南嶽總勝集 3.19

3.19

Yu Linggui was a native of Hejian who dwelt at Jiuzhen Belvedere on Hengshan. After studying the Dao for over ten years, the Red Lord of Nanyue took pity on him and transmitted to him the way of swirling wind and blending, as well as the method of guarding the bright rafters for twenty years. Sitting, he could see all affairs under heaven as if looking into his palm; yet he kept himself hidden, not performing extraordinary deeds to startle people, so people did not know he possessed the Dao. When conversing, he often spoke of his travels throughout the four seas and the nine provinces. His countenance always appeared like that of a man of about thirty. During the Yuanhe era, officials of Chenzhou gathered at the belvedere gate to welcome the prefect. Linggui, dressed in ragged clothes, remained at ease; when people saw him, they did not treat him with much courtesy. Suddenly, going through the various officials, he recounted the names, appearances, dispositions, official duties, and lifespans of their fathers and grandfathers, hitting the mark in every case. The crowd was amazed and bowed to him in reverence. But he said, "It was merely by chance; it is not something I know." He then entered, shut the gate, and did not come out; though they pleaded with him repeatedly, he spoke no more. Only then did they realise he was an extraordinary man. He constantly recited the Dadong jing, sometimes abstaining from grain, sometimes drinking wine. There was the old transcendent Pan who roamed the Sacred Peak and was very close with Linggui; Pan always kept a turtle four to five feet wide, whose strength could match ten men, striking awe into all who saw it. Linggui rode upon it to enter the Jiuyi Mountains, where woodcutters occasionally saw him.