Chapter 288: The Final Voyage

"I'm not crazy!"

The white-haired old Mr. Lin pointed angrily at the empty ground:

"It's standing right here, a monkey! A big monkey! Its whole body is golden fur!"

"Can't you see it?"

Everyone looked at each other……

It's over, the old man has gone mad! His wife painfully closed her eyes; obviously his sudden madness is a heavy blow to her.

Lin Liu's beard began to tremble with anger; to prove he wasn't crazy, he hopefully looked toward his daughter:

"Xiao Xi, do you still remember? You saw it when you were little! A big monkey!"

The daughter stared, thought hard, and finally said uncertainly: "Back then… there really seemed to be a big monkey…… covered in golden fur……"

"That's right then! I'm not crazy!"

Lin Liu laughed, but his daughter didn't smile; instead, she looked thoughtful:

She indeed remembered that strange golden-furred big monkey, because it could speak!

Although nearly thirty years have passed, she still retains quite an impression of that talking strange monkey.

But……

No matter how hard she stared, she never found even a single monkey hair where her father pointed.

After thinking for a while, she could only sadly conclude: Her father truly is crazy!

He must be too eager to become an immortal; all these years he's been practicing that fraudulent Contemplation Method, meditating for hours until he's addled, yet he hasn't shown any supernatural powers.

Thus, exhausted in spirit, he damaged his soul, and until today he has produced hallucinations……

The daughter wiped her tears, feeling guilty that her years of filial neglect have led to this outcome.

The son-in-law also pondered for a moment, then said solemnly:

"Father, perhaps we should go to town and find a famous doctor to have a look……"

"You! You all!"

Lin Liu was so angry smoke seemed to rise from his seven orifices:

Clearly I haven't lied or gone mad, yet the monkey is standing right beside me!

Why can't anyone see it?

After a fit of anger, Lin Liu turned his head and asked the monkey doubtfully:

"Are you using some kind of illusion spell?"

"No."

The monkey shook its head: "Ordinary people simply can't see me now that I've become an immortal……"

Hearing the monkey's explanation, Lin Liu couldn't help but feel deeply moved:

Indeed it's an immortal art! Even if that lousy Contemplation Method is mastered, it merely adds a divine image and allows a few minor spells.

Unlike this monkey, which learned immortal arts from an immortal; once mastered, ordinary people can't see it directly……

"No matter what, I am determined to obtain this immortality!"

Lin Liu slapped his palm and solemnly declared: "I have already missed one opportunity; I cannot miss a second!"

"Now I'm over fifty, there's nothing at home needing my attention; if I don't seize this chance, I fear I will truly have no hope of longevity in this life……"

The daughter opened her mouth to advise further, but Lin Liu wouldn't listen; angrily he began packing his luggage, for he never gives up on what he's decided!

【You disregard your family's objections, insisting on seizing that slender chance of life within your limited lifespan!】

【Then you bought a larger new ship, stocked the hold with food and water, and prepared weapons such as swords and spears…… In short, you did everything you could to prepare.】

【Finally you boarded the ship, took up the oars, and amidst the New Year's firecrackers, resolutely bid farewell to your family and alone set foot on the path to seek immortality!】

【After all, you are just an old man; your parents have long passed away, your only daughter has already married into another family; besides your wife, you have no other attachments.】

【Moreover, your wife is also old; she actually wants to come along, not to seek immortality, but only to look after your livelihood.】

【But you stubbornly declared: "This time I'm going to seek immortality; if that Bodhi Old Ancestor sees that I have someone attending to me, he might think I'm a feeble old man who can't endure hardship and refuse to take me as a disciple—what then?"】

【Don't obstruct my fate for immortality!】

【You firmly refused your wife's companionship, took the boat and left, revealing the obstinacy of the elderly in full measure……】

Gazing far off at the small boat heading out to sea, the daughter only thought her father was truly crazy! With this rickety boat, he actually intends to cross the oceanic barrier to that distant Xiniu Hezhou……

The more the daughter thought about it, the angrier she became, and she began to fiercely scold her husband:

"You didn't even try to stop him! You've grown to this size for nothing—if something happens to Father……"

The son-in-law then felt very wronged:

I dare not even fart at him; in his youth the old man made a name for himself in the county town, even helping the authorities lure and kill the bandit chief—such vigor, such physique…… Even if he's over fifty, I might not be able to beat him! And even if I could, would I dare to strike him? The son-in-law dares to be angry but not to speak; in a fit of anger he merely got angry……

Only the old lady stared blankly as her husband rowed away, and after a long while she let out a bitter sigh: "This old man……"

The husband's excuse for not bringing her is that he fears the immortals will dislike his inability to endure hardship and refuse to take him as a disciple; but as an old married couple, how could she not know what's on his mind?

