Chapter 95

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Already accepted the amnesty, the demon king Sun Wukong, now bearing the title "Great Sage Equal to Heaven," stood atop the mountain of Flower-Fruit Mountain, clad in chainmail armor, wearing a purple-golden phoenix-winged helmet, stepping in lotus-silk cloud-treading shoes, and holding the Ruyi Golden Cudgel... She stood there majestically, with countless monkeys cheering and shouting encouragement around her.

If her form were not that of a little girl, this scene would be absolutely awe-inspiring... Of course, a little girl dressed like this could also be awe-inspiring from a certain perspective.

Facing the little girl stood a young man, neither a monk nor a Taoist, with a dignified appearance.

Sun Wukong bit her lower lip and said, "Xiao Jin, don't go. They will never agree with your ideals... The Buddha has under his command three thousand Buddhas, three thousand Devas, eight Vajras, four Bodhisattvas, five hundred Arhats, eight hundred Bhikshus, a large number of Upasakas, Bhikshunis, and Upasikas... With such immense power, how could she possibly let go of her authority? She will never truly believe in the equality of all beings. And the Jade Emperor, with his Nine Star Lords, Five Directional Generals, Twenty-Eight Constellations, Four Heavenly Kings, Twelve Celestial Deities, Five Elders of the Five Directions, Six Jia and Six Ding, all the stars and deities... Those who follow the path become immortals, those who defy it become demons... How could he possibly talk about equality with the mortals below? If our demon race did not have some strength, he would never have bestowed me the title of Great Sage Equal to Heaven."

The young man shook his head and said calmly, "I know I cannot succeed, but... the truth cannot be extinguished. Some things must be done, and we cannot retreat just because the opponent is powerful. If we retreat today, and retreat tomorrow, and retreat the day after, in the end, we will become obedient slaves. If that happens, I would rather die. Someone must die so that the living can learn to think."

"Ah?" Sun Wukong exclaimed, "Then I'll go with you."

"No need, you have your own mission," the young man said seriously, "Wait for me at Flower-Fruit Mountain."

Sun Wukong wanted to say more, but seeing the determined look in the man's eyes, she knew it was useless.

The young man rode a cloud, rising into the sky, flying higher and higher, until he slowly disappeared from sight.

...

A few days later...

"Report to the Great King, Jin Chanzi has been cast into the Wheel of Reincarnation by the Buddha and the Jade Emperor..."

Sun Wukong fell to her knees with a thud. Although she had long suspected this might happen, when the news finally reached her ears, her heart still felt as if it were being cut by a knife. She punched the ground hard and then stood up, saying fiercely, "Pass on my order, the seventy-two demon kings are to gather all their troops at Flower-Fruit Mountain immediately. We rebel! First, we attack the Dragon Palace and the Underworld, and burn everything to the ground..."

...

A few days later...

"Report to the Great King, Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, has led ten thousand heavenly soldiers to besiege Flower-Fruit Mountain..."

"Report to the Great King, the Nine Star Lords have arrived..."

"Report to the Great King, the Giant Spirit God has arrived..."

"Report to the Great King, Nezha has arrived..."

"Report to the Great King, Erlang Shen has arrived..."

"Report to the Great King, we can't hold on... the brothers have all been captured by the heavenly soldiers..."

...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA..."

"The alchemy furnace is so hot..."

Sun Wukong sat up, feeling her back drenched in sweat... It was that dream again, the event from 500 years ago, which she would dream about no matter how many years passed... Actually, since meeting Tang Sen, she rarely had this dream, but recently, Sha Wu Jing had brought up the past, and seeing Jin Chanzi's statue in the hall during the day, her thoughts were once again pulled back to 500 years ago.

Unable to sleep, she got up, put on her clothes, and walked into the courtyard. The surrounding mountains were dark and oppressive, making her feel suffocated. Suddenly, she saw a light in Tang Sen's room. Peering through the window, she saw Tang Sen sitting cross-legged at the table, studying the "Heart Sutra" intently.

"What does it mean, 'Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no sensation, no perception, no formation, no consciousness, no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind, no form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharma... '? What does this mean?" Tang Sen pondered over the scripture.

Hugbear hugged Tang Sen from behind, cooing, "Come to bed, stop reading, come hug me to sleep."

