Journey to the West: The Immortal Clan Begins by Feeding Monkeys at Five Elements Mountain

Chapter 152 Jiang Ming Emerges from the Mountain
The moment the word "poison" was uttered, Liu Xiulian's limp body trembled.

It was as if an invisible thread had pulled me sharply from that state of despair.

But Li Yunyi seemed not to see it, only keeping his head down, his voice hoarse, as if there were grains of sand in his throat:

"In Liangzhou City, we consulted all the doctors we could find, and they all shook their heads after examining us."

He let out a long breath, a breath that was heavy, as if it contained the powerlessness and exhaustion of half a lifetime.

"Now... we have no choice but to send it to Luoyang overnight and gamble on whether the imperial physicians and alchemists there have a solution."

As Liu Xiulian listened, she slowly straightened up a little.

She gripped the hem of her clothes tightly with both hands, her knuckles turning white, as if trying to pull herself back from the void.

She began to mutter softly, "It's okay...it will be okay..."

“Luoyang…Luoyang has imperial physicians, and Wenya is there too. She has studied medical books since she was a child…she will have a solution…”

She spoke incoherently, as if trying to expel the deathly atmosphere from the room, or as if desperately trying to wake herself up.

"Liang'er is a tough kid... He fell off the wall when he was little and only got a few scrapes... It'll be the same this time, he'll definitely pull through..."

The more he spoke, the more his voice drifted away, and the last syllable drooped down like a paper lantern in the wind.

Her eyes were fixed on the corner of the room, but her gaze was empty, as if she were suspended in mid-air, with only a thin shell barely holding her up.

No one inside the room responded.

Because she didn't believe a single word she said.

The room was eerily quiet; even the wind blowing through the windowpanes from under the eaves sounded like the faintest sigh.

Li Yunyi stood there, his gaze fixed on the elderly couple.

One of them slumped to the ground, his tears long since dried, his face covered only with a layer of numb skin, as if his soul had been taken away;

It stood upright, its eyelids not even moving, as if it were carved from stone.

He felt a tightness in his chest, a suffocating feeling that swirled around like a trapped beast, growing ever more intense.

It finally couldn't be suppressed any longer.

He abruptly stood up, his robes billowing in the wind, and as he clasped his hands in greeting, his words carried an barely suppressed anxiety:

“My dear in-law, there’s no time to lose. I need to catch up with that caravan immediately. Someone has to keep watch over Liang’er’s side. Would you like to come with me?”

These words, once spoken, pierced the lifeless atmosphere in the room like a needle.

Liu Xiulian's gaze froze, and the previously scattered light suddenly gathered back, staring intently at her man.

But Jiang Yi seemed not to hear.

He simply bent down slowly, his steps heavy and steady, as if afraid of disturbing the deathly silence that filled the room.

Those calloused hands gently supported Liu Xiulian, helped her up, and helped her sit down in the chair.

After doing all this, he turned around and looked at Li Yunyi.

His tone wasn't loud, but it was so low it was as if he were afraid of disturbing the dust on the beams:

"What does that poison... look like?"

Li Yunyi was taken aback, then answered quickly and urgently.

He poured out the details of how the strange poison took effect, how difficult it was to cure, and the causes and consequences, one by one, like spilling beans.

Jiang Yi listened without changing his expression, not even frowning.

His knuckles twitched slightly, and he nodded occasionally, as if he were calculating and remembering things in his mind, stroke by stroke.

Only after Li Yunyi finished speaking did he look up, his gaze indifferent, like a still autumn pond, without a ripple.

He shook his head and said:
"Let the in-laws go ahead."

Then, he slowly added:
"The eldest brother is still on the mountain. We should inform him of this beforehand and hear his plans."

Upon hearing this, Li Yunyi's eyes narrowed.

At this critical juncture where the situation was extremely urgent, he managed to remain calm.
But looking at that face again, it was too serene, almost like a mountain. Not still, but steady.

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back.

This is ultimately a matter for the Jiang family, and as an outsider, he shouldn't interfere.

Besides... his in-laws are no ordinary farmers.

If he really put his feet up and ran, his own horse might not be able to keep up with his old bones.

