Of the five people, only Liu Jinghong rode a horse, while Jing Zhe, Su Mochen, and Guizhi sat in a carriage, with Hanhan naturally acting as the driver.
Mangshan is far from Jingzhou. If you ride a fast horse along the post road day and night, it will take about three or four days to get there. But if you take a slow carriage like them, it will take at least ten days to half a month to get there.
At first, everyone was just looking out for something new, enjoying the scenery along the way with great enthusiasm.
But after two days, the group's behavior remained the same as when Jing Zhe had just transmigrated—dejected and listless, like dead dogs.
Seeing that the others weren't very interested, Jing Zhe thought for a moment and suggested, "How about I tell you a story about a monkey?"
"monkey?"
Guizhi drooped her eyelids. "What's so good about that?"
Behind the Imperial Garden of the Palace, there is a special wild game garden, where there are monkeys. Guizhi had seen them many times and was no longer surprised. She wondered what was so special about monkeys.
Ignoring her, Jing Zhe slowly began, "There is a country overseas called Aolai. Near the sea, there is a mountain called Flower and Fruit Mountain..."
In the end, they were just a bunch of country bumpkins who had never seen the world. How could they withstand the barrage of "72 Transformations", "Ruyi Jingu Bang" and "a somersault that can travel 108,000 miles"?
Su Mochen and Guizhi were listless at first, but soon after the story began, they sat up straight, perked up their ears, and their bright eyes were filled with longing and curiosity.
Especially the simpleton who was sitting outside driving the carriage, he even lifted the carriage cloth and leaned in to listen clearly.
When he heard that the monkey was causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace all by himself, he gritted his teeth and wished he could immediately transform into monkey hair and go up to the heavens and down to the earth with the monkey, smashing the Heavenly Palace to pieces!
Even Liu Jinghong slowed down, pressed close to the carriage, and listened very carefully!
Jing Zhe spoke in a relaxed tone, slowly saying, "The Jade Emperor lay down under the table and shouted loudly—Quickly go to the Western Paradise to invite the Buddha!"
The story ends abruptly here.
Su Mochen and Guizhi stared at Jing Zhe, bewildered. The simple-minded one couldn't contain himself any longer: "Young Chieftain, what kind of Buddha is Tathagata? Why invite him? Is he very powerful? Could he possibly defeat the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?"
Are you a walking encyclopedia of questions?
Just as Jing Zhe was about to reprimand him, the curtain on the car window was pulled open, and Liu Jinghong leaned closer, anxiously asking, "Yes, why did we invite Tathagata? What happens next?"
"..."
Seeing the audience's eager and direct emotions, Jing Zhe knew that he had cut this chapter just right, and the feedback was good.
In his past life, he had read too many novels and was often tormented by the author's incomplete chapters. He couldn't send razor blades because he didn't have the address. Every time, he could only fantasize about catching the author, locking him in a dark room, and never letting him out until he finished writing the ending.
It is said that long illness makes a good doctor. Having suffered from the persecution of being exposed to fragmented texts for many years, he has now fully grasped the essence of this principle and put it into practice.
"Even a storyteller needs a drink of water. I've been telling stories for so long, shouldn't I take a break?"
Everyone fell silent, and Liu Jinghong jumped off his horse.
"Go ride the horse, I'll drive the carriage!"
"..."
The simpleton still wanted to hear how the monkey would beat up Buddha, so he was naturally reluctant. However, considering that the person speaking to him was the chief's sister and the young chief's older sister, General Jinghong, he had no chance of fighting her, regardless of her status or skills. He could only obediently get off the carriage and ride his horse.
Jing Zhe, on the other hand, lay down in the car, stretching out his arms in a very lazy manner, like an old man.
"Have you rested enough? Hurry up and tell us!"
After resting for a while, the group urged each other on.
"Ahem—where were we?"
Jing Zhe sat up, rubbing his arm, and asked.
"Quickly go to the Western Paradise and invite the Buddha!"
The idiot, who was pressed against the car window, shouted impatiently. He had just imagined himself as a monkey and fought three hundred rounds with the Buddha, but even that wasn't enough.
"Oh, I see—it's not very interesting anyway. How about I tell you a story about pigs?"
"No! I'll listen to the monkey!"
The crowd stared at Jing Zhe with eyes that seemed to spit fire. If it weren't for the fact that only he knew the story of the monkey, they wouldn't mind coming up and beating him senseless—never underestimate the amazing fighting power a reader can unleash when encountering a troll!
"Oh, but now my back and waist are aching, what do you mean?"
Jing Zhe glanced at the three women in the carriage and thought to himself, "You bunch of freeloaders, yet you have so many demands. How can I tolerate this?"
Su Mochen and Liu Jinghong exchanged a glance and immediately understood.
Two more people suddenly appeared beside Jing Zhe, one massaging his legs and the other rubbing his shoulders, making him quite happy.
He shook his head and began to speak slowly and deliberately.
...
"How is that possible!"
"He's the Monkey King who can perform seventy-two transformations, how could he be suppressed by a mountain?"
"That Ruyi Jingu Bang can change size at will, so why not just make it grow big enough to split open the mountaintop?"
After hearing that the monkey was trapped under the Five Finger Mountain, the simpleton who had once fantasized about the monkey beating up Buddha was quite dissatisfied and finally exploded, shouting through a thin curtain.
Jing Zhe lifted the carriage curtain, glanced at him, and said indifferently, "Do you still want to hear it or not?"
With his round face flushed red, Hanhan stopped talking.
The story that follows tells of Tang Sanzang's background. When Chen Guangrui returned home after passing the imperial examination with top honors, his wife caught the eye of a boatman. The boatman and his gang killed Chen Guangrui on the river and took his wife, who was already pregnant with his child.
So when Chen's wife gave birth to the baby, in order to preserve Chen's bloodline, she put the child in a bamboo basket and sent it to float away in the river. This child was the later Tang Sanzang.
When he heard that the rest of the story revolved around monks and monastics, Hanhan exploded again. Although the story was also exciting, he wanted to hear about monkeys!
You just left that monkey at the foot of the mountain and ignored it?
Is it watery or not?
How can you not take responsibility?!
Jing Zhe was also furious.
Damn it, am I telling the story or are you? Be careful, or I might take away that monkey's magic and send him back to his troop. The myth will turn into an animal documentary in no time!
"If you won't listen, then I won't talk to you?"
Although the three women in the car also liked the monkey story, the more relatable stories that followed touched them even more. When they heard that Chen Guangrui had been killed and that his wife had given birth but could not keep the child, they all cried their eyes out.
He then gave the simpleton a good scolding and made Jing Zhe continue his lecture.
The poor simpleton dared not speak out in anger, because Jing Zhe had declared that if he continued to talk nonsense, he would—make the monkey imprisoned under the mountain for a thousand or ten thousand years!
Wow, poor monkey, poor silly goose!
————
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