Chapter 191: Opportunity in a Time of Heartbreak

In the simple yet exquisite Yunfang Jingshe in Wuzhuang Temple, Zhuang Yan felt uneasy.

“It’s still too early to say anything.” Zhuang Yan said with a sigh, sitting cross-legged on the couch.

He can increase the yield of ginseng fruit trees. Not only that, he can even make it ripen once a year and produce up to 100 fruits at a time.

But Zhuang Yan did not want to intervene. Every sip and peck, increase and decrease had their own destiny. The ginseng fruit tree was a spiritual root of heaven and earth. It ripened once every nine thousand years and produced thirty fruits at a time. This was also the destiny of heaven.

Forcibly changing the number of days is not a problem for Zhuang Yan now, but he doesn’t want to do that either. He just wants to let things take their natural course.

But he didn’t expect that Zhen Yuanzi would actually use the trick of human relations. If he didn’t accept the eleven ginseng fruits, it would mean that he looked down on the other person and made an enemy for nothing, and Sun Wukong had just become sworn brothers with the other person.

But if you accept it, then the favor will be there and you will have to repay it no matter what.

Of course, there is another way, which is to distribute the ginseng fruits to Qingfeng Mingyue and the disciples of Wuzhuang Temple on the spot.

Doing this may look good on face and seem to demonstrate high emotional intelligence, but it is actually a very low-level method. Doesn’t Zhen Yuanzi know the purpose of your doing this?

People asked you about the method to increase the yield of ginseng fruit. If you don’t have one, then you don’t have one, and I won’t ask any more questions.

But I gave you those ginseng fruits, the last ones of this season, in order to make friends with you. Yet you played tricks on me. Aren’t you looking down on me?
Therefore, the best way for Zhuang Yan to deal with the situation at that time was to accept the ginseng fruits, and then clearly tell him that he did not have a method to increase the production of the fruit, but he would help him find a solution.

“Forget it, I’ve taken all the benefits, and I should repay the favor.” Zhuang Yan thought about it and immediately activated the function of creating all things.

As the ‘Creation of All Things’ function was activated, Zhuang Yan immediately took out a ginseng fruit from the infinite space, and then with a thought, the ginseng fruit immediately began to change.

A mysterious light appeared in Zhuang Yan’s hand, and after a moment, the ginseng fruit turned into a rhizome with sixty-nine wood whiskers.

Zhuang Yan stared at the rhizome for a long time, and finally said slowly: “The ginseng fruit tree is the spiritual root of heaven and earth, so you can be called the Red Dust Immortal Root.”

After saying this, Zhuang Yan put the mortal immortal root into his sleeve, then sat in meditation.

There was no conversation all night until the morning star crossed the sky and dawn gradually arrived.

Outside the Wuzhuang Temple, Zhen Yuanzi, Qingfeng Mingyue and other disciples from the temple saw off Tang Monk and his disciples, and Zhuang Yan also stood by.

Zhen Yuanzi handed a bundle to Tang Monk and said, “Here are some dry food and money for your journey. You will need them on the road later.”

Tang Seng accepted the bundle, put his hands together and bowed to Zhen Yuanzi, saying, “Thank you, Master.”

Zhen Yuanzi returned the greeting with a bow, and then smiled at Sun Wukong and said, “Brother, when you have time in the future, please come back to visit me more often.”

Sun Wukong bowed and smiled, “Don’t worry, brother. I have the Somersault Cloud in my hand. It will only take a blink of an eye for me to come visit you.”

“Haha, okay, okay.” Zhen Yuanzi nodded and smiled.

Afterwards, the little white dragon brought the purple dragon horse, and Tang Seng climbed on the horse. He said goodbye to Zhen Yuanzi and Zhuang Yan again, then rode the horse and disappeared on the mountain road with his disciples.

After Tang Seng and his companions left, the difficulty at Wuzhuang Temple was resolved. Zhuang Yan did not interfere with the difficulty, and it was all up to Sun Wukong to find a way to solve it on his own.

Zhuang Yan stayed in Wuzhuang Temple for a day yesterday and had a clear understanding of the process.

What is different from the past is that this time Sun Wukong is much stronger than before. Although he is still helpless against Zhen Yuanzi’s hidden power, he also has ways to counter it.

Every time after Zhen Yuanzi performed the Sleeve of Qiankun, if Sun Wukong was trapped inside, he would just pinch a “sure-hit formula” to lock onto Zhen Yuanzi, then the sure-hit formula would take him out of the Sleeve of Qiankun immediately and stab Zhen Yuanzi in the waist with a stick.

