Chapter 2: Where you came from, return there now

In the dense forest of Qingyun Mountain, Su Chen slashed through the thorny bushes blocking the path with a single sword strike.

“Brother Monkey, there’s a great river ahead.”

The monkey crouched on a large rock, scratching his head and pulling his ears.

“How do we get across?”

Su Chen pointed toward the distance.

“Look over there—there’s a wooden bridge.”

“Brother, your eyes are sharp!”

The monkey leapt down and sprinted forward eagerly.

Su Chen followed behind, mentally calculating.

It had been a month since they departed from Jiang State.

Along the way, he had seen countless things he had never encountered before.

Talking trees, wild boars three zhang tall, luminous rare flowers and herbs that glowed at night…

These all reminded him that this world was far more complex than he had imagined.

Fortunately, thanks to the route provided by the Heavenly Mechanism Mirror, the two had not taken any detours.

“Brother, come quick and see!”

The monkey shouted from the riverbank.

Su Chen walked over and saw the river water was an eerie gray-black.

“This river water is suspicious,” the monkey muttered, “but at least there’s a bridge.”

The two stepped onto the wooden bridge.

The bridge was narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass, with turbulent water swirling beneath.

As they reached the center, the bridge suddenly shook violently.

“What’s happening?”

The monkey gripped the bridge ropes and scanned the surroundings.

Su Chen also grew alert.

At that moment, a black snake as thick as a water barrel leapt from the river!

It opened its bloodied maw and lunged straight at Su Chen!

“Brother, watch out!”

The monkey roared and swung his staff at the black snake.

CRASH!

The snake was deflected and plunged back into the river.

But immediately, more black snakes rose from the water!

Three, five, ten!

Each was as thick as a water barrel, their scales glinting coldly in the sunlight.

“There’s something strange about this river!”

Su Chen drew his longsword and slashed at the nearest black snake.

A flash of blade light— the snake’s body split in two.

But more snakes surged forward.

“Let me handle them! Brother, run!”

The monkey swung his staff, knocking several black snakes flying.

“Run together!”

Su Chen shouted.

The two sprinted across the bridge, pursued relentlessly by the black snakes behind them.

Finally, they crossed the wooden bridge.

The black snakes halted at the riverbank, as if afraid to set foot on land.

“Phew…” the monkey panted, “these river snakes are strange.”

“Indeed.”

Su Chen sheathed his longsword and stared at his hand.

In that one strike, he had used all his strength.

Yet he had only severed one snake.

These snake spirits’ scales were extraordinarily hard.

“Brother, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Su Chen shook his head. “Let’s keep going.”

Over the next two months, the two encountered all manner of incidents.

Wolf demons lying in wait in the forest, tiger demons ruling mountain caves, shape-shifting fox demons…

In every battle, Su Chen gave his all.

But the more he fought, the more powerless he felt.

Any one of these demons could have obliterated the opponents he had defeated in Jiang State in an instant.

Though the monkey had not yet learned immortal arts, his physical prowess far surpassed that of ordinary men.

The wooden staff in his hands felt weightless; each swing carried a howling wind.

Without him, Su Chen knew he would have died long ago.

“Brother, what are you thinking about?”

By the campfire, the monkey gnawed on wild fruit.

Su Chen stared at the flickering flames.

“I’m thinking—the martial arts I cultivated in Jiang State mean nothing in this world.”

“Naturally,” the monkey grinned.

“No matter how powerful martial arts are, they’re just mortal tricks. Only immortal arts grant eternal life!”

“Brother Monkey is right.”

Su Chen sighed.

He was growing ever more eager to meet Patriarch Bodhi.

Only by learning immortal arts could he truly find his place in this world.

“By the way, brother, how far is that immortal mountain?”

“Close,” Su Chen looked at the map in his mind. “At most ten more days’ travel, we’ll arrive.”

“Wonderful!” The monkey leapt up excitedly. “I’m finally going to meet a god!”

He danced wildly beside the fire, clearly overjoyed.

Su Chen watched him, a faint smile forming on his lips.

Along this journey, his bond with the monkey had grown stronger.

Though the monkey was sometimes reckless, his nature was good and he valued loyalty.

In danger, he never retreated.

When he found something good, he always shared a portion with Su Chen first.

“Brother Monkey, I have a question for you.”

“Go ahead.”

“If one day you master immortal arts, will you forget me, your brother?”

The monkey paused, then replied seriously.

“Brother, how can you say that? Though I’m just a monkey, I know the meaning of gratitude and righteousness!”

He pounded his chest.

“You led me to the immortal mountain—this debt I’ll never forget! If I truly become an immortal, I’ll never forget you!”

