Chapter 8

Traversing isn't an easy thing; it means giving up everything from the past.

When the transition isn't smooth, and when there's nothing to do but think, the remaining memories can become a heavy burden on the mind.

The stone monkey drifting at sea was in such a state. He missed the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, his father, his mother, his classmates, his teachers, his phone, his TV, the internet... in short, he missed everything.

If he could go back, he wouldn't even care if he were given ten Sun Wukongs.

When he was at the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, he was always busy just trying to survive, and he hardly had time to think about these things. But now...

All the past that he had forgotten over the past few months came back to torment him endlessly.

Staring at the always blue sky and the always blue sea, thinking about these things over and over again gave him a feeling of suffocation.

Several times, he stared at the dark blue water below for hours, almost jumping in.

"Maybe I'll go back if I die," he thought.

Looking back at the tent made of branches and leaves and the pile of fruit inside, he thought, "But even if I don't jump, I could die at any moment."

From the time he was born at the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit to drifting at sea, when wasn't he struggling for survival?

Setting out to sea was actually a crazy move. On this vast sea, a raft, no matter how large, was no different from a leaf. The fruits might rot before they were even finished.

He could only hope that the fresh water stored in coconut shells would last until they reached the other side of the sea.

"Maybe a storm will come tonight, and the raft will be destroyed, and I'll be done for."

"What are you talking about, monkey?" The goldfinch glared at him fiercely.

Good things don't come true, but bad things do. A storm really came that night, and a huge wave broke the raft apart, destroying three months of effort by the entire monkey troop.

Struggling in the sea all night, the next morning the monkey was left with only a large log.

No water, no food, only the goldfinch remained by his side.

"See! I told you not to say such unlucky things! What are we going to do now?" The goldfinch flapped her wings and chattered incessantly.

"I've noticed..."

"Noticed what?"

The monkey looked at the scorching sun and said slowly, "I noticed that when I'm really about to die, I don't want to die anymore."

"You're crazy!" The goldfinch was almost in tears.

The monkey had already thought about this situation before setting out to sea. His only reliance was the unique sense of direction of birds, which was like having a natural compass.

According to the planned direction, they were to use the monsoon to head southwest to the Southern Continent, then cross it to reach the Western Continent.

But even with the "compass," the current situation was not much help.

Flying up into the sky, the goldfinch flew back and forth in a panic. After a while, she returned.

"Did you see any islands?"

"No." The goldfinch shook her head dejectedly.

"No water, no food. In this situation, the most important thing is to conserve energy." The stone monkey lay flat on the floating log, only his tail moving around.

"If you fly a bit further, maybe..."

"Go find an island. If you find one, we'll be saved." The stone monkey said with half-closed eyes.

"What if you can't find me after you find the island?"

The goldfinch was right; ocean currents change in an instant.

Finding an island with the goldfinch's sense of direction wasn't difficult, but once she left the stone monkey's sight, finding him again after finding the island would be a huge problem.

The stone monkey didn't answer.

The bird and the monkey each stayed at one end of the log, silent for a long time, without saying another word.

Until the scorching midday sun baked the stone monkey's back, he finally spoke, "Go, without me, you'll definitely be saved."

"What about you?" The goldfinch asked.

"Me? I'm Sun Wukong, the spirit monkey born from the heavens and earth. I won't die so miserably."

The goldfinch didn't understand, but she just shook her head, "I won't go. If you're saved, you won't be able to go anywhere. Didn't we agree to cultivate and seek the Dao?"

"What's the point of talking about this now? Go, I won't blame you."

Sometimes despair is a kind of relief. Facing the vast sea, he could do nothing, but this made him feel at peace.

Maybe he should have died during the transition. Not every stone monkey can become Sun Wukong. Perhaps, walking the path of Sun Wukong is a very small probability.

Thinking about it, this failed attempt wasn't a big deal, but it felt wrong to drag an innocent goldfinch to her death with him.

