Lao Dao slowly continued to explain.
"Everything in the world is divided into Yin and Yang.
Where there is day, there is night.
Where there are the impatient, there are the patient.
Where there are the diligent, there are the lazy.
None of them are absolutely good or bad.
Even arsenic can be used as a medicinal primer.
The same goes for points of view."
"Master, does this mean that when two people argue, it's not always the other person's fault? That it's actually because one's own awareness is insufficient, and the root of the problem lies within oneself?" Xiao Baozi chimed in.
*To think she's also calling my master 'Master',* I thought to myself.
But Lao Dao didn't respond by calling her 'disciple' this time. He just nodded and continued, "Yes. Rather than blaming others, it is better to cultivate oneself.
When you can understand your own point of view, while also being accepting of the other person's, you will no longer argue with them.
There are no two identical leaves in the world, nor are there two identical snowflakes.
Within similarity, there is difference; within difference, there is similarity. This is the Way of Yin and Yang.
So why insist that others share our exact same point of view?"
It was only then that I truly yielded in my heart, searing an imprint into it: *This* is my master.
A thought suddenly struck me. "Master, should we perform a discipleship ceremony? What do I need to prepare?"
Master waved his hand. "I have no discipleship ceremony here. There is only one sentence you must always remember:
All things honor the Dao and value De. The Dao cannot be separated from De. Dao and De are one."
"Master, is this like in those cultivation novels, where they talk about accumulating merit and virtue?" Xiao Baozi asked curiously.
Master had only asked us to remember one sentence, so it had to be extremely important. I, too, didn't quite understand what it meant.
Master patiently explained, "The Dao gives birth, and De nurtures. The Dao is the core of the universe, while De is its external manifestation, its energetic form.
Energy can represent life force. That's why cultivators who accumulate merit and virtue have very long lifespans.
Energy can also represent many other things. You will come to understand them on your own in the future."
At this point, Master took out three books, handed them to me solemnly, and said, "Everything I, as your master, have to teach you is in here. Study them well."
One was *Qiong Tong Bao Jian*, one was *Di Tian Sui*, and one was *Tianyi's Notes*.
I flipped through them. These three books covered Bazi, Liu Yao, Plum Blossom Divination, Feng Shui, physiognomy, Qi regulation, Taoist medicine...
Mountain, Medicine, Destiny, Physiognomy, and Divination—all the various arts were here.
Xiao Baozi looked on with a face full of envy, craning her neck to see.
Even though she basically didn't have a neck, her face was still pressed right up against the books.
My heart swelled with glee.
Other people usually have to fall off a cliff to find a secret martial arts manual. But I got one just by walking down the road.
"No, quite the opposite," Master replied very seriously. "After you finish learning, you are not to tell fortunes for others."
What? I can't tell fortunes for others? I was dumbfounded.
Isn't the whole point of learning divination to tell people's fortunes?
Is it like training to become invincible, only to end up just performing a few fancy sword moves for your own amusement?
I was very confused.
Even if you don't do it for money, you should still show it off a little!
Xiao Baozi asked in her soft, sweet voice, "Is it because you're afraid of getting it wrong and getting beaten up?"
Her train of thought was really something else. She had a way of looking not too bright.
Xiao Baozi must have missed it when Lao Dao was bragging about how "there's nothing and no one in this world whose fate cannot be accurately told."
I smiled and explained to her, "Mencius once said:
‘Seek and you will find it, neglect it and you will lose it.’ This applies when the seeking is beneficial to the finding, because what you seek is within yourself.
‘There is a way to seek it, but whether you find it is a matter of fate.’ This applies when the seeking is of no benefit to the finding, because what you seek is external to yourself.
Some things are predestined. Some are not. But all of this falls within the scope of the calculations."
After my lengthy explanation, she looked even more bewildered.
Proofreader: Peter Pan