🔑 New Month, New Passkey!
Ko-fi Supporters: The ad-free passkey for November has been updated! Please check your Ko-fi account or latest supporter post to click the new activation link and keep your ad-free access active.

A Prophet - Chapter 10 (Part 6)

Chapter 6 - Eating Noodles with Immortals

The highest realm of cultivating immortality is being able to gather various immortals from all walks of life to sit around a single table and share a meal. First, this represents a strong relationship with the immortals; second, it signifies one's own profound spiritual cultivation, allowing one to sit on equal footing with all the immortal figures. Following the founding of New China, during the mid-to-late 1980s, a nationwide craze for the Book of Changes erupted. A certain "high-ranking master" in Hebei who studied the "Mystical Gates Escaping Techniques" also claimed he could summon immortals to gather. Frequently, while dining, he would declare that something was arriving underneath the table, and then execute kicking and blocking motions with both feet, as though he were already locked in combat with ghosts and spirits. The masses believed it to be real, and those coming to kowtow as disciples to study the arts arrived in an endless stream. Eventually, this immortal-gathering master finally succeeded in gathering the police; after being detained in the police station for half a month, he never spoke of gathering immortals again once he was released.

At that time, Meixuanzi, the hall master of the "Plum Blossom Society," claimed he could summon immortals using the "Hourly Mystical Gates." He set up a major grand altar right in the street, erecting a three-foot-tall ritual platform topped with an Eight Immortals table. At each of the four corners of the ritual platform stood a disciple holding a banner, while a circle of spirit tablets was arranged on the table, including: the Fox Immortal (fox), the White Immortal (hedgehog), the Long Immortal (snake), the Yellow Immortal (weasel), and others. In the center sat an incense burner, candle stands, three-fresh offerings, and yellow prayer papers. In front of every single spirit tablet was placed a large soup bowl, and the bowls were completely empty.

Meixuanzi sat serenely in the principal seat of the Eight Immortals table. First, he pinched talismans, chanted incantations, shook his head, and mumbled words continuously, at times chanting in low whispers and at times gazing up at the firmament, until he finally shouted in a booming voice: "All immortals, assume your positions!"

At this moment, his disciples would carry over a freshly boiled pot of dragon's beard noodles. Meixuanzi personally picked up noodles for each of the great immortals, ladled soup over them, and then served a bowl for himself as well, declaring in a loud voice: "Today, I share a meal with all you immortal figures. Especially for this occasion, Xuanzi respectfully offers a bowl of longevity dragon's beard noodles. I ask that all immortal figures bless the common folk of my region to ensure that all matters are peaceful and prosperous!"

A ritual altar of this kind, where one dined together with immortals, had only ever been attributed to the ancestor of Daoism—the Great Master Zhang Daoling of the Eastern Han dynasty—and even then, it was merely a legend. Yet now, Meixuanzi actually dared to emulate it right out in the open street!

After finishing his declaration, Meixuanzi made a welcoming gesture and then began to eat with great relish, while the surrounding common folk watched in hushed silence.

After about a quarter of an hour, Meixuanzi finished every single noodle in his bowl completely clean. He then stood up, bowed with his hands clasped toward the spirit tablets on the table, and said, "Thank you, all immortal figures, for honoring me with your presence."

The next scene was the moment to witness a miracle. Meixuanzi sequentially lifted the large soup bowls positioned in front of each of the immortals on the table, proclaiming in a loud voice: "The immortals have eaten their noodles, granting me holy water! The holy water scatters upon the earth, extending its blessings to future generations!" With a forceful splash, soup and water cascaded onto the ground with a swishing sound. To everyone's astonishment, the ground was covered entirely in water, but not a single noodle remained! Had the immortals truly eaten the noodles?!

Seeing is believing, while hearing is doubtful. Zhang Zizhan had witnessed this with his very own eyes. The noodles had clearly been ladled into the bowls, so how did they vanish after a brief moment? Throughout the process, Meixuanzi was the only person on the platform, and no one else could have tampered with anything. People watched with their own eyes as the noodles entered the bowls, and watched just as clearly as they dissolved into nothingness.

Meixuanzi withdrew his spiritual energy, performed a Daoist greeting, smiled faintly, and said: "Destiny is tied to heaven, heaven is tied to gods, and gods are tied to me. I am capable of conversing with immortals, so what is there for you to fear? Do not bother going out to calculate your fortunes or read your faces anymore—those things are far too superficial!"

The Second Dam Head was so furious that he ground his teeth, cursing inwardly: "It's bad enough that you're up there acting all dramatic and putting on arrogant airs, but you're also telling the common people not to fortune-tell. Isn't this cutting off the financial lifeline of our 'Jiangxiang Faction'?"

On the return journey, Zhang Zizhan pondered deeply, while the Second Dam Head ranted and raved: "Playing all sorts of demonic tricks! If I get pushed too far, I'll smash his pots, bowls, ladles, and pans along with those spirit tablets, and let's see if he can still eat then!"

