Journey to the West: The Great Sage's Guide

Chapter 1, Part 1: The Tai Xuan Jing, Notes My Birth Year

The winter wind, carrying snowflakes, swept into the side rooms of the Taoist temple on the mountaintop.

Inside the room was a Taoist priest and his three disciples.

The centenarian Taoist priest had a thin face and gentle eyes.

"I have loved the Dao since childhood, and after a hundred years of cultivation, I have compiled a classic text and a canon, and my foundation in the Dao is now established..."

"But this world lacks the foundation to support the profound mysteries of the Dao."

Zhong Xuan sighed, his withered hand pressing a fingerprint onto the vine beside him:

"My heart is boundless, but my body is finite."

"Today, I must leave with unfinished regrets."

"You must not forget to inherit the Tai Xuan Dao lineage..."

As the voice grew heavier, the three disciples knelt down with a thud, choking back sobs.

There was a book on each side of the old Taoist priest.

The first is the *Tai Xuan Jing*.

The first is: *Hong Zhong Dian*

The wind swirled snowflakes through the window cracks, rustling the pages of the book.

The foot of the mountain was now completely blocked off, with black cars lined up for miles along the national highway, their license plates representing all corners of the country. Top figures from various sectors gazed respectfully towards the mountaintop, a profound sadness welling up within them. It was as if this place had lost something extremely important.

……

In the blink of an eye.

Xiniu Hezhou, a mountain village.

A baby's cry pierced the snowy night, then quickly ceased.

The baby opened its eyes, its gaze clear and calm, unlike that of a newborn.

Fifteen years passed in the blink of an eye, and Zhong Xuan quietly improved his family's situation and showed kindness to his older siblings.

Until he reached the age of learning, the entire Analects came to mind, and all his innate wisdom was awakened.

In his previous life, he was of ordinary talent, but he was persistent.

In this life, I have arrived in the world of Journey to the West from my memories, and I can finally realize my ambitions.

He intends to prove his Tai Xuan Dao lineage in this world.

On that very day, he bid farewell to his parents.

"Father, Mother, I am going to seek immortality, and I may never return."

Zhong Xuan stood at his doorstep and calmly took his leave.

Family and neighbors were all surprised.

"This guy's gone mad with desire to become an immortal!"

"The world is in chaos now, demons are rampant, going alone is tantamount to suicide!"

Zhong Xuan listened quietly, bowed deeply, and expressed his gratitude for this gift.

Parents, family, neighbors, relatives... all sorts of people, with different words,

Like flowing water passing through the heart, leaving a temporary trace, it will eventually dissipate.

It's as if I lived a hundred years in a previous life, leaving only the Tai Xuan Scripture.

"Third brother, stop fooling around!"

The elder brother reached out to grab it, but Zhong Xuan gently brushed it away with a flick of his sleeve.

With a single burst of force, he sent his elder brother, who was as fierce as a bull, staggering backward, a sight that defied belief.

Inside and outside the courtyard, there was an instant silence.

Everyone stared at the young man as if he were a stranger.

Zhong Xuan smiled, then gently tucked his sleeves in, his gaze warm and clear.

He turned and left, singing loudly:

"Ten years of kindness under the eaves, it is both the Way and the Hidden..."

"The dust settles in the grinding realm as I head east, seeking immortality from the spiritual altar..."

With his sleeves fluttering, he stepped out of the courtyard gate.

After walking more than a hundred steps, I took one last look back at my old house with its blue-tiled roof.

It is the second tallest roof in the village.

It also marks the end of the karmic bond of raising children.

He turned around and looked up towards the west.

There is a mountain there called Lingtai Fangcun Mountain.

There is a cave in the mountains called the Slanting Moon and Three Stars Cave.

"If the mountain will not come to me, then I will go to the mountain."

Zhong Xuan chuckled and stepped forward.

If you were not understood by your family, parents, and friends in your past life, you will be the same in this life.

It's not surprising anymore; after all, finding a true friend in life is the hardest thing.

……

Half a day later, on the loess path.

The boy carried a bag on his back and walked alone, his steps light and quick.

The bag contained dry food, a water bag, a few taels of silver, and a wood-chopping knife.

Ahead, the mountains rise and fall, and deep in the clouds and mist, the outline of a beautiful peak can be vaguely seen.

That's the direction of Lingtai Mountain.

Humans today are but mortals, devoid of supernatural powers and abilities.

The only way is to first go to the Lingtai Immortal Mountain and seek a wisp of Dharma protection for the Dao.

