Chapter 88 The Way of Tai Chi

What is an immortal? It is the transcending of mortality to attain eternal life!
What is the Dao? The Heavenly Dao is human Dao, and the heart of Heaven is one's own heart.
Sitting quietly through the night, a thousand distracting thoughts linger, yet a hundred years of practicing the Dao cannot rival a single decade in the mortal world.
If a person lives as though amidst a forest of thorns, and the heart remains undisturbed, the body will not stir; if it does not stir, no harm comes to it. If the heart stirs, the body stirs rashly, harming its flesh and aching to its very bones. Thus, one experiences all manner of suffering.

Liaochen now found himself wrong whether he advanced or retreated. Holding on was wrong, and letting go was also wrong. A single piece of letter paper weighed a thousand catties. To pick it up was entanglement, and to let it go was karma. Thus, he picked it up only to let it go, and let it go only to pick it up once more.
Not until the approach of dawn did Liaochen heave a long sigh, telling himself in secret that the Dao heart is the most difficult to master, and one must face it head-on. Could he escape it for a moment, or avoid it for a lifetime? Picking it up is a demonic illusion of the heart, but how does one know that letting go is not likewise a demonic illusion?

The morning moon, curved like a hook, cast a mist-like dimness before the window. The ink, black as night, contrasted against the snow-white xuan paper, chilling Liaochen's heart in waves.
After a long while, amidst a drawn-out sigh, Liaochen picked up the letter paper, crumpled it into a ball, and when he relaxed his hand, the paper had already turned into countless fragments. A night breeze blew, and the paper scraps danced across the sky like delicate butterflies, fluttering gracefully into the night until not the slightest trace remained.

"A hundred years of time pass by, and grudges turn to dust. Right and wrong are always dreams, and love and hatred end in emptiness," Liaochen sighed softly, slowly closing the lattice window. He shut a worldly entanglement outside the door, while leaving a lingering attachment for the future.

Early the next morning, when the morning bell rang from the distant Hall of Drums and Bells, Liaochen slowly awoke from his state of meditation. The moment he opened his door, he unexpectedly found an early riser already waiting outside.
It was truly rare for the Cloud Fox, a creature of the night, to be up so early! Yet for it to appear at Liaochen's doorstep at this hour meant it had an ulterior motive—the Cloud Fox undoubtedly came with a purpose. However, the Cloud Fox seemed to have knocked on the wrong door!

"You little fellow," Liaochen muttered speechlessly as he picked up the fox from the ground, where it was whimpering and begging incessantly, and scooped it into his arms as he walked toward the Imperial Garden.
"If you want to skip class, don't deliver yourself right to the Daoist priest! I am the very instigator of this, you are truly a sick man clutching at any doctor in desperation!" Liaochen chuckled, rubbing the fox's furry ears, completely ignoring its aggrieved and indignant protests.

Having fallen into the wrong hands, the fox truly had no tricks left to play! Its pleading whimpers ceased entirely, replaced by a pair of moist, dark, deer-like eyes that stared pitifully and woefully at Liaochen, yearning for the "heartless" man to show a shred of sympathy and spare its wretched self!
Yet, what kind of person was Liaochen? Calling him iron-hearted would be a compliment; ruthlessness was his true nature, leaving the Cloud Fox to grind its little claws in mounting frustration—though it simply lacked the courage to scratch his face! The fox felt as though its heart had died, its tail drooping limply and swaying back and forth with Liaochen's footsteps, as if what Liaochen carried in his arms was not a living fox at all, but merely a piece of fur pelts.

Just as Liaochen stepped into the Imperial Garden, Yunhua was already waiting inside with a smile. Catching sight of the fox, she let out a chuckle of triumph, stepped forward, and bowed to Liaochen with her hands cupped in greeting. "Good morning, Master." With that, she cast a "malicious" look toward the Cloud Fox in Liaochen's arms.
"I knew that if you weren't with the Empress Dowager, you'd definitely be with Master. No matter how crafty and cunning you are, little fox, you can never escape this fairy's palm." Delighted, Yunhua took the bitterly wailing Cloud Fox from Liaochen's hands, curtsied to him, and walked away cradling the creature.

Today was the fox's enlightenment day, and as its "instructor and mentor," Yunhua naturally could not delay such a momentous occasion. She had prepared a set of lesson plans well in advance, determined to mold the Cloud Fox into a top-ranking "scholar of distinction" among foxes.
Knowing there was no escape today, the hapless Cloud Fox lay in Yunhua's arms with its large tail drooping lifelessly, entirely devoid of spirit as she carried it away. Yet the gaze it cast back at Liaochen was filled with a grievance so profound it defied description. Liaochen even began to wonder if this fox had already attained sentience and become a spirit!

