Journey to the West: The Great Sage's Guide

Chapter 20 Monkey, hurry up and get to work!

The new temple was completed, forming a seamless whole, and the lingering echoes of Taoist songs still resonate in the mountains.

The monkey was overjoyed, doing several somersaults while clapping its hands and shouting, "Great! Magic! Amazing!"

Rabbit Xiaoyu and Fox Xiaohong stared with starry eyes, their faces full of admiration, their short and long tails wagging excitedly. The other two little demons were still quite clueless, only thinking it was amazing.

The tiger demon rubbed its bottom and muttered, "Hmph, all it does is knead soil and rocks... It always spanks me, but won't teach me this kind of supernatural power..."

The fat and thin clerks exchanged a glance, bowed, and their eyes showed even greater reverence.

The gray-robed monkey spirit leaned against an old locust tree, gazing at the new temple, his hands behind his back secretly calculating something.

The reactions varied, but they all understood one thing.

When this mountain god unleashed his supernatural powers, it was truly natural and unrestrained, without the slightest trace of affectation or artifice.

……

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles to the west of Cuiyun Mountain.

In the eastern suburbs of Jisa, not far from the city gate, there is a quiet Taoist temple by the official road.

Inside the main hall of Qingyang Temple, incense smoke curls around the statues of the Three Pure Ones.

Zhang Chengming, dressed in a purple robe and crimson garment, held an incense burner and performed the incense-burning ritual.

With each three kneelings and nine prostrations, the wound on his left rib throbbed with a dull ache beneath the talisman cloth.

That damned bull demon woodcutter! He bullied a genius of talisman magic, not bringing his talisman pouch with him at the time!

Zhang Chengming gritted his teeth, knelt and kowtowed three times and then threw a talisman into the furnace.

As the talisman burned out, a blurry, illusory image appeared in the bronze mirror.

The young man's handsome figure was vaguely visible, with a serene face, yet he possessed an unusual pair of dark purple pupils.

He was the current Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, and according to seniority, he was Zhang Chengming's grand-uncle.

Zhang Chengming's eyes were red and swollen: "Grandmaster Uncle! My father's soul lamp has gone out!"

The illusory figure remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke: "I understand."

Zhang Chengming trembled as he recounted what had happened.

His eyes were bloodshot as he said, word by word, "Grandmaster Uncle, I want to go back to Cuiyun Mountain and kill that mountain god!"

The illusory figure spoke softly, saying calmly, "That woodcutter should be a great demon at the Human Immortal realm. Your injuries have not yet healed; you must not act rashly."

As Zhang Chengming listened, he subconsciously pressed his left rib, and felt a slight pain when he tried to circulate his qi.

That terrifying guy, his axe was so bright it looked like it could split the sky and the earth!

Although he did not bring all the precious talismans with him at the time, he still had to admit that the demon was powerful.

Moreover, if he hadn't retreated then, he would have died there; otherwise, why would he have left?

Zhang Chengming gritted his teeth: "But are we just going to let this go?!"

The illusory figure of the Celestial Master swayed gently with the candlelight, his gaze casting a deep, enigmatic light.

"Of course not. Although I wish to take action myself to avenge your father, Xiniu Hezhou is not a safe place, and Cuiyun Mountain is even closer to the sacred mountain. I cannot just openly take action. I must have a reason and a legitimate cause to do so."

The ethereal figure of the Celestial Master appeared out of nowhere, making Zhang Chengming's expression even more gloomy.

Zhang Chengming remained silent in the shadows: "I... understand. If those bald monks find something to use against us, it will definitely affect the interests of our Longhu Zhengyi sect, and even the entire Celestial Master's Mansion, after Buddhism spreads eastward!"

The illusory figure of the Celestial Master said with satisfaction, "Indeed, such is the general trend."

Zhang Chengming's face was filled with sorrow again: "But Grandmaster Uncle, my father was killed, and our position as mountain god was taken away. How can anyone accept this?"

The illusory figure of the Celestial Master shook his head: "That mountain god is located in a dangerous and inauspicious place. Countless people are unwilling to have a mountain god suppressing them. You should change your appearance and find out what kind of background that mountain god has that dares to intercept our plans. I will consider it after testing the situation."

Zhang Chengming took a deep breath and nodded slowly.

He put away the bronze mirror, touched the wound on his left side, and summoned the abbot of Qingyang Temple who was waiting outside the door.

The abbot bowed and stepped inside, a smile plastered on his face: "Is the Master's injury any better? If there's anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask."

Zhang Chengming took out several talismans from his sleeve, then unfastened the magic sword from his waist and slapped it into his hand: "Take your men to Cuiyun Mountain—use whatever means necessary to coax that mountain god out and kill him."

The abbot's smile froze. He stole a glance at the man's expression and stammered, "Master, since that mountain god was able to... to capture Senior Zhang, he must have some tricks up his sleeve..."

When Zhang Chengming heard this fool dare to mention his father, he raised his hand and delivered a palm strike.

Lightning struck the abbot's shoulder, who screamed in agony as two curved ram horns suddenly sprouted from his head.

"You're a demon, how many lives have you taken in the past?" Zhang Chengming's voice was icy.

"If it were our wondrous methods protecting you, would you be safe and sound today? Besides, I am a venerable True Man of the Celestial Masters sect; killing you would even increase my merit. Do you believe it?"

The abbot clutched his shoulder, his face a mixture of pale and ashen, and finally bowed his head: "I... will go."

He turned and left, taking two disciples with him. He first strode out of the city gate, then rode a gust of demonic wind and headed east towards Cuiyun Mountain.

