Becoming a god starting from the weasel

Hearing the noise outside the door, Chen Yang stood up and went to the door to check.

Pushing open the gate, Chen Yang was slightly taken aback. He saw Black Hair leading almost all the macaques in the valley, waiting outside the gate.

Each monkey had a bamboo basket on its head, and the fresh fruit in the basket was still damp from the early morning, clearly indicating that it had just been picked that morning.

Looking at Blackie's honest and respectful appearance, Chen Yang couldn't help but chuckle: "Blackie, what brings you here?"

Black Hair quickly stepped forward, speaking respectfully: "Yesterday, Your Majesty entered the valley in a hurry and was unable to fully enjoy the sights."

"King Hei Mao still has regrets in his heart, so today I have led the entire valley of monkeys to pay my respects to the king."

As soon as he finished speaking, the monkeys behind him chattered and jumped around, but they steadily protected the fruit basket above their heads, and not a single fruit fell.

Chen Yang gently shook his head and spoke softly, "You're quite thoughtful."

"Our fate is deep, so there is no need to call me Your Majesty anymore. My name is Chen Yang, and I am the master of this temple. You may call me Master Chen."

Black Hair was unwilling and still wanted to keep the old title, but when he met Chen Yang's gaze, he could only suppress his thoughts, put down the fruit basket, and bowed like a human: "Greetings, Abbot Chen."

Seeing that Hei Mao had changed his tune, Chen Yang nodded and smiled, taking the fruit basket: "You must have had a hard journey coming here early in the morning with your heavy load. It would be good for you to rest here, and I can treat you to a meal."

A hint of longing flashed in Black Hair's eyes, but he still shook his head and refused, then explained, "Master, you are unaware that the snow falls on the mountain earlier than it does at the foot of the mountain."

"We need to hide the fresh fruit in tree holes and rock crevices before the cold winter, so that we can brew monkey wine when the spring comes next year."

When the topic of fine wine came up, Black Hair smacked his lips unconsciously, then raised his hand to signal to the monkey troop behind him.

A half-grown macaque came running quickly, carrying a sealed bamboo tube. The opening of the tube was sealed with broad leaves, and not a trace of the aroma of wine escaped.

Black Hair tore off the leaves, and a rich and lingering aroma of mixed fruit wine spread out, which was the treasured Monkey Wine.

Black Hair held up the bamboo tube and said somewhat hastily, "Master, this is the only tube left of the blended wine from last year and the newly brewed fruit wine."

"I hope Abbot Chen will accept this."

Chen Yang took the bamboo tube and sniffed it lightly. The aged wine was mellow and smooth, with the new wine sweet and refreshing. The aroma of the wine was even more mellow than before.

Chen Yang had been thinking about the monkey wine since yesterday, and now that his wish had come true, he was naturally happy. After pondering for a moment, Chen Yang said:

"You are so sincere, I will naturally not treat you unfairly."

  

As soon as he finished speaking, while Black Hair was still confused, Chen Yang raised his hand and gently tapped Black Hair's head three times. Then his expression turned cold, and he pretended to be indifferent.

"Since we still have things to do back home, let's leave now."

After saying that, Chen Yang closed the Taoist temple gate with his hands behind his back, leaving the bewildered Black Hair alone outside.

Black Hair scratched the spot where he had been hit, completely bewildered. He could sense that the King's actions might have a deeper meaning, but he could never quite grasp the mystery behind them.

"How strange, how strange..."

Seeing this, the monkeys behind him put down their fruit baskets and gathered around, wanting to check if their king was injured. But Black Fur waved his hand, unable to understand, and could only suppress his doubts.

"I am fine; it is probably Your Majesty who is in a bad mood."

"Pile the fruit baskets neatly in front of the door, and we'll head back to Monkey Valley immediately."

Then, the monkeys orderly stacked the bamboo baskets outside the gate. Once everything was in place, Black Hair bowed to the closed gate.

"Abbot, we shall take our leave now."

Soon, a chorus of monkey calls echoed through the forest. Led by Black Hair, the monkeys leaped into the branches of the forest and disappeared into the depths of the dense woods in an instant.

After the monkey troop had completely gone far away, Chen Yang opened the door again, looked at the mountain of fruit baskets piled up in front of him, and then said.

"Black Hair, whether you can grasp the mystery depends entirely on your own comprehension."

Chen Yang gazed in the direction the monkey troop had gone, pondering to himself, and thought to himself, "This is what I'm thinking."

