although he had long known the flood season was approaching in Jiangnan and had already organized the people to reinforce the dikes and dredge the waterways, he never imagined... that beneath the natural disaster lay human calamity, that the painstakingly constructed dikes had been secretly sabotaged by treacherous individuals!

"Your Excellency! Something terrible has happened! The main dike upstream has collapsed! The flood peak has already swept through the three villages at the west end. Zhou Laogen led the villagers to higher ground, but there are still over a hundred elderly and weak people trapped in the village!"

Little Stone, dressed in a straw raincoat, soaked to the bone and barefoot in the mud, tumbled and crawled into the courtyard, his face streaked with mud and tears, his voice hoarse. He was now the leader of the Qingxi Village militia, following Su Qingxuan to protect the land and its people, and was known for his loyalty, bravery, and courage.

A cold glint flashed in Su Qingxuan's eyes, his entire being radiating an innate aura of the three religions. His blue robe fluttered in the wind and rain, yet he stood as straight as a pine tree. His voice was efficient and decisive: "Prepare the boats! Gather all the local militia and able-bodied men, and come with me to the west to rescue people! Father and Mother, immediately organize the elders, women, and children of the village to move to the high ground near the county government office. Open all the grain and fodder in the granary and set up relief tents!"

"Qingxuan, the wind and rain are too strong, and the flood is dangerous. You must be careful!" Madam Liu grabbed an oilcloth cloak and quickly stepped forward to put it on her son. Her fingertips trembled, and her eyes were full of worry. However, she knew that her son was responsible for the safety of the people of the county and had no reason to back down.

Su Wenyuan, leaning on his bamboo cane, stood under the eaves, his voice booming like a bell: "My son, remember this! A Confucian scholar serves the world; with a righteous spirit in his heart, nothing is insurmountable! Your father will stay home to take care of the elderly and the weak, awaiting your return!"

Su Qingxuan nodded emphatically, said no more, grabbed his oil-paper umbrella, and leaped into the small wooden boat that had been prepared in the courtyard. Xiao Shitou and more than ten young and strong villagers rowed vigorously, and the small wooden boat rushed into the stormy waves like an arrow.

The town of Qingxi was now unrecognizable. Floodwaters had inundated the cobblestone streets, submerged half the houses, and the waves, carrying debris, crashed and raged. The cries of children, the pleas for help of women, and the lamentations of the elderly echoed throughout the town. Su Qingxuan stood at the bow of the boat, his eyes blazing like torches. He circulated his inner energy, focusing his senses, his hearing and vision sharpened, allowing him to hear cries for help from ten miles away. Neither the wind, rain, nor the waves could obstruct his view.

"To the left front! There are still more than twenty people trapped on the rooftop in Wangjia'ao!"

"A child was trapped under a woodshed on the right bank!"

Su Qingxuan's commands pierced the wind and rain with clarity. The village militia obeyed, and he himself leaped into the floodwaters, using his inner energy to protect himself. He used his bare hands to pry open broken logs, carry the elderly and weak, and rescue the trapped people one by one onto the boat. The floodwaters crashed against him, yet were deflected by the warm inner energy surrounding him; mud and sand clung to his clothes and fell away, as if he were protected by a deity. Seeing the magistrate risk his life to personally rescue people, the people were all moved to tears, and their will to survive grew even stronger.

However, the floodwaters rose higher and higher, and flood peaks kept surging in from the breach in the upstream embankment. In less than half an hour, the small wooden boat was already full of dozens of people. Su Qingxuan made a quick decision and ordered Xiao Shitou to send the disaster victims back to the county government high ground first, while he himself took two of the best swimmers from the village and continued to search and rescue by boat.

When they reached a point three miles downstream from the breached dike, Su Qingxuan suddenly caught sight of several furtive figures at the break in the dike. Under the cover of the wind and rain, they were throwing iron axes and ropes used for breaching the dike into the floodwaters. It was none other than Shen Wanjiang and his gang of villains!

