Techniques and Dao

Chapter 48 The Mirror of Love and Lust
"You two thieves, how dare you!"

Hei Yun, wrapped up like a dumpling and tied to the chair, struggled desperately to break free: "Unauthorized restriction of the freedom of public officials is a serious crime!"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun said unhurriedly, "Hei Yun, don't make things difficult for everyone! Quickly help us open the passage to the human world, otherwise I might accidentally shave your head and make you a monk... no, a nun. That would be quite an awkward situation."

Hei Yun turned to look at Hua Sheng: "Hua Sheng, I, Hei Yun, once saved your life!"

Hua Sheng pleaded with a bitter smile, "Sister Hei Yun! You know our classmates have been arrested! The human world must be in turmoil! We went there only to help those in distress. Please, dear sister, do us a favor and make an exception. Turn a blind eye and let us go to the human world!"

"Pah! One plays the good cop, the other the bad cop! Do you think I can't see through it? Releasing residents of Saint Pingning into the human world is a serious crime. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in jail." Hei Yun gritted her teeth. "Hua Sheng, you really repay kindness with enmity. I even helped you apply for a scholarship. If I hadn't given you pocket money every month, you wouldn't even be able to afford underwear now! If we had known this would happen, Bai Ye and I would have preferred to let you sink to the bottom of the sea to feed the sharks!"

Hei Yun's words were all reasonable. Thinking about how she had tied her savior up like a dumpling, Hua Sheng was so ashamed that she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.

"Confucius was right, Black Cloud, let's not hurt our harmony too much!"

"Pah! That's what Confucius said!"

"In applying ritual, harmony is of utmost importance. Isn't that what Confucius said?"

"Why did you only read half a sentence?" Hei Yun pressed on relentlessly. "The second half: 'Small and large matters follow their own course, but there are things that cannot be done. Knowing harmony and pursuing harmony without adhering to propriety is also unacceptable.'"

"As expected of civil servants, there are indeed many talented people here." Seeing that he couldn't argue with her, Taishang Xiaojun could only grin and say, "You helped me today, and I'll have a good talk with my grandfather, Taishang Laojun, about getting you a promotion and a raise!"

"Get lost! If your grandfather knew you did this, he'd skin you alive!" Hei Yun remained steadfast and refused to budge.

"How could that be? The Dao Ancestor has only one grandson left; he'd be heartbroken to skin me alive." Tai Shang Xiao Jun didn't care about Hei Yun's words. "As for you, even if I'm incompetent, I'm certainly good at ruining things. I might not be able to promote you, but I could probably demote you..."

Black Cloud was stunned.

"If we're caught and taken back like this, I'll just say that you instigated us to go to the human world. I'm capable of dragging one more person down with me. Hehehe!"

"You really are a scoundrel!" The one who said this was Hanamori.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun turned to look at Hua Sheng: "Hey! You actually stole her lines? Don't you have any humanity? I'm on your side, after all."

Hua Sheng said, "These are extraordinary times, and we really need the spirit of a rogue. And I've noticed that your portrayal of a rogue is truly natural; it doesn't feel exaggerated or pretentious at all. Please continue your performance."

"Is this your praise?" said Taishang Xiaojun.

"Could it be that you've been planning to sneak off to the human world for fun all this time?"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun was stunned as if struck in a weak spot, and said, "That's a really nasty thing to say!"

"As expected, I hit the nail on the head!" Hua Sheng finally realized.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun didn't respond further. He put his feet down on the black cloud stool and said with a stern expression, "Black Cloud, let's not beat around the bush. Our Sheng Ping Ning has indeed had no connection with the mortal world for a thousand years, but I believe you've heard that a major incident has occurred at the Daoist Academy. The Xuanwu Spirit Serpent has been resurrected and escaped to the mortal world, even abducting a deputy registrar of the academy's student council. This has never happened before. I know how the immortals of Sheng Ping Ning are discussing countermeasures; it will take at least ten days to half a month to reach a conclusion."

