Chapter 153 Refutation of the Spiritual Master In the summer evening, the sky is golden red. The Taoists sat under the pine trees to eat. Today, there is a big pot of braised pork with dried bamboo shoots on the table. It is made from the tender bamboo shoots that I dug on the mountain during the Spring Festival. I only took the bamboo shoots and braised the three-line pork belly. It is shiny and fragrant. There is a plate of ham fried with wild vegetables. I forgot which pilgrim sent the ham from the mountain, but it is of good quality. There is also a pot of fish head and tofu soup. The fish caught by the seventh brother and the tofu made by the younger sister are all dishes that go well with rice. It’s a pity that Master is not here today as he is in seclusion meditating. While eating, Lin Jue told his eldest and sixth senior brothers about his failure to obtain help from the spirit medium, and asked, "Did the eldest and sixth senior brothers also look for the spirit medium many times?" "Why would I look for it so many times?" The eldest brother said whatever he wanted to say, "I only looked for it once." “I only looked for it twice.” "Ok?" Lin Jue looked puzzled. The junior sister was paddling rice beside them, making a clanging sound.
The third brother was also adding rice and turning the bowl, and at the same time he said, "It's over, Junior Brother, it must be because you have bad character, your heart is not sincere, and your five energies are disordered. You are an evil person, and that's why it happened." "Because the seven magics of our Fuqiu Peak are inherited from our ancestors, almost all the ghosts and monsters in Yishan who are suitable to be mediums know us. Some mediums were originally mediums for our ancestors, and now they are bored so they become our mediums again, or their ancestors were mediums for our ancestors." The sixth brother directly ignored the third brother and said to him, "It is naturally easy to find mediums." "Tell me in detail where you invited the spirit medium, how you recited the words to find the spirit, and what you said. Tell me everything." The eldest brother also put down his chopsticks and looked at him with concern. Lin Jue recounted the entire incident in detail, and then said: "At first I thought it was because of Fuyao being beside me that the spirit mediums thought I had broken the rules and were unwilling to associate with me. But then I went up the mountain alone again and the situation was the same as last time." "Is there a possibility? The news that you broke the rules spread among the goblins and ghosts in Yishan, and they all agreed to ignore you?" The third brother speculated while eating. As soon as he finished speaking, he was given a cold look by the eldest senior brother. The junior sister also silently took the spoon, scooped a large spoonful of dried bamboo shoots and pork belly, and poured it into his bowl, trying to shut his mouth. "That's strange." The Sixth Senior Brother said, "After dinner I can ask my family's spirit medium the reason." "Don't worry, just be patient. The spirit medium should pay attention to fate, and it can't be forced." The eldest brother said, "Besides, even if it really doesn't work, we have many familiar spirit mediums in our temple. For example, the spirit mediums of Master's good friend and I and Sixth Junior Brother are of the same clan and lineage. When the time comes, I will ask them to see which one of them is willing to be your spirit medium." "it is good." Lin Jue was relieved. Actually, there is no need to rush. After finishing his meal, he took a chair and sat under the eaves of the main hall, thinking of nothing. He just watched the sunset in the distance and played with the fox's tail. After a while, there was a noise beside me. It was the junior sister who came with another chair and placed it next to his. She also went to get two bowls of brown sugar jelly, and gave each of them a bowl, and they sat down to eat. Some of the brothers were pacing in the yard, some were fiddling with their own things, swallows were chasing each other in the sky, bats were flapping their wings with heavy sounds, cats were playing and fighting or sitting and yawning. This scene reminded Lin Jue of the first day he and his little sister went up the mountain. There was such a beautiful sunset that night, and the Taoist temple was so quiet and peaceful.