Zhong Xuan looked again at the drop of blood on the wood-chopping knife.

Getting rid of those few highway robbers didn't take much effort.

The Hongzhong Canon, written in a previous life, contains a major section on the fundamentals of health preservation and Taoist practice.

Seeking the Way also requires protecting it; this applies to both past and present lives.

Before Su Hui fully awakened, he had secretly honed his skills to the level of a mortal martial arts master.

However, he was still a mortal, no match for demons and rogue cultivators.

……

Before sunset, Zhong Xuan finally saw the outline of a small town on the plains.

The town's entrance archway is weathered and bears the three characters: Qingshi Town.

As soon as he entered the town, he heard a commotion coming from the east.

Following the sound, I saw five or six vendors gathered in a circle, with a monkey squatting in the middle.

It was about the height of an average person, wearing an ill-fitting brown leather coat, a tattered felt hat, a hairy face with a thunder god's mouth, and darting eyes. It was also clutching half a roast chicken in its hand.

The vendors were shouting and cursing.

"You impudent monkey! You stole my roast chicken again!"

"That beast has been stealing for three days straight!"

"Grab it and skin it alive!"

But none of them dared to step forward.

Although the monkey was squatting, its claws were sharp, and its eyes revealed both cleverness and wildness.

Instead of running away, it bared its teeth and uttered broken human language, shouting angrily and arrogantly, "Hungry...hungry! Give it...and I'll give it back!"

His speech was unclear, as if he were imitating someone else's speech.

Zhong Xuan's eyes lit up; it was the first time he had ever seen a monkey that could actually speak human language.

Is this considered a spirit or monster? Can it be called a monkey spirit?

Thinking of this, he curiously strode forward.

"Gentlemen."

Zhong Xuan spoke in a loud voice, immediately attracting everyone's attention.

The monkey turned its head to look, its eyes lighting up.

The monkey's eyes stared at the young man's gentle yet weathered gaze, as if it had seen something.

It scratched its head and cheeks, and exclaimed in surprise.

Among the vendors, a fat butcher glared and shouted, "Hey kid, what's up?"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Xuan stepped forward and bowed to the vendors.

"Gentlemen, I am willing to make compensation on behalf of this monkey for what it did."

Upon hearing this, the vendors looked at each other in bewilderment.

The fat butcher brandished his cleaver: "Mind your own business! This monkey broke Wang Laowu's scales yesterday; we're going to teach it a lesson today!"

A young fruit vendor, however, was skeptical: "Brother Monkey? You know him? Putting aside your relationship with it, how can a teenager like you meddle in this kind of business?"

Zhong Xuan had already taken out a tael of silver from his bag.

These are the belongings left behind by a few petty highway robbers, and they should be returned to the world.

The shimmering silver pieces glittered in the setting sun, dazzling the eyes.

"Is that enough?" Zhong Xuan asked gently.

The vendors' eyes lit up.

The fat butcher reached out to take it, saying, "That's enough! That's enough!"

The monkey suddenly jumped up, scratching its ears and cheeks, and waving its hands frantically.

It even tried to grab Zhong Xuan's hand to stop this behavior.

"No...that's not right! That's not right!"

It pointed at the roast chicken, then at its own stomach, and stammered, "Hungry...hungry, so...take it! You...you're wrong!"

It seemed as if it was saying: There's no right or wrong about Zhong Xuan paying for it.

Zhong Xuan looked at its serious expression and suddenly laughed.

He teased, "Yes, yes."

He then turned to the vendors, pointed at the monkey, and said loudly:

"Brother Monkey says it's wrong, but I say it's right."

"Gentlemen, who is willing to explain the reasoning behind this?"

"If it makes me feel right, and Brother Monkey also feels right."

"Then, this is a rare and valuable truth."

"The one or two taels of silver I have in my hand naturally belongs to him."

Zhong Xuan paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"However, if you cannot persuade me and Brother Monkey, I will only compensate for the actual losses, not a penny more." He finished speaking with a smile, making the terms clear.

Everyone found it quite novel and interesting.

Upon closer inspection of the young man, they were even more astonished, exclaiming in their hearts that he was an extraordinary person!

I only felt:

The boy's eyes were warm and bright, yet seemed to hold the weight of life's experiences.

His gaze was as calm as a mirror, reflecting the thoughts of everyone who looked at him, making them crystal clear.

Apart from that, his other features are vague; I only vaguely remember that he was a carefree young man.