"You audacious traitors! How dare you destroy the dike and harm the people! You deserve to die!" Su Qingxuan roared, his voice shaking the surrounding area. His aura transformed into an invisible wave of energy, rushing straight towards the group. Shen Wanjiang and the others, already feeling guilty, were terrified by the roar and turned to flee, only to be thrown to the ground by the wave of energy and fall into the mud, unable to move.

"Take them down!" Su Qingxuan gave the order, and the local militia leaped ashore, binding Shen Wanjiang and the other eight villains and pinning them to the bow of the boat.

Shen Wanjiang was bound tightly, yet he still roared defiantly, "Su Qingxuan! You dare arrest me? I am a man of the Imperial Uncle Liu Chengye! You destroyed the dike and harmed the people; your crimes are inescapable, and the court will surely sentence you to death!"

He slumped on the boat, glaring venomously at Su Qingxuan: "You imprisoned my brother, confiscated our property, and my Shen family will never forgive you! This flood is your death warrant; the whole world will know that you, Su Qingxuan, are incompetent in governing the county and have brought ruin to the people of Qingxi! Hahaha..."

Su Qingxuan glanced coldly at the two men, his tone icy: "You are the one who destroyed the dike, you are the one who harmed the people, and you are the one who wreaked havoc on the local area! Heaven's justice is clear, and the law of the land is awe-inspiring. Today is the day you will be brought to justice!" He then said no more and ordered the local militia to keep a close watch on the villains. He continued to search for and rescue the disaster victims until dawn. All the trapped people in Qingxi were rescued, with only a few injured.

When Su Qingxuan returned to the high ground of the county government office, thousands of disaster victims had already gathered there. Su Wenyuan and Liu Shi cooked the grain from the granary into hot porridge and distributed it to the disaster victims; the local militia built temporary thatched huts to shelter the elderly and weak from the wind and rain; the release pond on the banks of the Qingxi River was transformed into a temporary water purification station. Although the people were suffering from disaster, they did not panic because of Su Qingxuan's benevolent comfort.

But the crisis is not over.

The torrential rain continued to pour down, and the floodwaters did not recede, overflowing the square in front of the county government office, leaving only three feet of ground above water. Even more terrifying, after days of flooding, the ground was filthy, with putrid and miasma mixed in with the wind and rain. Hundreds of disaster victims began to vomit and have diarrhea, high fever, and bluish spots on their skin—the first signs of plague. If not dealt with in time, Qingxi would become a plague dead zone within three days, and thousands of people would perish!

"Your Honor, the number of disaster victims falling ill is increasing, we've run out of herbs, and our clean water is almost gone. The floodwaters won't recede, and the earth is polluted. What can we do?" The old doctor from the clinic knelt before Su Qingxuan, tears streaming down his face. "In my half-life of practicing medicine, I've never seen such a vicious miasma. Ordinary herbs are completely useless!"

Zhou Laogen and the refugees stood guard outside the shed, their faces pale and emaciated, yet they still gripped their hoes, willing to die for Su Qingxuan: "Su Qingtian, we'll follow you, even if it means death, we'll never back down a single step!"

Thousands of disaster victims looked at Su Qingxuan, their eyes filled with a mixture of hope and despair. They believed in this magistrate in his blue robe, believed that he could save Qingxi, but the natural disasters, man-made calamities, plagues and miasma before them were beyond human control.

Su Qingxuan stood in the center of the high ground, his body radiating the full power of the three teachings, dispersing his true energy around him to cover the disaster victims and reduce the spread of the plague. Yet, his heart grew heavier with each passing moment. He used Buddhist principles to soothe the people's hearts, Confucian and Taoist benevolent governance to settle the disaster victims, and the rule of law to capture the wicked. However, faced with the calamities of heaven and earth and the pollution of the earth's energy, the true energy of the three teachings could only temporarily protect him and the people, but could not nourish the earth's energy, resolve the flood, or eliminate the plague.

