The Way of Spiritual Journey

Chapter 20, Fish Enter the Ocean

"Hmph. What are you pretending for? Wearing a veil over your face? Who would want to look at your face? If you don't want to attract attention, don't work out your body so much!" Li Lang sneered at Chu Yan's arrogant actions, thinking to himself.

"Brother Lang, this young lady is really something. Do you have any ideas?" Seeing Li Lang's serious expression, Monk Wolong teased him, trying to ease the atmosphere.

"Are you really a monk? Is this how a monk behaves?" Li Lang glanced at the monk sideways and said irritably.

"Hey, do you think I wanted to? I told that old guy a long time ago that I didn't want to be a monk, but he just wouldn't let me. He forced me to shave my head, saying something about waiting a year on Langya Mountain and leaving the rest to fate." Hearing Li Lang's words, the monk raised an eyebrow, seemingly resentful, and blurted out.

"Why wait a year on Langya Mountain?" Li Lang was genuinely curious. Although he had a general idea before, he still didn't know the real reason.

"Have you heard of the Langlang that roams Langya Mountain?" the monk asked.

"Hmm." Li Lang nodded; Chu Yan had said the same thing before.

"This is a proverb that has been passed down for a long time. Literally, it means that a powerful person will appear in these mountains."

"So for thousands of years, people and ghosts alike have gone there to wander around, hoping to find some good fortune. Until three hundred years ago, at the beginning of the founding of the Great Yuan Dynasty, a sudden earthquake struck Langya Mountain, and the mountain's shape and landscape were completely changed overnight. From then on, those who entered it rarely escaped unscathed, and gradually Langya Mountain became a dangerous place, abandoned by everyone." Monk Wolong opened up and explained the whole story.

"If that's the case, then your master still sent you to guard this place. He must be up to no good." Li Lang said, glancing at the Phoenix Chick Taoist beside him. His words were clearly sarcastic.

"Who says otherwise?" When the Phoenix Chick Taoist saw Li Lang glancing over, his face flushed slightly, clearly indicating that he had thought the same thing. Just as he was about to answer, the Crouching Dragon Monk interrupted, "I've thought so for a long time. It's just that although that old fellow didn't really raise me, he did save my life. Without him, I would probably be a lump of poop in some wolf cub's belly by now."

The monk's words were somewhat rough, but the gentleness in his eyes was unmistakable, suggesting that he was still deeply grateful to his master for saving his life.

This is human nature; the kindness in the hearts of gentle people cannot be concealed.

Wangcai, who was sleeping nearby, raised his head and made a "whimpering" sound, seemingly dissatisfied. Why is he talking to me for no reason? Li Lang glared at Wangcai, his meaning clear: It's none of your business, go back to sleep.

"We'll see what happens in the future. Have you thought about what 'future' actually means?" Li Lang pondered for a moment, as if he had discovered some detail, and asked again.

"In the future?" The Crouching Dragon and the Phoenix Chick were taken aback, both falling into deep thought. After a moment, their eyes widened suddenly, shock mixed with fear. "No way?...!"

"Haha, who knows?" Seeing the expressions on their faces, Li Lang felt he had achieved his goal and was in a very good mood.

"You're willing to come down the mountain, do you really consider that young woman your benefactor?" Li Lang had only called the woman a benefactor to trick these two into helping him fight. Now that everyone had arrived in Dadu, Li Lang had achieved his goal, but he still felt it necessary to remind these two unfortunate brothers.

"Whether she is a benefactor or not is not important." At this moment, Fengchu shook his head and finally spoke, "What is important is that we do not know who the benefactor is, and the one-year period has already expired."

"More importantly, that day we discovered a sudden flash of divine punishment deep within Langya Mountain, but when we went to investigate, we found nothing. That's when you appeared, and you're the only person we've seen emerge from the depths of Langya in the past year. So..."

"So, you are our benefactor." The monk nodded, taking over the conversation, his expression unusually serious.

"So that's how it is. The lightning in the valley that day was so loud, yet the outside world only barely noticed it. Could it be that it's a world unto itself?" At this moment, Li Lang suddenly realized that he had indeed had some extraordinary encounters over the past year.

"Alright, I have a general understanding of the situation. Now is not the time to delve into it. Let's leave here first." Li Lang breathed a sigh of relief and got to the point.

"Leave? Aren't you going to wait for that young lady?" The monks and Taoists were all puzzled when they heard this.

"That woman is no simpleton." Li Lang nodded. "Didn't you notice? She was wearing a veil when she entered the city."

"We've discovered it." Both Zhuge Liang and Feng Chu nodded, but they were extremely puzzled.

"Sigh, how could your master bear to throw you out like this!" Li Lang sighed and continued, "Entering the city masked means she didn't want to be recognized. Why wouldn't she want to be recognized? There's only one possibility: she knew someone would harm her."

"Moreover, just now, this woman didn't leave through the gate, but instead jumped over the wall masked. Besides her own caution, this also indirectly shows that this place is not as safe as we thought, and may already be under someone's surveillance."

Li Lang's mind is now exceptionally sharp; no clue can escape his notice.

"There's one last point. She said that if anyone finds this place before we come back, we can't trust any of us. That's true. If we can't trust anyone, can we trust her?" Li Lang continued his analysis.

"Yes, this woman is no pushover, and her origins are unknown. We should be on guard." Feng Chu nodded, agreeing with Li Lang's assessment.

"Then where should we go? What if the woman comes back and can't find us?" Monk Wolong nodded, adding to the question.

"Heh, anywhere is fine. In such a vast capital, there will always be a place for us. Let's go first, leaving Wangcai and the monkey behind, so we won't lose contact." Li Lang spoke with great confidence. He had received a scientific education in his previous life, and now that he had transmigrated to ancient times, if he still couldn't make something of himself, even the laws of nature would not tolerate him.

The deal was settled, and the three of them did not hesitate. They immediately climbed over the back wall and left. Now the fish were in the ocean, free to thrash about as it pleased.

Three days later.

"Brother Lang, I've been a monk for over twenty years, and today I'm finally living a real life." After tasting five dishes and drinking several rounds of wine, Monk Wolong, with his bald head shiny and his fat face flushed, rolled up his robe with his oily hands and gave Li Lang a series of sentimental remarks with drunken eyes.

"Does your master know you've been drinking and eating meat all this time?" Li Lang was in a good mood and asked casually, clearly enjoying the wine he had drunk tonight, feeling a sense of freedom.

"That old guy doesn't care about me. He said that as long as I'm alive, everything else is bullshit." Monk Wolong shook his head and grinned.