Chapter Thirteen: Cloud Monkey

  "So you're saying that you and your mother have suffered a great calamity at home and had no choice but to flee to our Taiping Village?"

  In the main hall, an old man with a thin face and three long white beards sat at the top. Although he wore a simple green robe without any signs of wealth or nobility, his eyes were bright and had a certain air of authority. This old man was named Yun Ping, and he was the village chief of this small village at the foot of Huangshan Mountain. Taiping Village was originally called Yunjia Village, and the villagers were mostly surnamed Yun, with the position of village head traditionally held by an elderly member of the Yun family who was respected for his virtue and prestige.

  The Yun family was not an ordinary rural clan, their ancestors were once the frontier generals who guarded a region and had made great achievements, so the Yunjia Village was allowed to be granted by the imperial court to build an ancestral temple, and was named "Taiping". Unfortunately, after a hundred years, the Yun family no longer had any capable people in the imperial court, nor even anyone who could take office through examination. Nevertheless, in this Taiping Village, the Yun family still had great influence.

  Although the village head, Yunping, had never taken any imperial exams, he was still considered a scholar. He had read extensively from the classics and had a compassionate heart for the weak and poor. When he saw Shen Bailian supporting her mother as they passed by the village entrance, looking very destitute as an orphaned child and widowed mother, he invited them back to his home, treated them to a good meal, and inquired about their background in detail.

  Shen Qing was most disgusted with the human race, however, having eaten their food, he didn't dare to chat with them. Shen Bai Ling had no choice but to make up some lies to fool the village head, saying that she and her mother were from outside the northern mountain, escaping disaster and arriving at this place, which is why they asked that question just now.

  Yun Ping saw Shen Bai Ling, who was only thirteen or fourteen years old. Although her demeanor lacked courtesy, her words were well-organized and logical. Yun Ping nodded and said: "You've managed to arrive here, which is no easy feat. Further ahead lies the Purple Cloud Bridge, and deeper in the mountains, there's hardly any human habitation. It's better to settle down in Taiping Village, at least you'll have a place to stay."

  He merely said so, Shen Baiying didn't mind much, but she glanced at her mother's expression with her eyes.

  Shen Qing had arrived at the foot of Mount Huang and still didn't see anyone chasing after him, his heart was already much more at ease. Although he disagreed with the proposal of the village chief of that tribe, he also hadn't refused outright.

  Having obtained the village chief's consent, Taiping Village no longer came to disturb them. In a remote corner of the south entrance of the village, there was an abandoned thatched hut without an owner, and Shen Bailian settled down with her mother.

  At first, he was still very worried in his heart, fearing that those Taoist companions would find their way here. Who would have thought that after more than half a month, everything was still calm and peaceful, and he put his mind at ease.

  Shen Qing was bedridden due to an old injury, and relied on Shen Baiying's daily trips with the villagers to collect firewood and gather herbs to nurse him back to health. As the saying goes, "rely on the mountain for food when living by the mountain", Taiping Village at the foot of Huangshan Mountain had been dependent on this mountain for many years. Once out of the village entrance heading south, there was a stone road leading directly up the mountain, and Shen Baiying followed the villagers only a few times before becoming familiar with the mountain path.

  Mount Huangshan is known as the "Number One Mountain under Heaven", with four wonders: pines, strange rocks, sea of clouds and hot springs. The mountain has 72 peaks, with three main peaks being Tian Du Peak, Lian Hua Peak and Guang Ming Peak. Taiping Village is located at the foot of a small unnamed peak among the 82 peaks, but it has a name that sounds very Buddhist - Purple Cloud Pavilion.

  Zi Yun Building is not a famous scenic spot, but it has beautiful scenery. Shen Baiyun often goes to the mountain, first to pick some medicinal herbs for his mother's recuperation, and secondly to appreciate the famous mountains and rivers.

