Chapter 677: Having Seen the Mortal World, Now Returned; Echoes of the Past Resurface

“Wait a moment.”

“What further orders does Your Majesty have?”

“The current owner of Hidden Dragon Temple possesses great power, his cultivation perhaps no less than that of the Emperor of the Void himself. How could the Dream God so easily draw him into a dream, or bring Duke of Thunder Zhou into his dream with ease?”

“Your Majesty, the Emperor... the Emperor once said that the current owner of Hidden Dragon Temple is a human Daoist cultivator. Since he has not attained immortality, he must sleep. Even if he protects himself with clear and lucid spiritual power, remaining constantly alert, when asleep he will still be less guarded than when awake, unless from this moment onward, he never sleeps again.

“What’s more, when Your Majesty previously summoned the gods to descend and suppress him, every step was somehow known to the owner of Hidden Dragon Temple. The Emperor said there must be a god in the Heavenly Palace who blindly follows the will of Heaven and the hearts of the people, secretly aiding him. Since there is no god openly descending to pass messages, it must be done through secret dreams. If so, then the current owner of Hidden Dragon Temple would naturally not guard too heavily against dreamcraft, or at least would have moments when his defenses lapse, otherwise, the god within the Heavenly Palace who informs him could never enter his dreams either.”

“A clever calculation!” The Celestial Emperor’s voice grew heavy with agreement.

“The Dream God’s attainments in dreamcraft are profound, and he governs the dreams of all living beings under heaven. When mortals who cultivate the Dao wish to use dream magic, whether to send dreams or to enter one, they mostly pray to the Dream God for power. With his skill, even inside the dream of the Hidden Dragon Temple’s master, he can easily seize control, turning the guest’s ground into the host’s ground,” said the imperial scribe. “To be certain, I also went to consult Immortal Elder Qingmu.”

“You consulted Immortal Elder Qingmu?”

“Immortal Elder Qingmu, acting on imperial command, once descended to the mortal realm and conversed with him, he has been inside the dream of Hidden Dragon Temple’s master,” the scribe explained. “I did not ask directly, but inquired about the details of the dream scene he entered at that time. From this, it can be inferred that the current owner of Hidden Dragon Temple is not skilled in dreamcraft.”

***

“Daoist Master, you have some foundation in dreamcraft, but that is all,” the Mirror Island Lake Goddess said. “However, the fact that you were able to recall and restore seventy to eighty percent of the changes Divine Lord Yuewang made to heaven and earth within your dream, that level of talent is truly remarkable.”

“You flatter me, Mirror Goddess,” Song You replied respectfully.

“Even so,” the Lake Goddess continued, “even if you cram your studies for several months, compared to the Dream God of the Heavenly Palace, there is still a gap of at least a thousand years. No matter how great your talent, it would take you a hundred years to make up the difference.”

She paused for a moment.

“In truth, with your cultivation and Daoist skill, as long as you have even some attainment in this art, if you are deliberately on guard, even the Dream God of the Heavenly Palace would be unable to draw you into a dream. My own cultivation is shallow and my divine power limited, and drawing others into dreams is not my strength, but in the art of defense, I do have some experience.”

The Mirror Island Lake Goddess looked at the Daoist, her suggestion sincere.

But the Daoist only smiled and shook his head.

He replied, “I’ve heard of a thief stealing for a thousand days, but never guarding against thieves for a thousand days. If one is to undertake a great task, how can one shrink from battle?”

No matter how calm her expression, at those words a faint ripple stirred in the Lake Goddess' eyes.

“For what cause do you act?”

The Daoist did not answer directly. Instead, he countered with a question, “In these past years, have you taken on more maidservants?”

“Every year I have taken more,” the Lake Goddess' brows and gaze lowered slightly. “These days, the world outside is in chaos. I often hear the scholars and gentlemen on the lake speak of the people’s hardships and the unrest in the realm, and so I have taken in even more maidservants.”

“That is the reason.” The Daoist’s reply was simple.

The Lake Goddess was stunned.

