Beyond the Timescape

Within the void, the fleshly body was the ship, with the soul on board. The ship sailed onward.

It was a very, very long journey. Memories of the past were there, including those of a government official, a businessman, a ruffian, a doctor, a commoner, and a young man.... It seemed very ordinary. This was how things worked. This was reincarnation. This was life.

But it would only seem ordinary to someone caught up in it, because they wouldn’t be able to see deeply into what was really happening. If one could step back and look at things more objectively, they would see the five elements.

Xu Jinfa had been the prime minister, which meant he was nothing more than a government official. But for his entire life, he had used astonishing methods to promote the interests of the royal dynasty, and commanded countless troops. His honor was like metal, his power was like metal, his military strength was like metal, and his destiny was like metal. His life represented metal.[1]

Then there was Xu Hong, who dreamed of becoming extremely rich. He was kind and charitable on top of being wealthy, and he even traveled the world. But in the end, fate is a fickle thing, and his money disappeared. His wealth was like water. Water flows between two extremes: floods and droughts. And there is also the saying “the ideal is to be like water.” And thus, his destiny was like water. His life represented water.[2]

The ruffian Xu Shan had the character for ‘mountain’ in his name, but that did not relate to earth. Instead, it harkened to forests. His fate was like duckweed, his youth was like rotten timber, his mature days were like brigands in the greenwood. He ended up hiding out in the forests in the mountain, with a destiny like decaying wood. He was foolish and full of rage, always allowing the world around him to affect his emotions. He would rather die on his feet than die in disgrace. His life represented wood.

The doctor Xu Yu practiced medicine for the public good. He was benevolent, using heaven and earth as the cauldron to refine all medicinal herbs. He used his body as the fire, and his life force as the fire. It was like the inner fire of the vermillion bird, which safeguarded the brilliance of life. When the wind and the fire left his life, his heart was destroyed. And the fire and wind only returned upon his death. His life represented fire.[3]

The commoner Xu Kun lived an ordinary life. He was honest and quiet, living a rustic fashion, the sun beating down on his back. Yet he never felt that heat, and even wished that all days could be long like those in summer. His head touched the sky, his feet were planted on the ground, and as he lived his life, he accumulated the essence of earth. His life represented earth.[4]

The young man and the discarnate soul of the cultivator were actually the same person. He was responsible for passing on a message, like a thread connecting everything. Thus, the fire of the doctor and the earth of the commoner encountered the true ego. He stepped over the timescape. That was his fortune.[5]

“Now I only lack space...” Xu Qing murmured. “And the reason is that this path is incomplete.”

With reincarnations behind him, and the source of reincarnation ahead, he simply proceeded and observed. He did not lose himself in it. He was like a guest, watching lives come and go.