  That day, he found a sloping depression on the Zi Yun platform, where many low shrubs and small trees grew naturally. The branches had no flowers, but had fragrant leaves. Although he didn't know what kind of strange tree this was, he thought his mother should know, so he picked a big bunch and put it in his backpack. Carrying a basket of gains down the mountain, before reaching the door, he heard someone shouting, mixed with the sound of a woman's pleading voice.

  "Yun's family, you'd better discipline your son properly! He's still so young and already knows how to cheat and swindle people, what will happen when he grows up?"

  As soon as Shen Bailian heard this, he knew that the only son of the neighboring family had made trouble in the village again and was looking for him to reason with. The widow's surname was Li, her husband was a collateral branch of the Yun tribe, but unfortunately passed away early, leaving behind a five-year-old only son who was extremely mischievous. Shen Bailian had been living next door for less than half a month when he heard about the child's numerous misdeeds, which were truly too many to count.

  Mr. Li was always apologetic, but today the village woman was very fierce and had a tone of being reasonable but not forgiving: "Even if you're so poor that you have to beg for food, there's no reason to snatch it from someone else's hands, isn't this just like being a bandit? This is what happens when one has a mother but no father to teach them!"

  Shen Bailian herself didn't have a father, and upon hearing this, she felt slightly displeased in her heart. Just then, a tender voice spoke up: "Pfft, who cares about your rotten baozi and stinky head? It's so disgusting, it's only good for feeding pigs and dogs. If it weren't for your family's deceased Ah Xiang forcing it into my hands, I wouldn't want it!"

  As soon as the words fell, a round object jumped over the fence and landed in front of Shen Bailian's door. He looked closely and found it was a meat bun, which had rolled on the ground and got a lot of dust on it, with a row of small teeth marks on top.

  That child was young in years, but his mouth was quick-witted and he scolded a lot more, leaving the village woman speechless, she could only huffily walk away.

  Shen Bailian picked up the package and handed it over through the fence, saying: "Hey, you dropped your package."

  Li stood in front of the door, her eyes still red from crying. She hastily wiped away tears and forced a smile, saying: "So it's Young Master Shen, I'm afraid I've made a fool of myself." Just then, her coarse linen dress moved, and a small boy emerged from behind her, extremely tiny, thin and wiry like a little monkey.

  That little monkey flipped his eyes and rudely showed two white pupils to Shen Baiying, sneering: "Are you stupid? Can you still eat such dirty things?" Although the words were very disdainful, the eyes that slanted at the meat bun were full of regret.

  Mrs. Li patted him lightly on the head and scolded, "How can you talk to people like that? Apologize quickly." But she was weak-willed, not only were the village women bullying her with words, but even her own son wasn't afraid of her.

  That little monkey only glanced at Shen Bailian, pulled his mother's sleeve and was about to drag her into the door. Li Shi had no choice but to smile apologetically at Bailian, followed her son into the house, and when the door closed, she gently comforted him in a soft voice: "Okay, take off your outer shirt for mom, this mud doesn't know where it's been rolling... Hurry up and drink some hot water, there's a ceramic bowl on the stove..."

  Shen Bailian pinched the cold, icy bun in his hand and stood still for a moment on this side of the fence. Although he also had a mother, at this time he couldn't help but envy that thin little kid, that kind of gentle love like spring rain nourishing all things, was something he could never get no matter how hard he tried.

  That clever little monkey seemed to have sensed something from Shen Bailian's gaze that day, and since then, whenever he saw Shen Bailian, he would give him the cold shoulder. Moreover, every time Shen Bailian was making medicine, the monkey would come to cause trouble, either kicking over the newly tied fence door or knocking over the flat basket filled with dried herbs and flowers that were spread out under the eaves of the house.

  Shen Bailian was already nineteen years old, and even among the demons, she was no longer a child. Although her body had never grown up, she also had some of the mind of an adult, so she didn't bother with that little monkey. Li saw it but only felt more uneasy, so when Shen Bailian went to pick herbs on the mountain, she often went to the broken thatched hut to accompany and take care of Shen Danqing. Even though Shen Danqing spoke coldly and didn't give her a smile, she didn't have any complaints.