After all, Sun Wukong did not use any ruthless force. No matter how you look at the matter at Wuzhuang Temple, they were unreasonable. They stole other people’s ginseng fruit and destroyed the fruit trees.

Therefore, every time when Sun Wukong used his sure-hit trick to escape from his sleeve, he only stabbed Zhen Yuanzi in the waist and held back his strength so that he would only feel pain but not be injured.

After fighting back and forth for more than ten times, Zhen Yuanzi was exhausted and could only trap Tang Seng and his men. He no longer cared about Sun Wukong and only told him that he would not let Tang Seng go west until he could cure the fruit tree.

Although Sun Wukong had the counter-attack secret given by Zhuang Yan, Zhen Yuanzi had great magical powers and boundless power. Although he could stab him in the waist every time, he could not catch him, let alone break Zhen Yuanzi’s magical powers and rescue Tang Seng and others.

Neither side could deal with the other, and Sun Wukong gave up trying to force his way forward, so he had to look around for help from the healing tree.

After listening to Zhen Yuanzi’s story, Zhuang Yan laughed. Now, as the journey to obtain the scriptures progresses, this monkey will become more and more clever and powerful.

After obtaining the sutra, he will be able to become a true “Fighting Buddha” who is good at fighting.

It’s not enough to just rely on brute force and a stick to hit the enemy head on. One must be good at using various means. If Sun Wukong of Wuzhuang Temple were allowed to return to Yingchoujian, even if the ‘Six Wu Softening Needle’ was blessed by Zhuang Yan, it would not pose any threat to him.

Zhuang Yan stayed in Wuzhuang Temple for another three to five days, and practiced magic with Zhen Yuanzi every day. Zhuang Yan only used the small states in the “add state” and was able to exchange magic with Zhen Yuanzi.

Moreover, Zhen Yuanzi can find ways to deal with most of the small situations. After five days of discussion, Zhuang Yan has a new opinion of Zhen Yuanzi. This man is worthy of being the ancestor of earthly immortals. In terms of magical powers alone, he is on par with Patriarch Bodhi.

As for Zhen Yuanzi, he was even more surprised. He had only heard about the power of Lingtai Zhenjun before, but now he had experienced it personally.

The magic spells in the hands of this Lingtai Zhenjun are endless, and each spell contains a law between heaven and earth. Any one of them can make a god famous, and Zhuang Yan has mastered them all.

On the sixth day, when Zhuang Yan was leaving, Zhen Yuanzi escorted him out of the mountain gate. He no longer had any doubts and looked at him with a smile and said, “Master Lingtai, I believe you can find a way to increase the yield of my ginseng fruit tree.”

Zhuang Yan sighed, then said jokingly, “As the saying goes, a man who has received favors from others will be grateful, and a man who has received favors from others will be soft-hearted. Even if I have to travel all over the three realms of this world, I will find this method for you, Taoist friend.”

“Hahaha.” Zhen Yuanzi laughed loudly, and then said: “Then I will wait for the good news from the True Lord.”

Zhuang Yan nodded, then bowed and said with a smile: “Thank you for your hospitality these past few days, I’m leaving now.”

Zhen Yuanzi bowed and said, “Take care, Master.”

After bidding farewell to Zhen Yuanzi, Zhuang Yan rode on a auspicious cloud straight into the sky and disappeared after a moment.

Watching Zhuang Yan leave, Qing Feng asked in confusion: “Master, can this Lingtai Zhenjun really find a way to increase the yield of ginseng fruit trees?”

Mingyue said: “Even Guanyin Bodhisattva can’t do it, so I’m afraid this Lingtai Zhenjun doesn’t have this ability either.”

Qing Feng said: “If that’s the case, then wouldn’t it be a waste to give away the eleven ginseng fruits?”

Zhen Yuanzi stroked his long beard and said with a smile: “Fellow Daoist Bodhi will not lie to me. Besides, I would be willing to give away one hundred and ten ginseng fruits, let alone eleven.”

Mingyue was surprised and asked, “Why does Master think so highly of this Lingtai Zhenjun?”

Zhen Yuanzi smiled and said, “You don’t understand. These few days I have been sparring with him in magic. He only used one move and I had to respond with all my strength. If Sun Wukong had gone to ask him for help, then I would have been unlucky.”

Qing Feng was surprised and asked, “Is this Lingtai Zhenjun really that powerful?”

Zhen Yuanzi nodded and said, “I’m afraid he is far superior to me, and his Taoism is unfathomable.”

In the southern continent, in the Qinzhou capital of Longyou Road in the Tang Dynasty, the poor boy Jiang Minghan looked at his childhood sweetheart Wang Mengxian, who was dressed in gorgeous, noble, bright and beautiful clothes, and the joy in his heart gradually turned into sadness.