On a whim, Chen Yang decided to imitate the story of Bodhi Patriarch knocking on Wukong's head three times to transmit the Dharma. The three knocks on the head were meant to indicate that it was midnight, and the closed door meant that Hei Mao would have to see him through the back door.

If Black Hair can decipher this riddle and quietly come at night, Chen Yang can grant him a chance to cultivate, helping this rather human-like macaque embark on the path of cultivation.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Chen Yang turned to look at Niu Shan, who was still standing there dumbfounded, and asked with a smile.

"The scene was quite noisy just now, Niu Shan, were you startled?"

Niu Shan snapped back to reality upon hearing Chen Yang's question, forcibly suppressing the shock surging in his heart, and barely managed to bow and reply.

"I was not frightened..."

"I am truly amazed by the great immortal's incredible powers! To be able to command the monkeys to submit, and to witness the great immortal's deeds today, is already an immense honor!"

Niu Shan raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, his chest still rising and falling slightly. He had just witnessed the monkey troop obeying the great immortal, and the impact of this was extremely strong.

That's why Niu Shan couldn't calm down for a long time. When had he, a commoner from the mountains, ever seen such a situation?

Chen Yang didn't explain, but simply instructed, "This is a common matter, but there's one thing I need your help with: move all these fruit baskets into the yard."

Upon hearing this, Niu Shan immediately responded and quickly stepped forward to move the fruit baskets, soon arranging all the fresh fruit outside the door.

Looking at the fruit baskets filling the yard, Chen Yang felt a sense of relief. It was quite a coincidence that day; if Niu Shan hadn't come to visit, it would have taken him a lot of effort to carry them all by himself.

Then Chen Yang took two bamboo cups for guests, filled them with monkey wine, and handed one cup to Niu Shan: "I am grateful for your help today. Please taste it."

Upon hearing this, Niu Shan's throat moved slightly, and his mouth became a little watery.

Niu Shan lived a life of poverty and rarely drank alcohol. The only time he ever drank was when he was working for the landlord Huang. The landlord's son passed the imperial examination and was rewarded with a sip of spicy, cloudy wine. The wine was quite murky and not very palatable.

In Niu Shan's eyes, the wine that the immortal drank must be a rare celestial brew, definitely a hundred or a thousand times better than that turbid wine.

Niu Shan took the bamboo cup with both hands, took a small sip, and the sweet fruity aroma instantly filled his mouth. The wine was warm and mellow, without any of the harshness or spiciness of cloudy wine. The taste was superb!

After finishing the cup, Niu Shan still had a look of lingering enjoyment on his face, and his gaze unconsciously fell on the bamboo tube.

Chen Yang raised the corners of his mouth slightly and was about to pour wine for Niu Shan, but Niu Shan swallowed his saliva and waved his hand. Then Niu Shan wiped the corners of his mouth and spoke respectfully.

"Thank you for your generous gift, Great Immortal!"

"This must be the Monkey Bar that's been passed down in the mountains?"

Then Niu Shan smacked his lips and reminisced, "The old woodcutter in the village often says that the monkeys in the mountains hide fruit in tree holes and cliffs and brew their own fruit wine. After tasting it today, I can confirm that it lives up to its reputation."

Chen Yang took a sip from his cup, smiled and shook his head, his tone calm: "But wine made from naturally fermented wild fruits in the mountains isn't that mysterious. It just tastes a bit better."

Niu Shan scratched his head and chuckled, quietly watching Chen Yang, who was sipping wine with his eyes closed and exuding an otherworldly and serene air, and his respect for him grew even stronger.

The immortal was not only incredibly powerful, but also gentle and kind-hearted; even the true immortals in heaven were no better than him.

After a moment, Niu Shan suddenly remembered something and took the initiative to speak.

"Great Immortal, a few days ago I went to work at the landlord's mansion in Huangjia Village and saw the red fox that had been left at the temple."

"This year, Huangjia Village suffered a severe drought, and the fields were cracked and there was no harvest. It was the Great Immortal who sent out the Red Fox to use the farming magic bestowed by the Great Immortal to save hundreds of households in the village."

Speaking of this, Niu Shan was filled with admiration. The immortal had gone so far as to send a fox spirit to protect Huangjia Village and save the lives of hundreds of families. This was already an act of great benevolence from the immortal.

Chen Yang was slightly surprised to hear this. He thought that Red Fox would stay in Black Wind Mountain to cultivate, but he did not expect that Red Fox would go down the mountain alone again and now settle in a human village.

However, Chen Yang's expression remained unchanged, and he asked in a calm tone, "That red fox is unruly by nature. Tell me in detail what its situation is like in the village now."