The solitary mountain is sandwiched between mountains, with strange-shaped rocks everywhere. Looking around, there is no one living, just a barren mountain and wilderness, and occasionally the howling of wolves can be heard from the distant foothills.
On the hillside covered with wild grass, there is a strange five-finger peak, reflecting the sunlight, covered with dry moss and dead branches, and the traces of time are left on it.
A bird flitted down to a nearby branch, hopping and chirping, blinking its eyes and tilting its head to look at a small hole at the foot of the strange peak.
A hairy head, covered with weeds and moss, exposed.
"It's bearing fruit again..."
A pair of yellow eyes among the dirty and messy hair looked at the red fruits on the tree opposite. He swallowed his saliva, opened his mouth, his fangs turned outward, and growled loudly, scaring the birds that approached the fruits.
Chirp~~
The bird, having taken a bite of the fruit, tilted its head and looked at the talking and roaring head. At this moment, it seemed to hear the crisp sound of a bell, and it jumped and turned around.
Ding ding dong —
In the wild grass leading to the foot of the mountain below, a donkey walked with its head down, chewing grass and shaking its bald tail to drive away flying insects.
An old man in a dark blue robe was holding the reins behind him, looking around, as if he was sightseeing, and chanting some poetry leisurely.
“… After being trapped in the mountain for so long, it’s hard to be free…
Spring goes and autumn comes, morning dew and evening glow settle...”
It was Lu Liangsheng who had come along the way and transformed into an old man.
"Old man!"
There was a faint voice shouting. Lu Liangsheng stopped and looked around. The voice said again: "Lower your head and look over here!"
Following the words, I saw a hairy head exposed at the foot of the mountain wall opposite a few fruit trees in front. The hair was fluffy and messy, covered with weeds and moss. Although I knew it was a monster, I couldn't even see its face clearly. It looked quite miserable.
"So it was you who called me."
Lu Liangsheng loosened the reins, looked at the monkey head pressed down the mountain, and then laughed, "It almost scared me."
"Old man?" The furry head laughed a few times, "You are not even worthy of being my great-great-great-grandson. Old man, you don't look like an ordinary person. How could I scare you? Can you help me pick some fruits to satisfy my craving?"
"It's not difficult, just wait."
Lu Liangsheng walked under the tree. Since the other party could see that he was not an ordinary person, there was no need to hide anything. He waved his sleeves and with a few soft popping sounds, a few fruits fell into the pocket of his robe. The old donkey came over, raised its mouth and nose to try to eat, but was patted on the head by Lu Liangsheng.
"If you want to eat it, pick it yourself."
The scholar wiped one, handed it to the monkey, and let him take a bite. His mouth was full of sweetness, and the juice overflowed, covering the hair around his lips.
"Great! Great! Let me have another bite."
The monkey pinned down at the foot of the mountain had no way of using his hands, so he stretched his neck as far as he could, bit off the fruit flesh, closed his fierce yellow eyes comfortably, and savored the sweetness that he had swallowed into his stomach.
With a creak, the small door of the bookshelf on the old donkey's back was pushed open. The Toad Taoist came down the rope, staggered over with his flippers on his back, and glanced at the monkey head chewing the fruit on his flippers.
"It's just a dirty monkey demon, nothing special."
Over there, the mouth that was chewing the fruit stopped, and the monkey opened its yellow eyes, as if emitting lightning, and roared, and the broken fruit flesh and peel sprayed all over Toad Taoist's body.
The monkey roared again.
"Nothing special? I am the 84,000 Bronze-Headed Iron-Foreheaded Monkey King of the Purple Cloud Cave in the Flower-Fruit Mountain, a dignified demon king!!"
The Toad Taoist pulled out the flesh and drooled as his hand drew near, veins bulging.
"Damn it, a great demon king has fallen into such a situation, and he still has the face to live like this? I was just one step away from becoming a demon king, and was hunted down by countless cultivators. Even with magic weapons that covered the sky and the sun, I was able to escape unscathed..."
"I'm going to hit the sky." Without waiting for the Toad to speak, the Monkey Head raised his chin and interrupted.