With this in mind, Li Yunyi didn't delay any longer. He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and spoke crisply and decisively:
"In that case, Yunyi will not disturb you any longer. Farewell, in-law."

Having said that, he flicked his cloak, turned, and left. His hurried steps stirred up a gust of wind in the hall.

As soon as one stepped out of the courtyard gate, a few short instructions were heard, followed by the cracking of whips, the neighing of horses, and the rumbling of wheels grinding against stones, raising a cloud of dust along the way.

The room fell silent again.

Liu Xiulian remained seated, as if her soul had wandered elsewhere and she had not yet found it again.

Tears rolled down silently, each drop landing on my clothes, wetting them without making a sound.

But her shoulders would tremble slightly from time to time, like an old cloth curtain hanging in the wind being brushed by something unseen.

Jiang Yi walked over and put his hand on her shoulder.

No sound was made.

The hand was rough and heavy; after a moment's pause, it quietly withdrew.

He turned and went into the inner room.

A short while later, he brought out a slightly worn bag and placed it on the table.

Inside the bag were several coarse cloth clothes starched until they were almost white, a packet of dried flour cakes, and a medicine pouch carefully wrapped in old cloth.

He calmly tidied up the house inside and out, sweeping up the broken porcelain and wiping away the wet stains.

It wasn't as if they were preparing for something important; they were simply taking care of the chores that weren't part of the daily meals.

After he finished tidying up, he moved a small stool to the gate of the courtyard and sat down.

He stood ramrod straight, his gaze fixed on the winding path behind the mountain, as if nailed there, and didn't move.

He just sat there, watching.

From the time the sun began to set, we watched until the stars lit up one by one, filling the night sky.

The nights in the mountains cool down quickly. As soon as the wind passes through the valley, it carries the damp chill of the grass and trees, seeping into one's bones in wisps and strands.

There were no lights in the courtyard, only an oil lamp on the table in the main room, its light as dim as a bean, illuminating only the small patch of ground beneath our feet.

The wick flickered and popped, as if it too was struggling to withstand the darkness of the night.

Liu Xiulian returned to the house at some point.

It was dark inside, without a sound, as if they had cried themselves to sleep, or perhaps their tears had long since dried up.

Jiang Yi remained seated, motionless.

As night deepened, his shadow faded, slowly merging with the shadow of the old locust tree in the corner of the courtyard. The wind blew past, but it couldn't stir him in the slightest.

At the end of the path behind the mountain, a figure staggered down.

The moonlight gradually moved across the branches, outlining that face—it was Jiang Ming.

"Father, why aren't you resting yet?"

He approached, his tone carrying a hint of surprise, as if it were an ordinary day.

Jiang Yi seemed to be called back to his senses from afar. He slowly stood up, pulled his son under the lamp, and then spoke.

His voice was low and hoarse, like a piece of dry wood left out in the wind for a long time, with a rough, gritty quality.

He broke down Li Yunyi's words, word by word, and told them to him.

He described it in great detail, especially the color and smell when the poison took effect, as if he were painting a picture, afraid that missing even the slightest detail would lead to life or death.

Jiang Ming listened quietly.

The composure I carried down from the mountain path gradually faded away under the swaying lamplight.

His brows furrowed slowly, and his expression deepened, as if the dim light of the lamp had dimmed with his breath.

After his father finished speaking, he gently reached out and placed his hand on Jiang Yi's shoulder. The pressure was light but steady.

"Father, don't worry."

The voice was extremely low, like the wind blowing through withered leaves; it sounded soft, yet it went straight to one's heart.

Good fortune favors the virtuous.

He paused, then added, "My second brother will be fine. What does it matter what kind of poison or evil spirit it is..."

"I'm determined to find a way to help him."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned to leave, his feet already moving with the wind, seemingly intending to rush straight back into the dark mountains. But before he could move, the familiar rumble of a cart sounded again from outside the courtyard.

The sounds, coming from afar and growing closer, were like iron wheels crushing one's heart—heavy, hard, and cold.

The tracks that led back were like a talisman drawn from the sky to the ground, firmly pressed into this small courtyard.

