The Monkey King

  Youquan Valley is surrounded by cliffs, and only a narrow mountain pass can communicate with the outside world.

   Here, there is no sun all year round. Most of the seemingly lush vegetation is from the underworld, and there are very few mortal creatures in the woods.

   This is a world that lives in the shadow of the mountains. In a day, only a few hours are daylight. And even in the daytime, it just looks like the dawn in other places, the only difference is that the sky above is always blue.

  In the days of recuperation, monkeys always like to sit in the yard and look up at the sky, staring at the rolling clouds.

   Thinking about it, since I learned to somersault the cloud, I haven't had a free flight so far.

   Free shuttle among the clouds, what kind of feeling should it be? he thinks.

   came to Youquan Valley, six days had passed in a blink of an eye.

   During these six days, Lu Liuguai, like a young man in love, went out early and returned late every day with passion, planning the town he longed for, which belonged to monsters. Yuechao was not in such a good mood as he was. He also went out early and returned late, but he was exhausted to treat the wounded.

There is no shortage of all kinds of materials in Youquan Valley, but it is impossible to refine so many healing medicine pills. It's a pity that alchemy and strong medical skills do not mean fast speed. In the face of as many as 700 wounded, his scalp is also numb.

   In this way, after only three days, he was exhausted, and the success rate of alchemy dropped rapidly. To this end, Yang Chan, who was responsible for the monkey care work, had to step in to help.

With this addition, Yuechao discovered that Yang Chan's thousand-year military career was really not in vain. Although she was only skilled in alchemy, she might not be able to compare to Yuechao, who soaked in the pill room every day, but practiced ordinary pills. Medicine, Yang Chan is not only fast and has a high success rate, but also the quality of the pills that she has refined.

It was not until this time that Yuechao and Monkey knew that Yang Chan, who was usually not in charge of affairs, was in charge of the logistics of the Guanjiangkou army under Yang Jian's command before entering the Xieyue Sanxing Cave. the top military doctor.

   This can't help but make the monkey lying on the couch with nothing to do every day start to imagine what the beautiful Yang Chan would look like in battle armor, but unfortunately he can't imagine it.

Because Yang Chan joined the medical team, Dajiao was taken to be a helper, and Shortmouth remained silent in the room. The monkey, who had gradually improved, suddenly became extremely lonely. When he opened his eyes every day, all he saw was a little fox demon. And Heizi, or else, is Lu Liuguai who came to sell him all kinds of bizarre political ideas.

  The days go by day by day, simple and boring, rare comfort. On the sixth day, the monkey, who was sitting in the courtyard with nothing to do and enjoying the short daylight in the valley, suddenly heard a guzheng.

   "Any of our monsters can play the zither?" The monkey couldn't help laughing.

   This big gang of monsters, plus two more people, after all, Yang Chan and Yuechao might be able to play the guzheng.

  Yuechao probably won’t have time, so why don’t he find a place to sleep if he has time? Even Monkey asked him to go to see Youquanzi together, but he only lost a sentence: "Uncle Youquan said, we will meet when we should meet." Even if it is over, what about playing the guzheng?

   As for Yang Chan, she wouldn't be surprised if she fights monkeys with blood droplets, but she really can't imagine what it would be like to play the guzheng.

  Closed his eyes, and the monkey lay leisurely on a chair in the yard and listened quietly.

   When I first listened to it, the monkey never caught the melody from the sound, and even thought it was playing randomly. After a long time, after listening carefully, I found that the sound of the piano was as clear as running water, like the breeze blowing my face, which made people feel relaxed and happy, and a kind of detached mood spontaneously emerged.

   After listening for a long time, the monkey opened his eyes, leaned on a cane and started walking to follow the sound.

   On the way, the monkey saw several monsters coming and going to greet him. He wanted to ask who was playing the qin, but after inquiring, he found that they couldn't hear any sound at all, which made the monkey a bit surprised.

   "Could it be that I entered the Spiritual Refinement Realm and my hearing leaped?" he thought.

   followed the sound and walked out of the town, bypassing the winding road, walking through a small forest, and he came to a bamboo forest.

  In the bamboo forest swaying in the wind, there is a clear pool, and beside the pool, there is a bamboo hut with a gazebo in front of the house.

  In the pavilion, a white-haired old man closed his eyes and played the piano, his white clothes trembling slightly in the breeze.

   "This should be the second senior brother Youquanzi." Monkey thought.

   approached, but found that the other party still closed his eyes and focused on playing the piano, without any intention of getting up to say hello.