“Minghan, do you still remember Mr. Xu who stayed at my house for a few days last time? He passed the imperial examination and became an official in Chang’an City. This time he wrote a letter to thank my father and asked our family to go to Chang’an City to find him.” Wang Mengxian said with a happy smile on her face.

Jiang Minghan forced a smile on his face and said, “So you want to go find him?”

“Yes.” Wang Mengxian said, “That Mr. Xu is a very nice person, handsome, talented, and versatile. During the few days he stayed at our house, he told me a lot of things that I had never heard before.”

Jiang Minghan was silent for a moment, then said with a glimmer of hope: “Meng Xian, we grew up together, are you willing to leave us?”

Wang Mengxian smiled and said, “Minghan, we were all young before, and some of the things we said were just childish talk. Don’t take it to heart. Besides, we will still be friends even if I go to Chang’an, right? You can come to Chang’an to see me in the future.” Jiang Minghan smiled bitterly, and the words of his playmates from the past few days kept ringing in his ears.

After a moment, Jiang Minghan looked at Wang Mengxian and said, “Okay, I understand. I will come to Chang’an to see you later.”

“Yeah, then. Minghan, the past is in the past, let’s not take it to heart, we both still have a long way to go in the future.” After saying that, Wang Mengxian smiled at Jiang Minghan and said, “Then I’ll go first.”

“Goodbye.” Jiang Minghan was about to wave goodbye, but Wang Mengxian had already turned and walked in.

Watching Wang Mengxian’s back as she left without any hesitation, Jiang Minghan felt as if his body was drained of energy. After all, fifteen years of childhood sweethearts were no match for a few days of living together.

That’s right. Mr. Xu is an elegant, knowledgeable and talented scholar, and Wang Menghan is a lady from a wealthy family. They are a perfect match for each other. I, a poor boy, can only daydream all day long.

Jiang Minghan’s heart ached and his whole body felt weak. He could only lean against the door frame and stare blankly.

Whenever he thought of Wang Mengxian going to Chang’an and being with Mr. Xu, a handsome man, every day, he felt heartbroken.

At this time, several of Jiang Minghan’s other playmates, who were also poor boys, came over. They had seen it a long time ago but had never come over to disturb him. Now that Wang Mengxian left, they immediately surrounded them.

“What do you think? I told you a long time ago, don’t always think that a toad will eat swan meat. Will Wang Mengxian be interested in you?”

“I told you the other day that I saw that Mr. Xu holding her hand, but you didn’t believe me. Do you believe it now?”

“I heard that the Wang family has found a top scholar this time and is moving the whole family to Chang’an. Now Wang Mengxian and we are from two different worlds.”

“Hey, Minghan, you…”

Jiang Minghan suddenly came to his senses, looked at the playmate in front of him, then took a step back and slammed the gate shut.

The playmates looked at each other, and finally the young man in the lead shook his head and said, “Alright, alright, let’s go away and let him calm down. This incident has been a big blow to him.”

After all his playmates had left, Jiang Minghan sat down alone, leaning against the courtyard gate, staring blankly with a dull look on his face.

The sky gradually darkened, and until the moon was at its zenith, Jiang Minghan was still sitting behind the courtyard gate, unaware of anything.

But at this moment, there was a series of knocks on the doors from every household around, followed by a burst of cursing.

Soon the knock on the door came to the next door of Jiang Minghan’s house, but the family next door also cursed to the outside without exception.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door outside Jiang Minghan’s courtyard gate, waking up the dazed Jiang Minghan.

Jiang Minghan’s first reaction was to lose his temper, but soon an old voice came from outside the door: “Excuse me, is there anyone here? Please help this old man.”

It’s an old man!

Jiang Minghan immediately suppressed his irritability and quickly opened the gate. Then he was stunned to see an old man with a haggard appearance, wearing white clothes, with a pale face and his feet floating in the air appear in front of him.

A gust of cold wind blew, and Jiang Minghan’s scalp immediately felt numbed, and a chill went straight up from the soles of his feet to his forehead.

ghost!!!
Jiang Minghan was about to scream, but the old ghost quickly said, “Don’t be afraid, young man. I’m a good ghost who doesn’t hurt anyone.”

Jiang Minghan said with trembling lips: “What kind of ghost would knock on the door in the middle of the night?”

The old ghost spread his hands and said, “The Yang energy is so strong during the day, I don’t dare to come.”

Jiang Minghan asked in a trembling voice: “Why did you come to me? If you want to take my life, don’t come to me. I don’t even know you.”

