I served as Li Bai's page.

I rested on the couch in my study all night, and got up just as dawn was breaking the next day. I combed my hair and went out of the study, where I saw Master Ziyang practicing his martial arts in the courtyard with his eyes slightly closed. I tiptoed quietly towards the outside, careful not to disturb Master Ziyang. Before I had taken more than a few steps, I heard Master Ziyang say:

"Don't leave, come and practice with me."

I stopped and approached Master Ziyang: "Good morning, Daoist Master."

"Stand up straight, head up, chest out, take a deep breath, and exhale with your lips slightly open to expel the stale air from your body. To undergo a complete transformation, you must first know how to breathe properly into your body," Master Ziyang said.

"Thank you for your guidance, Daoist Master." I practiced this exercise first thing this morning as Master Ziyang instructed, and I felt more and more energetic as I practiced.

"Master, breakfast is ready," called out a disciple of Master Ziyang.

"I'm not eating today; I need to digest all the extra food I ate yesterday. Yuehua, go and wake your young master and the prefect for dinner."

I went to the guest room in the left wing, knocked twice, and called out, "Young Master, dinner is ready." No one answered. Just as I was wondering what to do, Cen Xun came over, pushed open the door, and saw Li Bai covered with the prefect's brocade robe, sleeping soundly with his head on the prefect's lap.

Cen Xun went inside and shook Li Bai, saying, "Get up and eat."

Li Bai opened his eyes and looked around, finding himself sleeping on the prefect's lap, covered by the prefect's brocade robe. He couldn't help but laugh. At this moment, the prefect also woke up, moved his legs, felt them heavy, sat up, and said, "My legs are so heavy! Where are my clothes?"

Li Bai sat up, handed the brocade robe to the prefect, and said, "How did your clothes end up on me? Did you help me back to my room?"

The governor said, "I don't know, I drank too much last night. My head still hurts."

Cen Xun said, "Stop talking, get up and have breakfast."

Seeing that Li Bai and the others were asleep, I turned and walked towards the canteen next to Canxia Tower.

"Yuehua, come over after you finish eating," Master Ziyang said to me.

Li Bai happened to step out of the room and asked, "Master, is there something you need from him?"

"This is between him and me, it's none of your business. Go have dinner with the prefect."

Li Bai, having been rebuffed early in the morning, turned around and pulled the prefect towards the canteen.

Upon arriving at the canteen, Li Bai sat down next to me and said, "Don't talk nonsense in front of the old Taoist priest. If you dare to talk nonsense, I'll punish you by making you copy the *Tao Te Ching* one hundred times."

After I finished eating and put down my chopsticks, I said to Li Bai, "Young Master, I will copy the *Tao Te Ching* one hundred times."

Li Bai had a mouthful of rice in his mouth: "You..." Before Li Bai could finish speaking, I had already walked towards Master Ziyang.

When Master Ziyang saw me arrive, he said, "Walk ten laps around the courtyard to help with digestion."

After I completed ten laps, Master Ziyang called me to the futon in front of Yuanshi Tianzun and said, "Sit down, cross your legs, place your palms up on your thighs, close your eyes, and begin meditation. Don't think about anything."

I sat down as Master Ziyang had instructed. At first, I couldn't calm my mind; my thoughts kept wandering. I reluctantly opened my eyes to look around and saw Master Ziyang also meditating on a futon next to me. Gradually, my mind calmed down. I didn't think about anything and just sat there quietly for three or four hours.

Master Ziyang gently patted my shoulder and said, "Get up. Tell me, what important matter requires your attention?"

"How do you know this is important?" I asked.

"I can already see it in your eyes. What is it? Speak."

I stood up, stepped forward, and asked, "Old Taoist priest, is this place very close to Anlu?"

"Yes, you're going to Anlu?"

"Do you know a wealthy man named Xu in Anlu? Doesn't he have a daughter who's past marriageable age?"

"Are you trying to matchmake your young master and Miss Xu?"

"It wasn't me. Someone is acting as a matchmaker for my young master, and I'm responsible for escorting him to the wedding. But I just don't know if Miss Xu would be interested in my young master?"

"Oh, I understand. In a couple of days, I'll take you to meet someone, and we'll have to bring Yuan Danqiu along. He and Yuan Danqiu are acquaintances."

"Thank you, Daoist Master. I knelt down and kowtowed three times to Master Ziyang."

At this moment, Li Bai walked in: "You've stopped meditating. I've come several times already."

I saw Li Bai, turned around and walked towards the study: "Young Master, I'm going to copy the *Tao Te Ching*."

Master Ziyang pulled Li Bai down to sit, observed him closely, and said to himself, "Men should marry when they come of age, and women should marry when they come of age. This is the law that has allowed humankind to reproduce and survive since ancient times. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm not embarrassed; I just want more freedom in seeking immortality and practicing Taoism," Li Bai explained.

"Your destiny is laid out before you. Your first choice should be to accept it, not to run away. Listen to me." Master Ziyang made the decision for Li Bai without allowing him to say more.

Master Ziyang spent two days discussing scriptures and doctrines with Li Bai at the Bitter Bamboo Courtyard, while I became acquainted with his disciples. Compared to Li Bai, I was much freer. Although I was occasionally pulled away by the old Taoist to meditate, I still had plenty of time to wander around various parts of Immortal City Mountain.

"Yuehua, shall we take you to see the Ziyang Cave where my master cultivates? Do you want to go?" one day, a disciple said.

"Is it far?" I asked.

"It's not far; we'll arrive after we cross this mountain."

I followed the two disciples out of the Bitter Bamboo Courtyard and up the mountain path behind Xiangguo Temple. We went up the mountain, then down again, and after turning a corner, we saw an inconspicuous earthen cave on a platform ahead, extending into the mountain. At the cave entrance, two young Taoist priests sat motionless on prayer cushions.

"Senior brothers, we're here to replace you," said the two disciples who were with me.

The two Taoist priests opened their eyes and stood up from the prayer mat.

"Master Ziyang isn't in the cave, are you still going to guard it?" I asked.

"We're not here to guard the cave, but to practice our skills and absorb the spiritual energy within. Don't you feel the mystical aura emanating from this cave?"

I went into the cave and looked inside. Two dim lanterns hung on the cave wall, surrounded by purple mist. Two prayer cushions were placed under the lanterns.

"Is this where Master Ziyang practices his skills? It looks so simple," I said.

"Practicing martial arts is about absorbing the spiritual energy here, not about how good the environment is. You're new here, aren't you? You don't understand," said the young Taoist guarding the cave.

"Second Senior Brother, this is Li Bai's pageboy. Master thinks highly of him. He plays the flute very well."

The young Taoist priest circled me once and said, "Come on, let's go back. Tonight, we'll have a flute-playing competition. Whoever gets the most votes will become the Flute King of Bitter Bamboo Courtyard."

I was somewhat taken aback and asked, "Do all of Master Ziyang's disciples like to play the xiao?" No wonder Yuan Danqiu's only musical instrument was the xiao.

The two disciples who had come with me sat down on the prayer mats and began to meditate. I followed the two young Taoists back to the Bitter Bamboo Courtyard.

Just as they reached the osmanthus tree, Li Bai came out and asked, "Why aren't you in your study? Where have you been?"

I ran up to him and said mysteriously, "Let me tell you, I went to see Master Ziyang's Ziyang Cave."