  Since you’re here, you can’t just leave without saying hello, right? Interrupting again seems inappropriate.

   took a deep breath, the monkey sat on a rock that was half exposed on the ground next to it, put the crutches in his hand aside, and bowed his body and listened quietly.

   The breeze was blowing, bamboo leaves rustled, and ripples appeared on the pond. Under the sound of the qin as light as water, strange birds and beasts in the forest stopped to listen.

  The clouds in the sky flow slowly.

   Everything here is extraordinarily quiet and isolated.

   I just listened so quietly, an hour passed before I knew it.

   Played the last note, Youquanzi quietly put his hands on the piano, and the expression seemed to be still aftertaste.

  Monkey woke up suddenly, hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Wukong meets the second senior brother."

   "Have you been sitting for a long time?" You Quanzi smiled faintly, took out a roll of burlap from her wide sleeves and spread it on the guzheng, and then she shook her sleeves and stood up. All the while, he never opened his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, he sighed: "The brothers and sisters all say that you have a wild temperament. When I see you today, it may not be in my opinion. Those who can sit down quietly and listen to one of my songs are wild and have a degree. At least, the third junior brother, he doesn't have this character."

   "Senior brother laughed." The monkey grinned with a smile, and his eyes kept staring at Youquanzi's eyes.

   This second senior brother almost never heard the wind chimes mentioned, and it seems that even she has never seen it before. Monkey knows very little about Youquanzi.

  Youquanzi, who closed his eyes, seemed to have found something, pursed his lips and smiled, walked to the side of the monkey step by step, and sat down slowly.

   Along the way, the monkey found that although Youquanzi closed his eyes, he never took a wrong step.

   reached out and patted the monkey's shoulder, Youquanzi said, "This is the first time I came to Youquan Valley, how has my junior brother been living in the past few days?"

   "A habit is a habit, it's just annoying senior brother."

  You Quanzi waved his hand: "What are you talking about among fellow disciples and brothers? I, Youquan Valley, are usually just me and my apprentice Xiuyun. You are here. It's better to be more angry."

  Monkey scratched his head in embarrassment.

  According to Yuechao, this second senior brother should be happy with tranquility rather than trouble.

Pushing open his sleeves, Youquanzi took out a roll of bamboo slips and handed it to the monkey, and said, "I met you for the first time, as a senior brother, I should have given you a generous gift. It's just the way of practitioners that you cultivate, and the way of enlightenment that I cultivate as senior brother. I am afraid that it will be of no use to you. I don't have any weapons and armors here. After thinking about it, this copy of "The Officials of the Underworld" should be useful to you. Yes, I will give it to you as a welcome gift."

   He held the bamboo slip in his hand and weighed it, the monkey blinked his eyes and couldn't help but feel a little confused.

   These two senior brothers were far from what I expected.

  Thinking about it, he quickly cupped his hands and said, "Wukong thanked the second senior brother."

   patted the monkey's shoulder, Youquanzi stroked his long beard and smiled: "Fangcai, Junior Brother, you are so absorbed in listening to the piano, is it because Junior Brother also likes the rhythm? I don't know, what kind of musical instrument are you using?"

   Looking at the grass swaying slightly by the pond, the monkey smiled and said, "I don't like it, and I don't know how to play, but I used to listen to it from time to time, but I haven't heard it for many years."

   "Why don't you listen?"

   "There is no such condition." The monkey lowered his head and pursed his lips, and stroked the bamboo slip in his hand.

   Those are all things before you came to this world. In this world, even if you have the leisure, who will play it?

   "Oh." Youquanzi nodded knowingly.

   "Senior brother, you keep your eyes closed, how do you know that I'm fascinated, not sleeping?"

  You Quanzi took a deep breath, raised his head and said, "Senior brother, although I can't see your face, but I can hear your heart, I naturally know that you are fascinated."

   "Senior brother, what's wrong with your eyes...?"

   "Blind since childhood." Youquanzi replied calmly.

   "Then..." The monkey asked hesitantly, "Master didn't help you... Did you cure it?"

  You Quanzi burst out laughing: "To cure a blindness, why should a master take action? Among all the brothers and sisters, apart from you and the third disciple, Dan Tongzi, who is a practitioner of Taoism, who can't be cured?"

   "Then why don't you cure it?"

Lowering his head, You Quanzi smiled slightly, and said, "If you lose something, you will gain something. If my eyes were clear, I would not be able to tell whether you were sleeping or listening. Besides, if it wasn't for those eyes, I would have done it. Not your brother."

  Monkey turned his face slightly and looked puzzled for a while: "How do you say this?"

