Ghostly and by chance, Yao Yao pulled me by the hand, dragging me into the crimson coffin. It was indeed spacious. We lay down side by side, our eyes meeting. It felt like a reunion after a long separation. Before I could reach for her wedding dress, her hands became restless, their soft, real touch roaming over me, intent on mischief. Suddenly, she jolted as if electrocuted, her face instantly turning ashen white. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
Only then did I recall the talisman the Taoist had given me was still on me. It just hadn't been shimmering today. Perhaps its efficacy was waning, its power diminished. After her prolonged touching, it had finally triggered the electric shock.
So close, sigh... As I lamented the missed opportunity, I noticed Yao Yao's wedding dress rapidly deflating, revealing the outline of a human skeleton. The flesh on her face vanished just as quickly. Within seconds, she had become a dried-up skull. Terrified, I scrambled out of the coffin and covered her face with the veil, wanting to preserve her image in my mind.
After a dream transition that was not very clearly delineated, I saw, in the light at the entrance of a stone cave, several "things" of varying heights and girths. They were indeed things, not people, for people are not things.
Judging by their silhouettes, I could vaguely make out a snake, a deer, a tiger, a bear, and an eagle. The other few were indistinct, but there were eight in total, neatly lined up at the cave entrance, seemingly to block my exit.
I remembered this place was called "Nine Immortal Cave," and there were indeed nine caves. Yao Yao, in the center, was considered one immortal. Could these eight figures before me be the other "Eight Immortals"?
"Who goes there? From whence do you hail?" the other party asked, seemingly the deer speaking.
"Wu Chengfeng, from Jinling," I replied truthfully, feeling a bit intimidated by their numbers, which likely implied considerable combat power.
"Why do you come to our cave dwelling of the Eight Immortals?" they asked again.
See, they were indeed the eight immortals.
"I came to find Yao Yao," I said.
"Who is Yao Yao?"
I pointed to the coffin. "Her."
The Eight Immortals exchanged glances, chattering in a language I couldn't understand for a few moments. Then they addressed me: "Though the seal of Mu Jige has completed its four hundred years, due to her heavy karmic debt from killings, the underworld dare not take her in. Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha has sent word, instructing us, the Eight Immortals, to continue sealing Mu Jige. This is the Emperor of Hell's decree, not to be defied! Young Master Wu, please return."
Although their speech carried a heavy northeastern accent and was somewhat garbled, I understood. Yao Yao was called "Mu Jige," and she wasn't dead but sealed here. She had been sealed for 400 years, meaning she was sealed here in 1622. This matched what Yao Yao had told me earlier.
However, Yao Yao claimed she was framed for the sealing, while the Eight Immortals said it was due to her heavy karmic debt from killings. I wasn't sure who was telling the truth.
After the Eight Immortals finished speaking, the light at the cave entrance grew blindingly bright, forcing my eyes shut. Suddenly, with a flash of white light, I was kicked out of the dream by the Eight Immortals.
I was still sitting at the foot of the cliff. Dawn was breaking. I stood up, my body aching all over. I rotated my neck, which creaked loudly. Perhaps it was from practicing the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms too much last night.
Looking up, the nine caves were more clearly visible now. The lighting was slightly better than last night, and I could see that each cave had a single character carved above it, except for the middle one.
The eight caves corresponded to the directions of the Bagua, but the characters carved were not "Qian, Kun, Kan, Zhen, Li," etc. Instead, they were the names of eight animals: Snake, Deer, Tiger, Bear, Eagle, Fox, Sable, and Weasel.
They were all common beasts on the northeastern plains.
Strangely, no wolf?
Perhaps wolves weren't qualified for immortal status because they looked too much like huskies?
Seeing the characters was useless; there were no ladders, and I couldn't climb up.
I turned to look down the mountain, spotting the deserted village at a glance. It was still as desolate as before. The temple I had crossed into earlier was not far below me. But strangely, the temple was no longer a graveyard. Instead, it was a proper temple!
Inside, two monks were unloading supplies from the bed of a pickup truck. There were some barrels of water and two large plastic bags of vegetables. Had what I saw last night been an illusion?
Or was what I was seeing now the illusion?