Tao Ling paused for a moment, realizing that Wen Qingying was asking sincerely. After some thought, he temporarily set aside the question and wrote: “The connection between humans and gods, simply put, involves humans believing in and dedicating themselves to gods, and in turn, gods bestowing blessings upon humans. The concept of personal religion is similar to what we typically understand as religion for the sake of livelihood. In Taoism, the Shangqing School believes in immortal truths and receives the words of immortals through spirit mediums, all aimed at resolving survival issues. Various phenomena are rooted in personal religion.”
Wen Qingying watched his hands as he stopped typing, then turned his head slightly to look at him.
Their gazes briefly intertwined, and Tao Ling’s heart raced beyond his control. He subtly averted his eyes and continued typing: “Whether certain groups can be called religions depends on certain criteria for judgment. Many scholars have studied and defined this. But when you ask like this… perhaps the feeling of a quasi-religious experience between two people could occur, but it can only be described as a similar experience, because the essential conditions for forming a religion are lacking.”
“That is a more rational explanation. The encounter of personalities in religion can only occur between humans and gods, determined by power. This is easily understood when we consider cults. When cults form groups, they always first create a transcendent power, even if it’s the veneration of a specific individual, they still mythologize certain qualities of that person.”
“Because people cannot completely entrust themselves to another person. Nor can they truly protect another person.”
Tao Ling finished typing this in one breath, concluding with: “The objective conditions for the formation of religion are lacking, and that’s the answer. The rest is just my own thoughts.”
Wen Qingying quietly watched his phone’s notes for a long time before finally looking up, smiling gently, and nodding slightly.
With this seemingly normal smile, Tao Ling still felt Wen Qingying had something to say, or perhaps a different perspective. However, for some reason, he didn’t decide to speak up at that moment.
Tao Ling was determined to control his unnecessary thoughts, so he no longer observed Wen Qingying and looked down at the next question.
This sentence was very short, with the four words “the face of God,” but it had already been cut off. Tao Ling smiled and asked, “Have you already figured out this question?”
Wen Qingying nodded.
Tao Ling watched him with keen interest, knowing he wanted to share his thought process. Wen Qingying smiled and typed, “I came across this idea while studying religious experience theory. It can be explained using the principle of critical realism. In the minds of believers, God is an external reality. Taoist spirit mediums can perceive immortal truths, but they are ultimately human. Humans cannot truly perceive external realities in their original form. Influenced by human psychology and underlying desires, the appearance of immortal truths presented to the spirit mediums is shaped by the mediums’ cognitive mechanisms.”
During his studies, Tao Ling’s main focus wasn’t on Western religions, a realization that came to him quite late, and quite fortuitously, while studying religious experience theory.
The two phones lay side by side, engaging in this dialogue.
After a moment of contemplation, Tao Ling wrote: “You see, it’s impossible for humans to fully comprehend God, just as it’s impossible for them to fully comprehend other humans. There’s always a distance, always fantasy, always an underlying direction.”
He himself didn’t know why he had to add this sentence. But Wen Qingying also didn’t ask much, only responding: “I can’t fully understand sir, and sir also can’t fully understand me. But this doesn’t hinder us from sitting together right now, shoulder to shoulder.”
Does Wen Qingying really know what he’s saying? Tao Ling wondered. Yet every time he glanced at him, his eyes seemed so sincere and serene.
At that moment, Tao Ling suddenly felt that Wen Qingying might be like central air conditioning.
He could effortlessly express those gentle words with such natural grace. It was because of his sincerity and poise, and because of the barrier of distance created by his voice, that even those almost ambiguous words felt candid and straightforward. His thoughtfulness became endearing rather than annoying, and the result was even the opposite—
It was too captivating.
Even though it was just speculation, rationally, Tao Ling knew it was impossible. Yet his heart suddenly felt bitter and sour.
As he attempted to delve deeper, his drooping hand pinched himself, forcefully halting the runaway thoughts in his mind.
The mode of communication determined that their discussion would be slow, but it was precisely because of this slowness that Tao Ling could contemplate deeply while speaking. Even though it was just things he had already understood, when Wen Qingying pursued them further, they seemed clearer.
Several questions had already been discussed by the afternoon.
Watching Wen Qingying as he focused on his phone, Tao Ling stood up, stretching in the middle of the path among the flower pots. After moving around a bit, his gaze suddenly fell on Wen Qingying.
He was sitting sideways to him, earnestly looking at his phone while occasionally jotting something down in his notebook.
His long legs seemed somewhat awkwardly positioned, curled up against the edge of the table, giving his back a slight curve that looked inviting to lean against.
Perhaps it was the inherent tranquility of someone who was deaf and mute, but Wen Qingying simply sitting there made it feel like he was in his own little kingdom.
After watching for a while, Tao Ling felt his eyes starting to sting for some reason. He fought back the increasing clarity of his reluctance, turned away, and felt a twinge of painful numbness in his heart.
After a while, he crouched down to look at a pot of succulents1fun fact, succulents are literally called “meaty plants” in Chinese. Quite fitting~ in front of him.
After a while, Wen Qingying walked over to Tao Ling’s side. Tao Ling looked up, and Wen Qingying bent down to hand him his phone.
Taking a look, Tao Ling saw that there was a message.
It was from Xia Chaoyang, whom he hadn’t been in contact with for a long time. The message read: “Tao shidi, I’ll be visiting Wu city tomorrow. Can we have a meal together?”
Tao Ling furrowed his brow slightly and asked, “Is there something going on, Teacher Xia?”
As he replied to the message, he noticed Wen Qingying standing nearby, just at a distance where he couldn’t see his phone. Unread messages would display their content at the top, so Wen Qingying probably had already seen it.
The other party: “Nothing in particular, just passing by. Are you free?”
Tao Ling lowered his head, and from the corner of his eye, he could see Wen Qingying still standing not far away. Almost instinctively, he replied, “Sure. When?”
After arranging to meet Xia Chaoyang for lunch the next day, Tao Ling turned again to see Wen Qingying already seated back at the table, starting to draw on the cards once more.
Tao Ling walked over and sat down, placing his hands flat on the table and holding his phone at a distance as he typed, “I’m heading home.”
Wen Qingying nodded after reading the message, stood up, and gently tapped his shoulder in a gesture of asking him to wait for a moment.
Tao Ling remained seated, watching as Wen Qingying pulled out a bunch of bright red flowers from one of the flower pots. He smiled, then lowered his eyes to his phone screen.
After a few minutes, Wen Qingying approached with the flowers, and Tao Ling stood up to accept them, nodding in acknowledgment.
Wen Qingying walked to the door, lifting the roll-up curtain and then opening the glass door. It was only then that Tao Ling realized dusk was approaching.
He knew Wen Qingying would still be staying at the flower shop for a while, so he bid farewell with the flowers in hand.
As he reached the end of the street, Tao Ling picked up a small card from the stem of the flowers and unfolded it. It read:
“Sir, these are Gomphrena globosa, from the Amaranthaceae family. They are very resilient. Trim the roots flat before placing them in water, and remember to remove any withered flowers.”
The three words “Wen Qingying” were still tucked into the bottom right corner of the floral design.
As he reached the intersection, Tao Ling felt increasingly uneasy. He couldn’t quite articulate the feeling, but he knew he didn’t actually want to leave.
After standing on the roadside for too long, he snapped back to reality. The sky had suddenly darkened, the green light across the street was flashing, and pedestrians hurried across the zebra crossing.
Two seconds later, Tao Ling turned around and strode quickly back towards the flower shop.
