Unintended Immortality

It was the third watch of the night. The fog was thick, and the air was cold.

The stars above shone ever more brightly, while down below, every last lamp in the mountain village had long since been extinguished. Even the campfire beside the Daoist under the cedar tree in the terraced fields had gone out.

“Whoosh...”

A breeze swept through, stirring the cold ashes of the fire.

In a place like this, Lady Calico always slept lightly. She instinctively opened her eyes, lifted her head slightly, and glanced around. Finding nothing amiss, she buried her head back down, resting it on her crossed front paws. She curled up tighter, and drifted back into deep sleep.

Meanwhile, the Daoist was sleeping right beside her. No danger approached, and no uninvited guest arrived. Only, there was now another Daoist beside the sleeping one.

This Daoist lowered his head to look at himself, then glanced at the cat curled up next to him sleeping like a child, before lifting his gaze to the awake swallow perched on a branch above. Then, he looked ahead at the cloud pool. Under the starlight, the world was dim, but amidst the darkness, the sea of clouds still stood out, slightly whiter than the surroundings.

Without hesitation, the Daoist turned and began descending the narrow path along the edge of the terraces.

Below was a cliff and an abyss. He was already surrounded by cloud and mist.

Yet his current state was a strange one, like an out-of-body experience, though in fact, it was a technique of dream-walking. He could feel the mist and the chill clearly, but everything felt slightly surreal, detached from the sensations of the physical body.

The cliffside was overgrown with needlegrass, which Lady Calico had braided into many beautiful twists and braids. Below, tangled trees grew in disorder, crossing each other chaotically.

The Daoist didn’t hesitate and lightly leapt into the air.