Chapter 124 Illusion: You Are the Path I'm Seeking
Despite his current state of destitution, his weathered face showed no sign of defeat. Gazing at the Jade Immortal Palace hidden in the dense forest, he seemed somewhat excited. He pulled a dry flatbread from his tattered bundle and handed it to A-Jiu, saying, "Here you go."
Ah Jiu sized up the man. He looked even worse off than herself, yet he was sharing his pancakes with her? Ah Jiu swallowed hard, then turned and ran away.
In the following years, Ajiu often encountered this man. He no longer wore his tattered old clothes, but instead wore a sky-blue Taoist robe, holding a whisk in his hand. In the morning mist of the mountains, he was like an immortal appearing in the world. Seeing Ajiu staring at him in a daze, he took out a pancake from his pocket, waved to Ajiu, and said, "Come and eat."
This time, Ajiu didn't refuse. The immortal had an endless supply of pancakes, so it wouldn't matter if he ate one.
Seeing that Ajiu was eating happily, he told her that his name was Cui Jin, and thanked her for pointing him in the right direction. He said that he had become a disciple of the Jade Immortal Palace and had become a Taoist priest.
"Why become a Taoist priest?" Ajiu swallowed the bitter biscuit with difficulty. "Being trapped in that palace for the rest of your life is so boring."
Cui Jin scrutinized Ajiu's childish face, dusted off his whisk, and said, "Seeking the Dao can lead to understanding the secrets of Heaven. Jade Immortal Palace is the closest place to the secrets of Heaven. You are still young and do not understand."
"I want to become a Taoist priest, but the Jade Immortal Palace won't accept me. How did you manage to do it?" Ajiu wiped her mouth after finishing her meal and reached out to touch Cui Jin's Taoist robe.
Cui Jin stood up and took a few steps forward triumphantly. "Because I am about to attain enlightenment. You haven't achieved enlightenment yet, so naturally I won't accept you. When the time comes, I will come to find you myself."
"You're bragging." Ajiu made a face at him, "I don't believe you."
Within a few years, everyone within a hundred miles knew that there was a celestial being in the Jade Immortal Palace who could see through the secrets of heaven. Listening to his teachings was like a sudden enlightenment, bringing profound understanding to those who came to the Jade Immortal Palace. More and more people came to seek the Dao, so many that the wild paths leading up the mountain were almost worn down, and an official road was forcibly carved out of them. Suddenly one day, a large number of soldiers came down from Cangshan Mountain, stopping all other people from entering. It was said that it was the Emperor from Rongdu, who had come to the Jade Immortal Palace to seek the Dao from the Immortal Cui.
—Immortal Cui? Cui Jin. Could it be that he has attained enlightenment…?
Cui Jin returned to Rongdu with the Emperor. The people of Cangshan said that once the Immortal Cui left, he would be on the road to success and would definitely not return to the Jade Immortal Palace. It was a pity that the Jade Immortal Palace had been in decline for a hundred years. Finally, an Immortal Lord emerged, and Cangshan was blessed. The Immortal Lord was invited to the Imperial City. White doves fly towards the light, but they have no pity for the poor and needy.
Ajiu also thought Cui Jin wouldn't return. He recalled Cui Jin's words: "When the time comes, I will come to find you." "Bah!" Ajiu spat. "Immortal Lord, that's nonsense! The Great Dao has already taken its own path."
Who knew that, just over a month later, Cui Jin returned to Cangshan, still wearing a sky-blue Taoist robe. He appeared before Ajiu, took out a flatbread from his pocket, smiled faintly, and handed it to Ajiu, saying, "Want some more?"
"Eat, of course I'll eat." Without hesitation, Ajiu snatched the pancake from Cui Jin's hand, took a big bite, and finished it in a few bites. Ajiu then looked up at Cui Jin, "You went to the capital, and all you ate was pancakes? Didn't you have anything else to eat?"
Cui Jin looked down at A Jiu with great interest. Their eyes met, and A Jiu saw the color of nirvana in his eyes. It seemed that Cui Jin had truly found the path he had been pursuing for many years.
“You’re only in Cangshan, so of course you can only eat pancakes.” Cui Jin stared intently at A Jiu’s raised face.
Ah Jiu stood up. He was fourteen or fifteen years old at the time. Although he was only up to Cui Jin's chin, he was not much shorter than him when he stood on tiptoe and raised his head. "What, then take me to Rongdu."
