They've all become top scholars in the imperial examinations, and you're telling me this i

Chapter 86 That Monkey!

Upon hearing Chen Guangrui ask about the peaches, the Silver Furnace Boy immediately turned to the Golden Furnace and exclaimed, "You bought them! Tell me!"

The Golden Furnace Boy, still trying to maintain a composed expression, thought for a moment and said...

"Oh, those peaches... I bought them from a man selling peaches on a shoulder pole at the market entrance. He was wearing a coarse cloth short jacket, and his trousers were covered in mud. He looked like a simple and honest farmer. I saw that the peaches on his shoulder pole were indeed big and plump, so I bought them all."

He paused, then cautiously looked up at Chen Guangrui and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with Taozi?"

Chen Guangrui immediately put on a gentle smile and waved his hand.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. Thank you for your trouble, two celestial children. It's just that these peaches are really sweet and delicious. Although I now have a divine position, I still miss the taste of fresh fruit after staying in the mortal world for so long."

He looked at the golden stove with sincere eyes, "I just heard you mention that the peach seller has already gone into town? I wonder which direction he went? I was thinking of buying some more to take on the road."

When the Golden Furnace Boy saw that what he said made sense, his small doubts disappeared. He pointed to a small path next to the market that led down to the foot of the mountain: "Look, that's the way he came. He was going to the city to sell peaches. He didn't have many to begin with, and I bought them all. He should be going back the way he came now."

"Brother, we have to go."

The silver-burning boy, who had been impatient for some time, immediately tugged at the golden-burning boy's sleeve when he heard that the peaches were fine.
"We need to hurry to Gao Laozhuang to choose a site! Building a big village is the priority! The old man from Gao Laozhuang will definitely be angry whenever he sees us in the future."

The Golden Furnace Boy was pulled along by him, and his feet followed involuntarily, but he still turned back to look at Chen Guangrui: "Fellow Daoist Chen, do you... want to come with us to Gao Village?"

Oh? You're calling me "fellow Daoist" this time?

Chen Guangrui smiled slightly and politely declined, saying, "Laojun decreed that I serve as an official in this mortal realm, and the military journey is preordained; it is truly difficult to leave without permission. However,"

He paused for a moment, then said, "If you encounter any difficulties on this trip, you can come to the army to find me at any time."

Upon hearing this, the Golden Furnace Boy nodded like a little adult: "Yes, I understand."

After saying that, he let Yinlu pull him away.

Chen Guangrui seemed to remember something and asked loudly from behind, "By the way, who exactly lives on that Yalong Mountain you're talking about?"

The Golden Furnace Boy turned around, made a face at him, said nothing, and quickly left with the Silver Furnace.

They hadn't gone far when they heard the Silver Incense Burner Boy's dissatisfied complaints.

"Why are you asking him if he's coming with us? He doesn't know anything about building a manor, he's just a fire-tender..."

"Shut up!" the Golden Furnace Boy retorted irritably. "You wouldn't understand even if I told you! Just go your own way!"

The two small figures quickly disappeared in the direction of Gao Lao Zhuang, and the sounds of arguing gradually faded away.

Chen Guangrui immediately turned around and ran towards the path at the foot of the mountain in the direction Jin Lu pointed out, to find the peach seller.

Since taking that pill and gaining a divine position, Chen Guangrui felt that his strength had increased significantly. He no longer needed to fly on clouds; his foot speed alone was much faster than before.

Sure enough, after chasing for a short while, they saw a middle-aged man wearing a coarse cloth jacket and carrying an empty carrying pole on his shoulder walking slowly home on the path ahead. There were indeed mud spots on his trouser legs.

"Brother, wait a moment!" Chen Guangrui stepped forward and called out to the fruit farmer.

The man turned around, saw that it was a well-dressed official, and stopped somewhat awkwardly.

"Sir...sir, what are your orders?"

Chen Guangrui had a warm smile.
"Brother, don't be alarmed. My son sold some of your peaches at the market just now. They were so crisp and sweet, they were unforgettable. That's why I wanted to catch up and buy some more good ones. Would that be alright?"

Upon hearing that business had come knocking, the fruit farmer's face immediately lit up with a simple, joyful smile.

"Oh, my lord, you have good taste! Alright, alright! But all those peaches are sold out today. If you want to buy some, you'll have to come to my house."

He was still worried that Chen Guangrui wouldn't go with him, so he pointed to a courtyard not far away.
"Home is just ahead, come with me. The peaches on my tree are, without exaggeration, sweeter than those from other trees!"

The two walked one after the other and soon arrived at an ordinary farmhouse in the valley.

Pushing open the wooden gate, Chen Guangrui was slightly surprised by the scene before him. There were no ordinary objects in the courtyard, only a lush peach tree standing tall, almost shading most of the yard.

The tree has a thick trunk and cracked bark, clearly indicating its great age. Its dense branches are laden with peaches, some red and some pink.

Under the tree was a dilapidated bamboo recliner, where an elderly man with white hair and cloudy, lifeless eyes was lazily basking in the sun.

The fruit farmer explained,

“My lord, look, this is it! This is my family’s old peach tree.”

