Yuan Bai set off early. He had specially changed into another cloth shirt, newer and clean, put on a bamboo hat, and shouldered his wrought-copper staff.
When he reached Yellow Wind Graveyard, he saw Huang Yu already waiting there in a floral cloth outfit.
The old weasel really did keep his word.
Yuan Bai felt satisfied.
"General Yuan, I wove this pair of straw sandals myself. Try them on and see whether they fit."
Huang Yu actually produced a pair of large straw sandals with a rather unusual design.
The grass used to make them was clearly tough, and they looked quite sturdy.
This unexpected gesture truly stunned the Monkey King. For the first time in his life, he did not know what to do with his hands and feet.
"Take them. They'll make the journey easier."
Huang Yu thrust the sandals into his hands and set off first. On his back was a bulging blue cloth bundle, its contents unknown.
Coming to his senses, Yuan Bai hurriedly put the sandals on and found that they fit perfectly. Huang Yu must have observed him carefully, then worked through the night to make them.
What a clever, deft-handed weasel!
Offering that inward praise, he strode after Huang Yu and walked alongside him.
And so, a monkey and a weasel walked down a path thick with wild grass.
Along the way, Yuan Bai did not forget to gesture to Huang Yu, asking how to refine the Heng Bone. But Huang Yu said he did not know either. He had merely found a pill in an ancient tomb, swallowed it, then kept practicing until he could finally speak.
That had been his own fortuitous opportunity and good fortune.
Hearing this, Yuan Bai could only give up, thinking he would find a chance to ask Chen Jin in the future.
As long as the immortal master lent a hand, he would surely be able to help him refine his Heng Bone.
Throughout their journey, they saw only desolate mountains and treacherous waters, with not a soul in sight. Strange birds perched in the trees, and fierce beasts lurked in the grass. Yet sensing Yuan Bai's ferocious Qi and Blood, these birds and beasts scrambled to avoid him, not daring to provoke him.
With a deadline to meet, Yuan Bai and Huang Yu traveled briskly, scarcely resting at all. They walked from morning until night before finally reaching Black Wind Mountain.
It was a large mountain that did not look particularly tall, with dense ancient pines, jagged rocks, and mist coiling around it year-round.
That mist was actually black. No wonder it was called Black Wind Mountain.
According to Huang Yu, he had come to pay his respects the previous year and received a warm welcome from the black bear spirit.
This black bear had already become a demon and transformed his limbs into human hands and feet. With further cultivation, he would be able to assume a fully human form.
The black bear spirit had a bold, generous disposition. He often held banquets in the mountains, inviting mountain spirits and wandering ghosts from all quarters to feast, carrying himself rather like a big brother leading the others.
Precisely because of this, faced with the Demon-Slaying Alliance's campaign against them, the mountain demons had quickly organized at Venerable Fire Crow's urging. They, too, intended to establish a Demon-Ghost Alliance, supporting the black bear spirit as its leader.
Tonight's event was the alliance's founding assembly.
Anyone who did not participate or attend would be regarded as a rebel, lose all protection, and even face expulsion.
Thus, Huang Yu and Yuan Bai had to come.
Since following Chen Jin and absorbing the essence Qi of moonlight, Yuan Bai was no longer the ignorant fellow he had once been. His understanding, knowledge, and horizons were all vastly different. Although this was his first time ascending Black Wind Mountain, he did not feel timid or constrained, looking around with his large eyes.
Filth truly covered the place. White bones lay everywhere, and a stench assailed his nostrils.
The Monkey King suddenly felt how dirty it was.
When, then, had he begun to like cleanliness?
Thinking back, it must have begun that first time he imitated Chen Jin and swept the ground with a broom.
This was probably what it meant to be influenced imperceptibly.
Thinking this, he unwittingly became distracted.
"You there, monkey! Peering and snooping about-are you a spy?"
With an explosive shout, a fierce gust struck his face.
An enormous gray wolf had lunged at him.
Yuan Bai reacted swiftly, immediately leaping aside and facing him with his staff.
He did not know why this wolf demon had suddenly attacked him. Although Demon Beasts were mostly ill-tempered and liable to turn hostile at any moment, he had come to attend the alliance's founding assembly and ought to have been treated well.
Beside him, Huang Yu hurriedly explained, "General Wolf, he came from Banyan Tree Slope. He's certainly no spy."
General Wolf was enormous, with exposed fangs and a vicious gleam in his eyes. He looked Yuan Bai up and down and spoke in human language. "Isn't there a red-haired corpse monster on Banyan Tree Slope? I hear he can use a sword. Why didn't he come?"
Hearing this, Yuan Bai looked again and spotted the toad following General Wolf. He understood at once.
So this fellow had hooked up with General Wolf.
In truth, Chen Jin's stay at Banyan Tree Slope was hardly a secret anymore. The monkeys knew, the weasels knew, and the toad knew as well.
Normally, however, the monkeys and weasels would not go spreading it around. The toad, on the other hand, had a big mouth and harbored a grudge. Coming to the assembly, he had spilled everything, with no telling how much oil and vinegar he had added to the tale.
General Wolf was on good terms with the toad, so naturally he showed Yuan Bai no friendly face.
Yuan Bai did not know how to introduce Chen Jin's identity, and he could not speak anyway, so he simply stood with his staff planted on the ground, remaining silent.
General Wolf said, "By not coming, this corpse monster is refusing to give us face. He's an outsider, too. He has no right to remain in these mountains."
Hearing this, anger flared in Yuan Bai's heart. He wished he could pounce on him at once and fight it out.
By the logic of Demon Beasts, the victor was king and the loser a bandit. Whoever won had the final say.
Seeing this, Huang Yu hurriedly explained, "The corpse monster was passing through and is staying as a guest at Banyan Tree Slope."
His implication was that Chen Jin had not claimed a mountain as king or carved out territory, so he did not count as one of the mountain spirits and need not join the alliance.
Having received Huang Yu's help in speaking up for him time and again, Yuan Bai remembered this favor. Had they not come together, he truly would not have known how to handle this.
He could only have raised his staff and started fighting.
Winning would have been fine. The trouble was that losing would truly leave him seething.
"A guest?"
General Wolf's face filled with suspicion.
A corpse monster visiting the monkeys' home as a guest made no sense at all;
besides, hadn't he heard that the Yellow Immortal Clan and the monkeys were like fire and water, and had fought a great battle?
Why was Huang Yu defending the monkey at every turn now, as though the two had some sort of connection?
Just then, the immensely burly black bear spirit appeared and declared in a ringing voice:
"All who come are brothers. Sit, everyone, please sit!"
As the host, the black bear spirit attended to every side, defusing the drawn-sword, bent-bow tension in an instant.
General Wolf sat on the left, while Yuan Bai chose the right. Looking at the filthy, chaotic surroundings, he suddenly wanted to leave and return to Banyan Tree Slope to cultivate under Chen Jin...
"Granduncle, the clansmen sent to investigate returned to the stockade overnight to report that Yan Li, Yan Ji, and also Yan Ji and Yan Fei, who went up to the cliff to deliver supplies-all four have disappeared."
Inside the stone house, a person knelt before the black coffin, reporting in a slightly trembling voice.
"What about the hanging coffin?"
"We are not yet certain."
The kneeling person did not dare look up.
In fact, this was standard procedure: first seal off the site, then wait for the stockade's higher-ups to come and conduct the next stage of inspection.
"In the future, don't disturb me with matters you're uncertain about. Understood?"
The voice from the coffin sounded quite old, feeble and breathless.
Yet as it reached his ears, cold sweat streamed from the kneeling man, and his head nearly drooped all the way to the ground.