The Taoist Priest of Laoshan

Leaving the City God Temple, the three walked north along the official road and stopped at the foot of the mountain where the Sanyi Temple was located. Tao Wangsan looked up at the green tiles and white walls on the mountainside and said, "Let's go up and pay our respects." Qiu Rong took his hand and continued walking up the mountain, while Xiao Xie was already skipping ahead, shouting that she wanted to show Master Zhao that she could breathe again.

When the door was knocked, Zhao Fengnian had just emptied the bathwater from the large wooden tub, his trousers still rolled up to his knees, his bare feet on the stone slabs. He opened the door and saw three people standing there. Tao Wangsan was wearing a newly made blue robe. To his left stood a woman he didn't recognize, but her beautiful face and the calm, intelligent look in her eyes made her instantly recognizable. To his right stood a bright-eyed, white-toothed girl, who was tiptoeing and peering into the courtyard.

"Miss Qiu Rong? Miss Xiao Xie?" Zhao Fengnian looked them up and down several times, circling around them and marveling. "They really have returned to life. Where did you find these bodies? They look exactly like living people. No, you are living people now. You can breathe, right?"

"I can breathe again!" Xiao Xie took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully, as excited as if it were the first time she had ever breathed in her life. "It hurt so much to be back in health! My toes and thighs ached for days before I could get out of bed. But I can eat now! This morning I ate a whole bowl of porridge, and Young Master Tao said I can eat better than before." Zhao Fengnian smiled and stepped aside, calling out into the courtyard, "Brother, Young Master Tao and his two daughters have arrived."

Liu Jin emerged from the meditation room, his gaze sweeping over the three men before he nodded slightly. Tao Wangsan stepped forward and performed a deep, respectful bow: "Many thanks to the Daoist Master for your guidance that day. If it weren't for your reminder to the Prefect about this path, Qiu Rong and Xiao Xie would probably still be kneeling at the yamen gate. Now that they have been brought back to life, we have come to express our gratitude." He took out a scroll of poems wrapped in red silk from his sleeve and presented it with both hands. "I have nothing of value to offer, but I have selected a few poems that I can be proud of from my writings over the years, copied them into this scroll, and presented them as a token of my gratitude."

Zhao Fengnian took the poem, unfolded it, glanced at it, and read aloud one line: "A man stands alone by the window at midnight, a ghost follows him beneath the moonlit woods." He then closed the poem and gave Tao Wangsan a thumbs-up: "Young Master Tao, your poem is truly excellent. However, I must remind you to write less satirical pieces in the future. Haven't you learned your lesson after this prison sentence?"

Tao Wangsan scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Qiu Rong answered for him, "Don't worry, Master Zhao. I'll read his poems first from now on, and I'll tear up the ones that are too harsh." Xiao Xie added, "I've already torn up three. The one about the prefect yesterday was the fastest to be torn up." Tao Wangsan coughed, pretending not to hear.

......

"Xiao Xie said she's already torn up three poems. The one about the prefect yesterday was torn up the fastest. I laughed so hard. Tao Wangsan just got out of prison and he wrote a poem satirizing the prefect. You're really stubborn."

"Prefect: I just saved you, and you immediately write a poem to curse me?"

Tao Wangsan: Saving me is a favor, scolding you is a duty; we're even now. Prefect: Throw this scoundrel out of here.

"Qiu Rong said that she would review his poems first from now on, and tear up the ones that were too harsh. Xiao Xie added that three poems had already been torn up. The division of labor in this family is very clear: Qiu Rong is in charge of the big things, Xiao Xie is in charge of tearing up poems, and Tao Wang is in charge of writing poems and going to jail."

Tao Wangsan: What am I in this family?

"Consider it creative material. If you hadn't gone to jail, how would they have had the chance to file a complaint with the prefectural government?"

Tao Wangsan: You are all so high and mighty, you are all so great, you are using my poems as firewood.

......

