The novel *Journey to the West* only states that the Water Curtain Cave of Flower and Fruit Mountain is located near Aolai Country in the Eastern Continent, and also says, "This mountain is the ancestral vein of the ten continents and the source of the three islands. It was established when the clear and turbid were separated, and was formed after the chaos was divided..."
Xu Milu descended from the clouds and saw that the forest was full of green trees, pine and cypress trees, and mountain springs were gurgling. Although it was not yet summer, the forest was already lush and green. Standing on the mountain and looking up, you could only see thin clouds swirling around, as if covering the green mountains with a layer of white gauze.
A small path winds through the mountains, and faintly drifts the song of a woodcutter, but the lyrics are not obscure or difficult to understand:
"...The grass-covered mound faces the mountain hollow, bamboo shoots are used to cook rice, mountain water is used to brew tea, sweet potatoes and yams are in full bloom, mountain fruits and flowers are vibrant, mountain streams murmur and ice taps against the crescent moon, mountain clouds sweep away the crows in the forest, the mountain scenery is beautiful, the mountain landscape is praiseworthy, the clear sky beyond the mountain, and the houses below the mountain..."
(The original Yuan dynasty song "Toad Palace Song: Enjoying Myself" is adapted here.)
The man's clear voice echoed through the mountains, and the meaning of the melody was quite fitting. When the wild animals such as deer and foxes in the forest heard the human movement, they all retreated into the bushes.
"This place is truly a place of natural beauty and spiritual energy."
Xu Milu couldn't help but praise, as the woodcutter was heading in the exact direction she was.
Before long, she saw two strong, thin men carrying firewood on their backs and holding machetes. They were dressed as hunters, their skin dark and their clothes and shoes made of cloth. They were singing as they walked out of the mountains.
"Brother Liu, you've chopped quite a lot of firewood today. Take it to the market and exchange it for three coins. You can also buy some candy for your little one to sweeten his mouth."
"Hey! It's early spring now, all the animals are having their babies, how can we hunt? We can only chop some firewood to supplement our income. When summer comes, I'll hunt a few rabbits and take them back to your house so your sister-in-law can stew them to nourish her."
The two were startled when they suddenly saw Xu Milu standing halfway up the mountain.
A beautiful woman dressed in a Taoist robe suddenly appeared in the deep mountains and forests, and she seemed very strange no matter how you looked at her.
Suspecting it was a monster, the two only dared to shout from a distance:
"Hey young lady, who are you? Have you gotten separated from your family? How come you're all alone in these deep mountains?"
Seeing that the two were frightened, Xu Milu didn't approach rashly. She simply waved her hand from afar and shouted:
"Brothers! May I ask if this is near Aolai Kingdom? Is there a mountain here called Flower Fruit Mountain, teeming with monkeys?"
The two hunters looked at each other, shook their heads, and replied in a loud voice:
“We live at the foot of this mountain, but we have never heard of any Flower and Fruit Mountain in Aolai Kingdom. If you are looking for the place with the most monkeys, just go ten miles to the west. The mountain there is very steep, and there are many wild monkeys in the forest. Be careful, young lady!”
There's no Aolai Kingdom or Flower Fruit Mountain?
Xu Milu thought for a moment and suddenly realized that the country of Aolai appeared at the beginning of Journey to the West, in the part where her master was born. Now that the four members of the pilgrimage group have returned, at least a thousand years have passed, so Aolai must have long since disappeared.
"Thank you both, brothers!"
Xu Milu clasped her hands in a fist salute, turned around, and transformed into a wisp of green smoke, ascending into the clouds. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared.
The two thought they were seeing things, so they hurried forward to the mountainside and saw a bunch of juicy purple grapes on the stone steps. Each grape was the size of a chicken egg, and there were a few pieces of white maltose wrapped in a handkerchief underneath. It was only springtime, so where did these grapes come from?
"Oh my! We've probably encountered a deity!! We've shown the way to the immortal, and this is a divine fruit the immortal has given us!"
"Oh my! This is truly divine! These fruits are so juicy and fresh; they must be from the Queen Mother of the West's Peach Garden!"
The two hunters were both surprised and delighted, thinking they had encountered an immortal. They knelt and bowed in the direction Xu Milu had left.
—As for the legend of "encountering a fairy in the forest," that came later.
...
...
Xu Milu flew westward for ten miles in the direction indicated by the two hunters, and sure enough, she saw a beautiful and exceptionally majestic green mountain.
Small animals roam freely in the mountains, white cranes flap their wings, and raccoons frolic and play in the forest, creating a lively scene. Beyond the mountains lies the vast ocean, with surging tides and rolling waves. Strange rocks stand atop cliffs, and the sound of the waves blends perfectly with the rustling of leaves in the forest.
There was a path through the forest where wild animals roamed. The mountain ravines were covered with vines and branches, and everything was lush and green. Occasionally, a deer would see her, but instead of being afraid, it would turn its head and stare at her with innocent eyes.
"Come, come, I have some good fruit here, would you like to try some?"
Xu Milu couldn't resist taking out a climbing vine strawberry from her system inventory. The bright red strawberry was so eye-catching that it immediately caught Xiao Lu's attention.
After hesitating for a moment, the fawn, whose antlers had not yet grown on its head, approached Xu Milu, reaching out to bite the strawberry in her hand while looking at her innocently. Once it saw that Xu Milu meant no harm, the fawn ate the strawberry with peace of mind.
The fist-sized strawberries were plump and juicy. When you bit into them, the bright red juice spilled out, and a sweet and sour aroma filled the forest. The little deer seemed to enjoy them very much and couldn't help but lick Xu Milu's palm with its tongue.
Just as Xu Milu was enjoying her time close to nature, she suddenly straightened up and looked around at the bushes.
The strongest quality of a demon is its ability to foresee danger; it's a kind of instinctive reaction.
Xu Milu looked around. In the dense jungle, pairs of eyes appeared silently behind branches and in bushes like ghosts, countless gazes falling on her, almost burning her through.
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