Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 309 Reincarnation for Eighteen Years

Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, perhaps?
As Niu Yi pondered, fragmented memories rapidly surfaced in his mind, vividly presenting scenes from the original owner's past.

These scenes were incredibly familiar to Niu Yi, as if they were his own experiences, indistinguishable from his own.

"Young master, are you... are you alright?"

Guo Hai looked at the young master who had been staring at the Lanruo Temple plaque since he opened his eyes. At this moment, another gust of cold wind blew by, causing him to subconsciously wrap his clothes tighter, feeling a little scared.

My young master, could he be possessed by an evil spirit?
Guo Hai swallowed hard. Although he was afraid, he still stayed by the young master's side.

"Young master, let's..."

"Little sea."

"Ok?"

Guo Hai was momentarily stunned when his young master suddenly called out to him. He subconsciously replied, and when he realized what was happening, he leaned closer with a hint of surprise and said:

"Young master?! What are your orders, young master?"

Niu Yi lowered his gaze, using the moonlight to look at the dilapidated scene within the old temple, and slowly began to speak:

"Help me up, let's go back to the city."

"This young master"

Upon hearing this, Guo Hai looked around with some concern.

Lanruo Temple is located west of Jinhua City, in the middle of nowhere, quite a distance from the city. It's night now, and although there are no dark clouds in the sky, the wild beasts in the mountains are probably quite active.
Furthermore, the west gate of Jinhua city must now be closed, and a curfew has been imposed.
However, something was clearly wrong with the dilapidated temple in front of them. Not only was there a chilling wind blowing through the place, but their young master had fainted after just one glance at the plaque.

Now that you've woken up, you want to leave. You should know that it was you who insisted on staying here all along!
With wolves in front and tigers behind, why are his and the young master's lives so miserable?
As Guo Hai was thinking, a faint wolf howl actually came from the woods behind him and his servant, making Guo Hai shiver involuntarily.

"Oh no, oh no, there really are wolves coming from behind!"

Hearing the trembling murmur in his ear and feeling Guo Hai gripping his shoulder tighter and tighter, Niu Yi turned to look at his page, his eyes slightly strange.

Has his pageboy been scared out of his wits?
Niu Yi shook his head helplessly, feeling that his body seemed to have regained some strength, and used the ground to support himself as he slowly got up.

"Son!"

Guo Hai then realized what was happening and quickly helped his young master to his feet.

After getting up, Niu Yi dusted himself off and then yanked the small Bagua bronze mirror pendant off his neck.

Guo Hai looked at this scene with a puzzled expression.

"Young master, this wasn't left by the master."

Niu Yi stopped Guo Hai from speaking, then took a deep look at the dilapidated and gloomy Lanruo Temple in front of him. Feeling that his body had recovered a lot of strength, he grabbed the pageboy beside him and walked into the forest behind them.

"Xiao Hai, don't speak, come with the young master."

"Hey hey."

Although Guo Hai was clearly still confused and didn't know what had happened, his life had been bought back by the master, and since the master had made him follow the young master, his life belonged to the young master!

Since that's the case, as long as we follow you, young master, there's nothing to be afraid of!
Once Guo Hai understood the matter, his expression became resolute. Without needing the young master to pull him along, he quickly followed.

After the master and servant left, the dilapidated temple seemed to return to silence once more.

Inside Lanruo Temple, a soft, alluring voice suddenly rang out amidst the gusts of cold wind.

"Grandma, why don't you let me seduce that man? He's quite handsome!"

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than a slap and a scream rang out.

"Snapped!"

"ah-----"

Just then, a strange voice, sounding both old and hoarse, both rough and sharp, came from the temple.

"Hmph! Who do you think you are, daring to question my decision?"

"Grandma, spare me! Grandma, spare me!"

"I can let you go this time, but you must find the essence of ten men for me within seven days! If you fail to do so, I will beat you to a pulp!"

"Yes Yes!"

The woman's soft, frightened voice quickly agreed without the slightest hesitation.

"Get out of here! I've lived for a thousand years, what haven't I seen! This is for your own good!"

"The mirror that kid was carrying seemed to be a powerful magical artifact, and it also had the aura of the Kunlun Sect."

"There are plenty of men in this world, no need to make trouble. What's wrong with letting him off the hook? In the future, you'll all be more discerning!" "Yes!"

On the other side, the master and servant were traveling through the forest. Guo Hai followed his young master all the way, making rapid progress in the dark forest.

As Guo Hai listened to the occasional roars of beasts, the sound of the wind rushing past his ears as he ran quickly, and the rustling of leaves, he felt his heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

The unknown and fear brought by the dark forest and the roars of beasts were constantly stimulating his nerves, and the only thing he could rely on was the familiar figure in front of him.

For some reason, Guo Hai felt a sense of grandeur when he looked at the young master's back today, which made him inexplicably trust him.

