Journey to the West: Demon Emperor: Beginning as a Little Toad

Chapter 28 The Heart of Asking
"The stone monkey was conceived by heaven and earth, born to meet the calamity, and the destiny cannot be fully estimated."

"He is gifted. If he obtains supernatural powers, his cultivation will surely be successful."

"But he is impatient and naive. If we don't temper his temper now..."

Patriarch Subhuti suddenly stopped talking here, looked at Xiao Chen, and said with a smile:
"Let's not talk about the monkey for now. Let's talk about you."

"I?"

Xiao Chen was stunned, pricked up his ears, and looked at Master Subhuti, wondering what Master Subhuti was going to say to him or how he was going to arrange for him.

Patriarch Subhuti waved his hand, and two cushions appeared in front of the two men.

The sunlight shines through the window lattices, slanting into the room, casting mottled light and shadows.

A burst of sandalwood rose from the furnace, slowly spreading like fairy air, permeating the air, adding a touch of mystery to this quiet space.

In the room, Patriarch Subhuti and Xiao Chen sat opposite each other in silence for a long time without saying a word.

Patriarch Subhuti just kept staring at Xiao Chen, as if his gaze could see through Xiao Chen's heart, making Xiao Chen tremble with fear and his scalp tingling.

a long time.

Until night falls, the moon hangs high in the sky, dawn breaks in the east, and the red sun rises in the east.

Xiao Chen was numb from sitting so long, but he still didn't dare to move.

"I already know why you are here, but I am not qualified to be your master."

Patriarch Subhuti finally spoke, and said slowly: "Then, preach on my behalf."

"Preaching for you? Preaching for whom?"

Xiao Chen was stunned when he heard this, and was secretly confused.

Why do these powerful people always like to play tricks on others, have only half the answer and can't speak clearly?

"Go down now. I will teach you the Dao in the future."

Subhuti glanced at Xiao Chen and said lightly.

After leaving the room, Xiao Chen touched his back. He was already sweating profusely. It was really stressful to be with this Subhuti Patriarch. His gaze seemed to be able to see into people's hearts.

Could it be that Master Subhuti can read minds?
Outside the door, the fat round-faced fairy girl came up to greet him and said respectfully, "Uncle Xiao, I have arranged a place for you to stay. Please follow me."

"Xiao, Uncle Xiao?"

Hearing this, Xiao Chen was shocked and could not help but stand there and asked.

"It was Master who told me to call you that."

The fat round-faced fairy girl was also a little puzzled and said with a smile: "Master, you and I have the same last name."

At this time, Xiao Chen was already sweating coldly.

"Could it be that Master Subhuti really knows how to read minds? He stared at me all night and has read something."

"I just don't know how many of my secrets this Subhuti Patriarch knows."

Xiao Chen shook his head and couldn't help but laugh bitterly in his heart:
"Yes, my thoughts of just a few decades cannot compare to the thoughts of the gods and Buddhas who know no time."

Things have come to this point, Xiao Chen simply made up his mind.

"Let him be, no matter how much he knows."

"The previous life is only a hundred years long, and then it will turn into a pile of yellow earth. In another year or two, the grave will be covered with grass."

"If I can hope to find a way to live forever and enjoy a hundred years of wealth and prosperity in this life, I will not lose anything. If I can live for two hundred years, I will make a fortune. Why should I care about other people's thoughts of fighting against heaven and earth and air?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Chen suddenly understood. He smiled at the fat, round-faced fairy girl and said, "I didn't expect that you and I are from the same family. Do you know the fairy girl's name?"

The fairy girl smiled innocently and said, "My name is Xiao Yun'er, so you can just call me Yun'er."

……

On the ninth floor, Master Subhuti looked at Xiao Chen's departing figure with a trace of nostalgia on his face.

Patriarch Subhuti looked up at the sky and thought of the man's former elegance. Even though he had forgotten all about love, he couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion at this moment and sighed softly:
"How cruel is the way of heaven..."

……

"This is your room, Uncle Master."

Xiao Yun'er took Xiao Chen to wander around the Taoist temple for a long time before they arrived at the room arranged for Xiao Chen.

