The Book of All Things: Born for Joy

With Zhao Qianfan and Li Jiawei's performance over, all the current participants have finished their performances. Next, it's Zhang Xiaochuan's turn to continue recording the competition.

To ensure the smooth recording of the show, Li Zichun specifically instructed before leaving: "Everyone, do your best! I hope to see you all again in the second half of the show, so I can sing my Moonlight Sonata again! Good luck! ~＾0＾~"

After Li Zichun finished speaking, he set off because he had discovered a rather interesting tourist attraction near the recording venue, a field he had never ventured into in his previous life: religion.

He thought about it carefully. As a member of the new era born under the red flag and raised in the spring breeze, he seemed to be atheist, believing in democracy and science, and the heritage and wisdom of the past five thousand years. So every time he went to temples or Taoist temples, he would just take a casual look and not have any in-depth understanding. But since he transmigrated here and took a trip to the underworld, he has become somewhat shaken.

If there are no ghosts or gods in this world, why am I here? If it weren't for the system in my head that could self-destruct at any moment, I would have started to doubt that my previous travels to the underworld, which lacked water, were just my imagination, and that I might actually be Li Zichun himself, who suddenly woke up from a dream.

People are always assimilated by their environment. He didn't want to lose his true self because of the fame and fortune of this other world, so he decided to take advantage of the break during the first half of the recording to learn more about this world.

Qi Tong leaned nonchalantly on his shoulder, looking at the mountain in front of them. Then he turned his head and stared at him with an idiotic look in his eyes, his defiant gaze seeming to say, "You want me to climb up myself? Are you crazy?!"

In the end, Li Zichun could only put it in his backpack and carry the old cat up the mountain.

This place isn't far from the recording site, so he should be able to catch the second half of the recording by the time he gets back.

The mountain he's climbing today is called Sanyuan Ridge. Halfway up the ridge, there's a three-way fork leading to a Buddhist temple, a Taoist temple, and an academy, while the remaining side faces the East China Sea, their filming location – Liancheng, a coastal city. This ridge is famous for its unique geographical location and environment. Zhang Xiaochuan chose this location for the variety show filming because of its magnificent beauty; it boasts mountains, rivers, lakes, and the sea – all the scenery he desires is within easy reach, just a short walk away.

He strolled through the mountains with his cat carrier on his back. Few people were on the road, and he mostly encountered elderly tea farmers, so he wasn't afraid of being recognized. Qi Tong would occasionally peek out and look around at the scenery, somewhat puzzled. As he walked, a hint of surprise slowly crept in, but unfortunately, Li Zichun, who was walking ahead, didn't notice.

Li Zichun walked and looked around, the scenery along the way varied and orderly, quite wild and charming. It took him two hours to finally reach the halfway point of the mountain, and he was almost too tired to continue driving.

In the middle of a main road stands a large octagonal pavilion. The other side of the pavilion gradually branches out in three different directions. The road signs are in the three primary colors of red, yellow and blue, and read Jingxin Temple, Miaoxuan Temple and Detian Temple respectively.

Li Zichun sat in the pavilion, observing the three different paths, each paved with different materials. One was a flat cement road, with many adorable stone sculptures of little Buddha children standing on the fences on both sides, some meditating in deep thought, others reclining and gazing at the sky, utterly charming; another was an old path paved with bluestone slabs, where various poems and verses were occasionally written on the moss-covered floor, and wildflowers sprouted from the cracks in the slabs, swaying in the wind, while long-fallen leaves made a soft rustling sound on the stones; the third was a dirt path formed by later generations, overgrown with weeds on both sides, its uneven surface filled with wood to fill puddles, pebbles, or simply trampled on, leaving footprints still visible. Some even took off their clothes and trod across it. In a short time, this path was a diverse display of ingenuity and creativity.

Li Zichun took out Qitong, fed it some dry food, bread, and ham sausages, and gave it some water. The two of them rested in the pavilion for a while to replenish their energy. The next step was to make a choice.

Li Zichun waved the cat head around wildly, chanting, "Laozi, Guanyin, Confucius, Mencius, clay bodhisattvas, Buddha sits on the slope, and the Jade Emperor laughs heartily."

Finally, the cat's head and entire body of the last seven bamboo sticks fluttered to the ground, facing Jingxin Temple, and the decision was made to start from there.

Seven-Card turned around and started meowing and cursing, but he couldn't understand it. He just threw it into his bag and let it meow.

