Prologue – Internal Devils

(This part has nothing to do with the plot, so it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand any of it.)

A chilling winter night，he heard someone singing outside his home, gently without hurrying:

“Underneath the Taoist robe lies a heart which is as pure and white as clouds, while a guqin*, a sword and a drop of pigment surround.

In the light snow, the lead is being smelted in the burned red furnace*; During the night, ZiWei DongTing the scripture shall be read.”

The enchanting voice lingered. As he walked into the snow, following the voice, he noticed a faint light in the distance. After another 15 minutes of walking in the forest of bamboos, he arrived at a open area, where he saw a white crane dancing gracefully, while the dragon princess* in red played a guqin and sang for it.

He was surprised and rubbed his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself standing right before the door of his own house, and all he could see was the bleak scene of winter.

Everyone knows deities and immortals, but few knows that they are right beside us.

Footnotes:

• Guqin古琴:A guqin is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument of the zither family

A guqin being played

• Lead: Lead and quicksilver are both important ingredients in Chinese alchemy, especially for the pills/elixirs which are taken to acquire external life.

A Taoist in robe

• The dragon princess: Daughter of the dragon. Most of the “dragon”s in this novel refer to a Chinese dragon.

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