The old ghost smiled and said, “Nothing, it’s just that my life is coming to an end and I will soon be gone, but I have a wish that I haven’t found anyone to entrust to.”

Jiang Minghan was stunned, and after a moment he said, “You want to…” Then he quickly shook his head and said, “No, no, I have no grudge against you, and we are strangers. I have things to do.”

The old ghost smiled and said, “Young man, don’t rush to refuse. This is a great opportunity. As long as you can do it, you will definitely have a bright future.”

Jiang Minghan was stunned again, and the old man continued: “I know your parents have passed away, and you don’t have any relatives or brothers and sisters at home. Now you are alone, and even your childhood sweetheart has fallen in love with someone else, right?”

Jiang Minghan immediately said angrily: “You disrespectful old ghost, are you spying on me?”

“Why would I spy on you? I’m a ghost. Isn’t it normal for ghosts to have some magical powers?” said the old ghost.

When Jiang Minghan heard this, he was stunned. It seemed that what the old man said made sense.

The old ghost said again: “Look at you now. Instead of living a muddle-headed and mediocre life here, why not go out and make a career and live up to your status as a man? Isn’t that better?”

Jiang Minghan was no longer afraid at this moment. Instead, he stared at the old ghost and said, “Since this is a great opportunity, why did you choose me?”

The old ghost spread his hands helplessly and said, “I have tried all the way here, and you are the only one willing to open the door, which means you are the destined one.”

Jiang Minghan frowned, then asked, “What is this thing you are talking about?”

The old ghost smiled slightly and immediately took out a long sandalwood box from his sleeve. He opened the sandalwood box, and immediately a colorful fairy light lit up. It turned out to be a colorful tree root that was more than one foot long and covered with wood whiskers.

The old ghost closed the wooden box, and Jiang Minghan, who had been staring in a daze, immediately came back to his senses.

The old ghost said, “This wooden box contains a treasure. If you escort it to Wuzhuang Temple and give it to the temple master, Zhenyuan Daxian, then he will reward you handsomely. Immortality and becoming an immortal are just common things. It depends on whether you dare to accept it.”

Having just seen a ghost and then the colorful tree roots, the facts were right in front of him, so Jiang Minghan naturally no longer had any doubts.

But he was still a little hesitant, wondering whether to take on the task.

Seeing Jiang Minghan hesitate, the old ghost immediately put away the wooden box and said, “Well, if you don’t want to, I won’t force you. I will go find someone else. I don’t believe that there won’t be a second person in such a big Qinzhou Prefecture.”

“Wait.” Jiang Minghan hurriedly called out to Lao Gui. The old ghost, who was about to leave, turned around and looked at Jiang Minghan and smiled, “What? Are you willing to take on this?”

Jiang Minghan nodded, and then said: “You are right. If I stay here, I can only spend my life in mediocrity. It is better to go out and try my best to have a better future. Please give me the treasure.”

The old ghost said, “Hey, don’t be impatient. Swear an oath first and let the gods of heaven and earth bear witness that you must deliver this treasure to the hands of the Great Immortal Zhenyuan of Wuzhuang Temple.”

Jiang Minghan did not say anything and swore a solemn oath, promising to deliver the magic treasure to the hands of Zhenyuan Daxian of Wuzhuang Temple, otherwise he would be struck by thunder.

Just as he finished his oath, a loud thunderclap sounded in the sky, and the lightning directly illuminated the entire sky.

Jiang Minghan was startled, but the old ghost had already stuffed the sandalwood box into his hands and said with a smile: “Okay, okay, now the gods above the nine heavens and underworld have heard your oath. You must send this fairy treasure to Wuzhuang Temple, otherwise you will suffer retribution.”

After saying that, the old ghost’s ghost body began to slowly dissipate, “Oh, my soul is about to fly away, young man, it’s up to you from now on.”

“Wait a minute.” Jiang Minghan called out hurriedly.

As soon as he said this, the old ghost’s dissipating ghost body actually stopped, and the old ghost asked, “Any other questions, young man?”

Jiang Minghan asked: “You haven’t told me where Wuzhuang Temple is?!”

The old ghost laughed and said, “Not far, not far. It’s just above the territory of Woyang Prefecture in Xiniu Hezhou.” After that, the old ghost’s figure began to dissipate again, and disappeared without a trace in just a moment.

Jiang Minghan stood there in a daze. After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself in the face. There was a loud and crisp “pop” sound, and five red fingerprints appeared on Jiang Minghan’s face.

“I told you not to open the door! I told you not to swear! How long does it take to get from Nanzhanbuzhou to Xiniuhezhou?”

(End of this chapter)