Cui Jin burst into uncontrollable laughter, laughing so hard his whole body was convulsing. A-Jiu thought he had gone mad. Finally, he stopped laughing, his expression hardening. He lowered his voice and said, "You have no skills whatsoever. How do you plan to go to the capital? Just with that handsome face that everyone envies?"
Ah Jiu smugly stroked her face, "If one could truly enter the capital city with just a pretty face, what's wrong with that?"
“A face alone is not enough.” Cui Jin reached out and stroked Ajiu’s face.
Suddenly, Ajiu, walking along the palace path, felt a jolt. He seemed to feel the rough, calloused skin on Cui Jin's palm again. Cui Jin's palm was like a knife, and the rough calloused skin rubbed painfully against Ajiu's skin. Time flies, and many years have passed in the blink of an eye, yet the scenes seem to have happened just yesterday.
"I bet you came back even after entering the capital," Ajiu said, wiping her mouth and laughing at him. "Don't tell me it's time for you to come looking for me?"
Cui Jin lowered his hand, staring intently at the arrogant young man before him. He had thought that he would never attain the Dao even if he devoted his entire life to it, until he went to Rongdu at the invitation of Emperor Mu You of Jin. In the Zetian Hall, he preached the Dao to the emperor and his ministers. Standing beside Mu You was a familiar young man. The young man wore a bright yellow satin robe, had wheat-colored skin and phoenix-feather eyelashes, and wore a gilded crown with black jade buckles. Among the emperor and his ministers in the hall, he listened particularly attentively. When he heard something he didn't understand, he would ask questions. As Cui Jin patiently explained, he nodded repeatedly, his eyes full of admiration.
The boy's name was Mu Chenbi, the eldest son of Mu You and the crown prince of Jin. If Cui Jin hadn't known that Ajiu was still scavenging in Cangshan, she would have thought... that Ajiu had also followed them to the Zetian Palace. Ajiu, the homeless boy from Cangshan, actually looked exactly like Crown Prince Chenbi.
It was at that moment that Cui Jin finally attained the Dao.
“Yes, I’ve come to find you,” Cui Jin said softly, “but the time isn’t right yet.”
Ah Jiu chuckled, plucked a blade of grass and put it in her mouth, thinking, "So this is just teasing me." She turned to leave, but Cui Jin called her back.
"Do you dare to trust me just this once?" Cui Jin's voice was like thunder, stopping A Jiu in her tracks. "In three to five years at most, you will not only be able to step into the city of the emperor, but also go straight to the emperor's side, gain the respect of thousands, and enjoy unparalleled glory."
"Still being amusing." A-Jiu spat out a piece of grass and flicked her nose at Cui Jin, "Immortal Lord, are you trying to step on me to ascend to heaven? Let's go."
"The Emperor has offered me the position of National Preceptor. What do you think? Should I accept this position?"
Ajiu stopped in her tracks. "Then why did you go back to Cangshan? What is the Imperial Preceptor? Is he inferior to the Taoist priests of Yuxian Palace?"
"The Imperial Advisor is second only to the Emperor and above all others."
"You're not even going to do this?" Ajiu clicked her tongue. "You must be crazy."
Cui Jinchao extended his hand to Ajiu, "So what if you're above ten thousand people? You're still second only to one. If you want to do something, go to the top of the clouds and sit on the throne. What I can't do, I'm willing to help you do."
Ajiu remembered laughing so hard he almost choked. Cui Jin must have gone mad, completely mad. The Azure Cloud Peak, the Dragon Throne? Ajiu hadn't read many books, but he wasn't stupid. Every word Cui Jin said was treasonous. He wanted to die, but Ajiu hadn't lived enough.
Seeing that Ajiu left without looking back, Cui Jin said loudly again, "You are a beggar who doesn't even have a name. What do you have to lose besides your life? Why not take a gamble with me? When we first met, I was worse off than you. Now I can enter and leave the court and stand shoulder to shoulder with the Three Dukes. The road to success is right under our feet. You should believe me."
Yes. Ajiu hesitated. What did she have besides her life? Was she really going to stay in Cangshan, to die a wretched old age? The world was so vast and wide, yet she was trapped in this tiny place? In his early years, Cui Jin was so destitute that he only had a dry pancake left, yet he still became the Imperial Advisor… Why not give it a try? Even if she lost, it would only be one life.
"You agreed?" Cui Jinchao approached Ajiu.
Ajiu slowly turned around. "You want to..." Ajiu made a throat-slitting gesture, "...regicide and rebellion?"
"Hahahaha." Cui Jin laughed again, pointing at A Jiu's face and saying, "With your face, it can be accomplished without seeing blood."
Ajiu touched her face, completely bewildered by Cui Jin's words.