"But we absolutely cannot stand by and watch our fellow disciple fall into danger. Therefore, even though Saint Pingning doesn't concern herself with worldly affairs, we must still go to rescue our classmate. Your magnanimity is, in a way, an act of kindness, which is far better than regretting not having done anything when you learn of your young disciple's death. Besides, time is of the essence; saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, and saving a celestial being is better than building a seventy-story pagoda. We hope Sister Heiyun will be lenient!"

Faced with Tai Shang Xiao Jun's righteous words, Hei Yun remained silent.

“You’re using both soft and hard tactics. Even if you knock me unconscious,” Hei Yun lowered his head, “I will never tell you that the passage to the human world is in the calligraphy behind you.”

"Black Cloud, you're a smart person." Tai Shang Xiao Jun patted her on the back, and Black Cloud was immediately struck by a spell and fell into a deep sleep.

Then, turning to Hua Sheng, he said, "I told you long ago. Civil servants are all talented people."

Tai Shang Xiao Jun looked at the wall behind the black clouds, where a long scroll was pasted all over the wall. Upon closer inspection, it was made up of hundreds of pages of manuscripts, with densely written text.

Hua Sheng also leaned closer to examine it carefully. It seemed to be an excerpt from a chapter-style novel from the Ming and Qing dynasties, but it did not start from the first chapter. The opening page read "Chapter 81".

He read a few sentences carefully and actually saw the words "Jia Baoyu".

"Isn't that 'Dream of the Red Chamber' pasted on the wall?!"

"Yes. The extant version of *Dream of the Red Chamber* was originally titled *The Story of the Stone*. This book has also been known by other names, such as *The Record of the Amorous Monk*, *The Mirror of Love and Lust*, and *The Twelve Beauties of Jinling*," Taishang Xiaojun replied.

Hanamori glanced at it carefully and found that there were forty chapters on the wall. The final ending was in chapter one hundred and twentieth.

"Why is there only the second half?"

"Because the first eighty chapters were written in the human world."

"Wait, I remember reading 'Dream of the Red Chamber' when I was a child. It was indeed 120 chapters."

Have you ever heard of Zhiyan Zhai?

"I heard that he was a close friend of the author Cao Xueqin and commented on 'Dream of the Red Chamber'. Some editions even have a special edition with commentary by Zhiyan Zhai."

"When Cao Xueqin was alive, he completed the entire Dream of the Red Chamber, but the last forty chapters were lost during his lifetime. Later, Cao Xueqin wanted to finish the book, but due to serious illness, he died without completing it. His friend Zhiyan Zhai then took these eighty chapters for publication, and according to the Jiaxu 'Prologue,' it was renamed The Story of the Stone. During the Qing Dynasty, a man named Cheng Weiyuan commissioned Gao E to continue writing, and he completed these forty chapters. Finally, it was published as Dream of the Red Chamber with one hundred and twenty chapters."

"Then what are these forty chapters of manuscript that are currently posted on the wall?"

"It is Cao Xueqin's own manuscript."

"Heavens! How could Cao Xueqin's original manuscript be here?" Hua Sheng stroked the yellowed manuscript of this masterpiece on the wall. Tai Shang Xiao Jun carefully searched the manuscript for something.

"In fact, before his death, Zhiyan Zhai retrieved the first forty chapters written by Cao Xueqin. Some say that these forty chapters had always been in Zhiyan Zhai's possession. However, during the Qing Dynasty, literary inquisitions were in effect, and to avoid disaster, he never took them out. Before his death, Zhiyan Zhai encountered the immortal Lan Caihe, who was traveling in the mortal world, and entrusted the last forty chapters, which could not see the light of day, to Lan Caihe. To prevent this masterpiece from being destroyed in the war, Lan Caihe took these manuscripts to Shengpingning."

"In fact, even now, many treasures lost in the human world, though seemingly vanished into the long river of history, are actually kept in various places in Shengpingning, just like my Ganjiang and Moye swords. These priceless treasures have not been destroyed, but rather better preserved, which is perhaps a better fate. I never imagined that this unparalleled book would be the passage between Shengpingning and the human world."

Hanamori exclaimed in surprise, "I have to see what the real ending is!"

"Lin Daiyu still died the same way. Drowned in a lake. Only the method of death was different," Taishang Xiaojun replied.

Suddenly, the two heard a noise in the corridor outside, as if footsteps were approaching.

