Chapter 28: The Moon’s Essence and Ancient Tales

Just as it was about to slip, she let out a startled cry, prompting Qíngyǔ to reluctantly come to her aid, securing it and reattaching it to the other side.

“This is silk gauze; it’s not cheap.”

Qíngyǔ, watching her Little Girl bounce about erratically, could only trail behind her, picking up the pieces.

“Oh.”

The Little Girl nodded thoughtfully, and a moment later, one end of the silk gauze, which had just been fastened, nearly slid to the ground once more.

“If you’re going to insist on carrying it, then carry it properly.”

Having exhausted her patience, Qíngyǔ swiftly extended her hand, conjuring a wisp of clear breeze to cradle the silk gauze.

With the streets deserted at this late hour, she simply let the Little Girl have her way.

“Mama! Can you teach me that ‘seeking wind’ spell again?”

Far from being chastised, the Little Girl merely chuckled as was her habit, nudging and squirming her way closer to her mother.

“Didn’t you memorize it?”

“I did!” The Little Girl quickly straightened, answering with a snap, though her expression soon softened. “But when I recite it, it just doesn’t have Mama’s touch…”

Qíngyǔ glanced at her in surprise.

To already grasp such a nuance revealed a child of truly exceptional talent.

While she had subtly guided her during the lessons on “seeking wind,” for her to vaguely perceive the essence of ‘intent’ within just two days…

This was, in any case, far more impressive than her own past. In her previous life, her master had practically laid the concept of ‘intent’ before her, nearly spoon-feeding it, yet her former self had remained utterly bewildered and unperceptive.

It had driven her master to believe his disciple was ensnared by some external, insidious influence, almost prompting him to descend the mountain with others to hunt down and vanquish demons.

Alas, the issue stemmed from no external force; its roots lay entirely within her own being.

[“It is regrettable that while your Dao heart remains steadfast, it is relentlessly ensnared by myriad distracting thoughts.”]

Emerging from an age of information explosion, her mind was, of course, a maelstrom of scattered thoughts.

Her musings concluded, Qíngyǔ extended a hand, directing the Little Girl’s gaze towards the luminous moon in the heavens.

The nascent moon, shrouded in wisps of smoke and cloud, appeared incomplete, its perfect circle marred.

The Little Girl blinked, her gaze fixed solely on her mother’s side—a serene, almost aloof figure, draped in a soft, ethereal radiance, like a solitary immortal bathed in moonlight.

“Seeking wind… seeking wind… scatter through the four seasons, guard my path of Dao, reclaim your pure name.”

As Qíngyǔ’s murmured words faded, a crisp breeze swept across the sky, parting the smoky clouds. The moon, now brilliant as daylight, cast a light that was nevertheless chilling as snow.

Though it was clearly not the Mid-Autumn Festival, no lesser stars dared to trespass upon its solitary splendor.

“Shíqīng, your Dao heart is truly commendable for its wisdom and its lack of entanglement with distracting thoughts. Did you grasp the meaning of that last phrase?”

The Little Girl had been staring blankly at Qíngyǔ for a long moment; hearing her mother’s words, she hastily snapped back to reality, quickly swallowing the drool that had threatened to escape her lips, and answered with urgency.

“I… I heard it!”

“It’s alright, this takes time.”

Observing that the Little Girl beside her had yet to comprehend the true essence, Qíngyǔ felt no annoyance, merely reaching out to ruffle her small head.

“You meanie, looking so beautiful, who is it for… I couldn’t even hear a word you said…”

Engrossed in her own newfound understanding, Qíngyǔ missed the Little Girl’s subsequent grumbling. Instead, she quickened her steps homeward, a sudden insight having sparked within her, one she was eager to verify.

Her method of scattering the sky-spanning clouds and mist posed no issue for mortals; at this late hour, most were already deep in slumber, and any who chanced to witness it would likely dismiss it as an ordinary atmospheric phenomenon.

Yet, upon the mountain just outside the town, two “individuals” were genuinely taken aback by this display.

***

“Old man! Old man! Someone’s blowing away the clouds!”

“What?!”

The Pallas’s Cat had been luxuriating upon a large mountain rock, drawing in the essence of the moon for her cultivation.

The tranquil spiritual energy she had been cultivating surged explosively in an instant, nearly driving her to a cultivation deviation. She frantically halted the flow of her inner circulation and let out two loud cries.

The Earth God, who habitually slept dissolved within the earth, instantly materialized upon hearing the commotion, his form trembling as he scanned his surroundings.

After confirming their solitude, he stamped his staff twice, conjuring a faint, ethereal light that barely enveloped their forms.

“Where is the master who blew away the clouds?!”

With a huff and a glare, the Earth God fixed his gaze upon the innocently bewildered Pallas’s Cat. Trembling with indignation, he brushed at the dusty air before settling onto the ground.

“I don’t know.”

“Then why are you shouting in the middle of the night?”