The father and son in the courtyard turned their heads at the same time.

Sure enough, the carriage covered with a blue cloth curtain was already parked outside the door. The horse lowered its head, snorted incessantly, and exhaled two puffs of white breath.

Liu Xiulian and Jiang Xi also rushed out of the house, their eyes still wet with tears and their faces filled with shock, as if the sound of the car had startled them so much that their souls were about to leave their bodies.

Jiang Yi's heart sank suddenly, as if he had been hit with a sledgehammer.

He didn't say anything, but simply raised his hand, straightened his cuffs, and stepped out to greet them.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and Li Yunyi practically tumbled out.

Although he was anxious when he left, he stood ramrod straight.

At that moment, he collapsed, as if his bones and tendons had been pulled out.

His once-glorious silk robe was now wrinkled like a dried salted vegetable. If he hadn't been clinging tightly to the carriage shaft, he probably would have collapsed to the ground long ago.

He opened his mouth, but his voice was as hoarse as if it had been sanded, and he could only manage to squeeze out two words:

"relatives by marriage……"

She couldn't continue speaking, but her eyes welled up with tears.

Jiang Yi stood in the shadows where the light did not reach, his face revealing neither joy nor sorrow, but his eyes were as deep and unfathomable as an ancient well.

He didn't say anything, just watched quietly.

Li Yunyi gasped for breath, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out the words from his throat, his sentences broken and slurred:
"I...I had just left the territory of Longxi...when I ran into the escorting servants...and rode back...to report the news..."

He raised his head, and his usually shrewd eyes were now clouded, like a fogged bronze mirror.

"He said...the convoy just arrived in Chang'an...Liang'er, he..."

His throat tightened, and the last two words seemed to burst out from between his teeth:

"……Gone."

The words "gone" were spoken very softly, yet they struck like a thunderclap in the courtyard, reaching the ears of everyone present.

Li Yunyi lowered his eyes, his fingers trembling violently, his voice so low it was almost inaudible:
"Right now... the body is still in Chang'an... the people below don't know what to do... they can only... send someone back to ask how to properly bury it..."

After he finished speaking, the courtyard fell into a deathly silence.

The wind stopped, the lights froze, and it was as if heaven and earth held their breath for this one sentence.

With a "clunk," Liu Xiulian made a strange sound in her throat, her body went limp, and she fell straight backward.

Jiang Xi reacted quickly, grabbing her in her arms and calling out "Mother" in a tearful voice.

Jiang Yi, however, did not budge.

He neither turned back to look at his fallen wife, nor did he look at his in-laws who were weeping bitterly.

He just stood there, his body ramrod straight, his eyes vacant, gazing into the distance at a darkness deeper than the night itself.

In the deathly silence, the first to move was Jiang Ming.

He didn't say much, only glanced back at Jiang Xi, his voice like a stone thrown:

"Take good care of your parents, and we'll talk about everything when I get back."

As soon as he finished speaking, his back flashed like a gust of wind, disappearing into the inky darkness of the night in the blink of an eye.

As soon as his eldest son's shadow disappeared, Jiang Yi swayed and almost fell over.

He steadied himself, picked up his wife from his arms, carried her back to the inner room, and covered her with a blanket.

Then he came out, invited Li Yunyi into the hall, and personally went to the stove to fetch a cup of cooled tea and handed it to him.

Li Yunyi was unsure whether to sit or stand, and kept asking himself:

"The Protectorate of the Qiang has sent someone to inquire... whether to bury him on the spot, or... or to have his coffin returned to his hometown?"

Jiang Yi just lowered his eyes and stared at the teacup, as if he hadn't heard anything, and didn't even respond with a "hmm".

He went to the side room, where his two grandsons were huddled in bed playing. When they saw him, they giggled, thinking that their grandfather was coming to talk to them again.

He sat down and put his arms around Liang'er, one in each arm, and whispered the stories he had told Liang'er back then.

His voice was low, each word like raindrops falling from the eaves in the night, without causing a ripple, yet conveying an indescribable weariness and hoarseness.

He only slowly withdrew his hand after the two children had fallen asleep, their small chests rising and falling, and sat by the bed for a long time.