The Toad Taoist swallowed the rest of his words, curled his lips, turned his head away and looked to the side. Lu Liangsheng on the side smiled and interrupted.
"I have been traveling around the country and was asked to come and see you."
Monkey Head slowed down his tone and turned his head.
"Who?"
"East of Chang'an, on Mount Li, there is an old woman, who may also be a very beautiful woman."
Over there, the previously arrogant monkey fell silent, looked at the ridges of the dark forest in the afternoon sun, and suddenly laughed out loud again.
"Okay, okay, when you get back, tell the old woman that I am fine, have food and shelter, and am living a happy life. There is no need to worry."
"Then, I will take back your original words."
Lu Liangsheng didn't want to stay here any longer. There was no trace of demonic aura on the monkey head. It must be because it was sealed. But if it was sealed, it meant that it was a real demon king. As he said just now, he was sent to the sky and committed sins. He must be a demon that was too arrogant.
If they ever meet, he will either need his help or be implicated by him in the future. Between the two, Lu Liangsheng thinks the latter is most likely.
"Master's way is better. Eat and sleep, sleep and eat..."
Lu Liangsheng placed the last fruit in front of the monkey, stood up to say goodbye, and called out to the old donkey who was kicking the fruit tree with his hind legs raised.
"Old man, wait a little longer and talk to me. Don't be afraid of leaving late. There are no evil spirits in this mountain." The monkey raised his face with all his strength. The mountain pressed down on him, making it extremely difficult for him to make a simple movement.
Lu Liangsheng walked a few steps forward, stroked the donkey's head, and looked at his master who was lying on the ground with his legs stretched out and webbed feet. This monkey has been pressed here for nearly five hundred years, and no one can talk to him. I guess he must be feeling very anxious.
Seeing how miserable he was, Lu Liangsheng sighed and walked back. He waved his robe sleeves and sat casually beside the monkey head. He stretched out his hand to call for the bookshelf, took out a pair of scissors from it, and helped him trim his hair, clean the mud and moss from his ears and nose.
"Old man, your appearance must have changed."
The monkey head looked at the hair mixed with moss and grass falling, and shook it comfortably, "Do you want to learn the real way of transformation? Considering your intention, I will teach you."
"On the path of cultivation, one still has to rely on one's own understanding. Besides, I already have a master, so it's not convenient for me to take someone else as my master."
Hearing what Lu Liangsheng said, the Toad Taoist priest, who was standing with his hands behind his back, stood up straighter, held his head high and puffed out his chest. He glanced at the monkey, who opened his mouth slightly in surprise.
He snorted and said, "I am his master."
"How much can a toad achieve? If you want to learn, you don't have to worship me as your master." The monkey was too lazy to pay attention to the short toad over there. He felt his furry face become refreshed. He liked Lu Liangsheng, who had turned into an old man, more and more. His eyes suddenly turned in his sockets and he said with a grin:
"Since you are so kind-hearted, why don't you tear down the Jie Di on the mountain for me? I am almost suffocating under the weight of it."
The hand trimming the hair on the monkey's face stopped.
Lu Liangsheng raised his head and looked upward along the mountain wall. At the top of the strange peak shaped like five fingers, as far as his sight could see, a yellow talisman was fluttering in the wind and was attached to one of the peaks.
He gathered his magic power in his eyes and looked at it carefully, only to feel a dazzling light flashing on it.
"What a strong and ambitious Buddhist teaching."
Just by looking at it, one can see not only the Buddhist teachings preserved there, but also the vague sense of five different streams of Buddha power flowing.
"This is... Wufang Jie Di, is this using the fortune of this place to restrain this monkey?"
Looking at the monkey's expectant face again, Lu Liangsheng shook his head, gave up the idea of going up, sat down again, and trimmed his hair.
"The old woman asked me not to reveal this Jie Di. She must have her reasons. I can't do this. I think you have been tortured in the mountains for many years. Why don't I tell you what time it is now and what it looks like outside."
After cutting off a tuft of messy hair, Lu Liangsheng spoke in a gentle voice about the current situation outside, adding a lot of fun into the story, which made the monkey, who was originally a little impatient, gradually calm down and listen quietly.