The story begins with the bride marrying off her daughter, and the woman, at the age of one hundred,

After eating and drinking to our hearts' content, we took a short rest.

The Monkey King quickly packed his bags, skillfully carried Changshou on his back, and the two of them, one monkey and one human, traveled westward, chatting as they went, officially stepping into Xiniu Hezhou.

Summer breezes rise again, bringing waves of heat.

The wind caused the robes of the man and the monkey to flutter wildly.

The sun was blazing, and the ground was burning hot.

The Monkey King strode forward, his feet never stopping.

He had a thick coat of hair and dreaded summer. Ever since leaving the Water Curtain Cave of Flower and Fruit Mountain, he would be drenched in sweat every summer, his golden fur soaked through, looking like a drowned rat. But last summer and this summer, he rarely sweated, all because he was carrying Changshou on his back.

The Monkey King had a deep understanding of this.

Chang Shou also has a lot to say on this.

If the monkey is a giant furnace, then I am an icebox.

He didn't know if there were any other reasons besides the monkey having a lot of hair, but family members know their own affairs.

His body was as cold as ice, all because he had practiced the Water Control Technique and the Northern Yuan Qi Absorption Method for three years.

According to the grandson-in-law, the Dragon King of Qinghe—

Heaven and earth have positions, and there are five positions.

The path to immortality is divided into five realms and five categories. Ghost Immortals are the easiest to achieve and are the foundation of the five immortals. They are the initial Dao fruits at the beginning of the immortal path.

To prolong one's life, one must first become a ghost immortal.

Ghosts and immortals are divided into three categories:

One type is the virtuous who pass away, becoming immortals through their good deeds, and transforming into underworld messengers, either residing in the netherworld or dwelling in the underworld.

One type experiences extreme emotional ups and downs, great sorrow and joy, worry and fear, heartbreak, utter despair, and a willingness to face death to achieve immortality.

One type involves cultivating secret methods, seeking a glimmer of immortality within laws and techniques, forcibly condensing a bit of pure yin spirituality, and embarking on the path of ghost immortals.

Chang Shou chose the third path.

The first path requires the living to do good deeds throughout their lives, until death.

He was already very old, and he had done his best to ensure that his three granddaughters had enough to eat and drink. He was no longer able to do good deeds. Even if he started doing good deeds after the age of ninety, it would only be icing on the cake and a drop in the ocean. He could not use this to become a ghost immortal.

The second path involves experiencing two lifetimes and living to be over a hundred years old. With longevity, one has become indifferent to many things, and even if emotions fluctuate, they are unlikely to reach an unbelievably heart-wrenching level. This path is blocked, so it should be abandoned directly.

Only the third path offers a sliver of hope.

---

Ghost immortals often cultivate by blocking the five internal organs.

The five internal organs are the Metal God, the Wood Goddess, the Yellow Goddess, the Mind Monkey, and the Will Horse, which correspond to the five senses (five emotions), five flavors, five elements of heaven and earth, five colors, and five fruits of living beings.

The water features of Qinghe Dragon Palace are quite complete.

Longevity leads to natural selection and blockage of the kidneys.

The kidneys are associated with the will, their color is black, their energy is cold, their flavor is salty and fragrant, and their emotion is fear.

Each of the five directions and five elements has its own place.

The north is associated with water, signifying coldness and symbolizing winter, with cold currents lurking beneath the surface.

The hour of Yin (3-5 AM) corresponds to the lungs, the hour of Mao (5-7 AM) to the large intestine, the hour of You (5-7 PM) to the kidneys, and the hour of Zi (11 PM-1 AM) to the gallbladder.

Therefore, since he began his cultivation, he has used the art of water manipulation as a foundation and diligently practiced the Northern Yuan Qi Absorption Method. Every day at dusk, when the sun sets and the heat sinks and the cold rises, Chang Shou faces north and sees a five-colored sea of ​​qi and a five-colored spiritual cluster. He gathers the spiritual energy of water and absorbs the spiritual energy of the cold current.

As one cultivates for a longer period, the kidneys become unable to properly regulate their fluids, and cold energy condenses into sand, accumulating into clumps. Changshou begins to experience unexplained fear, insomnia, and excessive dreaming.

I used to have a nightmare every night.

Later, I had three nightmares in one night.

I'm having seven nightmares every night right now.

