Chapter 81

Wang Chonglou, the head of Wudang Mountain, passed away on Little Lotus Peak.

As this news spread from Beiliang to the east, west, and south, the Daoist community was shocked. Wasn't he the one who could sever the turbulent river with a single finger? Hadn't he just achieved the Great Yellow Court? How could he ascend to immortality so suddenly? It should be noted that this "ascension" was not the Daoist enlightenment of Longhu Mountain, but death, a death like that of an ordinary person, from illness or old age. Wudang Mountain made no attempt to hide this. Meanwhile, after the world learned of Wang Chonglou's death, the new head of Wudang Mountain was not Chen Yao, the most respected disciple after Wang Chonglou, nor the oldest alchemist Song Zhiming, nor the mute Wang Xiaoping, who was skilled in swordsmanship, but rather Hong Xiang, a young uncle of Wudang, who was not yet thirty years old. Who was Hong Xiang? Even many of the Beiliang pilgrims did not know his name. Those with keen ears and eyes knew at most that this young disciple, favored by the head, had no ambition and only did trivial things like riding a cow to relax, annotating scriptures, and building furnaces to refine elixirs. Whenever scholars and literati climbed the mountain to write poems, or officials and nobles came to burn incense, they never saw this young Daoist.

On Little Lotus Peak, where the Turtle-Backed Stele stood, a young and elegant Daoist, who had grown up on this peak, changed his attire. He wore cloud-patterned shoes and white socks, and his hair was tied up with a purple sandalwood Daoist hairpin carved with a Taiji pattern. His broad-sleeved Daoist robe was exceptionally new and noble, with two sword-shaped long sashes sewn onto the button area, known as the Lotus Wisdom Sword, a unique decoration of Wudang. Six hundred years ago, the great immortal Lü Dongxuan rode a crane to Wudang and created the two Daoist sashes with his immortal sword, symbolizing the severing of烦恼 (troubles) and the cutting of尘根 (worldly roots). For Wudang, after the immortal Lü, who was the first in both swordsmanship and Daoist enlightenment, ascended to heaven, each generation became less and less capable, especially in the past hundred years, when the grandeur of the ancestral temple was no longer.

The young Daoist lightly leaped onto the Turtle-Backed Stele and looked at the mountain path shrouded in mist. When he was a child, he was pale and weak, and the heavy snow on Wudang covered the stone steps. The Daoists couldn't keep up with clearing the snow, so he was carried by his elderly master. It was said that his eldest brother waited under the Xuanwu Arch for a whole day and night. When he climbed the mountain, he偷望 (sneak-peeked) at his eldest brother a few times, and each time, his eldest brother greeted him with a smile, like a warm but not scalding stove in a wealthy neighborhood. He clearly remembered that at that time, his eldest brother only had a few white hairs, but by the time he grew up, his eldest brother's hair was as white as his master's. His eldest brother didn't seem like a typical head of Wudang. He did everything from chopping wood and cooking to making pickles and sweeping snow. His good temper was learned from his eldest brother. So when his eldest brother said he was the hope of Wudang for the next hundred years, even though he was timid and afraid of trouble, he didn't avoid it. He studied moral laws with his second brother Chen Yao, learned alchemy from his third brother Song Zhiming, studied the Jade Pillar Heart Method with his fourth brother, and watched his fifth brother practice swordsmanship. As for what the Dao was, his brothers spent their entire lives studying without finding an answer, so he wasn't in a hurry. He always felt that as long as he stayed on the mountain, he would eventually understand. At the age of fourteen, while riding a cow, he met a girl in red, and he couldn't forget her, which affected his studies. His eldest brother didn't scold him. Later, when he met her again, she said she was going to Jiangnan and wouldn't see him again. He mustered the courage to tell his eldest brother he wanted to leave the mountain. His eldest brother asked if he would return, and he didn't answer, as he never lied. But his eldest brother wasn't angry; he just said, "Little brother, wait a bit. When I achieve the Great Yellow Court, you can go down the mountain. Your master said you had to be the best in the world to leave, but that was a lie. You're a grown man now, and it's not right to stay on the mountain with a bunch of old men. Later, he waited until his eldest brother achieved the Great Yellow Court, but when he emerged from seclusion, he hesitated. Each time he walked to the Xuanwu Arch, he looked up at the four characters written by Lü Dongxuan with his sword and silently turned back up the mountain. In the end, his eldest brother gave up the Great Yellow Court, knowing he was about to die. On the cliff of Little Lotus Peak, he rubbed his head and smiled, saying, "Let the second brother be the head. You go down the mountain. If you don't, I'll kick you down. The Xuanwu Arch is fine as it is. Why should you bear this burden? I only realized this before I died: the sky is not the highest; the human heart is higher. The Dao is not the greatest; human feelings are greater. Our cultivation is nothing more than cultivating the heart."

