Journey to the West: Starting by becoming an apprentice of Emperor Donghua

Looking outside, sure enough, two young Taoist boys dressed as disciples were walking along the street, their eyes constantly scanning the food stalls along the roadside.

"Shopkeeper, how much is this osmanthus cake?"

Qingfeng chewed on a candied hawthorn while keeping his eyes glued to the osmanthus cake on the stall.

"Young man, you have a good eye! My osmanthus cake is so fragrant, one bite and your mouth is filled with its aroma. It's only five coins a piece!"

Qingfeng Chaomingyue waved his hand:

"Junior brother, pay!"

Mingyue counted the copper coins in her hand, looking troubled.

"Senior brother, let's stop eating! We only have a few dozen coins left. If we eat any more, we won't even have money for a hotel tonight..."

Qingfeng said:

"It's alright. Isn't it normal for us cultivators to eat and sleep outdoors? We can just make do in the wilderness tonight. By the way, do you seem to have any secret savings that you don't hide?"

Mingyue immediately became alert:

"Who said that? I didn't! Let's go!"

Just as Qingfeng was about to leave with regret, a voice came from the side:

"Would you two like some osmanthus cake? Shop owner, give them one each, it's on me."

The two were taken aback and looked to their side, where they saw a handsome and dashing young man in a Taoist robe standing beside them.

Ji Shengchao smiled at the two of them:

"Gentlemen, this osmanthus cake is a local specialty. If you don't try it, you've wasted your trip to the city."

Qingfeng was overjoyed when he saw the pastries handed to him by the shopkeeper:

"Thank you, fellow Daoist!"

On the other side, Mingyue had some doubts:

"Who are you? We don't seem to know each other."

Ji Sheng smiled and said:

"Why must we have known each other before? We are both Taoist priests of the Quanzhen School. Since you call me a fellow Taoist, what harm is there in offering you two pieces of osmanthus cake? Besides, I just heard you two say that you are going to subdue demons?"

The two exchanged a glance, and Qingfeng nodded, saying:

"That's right. Recently, an evil spirit has appeared in Yushan Village to the south, and Master has asked us to go down the mountain to catch it."

Ji Sheng smiled and said:

"I've always been curious about ghosts and monsters. Would you two be willing to take me along to see what's going on?"

The two turned their backs to each other, whispered to each other for a moment, and then Qingfeng turned around and said:

"Since you treated us to osmanthus cake, I'll let you in. Do you know any magic?"

Ji Sheng smiled and said:

"I know a little bit about it."

The breeze nodded:

"That would be perfect. Even if you don't know how, don't worry. We are both highly skilled in magic, and we can easily catch this little devil. You just need to hide in the back."

Seeing their confident expressions, Ji Sheng cupped his hands in greeting:

"In that case, thank you both very much. Is there anything else you'd like to eat? I'll cover all the expenses for the journey."

Both of them were overjoyed upon hearing this. Qingfeng, in particular, was so happy that snot bubbles were practically bubbling from his nose.

"You certainly have a good eye. Here's what I'll do: I'll go back and talk to my master, and he'll ask him to take you as his disciple!"

Hearing Qingfeng's words, Ji Sheng smiled and said:

"Your masters probably don't often take on disciples, do they?"

Mingyue said:

"Of course. Since Pangu created the world, he has only taken in forty-eight disciples, and we are the two youngest."

Ji Sheng nodded and said:

"So that's how it is."

Qingfeng was worried that he might hurt Ji Sheng's feelings and that if Ji Sheng left halfway through, there would be no one to treat him, so he quickly said:

"It's alright. If he doesn't take you as his apprentice, I will. We'll learn the same things anyway, so what difference does it make if he teaches you or I teach you?"

Ji Sheng laughed heartily and praised Qingfeng a couple of times.

Qingfeng was overjoyed, and the three of them chatted and laughed as they walked out of the city.

The three were traveling when they arrived at Wuzhuang Temple.

Zhen Yuanzi had just finished reciting a chapter of scripture when he suddenly felt something. He dismissed his disciples and went outside to look east.

In the eastern sky, an old man dressed in a nine-colored robe and wearing a purple-gold crown was slowly flying over.

The old man laughed and said:

"Great Immortal Zhen Yuanzi, it's truly been a long time!"

When Zhen Yuanzi saw this man, he also burst into laughter:

"So it's Emperor Donghua. Since you were coming, why didn't you tell me in advance? You could have given me some time to prepare."

Emperor Donghua said:

"It's alright, it's alright. I've always done as I please. I just happened to be wandering around here today on a whim. Please forgive me for disturbing you!"

Emperor Donghua landed on the steps, and Zhen Yuanzi stepped forward to take his hand. The two walked into the house together.

The disciple served fragrant tea, and the two chatted while enjoying the tea.

"Master, it's been a long time! How's your chess skill these days? How about we play a game?"

Emperor Donghua suddenly made a suggestion. Zhen Yuanzi naturally agreed and ordered his disciple to bring a chessboard and pieces. The two sat cross-legged at the table, each holding black and white pieces, and began to play Go.

While the two were playing chess, Ji Sheng and Qingfeng Mingyue finally arrived at the front of Yushan Village.

Although Qingfeng and Mingyue were sent out to catch ghosts, they didn't seem to be in a hurry. The two ate as they traveled, and didn't even make it to an inn, so they had to spend the night in the wilderness.

It was already evening of the second day when we arrived here.

"Yushan Village is just ahead. This village looks pretty good; it doesn't seem like it's haunted."

Qingfeng said as he walked towards Yushan Village.

But Ji Sheng clearly had a different opinion. Just looking at it from a distance, he felt that something was wrong with the village; it was very strange.

Using the aura-gazing technique, sure enough, the village was filled with ghostly energy. If there was a ghost, it was probably a powerful one.

"Senior brother, Master said that you can't judge a book by its cover, and the same goes for villages. This village only looks peaceful on the surface; there might be evil spirits hiding inside!"

Mingyue followed behind him, saying this.

Despite saying this, he didn't seem particularly wary. The two looked left and right before entering Yushan Village.

Ji Sheng didn't know how skilled these two were, but he figured that Zhen Yuanzi's apprentices couldn't be that bad.

So without warning, I followed them into the village.

The village was quite lively, with men constantly returning from outside carrying hoes, children playing and frolicking on the road, and women washing pots and dishes to prepare dinner.

Wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys, mingling with the aroma of food and the smell of burning firewood, creating a peaceful and serene scene.

It doesn't look haunted at all.

Upon seeing the group enter the village, an elder from the village came forward to greet them and asked:

"May I ask what brings you here?"

That gentle breeze said:

"Isn't this Yushan Village? You said the village is haunted and you've hired people to exorcise the ghosts, so we're here to do just that!"

The old man was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly invited the group into the village, leading them toward a house.

"The ghost hunter is here! Everyone come out and see!"

When the villagers heard that someone had come to catch the ghost, they abandoned what they were doing and rushed out of their houses, surrounding the group in the open space in the center of the village.

"You've finally arrived! Our village has been plagued by those ghostly creatures lately, and many people have lost their lives. Taoist priest, please save us!"

When someone saw the three of them, they couldn't help but shed tears of emotion.

Seeing this, both Qingfeng and Mingyue were somewhat excited. Qingfeng patted his chest:

"Don't worry, where is that evil spirit? I'll go and take its life right now!"

The needs of the people greatly encouraged the two and boosted their confidence.

Ji Sheng stood behind the two of them, looking around with a somewhat intriguing expression on his face.

Where are the evil spirits? Aren't all the people in this village evil spirits?