"I won't go." The goldfinch's eyes narrowed.

"You staying will only hold me back! Go! If you don't, you'll die too!"

"I won't go, what can you do about it! What can you do about it! I'll do what I want! I won't go!" The goldfinch's tears flowed.

The stone monkey's eyes also gradually turned red.

Since coming to this world, he had cried a lot. Was Sun Wukong also so easily moved to tears?

But heroes shouldn't have tears.

"From this, I see that I'm not a hero."

The first day passed like this.

When the sun rose the next day, the seawater that had splashed on them had evaporated, leaving tiny salt crystals on their fur, making the stone monkey very uncomfortable.

Worse still was the hunger and thirst.

All these sensations made him extremely irritable, but he didn't even have the strength to vent his anger.

The island was still nowhere in sight. Finding an island by following the current was like winning the lottery.

Looking at the other end of the log, the goldfinch, huddled on the bark, was also beginning to weaken.

Death was already close.

"Go?"

"No." The goldfinch said stubbornly.

The stone monkey didn't ask again. He just quietly gazed at the sky.

When the sun rose on the third day, the stone monkey and the goldfinch were leaning against each other.

This made the stone monkey have to be careful not to press on her, but he liked the feeling of being close.

"Go?"

"No." The same answer, but this time the goldfinch didn't even open her eyes.

"Why do you want to cultivate and seek the Dao? I've never seen a monkey like you." The goldfinch asked.

"Because I'm not a monkey."

"Not a monkey?"

"Actually, I am a monkey, but... in short, I'm not an ordinary monkey. I should have set out to sea three hundred years later, then it would have been fine. Maybe I was too impatient."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

...

"Goldfinch, do you have any wishes?"

"I'm a goldfinch! Goldfinch... forget it, I don't have the energy to argue. My wish... I want to fly higher and farther, like an eagle. That way, I can go to more places... If I were an eagle, I would have found an island by now."

"That day will come. Once we reach the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars and cultivate to become immortals, everything will be possible." The monkey said.

"Can I cultivate too?"

"Of course."

"What can we do after cultivating?"

...

"Monkey, why do you want to cultivate?"

"To... I don't know, let me think. I don't want to be an ordinary monkey anymore. I want to learn the seventy-two transformations and become a mountain king. Yes, and have a few concubines. A carefree life, no longer afraid of small fry like the leopard. Then I'll build a palace for you on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, like a human palace. Anything you want, I can make it happen."

"Have a few concubines? You don't need to cultivate for that. I know several female monkeys who are already drooling over you."

"Go away! Who wants female monkeys? When the time comes, only fairies will be worthy of me... yes, beautiful fox spirits will do too."

"Can't it be a goldfinch spirit?"

The stone monkey suddenly opened his eyes wide and looked at the puffed-up goldfinch.

Well, the Bull Demon King can hook up with a fox spirit, and a snake spirit can get together with a scorpion spirit. Thinking about a monkey spirit and a goldfinch spirit... it doesn't seem to be a problem.

But they haven't become spirits yet. Is love really beyond species? Why does it feel so strange?

"Alright, alright, when I become a mountain king, I'll send someone to capture you as my chief wife."

"Okay!" The goldfinch nodded happily, lowered her head, and rubbed against the stone monkey's armpit. "You must remember to send someone to capture me."

"But let's agree that when you transform into a human, you have to be beautiful, or I might change my mind."

"If I'm not beautiful, I'll send someone to capture you as my chief husband."

"…Is that possible?"

Time passed, and this endless conversation continued, but the voices grew weaker and weaker.

The sun rose and set over the sea, clouds drifted in the sky, hunger, thirst, the scorching sun, and the cold, damp sea breeze.

Until the morning of the seventh day, the goldfinch and the stone monkey were both in a semi-comatose state.

In a daze, the stone monkey seemed to see a golden carp floating on the surface of the sea.