Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

After a light rain, the roadside was slightly wet and muddy. The air was filled with the scent of green grass. For travelers, the road conditions were annoying but the temperature was comfortable.

Wen Jiao took advantage of the coolness of the early morning and led her men out of the city. After walking only five miles, she suddenly caught a glimpse of two familiar figures under the long pavilion on the side of the road. They were Yuan Tiangang and Feng Ji.

Wen Jiao got off her horse in surprise, lifted the veil on her hat, and stopped ten steps away from Yuan Tiangang. She smiled and said, "I am covered in dust, so I won't offend Yuan Ling. It's so dusty along the official road, it's amazing that Yuan Ling can stand it. What's the big deal that made our spotless Yuan Banxian go out of the city and come here?"

Yuan Tiangang's dark pupils were as deep as the mossy ancient path in the deep mountains: "I'll see you off."

In later times, a scholar named Chen Yunping, when bidding farewell to a Zen master, reluctantly chanted a poem, saying:

The master built a Tiantai, a long pavilion and a short pavilion. He burned incense and visited the ancestral pagoda, and shook the staff to move the mountain spirits.

I move calamus from the cracks of rocks, and chop up tuckahoe from pine roots. When will the white clouds come down, and we can talk about the greenery together?

Wen Jiao didn't know whether she and Yuan Tiangang also had this kind of mysterious friendship, she only knew that under the other party's serious gaze, she was suddenly speechless.

She looked away uncomfortably and smiled at Fengji apologetically: "I'm sorry, Master Fengji, Huo Linger said last night that she couldn't bear to part with the Ruyi Pearl and still wanted to go with me."

To be exact, it was late last night when Wen Jiao suddenly woke up from her dream and was startled by a pair of big, bright eyes beside the bed. It turned out to be Huo Ling'er squatting there, looking at her with resentment, and said faintly: "I have figured it out. I am a crystal lion. I won't starve to death if I don't eat or drink, and I won't freeze to death if I don't wear clothes. But!" She pulled at Wen Jiao's quilt, "I have been sleeping with the Ruyi Pearl every day these days. I can't sleep without it!"

"The crystal lion can go without food and water, but does that mean it has to sleep?" Wen Jiao said helplessly.

"What do you think? Didn't I sleep every day before my transformation?" Huo Linger said angrily.

So when Wen Jiao left home, there was an additional female guard named Huo Linger in her entourage.

Feng Ji caught sight of the tall girl in the group from a distance, and said unhappily, "This Fox King saw it." After that, he jumped over, pulled Huo Linger, who was not in the right condition, off the horse, and dragged her aside to talk.

In the pavilion, only Wen Jiao and Yuan Tiangang were left facing each other. Yuan Tiangang took the initiative to walk a few steps closer and asked, "You... I didn't expect you to leave so soon."

Yuan Tiangang looked at her. Unlike the noble ladies in Chang'an who were glamorous with rouge and pearls, the woman's face was naturally white without any makeup, and her skin was as clean as a banana leaf washed by white rain. Her red lips had lost their previous playful and bright color, and were now tightly pursed, with a rich and beautiful look that was almost firm.

There was a spring stream flowing in his chest, gently, pulling his thoughts upstream.

When they first met, she was such a noble lady from Guichuan County whose every word and action made people feel like spring breeze. When they met again, she led Fengji to Xuanji Pavilion, with a tough and desperate attitude, but she was neither arrogant nor humble, and was charming and amiable.

Like a gust of wind or a torrential rain, she had entered his life with such force and without hesitation. In the blink of an eye, she was leaving without hesitation.

Yuan Tiangang felt that he should say something, but as his emotions surged, he thought that since they were new friends, it would be better to say nothing.

Wen Jiao was puzzled when she saw that he was silent and had a look of wanting to say something but not being able to. After thinking for a while, she suddenly understood and clapped her hands: "I know, you are reluctant to let go..."