How can we not miss such times? I just looked around, but couldn't see my master. …… Night had already fallen. There was a lamp lit in Lin Jue's room. There was no lamp oil and the light was not irritating to the eyes, so he continued to write by the light. The fox was still watching him. Now I have finished writing the fossil method and have started writing another spell. This process is indeed very beneficial, as if it is another careful understanding of the magic. In the process of writing, there will be new discoveries and experiences. It is undoubtedly another way to improve besides practice. By the time I finished writing, I was feeling a little tired. After stretching, he went to bed. Even in summer, it is still a little cool in the mountains at night, and it is even cooler because there are bamboo mats underneath. Now I am covered with a bear skin blanket, which is soft and comfortable. One side is warm and the other side is cool, which is suitable for falling asleep. I really had a dream tonight. The dream was a mess. First there was some strange and mysterious magic, then there was the magnificent and steep mountain scenery, there was the gorgeous sunset, and then I was flying with the wind, and probably my hair was picked away by the birds in the mountains. The last thing I dreamed about was the past. It was before I came into this world. But Lin Jue unexpectedly discovered that although a few years was not too long, the past in his dream was very vague and ethereal, even more vague and ethereal than those strange and mysterious magic spells, the sunset mountain scenery that could only be seen on Mount Yi, and flying in the wind. Even when I woke up and sat in bed, recalling the past, the memories were so vague. I know that “the closer things are, the clearer they are” is a true principle, but I still can’t help feeling lost and confused. After sitting there for a long time, he finally got up. The sun dispelled the morning mist in the mountains and gradually rose to the sky. The man and the fox left the Taoist temple again and came to the mountains. But it's not going up, it's going down. At this time, the road was full of tempting fruity aroma. By the time Lin Jue sat down in the forest, he was already at the foot of Fuqiu Peak. He was sitting on a piece of dead wood. The fox stood beside him, put its front paws on the dead wood, stood up, and looked up into the forest. A strange sound came from deep in the woods: "Why are you feeling a little upset today?" The fox's ears moved immediately, turning forward and then backward, and at the same time turning its head around, looking for the source of the sound.
"I had a dream last night. The things in the dream seemed real, but they were also very vague. It seemed that they were not real, and they seemed to be very far away from me. So after waking up, I felt lost and confused, and it was difficult to tell what was real and what was not." Hearing the Taoist priest beside him respond, it turned its head and looked at Lin Jue in the direction of the voice. "What does it mean to be difficult to distinguish true from false?" "I don't know if you have this feeling, but sometimes when I think back to the past, because it has been so long and so far away, it seems like it was in the past, but also like it was just a dream." “Everyone in the world feels this way.” "That's it..." "The dream world is mysterious. Who knows which life you are in right now, or which life you are dreaming about?" The voice in the forest answered, "In ancient times, a wise man dreamed of a butterfly, and it seemed so real. But he couldn't tell whether the butterfly was a dream or this moment was a dream? Did he dream of a butterfly last night, or did the butterfly just fall asleep and dream of him now?" "What do you think, senior?" Lin Jue followed the sound and looked into the distance. "The Buddhist theory is wrong! If you think about your past life, you will delay your present life. If you think about your future life, you will neglect your present life. In my opinion, only the present moment is truly precious!" "rational!" Lin Jue stood up and said to it: "I would like to ask you a question during this trip." "Humph! Who are you? Who am I? Why do you ask me whenever you want?" "..." Lin Jue smiled and continued: "Recently, I have been learning the art of writing with a planchette in the temple. However, I have found several 'immortals' on the mountain with the art of writing with a planchette, but they just looked at me or talked to me for a few words, as if they had discovered something surprising. They left without saying hello. I have been troubled for a long time and don't know why." "You still don't know the reason? How stupid!" "Please give me some advice, senior." Lin Jue pretended to be humble and sincere, but he heard the voice in the forest speak bluntly: "Why should I tell you?" "Could it be that the five energies of this junior are not pure?" "You guessed wrong! Although your five qi are not as pure as those of a saint, they are still considered to be in the middle level among the current disciples of your Taoist temple. The only ones whose five qi are purer than yours are your junior sister, your eldest senior brother, and your fourth senior brother who is cultivating the art of gathering beasts and taming birds." It turns out that I am only ranked fourth! It seems that Guanzhong’s ability to “know people and understand their fate” is really good. As he thought about it, he kept saying: "What's the reason for that?" "Ask yourself carefully," the voice said, "What kind of medium do you want to find? And what do you want the medium to do for you?" "This one……" "If you still don't know! Then let me ask you, what abilities do you think those 'Jixian' who came to meet you at your request should have?" "I am good at answering questions and solving problems, and making predictions and divinations."