He looked down at the ancient bronze seal in his arms, which was slightly warm and emitted a gentle spiritual energy, protecting the area within several feet and providing some comfort to the sick and disaster-stricken people. However, the spiritual energy was limited, and against the vast expanse of swamps and miasma, it was merely a drop in the ocean. Suddenly, his gaze fell on the blue cloth wrapped around the county government hall—inside was the ancient withered wood passed down through the Su family!

Since returning to his hometown to serve as county magistrate, he has been nurturing the ancient tree daily with Confucian methods. The once withered, cracked, and lifeless trunk has sprouted several tender green buds, showing signs of spirituality. His father once said that this tree is said to be an ancient spiritual tree, passed down through generations of the Su family. They do not know its name or its uses, only that it can nourish all things and connect with the energy of heaven and earth. In the past, whenever there was a "calamity," this tree would secretly emit spiritual energy, resonating with the ancient bronze seal, and even actively protecting its owner and life. However, since saving the mother and child in the Huai River, its spiritual energy has been depleted, and its life force has weakened.

Su Qingxuan's heart jolted, and he suddenly understood:

Confucian scholars cultivate a righteous spirit, bringing peace to people's hearts and upholding the order of things; Taoists nourish the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, nurturing the earth's energy and promoting the flow of life; Buddhists transform the turbid and malevolent energy, clearing away miasma and saving all living beings.

The ancient bronze seal is a sacred seal of Taoism, nourishing pure energy; the ancient withered wood is the root of Buddhism, suppressing evil and bringing peace. Both share a common origin, and the three religions are one. Only by using a Confucian heart to activate the sacred wood and by using the sacred seal to bless the Taoist root can we nourish the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, channel the floodwaters, purify the miasma, and resolve this natural and man-made disaster!

"Father, please invite the ancestral sacred wood!" Su Qingxuan said loudly, his voice firm and resolute, piercing through the wind and rain.

Upon hearing this, Su Wenyuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He immediately turned around, fetched a blue cloth wrapping from the hall, and carefully took out the ancient withered wood. At this moment, the withered wood had lush green buds and a warm, moist texture. It even emitted a faint fragrance in the wind and rain, which dispelled the surrounding miasma.

Su Qingxuan received the spirit wood with both hands, feeling a rich and lingering spiritual energy of heaven and earth surge into his palms, instantly merging with the righteous energy within his dantian. Holding the spirit wood, he strode towards the core of the breached dike at the edge of the flood—this was the nexus of Qingxi's earth energy, and also the place where the flood was most ferocious and the miasma most intense.

Thousands of disaster victims, local militia, and elders followed closely behind, holding their breath and watching the figure of the young man in the blue robe, their eyes igniting with hope.

Su Qingxuan stood in the mud, the torrential rain lashing his face and body, soaking his blue robe, yet he remained as still as a rock. He placed the ancient bronze seal above his head, silently reciting the mantra of the Confucian Heart Method, and integrating his insights from the three teachings into one:

"Confucianism teaches sincerity and rectifying the mind, Taoism teaches conforming to the natural order, and Buddhism teaches enlightenment and seeing one's true nature. The three teachings share the same origin, and all laws return to the mind! Today, I, Su Qingxuan, guided by Confucian principles, bound by the sacred seal, and rooted in the sacred tree, pray for the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to protect the people of Qingxi and dispel this flood and plague!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he held the ancient spirit wood in both hands and thrust it into the muddy soil at the core of the breached dam!

In an instant, a shocking phenomenon occurred!

The seemingly ordinary ancient spirit wood burst forth with a dazzling, emerald-green spiritual light the moment it was buried. The light shot straight into the sky, pierced through the torrential rain, and tore open the inky sky. A ray of white light shone down from the darkness and shone on the spirit wood!

The spirit tree grows instantly upon being planted in the soil, its roots plunging into the ground at a visible speed, meandering and spreading, penetrating the earth's veins throughout Qingxi County; the withered tree trunk instantly sprouts branches and leaves, the emerald green branches soaring upwards, and in no time, it grows into a towering ancient tree, with a strong trunk and lush foliage, its canopy covering most of Qingxi County!