Noticing his stubborn streak resurface, the Pallas’s Cat could only curl her tail around herself, patiently waiting for the old man to huff and puff until his temper cooled before venturing to speak again.

“Old man, just look at the moon yourself.”

“Isn’t the moon right there? What’s there to see?”

It must be noted that the Earth God, neither tasked with celestial duties nor reliant on moonlight for cultivation, had failed to immediately perceive the profound shift in the moon’s aspect.

Upon hearing the Pallas’s Cat’s words, he tidied his headpiece, then slowly, deliberately, raised his gaze to the sky.

“Oh my heavens!”

The instant his eyes fell upon the moon, the Earth God’s eyes widened in sheer terror, his staff clattering to the ground, only to be retrieved by the Pallas’s Cat, who had gracefully padded over.

“Old man, why are you so agitated?”

Having delivered the staff, the Pallas’s Cat settled back onto the mountain rock, contentedly absorbing the moonlight. This brief interlude had, unexpectedly, allowed her to acclimate to this altered spiritual energy.

The Earth God pointed, first at the heavens, then at the Pallas’s Cat, and finally at himself, sputtering incoherently.

Only after a strenuous bout of coughing to regain his breath did he shakily lean against the mountain rock, settling down to recount a tale to the small creature by his side.

“Truth be told, two hundred years ago… or perhaps three hundred, my memory fails me, but the moon, in its original state, always appeared just as it does now.”

“Then why are you so excited? Isn’t this just a normal thing?”

The Pallas’s Cat, utterly bewildered, nudged his staff back towards him with a paw.

The Earth God found himself mildly amused, shaking his head. “Do you know why the moon’s essence has diminished?”

“Don’t keep me in suspense, why?”

“That is because someone in the celestial realm usurped a portion of this moon’s essence.”

The spiritual vitality of heaven and earth is self-generating, and inherently accessible to all beings.

However, there are always those who covet it all, and the denizens of the celestial realm are precisely such beings.

“Then isn’t that a great thing?”

The Pallas’s Cat rolled over contentedly, her fluffy belly turned towards the moon, meticulously drawing its essence into her meridians. Today’s cultivation speed was remarkably swifter than usual.

“If they weren’t incapable of sealing off spiritual energy, that lot would even seize the very spiritual essence of heaven and earth from you!”

Noticing her utter indifference to the impending ‘storm,’ the Earth God raised his voice, attempting to startle her.

“You old man are spouting pure nonsense! If spiritual energy were sealed, wouldn’t all life, all creation, cease to exist? Who would dare commit such an act?”

“Only lone spirits like you and I would be cut off!”

The diminutive old man again made a menacing gesture, and seeing the Pallas’s Cat obediently curl into a ball, he finally settled back, content, to recount tales of the past.

“You remember that valley we passed through before I brought you here?”

“Mortal accounts claim that immortals clashed there, severing qi-veins and altering watercourses.”

“Altering watercourses, my arse! Someone was attempting to seal off spiritual energy, and a passing sword immortal, finding the act reprehensible, simply cleaved through it with a single stroke.”

The Earth God stroked his beard, weaving hearsay into a narrative as convincing as pure gold.

“That sword immortal, peerlessly magnificent, roamed the lands. Upon reaching this very spot, he witnessed an act so unconscionable that he drew his blade in righteous fury, battling for half a day and shattering the vile formation, thereby preserving the spiritual vitality of the world.”

“Hold on, if the spiritual ley lines were severed, wouldn’t those people also be unable to cultivate?”

The Pallas’s Cat, ever perceptive, immediately pinpointed a flaw in the Earth God’s words and spoke up with a question.

“Once they reach that realm, what use is spiritual energy to them?”

“It’s obvious you don’t know either, so why the big show…”

“You little rascal!”

After a few more squabbles, the celestial moonlight gradually faded once more. Though the sky remained clear, it had reverted to its previous, muted state.

“You old geezer, look, it’s gone again.”

Detecting the waning moonlight, the Pallas’s Cat’s small paws flailed indignantly, as if trying to snatch the moon from the sky, but she could only grudgingly settle back into her original position.

“Such encounters are fleeting and cannot be forced. Perhaps something went awry with that formation.”

As the two idly chatted, a distant golden flash streaked across the sky, vanishing as quickly as it appeared.

“Old man, was that a shooting star?”

The Pallas’s Cat sensed something amiss, tugging at his robe as she posed the question.

“I don’t know, it cannot be spoken of.”

The Earth God, of course, knew precisely what it was, yet he remained tight-lipped, feigning ignorance as if nothing extraordinary had transpired.

“Oh, then I’ll continue my practice, and you go back to rest.”

“Mm.”

With a sigh, sorrow descended as if on cue. The diminutive old man, before sinking back into the earth, added one last remark.

“Just pretend it was a shooting star, and make a wish.”

“Then I wish for moonlight like that every night from now on.”

“You little rascal!”