Seventeen years ago, when the Daoist roamed the world and came here, she had invited him to her Water Palace. He had heard about the drowning of infant girls by the lakeside and how her maidservants came to be, and had felt deep sorrow. At that time, his sorrow had seemed like nothing more than lamenting the ways of the world. He had done nothing else, as though his sigh ended the matter. She had never thought that he had never cast it from his heart.

Now, the Daoist had already moved on ahead.

As he walked, he looked around at the ancient, primitive city of this small nation and asked with a smile, “I’ve heard that you seldom show yourself and keep to yourself, Mirror Goddess, do you truly live in this world?”

The Lake Goddess had no choice but to follow after him.

“I do often come here.”

“This is truly no different from a real world. With such skill, Mirror Goddess, how is it different from mastery over heaven and earth?”

Song You glanced about, his thoughts turning.

No wonder, with the Lake Goddess' abilities, she remained so weak despite all her years as a deity, and had even been bullied by an evil god of the lake. It seemed she had spent all the time and energy that other gods devote to cultivating incense faith and learning other divine arts on researching dreamcraft instead. No wonder she had remained secluded here for so many years, likely seeking peace and freedom from disturbance.

“You are mistaken. I come here often only to see the sights, to remember the past. I do not live here,” the Mirror Island Lake Goddess said. “The Dream Dao, no matter how vivid or far-reaching, even so real that you can’t distinguish truth from illusion while within my dream, still has one great flaw. This is its greatest falsehood as well.”

“Please enlighten me.”

“...”

The Mirror Island Lake Goddess only slightly raised her hand. Her movement was gentle, yet still carrying the dignified bearing of a divine lady.

The whole world instantly froze.

The words of the passerby beside them were cut off mid-sentence. The city official bowing to “the Princess” was caught midway through the gesture. A butterfly, mid-flight, hung unmoving in the air. The cat, unhindered, leapt forward as she had calculated the butterfly’s flight path, but now landed ahead of it instead, catching nothing but air. After hitting the ground, she could only stare blankly.

Even the sound of the wind had stopped.

The cat looked up at the butterfly frozen in the air, then glanced around with wide eyes, her expression full of surprise and confusion. Only when she looked back and saw her own Daoist and the Mirror Goddess standing just as before did she breathe a sigh of relief, trot back over, and tilt her head to stare at them.

“As you’ve seen for yourself, a world entirely under one’s control, where everything must be moved by one’s own hand, can only ever be used to deceive others, it can never deceive oneself.”

“I see.” The Daoist understood at once.

“Daoist Master, please remain here. During this time, even if the Emperor of the Void himself came in person, in terms of dreamcraft alone, I can guarantee that no Emperor or great power could draw you into a dream, nor intrude into yours.” The Mirror Island Lake Goddess' expression grew more solemn than before. “I will devote myself fully to teaching you.”

“My thanks, Mirror Goddess.”

“I am willing to lend you my strength.”

With her words, the dream-world resumed its motion. A breeze stirred the edges of the goddess’s robes.

The butterfly, none the wiser, continued its flight. The pedestrians in the palace kept talking. The official finished his bow to the “Princess,” but when he straightened, he found that for some reason she now stood much farther away, and the Daoist beside her had turned back to meet his gaze. For a moment, both faces carried a look of puzzlement.

According to the Mirror Goddess, this world was her own weaving.

Every blade of grass and every tree, every street and alley, every brick and tile, every building and palace, she had “painted” them herself. The actions of every person and animal were under her control. Yet it was unclear whether everything moved according to her imagined order of things, or if they were all pulled along by her strings. If it were the latter, then she was even more unfathomable than that fox.

“We’ve rented a boat out on the lake. Would you please release Lady Calico so she can return the boat to its owner?”

“I can.”

“Thank you, Lady Calico.”

“All right!”

Only now did the calico cat remember that they still had a boat out on the lake. Her expression instantly became serious, and even the butterfly fluttering nearby could no longer tempt her gaze.

That boat cost fifty wen a day to rent. If they didn’t return it by the next morning, they’d have to pay another fifty coins. And they had put down a deposit of one tael of silver.