Ancient trees, deeply rooted in the earth, nourish its energy. Their roots channel away the stagnant waters, allowing the raging floodwaters to flow through the fields and ditches, halting their destructive power. The ancient trees exude a refreshing and invigorating aura, which permeates the entire area, instantly dissolving foul miasma and putrid odors. Flood victims suffering from persistent high fevers instantly feel refreshed, their vomiting and diarrhea miraculously cured, and their skin blemishes vanishing without a trace. The flood-ravaged fields, nourished by the earth's energy, recover from the mud and water, and the rice seedlings stand tall again, rejuvenated. Collapsed embankments, supported by their roots, gradually close up again…

The torrential rain gradually subsided, the dark clouds dispersed, and golden sunlight pierced through the clouds, shining on the land of Jiangnan, on the towering ancient trees, and on the smiling faces of thousands of disaster victims.

A gentle breeze rustles through the ancient trees, releasing a refreshing fragrance. The clear stream has regained its former clarity and gentleness, and the white walls and black tiles have returned to the misty Jiangnan landscape. The fields, vegetable gardens, and orchards destroyed by the flood are recovering at an incredible speed under the nourishment of the earth.

The disaster victims stared blankly at the strange phenomenon before them, at the towering ancient tree, and at the young man in a blue robe standing beneath it. For a long time, no one spoke.

Someone knelt down first, choking back tears as they cried out, "Su Qingtian! A living saint!"

Thousands of disaster victims knelt down in unison, a dense, dark mass, bowing and kowtowing to Su Qingxuan. Their shouts shook the heavens and earth, echoing throughout Jiangnan.

"A living saint! Su Qingtian!"

"Thank you, living saint, for saving the people of Qingxi!"

May the living saint live forever!

Zhou Laogen knelt at the front, tears streaming down his face, his forehead bleeding from the kowtowing: "Back then in Ruzhou, I was saved by you, young master, and today in Qingxi, I am again saved by you. You are truly a saint descended from heaven!"

Little Stone and the villagers knelt and kowtowed, tears streaming down their faces, vowing to follow Su Qingxuan to the death; the elders of the village clapped their hands and sighed, saying that it was a blessing for Qingxi and for Jiangnan to have witnessed the birth of a living saint in this lifetime!

Su Qingxuan quickly stepped forward and helped each of the people up, saying gently, "Fellow villagers, please rise! I am no saint, but merely fulfilling the duties of a Confucian scholar, acting to help the world and bring peace to the people! The resolution of this calamity is a result of the vitality of heaven and earth and the unity of the people; I dare not take credit for it!"

But the people refused to believe it. The strange phenomena before their eyes were vivid: the flood receded, the plague was cured, and the earth's energy returned to spring. If it were not a sage descending to earth, how could he have such supernatural powers? From then on, the saying that "Su Qingxuan is a living sage" spread throughout the Jiangnan region. It spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred, throughout Pingjiang Prefecture, throughout the Jiangnan region, and even faintly reached Luoyang in the Central Plains.

At this moment, Shen Wanjiang and the other villains captured at the breach in the dike were already terrified by the strange phenomenon before them, collapsing in the mud, their faces ashen. They had originally intended to use the flood to frame Su Qingxuan, but unexpectedly, they had forced out the auspicious signs of a sacred tree presenting good omens and a saint descending to earth, making themselves the sinners for all time.

Su Qingxuan looked at the group of villains and said solemnly, "You colluded with treacherous officials, destroyed the dikes, harmed the people, and caused chaos in the region. According to the law, you should be executed!" He immediately ordered the local militia to take the villains to prison, draft a list of their crimes, and send it by express courier to the imperial court in Luoyang to report to the emperor and request that the mastermind behind the crime be severely punished in order to uphold the law.

Once everything was settled, Su Qingxuan slowly walked to the foot of the towering ancient tree. His fingertips gently stroked the trunk, and he felt a connection between the spiritual wood and his own mind. The earth's energy, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and the righteous energy of Confucianism merged and flowed ceaselessly within his body. A bronze seal floated down from above, hanging from a branch of the ancient tree, its light reflecting off the tree and subtly forming a Three Powers Formation to protect the entire Qingxi region.