This is a simple wooden house, built on the mountain, an independent building, separated from other disciples. Next to the wooden house, there is a kitchen and toilet, which seems to be Subhuti's special care for Xiao Chen.

At least, when Xiao Chen saw other disciples, they all seemed to be sleeping in a large dormitory.

In the room, there was a bed, a wooden table and three wooden stools. It was clean and tidy.

Xiao Yun'er took out a neatly-dressed green Taoist robe, placed it on the table, and then said goodbye.

Xiao Chen washed up, put on his Taoist robes, and looked at his own decent appearance in the bronze mirror. He couldn't help but chuckle. From now on, he would not be considered a wild monster. In the kitchen next door, a fire had been lit, and three or four Taoists were busy making lunch. For a while, the surroundings were filled with smoke and the aroma was fragrant.

Xiao Chen then remembered that the monkey had been kneeling outside for a whole day without having a drop of water.

So Xiao Chen hurried to the kitchen, made a bowl of noodles, and holding the noodles, he followed the road to the entrance of the Xieyue Sanxing Cave.

But the monkey was still kneeling obediently at the entrance of the cave.

In the forest, there was heavy frost and dew, and the monkey was shivering with cold, looking somewhat pitiful.

"Creak" sound.

When the monkey saw the door open, he looked over with hope in his eyes.

After seeing the Taoist robe on Xiao Chen, the monkey's eyes were filled with envy and he looked forward to it eagerly.

"Toad, did the old immortal say he would accept me?"

"Never."

Xiao Chen shook his head, as he was reluctant to reveal Master Subhuti's intention.

When the monkey heard this, his eyes dimmed a little, but soon after, they brightened again.

This is the only immortal cave that did not drive him away, and he will never give up no matter what.

Xiao Chen helped the monkey pick some leaves off its head, handed the noodles to the monkey, and said, "Eat quickly."

The monkey hesitated.

Xiao Chen chuckled and said, "I can't let you starve to death. How can you seek immortality then?"

The monkey then picked up the noodles and started eating them randomly.

Seeing this, Xiao Chen felt a little ashamed for a moment. If it weren't for him, the monkey would not have come three hundred years earlier, and perhaps, it would not have suffered so much.

After thinking for a while, Xiao Chen asked, "Monkey, what if you play around for a few decades and then come back to seek the truth?"

The monkey had just finished his noodles. Upon hearing this, his eyes were determined:
"Since I have heard of the truth, I must go and find it! Why should I wait for decades?"

Xiao Chen, who had been following the monkey all the way, naturally understood the monkey's intention to ask, and thought to himself:

"People later said that this monkey was naturally intelligent and was a clever stone monkey. That's why he acquired all kinds of skills in just a few years."

"But in the original book, it was only mentioned briefly."

"But it was this monkey who resolutely gave up the comfortable life of the king of the mountain and crossed the vast ocean alone. He wandered for ten years and suffered ten years."

"This monkey's desire to seek the truth has never changed. How powerful is his mind?"

"This tenacious character and this determined heart are the root of this monkey's strength."

……

In this way, another two years passed.

Hundreds of days of wind and rain.

Hundreds of days of wind and sun.

There have been hundreds of days of frost, cold and heavy dew.

In front of the Taoist temple, people come and go from time to time, but this monkey is the only one kneeling in front of the door like a sculpture, motionless.

Until one day, the door of the Xieyue Sanxing Cave suddenly opened.

The fat-faced fairy girl went out and said to the monkey with a smile:

"Master said, monkey, come in!"

The monkey suddenly looked up, stared at the gate in a daze, and couldn't help but smile happily.

This wall separates us.

He waited for two whole years.

The monkey was about to stand up, but his legs were numb from kneeling for so long that he was about to fall to the ground.

At this time, a pair of hands stretched out, Xiao Chen supported the monkey, put the monkey on his back, and walked into the Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave with the monkey on his back.

“Monkey, hahahahahaha…”

"Toad, hahahahahaha..."

From inside the Slanting Moon and Three Stars Cave, there came the hearty laughter of two people.

I hope you can point out the poorly written points.

Good medicine tastes bitter but is good for the disease; honest advice may be unpleasant to the ears but is good for conduct.

Please scold me~
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(End of this chapter)