Seeing Li Yundong looking at the book in his hand with a puzzled expression, Ziyuan smiled and said, “The Huangdi Neijing is China’s first medical text; it meticulously details the theories of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, pulse diagnosis, meridians, health preservation, and theories of the seasons and climate.”
Li Yundong’s expression remained strange. It felt as if someone had told him that gods existed in this world, and then with a single gesture, he was horrified to discover that the neighborhood committee aunties wearing red armbands were precisely those gods!
This was too exaggerated!
Li Yundong couldn't help but ask, “Didn't you also say this was just a medical book? How can it be a supreme treasure manual for cultivation?”
Ruan Hongling, seizing the opportunity, made sure to throw a barb: “Idiot, moron! Haven’t you ever heard the saying: the Dao manifests through medicine, and medicine carries the Dao?”
Li Yundong glanced at her: “Never heard of it, but I have heard that women and petty people are difficult to raise!”
Ruan Hongling became furious, shouting loudly, grabbing Ziyuan’s arm, and pointing at Li Yundong: “Sister Ziyuan, look! We are trying to help him out of goodwill, and he says things like that!”
Ziyuan gave her a helpless look and said, “Can you two just stop for a moment?”
Saying that, Ziyuan turned back to Li Yundong and explained in detail, “You must find it unbelievable why such a medical text is revered as the supreme Daoist treasure manual by the cultivation world?”
Li Yundong nodded.
Ziyuan asked, “Do you know the origin and history of our cultivation school?”
Li Yundong shook his head.
Ziyuan explained, “Back in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, Laozi founded the philosophy of Daoism with the Tao Te Ching. This school of thought gradually evolved into a religion during the Eastern Han Dynasty, primarily led by Zhang Ling. Adhering to the teachings of Laozi, he established Taoism, which became the genesis of all Taoist cultivation sects in this world.”
Li Yundong suddenly realized: “Ah, I know! It’s the Way of Five Pecks of Rice!”
Ziyuan confirmed, “Precisely. But do you know how Zhang Ling founded Taoism initially, and how he managed to make so many common people believe in and worship him?”
Li Yundong’s heart stirred: “By practicing medicine?”
Ziyuan nodded slightly: “Exactly! This is the principle of the Dao manifesting through medicine, and medicine carrying the Dao! Although there are thousands of cultivation methods, and any single method, when mastered to its extreme, can lead to immortality or divinity, the fastest paths to achieving this are only two. One is the path of medicine, and the other is…”
Li Yundong didn't wait for her to finish, quickly interjecting: “The other is the path of martial arts!”
Ziyuan looked at Li Yundong with approval: “Correct! Medicine carries the Dao, and martial arts guard the Dao! To earn the respect, fear, and immunity from offense of the world, one must be formidable in martial arts. But to earn the love, faith, and devotion of the people, force alone is not enough; only by practicing medicine and spreading benevolence can this be achieved!”
Li Yundong exclaimed, and suddenly felt that the things the little fox had told him before coalesced into a single understanding: “No wonder that little girl called Sun Simiao an immortal! So he truly entered the Dao through medicine! Did Sun Lutang also become an immortal?”
Ziyuan replied, “That’s right. Grand Protector Sun Lutang, the Tiger Head, had reached the pinnacle of his martial cultivation; naturally, he entered the Dao and went on to cultivate immortality.”
Li Yundong slapped his forehead: “No wonder the Way of Five Pecks of Rice offered free medical treatment everywhere when it was founded. That was the reason! I thought they were trying to curry favor to stage a coup!”
Saying that, Li Yundong asked with further confusion, “If the goal was spreading benevolence through medicine, why didn't they just continue doing good deeds, and instead demand five pecks of rice for entry into the sect?”
Ziyuan explained, “For a cultivator, the Law (Dharma) comes first, and wealth is second. If you have no money, you shouldn't even think about cultivation. This is the same principle as ‘poverty fosters literature, wealth fosters martial arts’—the poor cannot practice martial arts; only the wealthy can, because martial practice consumes enormous amounts of vital essence, which only the rich can replenish through various foods and medicinal herbs. Cultivation demands even a hundred times more financial expenditure than martial arts.”
Li Yundong recalled the period when he and the little girl were at their poorest, nodding with empathetic understanding: “That’s certainly true. But since the Huangdi Neijing is sold everywhere, why hasn't everyone in the world taken up cultivation?”
