Unintended Immortality

He walked along Jade Cloud Corridor again. The scenery before his eyes became familiar. He was just walking in the opposite direction from when he came. There was something unique about seeing things from a different perspective. Thus Song You continued to walk slowly, occasionally admiring the scenery along the way.

That village temple gradually appeared on the horizon.

Approaching it slowly, Song You asked the calico cat walking silently beside him, “Lady Calico, would you be willing to travel the world with me?”

“Travel the world?”

“Yes. That is to explore all the roads of this world. To go and watch sunrises and sunsets in different places. To meet many different people, demons and monsters. To taste the delicacies from different places. To go and experience different local customs and see what kind of lives people are living more than a thousand miles away.” Song You paused for a moment. “My master said that this is true cultivation.”

“Aren't you supposed to take me to see Virtuous Duke Wang?”

“If you are willing, I will tell Virtuous Duke Wang myself.” Song You paused for a moment while still walking at his original pace. After some thought, he added, “Or you could travel with me for a while. Once the qi from incense and offerings on your body has dissipated, you could find some place in the wilderness yourself where you could live freely again. You could also avoid imprisonment this way.”

“In that case, could I go back to my little temple?”

“Do you want to be caught again?”

After pondering for a moment, the calico cat continued to ask, “How long would it be if I went with you?”

“Anyway, it would be a shorter period than being imprisoned.”

“Do you want me to help you catch mice?”

“That wouldn't be necessary.”

“Then what would you want me to do while I’m with you?”

“You wouldn't need to do anything. Just try not to speak in front of ordinary people.”

“Is there nothing else?”

“Nothing else.”

“Why would you want me to follow you then?”

“So that I won’t be lonely.”

“I don't know what loneliness is.”

“Being alone is loneliness.”

“I have always been alone. Being alone is great.”

“Not being alone is great too.”

“I don't know.”

“So...”

“I'll go with you.”

“Good.”

Song You entered the village temple.

However, the calico cat stopped at the entrance and looked around warily. Then she looked up at the lofty, brightly-colored painted deity statues inside the temple. She could not help feeling apprehensive, seeing how inferior its own tiny clay cat statue was in comparison. Seeing Song You go in, it hesitated for a moment before finally crossing the threshold.

It was just midday, and there were no overnight guests in the temple. Song You turned and closed the temple door behind him.

Looking around, there were incense sticks on the altar.

They were probably left behind by jianghu people.

These jianghu people knew that the temple deities needed incense and offerings. They had depended on these deities for offering lodgings and shelter from the rain here. Thus, they would often leave some incense on the altar, besides lighting a few incense sticks themselves. That way, later visitors who might not have brought any with them could still offer the deities some incense.

Herbal incense was not worth much money, but the reverence of people was invaluable.

“Thank you.” Song You took three sticks and did not forget to offer thanks.

Holding incense with both hands, he swirled them in circles. With just one circle completed, the incense automatically ignited, and blue smoke rose in spirals.

The calico cat on the floor stared wide-eyed.

“Please appear, Virtuous Duke Wang.” Song You said respectfully as he inserted the incense into the clay brick.

The blue smoke rose and coalesced little by little in the air. Virtuous Duke Wang appeared amidst the blue smoke, clad in colorful robes and emitting divine light. Upon seeing Song You, he bowed respectfully.

“Greetings, Mister.”

“Greetings, Virtuous Duke.”

“Have you investigated it?”

“I have.”

“Was the demon reborn?”

“No.” Song You told him. “It was just a cat that had become a demon. It was ignorant and coveted the incense and offerings in the human world. By chance, some people offered it incense and beseeched it to catch mice. Thus, it audaciously occupied that temple and fed on incense and offerings. Now I have brought it here.”

“Unauthorized and nefarious temples are against Heaven’s law." Virtuous Duke Wang said solemnly. "Mr. Song, thank you for bringing it here. I will detain and punish it according to heavenly laws.”

The calico cat shrank to Song You's feet in fear.

“How would it be punished according to heavenly laws?”

“If it had not harmed anyone, or sucked human souls, qi and lifeforce, it would be kept under control or imprisoned for a hundred years. If it had performed good deeds, the punishment would be halved using discretion.”

