"Hm? What was that sound?"
The monkey king had keen hearing and seemed to have heard something. It looked up, but saw only the rushing river and rolling waves, with nothing unusual.
Perhaps a fish had jumped in the water.
It paid no more attention. Worried there would not be enough materials, it urged the monkeys to make several trips back and forth and carry away everything they could.
Only after spending most of the day dismantling and hauling things away did they stop.
From beginning to end, that toad never appeared. It had probably gone visiting someone else.
Demon Beasts roamed the harsh mountains and treacherous waters all around, each occupying its own territory. There were far more than one or two such places.
Broken bricks and shattered tiles piled up like a mountain at the foot of Banyan Tree Slope.
The monkey king led the monkeys in building houses.
But they had no experience at all. What seemed easy in their minds proved difficult in practice. All they could do was stack bricks, and their crooked piles collapsed as soon as they exceeded a certain height.
They could not set beams either. The beams tilted every which way, would not stay steady at all, and fell at the slightest touch.
They struggled until nightfall without finishing even a single wall.
The monkey king was dumbfounded and wondered whether it should seek advice from the immortal master.
But on second thought, how would the immortal master have time to build houses?
It abandoned the idea.
Still, these bricks and stones were not entirely useless. If they could not build houses, they could use them to build caves. At least those would be better than sleeping in nests of grass.
At dusk, Chen Jin emerged from the shrine as usual.
This time, he decided to ascend the tree differently: by jumping instead of climbing.
He picked out a foothold, sprang upward with both feet, and landed on a branch.
At first, his poor control of his strength, accuracy, posture, and so forth made him prone to slipping or even missing his footing, nearly causing him to fall.
But after a few attempts, he quickly adjusted and made no more mistakes.
His comprehension was exceptionally high.
Jumping this way trained his coordination and agility, so that if he encountered a powerful enemy later, he could flee faster.
Once mastered, it would be practically a lightness skill. Flying over eaves and running along walls would be nothing difficult.
As he leaped, branches and leaves inevitably scraped against him. Fortunately, his old clothes were specially made, neither hemp nor silk, and quite supple and tough, so they suffered no damage.
Otherwise, if his clothes could not cover his body, it would be difficult to maintain the dignified bearing of an immortal adept before the monkey king.
Then had I been changed into this standard outfit after someone refined me into a jiangshi, before being placed in the coffin?
Chen Jin remembered that the high cliff where the many hanging coffins had been arranged stood somewhere upstream along the great river.
Following the river would naturally lead him there.
That was also the place he had most recently come from, and there might be clues there about his identity and origins.
Of course, Chen Jin would not rashly run back there now.
That place had clearly been set up and managed by people, most likely belonging to some unorthodox corpse-refining sect, with disciples assigned to watch over it.
Would going back not be walking straight into their net?
Come to think of it, if they discovered that a jiangshi had escaped, they would certainly search the surrounding area and find Banyan Tree Slope sooner or later.
He had to take precautions early.
Continuing to flee was not wise. Danger lurked everywhere, and it would be a matter of escaping the wolves' den only to enter the tiger's maw. Better to seize this current stability and devote his time to cultivation, increasing his strength.
Only strength could keep him safe.
As he thought, he had already settled atop the tree's crown, quietly awaiting the bright moon's rise in the east.
Having been directing the monkeys as they fussed over the houses, the monkey king arrived a little late. Like a tardy student, it stood obediently in the tree, head lowered and arms hanging at its sides.
Only when it saw that the immortal master had no intention of punishing it did it sit down, assuming the exact same lotus position.
But however closely it imitated him, every wisp of moonlight fell upon Chen Jin.
The monkey king could not absorb even a trace. Growing anxious despite itself, it pursed its large mouth and sucked hard at the moonlight.
Hiss!
It let out a sharp inhalation.
Still useless. The moonlight was like an illusion or a shadow, utterly unmoved.
It wished it could simply pounce forward and bite it.
Smack!
Disturbed by its antics, Chen Jin could not help raising his hand and rapping the monkey king on the head with his knuckles.
The monkey king immediately behaved itself and sat obediently, but its mind remained a restless monkey and its thoughts a galloping horse. It could not truly enter meditation at all.
Chen Jin felt this could not continue. Keeping this big monkey beside him all the time was no solution.
It was hardly a threat, but its constant movement interfered with his cultivation.
Soon, an idea came to him.
After finishing his nighttime cultivation and descending to the ground, Chen Jin fetched a twig and began drawing in the dirt.
The monkey king grew excited at the sight, thinking the immortal master was finally going to teach it, and eagerly scampered over to look.
At a glance, the white whiskers on its cheeks quivered.
Chen Jin had drawn a long, narrow shape.
It was the shape of a sword.
He longed to obtain a weapon, and remembered having used a sword before.
The monkey king recognized the shape of a sword too, for it had seen them in that large stronghold. Some people wore them at their waists, others carried them on their backs, and still others drew them to practice.
But it disliked such weapons. They were too thin and light, making it hard to put its strength into them.
The monkey king preferred staves and clubs, so it had stolen a wrought-copper staff that suited its hands.
Now, the immortal master had drawn a sword and made gestures indicating that it should fetch a sword and present it to him.
Studying required tuition gifts, and becoming a disciple required an offering.
These were the rules and etiquette. The monkey king understood.
In other words, as long as it brought back a sword, the immortal master would teach it the true art of absorbing moonlight.
Once this became clear, the monkey king was delighted. It respectfully cupped its fist in salute, then turned and headed down the slope.
Having sent the monkey away, Chen Jin inwardly sighed with relief.
Now he could cultivate in peace.
Though there was no moon during the day, it was the perfect time to refine the moonlight essence he had absorbed into his body, moistening his withered meridians bit by bit.
It was not as though he could simply leave the moonlight essence alone after absorbing it.
The subsequent circulation of Qi and Blood required even more slow, painstaking work.
But his current body's internal organs were withered and decayed, with no "blood" to speak of. He first had to moisten his meridians, then connect them throughout his internal organs and slowly channel in the essence of the sun and moon.
In this way, he would restore vitality step by step.
The entire process was like clearing a silt-clogged channel, only then allowing fresh water to flow in from its source.
It was not easy.
Chen Jin had only just made a start.
The first step was always the hardest. Now that he had taken it, he would persevere along this path.
As for where the monkey king would fetch a sword, or whether it would succeed, Chen Jin did not know and could do nothing about it.
He was not deliberately making a monkey of it. If it truly completed this task and presented him with a sword, he could employ a technique to channel some moonlight essence into its body and help it cultivate.
That would serve as its reward.
Meanwhile, the monkey king reached the foot of the slope and entered its "palace."
Two female monkeys quickly pressed close, one on either side.
"So annoying..."
Preoccupied, the monkey king was rather impatient.
Now that the immortal master had assigned it a task, that proved it had passed the earlier sweeping test. It was only one step away from formally becoming his disciple.
Therefore, it had to do this task well.
It knew where there were swords.
Since it had managed to steal clothes and a copper staff last time, it could likewise fetch a sword this time.