Clearly he's feeling insecure about this venture, uncertain of its outcome…… To avoid danger, therefore he does not bring her. He would be willing to die at sea, risking everything for this final dream and opportunity, regardless of life or death.

But if his family were beside him, he would instead be tied up hand and foot; should any mishap occur, he wouldn't have time to regret……

Since things have come to this, all we can do is let him go crazy to his heart's content.

……

【You row the boat alone, heading toward Xiniu Hezhou…… perhaps it cannot even be said you are alone, for the monkey is also aboard.】

【"You really can't carry me there by flight?"】

【While rowing, you silently asked the monkey again, thinking to yourself: 'This fellow has become an immortal; couldn't he just fly me directly to the Bodhi Old Ancestor?'】

【However, it truly is not possible.】

【The monkey shook its head: "Although I have become an immortal, I am in fact unable to interfere with the natural workings of heaven and earth; the path to apprenticeship must be walked by you alone, and I can at most point the way……"】

Speaking, it couldn't help but laugh and said: "Back then I said I would protect you on your quest for immortality, but you didn't go... Now that you want to go, you can only go yourself."

You remained silent, focusing solely on rowing, following the wind toward that distant Xiniu Hezhou...

The monkey suddenly said: "Do you not believe me?"

"...... No."

You hesitated a moment, then shook your head and said: "I just don't believe in myself..."

Yes, you simply don't believe in yourself.

Although you were delighted to see the monkey again this time, you're not stupid; it's obvious only you can see it, while your family cannot detect its presence at all... There are only two possibilities.

One is that, as the monkey said, it has already become an immortal, so mortals cannot see it, and it cannot interfere with anything in the natural world!

The other is that you have truly gone mad...

You cannot verify the truth of your speculation, nor dare to assert that your mind is sound.

Because family knows family affairs, you, as the person involved, naturally know how obsessed you became in seeking immortality; your Contemplation Method practice failed, and your dream of immortality could only be placed on that great monkey from years ago.

For years, you have constantly fantasized that the monkey could turn the impossible into possible, until your quest for immortality returns, and then it would bring you along to become immortal together!

The monkey and the fantasy you placed upon it have long become your obsession; as you age, the obsession deepens...

By now, you dare not assert that your mind is sound, for under the influence of such an obsession you have developed a touch of paranoia and produced some hallucinations, which is not hard to understand.

Precisely because you dare not assert it, you refused your wife's offer to accompany and care for you: if you were suffering from mental issues, then this voyage would be certain death! Whether the boat capsizes, you get lost, or any other mishap, only you would die.

But if the monkey you perceive is real, and it can truly take you to pay respects to Patriarch Puti as your teacher to study the Immortality Technique...

Then naturally everyone would be happy! After you achieve success in your immortal arts, you could return to see off your family through birth, aging, sickness, and death.

In short, given the information available, you have made the best choice you could!

Unburdened, you are willing to use your worthless old life to conduct a major experiment—whether it succeeds or fails, whether you live or die, you can accept it...

After nearly thirty years, you have ultimately become a pure seeker of the Dao, just like that confident monkey from back then.

……

The small boat drifted with the current, and time also slowly passed.

From sunrise to sunset, you rowed a while, then drifted with the wind a while... Fortunately, there were no storms or similar disasters along the way; I don't know if it's just your pure luck or the monkey specially guiding you on a safe route, but you really kept going farther west.

One day, ten days...

One month, ten months...

Upon the boundless ocean, you piloted a tiny leaf-like boat that seemed ready to capsize at any moment in the distant sea, going farther and farther... Gradually, you lost your sense of direction, for you could see no land or islands, and all four directions were nothing but vast blue waves.

But you have never felt afraid, because the monkey has always been giving you directions; even if you truly don't know where you are, you need not worry about losing your way!

Of course, you believe the monkey, which essentially means you believe in yourself; you don't know whether the monkey is real or false, so you can only force yourself to believe in yourself...

Your dried rations and fresh water were exhausted in less than a month, so to sustain yourself you could only, following the monkey's guidance, find a small island or shore and then replenish and make repairs on the spot.

And since each time you were truly able to find a small island or land, your trust in the monkey grew ever higher; you began to believe in its reality, believing its descriptions of "Lingtai Fangcun Shan", "Xieyue Sansheng Dong", and the immortal within the cave, "Puti Laozi"...

Thus five years passed.

After five years, you finally found an endless expanse of unfamiliar land amidst the vast sea!

"This place is Xiniu Hezhou!"

The monkey said proudly: "How about that? I didn't deceive you, did I?"

You remained silent for a long time, saying nothing, because there was no need.

All along, the guidance has been a hundred percent accurate, so that initial doubt naturally dissipated long ago...

You now care about only one thing.

Anticipation, anxiety... various complex feelings begin to gradually gather, and the closer you get to Xiniu Hezhou, the stronger they become.

"Patriarch Puti... will he really accept me as a disciple?"

……

(End of chapter)