The master and servant ran for an unknown amount of time before finally spotting the city of Jinhua, whose gates were already closed, in the distance.

In the forest, Niu Yi turned to the young page beside him and said:

"We'll rest here for the night and head into town tomorrow."

Guo Hai looked around. Apart from the forest where he and his servant were, there was a plain ahead. They would reach Jinhua City soon. He breathed a sigh of relief and nodded quickly.

"Young master, please rest first. I will keep watch over you. Don't worry, I won't let any person or wild animal approach this place!"

Niu Yi looked at the thin and fair-skinned Guo Hai and nodded with a smile.

"Then I'll leave it all to you."

After Niu Yi finished speaking, he found a big tree, leaned against it, closed his eyes, and seemed to have fallen asleep. However, after only the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he heard a snoring sound in his ear.

Niu Yi looked at Guo Hai, who was leaning against the trunk beside him and had fallen asleep, unable to resist the drowsiness, and shook his head with a smile.

After all, he was just a kid who was not even sixteen years old. After being up all night, he was exhausted both mentally and physically.

Niu Yi helped Guo Hai straighten his body to make him more comfortable, then sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and tried to circulate his inner energy.

After a while, Niu Yi tried out all his knowledge in a shallow way, but still could not sense any fluctuation of magic power.

Niu Yi slowly opened his eyes and looked at the sky with some regret.

"Indeed, although it may be the world of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, and there may be some characters I am familiar with, this is a completely different world."

"Whether it is the aura of the Great Dao or the 'Heavenly Dao' of this world, I cannot approach it using the methods of the Three Realms. If I were to force it, I might even risk being rejected by this world."

"At that time, let alone comprehending the 'Heavenly Way' of this world, even my own life will be in danger."

Niu Yi shook his head, pondered for a moment, and thought to himself that he probably could only try to comprehend it by relying on the methods of this world.

He didn't need any profound methods; as long as there was a simple method that allowed him to get a basic understanding, Niu Yi could deduce the laws and principles of this world on his own.

and
Niu Yi looked around and was inexplicably certain that the rules and laws of this world were definitely not as powerful and perfect as those of the Three Realms. Moreover, there was a strange atmosphere about this place that he had never felt in the Three Realms.

"Perhaps...this thing will give me some inspiration."

Niu Yi lowered his head, looking at the bronze mirror necklace he had been holding in his hand. It was a talisman given to him by his adoptive father in this world.

Along with the amulet, he was also given a spell that could only be used once and was said to save his life.

In this world, his surname is Guo and his given name is Yang. He is the only son of Guo Kun, the patriarch of the wealthy Guo family in Liuxi.

Guo Yang's mother died early, and the Guo family had strict discipline, which led to his honest and introverted personality. He was a kind and gentle scholar.

However, since the unexpected death of Master Guo Kun last year, Guo Yang has been unable to support the family on his own. The Guo family's vast fortune has been largely devoured by its rivals and seized by his uncles and aunts.

Left with no other choice, Guo Yang could only take his childhood friend Guo Hai and the little silver he had saved and flee Liuxi County.

Now, he happens to be taking the imperial examination in Jinhua City. He originally wanted to take the exam here to obtain official rank, but the housing prices in Jinhua City have been high recently. In order to save money for the future, Guo Yang can only save money and wants to live in a temple outside the city with his page Guo Hai.

Then came the scene that Niu Yi witnessed upon waking up.
Rather than saying he suddenly transmigrated into Guo Yang's body, it would be more accurate to say that after entering this world, he was reborn as Guo Yang and lived in this world as Guo Yang for eighteen years.

His true spirit only awakened on this day, when he turned eighteen.
"Sigh, what a coward. No wonder he even lost his father's legacy, almost scared to death by those few wandering ghosts floating above Lanruo Temple."

Niu Yi was speechless. If his true spirit had awakened earlier after he transmigrated into this world, the Guo family wouldn't have fallen into the hands of others.

If my friends in the Three Realms knew about this, I wonder how much they would laugh at me.

Especially His Majesty the Jade Emperor, I guarantee he'll have the loudest laugh!
Niu Yi looked down at the Bagua bronze mirror in his hand, which was no bigger than a quarter of his palm. It was this thing that had protected him all the way to Jinhua City, keeping him from demons and wild beasts, and allowing him to see the ghosts floating above the temple.

This thing must be a magical artifact in this world.

His mysterious father must have had some extraordinary background, and his sudden unexpected death before the new year was probably also part of something fishy going on.

But all of this is not something he should be thinking about right now.

The most important thing now is to find a Taoist or Buddhist method so that he can get started. With his accumulated knowledge, as long as he can open a crack in the cultivation system of this world, he is confident that he can open a path to heaven!
"Yan Chixia, the ghosts are rampant in Lanruo Temple, and no one lives there anymore. I wonder if you are in Jinhua City right now?"

(End of this chapter)