Journey to the West: Searching for a Lost Sheep at Five Elements Mountain and Becoming Wukong's Disciple

After transmigrating to the late Eastern Han dynasty, Chen Jiang brings with him the memories of his previous life and a mysterious bronze bell, becoming an eight-year-old shepherd boy in Chen Family Village.

Three fat sheep go missing, and he finds himself at the foot of Five Elements Mountain. Looking up at the golden monkey head, he nearly thinks he's stumbled onto the set of a Journey to the West sequel. Once he confirms it's the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, he drops to his knees and kowtows. "Your disciple, Chen Jiang, pays his respects to Master Sun Wukong!" Sun Wukong is so furious he nearly topples the whole mountain. "Who said I'd take you as my disciple? You're just trying to scam me!" Chen Jiang sets out three cups of tea, four peaches, and three dough buns, then persuades him while munching on fruit. "Great Sage, if you can't even handle an eight-year-old child, how will you fight the Buddha again in the future?" Sun Wukong is so incensed his every orifice nearly smokes. The Five Directional Deities stare in astonishment. This child has endured the Great Sage Equal to Heaven's savage aura and even managed to tame the monkey.

The Jade Emperor approves with a casual, "Let him be." Over at the Buddha's side, Venerable Kasyapa murmurs,

"This person is blessed with the Human Emperor's sacred flame. He may well be a hidden piece on the board from Fire Cloud Cave."

Chen Jiang slings his bamboo basket over his back and heads home, the bronze bell at his waist jingling. Looking back at Five Elements Mountain, he says, "The day Brother Monkey gets out, I'll be the founding senior disciple he personally acknowledges."

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.