Strange Stories

Chapter 521 Fate and Change
"Yuanqiu Mountain..."

Lin Jue found the records about this ancient fairy mountain in the Sutra Library of Fuqiu Temple and was reading it.

The book does not mention that Yuanqiu Mountain was once the dojo of the Shang Shang Tianweng, and perhaps this is not something that everyone knows.

The book records that there is an immortal tree on Mount Yuanqiu, which can make people live long if they eat it, and a red spring, which can make people never old if they drink it. There are also many giant snakes and rare and exotic animals, so ordinary people cannot live there. It is also recorded that Mount Yuanqiu disappeared in the previous dynasty and no one knew where it went.

When Lin Jue and Luo Gong first met on the roadside, he heard Luo Gong say that there was a mountain that moved silently from somewhere in the southwest to Huizhou, and he wanted to go and see it.

So he had some guesses in his mind.

The so-called Yuanqiu Mountain hidden in the world may not have flown to the sky or overseas, but just left its original place and came to a relatively remote place in the southwest, making it difficult to find it. It may also be hidden with the help of the appearance of a mountain in the southwest, because according to ancient records and the refutation of predecessors, there are many magical trees and rare birds and animals in this mountain. If it appeared in the world, it is unlikely to be treated as an ordinary mountain by local people.

Later, at the end of the previous dynasty, just before Lin Jue left home to seek the truth, the mountain moved from the southwest to Huizhou, which was consistent with the signs of the dynasty's demise recorded in ancient books.

At this moment it is still in Huizhou, several hundred miles away from here.

But you definitely won’t be able to see the fairy tree and the phoenix if you go to that mountain. If you could see them on that mountain, people would have spread the news long ago.

While I was thinking about it, the eldest senior brother happened to come over.

Lin Jue looked up and asked, "Brother, do you know the mountain that is said to have flown from the southwest to Huizhou?"

"Fei Lai Shan?" The eldest brother was holding a bowl of wheat bran, about to feed the chickens, "What's wrong?"

"Have you been there, brother?"

"I haven't been there. But at that time, the story was widely spread in Huizhou, and many people who lived nearby went to see it." The eldest brother said, "We went to participate in the Qiyun Mountain Grand Ceremony, and originally wanted to take a detour to see it, but heard that there was nothing to see, so we didn't go. But Master passed by on his way back from visiting a friend and went to see it."

"Nothing to see?"

"There's nothing to see. Master said so too. It looks like an ordinary mountain. I don't know how it was moved here." The eldest brother said, "Once we heard that, we decided not to go there anymore."

This was exactly what Lin Jue had thought.

The eldest brother sprinkled a handful of bran, grumbled a few times, and asked again: "What's wrong?"

"That mountain may be the legendary Yuanqiu Mountain."

"Yuanqiu Mountain? Immortal Tree? Yuanqiu Fruit?"

"Senior brother knows that too!"

"I read it in a book." The eldest brother pointed at the book in his hand and said honestly, "What happened to Yuanqiu Mountain?"

"It is said that there is a Yuanqiu fruit in Yuanqiu Mountain. Eating it can extend one's life by a hundred years. Aren't you curious, brother?"

"Of course I was curious, but there are so many rumors like this in the world, including the peaches of Queen Mother of the West at Kunlun Mountain. What's the point of being curious? Can I steal them?"

“Aren’t there many stories like this in the world?”

"Most of them are fabricated. If they are true, it is fate, which can be encountered but not sought."

"rational."

Lin Jue nodded and said bluntly: "But if that mountain is really the transformation of the legendary Yuanqiu Mountain, I really want to go and take a look."

"How did you know?"

"I asked Senior Refute, and he told me about it." Lin Jue said, "It is said that there is a phoenix in there."

"So it's for Feng Yu..."

The eldest brother frowned, as if thinking about something.

He held the bran in his hand and thought for a long time. The chickens in the yard also looked up at him for a long time. Then he spilled it and said:
"If that's the case, I remember that about ten years ago, when I went to the foot of the mountain to exorcise demons, I vaguely heard people telling stories similar to the Peach Blossom Spring."

"Tell me."

"There was a man who went to Feilai Mountain because of its reputation. He missed the boat on the way and was robbed by the boatman and the pirates. Perhaps the man had some sword skills and martial arts, so he escaped and drifted down the river. It was already midnight when he arrived at Feilai Mountain. Suddenly he heard the sound of water and saw a waterfall rushing down the mountain. He had never been there and didn't know if there was a waterfall in Feilai Mountain. He thought that Feilai Mountain looked like this, so he paddled into the mountain stream and wanted to go under the waterfall to wash off the blood. As a result, he mistakenly entered a fantasy land. There was a huge snake that wanted to eat him. He was scared and paddled out quickly.

"When he woke up from his sleep on the boat during the day, he found that there was only an ordinary mountain in front of him. There was no waterfall on the mountain, and there was no stream connected to the river. He told others about this incident, and they all said that he was scared and had a nightmare at night.

“But there are many strange stories about Feilai Mountain.

“Because Feilai Mountain is bizarre in itself, it really did come from somewhere else, and many people who come to see it also have a heart that pursues bizarre things. Some people are superstitious by nature, and it is common for some people to have hallucinations because of this heart. Some people find out after coming here that it is just an ordinary mountain, and in order to increase their capital for showing off and bragging, they fabricate that they have seen bizarre things here.

“This is all very common.”

The eldest brother was telling the story while feeding the chickens.

