In the fourth year of King Jing of Zhou, there was a civil war in Luo Yi. Luo Yi was also called Luoyang because it was located on the Luo River. In the 20th year of King Jing of Zhou, King Jing of Zhou wanted to appoint his eldest son, Prince Zichao. However, he failed and the people of Zhou elected King Mourning. In the same year, Prince Zichao killed King Mourning and established himself. In the first year of King Jing of Zhou, Jin supported Prince Zichao as King Jing. In the fourth year of King Jing of Zhou, Jin led its vassals to support King Jing into the capital of the Chu Kingdom.
In the same year, Laozi left Luo Yi with the books in the treasure room.
Since the Zhou Dynasty lost to Prince Zichao, Laozi did not have to return. Confucius wanted to offer the books to the Zhou Dynasty. His disciple Zilu said, "I heard that there was an old man in the history of the Zhou Dynasty who did not have to return. Confucius said, "Good." He went to see Lao Dan again.
In the autumn of the fourth year of King Jing of Zhou, Chen Ang went to Luo Yi with the stone monkey.
The macaque followed Chen Ang all the way down to Luo Yi on a cloud. Along the way, he saw the vassals fighting and killing each other. The further they went to Luo Yi, the more desolate the surroundings became. There were broken walls, broken well railings, broken paths, barren fields, and withered grass. Humans looked like apes. They wore clothes and looked like themselves. Gradually, they felt sad and compassionate.
On the other hand, Chen Ang rode on the clouds, climbing over mountains and crossing rivers. Even though the Nanzhan Section State was extremely vast, Chen Ang managed to cover the path that the macaque had taken years to cover in one day and night. By the time the next day turned dark, he had already reached the outskirts of Luoyi City. At this time, the chaos in the imperial court had just ended and the traces of war outside Luoyi City had yet to subside.
White bones were everywhere and the fields were barren.
Chen Ang was dressed in Daoist robes and entered the city. Surprisingly, no one stopped him. The macaque was wearing clothes and followed behind him like a human. After Chen Ang entered the city, he paused for a moment and looked up at the sky. Then, he headed straight for a place in the city.
The macaque was puzzled and asked, "How do you know where Lao Dan is in the wilderness?"
"Looking at the Qi in Luo Yi, the east is the most expensive. Two streams of purple Qi interweave and rise thirty thousand miles high. One is meandering like a dragon and the other is entrenched like a unicorn. The dragon's head is supported by the white clouds, it can be seen that the Saint has white hair and looks like an old man. The Qilin sits on the east side of the Xu and Wei two constellations, entrenched on the boundary between Kui and Lou. The Xuan Chi and Jiang Lou two stars are in front, it must be born from Lu and came from Qi. "
"I've heard that Confucius, the Great Sage, was born in Lu State and traveled to Qi State. He was born with an old face and his hair has turned white. The place where the purple air is occupying must be the place where Confucius sought enlightenment from Laodan. It's a good chance for you, a macaque … Why don't you quickly follow me there?"
The macaque was overjoyed and jumped forward to lead the way. At this moment, a bearded man beside him bowed and said, "Sage, please wait! I'm Zi Lu, a disciple of the Headmaster. I've just heard that you're a sage in astronomy and you're good at observing the Qi. You must be a sage in the world. I'd like to introduce you to the Headmaster! "
With Zi Lu leading the way, Chen Ang took the stone monkey and went straight to the place where Lao Dan lived. Along the way, Zi Lu consulted Chen Ang several times and learned that Chen Ang knew everything about astronomy and geography, as well as the languages of various countries. Thus, he respected Chen Ang even more. When they arrived outside the thatched cottage, he first apologized to Chen Ang and then went into the thatched cottage to invite the two Saints out.
Chen Ang did not stand there for long. The monkey was not a stable person. Fortunately, he was well-mannered now and restrained himself reluctantly. However, the monkey's nature did not change. It was inevitable that he winked at Chen Ang. After a while, someone came out of the thatched cottage. The one walking in front was a handsome old man with a mysterious appearance. He had yellow and white hair, long eyebrows, long ears, big eyes, sparse teeth, square mouth and thick lips.
Behind him was a middle-aged man. His head was on the top of the polder and he was taller than ordinary people.
Zi Lu followed behind the two of them like a disciple.
Rarely, Chen Ang first went forward and bowed respectfully, "I, Chen Ang, pay my respects to the two great sages, Lao Dan and Confucius …" He then bowed to Lao Dan and said, "Greetings, Immortal Tai Qing!"
The macaque followed behind. He was enlightened and also bowed to Lao Dan.
Confucius' clothes were neat and tidy. He returned the greeting as well. Lao Dan only nodded his head and smiled, showing the difference in their temperament.