Unbeknownst to him, a grey-robed Taoist priest, representing the three religions, stood silently in the void above the clouds. Gazing at the resonant light between the ancient tree and the sacred seal, the priest sighed softly, "The ancient Buddhist seed has taken root, the Taoist sacred seal has returned to its place, the pivot for the unification of the three religions has been established, and the great path of mortals and saints sharing the same path has been laid out. However, the extraordinary phenomenon of this sacred tree and seal has already alarmed the northern barbarians and the treacherous officials of Luoyang; an even greater calamity may be imminent."

Immediately, the Taoist's figure flashed and disappeared into the horizon.

Meanwhile, in the dense forest outside Qingxi, the Di barbarian spy with the wolf-headed bronze whistle at his waist trembled as he stared at the strange phenomenon emanating from the ancient tree, a secret letter in his hand. He never imagined that Su Qingxuan possessed such supernatural powers, able to summon an ancient spiritual tree to avert a natural disaster, and be revered as a living saint by the people. He dared not delay, immediately contacting his secret contact and dispatching him to the Di barbarian camp in the northern border to report this earth-shattering news to their leader—a living saint who had saved the world through the three religions had emerged in Great Xia; if he was not eliminated quickly, he would become a major threat to the Di barbarians' southward expansion!

In the imperial court of Luoyang, Emperor Jinghe received an urgent message from Su Qingxuan, learning of the devastation caused by torrential rains in Qingxi, the collapse of riverbanks, the destruction of dikes by treacherous individuals, the miraculous appearance of a sacred tree, and the people's hailing of him as a saint. He was both pleased and worried. He was pleased that Su Qingxuan possessed the ability to save the world and bring peace to the country, but worried that Zhang Congyao, Liu Chengye, and others would take this opportunity to frame this talented scholar from a humble background.

Upon learning the news, Prime Minister Zhang Congyao and the Emperor's brother-in-law Liu Chengye were furious. They had intended to use the natural disaster to destroy Su Qingxuan, but instead, it had propelled him to fame, making him a living saint in the eyes of the people. Su Qingxuan's prestige was at its zenith, making him the biggest obstacle on their path to absolute power. The two secretly contacted Xiao Jing, the Prince of Heluo, and devised a plan to use the power of the court to strip Su Qingxuan of his official position, and then secretly send assassins to kill this living saint in Jiangnan!

Standing beneath the ancient tree, Su Qingxuan gazed upon the gentle rain and mist of Jiangnan returning to their tranquil state, and the people living in peace and prosperity, his eyes clear and resolute. He knew all too well that the miracle of the sacred tree, and the people's veneration of him as a living saint, while seemingly glorious, actually placed him in the eye of a storm. The machinations of treacherous officials in the court, the lurking of the northern barbarians, the expectations of the three religions' upholders, and the trials of walking the same path as mortals and saints—all were about to befall him.

He took out the silver coin Shen Wanshan had left behind from his sleeve, wiped away the dirt, and placed it back on the stone table in the county government office. He wouldn't use this silver coin, nor would he discard it. It had been a symbol of materialism, a testament to his youthful aspirations, and a warning—the difference between the ordinary and the sacred lies not in supernatural powers, fame, or wealth, but in one's original intentions; the path to saving the world is not smooth, but fraught with hardship; even if the world praises one, one must uphold the heart of the three teachings, practice their deeds, and never waver in one's noble and benevolent will to save the world.

Ancient trees, reaching for the sky, take root in the clear stream's veins. The spiritual trees nourish life, and the earth's energy sustains the people. When the people are at peace, the nation prospers. This corner of the Jiangnan water town has become the first foundation for the unity of the three religions and the common path of the mortal and the sacred. And Su Qingxuan's path of saving the world will step into a broader and more turbulent world.

It is:

The floodwaters recede, the crops are renewed, and the sacred tree takes root, benefiting all people.

Do not say that a man in a blue robe is just an ordinary person; a heart devoted to saving the world is a true god.