During the Chongzhen era, there was a Monkey Immortal who called himself Jingshan. His soul inhabited the body of an old man in Hejian County, engaging people in discussions of poetry and prognostications of fortune and woe with seemingly endless energy. Should fruits or melons be placed upon a table, the Monkey Immortal would feast heartily, leaving the surface a wreck, yet his true form remained unseen.

It was at this time that Gao Niandong’s grandfather lay gravely ill. Someone remarked, "Master Jingshan is a divine man of a hundred years; he must be seen." Thus, the Gao family dispatched servants to respectfully invite the Monkey Immortal. The old man arrived early and remained in the house all day, but the Monkey Immortal did not appear. The family burned incense and prayed, when suddenly a loud exclamation of praise was heard from the roof: "Truly, a good family." Faces turned to each other in confusion, and moments later, a voice spoke from beneath the eaves. The old man rose to greet him, saying, "The Great Immortal has arrived." The family followed the old man out in a throng, hearing the sounds of respectful salutation, yet never catching sight of anyone.

The Great Immortal entered the room and spoke with great laughter and spirit. The Niandong brothers were still scholars, having just returned from the provincial examinations. The Great Immortal remarked, "The Second Young Master's answers were quite passable, though his familiarity with the Five Classics could be improved. Strive harder; the day of your ascent is not far off." The Niandong brothers inquired after their father’s condition. The Great Immortal responded, "Life and death are matters of great consequence; the principles therein are difficult to fully articulate." The family understood this to be an inauspicious sign, and indeed, not long after, Mr. Gao passed away.

There was once an organ grinder who performed monkey shows in the village. The monkey broke its chain and fled into the deep mountains. Decades passed in the blink of an eye, yet villagers still occasionally glimpsed it. The monkey moved erratically, hiding whenever it saw people. Later, it grew bolder, sneaking into the village to steal cakes and fruits, often without notice. One day, the monkey returned to steal food and was discovered by villagers, who chased it into the open fields and killed it with a volley of arrows.

The monkey was unaware it was dead; its spirit drifted aimlessly, light as a leaf, covering a hundred li in an instant. It traveled to seek refuge with the old man of Hejian, declaring, "If you care for me, I shall make you rich and noble." It gave itself the name Jingshan.

In Changsha, there was a monkey with a golden chain around its neck that used to frequent the residences of scholars and officials. Anyone who saw it would experience an occasion of joy, and the monkey did not refuse the fruits offered to it. No one knew where it came from or where it intended to go. An elder, over ninety years of age, recounted, "I saw this monkey when I was young; the golden chain then held a jade plaque inscribed with the insignia of a Ming Dynasty Prince." It was presumed that this monkey, too, had achieved immortality.