Traces of an Immortal

"I've already inquired with the creatures here; once we cross this sea, we can reach West Ox Hezhou."

The Red Sparrow excitedly spoke to the Stone Monkey.

Upon hearing Red Sparrow's words, he quickly found some Mutou and made a raft. Then, he gathered many wild fruits in the nearby forest, took the raft, and set off with Red Sparrow towards West Ox Hezhou.

After drifting at sea for three days and three nights, the Stone Monkey and the Red Sparrow finally arrived at the territory of West Ox Hezhou.

"Monkey, we've arrived in West Ox Hezhou now. Where do we go to find the Lingtai Fangcun's that your clan chief told you about?"

Do you have a solution?

After landing, Red Sparrow began asking the monkey if he had found any clues about Mount Lingtai Fangcun.

"I don't know, and I can't do anything about it, but I do know one thing Mount Lingtai Fangcun is definitely a mountain. We'll find it if we search each one one by one."

Upon hearing the Red Sparrow's question, the honest monkey offered a clumsy solution.

"West Ox Hezhou is so vast, with countless mountains, not just one or two. If we search them one by one, what kind of Stone Monkey can we possibly obtain it?"

The Red Sparrow returned in a huff, and the monkey said something.

"Do you have any good ideas?"

The Stone Monkey countered with a question to the Red Sparrow.

"You told me that there are immortals on Mount Lingtai Fangcun, so a place where immortals live must be very different from other mountains."

"So we're looking for the Stone Monkey that we discussed with. We'll ignore the ordinary ones for now and focus on finding these peaks that are different from the others. This will save us time and greatly increase our chances of finding the immortal."

Red Sparrow held his head high, looking proud, and explained his solution.

"Oh dear, how come I didn't think of that? Red Sparrow, you're so clever!"

Upon hearing this, he suddenly understood, punched his right palm with his left fist, and looked at Red Sparrow with shining eyes.

"Of course!"

Red Sparrow said proudly, but before he could finish speaking, Stone Monkey grabbed him and ran towards the nearest mountain.

"Put me down quickly, I can walk by myself."

The Red Sparrow struggled as it spoke to the Stone Monkey.

"Even if you fly, you can't run as fast as I can. It's better for me to hold you in my hand and carry you to find it. This way, it will save you energy and it's also better for your safety."

The Stone Monkey explained why he did it.

Upon hearing these words, Red Sparrow ceased its struggle and allowed Stone Monkey to hold it in his hand, carrying it towards the nearest mountain range.

"What a pity, we didn't encounter any immortals on the first mountain."

The Stone Monkey ran to a spot where he could see the entire mountain range. After carefully examining the whole mountain range, he found that it was not much different from the Flower and Flower-Fruit Mountain where he first lived, and concluded that there were no immortals on the mountain.

"You've only just arrived in West Ox Hezhou, and you already want to find Mount Lingtai Fangcun? You're being far too unrealistic."

Red Sparrow timely poured a bucket of cold water on the stone.

"It's alright, we can keep looking. I'm hungry now, let's go find something to eat in the mountains."

The monkey recovered quickly, sweeping away its previous disappointment, and excitedly greeted the Red Sparrow.

"Stone Monkey, didn't you eat all twenty-odd fruits left on the raft? You should have been full by then, right?"

"Why are you hungry so quickly now? You're already thinking about food again."

Red Sparrow couldn't help but complain that the monkey's appetite was just too big.

However, the monkey's next words almost made him furious.

"I was indeed full after eating those twenty-odd fruits once I got ashore, but how could I not be hungry after carrying such a fat chicken all that way?"

"This is only possible for a monkey with a good physique like me. If it were an ordinary monkey, they would have died of exhaustion halfway there while carrying the fat chicken."

The monkey frankly explained why it was hungry, and even jokingly remarked that the Red Sparrow was fat.

The Stone Monkey had just opened its mouth when the Red Sparrow was still listening attentively to what it said, until it heard the sentence, "I carried this fat chicken all this way," at which point it immediately bristled.

Who are you calling a fat chicken?

Who are you talking about?

The Red Sparrow angrily shouted at the monkey, then flew to the top of the monkey's head and began pecking at it.

This hurt the monkey terribly, and it begged the Red Sparrow for mercy, saying that it was a fat chicken.

Hearing the monkey plead for mercy, the Red Sparrow did not stop immediately, but instead pecked at it a few more times before flying away.

"I'll forgive you this time, but if there's a next time, I'll peck your head clean."

After the Red Sparrow flew down from the monkey's head, I said to him fiercely.

There's a reason why the monkey calls him that. Before he met any other monkeys, the Stone Monkey was always terrified when he ate, afraid that snakes or eagles would catch him. If there was any disturbance around him, he would immediately drop his food and run away.

So he spent every day in fear and searching for food, which resulted in him becoming very thin from hunger.

Until he met the monkey, as long as the monkey had food, he would also have water. Moreover, the monkey saved him from the jaws of ferocious beasts such as eagles and pythons more than once. With the monkey's protection, his life was carefree.

All he had to do each day was find food for the monkeys, and under their protection, he grew fatter and fatter.

They've almost transformed from Little Red Sparrow when they first met into big red chickens.

That's why monkeys call him that.

After the monkey and the Red Sparrow finished their playful antics, they continued their journey into the mountains. After finding food on the first mountain and eating and drinking their fill, they rested for a while before setting off again to find Mount Lingtai Fangcun.

The two started from the first mountain and headed west. They walked for several days and nights, passing through several other mountains, but still found no trace of immortals.

But they did not give up and continued westward. After walking for more than a month, they saw a mountain. This mountain had thousands of peaks that looked like spears and thousands of cliffs that looked like screens. The sun shone on the misty light and locked the green in the sky. After the rain, the dark green color was cold and blue.

"This mountain is unlike any we've encountered before. My intuition tells me that the immortal must be in this mountain."

After looking at the mountain, the monkey said with absolute certainty.

So he immediately took the Red Sparrow and headed into the mountains. They hadn't gone far when they heard a song.

"Watching chess as the axe handle rots, the sound of chopping wood echoes, strolling leisurely by the valley's edge, selling firewood and wine, laughing wildly and indulging in self-satisfaction... Where we meet, they are either immortals or Daoists, sitting quietly and discussing the Yellow Court."

Hearing the song, the monkey exclaimed joyfully to the Red Sparrow, "The immortal is indeed hiding here! Let's go and see!"

He grabbed the Red Sparrow and ran towards the direction from which the singing came. When he got closer, he found the person singing, and to his surprise, it was a woodcutter.