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

Chapter 99 Regardless of benefit or harm, it all depends on people's hearts.

After finishing speaking, Jiang Liang didn't look at his father, but stared at the fire in the stove.

The firelight licked the bottom of the pot, casting long shadows on the wall.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yi's expression tightened.

One was astonishment.

The family had been contemplating the image of the spirit for several years, but hadn't taken a single step.

Unexpectedly, this very path led the least hopeful boy to the forefront.

Secondly, there is doubt.

Yesterday, he spoke casually, saying that those white bones and evil spirits were nothing but paper ghosts that would crumble at the slightest touch.

But when the words "blood array" were mentioned, his expression darkened and his tone slowed, as if it were not an enemy, but some old mark weighing on his heart.

If this blood-red light is truly connected to the object within that formation, then the divine soul image... is probably not pure.

Jiang Yi felt a little uneasy, but he didn't show it at all.

He simply gave a faint "hmm," his tone remaining as calm as ever, and said:

"This path is yours alone. Just remember, if your mind is undisturbed, your spirit will naturally be clear."

Around noon, the aroma of the medicinal chicken stew had already filled the entire new house.

Once the pot is opened, the soup is golden yellow, sticky but not greasy, and the medicinal aroma, mixed with chicken oil, rises outwards, seeping out along the gaps in the beams and pillars.

It made everyone's stomachs rumble and their mouths water.

Jiang Yi ladled out the soup, chopped the chicken leg in half, and cut the chicken breast into several pieces. The porcelain bowl in which the soup was served was glistening with a warm, oily sheen.

The family sat down around the table, which wasn't big, but was steaming hot.

The flavor was revealed after the first bite.

A gentle warmth seeped outwards along my veins, making my limbs and bones feel as if they had been soaked in warm water, and all the fatigue in my body eased.

Jiang Liang drank half a bowl of soup, and his whole body relaxed. Even his sitting posture showed a bit of weariness. He leaned back and felt as if he had taken off his armor.

The most lively person at the table was naturally Jiang Xi.

The little girl finally got to eat the delicious chicken she'd been craving. Holding her bowl, she squatted at the corner of the table, happily shoveling rice into her mouth, all the while praising her father and belittling her brother.
"The chicken that Father stewed is ten times better than the one my eldest brother makes!"

He took a big sip of chicken soup as he spoke, his face full of satisfaction.

Jiang Ming listened from the side, only smiling and remaining silent.

After the meal, he went to the back orchard and picked a few bright red, ripe fruits.

Since Jiang Liang returned home, the ripe fruits that used to disappear as soon as they ripened have somehow all remained firmly hanging on the branches.

Jiang Xi took the fruit, took a bite and the juice overflowed, her eyes reddened, and she hugged Jiang Liang's arm, pleading:

"Second brother, please stay a few more days. If you leave, these fruits will be gone again!"

Jiang Yi held the fruit in his hand, not in a hurry to speak.

Only when clearing away the dishes after the meal did she casually mention to Jiang Ming that her son had visualized his spirit and seen a line of blood.

He spoke softly and with a calm expression, as if he were just having a casual chat.

But as Jiang Ming listened, his actions of biting into the fruit slowed down, his eyes flashed, and the smile on his lips deepened.

He put the fruit pit into the bowl without saying a word, and stood up without even making a sound with the chair legs.

He skipped school and instructed his younger sister, the "vice leader," to deliver a message that he should practice on his own today.

Before the words were even finished, the figure had already turned the corner of the front courtyard stone steps and headed towards the back of the mountain.

His steps were slow, yet they conveyed a sense of focused concentration.

After finishing the tidying up, Jiang Yi gave an order and called the whole family out. They took a few wooden sticks from the yard and started practicing in pairs.

It was both to refine the energy from that pot of medicinal food and to take a walk while my muscles and bones were still warm.