Song You glanced at the cat as if to say “See, I didn't lie to you”. Then he said to Virtuous Duke Wang, “But I heard that demons and monsters instinctively feed upon incense and offerings for cultivation. I have also heard of the argument that the ignorant are innocent. I see that this cat demon is a first-time offender. It is not only ignorant; the amount of incense and offerings it has fed upon is pitiably little.

“Furthermore, I observed that it had never harmed any human. Instead, it had conscientiously helped the people in the region by catching mice to protect their food. It had done no wrong. Its heart is not evil. If it were to be imprisoned for a hundred years due to this, it would be unfair.”

Virtuous Duke Wang asked. “Mister, what do you mean?”

“How about I take it with me so that I can guide and reform it properly?”

“But...”

“You are kind-hearted. Please be lenient.”

“But the heavenly laws...”

“The laws are not beyond human sentiment, and heavenly laws also have many unfair aspects.”

“Mister, please speak cautiously.”

“Please, Virtuous Duke.”

“I'm also in a difficult position...”

“I'm not asking Virtuous Duke not to report it to the authorities or to lie that the cat demon occupying the temple had been eliminated. You only need to report truthfully that the cat demon occupying the temple had been taken away by a Daoist priest.”

Song You paused and bowed to Virtuous Duke Wang with cupped hands again. “My name is Song You, and my style name is Menglai. I am a disciple of Daoist Duoxing from Yin-Yang Mountain's Hidden Dragon Temple. Please take note.”

“Hidden Dragon Temple of Yin-Yang Mountain...”

Virtuous Duke Wang's eyes widened for a moment.

This place was only a hundred li away from Yin-Yang Mountain. Although Hidden Dragon Temple on Yin-Yang Mountain had few people, it had a great reputation, and he naturally had heard of it.

After thinking for a long time, he had no choice but to sigh and bow to Song You. Then he disappeared within the blue smoke.

“Oh?” The calico cat recovered from her bewilderment and looked around as if searching for the vanished Virtuous Duke Wang. Naturally finding nothing, she then looked again at Song You. “Has he left?”

“He left.”

“Is everything settled?”

“It's settled.”

“Then let's leave this place quickly.”

The calico cat turned and ran out. She stopped at the entrance after crossing the threshold. She turned back to look at Song You who had not moved.

Song You looked at her with confusion. “Why the rush?”

“I feel uncomfortable here.”

“Do you have an inferiority complex?”

“What's an inferiority complex?”

“It’s…Never mind, let's go.”

Song You also stood up and walked out of the temple.

The calico cat followed with small, quick steps. She looked up to ask, “What is reform?”

“It means to influence you and cause you to change for the better.”

“How will I be influenced?”

“Slowly.”

“How will I change?”

“Talking too much will make you thirsty on the road.”

“How will I change?” Lady Calico asked again.

“You will change slowly.”

“Where are we heading?”

“We’ll go back first to your little temple and destroy your clay statue in order to sever your connection with it.”

“After that, where would we go?”

“To Yidu.”

“What will we do in Yidu?”

“You have quite a curious nature...” Song You muttered.

“But what will we do in Yidu?”

“I haven't decided yet.”

“Well, think quickly.”

“I'll do my best.”

Song You did not expect to be saddled with a curious child full of questions immediately after he was freed from the loneliness of traveling alone.

“Please take care of me, Lady Calico.”

Mysteriously, his mood had changed.

***

A man and a cat returned to the dilapidated temple.

By the time they arrived, it was already mid-afternoon. The round trip had taken an entire day. However, this era was always like this. Everything was slow. A few dozen li of mountain road could squander a day's time.

Surprisingly, someone had arrived to offer incense again.

It was homemade incense again, using materials differing from those used in his own Daoist temple. The aroma was refreshing and seemed to repel mosquitoes. Song You quite liked it.

A loach had been added to the offerings on the altar.

The calico cat swiftly leapt onto the altar. She approached and took a sniff of the three sticks of incense before forcing herself to stop. Her face displayed yearning as she looked at the little loach on the altar. She turned her head toward Song You who was at the entrance.

