Chapter 36

Disputes rise with the wind, and when the wind dies, the restlessness remains. In this dusty, turbid world, it is hard to find the immortals, but a single melody ensures the wind is not yet late. Time passed as quickly as a white horse galloping past a crack in a wall. In the blink of an eye, several days had slipped away. It was now the beginning of winter, and the air had grown slowly cold. Along the way, when villagers saw the two children, they took pity on them and brought out their old clothes to give to them. Though the garments were not exactly presentable, they were warm. The Old Daoist received one as well—a medium-length, jujube-red cotton-padded jacket. Naturally, it was a men’s style. When the Old Daoist put it on, he looked quite incongruous. With a blue daoist robe underneath and the bright red padded jacket on top, he cut a truly bizarre figure. Yet, the Old Daoist paid it little mind; to a person of his cultivation, such vanity was like smoke passing before the eyes.