His nightmares often begin with sending off his granddaughter to her wedding. His thoughts wander in all directions, and he becomes highly empathetic to all sorts of bizarre and unlucky old men in his dreams.

such as--

The nightmare the night before meeting the monkey: the old man who opened the door to greet the two-faced tortoise was him, and the old man next door who urinated on his hand and then fell headfirst into the urine-soaked soil was also him.

In reality, there are no old people next door to my house.

Once he was immersed in the dream, he had no control over it and could only let the nightmare manipulate him. Fear raged in his heart, and his anxiety grew wildly.

Each time he woke up from a dream, his anger would wane a little.

Every time he wakes up from a dream, he feels cold all over, with cold hands and feet, as if he is being paralyzed by a ghost. He is unable to speak for a while and needs some time to recover.

……

Today it is today.

When Changshou suffers from kidney failure, the water vapor inside his body becomes like a river, and the cold air forms like a hill. His fear has materialized, turning into a cloud of black mist that lingers around his body.

His outward manifestation is what makes him—

He was emaciated, his flesh and bones were like firewood, his skin was dark and withered like the bark of a hundred-year-old tree, his eyes were cloudy like dim fireflies, his head of white hair was dry and often fell off like withered flowers and fallen leaves, his expression was often dazed, and he was involuntarily afraid for nine out of twelve hours a day, his forehead was dark, as if he might be in great trouble at any time, and the god of misfortune would come knocking and he would die.

---

In fact, it is true.

For the past six months, Chang Shou has often felt that his days are numbered, that he is cursed, that he is prone to falling while walking, to fainting while sleeping, to stuttering when speaking, to choking while eating, and even to getting water stuck in his teeth.

You know, he only has two teeth left, one on top and one on the bottom, that are about to fall out. Where would there be any space to fill them? This is just outrageous!

But the mythological world is inherently unscientific.

Chang Shou felt that he was absolutely fortunate to be alive, thanks to the monkey.

This monkey truly lives up to its reputation as the chosen one of the Journey to the West world.

He was like his own monkey-type cheat code, his golden finger for transformation. Chang Shou discovered that as long as he stayed by the monkey's side, although he could not turn danger into safety, could not turn bad luck into good luck, and could not turn misfortune into fortune, he could not die no matter how unlucky he was.

Drinking water from monkeys won't get stuck in your teeth.

You won't choke if you eat a monkey's peach.

When communicating with monkeys, you won't bite your tongue.

Just when you're about to fall into a deep sleep, a monkey will slap you awake.

Facing north to absorb Qi (vital energy) will yield twice the results with half the effort.

Even within the ever-expanding mass of fear, a glimmer of light seemed to appear, as if a reassuring pill had been taken.

……

Thinking about these things.

Chang Shou lowered his eyes and gazed at the monkey carrying him on its back. He couldn't help but feel grateful. A touch of warmth appeared in his cloudy eyes, and his withered face became kind.

They look at the monkeys like they're looking at their own grandchildren.

Filial piety, sensible, reliable, stubborn but soft-hearted...

He's not particularly capable.

He was just an ordinary old man in this mortal world.

If it weren't for the monkey, I probably would have failed in my cultivation long ago, and died before my business was even halfway done.

Realizing that she couldn't do much for the monkey except keep it company, eat with it, sleep with it, and provide some coolness, Chang Shou mobilized the thin moisture in her body to emanate more chilliness, trying to create as much coolness as possible for the monkey.

The Monkey King let out a comfortable sigh.

He lifted the old man up with both hands, carrying him even tighter on his back. He looked into the distance, his eyes darting around, cunning as a fox.

He knew that the old man was practicing the Ghost Immortal Technique, but the old man looked down on him. He himself was focused on immortality and had no interest in this method.

He could also see that the old man was taking advantage of him, but he didn't care.

It was rare to find someone willing to travel with him on this journey, to search for the elusive path of immortality. He was afraid of being alone and only hoped that the old man could stay with him a little longer.

As for the rest, none of that matters.

Everyone has their own little schemes.

Besides, he only rubbed against it briefly.

A vast expanse of yellow sand, a lone sun setting.

Monkeys are exceptionally gifted, able to travel a thousand miles a day.

A monkey and a human, each with their own thoughts, yet supporting each other, sharing the same goal, gradually drift apart as they walk towards the first rays of dusk, their orange shadows stretching long.

Hot winds blow across the yellow sand.

It seemed as if they were watching this special pair, or applauding them.