"If you invite a spirit medium, what would you ask them?" "Is that right?" "What about you yourself?" "I see." Lin Jue knew it vaguely, and a flash of inspiration came to his mind. He thought about it in line with this flash of inspiration, and then he suddenly realized it. Then the voice in the forest continued: "It's normal for other demons and ghosts not to recognize the fox beside you, but how can you not know or guess that the fox who practices in Yishan Mountain and can be a medium? If you find a medium, and ask them about the ancient great saint, the Yili God, and the Emperor Tianweng, how will they answer? If they answer, will they come to you? And what can you give them in return?" What this "refutation senior" said makes a lot of sense. Especially the last sentence - What can we give them in return? Sixth Senior Brother compared the spirit medium to a counselor, but this was actually just one aspect of the analogy. Fortunately, the environment at that time allowed Lin Jue to understand the process of inviting the spirit medium. If we really want to make an analogy, the two are very different. For example, it is difficult for spirit mediums to “share wealth and honor” with monks. If there are people who come down the mountain to ask for help from a spirit medium, the spirit medium will usually take the initiative. The spirit medium will make a living from this and also seek incense for the spirit medium, so the spirit medium will benefit from it. But the Taoists of Fuqiu Peak are not like this. They do not travel around to make money or ask for advice on the planchets for others. Naturally, they do not get much incense from the planchets. Therefore, the relationship between the Taoists of Fuqiu Peak and the planchets is even more casual. Many spirit mediums only interact with Taoists for entertainment and to relieve boredom and depression in their lives, which is somewhat like the idea that the friendship between gentlemen is as plain as water. Lin Jue, however, wanted to seek immortality through Taoism. But even if he seeks immortality, it is difficult for the spirit medium to become powerful or become an immortal. However, if you make friends with him and his Taoism becomes more advanced, it will involve big matters. Asking the spirit medium for advice is naturally a big matter as well. Not to mention whether the spirit medium knows, even if he does, it would be very risky to tell it out. "Ugh……" Lin Jue couldn't help but sigh: "It seems that it will be difficult for this generation to find a suitable medium." "It's good to know!" Lin Jue chatted with it for a while, but not for long, because this "refutation senior" seemed to like to interrupt, but in fact he didn't have much patience. In the middle of talking, he wanted to chase people away, or simply stopped talking. "Then I left." Lin Jue had no choice but to get up and walk up the mountain step by step with the fox. I have some thoughts in my mind. It was really hard to stop thinking, so he didn't walk far before he stopped on the uphill road and turned around: "Actually, I still have some emotions." "I know it even without you telling me! Is it your master who is about to die?" "Yes."
Lin Jue nodded and said thoughtfully: "There is no need to say more about my master's affairs. However, after my master's lifespan ends, we will have to leave the mountain. The fate between the younger generation and the elder will probably end here." There was silence in the forest, no response. Lin Jue continued: "I originally came down the mountain to look for you today, just to ask you if you are willing to form a relationship with me. Yesterday I went up the mountain to ask for help from the spirit medium, in fact, I wanted to test my magic. But after hearing what you said today, I felt something was not right, so I said goodbye and left." Pause: "But I just walked a distance and thought for a long time. I am unwilling to let my fate with you end here. So I still want to ask you, are you willing to form a fairy fate with me?" Lin Jue did not salute, just stood there. The truth is that I am afraid that performing the ceremony will burden it or seem to urge it on. The forest was silent for a while. Finally the voice sounded again: "How stupid! We have known each other for such a long time, yet you don't know. Am I the kind of person who dares not to speak?" "It was because I was thinking about the fact that I once asked you about Lady Yaohua, Lord Yili, and the Corpse Tiger King. You answered all of them. I knew you were more courageous, so I turned around and asked you again." The forest was silent for a long time. "I don't want to be your spirit medium. But the mountains are lonely, and it's rare for me to meet you. I can give you a talisman. You can use this talisman and the spirit medium to communicate with me." As he spoke, a talisman flew over. "Thank you, senior." Lin Jue took the talisman. I saw that it was gray-brown all over, like wood or stone, without any shape, and there was no writing on it. It looked as if it had just been picked up from the mountains or knocked off a tree. I felt a little surprised. This is the talisman. As a Taoist of the spiritual school, this may be one of the few opportunities in my life to possess and use talismans. And this "refutation senior" said that he was unwilling to be his medium, but gave him a talisman, and asked him to communicate with it with the talisman and the spirit writing technique. If this is not a medium, then what is it? I can be said to have found the medium. Lin Jue thought so before he put away the talisman and bowed towards the forest. (End of this chapter)