Liu Xiulian also arrived, her sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Though her movements were slow, they were precise and disciplined. Little Jiang Xi, who had initially been lazy, perked up after a few blows, shouting that she wouldn't let her mother show any mercy.

The family was making a lot of noise, but Jiang Yi always had something weighing on his mind.

After exchanging a few blows with the boy, the heat in his stomach subsided, so he stopped, put the stick aside, and stood alone in the corner of the courtyard.

A mountain breeze blew down from behind, and the leaves rustled softly in the courtyard.

He glanced up at the hill behind him.

The mountain wasn't very high; given Jiang Ming's skill, it would only take half an hour to climb to the top and back down.

As the daylight gradually slanted westward, and the water on the stove boiled twice, that familiar figure still hadn't appeared.

He didn't say anything, but went back into the house to get a pot of hot tea, sat in the old rattan chair in front of the door, and sipped it slowly, his expression unchanged.

The tea had long since gone cold, but the cup was still in his hand.

As dusk approached and the food grew cold, Jiang Ming finally returned from behind the mountain.

Covered in dusty grass clippings and with mud stuck to the soles of his shoes, he looked like he had been training on the mountain.

He didn't say he was tired; his expression was calm, though he looked slightly weary.

Seeing this, Jiang Yi felt a sense of relief.

Jiang Ming didn't beat around the bush as soon as he entered. Without even patting his clothes clean, he sat down at the table, looked up at his younger brother, and spoke in a low voice:
"Father told me that when you were visualizing your soul, you noticed something unusual. Tell me more about it."

The tone wasn't harsh, nor was it gentle; it was more like the matter-of-fact tone often used by an older brother at home.

Jiang Liang was familiar with the name, so he nodded obediently without holding anything back.

He recounted what he had seen during his meditation that day, one by one, in a flat tone.

Only when he spoke of "the extreme stillness of bloodshed" did his eyebrows twitch slightly, as if he didn't know whether this stillness was a blessing or a curse.

As Jiang Ming listened, he tapped his fingertips on the edge of the table a few times, slowly and deliberately, as if untangling a ball of yarn, before finally speaking:
"This must be a stroke of luck for the pile."

His tone was calm, but not perfunctory; rather, it was as if he had already guessed it.

"The scenes you witnessed in the formation were probably too heavy and too deep. Although you tried to suppress them, the thoughts in people's hearts are the hardest to hide."

"The less you look at these things, the more they hide in your heart. The fact that you can calmly perceive them this time means that they can no longer be hidden."

"It's not a calamity, it's that your heart and soul are deeply entrenched. That sliver of blood is the shadow imprinted on the depths of your soul."

Jiang Liang listened intently, and the youthful spirit in his eyes faded somewhat. He quickly asked, "Then... will there be any harm?"

Jiang Ming simply smiled faintly, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then slowly said:

"The manifestation of the spirit and soul, regardless of whether it is beneficial or harmful, depends entirely on the human heart."

"If your heart is restless, it will waver; if your heart is calm, it will be clear."

"It's not that the bloodlust is uncontrollable, but rather that your wavering mind is what causes it to backfire."

He spoke slowly, as if he were talking about the wind outside the door, but every word he said struck a chord deep within.

There is no inherent good or bad in this world. Good and bad are determined at the moment a thought arises.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Liang finally breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes crinkling with laughter, and he couldn't help but exclaim:

"Big brother is really amazing, he even understands such a principle."

Jiang Ming didn't accept the compliment, but just smiled, his tone slightly teasing:
"It's all in the book. If you actually read it, you'll probably find it even more complete than I can tell you."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Jiang Yi, listening nearby, subtly twitched his eyebrows.

He knew that his eldest son was always steady and reliable; he would say one thing but mean nine things.

These principles may be found in books, but to explain them so clearly and thoroughly is something that cannot be taught in just a few books.

But he didn't point it out. He just lowered his head and took a sip of tea. The steam carrying the aroma of the tea dispelled the slight chill in his heart.

(End of this chapter)