Unintended Immortality

“Mirror Goddess, please explain.”

“Have you ever heard of the Frog God by the lake?”

“I have heard something about it.” Song You thought for a moment. “He seems to be an illegitimate god in the mountains. The local people believe that the frogs by the lake will be reborn in the spring and bring many blessings, so they worship the Frog God and pray for good fortune.”

“Have you ever investigated this, Daoist Master?”

“Last time I passed by the lake, I saw many temples dedicated to the Frog God. I went in to have a look and even stayed there for a night. However, I’m not concerned with whether or not a god is legitimate or illegitimate. Seeing that he was not causing trouble, I did not intervene.” Song You paused. “But that was last year.”

“I am quite familiar with this Frog God, so let me explain its background,” the Mirror Goddess said with a smile.

“I’d like to hear more.”

The Mirror Goddess continued, “Originally, there was no Frog God here. As you said, the locals revered the frogs by the lake, believing that their revival in spring brought fertility and prosperity. They worshiped the Frog God to pray for good fortune. At that time, the Frog God’s temples were empty; there was no real god.

“Later, a mountain demon, who resembled the image of the Frog God that the people worshiped, took over the temple. Naively, this demon claimed the temple and its incense offerings for himself. Occasionally, when his true form was revealed, people thought it was the manifestation of the Frog God. More people began to worship him, leading to temples spreading all around the lake.”

The Mirror Goddess explained, “Over time, this 'Frog God' absorbed more and more offerings and grew in his cultivation skills. Though he is an illegitimate god, he is not officially sanctioned or recognized by the Heavenly Palace.

“I am naturally lazy and, seeing that this Frog God only gathered and absorbed incense offerings and occasionally solved minor issues for those who prayed for help with possessions or ghostly disturbances, I did not intervene or report it to the Heavenly Palace. However, this Frog God started to become dissatisfied with mere incense offerings after he grew in his cultivation skills.

“Around last year, he began using evil methods to increase the devotion of the people, which led to even greater amounts of offerings and a significant boost in his cultivation skills.”

Song You asked, “Why didn’t you report this to the heavens?”

“As a minor god, I can only report to the heavens during the full moon.” the Mirror Goddess shook her head. “However, I’m a minor god, and this matter seemed trivial. Even when I reported it twice, it was not taken seriously by the Heavenly Palace. Recently, this Frog God has begun to covet the waters of Mirror Island Lake.”

“Allow me to investigate first.” Song You did not immediately agree.

The Mirror Goddess quickly stood and bowed. “Upon seeing it, you will understand.”

“Thank you for the hospitality.”

“I should be the one thanking you.”

As Song You was about to say his farewells, he noticed the attendants beside him and asked, “What about these...?”

“They are the souls of the deceased.”

The Mirror Goddess explained, “Around Mirror Island Lake, there are dozens of villages. Every year, countless newborn girls are thrown into the lake. Though they are newly born, they have complete souls. Some quickly dissipate into the world after drowning, while others that are unwilling to disperse are collected by me.

“I use my divine power to nurture them, allowing them to grow and eventually remain at the bottom of the lake as my attendants.”

“…” Song You fell silent, reflecting on this revelation.

In these times, it was common for people to abandon newborn girls. Many children would lose their lives before they even had the chance to see the world.

Even for baby boys, although their parents might be willing to raise them, they often faced countless hardships.

If you asked the world, or those who abandoned newborn girls, they might feel some guilt but only say there was nothing they could do. Perhaps they didn’t even feel guilt, merely stating that everyone did it or that it was their right to decide what happened to their children, and that even the gods were powerless to change this. �

“Mirror Goddess, your kindness is admirable.”

“There's nothing to admire. I only did it on a whim. Unfortunately, although they can grow up, they are forever trapped by this lake and never get to experience the true world.”

“Even a casual act is a great virtue,” Song You said while cupping his hands. “You need not say so. How many people live their entire lives without seeing a place as grand as Mirror Island Lake?”

“Thank you, Daoist Master.”

“Then I will take my leave.”

“I will see you off.”

“…” As he stepped out of the pavilion, he noticed that the sky above him was already bright.

The attendants were still moving about, while Song You glanced at them quietly.

There were countless chronic problems in this world, caused by the state of the world and the times. No single person could cure them all; only time could gradually sweep them away. No individual could completely change the world; if one person could make a difference, it would be to hasten the process.

But life was still long; for now, he would go see other places and people.

The rippling water created circles of waves, and the view before him became hazy and unclear. When he opened his eyes again, the sky was already bright.

What met his eyes was the canopy of a black awning boat. Turning his head, he saw the daylight streaming in, the ferryman had already woken up and was waiting at the bow. Everything from the night before seemed like a dream.

“Have you woken, sir?”

“Yes.”

“Shall we return to shore?”

“Please, ferryman.”

“Alright!”

The small boat immediately started moving.

As the ferryman rowed, he said, “Sir, we arrived just in time.”

Song You asked quietly, “What do you mean?”

