Chapter 274 Realistic people cannot board the ship of dreams
[Immortal? Me?]

[When you heard the monkey call you an immortal, you were even more confused than being surprised that the monkey could speak human language.]

[After all, given that it was already known to be a monster, it wasn't too surprising that it could speak human language. But a monster calling you "immortal" was obviously even more confusing...]

[So you waved your hands repeatedly: "I am not an immortal..."]

[After all your persuasion, the silly monkey finally scratched his head and reluctantly believed that you were not an immortal, but a human-like look of doubt still appeared on his face...]

[After some tentative exchanges, you both gradually came to understand each other a little: the monkey has no name, and does not know where it came from. It only knows that it was born on an island with abundant fruits, so many monkeys were raised on the island.]

[It is the king of all the monkeys on the island. It plays around and lives a happy life...]

[After hearing this, you can't help but ask curiously: Why don't you continue to be the monkey king on the island? How could you end up almost starving to death when you have food, drinks and fun?]

[The monkey shook his head: What's the point of just having food and drink? When the life span is up, won't we still die?]

[“Can you monsters die too?”]

[You are even more curious. After all, you have never come into contact with gods, monsters, etc. This time you finally meet a monster, so of course you want to learn more about this mysterious world as much as possible.]

[Not only are you curious, your father is also curious. His ancestors have been fishermen for generations, and their lives are monotonous. Of course, he is also very interested in these things! ]

[But what puzzled you and your son was that the monkey looked at you blankly: "What is a monster?"]

[I am a monster, but I don’t know what a monster is? 】

[You look at each other in bewilderment…]

[Although you didn't get the fantastic information you expected, after a brief exchange, you were convinced that this strange monkey had no ill intentions.]

[After the monkey found out that you were not an immortal, it quickly lost interest in communicating with you: it wanted to pursue the immortal and seek the secret of immortality! ]

[So after it regained some strength, it thanked you profusely and said goodbye to you and your son...]

[You stare blankly at this strange monkey as it walks further and further along the shore until it disappears on the road in the distance.]

【"father……"】

[You hesitantly asked your father: "Are there really gods here?"]

【"No."】

[My father sneered: Where do gods come from? Here we have endless suffering and endless taxes to pay. Everyone is rolling in the mortal world. How can there be gods who transcend the world? ]

【Then, your father said something that you will remember for the rest of your life.】

[“If there really is a deity in our Southern Continent who can fly on a sword, then he must be the one who collects the most taxes. The whole world is his private property, and everyone is his slave…”]

[This sentence, which has been through so much, seems to contain some special power, which has brought an inexplicable impact to your blank mind...]

[Without gods, we would have endless sufferings. If gods existed, what would happen? ]

[“Then… the monkey won’t be able to find the immortal?”]

【Worry flashed in your eyes.】

[“Not only can it not find the immortal, it is also in danger!”]

[Your father shook his head: It’s not so bad in our countryside. If it were in the city, a rare and exotic animal like it would definitely attract countless greed. The rich and powerful would want to raise it as a plaything, and the poor people would also want to use it to exchange for wealth...]

[“It says it’s not a monster. I would like to say that it had better be a monster! Otherwise, not only will it fail in its quest for immortality, but it will also get itself into trouble…”]

[After that, your father said no more. He took you, who were still thinking, onto his fishing boat, paddled, and gradually rowed out to the sea...]

【…】

[Your first attempt at the fantasy world failed so simply.]

[The monkey you rescued failed to bring you the rewards you wanted, and you couldn't help but sigh: Seeking the immortals, it really isn't that easy...]

【So, your days still passed peacefully like this. 】

[The marriage came as expected. You married the fisherwoman from the same village who grew up with you. You officially started a family. Both parents are very satisfied. You and your spouse are also very happy. Your married life is even more prosperous! ]

[Then, unable to bear the life of fishing for generations, you moved into the city with your wife, taking the savings given by your parents, and lived the life of city dwellers from then on...]

[But moving to the city doesn’t mean you’ll soar to success. If you want to surpass your ancestors, you need to have a career.]

[So you and a few fellow villagers started by selling fresh catches, gradually saved some money, and then changed industries to seek development...]

[During this process, you have suffered a lot of setbacks and experienced a lot of life pressure that you have never experienced before, but fortunately, your mind is flexible enough and you can always learn from experience and do better next time. ]

【As savings grow little by little, the family becomes happier and happier. 】

[When you were 20 years old, your wife gave birth to a daughter for you. You were overjoyed and worked even harder outside! ]

[Year after year passed, and in the blink of an eye, you are already a middle-aged man in your thirties. Thanks to your hard work, your family is not rich, but it is considered upper-middle class in the city. You can proudly say that you have surpassed your ancestors! ]

[But it was during these peaceful days that the “cause” that was planted many years ago finally bore “fruit”…]

[It was the end of the year, and you returned to your hometown fishing village with your wife and daughter, carrying many gifts, to celebrate the New Year with the two elderly people.]

[It is still a sunny morning. You are holding hands with your six-year-old daughter and playing at the beach. While picking up beautiful shells, you are smilingly telling your daughter who grew up in the city about the fun of life at the beach, catching fish, digging shells, casting nets, etc.]

