Nightfall on Sanqing Mountain

Around two or three in the morning, Lin Yuan arrived at the southern entrance of Sanqing Mountain, less than a hundred meters from the tourist service center near the Wai Shuangxi cable car.

At this hour, the area was deserted. Only through the windows of the service center could faint human figures be seen moving within.

Sanqing Mountain is open all day, as many tourists climb it at night to watch the sunrise.

Tomorrow is the "Jade Talisman Grand Ceremony," and Lin Yuan checked the group-buying app on his phone, finding that all hotels and guesthouses within a thirty-mile radius were fully booked.

There were places selling tents nearby, but Lin Yuan had no intention of wasting money. Instead, he found a spot, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes to rest.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Yuan faintly heard rustling sounds coming from the woods nearby.

At first, he dismissed it as the wind and didn't think anything of it.

But then, a faint whistling sound came from the back of his head. By the time he reacted, the object had already struck the back of his head.

Lin Yuan's eyes snapped open, and he rolled over to look. A chestnut lay on the ground.

He bent down to pick it up, looking around cautiously, but found nothing suspicious.

"Was it blown by the wind?"

"But there are no chestnut trees around here."

Lin Yuan sat back in his original position, propping his chin with one hand and examining the chestnut in the other.

The chestnut was very small, clearly wild.

Just as Lin Yuan was pondering, a similar whistling sound suddenly came from the back of his head again.

"Again?"

Having been hit once, Lin Yuan was not about to be hit a second time.

He tilted his head to the left and instantly raised his right hand, catching the chestnut thrown at him.

Now he was certain: this was definitely not the wind, but something deliberately playing tricks on him.

Lin Yuan turned around, his eyes fixed on the direction from which the chestnut had been thrown.

It was a pitch-black forest, and he couldn't see what was inside with just his night vision.

Lin Yuan, skilled and bold, had no fear. He wanted to see what was messing with him, so he walked directly into the woods.

After only a few steps, a commotion suddenly arose from a tree in the northeast direction.

Immediately after, several chestnuts shot towards his face.

Although Lin Yuan couldn't see, his martial arts prowess had honed his senses to such a degree that he had extremely keen perception of his surroundings.

Without hesitation, he waved his hand.

The chestnuts were swept to the ground.

At the same time, a shrill sound reached his ears.

"Jiji, jiji, jiji."

Lin Yuan followed the sound and, by the moonlight, finally saw the culprit who had been playing tricks on him with chestnuts.

A wild monkey!

At that moment, it was crouched on a tree five or six meters high, grinning at Lin Yuan. Not only that, but it occasionally turned around and bared its bright red backside at Lin Yuan.

The mockery was palpable.

"You stinking monkey, playing tricks on Lin Yuan, your grandpa!"

Lin Yuan's face turned ashen, and he immediately threw the chestnut in his hand at it.

Although he hadn't learned dart-throwing techniques, his meticulous control over his strength ensured that the chestnut he threw was extremely accurate.

Unfortunately, the monkey didn't seem to be a pushover either. It wrapped its tail around a tree trunk, and as it fell backward, it dodged the chestnut.

The monkey hung upside down on the tree trunk, constantly making faces at Lin Yuan, its mockery intensifying.

It had to be said, this monkey was full of spirit, but it also had an incredibly annoying demeanor.

Failing to hit it, Lin Yuan immediately strode towards the tree it was on.

Seeing him approaching rapidly, the wild monkey wasn't the least bit panicked, seemingly confident that the person before him couldn't catch it in the tree.

Not only did the mockery on its face not diminish, but it also started to gesture wildly.

"Jiji jiji, jiji jiji~"

But when it saw Lin Yuan ascend the tree in three steps, then grab a branch above, flip his body, and leap onto a branch not far from it, it was stunned.

"Jiji, jiji!"

Lin Yuan sneered, "Stinking monkey, weren't you very arrogant just now?"

Sensing danger, the monkey instantly leaped away, grabbing a branch extending from a nearby tree, intending to escape.

Lin Yuan followed closely, stepping directly onto the main trunk of the tree he was on. With two light steps, his entire body leaped like a carp leaping over the dragon gate onto the tree the monkey was fleeing towards.

The monkey didn't dare to linger, climbing and leaping through the forest without looking back.

Lin Yuan's speed remained undiminished, his movements agile and swift, no slower than the monkey.

If it weren't for the poor visibility at night, Lin Yuan would have caught that smelly monkey long ago.

And so, a man and a monkey, one chasing, the other fleeing.

The direction they were heading was towards the One-Line Sky on Sanqing Mountain.

After an unknown amount of time, the monkey suddenly darted out of the woods and scrambled onto a huge bluestone with all fours.