Jingxin Temple was very similar to the Buddhist temple in his previous life. Because it was located in the mountains, there weren't many tourists, and he figured the other two places were the same. The temple wasn't large, but it had everything one could need, and the things to worship were exactly the same as what he had seen and heard in his previous life. Li Zichun was slightly surprised. Could Bodhisattvas also travel through time? He asked for a meditation room and stayed there. During the breaks, he began to read the temple's scriptures and chat with the monks in the courtyard, discussing Buddhist teachings. The books weren't very long, but some parts were quite obscure and difficult to understand. He spent more time looking at online translations and interpreting them himself.

He finished reading it in a few days. Next, he went to the academy. The ancient books had all been collected by the state and put into museum collections, so what he could see were basically copies that could be bought anywhere. The literature of this era had its own unique writing style, and he had a general understanding of the literary context of the entire era. He also learned that the current vernacular Chinese was finally established after many twists and turns.

The academy's collection of books was vast, but fortunately, he had prepared a large hard drive in advance. Taking advantage of his available funds, he simply paid to download the entire collection. He still maintained his habit of reading and listening to audiobooks at night, a practice he had maintained in his previous life, so he wasn't worried about its usefulness. If necessary, he could even share it with the children in the orphanage, achieving multiple benefits in one fell swoop.

Finally, we went to the Taoist temple. The road was steep and difficult to walk along, but there were still many traces left by people. Along the mountain road, there were iron suspension bridges, ancient wooden plank roads, and many forked paths that people had trod out, leading to unknown destinations. Occasionally, wild rabbits, hedgehogs and other animals would dart across the road. Every time this happened, Qitong would meow a few times, and then everything would return to calm afterward.

Li Zichun strolled through the mountains and forests, humming a song he found amusing and fitting, "Little Immortal": "Having circulated the Small Heavenly Circuit, chanting incantations and making hand gestures / I, a humble Taoist, am a little immortal who attained enlightenment on Longhu Mountain / I have deduced the Nine Palaces Diagram, and performed the Li, Zhen, and Qian hexagrams / I am well-versed in astronomy, geography, and the past five thousand years / I have paid homage to the Three Pure Ones, and bid farewell to Longhu Mountain / I have traveled south and north, cultivating between heaven and earth / Arriving at this precious land, my stomach rumbles loudly / I, a humble Taoist, here divine and tell fortunes, earning a living through my skills. Please trouble me..."

Whether you're asking about marriage or seeking official position, I, a humble fortune teller, will chant incantations and calculate with my fingers, offering guidance one, two, three points. Whether you listen or not, whether you believe or not, our meeting here is preordained. I am a little fortune teller, exchanging divination for wine money.

Oh, the little fortune teller, wandering the world / Oh, the little fortune teller, my fate is not in the hands of heaven / Oh, the little fortune teller

Harmony between Heaven and Man, Interdependence of Form and Spirit, Following the Natural Way

My primordial spirit left my body, smoke billowing from all seven orifices. / Last night in my dream, I was in the Yama King's palace, having my face read. / I rose from Kunlun Mountain, setting out to seek immortals. / I, a humble Taoist, swear to light a cigarette for Laozi in the Lingxiao Palace.

The road is long and the journey is far, and I have no money for the journey. I can only rely on my skills to earn a living in your esteemed place. I trouble you…

Li Zichun's journey to Sanyuanling was finally coming to an end, and it was also the place he was most looking forward to. Jingxin Temple, a place to calm the mind; Detian Academy, a place to learn from the heavens and virtues; Miaoxuan Temple, a place to contemplate the mysteries. What mysteries were hidden here?

After walking for a while, we finally arrived at the mountain gate. The towering stone gate tower was magnificent. A bell rang throughout the valley. A young Taoist boy hurriedly ran over, bowed and said, "Welcome, honored guests. The three masters have been waiting for you here for a long time. Please follow me."

Two people? Li Zichun looked back at the empty space behind him and felt a chill run down his spine. His voice trembled slightly as he asked, "Are you sure it's two people?"

The young Taoist priest asked in confusion, "Isn't that right? Wasn't he clearly standing behind you?"

Under the blazing sun, Li Zichun couldn't help but swallow hard. Good heavens, this is no joke!

PS: Data is from the internet.

"Little Fairy" is a song with lyrics and music by Guo Si and arrangement by Shui Ning. It is included in the album "Little Fairy" and was released on October 29, 2020.