The fox was playful and chased the chicken in the yard, making it difficult for the family to even eat a meal. Lin Jue nodded repeatedly, "It's just like the people down the mountain who search for immortals, foxes, and dragons. When they can't find them, they exaggerate other slightly strange things and call them immortals, foxes, and dragons, or simply make them up so that they can brag about them to their friends and family when they go back?"

"Junior brother knows more than me!"

It was still the same courtyard, still under the same ancient pine tree, even the clouded leopard lying on the pine branches was still there. The Taoist sat under the tree, just as he had done before, chatting with his senior brother in the quiet Taoist temple.

"But in your opinion, how true is this story?"

"Hard to say."

"There are many stories like this in the world. Are they all false?"

"That's not necessarily true."

"Why do we always have such stories?" Lin Jue asked. "For example, in my hometown Shu Village, there was a third aunt who came to Yishan from afar, picked the fairy fruit and took it back. After eating it, she became a fairy. In the human world below the mountain, there are always people who accidentally enter the holy land of the fairy mountain and take the fairy fruit back. For example, in the Tianshan Mountains in the Western Regions, there are also people who accidentally break into the Tianshan Snow Lotus Society and get something magical. Another example is this Feilai Peak."

"In my opinion, most of the time, it's because ordinary people in the world yearn for this kind of thing, so they like to make up and spread this kind of story."

The eldest brother frowned and thought, looking honest, but in fact, what he was thinking was very profound:
"The other two or three out of ten are true. If you look into it, probably whether it's worldly affairs, heavenly laws, or immortals, nothing is perfect and integrated. There are always omissions, or there is always a deliberate secret, and there is always fate and possibility. Therefore, if someone really has the opportunity, or if all aspects are compatible with the immortal mountain and the immortals in the mountain, it is really possible for them to enter the immortal mountain in a mortal body and take away the immortal fruit. Whether it is luck or the immortals' tacit approval, it is hard to say."

The eldest brother paused and looked at Lin Jue:

"Junior brother is now an immortal. You should know what an immortal thinks better than I do."

Lin Jue nodded and hummed.

Immortals are immortals. Immortals are immortals, but they are also human beings.

When people meet immortals on the roadside, the immortals are probably very friendly. People feel that they have a destiny to meet the immortals, and the immortals will also feel that they have a destiny to meet you.

Immortals can also feel lonely, willing to make friends, and feel the fun of fate.

Just like the gods on Mount Tianshan, they hold a snow lotus meeting and invite virtuous spirits and monsters. But if a mortal gets there by chance or courage, they will treat you as a guest. If this person happens to be honest, kind and sincere, and is in line with their wishes, they will also treat you as a VIP and give you snow lotus.

It’s like Lin Jue’s dojo.

Although it is deep in the mountains and covered by clouds and fog, it is not impossible for someone to enter here.

If someone accidentally walked in and saw him, since he was a guest, Lin Jue would certainly not drive him away at will. If this guest happened to be honest, witty and talkative, or brought him fun when he was lonely and bored in meditation, he would not mind letting him pick a fruit from the top of the mountain and take it away.

Perhaps this is why there are so many similar rumors in the world.

So if Feilai Mountain is really Yuanqiu Mountain, there is most likely a "road" leading into it.

It could be a certain time, it could be some kind of coincidence.

Maybe it really is a certain road.

It may not be fixed, it just depends on chance.

Lin Jue was not in a hurry, because his junior sister had not yet collected all the other materials, which might take a few years, and he had already achieved enlightenment, so he had plenty of time.

Moreover, today's inquiry and rebuttal to the senior was just a thought. Taoist Jiang in heaven had also promised them to help them find the whereabouts of the phoenix. Perhaps she would bring a simpler answer.

At this time, the eldest brother sprinkled the bran and said:

"Junior brother, do you know? Taoist Wangji has passed away."

"Hmm?" Lin Jue immediately shifted his thoughts away from Yuanqiu Mountain, Yuanqiu Fruit, and Feng Yu, "When did it happen?"

"It happened last year." The eldest brother said, "Last summer, Taoist Wangjizi came to our place. I thought he had something to do, but he just said that this mountain road had been repaired for so many years, but he only came here once to see the snow scene, and now he wants to go again.

“Oh yes, he also praised Junior Sister for building this road well.

"I felt something was wrong at the time, but I saw that he looked good. Plus, Xianyuan Temple was in a mess last year, with many Taoist seniors arguing. During the last years of the previous dynasty, when the world was in turmoil, many Xianyuan Temple disciples went down the mountain to exorcise demons. While exorcising demons in Huizhou, they gradually gained a reputation and were invited by the King of Yue. Now the King of Yue is almost doomed to fail, and they have been discussing whether to call those disciples back to the mountains to practice in seclusion or let them go down the mountain to find their own fortune. Alas, I thought Taoist Master Wangjizi just didn't want to listen to their arguments and came here to find some peace and quiet.

“As a result, the next day, Xianyuan Temple came to invite us, saying that Taoist Wangjizi was sitting in the temple, stroking the deer and leaving.

"At that time, Taoist Master Wangjizi instructed that he would leave in peace and not disturb the descendants, so he did not even recall the disciples who had left the mountain. Until this year, some people have received the news and rushed back."

Lin Jue sat still and listened quietly.

I don't know when my junior sister was standing at the door behind me. It was obvious that she had heard about it when she came back last night and was not too surprised.

That’s right——

The Taoist temple is still the same Taoist temple, the appearance of the courtyard has not changed, and the ancient pines are still tall and straight. It may have been like this hundreds of years ago, and it is still like this today. However, the people coming and going in the courtyard are what have changed.

(End of this chapter)