Ye Chen and Tang Sanzang followed Liu Boqin up Shuangcha Ridge. They didn't encounter a single poisonous insect along the way, which put Ye Chen at ease.
After all, with someone so capable by their side, he and Tang Sanzang could at least rest assured that their safety was well protected.
Liu Boqin knew the terrain on Shuangcha Ridge well. He led the two of them through the woods, and when they passed a stream, he thoughtfully filled their waterskins.
Under his guidance, Ye Chen and Tang Sanzang soon descended the mountain. Tang Sanzang remained on horseback, meditating and chanting sutras, while Ye Chen observed the surrounding terrain, trying to figure out where they had arrived.
The terrain in the mountains was complicated. The mountains here generally ran one into another, so just after they had come down, the three of them spotted a strangely shaped ridge ahead.
"Amitabha. Benefactor Liu, what is that mountain ahead? Its shape is rather strange. I've never seen or heard of a mountain like it."
Tang Sanzang had also come out of his meditation. Pointing at the mountain ahead, he asked Liu Boqin.
"Ah, Master, there's something you don't know. This mountain is called Two Realms Mountain. They say it fell from the sky during the time Wang Mang usurped the Han dynasty."
Seeing that Tang Sanzang had finally emerged from meditation, Liu Boqin eagerly began to explain. "As it happens, because of its unusual shape, the people around here don't call it Two Realms Mountain. They call it Five Finger Mountain instead."
"It really does look like five fingers." Ye Chen looked at the mountain and nodded. From a distance, it did look just as the book described: like a giant hand standing on the ground.
"That's right. According to legend, a demon