“Immortal friend?”
Who?
Me?
Jiang Yi was stunned. The golden light flickering in his eyes slowly gathered, then abruptly transformed into the shape of a page.
Immediately after, a vast jumble of information surged up like ocean tides beating against the shore, battering his mind until the space between his brows throbbed and ached.
“Hold the Heavenly Book, discern karma…”
“All living beings, without exception, bear causes that give rise to effects…”
“If one holds the Heavenly Book, all may be examined!”
Jiang Yi sat up on the plank bed, his back against the rough earthen wall, breathing in and out again and again.
Only after half an incense stick had passed did he gradually shake off the violent dizziness and stupor.
He raised a hand and waved it. Reflected in his eyes, that page of golden paper seemed illusory—visible, yet impossible to touch.
“Everything between heaven and earth, so long as it exists, leaves traces from birth to destruction. And these traces are karma. None can escape this book’s examination?”
After confirming that the golden page of the Heavenly Book was not some delusion or hallucination, Jiang Yi’s heart suddenly eased, as if a great stone had fallen to the ground.
When he looked again at the cramped and narrow laborers’ hut, his state of mind had quietly changed.
The urgency and anxiety that had haunted him before were, all at once, no longer so heavy.
Even his unease and worry about the road ahead dissipated somewhat.
“To examine karma and know all things… Then what do I need to know right now?
The Daoist studies teacher once said that throughout the vast lands of Yanfu, anyone who cultivates the Dao and attains a rank, anyone who achieves divine abilities, cannot possibly do so without opportunity at their side and fate upon their body…”
Jiang Yi pondered silently. With a slight movement of thought, he followed the given format and asked.
【I humbly beseech the Heavenly Book to show me my opportunities.】
Jiang Yi weighed it over repeatedly and confirmed that what he needed most was an opportunity that would allow him to cast off his menial duties and no longer live as a toiling beast of burden!
With a hum, ancient and profound tadpole-like characters instantly appeared on that page of golden paper.
The dazzling golden intent seemed to be stirred, sending out faint ripples.
【Matter examined: opportunities pertaining to oneself】
【Time required for deduction: within five breaths】
【Example One: On the main peak of Qianji Sect, there is a seventh-grade Qi Refining cultivation method, True Spirit Art of Moving Clouds and Bringing Rain, hidden within the secret vault. Its restrictions may be broken to obtain it.】
【Example Two: At Medicinal Field B on Caiyao Peak, this year’s harvest is excellent. One hundred stalks of Suiling Grass have all matured, refining into two “Hanyuan Pills,” which may be consumed to increase cultivation.】
【Example Three: Yanghun Peak…】
“This?”
There were seven or eight “opportunities” in all, and Jiang Yi finished reading them very quickly.
He could not help but frown. The Heavenly Book could indeed examine all karma and understand it thoroughly.
But the “opportunities” it provided all contained tremendous risks.
Take the first example. Menial laborers had no qualifications to enter the main peak at all, much less approach the secret vault. Anyone who overstepped would certainly be beaten to death.
As for Caiyao Peak producing two Hanyuan Pills, and their being of considerable benefit to those below the fifth level of Qi Refining—that was also true.
But how could it possibly be his turn?
Even inner sect disciples might not be able to get a share!
“Perhaps… my way of asking was wrong.”
After a brief consideration, Jiang Yi changed the thought in his mind.
【I humbly beseech the Heavenly Book to show me an opportunity I can currently obtain without future trouble.】
Hum!
That page of golden paper trembled, and the ripples grew intense.
It was like dense raindrops falling into a calm lake, causing no small commotion.
【Matter examined: opportunities compatible with oneself】
【Time required for deduction: three shichen…】
The dazzling golden intent undulated like water, yet for a long while, it did not condense into tadpole-like characters to display a clear answer.
“It seems the more specific the question, the longer it takes to obtain the result? No matter. I can wait!”
Jiang Yi’s heart burned hot. He took several deep breaths, inexplicably seized by the impulse to stand up and pace a few steps.
“Ah, my skill at nurturing composure is far too poor. I have to steady myself. Steady.”
Jiang Yi laughed at himself and silently recited the word “steady.”
For someone trapped at the bottom, to suddenly grasp hold of a sliver of hope—it was only natural to feel restless and unable to sit still.
That was human nature!
Only those who had truly scraped out a living at the bottom, enduring days of hardship like oxen and horses, could understand just how heavy the four words “turn one’s fate around” truly were.
Just as he desperately wanted to do something to vent the emotions pent up inside him, a loud voice suddenly came from outside the room:
“Brother Yi! I’m off work. We said we’d eat together…”
Jiang Yi rubbed his cheeks, restoring his expression to how it usually was before getting up to open the door.
“Brother He, you’ve worked hard. I was just waiting for you to come back.”
He Laohun’s rough face was flushed both inside and out. Presumably, he had been roasted by the rolling heat in the Quenching Room for several shichen.
The moment he entered the communal courtyard, he shouted:
“I’m damn near cooked from the heat! Son of a dog, the furnace was especially fierce today. Nearly left me unable to breathe!”
Jiang Yi said,
“I’d guess the workman on the bellows stoked the fire too hard. Brother He, catch your breath first. We’ll go eat after you rest a moment.”