Su Chen smiled.

“Brother Monkey’s words—I’ll remember them.”

Ten days later.

The two finally arrived at a great mountain shrouded in mist and clouds.

The terrain was steep, ancient trees towering overhead.

“Brother, is this the place?”

The monkey trembled with excitement.

“It should be,” Su Chen studied the mountain path. “Let’s go up and see.”

As the two spoke, a figure slowly descended the mountain trail ahead.

He wore simple cloth robes, a hatchet at his waist, singing as he walked.

“Watching chess, the axe’s handle rots; chopping wood, the sound rings clear… walking slowly by the valley’s edge…”

His song was ancient and melodious, carrying a profound, ineffable Daoic resonance.

Upon hearing the song, Sun Wukong’s eyes instantly brightened.

“A god! So the gods are hidden here!”

Su Chen straightened his robes and stepped forward with Sun Wukong.

As the woodcutter drew near, Su Chen bowed deeply, his forehead nearly touching the ground.

“Greetings, sir.”

The woodcutter halted, eyeing the odd pair before him with surprise.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?”

Su Chen rose, a humble smile on his face.

“We are seekers from afar, having heard there are immortals in this mountain, and have come to pay our respects.”

“Just now we heard the song you sang—it was profoundly mysterious. Might I ask, sir, are you the immortal of this mountain?”

The woodcutter burst into laughter.

“I’m no immortal—just a woodcutter.”

“That song wasn’t mine. It’s called ‘Full Courtyard Fragrance,’ composed by an old immortal in the mountain. Seeing how hard my family’s labor was and how burdened I was, he taught us woodcutters to sing it to ease our hearts.”

Here it comes!

Su Chen’s heart leapt—he was exactly as described in the original!

Sun Wukong, beside him, could barely contain his eagerness and pressed urgently: “Where is this immortal? Please, sir, show us the way!”

The woodcutter pointed his axe deep into the mountain.

“Follow this path straight in—about seven or eight li, and you’ll see a cave dwelling. That’s where the old immortal lives.”

“Thank you, sir, for your guidance!” Su Chen bowed again.

Then the two asked the woodcutter why, if he knew the immortal, he didn’t learn immortal arts and instead spent his life chopping wood.

The woodcutter said his fate was bitter: he had lost his father young, and now had an elderly mother to support—he dared not abandon her to pursue cultivation.

All he could do was chop firewood daily, carry it to the market, and trade it for coins to care for his mother.

Hearing this, Su Chen bowed again and said: “Then you are truly a filial son—your virtue shall surely be rewarded!”

Sun Wukong imitated him, bowing to the woodcutter as well.

The woodcutter waved them off, saying he was unworthy, then shouldered his bundle and descended the mountain alone.

“Brother! Let’s hurry!”

Sun Wukong could wait no longer, calling to Su Chen as he sprinted up the mountain.

Su Chen withdrew his gaze and followed after him.

The two hurried along the narrow path, climbed over another hill, and saw ahead a mansion with its cave entrance sealed beneath a rocky cliff.

The cave door stood tightly shut, beside it a stone stele, over three zhang tall and more than eight chi wide.

On the stele’s upper face were carved ten large characters: Ling Tai Fang Cun Mountain, Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave.

“We’ve arrived…”

Su Chen murmured.

His heart quickened.

From today, his fate would change utterly.

The monkey strode forward and shouted at the cave dwelling.

“Is anyone inside? I’ve come to seek the Dao!”

His voice echoed through the valley.

He shouted for a long time, but no one emerged.

Su Chen knew this was a test, and told the monkey to wait patiently.

Just as the monkey began to fidget and scratch his head in impatience—

“Squeak—”

The sealed stone door emitted a long, slow creak and began to open inward.

A young Daoist acolyte, dressed in a Daoist robe, his hair tied in twin buns, stepped out.

Sun Wukong leapt up with a “whoosh!”

The acolyte’s gaze swept over the monkey first, as if unsurprised.

Then his eyes fell on Su Chen—and a ripple stirred in his calm expression.

He cleared his throat and spoke to Sun Wukong.

“My ancestral master just opened his altar to teach the Dao, and said today a seeker waits outside.”

“He sent me out to bring you in.”

The acolyte’s words sent Sun Wukong into ecstatic delight.

“Wonderful! Wonderful! The immortal wants to see me!”

But the acolyte’s next words struck Su Chen like lightning.

The acolyte fixed his sharp gaze on Su Chen and spoke slowly, word by word:

“But you—”

“My master says his karmic connection is with this monkey alone.”

“You have no affinity with my master.”

“So go back whence you came.”