Unintended Immortality

Daoist temples were often built on mountains, partly to distance themselves from worldly distractions in pursuit of natural law and harmony between heaven and man, as well as to appreciate the natural scenery. Another reason was to honor the deities and receive offerings.

Some believed that building at higher altitudes brought them closer to the heavenly gods, while others thought that constructing slightly higher helped attract more followers and gather incense offerings.

Jingyu County’s Xuanlei Temple was no exception.

In the flat lands of Hezhou, where Pu Commandery was even flatter, Xuanlei Temple was built atop a small hill outside the city, only about two li from the county city.

A long stone stairway led from the foot of the hill straight to the temple gate, flanked by evergreens.

Song You, accompanied by the calico cat and the swordsman, stopped at the foot of the stairs, looking up at the temple. Because the path below was earthen, it became muddy in the rain, with visitors scraping off excess mud from their shoes here before heading up. The bottom steps were caked thick with hardened mud, and as they moved higher, the mud thinned, revealing patches of the original blue stone.

Song You, in no hurry, took a circle around the hill before finally ascending, step by step.

It was evident that the temple thrived with incense offerings, and on regular days, many common folk would come to burn incense and make offerings. However, in these turbulent times, with chaos caused by demons and human unrest alike, no one dared to walk the roads outside the city at night.

It was now dusk, and the last group of worshippers had long since descended the mountain and returned home. The temple doors were already closed, so naturally, there were no other visitors.