He pointed to the old man on the recliner, "That's my grandfather."

Then, with a hint of pride, he explained,
"This tree has quite a history. My grandfather said that when he was young, he brought back an old peach tree root from the Liangjie Mountain and planted it in the yard. It grew year by year, and blossomed and bore fruit year by year... If you calculate it, it must have been almost a hundred years old!"

Chen Guangrui's heart stirred slightly. His gaze swept over the old tree and finally landed on the old man who was on his deathbed.

He nodded, took out a heavy coin from his waist—a coin Chen An had left him—and handed it to the fruit farmer.

"Good, good trees bear good fruit. Here's the money, please pick some of the best and sweetest peaches for me."

The fruit farmer took the shiny hundred-cash coin, his eyes lit up, and he grinned from ear to ear, repeatedly saying...
"Oh, thank you, sir! Please wait a moment, please wait a moment, I'll go and pick the biggest, reddest, and crispest peach for you right away!"

Having said that, he immediately ran to the tree and began to make arrangements.

Chen Guangrui stood in the courtyard, looking at the big tree.

Then, he slowly walked to the recliner and sat down on the stone bench next to the old man. He gazed at the old man's face and eyes, speaking very softly, as if afraid of waking him.
“Grandpa,” he paused, a hint of inquiry in his voice, “this peach tree…is truly beautiful. I heard that you often visited Liangjie Mountain when you were young?”

The old man on the recliner seemed not to hear, not even lifting his eyelids, and continued to sunbathe under the peach tree.

The old man, who looked quite advanced in age, seemed oblivious to his surroundings. He lay peacefully in the sunlight, completely unaware of the person who had approached him or what he was saying.
Chen Guangrui leaned closer, lowering his voice even further, with a hint of guidance, "Do you remember, in those mountains over there, there's a mountain that looks like five fingers? Underneath the cracks in the rocks..."

He paused slightly, his gaze fixed on the old man's cloudy eyes. "Pressing down a monkey with a hairy face and a thunder god's mouth?"

Upon hearing "the monkey with the hairy face and thunderous mouth," the old man's previously cloudy, lifeless, and half-asleep eyes immediately opened. The emptiness in his old eyes was no longer there, but rather a lively and spirited look.

Seeing the old man's reaction, Chen Guangrui felt reassured, knowing he had found the right person. He leaned forward slightly and spoke in a gentle yet clear voice, "Old man, it seems you remember that monkey?"

"I remember...I remember!"

The old man's voice was a little hoarse, and he spoke with a reminiscing expression, his words becoming smoother, "When I was a child... when I was still a cowherd... that mountain buried me."

He took a breath and looked out at the bare cliffs outside the courtyard, as if he had pierced through time and space.

“That monkey…hey,” the old man said, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, whether from pity or curiosity, it was hard to tell.
"I heard him say that he sprang from a crack in a rock, possessing incredible supernatural powers, but he was suppressed by someone with even greater powers. As for his appearance... he really did have a pointed snout, a monkey-like face, and a fierce look. My dad used to tell people to stay away from him..."

He sighed and continued,
"But I was just a kid then, how could I know fear? Seeing it pitifully pinned under a rock, only its head sticking out, unable to move, its body covered in moss, its fur covered in dust, I secretly picked a few wild peaches to feed it when I passed by on my way to herd cattle. It wasn't fierce, it just bared its teeth, I didn't know if it was laughing or crying, its eyes were staring straight at the sky... it was a spirit... Later... sigh, later I grew up, got married and started supporting a family, and I stopped going to the mountains to herd cattle, I guess..."

The old man's cloudy eyes looked at Chen Guangrui, "It's been twenty or thirty years since I last saw him. I wonder... if that monkey is still around? I'm afraid it's gotten incredibly old..."

After listening, Chen Guangrui felt a heaviness in his heart, as if he could understand the old man's reminiscences of his past life. He looked at the old man sincerely.
"Sir, I'd like to see this monkey. Could you take me to see it?"

"Go see it?" The old man was stunned, his cloudy eyes filled with confusion. He looked at the young man before him, dressed in official robes and exuding an extraordinary air, and couldn't understand why he wanted to go looking for the stone monkey suppressed under the mountain. What was there to see about that monkey? It had been suppressed there for so many years; it was nothing more than a pitiful creature.

Chen Guangrui understood his confusion, her tone gentle but firm, "Yes, go see him. He's been trapped there... for so many years..."

Chen Guangrui paused, lowered his voice, and spoke with genuine sympathy.

"He's so pitiful. I want to go see him, see if I can... do something to help him, even just talk to him. Could you take me there?"

Hearing this, the old man fell silent for a moment. His aged, wrinkled face was expressionless, but his eyes seemed to reflect the image of the monkey decades ago, trapped in a crack in the rocks, only its head able to move. After a long while, his withered lips moved, "Yes... I was trapped for a lifetime... I... I lived a lifetime too."

After the old man finished speaking, he actually leaned on the armrest of the recliner and tried to stand up shakily. "Come on, it's rare that this old man can still move. I... will take you to see him."

(End of this chapter)