All things arise from causes and conditions, and all phenomena are born of conditions...
"Then what connection do I have with that pillow?"
"According to the Five Phases associated with the sixty-cycle calendar, you are an ancient pomegranate tree, a person with a Wood destiny. Yet, somehow, you were given the name Su Mu, which means 'wood.' This makes your Wood element far too strong. And the woman in that Yellow Millet Dream Pillow is deeply connected to your fate."
"Young benefactor, have you ever heard the tale of the Yellow Millet Dream?"
The master patiently explained, "Many years ago, there was a Taoist adept named Lu Weng. While traveling, he stopped to rest at an inn, where he met a young man named Lu Sheng. The two soon fell into conversation. Lu Sheng said his clothes were shabby and lamented that he had been born at the wrong time."
"Lu Weng comforted Lu Sheng, saying that he had no physical ailments or speech impediment, so what was there to complain about? But Lu Sheng replied, 'A true man should accomplish great deeds. I'm doing no more than scraping by.' After saying this, Lu Sheng felt even more that his life was meaningless and wanted to take a short nap, so Lu Weng lent him his pillow."
"Just then, the innkeeper had begun cooking a pot of yellow millet. After Lu Sheng fell asleep, he returned home in his dream. A few years later, he married a beautiful wife. Before long, he passed the imperial examinations and rose steadily through the ranks to become chancellor. Later, he was demoted and thrown into prison, but fortunately, a eunuch saved him, sparing him from disaster. He experienced a lifetime of riches and glory, great rises and falls, and died at the age of eighty."
"When Lu Sheng awoke, he was astonished to find himself still at the inn. The innkeeper's yellow millet had not even finished cooking."