Zhang Chengming watched them disappear into the horizon, his face grim.

The wound on his left rib was throbbing again. He pressed it and turned to go back to his quiet room to regulate his breathing.

Last time he was just careless. He was a genius of talisman magic in Longhu Mountain, but he thought he had the help of celestial officials and could get things done, so he didn't bring his usual talisman bag. As a result, after using up only a few talismans, he was forcibly suppressed by the woodcutter, but he was unwilling to back down because of his father's situation.

To fight the Bull Demon King, who is most skilled in close combat, with his weakest point, and still manage to escape unscathed, is already a testament to his extraordinary abilities.

Just then, footsteps were heard outside the temple.

He looked up and saw a man and a woman walking towards Qingyang Temple on the official road not far away.

The boy was dressed in coarse linen, with gentle eyes.

The woman was dressed in plain clothes and her face was covered. A pair of soft swords hung at her waist.

The two arrived at the temple, and the young man stepped forward and bowed: "Greetings, Daoist Master. My female companion and I were passing by your temple and wished to ask for a drink of water and inquire about news from the country."

……

……

In the hinterland of Cuiyun Mountain, there is Taoxi Valley.

The peach grove was tinged with a bright yellow by the twilight, in the open space in front.

The new temple to the mountain god has just been completed.

After the new temple was completed, everyone crowded around and touched it again and again.

But soon, all sorts of handprints appeared on it, especially when Xiao Tao Yao Yao was jostled and bumped into it, causing dust to fly everywhere.

"Tao Yaoyao! You've committed a serious offense!"

Rabbit Xiaoyu shouted even more lively, making Tao Yaoyao freeze all over.

The little guy was immediately filled with worry and quickly looked at the Mountain God.

However, all that met her back was the other party squatting down, gently stroking it, and glaring at the white rabbit spirit: "You're so naughty, I'll punish you by making you help repair the temple later!"

Zhong Xuan then stood up and looked around.

He explained with a smile, "Although this temple is completed, it is merely a shell built with magical power. It cannot withstand the erosion of wind and rain and cannot be lived in for long."

Everyone was taken aback.

But then he said, "Fortunately, this mountain god temple is only where I, the mountain god, live—you little demons and monsters, if you are destined, you can come and make offerings often."

As he spoke, he looked towards the peach grove.

"Monkey, you will one day settle down and cultivate here with your brother. But your brother is still traveling outside, so you will have to do the hard work first. In the clearing in the peach grove, take some stones and build a sturdy house for you two brothers as your new home, okay?"

The monkey's eyes lit up, and it did a somersault: "Great! Great! Stone house! My home with you, brother!"

The tiger demon nudged the monkey with his elbow and asked curiously, "What's wrong? You called the Mountain God 'Brother Man' earlier, and he said your Brother Man is still out there working. What's going on?"

The monkey blinked and opened its mouth, but got stuck.

It clearly knows what's going on!

It's not hard to understand at all!

But when the words are on the tip of my tongue, I can't explain them clearly or get them out.

There was even a vague sense of unease in my heart, a desire to resist.

No, no, no!

"Monkey, get to work!" Zhong Xuan interrupted with a smile, and continued, "Have your Tiger Sister lead you to search around here. She's a mountain tiger, so she'll definitely know where there are large rocks. Your strength is perfect for that; bring back as many as you can."

The two little demons, Rabbit Xiaoyu and Fox Xiaohong, were the most intelligent and eagerly raised their hands: "What about us? What about us? We want to help too!"

Zhong Xuan smiled and looked at them again: "The four of you, since you have visited the new temple I built and listened to the sermon, you can't escape now. You should also think with the two merit officers about how to make this earthen mountain god temple last and be sturdy—consider it a great contribution from you, and the temple's success will be partly due to you."

Although the four demons were disappointed, they were delighted again upon hearing that they had accomplished "a great feat".

Rabbit Xiaoyu's ears perked up: "I promise I'll make sure it looks beautiful!"

Little Red Fox flicked her tail: "Let's go!"

The old stone toad's bluish-gray eyes slowly moved, as if it were also pondering an idea.

The three little demons skipped and hopped towards the temple.

The little demons, whether happy or confused, were all given the expectation to work hard.

The monkey was bewildered. As the tiger demon pulled him away, he turned his head to glance at the gray-robed monkey spirit by the locust tree.

The monkey and the tiger demon passed through the peach grove in the blink of an eye, looked down the mountain, and suddenly felt an impulse.

The mountain god looks a bit like... but not quite!

It...it still wants to see Brother Ren!

From Qing Shi Town, it was like a ray of light shining into its chaotic mind, taking its hand and leading it all the way to the ancestor, the brother who came here!

"Squeak!" the monkey suddenly cried out.

The tiger demon was puzzled, but suddenly saw the monkey pat her head and say urgently, "Sister Tiger! Tell the mountain god, Brother Man, that I want to go down the mountain to find Brother Man! I want to bring him back so we can build a house together, a new home!"

The tiger demon was stunned, completely bewildered.

However, after the monkey finished speaking, he suddenly felt a sense of relief in his chest, and let out a clear, melodious roar that could split metal and shatter stone.

It immediately used both its hands and feet to run down the mountain.

It was as if they had made a firm decision and held onto a belief, never to look back.

……

Just as Feng Lisheng was about to join in the fun, he suddenly heard the mountain god speak.

"Guests from afar are not entitled to work at Cuiyun Mountain."

Zhong Xuan looked at it, his gaze gentle:

"Fellow Daoist Monkey, why don't you come with me for a stroll around this area and have a chat?"