A few days after Tao Wangsan and his two companions left, the short, stout ghost messenger from the City God Temple came to their door. He was now quite familiar with the way to the Sanyi Temple, so he floated into the courtyard without knocking, sat down on a stone bench, and took out an invitation from his sleeve.

The invitation was written by the City God himself, saying that the Taoist priest who helped the two ghosts return to life had been staying at the City God Temple for two days and was quite interested in the Sanyi Temple. He wanted to take the opportunity of the City God Temple to invite the two Taoist priests down the mountain for a chat.

Liu Jin took the invitation, glanced at it, and handed it to Zhao Fengnian. Zhao Fengnian chuckled after reading it: "I was just thinking about when to visit the City God Temple. Now I don't have to find an excuse." He immediately changed into a clean Taoist robe, took the jar of wine made from the unknown spiritual medicine he had found in the Black Mountain Demon Cave, and went down the mountain with Liu Jin into the city.

The rear hall of the City God Temple was unusually lively today. The City God had prepared a vegetarian feast, with seven or eight vegetarian dishes laid out on a long wooden table, and a pot of tea in the center. The aroma of the tea mingled with the sandalwood incense on the altar, creating a scene reminiscent of an elegant gathering.

A middle-aged Taoist priest dressed in a gray robe sat to the right of the City God. He was thin, with a kind face and a neatly trimmed white beard. Although his eyes were not large, they had an indescribable comfort to them when they moved around. They were not sharp, but clear and transparent.

Sitting beside him was another person, the very same Taoist priest who had helped Qiu Rong and Xiao Xie return to life a few days ago. The two shared a similar appearance, clearly from the same sect. The City God sat in the main seat, with two ghost messengers standing beside him. The tall, thin ghost messenger was refilling tea, while the short, fat ghost messenger was secretly eating vegetarian chicken, his cheeks bulging. The tall, thin ghost messenger nudged him with his elbow, nearly making him choke.

After Liu Jin and Zhao Fengnian were seated, the City God rose to introduce them. It turned out that the middle-aged Taoist priest was the current head of the Shangqing Palace on Laoshan Mountain, with the Taoist name Mingzhen, and he practiced the orthodox Laoshan method of embryonic breathing and qi circulation. The Taoist priest who helped the two ghosts return to life was Mingzhen's junior brother, with the Taoist name Mingshan. The two had come down the mountain to settle an unfinished business, and when they passed through Jinhua, the City God persuaded them to stay. Mingshan had also heard of the Sanyi Temple, so they stayed a few more days.

Ming Shan picked up the conversation, taking the initiative to talk about the two ghosts returning to life. He stroked his beard and smiled, saying that in the end, this was just taking advantage of a loophole. The two bodies belonged to daughters of wealthy families who had just passed away; their souls had dispersed, but their bodies were still warm. Qiu Rong and Xiao Xie were originally ghosts who cultivated in seclusion, and with the protection of the Taiyin Star Fire for their souls, their foundation was much stronger than that of ordinary wandering ghosts.

He used fetal breathing combined with the circulation of Qi throughout the body to guide the newly deceased soul along the meridians where Qi and blood had not yet dissipated, allowing it to return to its proper place. Then, he used a talisman to seal away the life force, and the body naturally came back to life. The so-called deception was nothing more than stuffing the soul into the body before the underworld's summons arrived. By the time the summons arrived, the body already contained a new soul, and the judge could only summon an empty vessel.

He turned to Liu Jin, his tone becoming more serious: "Actually, the greatest credit for this matter belongs to Master Liu. If it weren't for those two points of Yin Star Fire protecting their souls, even if I found suitable bodies, their soul power wouldn't have been able to withstand the process of returning to their places. Ghosts have been separated from their bodies for too long, and their souls are inherently weak; forcibly returning them often results in them dissipating halfway through. Yin Fire is the essence of the moon, which perfectly matches the Yin nature of ghosts. Those two points of star fire essentially nourished their souls in advance, making the return process twice as effective."