Chapter 195: Another One

In front of Five Finger Mountain.

Yu Lin did not go straight into the mountain; instead he stood a short distance away, his gaze fixed on the three people before the mountain.

Leading them was a youth of about twenty‑five or twenty‑six, dressed in a plain brocade robe with a jade belt at his waist; though his attire resembled that of an ordinary wealthy family, his brows bore an unspoken, imposing aura.

He stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the towering Five Finger Mountain, his eyes deep as a pool, as if pondering some great matter of the world.

Beside the youth stood a middle‑aged Scribe, about forty, wearing a teal‑gray scholar's robe, a square scarf on his head, and holding a folding fan.

His face was lean and clear, his demeanor scholarly, yet when he occasionally lifted his eyes, his gaze was sharp as an eagle's, revealing a keen, capable spirit.

At this moment he was speaking softly to the youth, nodding from time to time.

A short step behind was a mighty warrior, clad in brown leather armor, with a tiger's back and bear's waist, his face hard‑etched as if carved by an axe.

He rested one hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist, his eyes flashing like lightning as they swept the surroundings, exuding a battlefield‑general's grim killing aura.

Even standing behind the scholar, he was still as intimidating as a freshly drawn sword.

Yu Lin's main focus was— that youth.

He radiated a breath of dragon qi.

Using his own method of deduction for a moment… hmm, Li Jiancheng was not in sight, but Li Shimin appeared.

Beside him were two people: one was Changsun Wujie, the other was Yuchi Gong.

Both were great contributors to the Xuanwu Gate Incident; one was the chief planner and agitator of the coup, the other personally killed a prince and "guarded" Li Yuan's imperial decree.

Yu Lin had no intention of approaching them; he thought of returning another time, turned and prepared to leave.

Just as he was about to set off, a calling voice came from behind:

"Yu little brother, Yu little brother, don't go!"

".........."

Yu Lin turned back and saw Sun Wukong below the mountain waving at him, his face full of expectation.

It seemed to be destiny.

He thought so, and thus did not depart, striding toward Five Finger Mountain.

Li Shimin had originally been searching for a path into the mountain; now that Yu Lin appeared, he immediately fixed his gaze on him.

Seeing his extraordinary bearing, he thought silently that this must be a real person secretly cultivating within the mountain!

So Li Shimin smoothed his robe, stepped forward, and bowed, saying:

"I have seen you before, sir!"

Behind him, Changsun Wujie and Yuchi Gong also bowed and greeted.

"No need for formalities," Yu Lin helped Li Shimin to his feet and asked:

"What business do you all have before this mountain?"

Li Shimin, hearing the question, did not try to conceal anything and stated his purpose directly:

"We only heard that there is a Five Elements Mountain here, with a divine monkey beneath it; out of curiosity, we came to take a look."

"But we could not find a way into the mountain, so we have been wandering here ever since."

"Sir, do you reside within this mountain?"

"No, I am also here to see him," Yu Lin shook his head, his face bearing a hint of meaning, and asked again:

"Are you truly only here to look?"

Li Shimin, seeing this, thought silently that indeed, in front of these real cultivators, he could not lie.

But he could not say he was entirely nervous; at least the purpose of seeing the monkey was genuine.

He replied, "Indeed, you cannot hide it from me."

"We also came because we heard the divine monkey daily makes copper juice and iron pills; ordinary people who drink the copper juice gain copper skin, and those who eat the iron pills gain iron bones."

"We wanted to see if that is truly so."

"Where does this rumor come from?"

Yu Lin shook his head again, smiled faintly, and said, "He already possesses copper skin and iron bones, and is naturally divine, so these foods are harmless to him and even beneficial."

"But you mortal flesh are not copper juice or iron pills; even if you eat more meat, your stomach will be extremely uncomfortable, and consuming those could be fatal!"

"It is just a rumor; please return."

Seeing his explanation, Li Shimin did not think he was deceiving them.

There was no need for that.

Of course, it might not be that he refuses to give, but these are others' rights; giving is a favor, not giving is a duty.

Thus Li Shimin nodded and said, "I see, thank you for clearing that up, sir."

"May I ask whether you are willing to leave the mountain?"

"The Historical Bureau currently needs a cultivated master like you."

The Historical Bureau is an official agency that oversees astronomy and the calendar; it was first established in the Sui dynasty's Secretariat and inherited into the Tang dynasty.

Yu Lin, of course, would not join, so he refused outright:

"I have no such intention; is there anything else?"

Seeing his concise refusal, Li Shimin did not press further, fearing to upset him, and showed regret: "I was being reckless."

"There is nothing else; I will not disturb your affairs further, farewell."

Having said that, he left with Changsun Wujie and Yuchi Gong.

They boarded a carriage not far behind and gradually vanished into the distance.

Yu Lin withdrew his gaze, turned, and walked toward the mountain.

Until he reached Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong's face was full of smiles: "Yu little brother, you finally made it!"

"What were you and those few just now talking about?"

"Old Sun, I advise you: if you can attain carefree freedom, you must be carefree, don't get involved, lest you end up like me... never mind, never mind!"

"What tasty things did you bring today?"

"Yu Lin waved his hand, and the ground instantly filled with a heap of food, laughing, 'The Great Sage said so.'"

"So I refused them."

"I brought a lot today; I won't claim it's enough to fill you, but it can whet your appetite."

"Zhongjia Village."

"Li Jiancheng left today with great regret."

"Only Zhong Xiao Mei was at Zhong Kui's home; unable to see the person he wanted to see, he could only have Zhong Xiao Mei say a word, and he'll visit again tomorrow."

"On the vehicle."

"He watched Zhongjia Village shrink gradually, then looked toward the towering Zhongnan Mountain, calculating in his mind."

"Three times—if after three attempts he still sees no one, he'll leave."

"Liu Bei invited Zhuge Liang only three times."

"Not seeing anyone after three tries is enough to show that people don't want to see him."

"Although Li Jiancheng seeks talent, he also has his own bottom line."

"Just as he was pondering, Zheng Xuan outside suddenly seized a carrier pigeon, removed the envelope, and handed it to Li Jiancheng:"

"\"Your Highness, there's a letter. \""

"\"Hmm. \" Li Jiancheng took it, opened it, and after looking, his brows slightly furrowed, a cold smile appearing at the corner of his lips:"

"\"Shi Min, Shi Min, you really are still restless. \""

"A bit of business, one shift today."

"Also to answer, I won't write about the primordial chaos; the primordial chaos genre and myth genre clash too much in settings, for example the Three Purities in the primordial chaos genre differ from those in the myth genre."

"In Taoist mythology, the Three Purities are essentially a Trinity, all 'Dao', with Yuan Shi as the origin, Ling Bao as the form, and Tai Shang as the personification of Dao."

"It's a bit like Christianity's Holy Father, Holy Spirit, Holy Son, and also like Buddhism's Sanshi Fo—past, future, present."

"In short, that's it."