“Today is the Beginning of Autumn. It’s still hot outside, but the lake is quite cool. The weather has been good lately,” the ferryman said. “The most important thing here is the crabs from our Mirror Island Lake. Our crabs are as good as the Pingzhou gong pears from the nearby Pear Blossom Valley.

“It’s just that crabs are hard to transport to Changjing, so they aren’t as famous and are mostly eaten by the poor families living around the lake. But whenever the officials from other places who come seeking immortals get a taste of them, they never fail to give high praise.”

Song You said, “Then I must try them.”

“Although it's not the best time to eat crabs just yet, it's close enough. It would be even better if you came a month later,” the ferryman said while rowing. “Only the water from Mirror Island Lake can nurture such good crabs. Everyone says it's the lake god’s blessing, so the fish, shrimp, crabs, and clams in the lake have a spiritual resonance. In any case, you should definitely try them.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

“Oh, it's nothing…”

“Is the Lake Goddess really that effective?”

“Of course!” the ferryman replied. “Haven't you noticed that no matter how strong the wind is, the lake never stirs up waves?”

“That is indeed remarkable.”

“Absolutely!” The ferryman became animated as he spoke. “Even though the Lake Goddess rarely reveals her presence, just having this calm lake is a tremendous blessing for all us lakeside fishermen and anyone who relies on Yunding Mountain and Mirror Island Lake for a living.”

“That makes sense…” Song You paused for a moment and asked, “I heard there's also a Frog God?”

“Yes, there are many Frog God temples around the lake.”

“Is the Frog God effective too?”

“Very effective!”

“What’s so special about the Frog God?”

“What do you mean by special?”

“What are the benefits of worshiping the Frog God?”

“He blesses you with many children, good fortune, and a long life!” the ferryman said. “Besides that, if there’s any trouble or evil spirits in your home, lighting a sincere incense at the Frog God’s temple will usually resolve it that very night. Also, starting this year, if you spend a day at the Frog God’s temple to worship sincerely, you’ll feel refreshed and invigorated like a god yourself!”

“How does it relieve fatigue? What does 'invigorated' mean?”

“How should I explain it?”

“Haha…” Song You didn’t say anything more.

As the boat glided across the lake, ripples spread out like wings. They were carrying the boat through the autumn hues, and the lake’s scenic beauty stretched out for ten li.

Upon reaching the dock, the horse was still waiting there. The man, the cat, and the horse continued along the lakeside path.

“Daoist priest…”

“Yes?”

“I seemed to have a dream last night,” the calico cat said as it walked, looking up at him. “In the dream, you and I went to the lake’s bottom, where a Lake Goddess invited us to a feast with plenty of fish, shrimp, and crabs. We ate until we were full.”

“Was the wine good?”

“It was just like water.”

“How about the crabs?”

“They were delicious! They were full of meat, just like the crabs you used to talk about!” The calico cat's eyes sparkled with satisfaction. If they weren’t walking right now, she might have rubbed against Song You’s pants. She even smacked her lips a couple of times.

There was no taste now, but when she first woke up, there was still a hint of crab flavor in her mouth.

“I had a dream too.”

“Really?”

“Happy Beginning of Autumn, Lady Calico.”

“Mm!?”

Song You just smiled. It was a dream, and yet it wasn’t. He couldn’t quite explain it.

In this world, magic and divine powers were ever-changing, with divine powers being the most elusive. Additionally, with the flow of information being limited and masters living in seclusion, even the successive owners of the Hidden Dragon Temple would not claim to have seen or understood all the divine powers and magic in existence, let alone comprehend them fully.

Some techniques were not ones that one learned or discovered through study but were naturally acquired. Even the cultivators themselves might only describe them in terms of their profundity without fully grasping their essence.

One should simply appreciate their marvels.

***

The lakeside was dotted with Frog God temples, which were mostly small temples similar to local Land God shrines. These small temples were accessible only to cats and not to humans, so they likely weren’t the temples where the ferryman mentioned “spending a day.”

The last time Song You visited, he remembered there was a large temple. This time, although he was still walking around the lake, his route was different from his previous visit. He had circled about half of Mirror Island Lake last time, but now he was traversing the other half, intending to complete a full circle around the lake.

After passing through a village, he finally arrived at a large temple. It was a single-room temple, roughly the size of a small house.

Inside, there was nothing but a clay statue of the Frog God on the altar, a stone trough filled with burnt incense stubs, a donation box, and an oil lamp. The light of the lamp was still flickering.

As soon as Song You stepped inside, he was greeted by the scent of oil lamps and grass. Perhaps the Frog God was away on business or there were too many temples by the lake; in any case, the god was not present at this temple at the moment.

Uncertain of the situation and hesitant to summon the god, Song You was feeling somewhat tired from his journey. He decided to sit against the wall on the ready-made meditation mat, waiting.

The calico cat sat upright in silence, occasionally peeking at the Frog God’s statue and then at Song You in wonder.

Before long, a group of lakeside villagers arrived together, entering the temple with cheerful smiles. Among them was someone familiar.