He Laohun was at the second level of Qi Refining, yet even he could hardly endure the torment of the Quenching Room. It was clear how exhausting today’s work had been.
“No matter what, tomorrow I have to switch to the Grinding and Engraving Room. Four shichen in there and a man’s roasted through. Can’t take it, can’t take it…”
Jiang Yi said nothing. Menial laborers had no right to choose their work. It was all decided by the duty overseers of each room, who put out tablets and had them draw lots.
He Laohun grabbed a water ladle and gulped down several mouthfuls of cold water. Only after his breathing evened out did he seem to come back to life.
“Damn it, for the sake of a few talisman coins, I’ve nearly worked away half my life!”
Jiang Yi had heard complaints like this far too many times.
When one lived like an ox or horse, driven about by others, who could be without some resentment?
In the past, he had complained no less than anyone else. Today, however, he seemed calm.
“Most likely, this is the confidence the Heavenly Book has given me…”
Jiang Yi contemplated the change in his mentality, then said,
“Brother He, are you rested? If you are, let’s go to Binghuo Cave.”
“Let’s go, let’s go. I’ve been looking forward to eating meat! Coarse rice and old grain really make a man sick of eating!”
When He Laohun heard this, his face lit up with joy. Beaming, he followed Jiang Yi out of the communal courtyard.
South of Chiyan Peak were the laborers’ huts, courtyards and sheds built according to the rise and fall of the terrain, accommodating the daily lives of the menial laborers. There were more or less three or four hundred people there.
To the north were many stilted buildings built against the mountain, suspended from steep cliffs and leaning among the crags. Most were taverns, eateries, gambling dens, and brothels.
It was just after work now, so the place was rather lively.
Menial laborers in dusty gray Daoist robes gathered in groups. Like tiny ants among towering trees, they climbed and threaded their way through, some seeking food, some resting their feet, and some looking for pleasure.
The Binghuo Cave that Jiang Yi had mentioned was a tavern opened inside a cliff cave. Inside were a dozen or so tables, chairs, and benches, somewhat like an old Bashu cave hotpot establishment.
Perhaps because he did not have to pay the bill himself, He Laohun stood with his back straight, without his usual careful penny-pinching. The moment he entered Binghuo Cave, he shouted:
“Waiter, bring a pot of good wine! Two bowls of spirit rice, packed tight—don’t you dare skimp! And bring some good dishes too!”
“Right away! I’ll have it prepared for the two Daoist masters at once!”
The waiter answered, then called toward the back kitchen.
Before long, two large bowls of fragrant spirit rice were delivered to the table.
Sure enough, just as He Laohun had instructed, they had been packed solid.
“This is what’s good about Binghuo Cave. An old establishment, doesn’t cheat its customers! Not like those other shops, with no sense of rules, specializing in fleecing menial laborers!”
He Laohun sniffed the aroma of the rice. Before he even started eating, an expression of enjoyment appeared on his face.
Immediately after, the waiter brought out a pot of snake soup, a plate of wild rabbit, and a plump, greasy roast chicken.
“Don’t laugh at me, Brother Yi. I haven’t had a single grain of spirit rice in two whole months. My belly’s been in famine! Let me shovel down a couple of mouthfuls first to pad it!”
Jiang Yi nodded. He was at the first level of Qi Refining, and He Laohun at the second. The two of them could be considered “initiates of the Dao” who had opened their qi meridians, and their need for spiritual qi was no small matter.
Before the fifth level of Qi Refining, the physical body required nourishment.
Ordinary seated breathing and meditation involved circulating one’s cultivation through the heavenly cycle, letting true qi pass through the bones and limbs, cleansing inside and out to eliminate impurities.
But without spirit rice or spirit medicines to replenish oneself, wanting to increase cultivation through practice alone was undoubtedly a madman’s dream.
Moreover, menial laborers worked hard every day, greatly squeezing out the time available for cultivation, making it even harder for their cultivation to improve.
This was also why Jiang Yi and He Laohun treasured spirit rice so much.
After eating a bowl of fragrant spirit rice, not only was it equivalent to several days of seated meditation and circulating qi through the heavenly cycle, it could also make one’s pores relax and the body feel much lighter.
He Laohun was like a starving ghost reincarnated. He lowered his head and shoveled rice into his mouth with all his might. Though his movements were large, he was very careful, refusing to let even a single grain of spirit rice escape. In the end, he only stopped after licking the bottom of the bowl clean.
“This is what cultivators should be eating! Truly, truly comfortable!”
After enjoying this hard-won bowl of spirit rice, He Laohun loosened the belt of his cotton Daoist robe and drank wine with the wild rabbit and snake soup.
“A bowl of rice costs two or three hundred talisman coins. How could there be the slightest thing wrong with it?”
Jiang Yi’s table manners were better than He Laohun’s. He ate slowly and earnestly. Afterward, he wiped his mouth and said,
“Waiter, bring me a pot of wine too.”
He Laohun narrowed his eyes, as if surprised.
“Brother Yi, you never touched a drop of alcohol before. Why today… Ah, that was my mouth running. Come, your elder brother will drink a cup with you!”
Before he finished asking, he shook his head, as if he had figured out the reason.
Brother Yi had resolved to sever that “ill-fated bond” with Luo Qian’er, and was borrowing wine to drown his sorrow!