“Daoist priest, I haven’t yet gone to help the person who offered me incense yesterday as well as the person who offered me fish today to catch mice. Can I go to their houses tonight to catch all the mice?”

Song You looked at her for a long time before he nodded.

“In that case, may I eat that loach?”

“Eat it if you wish, it’s your last meal anyway. Remember that you cannot accept other people’s incense and offerings in the future.” Song You eyed the calico cat before him. Due to her consumption of incense and offerings, she had already acquired some divine powers of the Divine Dao. For example, she could discern who gave the incense and offerings and could locate them through the gifts.

“Consuming incense and offerings will unwittingly bind you to the Divine Dao. You will be dependent on incense and offerings. If the day comes when there is no more incense and offerings, you'll weaken and even perish. Moreover, the legitimate gods from the Heavenly Palace will view you as a nefarious god.”

“I know, I know.” The calico cat lay down on the altar, looking dispirited. She was reluctant to part with her very own temple, her own clay statue, and her own incense and offerings. She had toiled for several years catching mice in order to accumulate all these.

At that moment, she particularly missed her little temple back then.

Although that temple was small and just half the height of the Daoist priest, it was more than big enough for a cat to live in. It couldn't shield her from the wind but it could block the rain. It was not easily discovered by people since it was under a big tree. Thinking about it now, it was simply a cozy little nest.

The calico cat became even more dispirited.

As night fell, the cat went out.

Later, jianghu people arrived seeking shelter. They even brought red incense from the city. Although there was only a clay cat statue in the temple, they respectfully lit three incense sticks while uttering polite banalities. They also greeted Song You before settling down on the dilapidated temple's opposite side.

Song You meditated throughout the night, attuning himself to the mountain's spiritual qi.

The Milky Way revolved in the heavens while the curtains came down in the human world.

He didn’t know when the calico cat returned. When he opened his eyes the next morning and saw her, she looked fatigued. When questioned, she said that the two households were far apart, with one at one end and the other at the other end. He didn’t know where they were.

“We’ll leave after breakfast,” Song You told the calico cat as he munched on steamed pancakes. The calico cat had eaten many mice the previous night and was still satiated.

The jianghu people beside them had woken too.

There was a well-dressed young man among them who had even brought a retinue with him. Perhaps he saw that Song You was young and wearing a Daoist robe so he wanted to get to know him. He came over with air-dried meat and said to Song You. “Mister, are you a cat lover too?”

“Sort of.” Song You replied.

“I, too, am fond of cats. However, it’s unusual to bring a cat along while traveling long-distance like you.”

“Yes.”

“You can’t just eat steamed pancakes. Here is some air-dried pork from my hometown, would you like to try it?”

“I appreciate your kindness.”

“You don’t need to be polite. We are both jianghu people. If we meet, it’s fate. Let’s take it that we already know each other.”

“Thank you.” Song You still smiled as he shook his head.

The man did not become ashamed and angry like other respect-driven jianghu people when he was rejected. Instead, he smiled and turned around to share his pork with the other jianghu people that he had gotten to know last night. After exchanging some flattering words, they started referring to one another as brothers and chatted happily as if they had known one another a long time.

These jianghu people have seen a lot and heard all kinds of gossip. Song You enjoyed listening to them chat and boast even if many parts were exaggerated.

Not long after, the steamed pancakes were finished.

“Let’s go.” Song You said and he got up and went out.

The calico cat followed behind on her own initiative.

The group of jianghu people stared at them. They only started discussing in low voices after they had left.

“This young gentleman is quite interesting, bringing a cat with him while traveling. This cat is interesting too, it actually follows him. My own cat won't even let me touch it.”

Another commented. “That said, it seems that this temple is also dedicated to a Cat God.”

“Yes…” Everyone turned their heads simultaneously and looked at the clay statue on the altar.

Just at that moment, the clay statue immediately began to crack as if it could not bear being looked at. The cracks swiftly spread and widened until they covered the whole clay statue in the twinkling of an eye. With a thunderous noise, the statue broke into countless fragments.

Upon landing on the floor, the fragments had already turned into mud powder.

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