Just at that moment, the Zhengde Emperor arrived with his trusty attendant, Qi Hu. Seeing Yunhua walk away carrying the Cloud Fox, and catching sight of the fox's heartbreakingly tragic expression and pitiful little demeanor, the Emperor asked with great curiosity, "What's wrong with the Cloud Fox? Did it make trouble again and get caught by Sister Yunhua?"
Hearing this, one could readily imagine just how unruly the fox was within the palace; even Zhengde, who resided in the Leopard Quarter, knew of its notorious reputation for causing trouble. Speechless, Liaochen shook his head and replied, "Not quite. Today is the Cloud Fox's enlightenment day, so I asked Yunhua to teach it to read some characters, and later I'll find a proper tutor for it."
"W-What? The Cloud Fox is going to start learning to read? So Gu Dayong wasn't lying to me after all! I wronged him yesterday. But..." Zhengde asked, finding it somewhat hard to accept, "Why on earth does a fox need to learn to read?"
"The Cloud Fox is far too lazy. Reading more books helps cultivate reason, and becoming a well-read fox in the future wouldn't be a bad thing either!" Liaochen did not reveal his ultimate purpose, as matters of the netherworld were not suited for casual discussion. Even so, his words shocked Zhengde and his attendants so much that their jaws nearly hit the ground.

The Zhengde Emperor merely imagined the sight of the Cloud Fox holding the Analects of Confucius in one paw, resting the other paw behind its back, and swaying its head as it read, and he could not help but burst into laughter. Could there possibly be any scene more amusing than this?
"So practicing the Dao is not necessarily so austere and tasteless after all. At least something like a fox learning to read is a wonderful affair, and the Protector of the Realm truly is an extraordinary person!" Zhengde thought to himself.

With the matter of the fox concluded, Liaochen and the Zhengde Emperor officially began the instruction of Tai Chi Chuan.
"The boxing style I am teaching you is called Tai Chi Chuan. From the Infinite arises the Supreme Ultimate, which in turn generates the Two Modes. This martial art emphasizes the interplay of Yin and Yang, overcoming motion with stillness, and conquering rigidity with suppleness. Direct your Qi with your intent, and let your intent guide your movements." With that, Liaochen assumed an initial posture, and Zhengde followed closely behind, slowly mimicking his movements.

"Within the empty and the solid, the spirit meets in accord;
Hands execute the technique as emptiness and solidity interchange.
Practicing boxing without understanding the principle of empty and solid,
You waste effort to the end with no achievement made.
Guard the empty, release the solid within the palm's mystic pivot;
If the center is solid yet unreleased, mastery remains elusive.
Emptiness and solidity possess their own true nature;
When solidity is solid and emptiness is empty, attacks never miss.
The revolving-circle technique is the hardest to comprehend,
Up and down, following and uniting, the marvels are infinite.
Lure the enemy deep into the revolving circle,
And with four liangs deflect a thousand catties, the technique is accomplished.
Hands and feet advance together, searching horizontally and vertically;
The revolving circles within the palms never fail to land.
If you wish to know where the art within the circle lies,
Strike where the timing meets, and success is achieved.
Tai Chi's Yin and Yang are practiced by few;
Swallowing and spitting, opening and closing, ask of hardness and suppleness.
From proper corners, store and release at your will;
Why worry over changes in motion and stillness?
The twin releases of creation and destruction follow the incoming strike;
Flashing and advancing are sought entirely within movement.
How should lightness, heaviness, emptiness, and solidity be treated?
Within heaviness, manifest lightness without the slightest hesitation."

After leading Zhengde through the entire set of forms, the Emperor could not help asking, "Master, this boxing style is so slow—how can it be used to attack an enemy?"
"By using stillness to control motion, and suppleness to overcome rigidity," Liaochen replied.
Zhengde remained somewhat unconvinced. Smiling, Liaochen instructed a guard standing a dozen paces away, "Be so good as to throw a stone over here."
The guard was startled, looking at Zhengde in bewilderment, but the Emperor gave a slight nod. Only then did the guard pick up a fist-sized stone from the artificial rockery and hurl it toward Liaochen. Meeting the path of the flying stone, Liaochen stepped back, his hands and palms weaving in a flurry. Under his guidance, the stone seemed magnetized, dancing back and forth in his hands before suddenly shooting out like an arrow released from a taut bowstring. With a loud "boom," it smashed into a nearby rockery, sending stone splinters flying in all directions and giving everyone present a profound fright.

"This boxing style belongs to the internal martial arts, deeply aligned with the Daoist principles of Yin and Yang. It does not strive for sheer ferocity and brute force; rather, everything flows smoothly and naturally. A calm mind stills the breath, and focused intent restores the spirit. By borrowing force to counter force, using four liangs to deflect a thousand catties, you can naturally use the enemy's own strength to strike back at them," Liaochen explained.
Hearing this, Zhengde fell silent, pondering deeply. After a long moment, he said, "I dare not forget the Master's teachings." With that, he formally paid his respects to show his gratitude for the master-disciple bond, and then resumed following Liaochen to learn Tai Chi Chuan step by step.

The Zhengde Emperor's political acumen was perhaps not low, but he lacked ruthlessness and commanding force. If his authority had been absolute, naturally everything would have gone smoothly. Unfortunately, the dominance of the civil officials was already a set reality. Lacking the awe-inspiring prestige of the dynasty's founding emperors to force the officials into submission, and lacking the brutal methods to cut down corrupt officials like weeds and command their terror, he inevitably encountered obstacles far more often than victories.
What Liaochen taught Zhengde was not merely a set of martial arts forms, but another profound body of knowledge: the Tai Chi of Yin and Yang—how suppleness can conquer rigidity, how to borrow strength to strike, and how to master motion through stillness.