[As you were talking, your eyes suddenly caught someone’s attention…]

[This person is very strange. Although he is wearing clothes, they are crooked and seem to be the wrong size. His body is covered with dead branches and leaves. His walking posture is also different from that of ordinary people. He looks like a lunatic.]

[It also saw you and sped up to run towards you, frightening you so much that you quickly protected your daughter behind you! ] [Just as you were gritting your teeth and preparing to fight it, you heard it smiling and greeting you: "My benefactor! It's been many years since we last met. How are you doing?"]

【benefactor? 】

[You were stunned when you heard this, and an inexplicable sense of familiarity arose. Looking carefully, the adventure you had when you were a teenager suddenly appeared in front of you again: the strange monkey from that year gradually overlapped with this weirdo...]

【"It's you!"】

[You look at it in surprise, and a sense of joy of reuniting with an old friend fills your heart.]

【…】

[Sitting on the beach, you hold your daughter, who has a strange look on her face, and sit opposite her. ]

[A myriad of thoughts come to your mind. Now that you have grown up, you really want to share your experiences over the years with this special old friend, but you don’t know where to start.]

[After trying to calm down, you curiously asked a question: "Did you find the immortal?"]

【"No……"】

[The monkey smiled awkwardly and pointed at his own messy outfit: If I found an immortal, would I still be like this? ]

[“I have been here for eight or nine years. I have been to the mountains and the cities. I have seen many people pretending to be gods, but I have never seen a true immortal…”]

[When the monkey ran into an old friend, he poured out his sorrows and shared his experiences in this world. ]

[After listening to this, you can’t help but sigh: It’s exactly the same as what your father said back then…]

[“If I can’t ask for the immortal’s help, then I can’t ask for it. As long as I’m alive, that’s good enough…”]

[You comforted it like this: Although you didn't find the immortal this time, you also gained some knowledge. It would be nice to go back to your island with abundant resources and continue to be the monkey king. You can have as much fruit as you want, as much power as you want, and as many female monkeys as you want...]

[“No! These are not what I want!”]

[Unexpectedly, the monkey shook his head: "I just want to seek the secret of immortality. No matter how good the island is, it is meaningless to me."]

[You are surprised: "Why do you want immortality so much? You are a monster, you can live forever without asking for it, why do you have to..."]

[The monkey shook his head again: "I am not a monster... Besides, I am not asking for this just for myself. The monkeys and their descendants on the island are still waiting for my immortality technique!"]

[This strange monkey still refuses to admit that he is a monster, and he is not satisfied with his own immortality, he wants to bring all the monkeys with him to immortality! ]

[“In the Southern Continent, there is a lot of greed, murder, deception and fraud… I don’t think there are any gods here. Let’s go somewhere else and have a look.”]

[The monkey sighed, and you were surprised: "You want to go somewhere else?"]

【"nature!"】

[The monkey smiled and said confidently and firmly: "I will definitely find the immortal!"]

[You are amazed at its will to seek immortality. Although you are not optimistic about it, you still express your admiration from the bottom of your heart: "Then I wish you a safe journey and hope you can find the true immortal soon!"]

[After that, the monkey wanted to build a raft and go out to sea again. When you saw its simple equipment, you couldn't help but feel sorry for it, so you simply became an angel investor! ]

[You gave it your own fishing boat for free, and then prepared a lot of fresh water for it, as well as dried fruits and dry food that are easy to preserve... If it didn't refuse to eat meat, you would have also wanted to get some dried fish and meat for it to store.]

[In short, you have helped it as much as you can, but these things still seem like a drop in the bucket in front of the endless ocean... You don't think it can really succeed, and you don't want to invest or seek returns, you just admire it...]

[The monkey was very touched by your kindness, so he patted his chest and said that when he becomes an immortal in the future, he will definitely repay you with gratitude, and immortality is inseparable from you! ]

[You can't pour cold water on it, so you can only smile and bless it. ]

【"correct!"】

[The monkey suddenly said enthusiastically: "Do you want to go with me to find the immortal? I will protect you!"]

【I? 】

[You were stunned. You didn’t expect the monkey to invite you.]

【Going to look for immortals with dreams? 】

[You rejected it without hesitation, without even asking for the opinion of your "other self".]

[Because you are no longer the naive boy with only dreams in your heart. You are now mature. Adults cannot risk everything for a dream.]

[Parents, wife, daughter, property... You have too many concerns, and it is not easy to withdraw from them. It is impossible to withdraw from them. That would be irresponsible to yourself and to all the people who care about you...]

[Seeing you refuse, the monkey didn't say anything. It's smart and knows what you're thinking: humans and monkeys are different after all.]

[It bows to you, then paddles its oars and moves towards the open sea little by little.]

[It is full of dreams and expectations, heading towards an unknown direction. No matter what kind of setbacks it encounters, it can and dares to endure them... It is born to be a warrior who fights against heaven and earth. Once it has chosen a goal, it will never look back until it reaches it.]

【This is a free man and a seeker. 】

[And you... are a mortal, a real mortal living in the world, destined not to board the boat of the monkey who was born out of dreams. ]

【One man, one monkey.】

【One reality, one dream. 】

[Between the two, there is an endless ocean...]

……

(End of this chapter)