Chen Yao, the second brother, appeared at the peak and said with a light laugh, "Head, if you want to look at beautiful women, do it openly."

The new head of Wudang, standing on the Turtle-Backed Stele, turned around, squatted down, and asked with a troubled face, "Second brother, the eldest brother originally wanted you to be the head. Are you angry with me?"

The old Daoist Chen Yao laughed heartily, "Me, the head of Wudang? What a joke! It's obvious that I can't fight the four Celestial Masters of Longhu Mountain, and I can't argue with that White Lotus Scholar. Wouldn't that bring shame to Wudang? Don't ask me; go ask Song Zhiming and Yu Xingrui. Who would want to be the head? If you tell the fifth brother, watch your little brother Wang cut you with his sword!"

The young brother on the stone stele rubbed his cheeks and sighed, "Second brother, I'm not good at fighting or arguing either."

Chen Yao, who rarely smiled, joked, "Master once said that the five of us together aren't as good as you. Besides, we don't want to fight with others. Whether we become national teachers or celestial officials, Wudang has never been interested in such things. For a thousand years, Longhu Mountain has been eager to go to the capital, but we have always refused. Master Lü Dongxuan made it clear that the most mundane and yin places in the world are the imperial palaces, which we should avoid. Although the incense on the mountain is scarce, no one will starve. The mountains are clear and beautiful, and everyone is friendly. The little Daoist boys see you as their great uncle, and some even call you their great-great uncle. They don't fear you; they respect you. Who wouldn't help you with the cows? This is something you wouldn't see on Longhu Mountain. There, the Celestial Master's residence is separate from the mountain, but on Wudang, we are all harmonious. The eldest brother said that harmony brings wealth in the world and harmony brings the Dao on the mountain. I think the eldest brother's cultivation is high, but he couldn't argue with me when we were young. But this time, I think he's right."

The young head of Wudang, who was no longer to be called "great uncle" by the younger Daoists, said awkwardly, "My copy of the *Cantong Qi* is just a rough draft."

At that moment, the evening drum sounded in the mountain, and the mist dissipated, revealing the scenery of the large and small Lotus Peaks.

Hong Xiang stood up and looked into the distance, lost in thought.

Chen Yao smiled, "What's wrong with being called the head? Does that mean you're no longer our little brother? What's wrong with the eldest brother's death? Does that mean Wudang will collapse? What's wrong with the Xuanwu Arch not rising for five hundred years? Does that mean you're no longer Hong Xiang? When Master brought you up the mountain, he naturally had the idea that you would take on the responsibility of reviving Wudang, but more importantly, he wanted you to live freely and happily. The eldest brother felt the same way. These years, you've been riding a cow, hanging books on its horns, and living like a carefree immortal. We old guys envy you. Every day, you read a divination, and every time you look worried, we secretly enjoy it. So whether you go down the mountain or not, we don't care."

Chen Yao's rules, Song Zhiming's alchemy, Yu Xingrui's Jade Pillar, and Wang Xiaoping's sword intent. And the eldest brother's martial arts and Daoist cultivation.

After the Xuanwu Arch, everyone on the mountain is friendly.

This is Hong Xiang's home.

Riding a cow and reading, refining elixirs to relieve fatigue, and leaping eight steps to catch a spider web. Moving with the wind at the mountain's peak, just to see the scenery beyond. Feeding and talking to the yellow crane, just because it's fun.

This is his Dao.

I don't seek the Dao; the Dao comes to me.

The youngest head in Wudang's history said nothing, just took a deep breath.

He took a step.

This step reached ten zhang.

He stepped directly off the Turtle-Backed Stele and out of Little Lotus Peak.

The seventy-two peaks of Wudang faced the main peak.

The seventy-two peaks were shrouded in mist, which all converged on Little Lotus.

Hong Xiang stepped onto the back of a yellow crane and soared into the sky.

Chen Yao looked up at the strange phenomenon and murmured, "Master, eldest brother, you should see this. Little brother has taken a step into the heavens."