Ziyuan sighed softly and said, “There is an old saying: the human body is hard to come by, and the true Dharma is hard to hear! When the Yellow Emperor sought instruction from his teacher, his master must have required him to fast, bathe, and approach the Great Dao with utmost reverence. But that was antiquity, a time of scarce information and limited resources. We live in modern times; the massive influx of information and explosive knowledge resources paradoxically obscure the true Dharma and hide the real Great Dao from sight.”
Ziyuan fixed her gaze on Li Yundong and countered, “The study of the true Great Dao lies right beside you. For instance: why do we say ‘close the eyes to nourish the spirit’ (bimu yang shen), and not ‘open the eyes to nourish the spirit’? Why do we say ‘buy things’ (maidongxi), and not ‘buy north and south’ (mai nanzhi)? Why do Chinese characters and words use terms like jingqi (essence-energy), jingxue (essence-blood), jingyuan (essence-origin), but never qijing, xuejing, or yuanjing?”
This string of 'whys' stumped Li Yundong again, and he could only offer a wry smile: “The way you put it, I suddenly feel like an illiterate.”
Ziyuan smiled faintly: “These are all subjects pertaining to the Great Dao. The so-called Great Dao is right beneath your feet; you stand upon it, yet you fail to notice its presence. Even you, as the successor of the Golden Core, are like this, let alone ordinary people busy with urban life? Those of us who cultivate must always ask one more ‘why’ when observing things, because only by fully grasping the reasons can your cultivation proceed unimpeded.”
“Reading this book will allow me to understand these questions you raised?” Li Yundong asked.
Ziyuan nodded: “Not only that. You will also understand the mysteries of the human body, comprehend the laws and truths between Heaven and Earth, and thus grasp what cultivation truly entails.”
A look of deep contemplation crossed Li Yundong’s face. He placed both hands on the Huangdi Neijing, feeling for the first time how weighty this book truly was.
After a while, Li Yundong nodded: “I understand. I’ll go back and read it first.” He turned to leave, but then suddenly froze in place, an awkward expression on his face. After a moment, he turned back and said rather sheepishly, “I didn’t bring any money.”
Ruan Hongling, who had been silent, let out a sudden giggle and rolled her eyes at Li Yundong: “No money, what kind of cultivation are you practicing!”
“Hongling!” Ziyuan hissed softly, then turned to Li Yundong and said gently, “Just focus on reading the book with peace of mind. Don't worry about other things, or even think about them. I will take care of it for you.”
Li Yundong looked at Ziyuan with complex eyes. After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, “Why are you helping me?”
Ziyuan also met his gaze and replied, “Because I want to find an answer from you.”
Li Yundong asked, “What answer?”
Ziyuan smiled slightly, shook her head, and said, “You wouldn’t understand even if I told you. Don't ask. The important thing is, I won't harm you.”
Li Yundong considered it. He figured he was currently unattached and had nothing worth being swindled out of. He nodded: “Then I thank you for now. I will remember this kindness, and I will repay you in the future.”
Ziyuan did not stand on ceremony with him, merely nodding, then told Ruan Hongling, “Hongling, go and pay for it.”
Ruan Hongling grumbled unhappily: “Hmph, we come to help him out of kindness, and we get scolded, and now we have to pay for him too! There’s no such logic under heaven!”
She walked up to Li Yundong, thrust out her hand, and declared loudly: “Hey, give me the book!”
Li Yundong was startled and asked guardedly: “What are you doing?”
Ruan Hongling said in exasperation: “Paying the bill! You’re holding the book, you expect you to pay?”
Li Yundong mumbled an “Oh,” handed her the book, and Ruan Hongling walked to the cashier grumbling the whole way, paid for Li Yundong’s purchase, and then tossed the book back to him, muttering, “Hold onto your treasure tightly! Honestly, as if I care! Miss, I could recite this backwards and forwards when I was seven!”
Li Yundong ignored her and flipped the book open to study it closely.
Returning home, Li Yundong sat cross-legged in the living room, still facing east according to his old habit of meditating and entering stillness, and began devouring the supreme treasure manual of the cultivation world with ravenous hunger.
Li Yundong couldn’t remember the last time he had held such a thick book with such seriousness. He felt he had never been so desperately eager to acquire knowledge of cultivation; he was like a thirsty traveler seeking the wellspring of truth on the long road of cultivation.
He read on, and Li Yundong unconsciously kept going until the following evening, when the sky had already darkened. Ruan Hongling took advantage of the cover of night, coming from her own balcony…