Cui Jin breathed heavily, pressing his hands heavily on Ajiu's shoulders. "You don't know what kind of face you have. Even God is helping me. Heaven has eyes. It lets me know that there is still so much I can do. Ajiu, you are the path I've been seeking."
Cui Jin told A Jiu his plan, and A Jiu listened as if to an impossible story. Yet, he was obsessed with believing Cui Jin. Later, A Jiu kept wondering why he was willing to believe him and risk everything to do something almost impossible. Perhaps he really had nothing to lose. A Jiu had been in Cangshan for far too long, yearning for a different life. He didn't have high expectations for the glory Cui Jin described; as long as he could leave Cangshan, he didn't care where he went. Breaking out of his predicament, A Jiu believed he could forge his own path.
Cui Jin said that in order to gain the emperor's special attention, he had to do things that ordinary people could not do. Therefore, he would gouge out one eye to die for his cause, tattoo Taoist symbols on his face, and then agree to become the national teacher of Jin. He would use this face to intimidate the court and show his intentions. At the same time, he would also prove to Ajiu his determination to succeed. He promised Ajiu that he would definitely do what he promised, even if it meant ruining his face.
Guided by Cui Jin, A Jiu left Cangshan and went to Tangshui City. This city was a hub of transportation, a gathering place for refugees, and most importantly, it boasted the largest wharf in Jin State. People could travel north or south, boarding large ships and going wherever they pleased. Cui Jin instructed A Jiu that upon arriving in Tangshui City, she would encounter a man with a two-pronged beard. This man would gather eligible young men in the city every autumn and send them to Canglang Island.
—I'm also going to Canglang Island. What will I do when I get there?
—On Canglang Island lives the Pei clan, whose long-cherished wish is to one day return to Rongdu. Once there, you can leave the island with them and you will no longer be the nameless and abandoned Ajiu. You will have a brand new beginning.
—If the Pei family cannot return to Rongdu, won't I be trapped on the island for the rest of my life? What's the difference between that and being trapped in Cangshan?
"You don't believe me?" Cui Jin's voice was like a ghostly moan as he glanced at A Jiu's hesitant face.
—It's not that I don't believe you, it's that I don't believe the Pei family. Xingguofang has been stranded on a deserted island for decades and has long been forgotten by the world. In a few more years, I'm afraid the family will be wiped out on the island.
—As long as the fire in the Heavenly Furnace is still burning, the Pei family will not perish. In three to five years at most, I will travel to Canglang Island on the Dragon Head Treasure Ship, and then we will meet again.
On the dragon-headed treasure ship, Ajiu saw the black-robed man's breathtaking face. Cui Jin, he really did it.
Xingguofang actually managed to do it too. Heaven knows how they melted the meteorite, and Guan Ye forged the meteor sword. Just as Cui Jin said, Xingguofang returned to Rongdu, and Ajiu also came to the capital.
The large ship took ten days to reach Rongdu. At the dock, Cui Jin personally welcomed Xingguo Ward with great honor. His single eye keenly spotted Ajiu. He casually brushed past Ajiu and whispered to her, "You will see him tonight at Tianhu Ward."
—Ajiu knew that the "he" Cui Jin was referring to was Crown Prince Shen Bi.
Before Guan Ye entered the ward, A Jiu had already hidden in Tianhu Ward. In the darkness, he saw the person who looked exactly like him. Cui Jin hadn't lied to him; there really were two identical faces in the world. If he hadn't known his true identity, A Jiu would have truly believed that he was Mu You's hidden gem. For a moment, A Jiu unconsciously gripped the sword in his hand, wishing he could kill Mu Chenbi silently and then walk out of Tianhu Ward in a grand manner... Could he... then take the place of the Crown Prince?
But she quickly dismissed the thought. Guan Ye cautiously crept into the backyard, where she saw Mu Chenbi. Guan Ye… how silly of her! She plopped down next to Mu Chenbi and asked, "Where's your sword?"
Mu Chenbi seemed to take an interest in Guan Ye, who had seemingly fallen from the sky. He even smiled at her. In the unfathomable night, he gazed at Guan Ye's innocent face and revealed a warm and generous smile.
Guan Ye also called him "A-Jiu".
Ajiu was about to answer, but he held back. Mu Chenbi stopped in his tracks, caught the cloak Guan Ye threw at him blankly, thought for a moment, and then draped it over a tree without uttering a word of reproach.
Ajiu loosened her grip on the sword, lowered her brows, and mocked herself, "Even if you kill him, you can't replace him."
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