Hua Sheng looked nervous, worried about being discovered: "We have to leave quickly! Otherwise, if someone sees Hei Yun like this, it will be difficult to get away!"

"I should have realized it sooner! This is the reason why Sheng Pingning used this book as the basis for the Hunyuan Dao!"

"What does this have to do with Dream of the Red Chamber?"

"Saint Pingning is built within a single tear of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, and what tear in the human world can compare to the 'repaying tears' story in 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' the foremost of the Four Great Classical Novels? Moreover, because there is only one original manuscript, Saint Pingning can control its entry and exit. And there are countless copies of the previous manuscript in the human world, which means that every location of any copy of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' in the human world can become an exit!"

"There's no time to lose, we need to get out of here right away!" Hua Sheng heard footsteps approaching.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun quickly searched the back of the book and said, "Please help me find it!"

"What are you looking for?"

"It should be the word 'tear' used to describe the Crimson Pearl Flower, which is also used to describe Lin Daiyu, and her last tear!"

Upon hearing this, Hua Sheng quickly searched and finally found the character "tear" in the book. To the left of the character "tear," there was a drop of ink that was gold in color.

"This is it! The tear that connects the mortal realm with the Holy Peace!" the Supreme Lord cried out, "Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!"

The speck of golden ink suddenly emitted a dazzling light. Tai Shang Xiao Jun grabbed Hua Sheng's hand and flew towards the light!

The passage wasn't long, and accompanied by a burst of golden light, the two instantly found themselves in a narrow space. As soon as they settled, they were met with a deafening roar and a bone-chilling cold, as if they were in a freezer. Various pieces of luggage were piled haphazardly around them.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun shivered: "I thought we'd end up in a bookstore. But where is this? It looks like a warehouse?"

Hua Sheng glanced at the mountain of suitcases and bags, each covered with layers of mesh bags. The deafening roar of the engines made it feel like being in a factory; listening to it for too long would give you a headache.

To make sure Taishang Xiaojun could hear him more clearly, Huasheng had to raise his voice: "It's too noisy here, let's use the wall-penetrating technique to get out of this awful place."

"What did you say?" Tai Shang Xiao Jun seemed not to have heard clearly because of the noise.

Hua Sheng shouted hoarsely, "I said! Let's use the wall-penetrating technique to leave!"

"Good!" Tai Shang Xiao Jun gave a thumbs up.

The two then made hand seals and chanted incantations, passing through the floor below. Just as they passed through the space below, they simultaneously heard a female voice broadcasting from a nearby loudspeaker.

"Dear passengers, we are about to arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Please fasten your seat belts, stow your tray tables, and open your sunshades."

Then Hanamori felt a hurricane and the roar of a huge engine!
"Wow!"

Hua Sheng then realized he was in mid-air. He looked up and saw a Boeing passenger plane whizzing past, brushing past his hair.

It turns out that it was in the luggage compartment of a commercial airliner just now. Who would have thought that the Dream of the Red Chamber that traveled back to the human world was on a passenger plane?

Books should mostly be found in bookstores, right?
As the commercial airliner flew overhead, the two began to fall.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Free fall!" Hua Sheng exclaimed. This feeling of weightlessness was no different from skydiving, the only difference being that he didn't have a parachute behind him.

The city below appears brightly lit, illuminating the sky as if it were daytime; it is the stunning night view of Lujiazui in Pudong, Shanghai.

"What a bustling city!" Tai Shang Xiao Jun folded his body into a shuttle shape and accelerated as he swooped down.

"Oh dear! I'm so nervous, how do you pronounce the incantation for the Cloud Riding Technique again?" Hua Sheng was flustered and clumsy.

"Not studying hard during the regular season, but cramming at the last minute!"

Upon hearing this, Hua Sheng had a sudden inspiration and indeed clung to the leg of the Supreme Lord Xiao Jun.

"What are you doing?"

"At a time like this, you should definitely cling to someone powerful!" Hua Sheng said.

"I despise you!" Tai Shang Xiao Jun gave him a disdainful look.

The two slowly floated down to the top of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, located in the Lujiazui area of ​​Pudong, Shanghai, onto the transmitting antenna.

(End of this chapter)