  That day, Shen Bailian had asked his mother about the tea trees in the depression on the mountain and heard that the fragrant leaves and tender buds could not only be brewed for drinking but also sold to traveling merchants or village scholars who were quite welcome. He was very much moved and immediately carried a bamboo basket up the mountain.

  When she returned with a full basket of tea leaves, another commotion broke out at the village entrance. Shen Bailian followed the sound to her doorstep and found that the little monkey had caused trouble again, this time surrounded by many people watching the excitement. As he looked around, the onlookers were mostly sneering or gloating, apparently having deep-seated grievances against the child, but it was unclear what this five-year-old child had done to provoke so much anger.

  Mrs. Li hugged her own son, looking somewhat humble on her face, and the people around her were all pointing and whispering. She just kept bowing to the person in front of her: "Cloud... Young Master Jing, what you said is reasonable, but... this thing won't be done by our family's child."

  Shen Bailian put down the basket under the eaves and stood in front of the house to take a look. The "General Jin" mentioned by Mrs. Li looked like he was only in his early twenties, extremely thin and slender, wearing a long gown and a hat, looking like a weak scholar who couldn't withstand the wind. However, he tried to show off the demeanor of a military general from his ancestors. He had a serious expression on his long face and said coldly: "I had placed those few books outside in the sun for a good while, but within half an hour, someone poured ink all over them. In this whole village, it's your family's Yun Tianqing who is the most mischievous and troublesome. Today, someone saw him passing by my house... Who else could it be if not him?"

  Shen Bailian's slender eyebrows slightly raised, thinking: Yun Tianqing? So this is the little monkey's great name, it sounds pretty good.

  "Right, right!" A woman standing outside the fence hastily interjected, "Young Master Yun is the son of the village head and a scholar, how can he be wrong?" It was the same bold village woman who had been bullied by the little monkey a few days ago.

  "No way, just the other day he tricked my little brother and gave him a big bruise on his forehead. He's only five years old and already so naughty, when he grows up he'll definitely be a troublemaker!"

  "Isn't it?"

  Other villagers also discussed it, and their words were all biased in favor of Yun Jing, with no sympathy for Li's family and the five-year-old Yun Tianqing.

  That little monkey was held in his mother's arms, but his mother was just a timid rural woman. Facing the gossip of the villagers, she had no chance to defend herself. He rolled his eyes and instead looked fearless, staring at them with his clear black and white eyes, blurting out: "I didn't! I didn't go to your house, nor did I touch your broken book!"

  "YOU!" Yun Jing was furious, pointing at him and saying, "In terms of seniority, you should at least call me Uncle. Now you dare to be so impudent! You're good at lying, and when you get caught, you'll naturally say it didn't happen. I'm sure my copies of 'The Analects' and 'Spring and Autumn Annals' were ruined by you!"

  "That's right, I think so too." The village woman continued to echo in agreement, "I saw him with my own eyes, he was lurking around the village chief's house at noon, with a suspicious look on his face, and a shifty gaze. He didn't look like a good person at all, truly a worthless brat without a mother to teach him!"

  Shen Bailian had already understood most of it by this point. Li had been helping him take care of his mother every day, and although he had never thanked him in person, he was truly grateful in his heart. Now, seeing the village woman speaking so shamelessly, and those villagers not refuting her at all, he couldn't help but feel a bit angry. He wanted to help out, so he raised his voice and said: "You people, without any evidence, relying on your numbers to bully an orphan and widow? This afternoon, that little monkey was clearly causing trouble in my backyard, and even ruined some of my medicinal herbs! Is this old aunt speaking like this just to give him an excuse not to compensate me? Those herbs could be sold to the peddler for at least a tael of silver, he won't compensate me, is it going to fall on you to do so?"

  Li and Yun Tianqing, along with the crowd around them, heard this sudden remark and were instantly stunned.

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