Youquanzi took a deep breath and said in a succinct manner: "At that time, I knew that the master set up a temple in Fangcun Mountain of Lingtai to receive disciples, and there were no seekers in the world who would not like to worship the disciples, so there was an endless stream of disciples. It's just the master. At that time, I didn't want to accept so many apprentices, and those who came here felt that their qualifications were not good enough, so they sent them all away. Over time, the master was too lazy to receive those seekers one by one, and only set up a maze at the foot of the mountain, saying: 'If you can Get rid of the demons and go up the mountain, then accept them as disciples.'"

   bowed his head, Youquanzi tutted and laughed, and the crow's feet at the corner of his eyes became more obvious: "But the master never thought that a blind man would come to ask for the way. Those confusions are useless to a person without eyes."

Speaking of this, Youquanzi's face was covered with a smile, as if immersed in the past: "After seeing me, the master also said that my qualifications are not good, and he wants to drive me away. So I told the master, if he rushes I left, I went down the mountain and told the world: 'Patriarch Subhuti did not believe what he said!'"

  Monkey burst out laughing: "So, the master finally had to accept you?"

  Youquanzi smiled and nodded, smiling like an old urchin: "This is a god, after all, there is a chance. God took my eyes, but showed me the way, why not?"

   After thinking about it for a while, the monkey asked again: "Senior Brother Youquan, the time for you to worship at the entrance is much different from the time for Senior Brother Dantong to worship at the entrance?"

   "It's been... a few years. What?"

   "Since you must be able to pass the maze when you go to the master's door, how did Brother Dantong pass the test?" Dantongzi's personality... Monkey really can't say anything, and it's only half a catty compared to himself.

   "He. Hehehe, do you know what he did before he entered the contemplation?"

   "I heard that he is a general." The monkey replied hesitantly.

Youquanzi pursed his lips, nodded and said, "Exactly. The other seekers are all alone, but he did not seek the Tao alone, but brought an army to seek the Tao. What he wanted was a way to defeat the enemy. Go down the mountain. , After seeing the maze, I couldn’t get out of it for a month, so I just set fire to the mountain.”

   "Set... set fire?" The monkey couldn't help but widen his eyes.

   Is there anyone in this world who seeks the Way?

"Well, set fire." Youquanzi pursed her lips, nodded, and continued: "He set fire to the mountain, but the master refused to do so. Immediately after casting the spell, it rained for three months. No matter how he ordered, he couldn't get it, but he wouldn't go if he couldn't. He led the troops to block the roads in all directions, claiming that he couldn't become a teacher, and no one would want to worship. So the master cast a spell again, letting him do that. All the officers and soldiers were unsatisfied. He had no choice but to pull out the camp and cross the sea. When he arrived home, he found that the city had been captured, and the soldiers around him were scattered, and he had nowhere to go. In the end, he had no choice but to run back to the foot of Lingtai Fangcun Mountain. Relying on it and not leaving. The master still ignored him, he became a hunter there, and it took him a year to touch the mountain while taking advantage of the opportunity of the spiritual power of the Tengu Eating Sun Magic Formation to decline."

   "Ha, there is still this past? Then he told the fifth senior brother that I was stubborn, but he himself may not let go too much."

   "Hehehehe, don't say I told you to listen to this matter, he shouldn't be happy. By the way, I heard that you also had a conflict with him when you were watching?"

  Monkey nodded silently and said, "Afterwards, it was considered a reconciliation."

With a light sigh, Youquanzi said: "Junior brother, don't blame him. As a cultivator, over-absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it is inevitable that suffocation will remain in the body. He is no better than you. The hostility is naturally eliminated. Too much residual hostility naturally interferes with the xinxing. At the beginning... He also thought about the heaven as a general, but the master never liked the heaven, how could he dare to disobey? It's tough."

  Monkey smiled and said: "What's so strange, I want to sneak into the Tibetan Sutra Pavilion, and I'm still wrong when it comes to the truth."

Youquanzi laughed and said: "The third junior brother has a temper, but he is not bad. That year, the sixth junior brother and the seventh junior sister had an accident, and he was the one who rushed to the first place. Later, he was ordered by the master to think about it three times behind closed doors. year."

   At this time, the light from the cliff tops around the valley has gradually diminished, and although it is still day, it is like night.

Bowing his head and pursing his lips, the monkey held the bamboo slip in his hand, took a deep breath, and asked slowly, "Senior brother sent me "The Underworld's Servants", I should have heard something from the master or the eighth senior brother. right?"

   "Well, I heard a few things. Although this is a small matter, it has a lot of implications, and the master's attitude is unclear. I'm afraid that in the end, you can only rely on yourself, and it is inconvenient for us to help directly."