13 Eternal Spring

Ch’iu Ch’u-chi, eavesdropping again, interrupts Wang Ch’ung-yang’s lecture and is finally accepted, renamed Ch’iu Ch’ang-ch’un. Wang teaches stillness before the altar, knowing that only six of his students will attain the Tao. When Ch’iu disrupts once more, Wang departs south with Liu Ch’ang-sheng, Wang Yü-yang, T’an Ch’ang-chen and Hao T’ai-ku, leaving Ma Tan-yang behind. Most students scatter by dawn; Ch’iu follows anyway, and Ma quietly outfits him in Taoist robes.