Yuan Tiangang's face turned slightly red, and he was so nervous that his heart was pounding. Just when he was wondering whether he should admit his feelings, he heard her say, "...Aunt Shen?"

Yuan Tiangang: ...

Wen Jiao looked like she was thinking hard. "This is not easy to deal with. Aunt Shen is a servant of the Yin family. Although I intend to get rid of her slavery, she is loyal and unwilling to leave. She also said that she is used to working hard, and staying in the mansion to be busy will make her feel better. There are also a group of old sisters to talk and laugh with. When she can't do anything in the future, she will also stay in the mansion to live in her old age. There are too few people in Xuanji Pavilion. When I am here, I can add three more people with Mingxin and Suxin. Once I leave, I will provide food for you and Fengji. I'm afraid she will find it lonely if she stays alone."

"I want to say," Yuan Tiangang interrupted her, "the divination I gave you is still useful."

Wen Jiao didn't expect that what he wanted to say for a long time was actually this matter, and she couldn't help but feel surprised: "Yuan Banxian's divination gold is very expensive, I have to use it wisely."

Seeing Wen Jiao's straightforward refusal, Yuan Tiangang choked up and frowned, "Immortal traces and fate, isn't it considered a blade?"

What he meant was, could he help me figure out where the real immortals are and how to ask them to accept me as his disciple?

Wen Jiao's heart was moved fiercely, and after pondering for a while, she still felt that cheating in the matter of seeking immortality was not a good idea. Just as she was about to refuse again, she accidentally met Yuan Tiangang's eyes, and seeing his burning gaze staring at her, she was suddenly speechless.

She immediately turned away, gathered herself, and said, "I wonder if Yuan Banxian would listen to my story?"

“Tell me.” Yuan Tiangang also looked away, his voice tense, and he seemed a little uncomfortable.

"A long time ago, there was a scholar who went to Beijing to take an imperial examination. He stayed overnight in a mountain god temple. He heard the mountain god order his judge, 'Quickly bring him a quilt to cover him, and remove it at dawn, so as not to let the top scholar catch a cold.' He was the only living person in the mountain god temple. Who else could the top scholar be? The scholar's heart was beating like a drum, and he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. Sure enough, someone brought him a fragrant and soft quilt to cover him, and removed it at dawn."

Wen Jiao played with the tip of the whip, deliberately not looking at Yuan Tiangang: "After that, the scholar was sure that he would definitely be the top scorer in the exam, so he was relieved. He went out to see flowers, drank wine and competed in poetry, and never touched a book again. When the results were announced, he prepared the reward money and sat in the inn waiting for the person to bring the good news. But he waited until late at night and didn't see anyone. He knew something was wrong, so he went to check the list early the next morning. He looked from the top to the bottom, and then from the bottom to the top, but he couldn't find his name. What do you think happened?"

A frown appeared between Yuan Tiangang's brows.

"I didn't mean to say that your divination is inaccurate." Wen Jiao saw this and explained softly, "It's just that in this world, where is there a constant and unchanging fortune? If I am really destined to be an immortal, whether there is a master to guide me or not, as long as I have a pious heart and travel thousands of mountains and rivers to find it, I will eventually meet an immortal one day."

"If not, even with your help, I will inevitably neglect you and miss the opportunity. Success depends on fate, but planning depends on man. I know that I am not the kind of person who will not give up in the face of temptation, so I don't want to give myself the opportunity to take shortcuts. Yuan Tiangang, I appreciate your kindness..."

She looked up at the sky unconsciously. The sky above her head was so blue and boundless. After looking at it for a long time, she felt that it seemed to be able to swallow up all living beings. Compared with it, her piety, pursuit and persistence were so insignificant that they were not worth mentioning.

When I thought of this, I couldn't help but shudder: "I hope that when we meet next time, I will have been reborn."

The breeze blew by, and Yuan Tiangang's purple robe sleeves fluttered: "It's a deal. Then I will serve you a bottle of wine in this pavilion."