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

Just looking at the circumference of the tree roots, it must be at least seven or eight zhang (approximately 33-40 meters).

It truly is a towering tree.

The wall is also mysterious; from outside the wall, only the treetops can be seen, completely obscuring the more than a thousand-foot-tall tree.

Ji Sheng looked closely and finally saw several baby-shaped fruits under a few banana-leaf-like leaves.

When the wind blows, the fruit sways in the breeze, and in a way, it really does resemble a lively baby.

No wonder the Tang Monk dared not eat it; anyone who saw it for the first time would probably mistake it for a premature baby.

I counted them under the tree, and there were 29 left in total.

If I remember correctly, when the four pilgrims arrived at Wuzhuang Temple, there were still twenty-eight ginseng fruits left on the ginseng fruit tree. Now, who knows who ate the extra one?

In a corner of the garden, there was a small house. Ji Sheng found the Taoist priest guarding the ginseng fruit garden inside.

The Taoist priest glanced at Ji Sheng, clearly puzzled as to why he would have Ji Sheng take his place guarding the garden.

However, since it was Zhen Yuanzi's order, the other party dared not disobey, packed up their things, and left.

There wasn't much work to do in the courtyard, so Ji Sheng took advantage of the abundant spiritual energy to meditate, which was quite leisurely and comfortable.

The next morning, Qingfeng and Mingyue arrived at the garden, limping.

Clearly, those three lashes yesterday caused considerable damage to their buttocks.

Ji Sheng stepped forward and greeted the two men, learning that Zhen Yuanzi had specially sent them to count the ginseng fruits.

The two stood under the tree, counting on their fingers for a long time, and finally counted twenty-eight ginseng fruits.

Ji Sheng felt something was off and was about to remind him when he saw Qingfeng winking at him repeatedly.

Looking at Mingyue, the other party also had a "you know what I mean" look on their face.

No, what are these two going to do?

Ji Sheng's heart skipped a beat. Were they planning to secretly pick a ginseng fruit for him?

"Ahem, we've already confirmed it, there are twenty-eight ginseng fruits. We'll come back tomorrow to count them again. Fellow Daoist Ji, you must keep a close eye on the ginseng fruit tree. If any are missing, you'll be in trouble."

After they finished speaking, the two of them limped away again.

After seeing the two off, Ji Sheng returned to the tree and counted them carefully again, finding that there were exactly twenty-nine, not one more and not one less.

There's definitely something fishy about the two of them.

So what exactly happened?

The two of them would never dare to deliberately leave out a few people so that they could steal from them.

So it's obvious that there's only one person behind them who would dare to do this: the one who is in harmony with the world—the Great Immortal Zhen Yuanzi.

Is this guy giving away ginseng fruit for free?

Ji Sheng thought for a moment, shook his head, and went back into the house.

The next day, the two returned to count the fruit. They found that not a single fruit was missing from the tree, and counted out another twenty-eight.

This time, their hints were even more obvious than yesterday's; they were practically telling Ji Sheng directly to hurry up and pick the fruit.

Ji Sheng remained unmoved, but confirmed that there was indeed more to the story.

The two returned on the third day and saw that the ginseng fruit was still intact. This time, Qingfeng finally couldn't hold back and asked:

"Fellow Daoist Ji, could you count how many ginseng fruits are left?"

Ji Sheng smiled and said:

"What exactly do you two mean? Please speak plainly."

Seeing this, Mingyue pulled Ji Sheng aside and whispered:

"Fellow Daoist Ji, haven't you noticed that we've deliberately shortchanged ourselves by one these past two days?"

Ji Shengdao:

"That's why I'm asking you two, what are you going to do?"

Qingfeng stamped his foot in frustration:

"Don't you understand? We're deliberately giving you a chance to reap the rewards!"

Ji Sheng said:

"This ginseng fruit is a treasure of heaven and earth. Are you two just going to let me pick it like this? If it causes trouble for you, it won't just be a matter of three lashes."

As he spoke, he deliberately glanced at their buttocks.

Their buttocks had only just recovered from their pain today, and upon hearing this, they both instinctively covered them. After hesitating for a long time, Mingyue finally said:

"Fellow Daoist Ji, you may not know this, but this was permitted by my master. It's alright if you take it."

really.

Ji Sheng confirmed his guess, but several bigger questions arose in his mind.

"Then why did the Great Immortal Zhen Yuanzi give me the ginseng fruit? If he was going to give it to me, why didn't he just bestow it upon me directly instead of making me pick it secretly?"

The two looked at each other, and finally Qingfeng spoke:

"We don't know why we gave it to you. But we do know why we asked you to steal the ginseng fruit."

Mingyue picked up the conversation:

"Although the ginseng fruit tree grows in Wuzhuang Temple, the number of fruits it bears is limited, and all the gods in the Three Realms covet it. Therefore, even my master cannot give it away casually."

It's not that I'm afraid of those gods, but if I were to give it to you for free, other people would inevitably come asking for it too. Then, out of consideration for face, it would be difficult for my master to handle the situation.

That's why they deliberately left us two out of the way. You take it secretly and don't tell anyone. Even if others find out, you can say you stole it, do you understand?

Ji Sheng suddenly realized. So that's how it works.

Looking at the ginseng fruits swaying in the wind on the ginseng fruit tree, the little fruits seemed to be waving at him, waiting for Ji Sheng to eat them.

"If that's the case, wouldn't I become enemies with your Wuzhuang Temple? How will we ever see each other again?"

If Zhen Yuanzi were to turn his back on him after he picked the fruit, and then hide him in his sleeve and take him back to the temple to be whipped dozens of times, he wouldn't be able to withstand it.

After all, he's not Sun Wukong; he doesn't have such supernatural transformation abilities.

Qingfeng said:

"Don't worry, it's just acting, it won't do anything to you."

Ji Sheng pondered for a moment, then nodded:

"Okay, I understand."

Upon hearing this, both of them were overjoyed, and Mingyue then added her instructions:

"Remember this: this fruit will fall when it encounters gold, wither when it encounters wood, dissolve when it encounters water, scorch when it encounters fire, and sink into the earth when it encounters soil. You must knock it down with a gold tool and catch it with a silk handkerchief."

After seeing the two off, Ji Sheng came to the fruit tree and stared at the fruit for a long time.

Another day passed, and when Qingfeng and Mingyue returned to the ginseng fruit garden, they found that Ji Sheng was nowhere to be found.

They quickly counted the fruit on the tree and both breathed a sigh of relief.

This time, there were finally only twenty-eight fruits left. A genuine twenty-eight.

Worried that Ji Sheng hadn't gone far, the two waited another hour before hurriedly reporting to Zhen Yuanzi that Ji Sheng had stolen the ginseng fruit.

The Great Immortal Zhen Yuanzi followed the two into the garden, glanced at the fruit trees, and then laughed:

"You two have been fooled by him!"

The two remained puzzled. Then they saw Zhen Yuanzi gently blow a breath towards the tree.

The next moment, a ginseng fruit the size of a baby appeared under a previously empty patch of leaves.

The two were dumbfounded:

"What...what does this mean?"

Zhen Yuanzi said to a corner of the garden:

"Stop hiding, come out!"