The bluestone was shaped like a goose egg, not artificially carved, and was covered in moss.

About two meters to the upper left of the bluestone, an ancient pine tree grew horizontally out of a rock crevice.

The pine tree was about as thick as a bowl, and lying on the trunk was an old man wearing a tattered Daoist robe. He was lying on his side, one arm bent to pillow his head, the other hand stroking his navel, one foot extended, the other curled. His body was coiled like a dog, coiled like a dragon.

The old man had his back to him, and Lin Yuan could faintly hear his snoring.

Since arriving here, the wild monkey's panicked expression had vanished without a trace. It climbed onto the pine tree and looked provocatively at Lin Yuan.

As if it had found its protector.

But at this moment, Lin Yuan couldn't care less about the wild monkey. The moment he saw the old man, his gaze had never left him.

Lin Yuan leaped down from the tree, which was five or six meters high, without making a sound.

Seeing him walking towards it, the wild monkey kept making "chirping" sounds as a warning.

The old man, who had been sleeping soundly, seemed to have sensed the commotion and woken up from his dream.

He slowly sat up on the tree trunk and stretched lazily.

Then he began to chant:

"I love to sleep, I love to sleep. I don't sleep on felt, I don't cover myself with a quilt. A stone pillow, a straw mat on the ground.

Thunder flashes and lightning strikes, terrifying ghosts and gods, yet I am fast asleep.

Idle thoughts of Zhang Liang, bored thoughts of Fan Li, forget about Mengde, don't mention Liu Bei.

These gentlemen are just fighting over trivial matters, what's the point compared to me, at the top of the green mountains, surrounded by white clouds, with my brows unfurrowed, my belly relaxed, sleeping soundly, caring not whether the jade rabbit rises or the red sun sets."

Lin Yuan listened quietly. Although he didn't hear very clearly due to the speaker's accent, he could feel the carefree and transcendent artistic conception within it.

The old man looked up at the wild monkey in the tree and reprimanded, "You impudent monkey, always causing trouble for me everywhere."

"Chirp, chirp."

The wild monkey seemed to be explaining something, chattering and gesturing wildly in front of him.

The old man looked as if he understood.

Then, he jumped down from the tree and stood on the large bluestone.

At this point, Lin Yuan could finally see the old man's true appearance.

Although the old man's beard and hair were all white, his complexion was ruddy, his eyes were bright and piercing, and his body was as straight as a pine tree, without any stoop.

If he were to wear a clean white robe, tidy up his face, and comb his messy, bird's nest-like hair into a Daoist bun, he would truly have the air of an immortal.

But instead, he was disheveled, barefoot, wearing a loose, tattered Daoist robe, with his chest and stomach exposed, and a gourd hanging from his waist.

Lin Yuan was observing him, and he was also observing Lin Yuan.

If there were red light in the heavens, lightning would flicker in his eyes. His aura was like a vast ocean, his form like a tiger or a leopard.

"Impossible... How can this aura appear on a young person!"

The disheveled old man seemed to have seen something incredible and quickly leaped down from the bluestone.

He then circled Lin Yuan, examining him from head to toe.

"No leaks, no overflow, the whole body is as one. Strange, truly strange."

"Little doll, how old are you this year?"

Lin Yuan looked at the strange person in front of him and asked, "Daoist priest, are you cultivating on this Sanqing Mountain?"

"You are so impolite, child. I asked you first, and yet you ask me instead."

"If anyone is impolite, it's this impudent monkey of yours."

The wild monkey was truly full of spirit. The moment Lin Yuan spoke ill of it, it seemed to understand and immediately bared its teeth at him.

The disheveled old man immediately denied, "What does that impudent monkey have to do with this old Daoist?"

"You dare say that monkey isn't yours?"

He had seen the intimate way the old man and the monkey had communicated just now.

"My young friend, you are mistaken. It is a monkey, born and raised by nature. I am a human, how can I raise it."

"Since that's the case, please don't move, Daoist priest. I will deal with it first, and then answer your question."

With that, he leaped onto the large bluestone and headed towards the ancient pine tree.

Seeing Lin Yuan approaching, the wild monkey's arrogant demeanor, fueled by the old man's presence, immediately deflated. It was replaced by a look of panic.

It quickly looked at the disheveled old Daoist, as if seeking help.

The old Daoist immediately gave it a look, and the wild monkey understood. It leaped from the tree and landed directly on the old Daoist's shoulder.

When Lin Yuan turned around, intending to give chase.

He saw the old man, with the monkey, take to his heels and run. Following the mountain path ahead, they disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Finally, the old man's voice echoed through the mountains, like a thunderous bell.

"Little friend, why bother with a wild monkey."