Contents
🐴The Journey to Mount Qingcheng
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, there was a successful candidate in the imperial examination named Cui Wei. He once rode a donkey to visit Mount Qingcheng. Unfortunately, when he dismounted to rest, the donkey ran away. Cui Wei chased after the donkey for a long distance and came to a cave, where he saw the donkey dart in. As it was already getting dark, and Cui Wei, exhausted both physically and mentally, was too afraid to enter the cave, he had no choice but to sleep outside the cave for the night. When dawn was approaching, he opened his eyes slightly and noticed a faint light seeming to emanate from the cave. He then stood up and went into the cave to look for the donkey.
☯Discovery of the Immortal Palace
He walked in the cave for more than ten li before exiting it. Outside the cave, there were flowers, plants, and trees, with deep mountain valleys and towering cloud-capped rocks. Everything here seemed to be scenery that could not be seen in the mortal world, and Cui Wei felt that he had come to a fairyland. He unconsciously walked forward and arrived at a palace with a golden wall and a vermilion exterior. Hundreds of guards in armor stood in front of the palace. One of them, upon seeing him, immediately shouted, "Where do you come from?" Cui Wei replied respectfully, "I am just an ordinary person in the trivial mortal world. I accidentally strayed here while chasing my runaway donkey, and I wish to pay my respects to the immortals." The guard, after hearing his words, immediately entered the palace to report. After a long while, a message finally came from inside to summon Cui Wei.
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✨Meeting the Immortal Elder
Cui Wei followed the soldiers into the palace and saw an immortal elder sitting in a jade hall, wearing a Taoist robe made of feathers, about ten feet tall, with all white hair. Many maids stood beside him. Upon seeing this scene, Cui Wei immediately stepped forward to pay his respects. The immortal elder also seemed very happy about his arrival and immediately asked him to stay.
💍Marriage and Transformation
The next day, the immortal elder said to Cui Wei, "You should know that this is not the mortal world, but an immortal mansion. The reason why your donkey led you here is that I wanted to invite you. I have only one daughter under my knees, and I hope to marry her to you. This is also a predestined fate in the dark, which cannot be avoided." Cui Wei was very excited, never expecting such a good thing, and immediately thanked him. The immortal elder ordered someone to bring a cyan box, took out two pills, and asked him to take them. Immediately, Cui Wei felt his internal organs become clear and crystal-like, his old skin peeled off completely, and when he looked in the mirror, his face was as smooth as a baby's. That night, Cui Wei married the fairy.
📜Return to the Mortal World
After marrying the fairy, Cui Wei lived a very happy life, but the only regret he had was that he did not bid farewell to his relatives. So he told this matter to the immortal elder and asked for his permission to return to the mortal world temporarily to bid farewell to his relatives. The immortal elder said, "Of course you can go back, but you must not be too reluctant or hesitant. Otherwise, you will violate the immortal rules, and the consequences will be very serious." After saying that, he gave Cui Wei a talisman: "This talisman can make you invisible to avoid possible disasters. You must remember not to go to the imperial palace or forbidden places to wander." When Cui Wei was about to leave, the immortal elder gave him another life-saving talisman: "If you encounter an emergency and cannot escape, remember to open this talisman immediately." Then he asked someone to bring Cui Wei's donkey, and in this way, Cui Wei returned to the mortal world.
⚖️Encounter with the Emperor
When Cui Wei arrived in the capital and walked among the crowd, he found that the people around him could not see him at all. For a moment, he was so complacent that he forgot the immortal elder's instructions and went into the imperial palace. It happened that at this time, the Jiannan Jiedushi (military governor) presented a batch of brocade, which was intended to be given to Yang Guifei for her birthday. Cui Wei felt greedy and 顺手 stole some of the most beautiful pieces.
Not long after, Emperor Xuanzong found that the tribute had been stolen and was furious. Later, he calmed down and thought: "During the day, thieves cannot enter, so it must be evil spirits causing trouble. It's better to let Luo Gongyuan perform magic to catch them."
So Luo Gongyuan used a red talisman to inspect inside and outside the bedroom hall, making Cui Wei unable to remain invisible, and he was finally caught. When Cui Wei told the emperor the whole truth, the emperor did not believe him at all and ordered him to be beaten to death with sticks. In his urgency, Cui Wei suddenly remembered that he still had a life-saving talisman on him, so he quickly opened it. In an instant, all those who were beating him with sticks froze in place and could not move. Seeing this, Luo Gongyuan immediately went to report to the emperor: "This man has already entered the fairyland. Mortals cannot kill him, and even if they do, it will only bring destruction upon themselves, which is of no benefit to the country." Emperor Xuanzong had to order to release Cui Wei but warned him: "You must leave immediately." He then sent a hundred warriors to escort him to Mount Qingcheng, hoping to find out the truth by the way.
🌫️Return to the Immortal Realm
The group arrived at the cave, entered it, and indeed saw the golden wall and the vermilion palace. The immortal elder had already walked out of the palace gate with a group of his guards. He said to Cui Wei somewhat angrily: "You did not listen to my warning, and almost brought upon yourself a catastrophe." Cui Wei quickly ran to the immortal elder, knelt down, and begged for mercy. The warriors escorting him also wanted to follow. But the immortal elder drew a line on the ground with his staff, and immediately a stream appeared, several zhang deep and wide, making it impossible for them to cross. The immortal elder then called out Cui Wei's wife and asked her to throw a silk scarf into the sky, which turned into a colorful bridge for Cui Wei to cross. As soon as he crossed the stream, the bridge disappeared. Cui Wei, who was on the other side, turned to the warriors and said: "Now you can go back!" As soon as he finished speaking, clouds and mist rose from all sides, making it impossible to distinguish east, south, west, or north even at a short distance. Only the chirping of blue phoenixes and white cranes and a joyous sound of music could be faintly heard. It was not until half a day later that the clouds and mist gradually dispersed. The warriors looked into the distance, but only saw empty peaks, and all the previous scenes had disappeared.
