Withered vines, an old tree, crows at dusk; a broken bridge, flowing water, not a home in sight.
The sun sank in the west.
A red-haired corpse monster carried over a slab of bluestone, set it on the bank by the ferry landing, and sat down. Holding a bamboo pole, he actually began fishing.
For Chen Jin, who had already made a talisman brush, making a fishing rod was hardly difficult.
As for bait, a casual dig in the nearby mud yielded plump earthworms that wriggled incessantly.
But the great river surged along, its current swift, making it difficult to get a bite.
He did not care. He fished as the mood took him and would return when it passed, unconcerned about whether he caught anything.
The little monkey stayed beside him, copying his example. It brought over a smaller slab of bluestone and sat there with its chin propped in both hands, staring intently at the river to see whether a fish would bite.
During the monkey king's absence over the past few days, it had shown every sign of taking his place, bustling about and working diligently without making any fuss.
Seeing how bright and clever it was, Chen Jin simply gave it a name: "Yuan Xiaoer."
Once the little fellow had a name, it was so delighted that it kept turning somersaults.
Unfortunately, its intelligence had yet to awaken, so it could not absorb the essence Qi of moonlight. Had Chen Jin been a true immortal, he would not have minded touching its crown to open its apertures, but he could do nothing now. It could only depend on its own fortune and opportunities.
Ever since Yang Fire entered his abdomen, it had gradually refined the accumulated Yin Baleful Corpse Qi, bringing yin and yang into harmony. His cultivation had suddenly opened up, and he progressed at tremendous speed.
Chen Jin now dared to go out even in broad daylight.
If the blazing sun hung overhead, at most he needed to wear a broad-leaf bamboo hat.
In other words, he was becoming more and more human.
Of the two paths that had originally lain before him, one was to continue his transformation into a corpse, evolving from a white zombie into a hairy zombie, or even a flying zombie; the other was to reverse yin and yang and return from death to life.
Chen Jin had chosen the second path without wavering.
Of course, this was mainly because he had the means to choose.
Without an orthodox Daoist method, he would probably have had no choice but to lie in a coffin that never saw daylight, eating dirt to absorb Earth Baleful Yin Qi to survive, before beginning to devour living flesh...
When that happened, he would lose his true nature and wander the wilderness.
More likely still, he would encounter some evil practitioner of the corpse arts, be subdued, and be refined into an iron corpse or copper corpse.
Fortunately, there was no "if."
In his spare moments between cultivation sessions, Chen Jin wondered just what his origins were.
If he really had been a disciple of a major Daoist sect, how had he fallen into the Yan Household's hands and even been made into a zombie?
Or had his corpse been stolen after his death?
When he thought too deeply, his head began to throb, as though an iron awl were being hammered into it.
He could only give up.
And continue fishing.
Suddenly, the float plunged sharply and water churned. A big fish had actually taken the bait.
Delighted, Chen Jin was just about to reel it in when, with a snap, the fishing line broke. The big fish plunged into the depths and vanished.
The hemp line was not strong enough after all. It looked as though he would be coming back skunked this time.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"
Chen Jin remained calm, but Yuan Shier grew frantic at the sight of the big fish escaping the hook, jumping up and down and almost leaping into the river to catch it.
Chen Jin could not help laughing. He reached out to stroke its crown. "Let's head back."
One corpse and one monkey set off home.
When they returned to the foot of Banyan Tree Slope, they discovered two figures standing there, one monkey and one rat. Who else could they be but Yuan Bai and Huang Yu, who had gone to Black Wind Mountain to attend the Demon-Ghost Alliance gathering?
After several days, they had finally returned.
But Yuan Bai's bruised nose and swollen face made it obvious at a glance that he had fought someone and lost.
Just as expected.
"Huang Yu pays respects to the immortal master."
Huang Yu stepped forward and saluted with utmost deference.
On the return journey, it could have gone straight back to the graveyard. Its deliberate choice to accompany Yuan Bai here concealed a few little intentions of its own: it hoped to curry favor and receive a pointer or two from Chen Jin.