He is the head of the family; if the sky were to fall in this courtyard, it would be his responsibility to hold it up.

But tonight, the sky collapsed too quickly and too violently.

Fortunately, he still held onto his eldest son's words in his heart: "Wait for me to come back."

Like a drowning person clinging desperately to a piece of driftwood, knowing it's rotten but daring not to let go.

That sliver of luck, like a flickering lamp in the wind, was dim, yet it kept him from sinking completely.

Finally, a sliver of sunlight tore through the ridge of Dongling Mountain, its pale white light, sharp as a blade, coldly shining into the courtyard.

Having not slept all night, this little bit of light was glaringly bright, like reopening a wound.

Just then, a person slowly walked down the path leading to the back mountain.

It's Jiang Ming.

His steps were not hurried, but much heavier than the night before.

As the person approached, their eyes were bloodshot, and the carefree, rustic look on their face had vanished, leaving only an indescribable quiet.

Jiang Yi suddenly stood up and rushed forward in a few steps.

His old, bloodshot eyes were fixed on his eldest son, a question stuck in his throat, unable to be uttered.

Jiang Ming met his father's gaze, nodded, his voice low and hoarse, yet each word clear:
"Father, I will handle Liang'er's funeral arrangements myself."

He turned his head and looked under the eaves again. Liu Xiulian was standing there, looking dazed, as if she had not yet recovered from that night.

He glanced at the two of them and said, "Neither of you should worry about it, and don't think about seeing them one last time. It would only cause you unnecessary suffering."

He paused slightly, his voice softening a bit, but becoming even deeper: "Uncle Li is the same."

Li Yunyi stayed up all night, and before dawn, he waited in the room with his ears perked up. But what he got in return was this sentence.

He was stunned on the spot, as if he had been hit on the head with a stick, and stood there for a long time before he recovered.

A surge of anger welled up inside him. He strode out of the house, his face still showing shock, but his anger was already burning fiercely.

"Jiang Ming! What do you mean by this? That's your own brother! I... I'm your son-in-law!"

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Yi stepped forward and blocked the two of them.

The withered hand rested on Li Yunyi's arm. It wasn't heavy, but it felt like a stone pressing down on him, forcing him to swallow back the words he was about to say.

Jiang Yi looked somewhat confused, his brows furrowed, but his eyes were fixed on his eldest son's face.

There was no reproach in his eyes, nor the usual tenderness one might expect; there was only an almost blind faith.

He turned to Li Yunyi and spoke slowly and deliberately:
“My dear in-law, this matter ultimately belongs to the Jiang family. Please, do not interfere.”

Jiang Ming acted as if he hadn't heard the argument at all, and walked up to his father on his own, asking in a low voice:
"Dad, where are the family savings?"

Without hesitation, Jiang Yi turned and went into the house.

A moment later, he took out a tightly wrapped cloth bag, which was quite heavy.

Jiang Ming took it and put it in his pocket.

After doing all this, he turned around, looked at Li Yunyi, gave a slight bow, and spoke in a more even tone:

"Uncle Li, please get in the car and we can talk some more. There are some things I need to trouble you with."

After saying this, she turned back to look at her father and said softly, "I'm leaving the family to you."

After saying that, he didn't say anything more and went straight to the Li family's carriage.

Li Yunyi was still standing there, his face full of confusion, it was hard to tell whether he was still angry or hadn't woken up yet.

As Jiang Ming boarded the carriage, the tangled mess in his mind grew tighter and tighter. He kept glancing at the carriage and then at Jiang Yi.

In the end, he didn't ask another question, and as if possessed, he turned around and followed.

The coachman gave the reins a tug, and the carriage creaked and started moving. The wheels rolled over the thin layer of frost in front of the yard, leaving a trail of tracks.

Jiang Yi stood there, his back ramrod straight, watching the car slowly disappear from the village entrance, his expression revealing neither joy nor sorrow.

Liu Xiulian stood under the eaves, lost in thought, her eyes slightly red.

They didn't speak, they just stood there, watching that figure walk further and further away in the morning light.

(End of this chapter)