Upon hearing the Second Dam Head's description, Grandfather also plunged into deep thought. Had Meixuanzi taken the wrong medicine, or what on earth was going on? Secret societies with such shaky foundations had always been thoroughly respectful and deferential toward the "Jiangxiang Faction" in the past. Today, they actually dared to blatantly spout such wild and arrogant rhetoric! Had they grown tired of living?

The disciples dispatched by Zhang Jiyao had likewise failed to crack the mystery, which was why he had come to consult with Grandfather.

Grandfather said, "I have heard that those who thoroughly comprehend the mystical gates can summon the immortals of heaven to gather. Could it be that Meixuanzi has truly penetrated this mystical gate technique?"

Zhang Jiyao laughed heartily. "Grandfather has been wise for a lifetime, yet you are muddled for a moment. Your older brother here even claims to understand the 'Plum Blossom Numbers of Divination'."

Grandfather smiled as well. "Zhang爷 (Master Zhang), do not forget that Meixuanzi is the successor of Meifuzu, the abbot of the 'Plum Blossom Daoist Temple.' Although the old master Meifuzu has passed away into immortality, Meifuzu's lineage traces back to the Shangqing sect of Mount Mao. His 'Hourly Mystical Gates' is formidable, and his esoteric Daoist magic cannot be underestimated!"

Zhang Jiyao reined in his smile. "Grandfather, your older brother did not come here to play games. Meixuanzi pulling stunts like this concerns the livelihood of both your family and mine. If Grandfather continues to speak in jest, your older brother shall take his leave."

Grandfather hastily said, "Meixuanzi is an extremely cautious person. This time he has made such a grand and ostentatious display—does Master Zhang not find it strange?"

Zhang Jiyao's brows jerked upward.

Grandfather continued, "Those of us in this trade never fight unprepared battles. Does Master Zhang not handle connections up and down before daring to make a move every time you set up a scheme?"

Zhang Jiyao said, "Grandfather means that Meixuanzi has an expert pointing the way behind the scenes?"

Grandfather said, "Meixuanzi has always been exceptionally meticulous and cautious. In the past, he also impersonated immortals, but every single time he stopped right at the proper limit without letting the situation blow up. If his disciples dared to make such a blatant and ostentatious display of swindling people, they would normally be subjected to his punishment."

Zhang Jiyao said, "Meixuanzi also has people within official circles. Could it be..."

Grandfather shook his head. "No, those few adjutants cannot prop up such a massive situation."

Zhang Jiyao nodded. "Grandfather means..."

Grandfather looked at Zhang Jiyao, squeezing a single word out through the gap in his teeth: "Wait."

Popular posts from this blog

The Early Spring - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - The Rainy City That year, the rain in Beijing was heavier than usual, even heavier than in the south where Shang Zhitao had just left. The rain fell in a continuous drizzle, and faint clouds and mist lingered above the sky, making it hard to tell whether the scene was picturesque or desolate. Shang Zhitao was wrestling with her two large suitcases—one packed entirely with books, and the other filled with clothes and shoes, with nothing else inside. Traveling all the way from Nanjing to Beijing, the twenty-two-year-old had accomplished the monumental feat of her first independent migration. Fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead and cheeks, turning her face a flushed pink. Shang Zhitao felt as though she was about to melt. She calculated in her mind that she definitely had to go buy a fan tomorrow. The narrow partition room felt even more cramped because of these two suitcases. She heard the girl in the next room talking on the phone: "Should I go over to your ...
Read more

Against the Current - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Origins It is said that there was once a young boy in Jinling named Chen Wanquan. When he was five or six years old, he lost both of his parents, and his elder brother and sister-in-law sold him to the wealthy Lin family as a bondservant to work in an antique shop. As the days and months passed, he honed a sharp eye for authenticating antiques, calligraphy, and paintings. Because he had no property or family standing to his name, no respectable household was willing to discuss marriage with him, yet he had developed high standards and looked down upon ordinary maidservants. At the age of thirty, his employer promoted him to the position of third manager of the shop. A year later, out of benevolence, the Lin estate granted him a third-class maid named Mistress Xue, ordering the two of them to be wed. This Mistress Xue had originally worked exclusively on embroidery and sewing in the second branch of the household. Because she was quite attractive and possessed a competitive ...
Read more

The Early Spring - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - The Beginning of the Story Shang Zhitao boarded the bus early in the morning. As the city was just waking up, the bus wound its way through the thin mist. With earbuds in her ears, she looked out at the streets. How industrious the people living here truly were; even at this early hour, the sidewalks were already packed with hurried commuters. She was a commuter too, rushing along. She wore a white shirt dress today, cinched at the waist with a slim light-brown belt. Her hair was tied up high, and though she wore no makeup, she radiated a peerless, youthful charm. Sitting there, she looked quiet and well-behaved, just like the obedient child from next door that people always talked about—outstanding, yet not too flashy. Shang Zhitao had always been this kind of person since she was little. Her academic grades were only slightly above average, and her looks were similarly middle-of-the-pack. Because of this mediocrity, even with all her diligence and eagerness to lea...
Read more