This weasel had lived for many years and understood quite a few things. More importantly, it knew its own limitations and understood that it was merely a wild mountain spirit. It might hold sway over a patch of the mountains, but out in the wider world, it would not even qualify to guard a true cultivator's gate. It would only end up skinned and stripped of its bones, reduced to a dish on someone's table.
The main problem was that wild mountain spirits generally had no roots or backing and received no inheritance. Their limits were fixed, and even over an entire lifetime, they could only amount to so much.
Now, in Chen Jin, it saw hope of leaving these desolate mountains.
Huang Yu could not see through Chen Jin. It only felt that every time they met, he had undergone considerable changes.
When it first saw him, for instance, his face had been withered, his dry hair like tangled weeds. From head to toe, he had looked exactly like a red-haired corpse monster;
When it saw him a second time some days ago, he had been draped in a kasaya, sitting motionless with all the bearing of an old monk in meditation;
Now that they met again, there was actually a little color in his face. His eyes, in particular, were frighteningly bright. With a ritual sword on his back and his movements unimpeded, he distinctly possessed something of a sword immortal's bearing.
Unable to fathom him, Huang Yu became even more respectful.
Chen Jin swept his gaze over them and asked, "What happened?"
It was difficult for Yuan Bai to explain through gestures, so Huang Yu spoke on his behalf, recounting everything in full.
It was meticulous, describing everything it had seen and heard in as much detail as possible.
This suited Chen Jin perfectly. Once he had become able to travel by day, he had Yuan Shier lead him around the surrounding area so he could familiarize himself with his surroundings rather than open his eyes to utter darkness.
As for conditions elsewhere in the mountains, the situation was complicated, and he had to rely on others to describe it.
Huang Yu now filled that role very well.
It neither embellished nor stirred up trouble, speaking only of the facts.
The so-called Demon-Ghost Alliance was, in truth, a loose organization.
More accurately, it was no organization at all, merely a band of demons, monsters, ghosts, and fiends hastily cobbled together to cope with the Demon-Slaying Alliance's punitive campaign.
The gathering had consisted of eating, drinking, arguing, and shouting, all in utter chaos.
There had inevitably been scenes of members harboring their own schemes and finding one another displeasing, with numerous clashes breaking out.
Relations between Yuan Bai and General Wolf had been particularly tense. After repeated provocations from the other party, the monkey king had finally lost patience and fought him fiercely.
He lost.
But it had not been an ugly defeat. For one thing, he had a weapon in hand, which made up for some of his disadvantages; for another, his strength had increased greatly after consuming the essence Qi of moonlight.
Being able to fight the notoriously vicious General Wolf to such a close finish was already quite impressive.
Though defeated, he had earned honor in the battle. He had actually made a name for himself and won the appreciation of the black bear spirit and Venerable Fire Crow, who promptly bestowed the title of "Vanguard Officer" on him.
Yuan Bai had felt rather pleased with himself. With heroic fervor going to his head, he had thumped his chest and declared that, when the day came, he would charge at the forefront and lead his monkeys into a great battle against the Demon-Slaying Alliance.
At this point, Chen Jin was somewhat speechless. This monkey really does get carried away easily. Sooner or later, he'll end up as cannon fodder.
In fact, Huang Yu had also warned him in private, but Yuan Bai would not listen. He was competitive and fond of fighting by nature, and he believed that only through extensive combat could his abilities continually improve.
There was actually some sense to that.
In short, that was the Demon-Ghost Alliance: a rabble, a heap of loose sand.
Chen Jin had anticipated this situation long ago and could not be bothered with it, focusing only on his own cultivation.
Huang Yu added, "Immortal master, the black bear spirit alliance leader has learned that you're staying as a guest at Banyan Tree Slope. From the looks of it, they may come looking for you."
Chen Jin replied calmly, "Then let them come."
Suddenly remembering that female ghost, he thought to himself, Perhaps they've already been here...