Chapter Twenty-One: Immortal Dream

  The crowd in front of the temple gate was still bustling, with some people waiting to have their fortunes told, worried about their future. Xu Xian didn't know if the countryman had cured his family member's illness or not, nor did he know what fate these people would meet. He only knew that he would see the person they wanted to see earlier than them - Yu Ji. The old Taoist in front of them, and the female Taoist in front of him.

  Because the little girl who led the way yesterday was beckoning to him at the street corner! Following this small guide, Xu Xian entered the mysterious and unpredictable Xuanji Temple from a side door.

  He also realized yesterday that this Taoist priest wanted to say something to him alone?

  A romantic encounter? I'd like to, but it's just a thought. When a beauty invites you, it's something a man can't refuse. Although the other person is a monk, perhaps that's what sparks the strange thoughts in a man's heart.

  But Yu Xuanji was not in the hall, and Chun'er led Xu Xian straight through the hall to the back courtyard of the Taoist temple. The small courtyard had a few pear trees, but at this time the leaves had fallen and the flowers had withered, and it was impossible to see its former appearance. The autumn sun lazily shone from behind the bare branches, and that apricot-yellow figure stood under the tree, catching a falling dry leaf.

  Golden sunshine spilled on her, brown leaves in her hands, a glance back and a smile, captivating the city.

  Xu Xian was also intoxicated by the beauty of this moment, that figure seemed to be not just a shadow, but together with the withered ancient trees beside her, the lazy sunlight, the weathered stone table, and the clear tea and pastries placed on it, forming a feeling that was both ethereal and real.

  It makes one involuntarily let out a sigh of emotion, for it is already deep autumn.

  Life is like the quiet beauty of autumn leaves, perhaps it's a beauty that even the Western poet who sang "life is like summer flowers" couldn't understand.

  Xu Xian's arrival interrupted Yu Xuanji's contemplation, and with a smile, he invited Xu Xian to take a seat. Frankly and without reserve, he asked: "May I ask, Master Xu, whose Taoist methods are you following?"

  Still so direct, Xu Xian sighed in his heart and replied straightforwardly: "It was given to me by a Taoist I met when I was young. I even took him as my master, but unfortunately, I never saw him again."

  "May I ask what is the name and Daoist title of that Daoist? Does Master Xu know?"

  Xu Xian vaguely understood the meaning of what Yuxiang said yesterday, but he really didn't know the name of that irresponsible master. He could only shake his head and say: "He never mentioned it, just pointed to my brow with his finger and gave me a copy of 'Tao Te Ching'." Xu Xian didn't intend to say so much detail, but facing Yu Xuanji, he felt a kind of closeness and couldn't help but speak out.

  "What's Ling Xi?" Fish Xuanji slightly furrowed her brow, and she became even more certain that Xu Xian's master was someone from the sect. However, she deeply understood that this method of teaching, although extremely convenient, also caused significant harm. The people in the Taoist sect were distant from each other, and even if there were one or two good friends, they would usually cultivate individually, rarely forming Dao companions, let alone gathering together like a swarm of bees like secular gangs. Fish Xuanji had grown up in the sect, but after achieving success in her Dao techniques, she had wandered the four seas for many years and hadn't returned. She didn't know why that senior from the sect would use this method.

  Yu Xuanji asked the Taoist priest about his appearance in detail, and finally smiled: "If I'm not mistaken, you should call me 'Shi Jie'!"

  "Master sister!?" Xu Xian was still somewhat bewildered, but surprisingly, he didn't feel much surprise in his heart. Now that he thought about it, the feeling he had when he entered this Taoist temple yesterday, the strong contrast between extreme noise and extreme quietness, even the feeling that Yu Xuanji gave him, were all so familiar.

  "Who is my master?"

  "Your master should be the twelfth generation disciple of Xing Su Hai, Tai Yin Zhen Ren." In fact, she had also seen Tai Yin Zhen Ren once when the gate owner was crossing the tribulation in her childhood, and never saw him again.

  "Then who are you?"

  "I am the 13th generation disciple of Xing Su Hai, my master star is the third star of Nan Dou - Tian Ji, so my Taoist name is Tian Ji Zi. I don't know what your master star is?" Yu Xuanji showed a puzzled expression, this was the thing she couldn't understand the most, what she felt from Xu Xian's body wasn't star power, but an even stranger kind of power.

  Xu Xian didn't have much social interaction with this sect either. Yu Xuanji called him his junior brother, and he could only respond to the call. When asked about his master star, Xu Xian pointed to the top of his head and said, "My master star is the Sun." He thought that taking the Sun as his master star was a clever trick, or even an evil path, anyway it wasn't the right way, otherwise how could he not even establish a star palace.

  "What?!" Yu Xuanji couldn't help but reveal a shocked expression. He had been cultivating in the door for many years and had seen all sorts of miscellaneous stars, but he had never heard of one that could use the sun as its main star. He finally understood why his own star power was being suppressed by the other party.

  Xu Xian couldn't help but feel even more embarrassed and explained: "I really can't resonate with other stars, so I..."