After the three of them entered the thatched cottage, the macaque secretly asked, "When teacher met Patriarch Subhuti, he didn't show any courtesy and spoke with disdain. Why did he bow to these two mortals today? Why did he bow to Lao Dan first and then half a bow to them? "
"Subhuti is just my junior. How can he be worthy of my bow?" Chen Ang smiled and said, "He's just a righteous person who has some affinity with the same Dao. I'll bow to Lao Dan twice. First, I'll pay respect to Lao Dan. Then, I'll pay respect to Tai Qing. Since Immortal Tai Qing is my sage, he naturally deserves my bow. Although Immortal Tai Qing is great, he's just a fellow Dao practitioner. He's not worthy of my bow yet. I can only pay him half a bow.
Of course, the stone monkey did not know that the first half of the bow was performed by Chen Ang, a Han Chinese. He was paying respect to the sages. The second half of the bow was performed by Chen Ang on behalf of Cult Master Chen. Cult Master Chen and Immortal Tai Qing were the same Dao practitioners. It was only because he came to the world created by Immortal Tai Qing that he paid respect to Chen Ang as his master. Lao Dan only nodded his head because he did not treat Chen Ang as Cult Master Chen.
Although it was already late that day, the three of them still sat down and discussed Dao. They talked for a while until the oil lamp was dim and it was difficult for them to walk.
The three of them discussed Dao for three days. When they were thirsty, Zi Lu fetched spring water from the ancient well in the city. When they were hungry, the macaque went to pick wild fruits nearby. Together with Zi Lu, they cooked the corn for Lao Dan's thatched hut and the cured meat brought by Kong Qiu. The macaque had a hard time. He had to clean the thatched hut, carry water and pulp with Zi Lu, start a fire and cook with Zi Lu. He also had to study and practice calligraphy with Zi Lu and listen to the teachings of Lao Dan, Kong Qiu and Chen Ang.
Among the three of them, one had no self, one had no divine power, and the last was a nameless sage.
Among the three of them, Lao Dan, Kong Qiu and Chen Ang, which one of them wasn't the wisest person in this world? One was a Daoist Daozu, the other was a Confucian master, and the last one used civilization as a chessboard. He wrote in his heart and experimented with the development of civilization. His behavior was insane, but the wisdom that he gained from this could be said to be profound and perfect. There was nothing fake about it.
When they talked about the way of governing a country, Zi Lu was fascinated. When they talked about morality and etiquette, Zi Lu was so excited that he forgot himself.
Although the macaque was listening to the most exquisite theories of the three religions, he was confused most of the time because he didn't know the human way. Only when the three of them talked about the heaven and earth, the universe, the creation of nature, and the Dao of all things, he could understand the beauty of it and was overjoyed. He was a psychic stone monkey, so his intelligence and comprehension were indeed excellent. However, he couldn't change his monkey nature, which delayed him from becoming a talent that carried the Dao.
Although Kong Qiu was a sage, he spent most of his energy on the human way. He was not as knowledgeable as Lao Dan, the incarnation of the Tai Qing Zhenren who created the heaven and earth. Not to mention Chen Ang, whose incarnations were either the Celestial Cult Leader, the God of Gods, or the seekers of natural science, who were insane.
Later on, he talked less and listened more. He had another kind of wisdom.
Although the stone monkey did not understand much about the human way, he learned from Kong Qiu to be like a human, Lao Dan to be as merciful as a god, and Chen Ang's bestial nature had yet to be shed, which added to his demonic nature. On the surface, he was a man who knew etiquette and was a talent that carried the Dao. However, he was rebellious inside, and had a demonic nature that disregarded everything.
As the saying goes, gods, demons, humans, and monkeys are all me, and I'm not the Monkey King!
One day, Tai Qing Zhenren saw the macaque sweeping outside the door and suddenly called it in. The stone monkey knelt on the ground, only to hear Tai Qing Zhenren saying, "I have some fate with you. I've already understood Chen Daoyou's intention … Let me ask you, what's your surname?"
The macaque raised its head and said hesitantly, "I'm a monkey raised by the heavens. How can I have a name? I only hope that Teacher will reward me with a name when you see me being diligent and alert!" After saying that, it looked at Chen Ang eagerly. Chen Ang secretly shook his head and said angrily, "Why are you looking at me? I've already said that the person in front of you is half a parent to you. Why can't your surname be Sun? "
The macaque's expression changed drastically, "Are you saying that I'm old? I'm still a little monkey, and I only want to live forever. If I have this surname, when people call me King, they will add the word 'old' and become Old King. When they call me Monkey Macaque, I will become Old Monkey, Old Macaque! My seniority is one generation higher than mine. Won't my children laugh at me if I go out to sea to learn the art of immortality? It's an inauspicious sign … "
Tai Qing Zhenren smiled and said, "Since you don't want your surname to be Old, and you want to live forever, then your surname shall be Sun!"
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