"Stop it!" Tang Sen turned around, holding Hugbear with his left arm while still holding the scripture in his right hand. Hugbear was satisfied as long as someone held her, and she soon fell asleep in Tang Sen's arms, breathing evenly. But wait, this bear doesn't have a respiratory system, theoretically, it shouldn't need to breathe. Clearly, she was just pretending to sleep.

A smile spread across Sun Wukong's face... Being with these unreliable guys always helped ease her inner confusion and anger, bit by bit, melting the dead heart from 500 years ago.

At that moment, Zhu Baie's voice came from the side, "Hey, Wukong, want to have some fun?"

"What kind of fun?"

"The back courtyard! Didn't those two girls say we can't go there?" Zhu Baie chuckled, "The more forbidden a place is, the more I want to see it."

"Hehe, you can actually say something human once in a while," Sun Wukong laughed, "Let's go!"

Zhu Baie said, "Should we call Sha Wu Jing?"

Sun Wukong shrugged, "How? Who knows where she is."

Sha Wu Jing jumped out from the side, shouting, "I've been listening to you the whole time, I want to go too!"

Zhu Baie nodded at Sun Wukong, "Alright, we won't call Sha Wu Jing. We don't know where to find her. For all we know, she might be peeping in some women's bathhouse."

"Hey, I'm right here, I'm not peeping! I want to play with you too!" Sha Wu Jing shouted with all her might, but unfortunately, Sun Wukong and Zhu Baie still didn't hear her. The two of them walked towards the back courtyard, and Sha Wu Jing hurriedly followed behind, determined to join in, regardless of whether she was noticed or not.

Sun Wukong and Zhu Baie walked quietly, sneaking over the courtyard wall. Sha Wu Jing didn't need to be so careful; she climbed the wall boldly, not worried about being discovered. If she were discovered, she would be happy.

As soon as the three of them climbed over the wall, they heard the footsteps of Qingfeng and Mingyue, the two little girls. It turned out they were also coming to the back courtyard for something. Sun Wukong and Zhu Baie quickly hid behind a flower tree.

Qingfeng said, "Are those guys all asleep?"

Mingyue nodded, "They seem to be."

Qingfeng said, "Let's go see the children quickly. We've been entertaining those bad guests all day, and we've neglected the children. The master will be angry when he comes back."

Mingyue said, "Okay!"

The two of them pushed open a moon gate and entered a deeper part of the courtyard.

Sun Wukong waved her hand, and Zhu Baie followed behind, both of them quietly slipping through the moon gate. In the courtyard, a huge tree caught their attention, impossible to miss. The tree was several hundred meters tall, with a trunk circumference of twenty to thirty meters, requiring at least a dozen people holding hands to encircle it. The tree was lush with leaves, but had no flowers or fruit, looking quite ordinary.

"What a huge tree," Zhu Baie said, mouth agape, "How many years must it have taken to grow?"

Sun Wukong pouted, "It's quite impressive, I wonder what these two girls are doing here."

Qingfeng and Mingyue stood under the tree, cupping their hands to their mouths and calling out, "Children, come out for some fresh air... You've been hiding all day, must be quite stuffy, we're here to play with you."

As soon as they called out, the tree began to change. Many clumps of leaves suddenly separated, and inside, one by one, tree fruits emerged. These fruits were very peculiar, looking like three-year-old children, with small hands and feet, and big eyes, looking very cute.

Sun Wukong and Zhu Baie stared wide-eyed, mesmerized.

The fruits smiled and said, "Hello, Qingfeng Sister! Hello, Mingyue Sister!"

Qingfeng and Mingyue giggled, "Since the master is not here today, we'll test your knowledge. Let's recite some poems."

One fruit recited with a smile, "At the beginning of human life, nature is inherently good. Nature is similar, but habits diverge. If not taught, nature will change..."

Another fruit recited, "Like the moon that is constant, like the sun that rises. Like the longevity of the southern mountain, unshaken and uncollapsed. Like the lushness of the pine and cypress, all will be sustained..."

Another fruit recited, "In the white jade capital of heaven, with twelve towers and five cities, the immortal touched my head, and I received the gift of eternal life..."

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