True, that silver was refundable, and a small rowboat on the lake was worth more than that, but until the money was back in her paw, she felt an unbearable itch in her heart, as though scratching herself from the inside.

All the more so because the boat still held plenty of fish and shrimp she had caught.

“Please, I...”

Lady Calico had just begun to ask the Mirror Island Lake Goddess to send her out so she could handle the matter, when she saw the goddess wave a hand toward her.

In an instant, mist rose before her eyes, ripples spreading outward.

“Mmm...”

When she opened her eyes again, still dazed, she found herself in human form, only now lying sideways on the prow of the boat instead of sitting cross-legged. Because the boat was narrow, her head was already past the gunwale, almost hanging over the water, while her legs remained folded just as they had been before sleep.

It was only upon waking that her legs finally loosened.

She groggily pushed herself up.

The lake at dawn was utterly still. Even the pleasure boats and canopy boats in the distance had fallen quiet. The sky at the horizon was already tinged with the pale white of a fish’s belly. The morning light shone on the water, where mist drifted over the lake’s surface.

The small rowboat sat motionless in the middle of the lake.

The Daoist was at the other end of the boat, seated cross-legged.

“...?”

Lady Calico reached up to scratch her head, staring at the Daoist.

Her first thought wasn’t to wonder why the Daoist was still here, but why she had toppled over in her sleep, going from sitting to lying down, while the Daoist had somehow stayed sitting the whole time.

But before she could crawl over for a closer inspection, her vision blurred, and the Daoist vanished from sight.

Bubbles rose from beneath the boat beside her.

Splash!

Lady Calico’s instincts were still quick, and she instantly leaned over to check. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a big fish.

What floated up instead were two of the Goddess' rather unremarkable handmaidens. Appearing on the surface and bowing to her, the one on the left said, “We will be accompanying you, Lady Calico. If you return the boat and find yourself in a secluded place, simply jump into the water, we will bring you back to the palace beneath the lake.”

“Got it! Thanks, you two!”

“You’re too polite, Lady Calico...”

The two handmaidens disappeared back under the water.

The cat, her curiosity strong as ever, crouched by the edge of the boat, staring unblinkingly into the lake for a long while to watch them vanish before finally straightening up again.

The sky had grown a bit brighter.

Lady Calico touched her stomach; she was neither hungry nor full. Looking again at the fish and shrimp in the boat, she couldn’t bear to part with them. She found a small island, lit a fire, cooked a meal, and stubbornly ate them all before setting off.

Early morning, at the ferry by the lakeshore.

The boatman was waiting there.

Lady Calico rowed skillfully toward him, scanning the scene with sharp eyes. Relying on her keen wit, she managed to pick out yesterday’s boatman from among a crowd of people dressed much the same. But when she pulled the small rowboat to shore and handed him the mooring rope, the boatman looked puzzled.

“This is your boat.”

Lady Calico shoved the rope into his hand, then pulled two small strings of coins and a handful of loose change from her robe. She counted out ten wen from the loose pile, took the string from one bunch, counted again, and handed them over.

“This is fifty wen.” Then, with an expressionless face, she extended a small, delicate white hand toward the increasingly baffled boatman.

“One tael of silver!”

“Ah... here you go...”

The boatman took out the piece of silver from yesterday and placed it in the girl’s palm. Still unable to hold back his curiosity, he asked, “May I ask, young miss, your master, that Daoist gentleman from yesterday, where is he now?”

“He went to the bottom of the lake.”

Lady Calico accepted the silver. The moment she touched it, she knew it was the exact same piece as before. Though her face stayed stern, her eyes lit up.

"Many thanks, boatman!"

As usual, she offered her thanks, then turned and walked away with a light, springy step.

Behind her, the boatman’s face was full of shock.

He glanced again at the morning lake, which had vast stretches of emerald water, endless to the horizon, mist shrouding the view, quiet as could be. With small islands blocking the sightline, how could there be any sign of that Daoist anywhere?