  Yu Xuanji lightly waved his hand, but also revealed an extremely resolute tone, saying: "No need to say more, junior brother, junior sister is not talented, but has been cultivating for many years, and must lead you onto the right path. Why don't you resign from your position at the academy and come cultivate with me here?"

  Xu Xian's mind was in a state of utter confusion, what was going on? Suddenly, a beautiful Taoist nun asked him to give up everything and live with her, and what was the meaning of that fervent look in her eyes?

  "I'm already cultivating now, aren't I? No need to go deep into the mountains and forests! Besides, Sister Shifu, you're also in Hangzhou City."

  Yu Xuanji said seriously, "That's different. Although the Star宿Sea advocates for entering the world to cultivate and experience the hearts of ordinary people, it's just being an observer. If you really get caught up in all sorts of worldly troubles, your Taoist practice will definitely not progress but regress instead. You've only been cultivating for a short time, so maybe you can't feel it yet, but there will come a day when you'll encounter difficulties that are hard to break through and make no further progress."

  Xu Xian fell into deep thought, yes, what he had been thinking was too naive, on the road of life, no one can walk through every path, once a choice is made, there's no room for regret.

  At this time, Yu Xuanji handed Xu Xian a osmanthus cake and smiled: "You don't like to eat the pastries I make? From now on, you can have them every day!" Unlike her usual calm and distant smile, which was as serene as a mountain mist, her smile suddenly had a worldly flavor, as if it were tempting.

  Xu Xian took it with a silly smile: "That's great!" The bamboo shoots hiding beside him shouted in his heart: It's coming, it's coming, Master's ultimate move, that uncle is done.

  Those eyes, full of temptation and strengthened with a threatening aura, were all too familiar.

  Xu Xian suddenly came to his senses: "I can't!" He suddenly remembered the most important task of his life. Waiting for Bai Niangzi's arrival by West Lake, how could he go and hide in a small Taoist temple with another woman first? Cough cough, considering Shuang Xiu was not impossible, but thinking about it also knew it was unlikely.

  "Does your junior brother still have any attachment to this mundane world? Your only sister has already married, and the worldly saying 'a daughter is married to her husband's family' no longer requires you, a younger brother, to worry."

  "How did you know?" Xuxian exclaimed in surprise.

  Yu Xuanji said proudly, "The mysteries of the heart are profound and subtle, how can you understand them now?" In fact, she was also uncertain, she could only calculate Xu Xian's various social relationships and a part of his "past". But as for what he would do in the future, or how things would turn out, she had no way of calculating.

  Xu Xian lowered his head to drink tea, avoiding his master sister's already somewhat scorching gaze, saying: "It doesn't matter!"

  "Could it be that Pan Gongzi who came with you, although he has a stunning appearance, but my junior brother doesn't seem to have a fondness for handsome men!"

  The tea water entered from Xu Xian's mouth and successfully broke out of his nose: "Cough, cough, cough". He finally knew what it meant to be retaliated against. Yu Xuanji gently patted him on the back, and Xu Xian immediately felt all his pain disappear.

  "It's not that you don't resemble her, it's just absolutely not. Please don't misunderstand, I still like women like you."

  Yu Xuanji didn't mind Xu Xian's words, nor did she sit back in her original position. Instead, she paced back and forth, then asked: "What is that? Is it the inability to give up fame, wealth, and profit?"

  Xu Xian said: "My temperament is not suitable for being an official and getting rich, it's enough to be warm and full."

  "Is it because of the entanglement of love and hate, gratitude and resentment, parents and children?"

  "What grudges and grievances could I have at such a young age? Not to mention romantic relationships!"

  Yu Xuanji finally stopped in her tracks and turned back to ask: "What is that?" Not for emotions, not for desires, what else in the world can't be let go of?

  Xu Xian furrowed his brow, momentarily unsure of how to express his thoughts, and forced an explanation: "I like drinking wine and eating meat."

  Yu Xuanji's natural way: "Only ordinary monks and Taoists abstain from wine and meat, while the true immortal path is not lacking in those who drink heavily, and what I love to eat most is fish!"

  Xu Xian said with a sneer: "You're surnamed Yu, I hope it's not because you like to eat fish! Fortunately, it's not because you like to eat beef or pork, otherwise, Niu Xuanji and Zhu Xuanji would be too embarrassing."

  Xu Xian stood up abruptly and began pacing back and forth like Yu Xuanji. From the beginning, he had been wondering why he had refused so decisively. Becoming an immortal or a god, living forever - shouldn't this be the most direct instinct of all living beings? Was it for Bai Suzhen? But hadn't Bai Suzhen also persisted on this path for a thousand years before meeting Xu Xian?

  To refuse the temptation of eternal life for a daughter who is still in a state of nothingness, even Xian himself thinks it's not a good reason. Moreover, being carefree and unrestricted, with no prohibition on wine and meat, everything that Yu Xuanji said is more tempting than any sales pitch from past lives.

  Xu Xian thought and thought, suddenly standing still at the edge of the table, picked up a Osmanthus cake and took a light bite, slowly chewing and swallowing.

  Xu Xian suddenly revealed a relieved smile and said: "It's not that I couldn't bear to part with it, but rather I'm afraid!"

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