Chapter 20

Heavenly Court, the Peach Garden.

Ever since he started working in the Peach Garden, Sun Wukong had been captivated by the fragrant peaches. One day, seeing that most of the peaches on the peach trees were ripe, Sun Wukong wanted to taste them. However, the land spirits and warriors of the Peach Garden were always closely following him, making it difficult for him to take a bite. So, Sun Wukong came up with a plan and said to the immortals, "You all go and attend to your duties outside. I will rest for a while in this pavilion."

The lesser immortals did not dare to disobey Sun Wukong and left the Peach Garden one by one. Once he saw that no one was around, Sun Wukong jumped onto the peach tree, picked some ripe peaches, and ate his fill. Thus, Sun Wukong got his way and was overjoyed. Every few days, he would visit the Peach Garden to satisfy his craving, living a truly carefree life.

On the other side, Yang Zhen, following the information provided by Marshal Tianpeng, found the location of the Peach Garden. As he entered, Yang Zhen saw a group of warriors and a short old man standing outside the Peach Garden, frequently peering inside with worried expressions.

Yang Zhen immediately understood the situation. Sun Wukong must have been inside, stealing and eating the peaches. The land spirits and warriors, afraid of Sun Wukong's orders, dared not enter and could only stand outside, anxiously hoping that Sun Wukong would not go too far.

Ignoring these people, Yang Zhen flew directly into the Peach Garden and saw the following:

Blossoms blooming, fruits hanging heavy. Blossoms fill the trees, fruits weigh down the branches. Fruits hang like red jewels, blossoms cluster like rouge. They ripen every thousand years, unaffected by seasons. The ripe ones have a rosy hue, the unripe ones are green with stems. The smoke-like mist clings to the green, the sun highlights the red. Rare flowers and exotic herbs grow beneath the trees, blooming all year round. Pavilions and halls stand on either side, often shrouded in mist.

The scenery of the Peach Garden was indeed magnificent, and the ripe peaches were large and red, emitting a tempting fragrance, clearly very delicious. Even someone as disciplined as Yang Zhen could not resist the temptation to pick a few and eat them. Of course, Yang Zhen had come to the Peach Garden for this very purpose.

Anyway, whatever Yang Zhen ate would be blamed on Sun Wukong. As the saying goes, "Friends are for using." Well, Yang Zhen certainly didn't think that way, but since the opportunity was there, why not take advantage of it? Eating a few peaches wouldn't hurt.

The peaches in the Peach Garden were indeed miraculous. The small peach trees ripen every three thousand years, and eating them makes one healthy and immortal. The ordinary peach trees ripen every six thousand years, and eating them grants one immortality and eternal youth. The best peaches ripen every nine thousand years, and eating them grants one the same lifespan as heaven and the same age as the sun and moon.

As the saying goes, "A day in heaven is a year on earth." Nine thousand years in heaven is an unimaginable amount of time on earth. Therefore, these peaches were extremely precious.

In fact, cultivators were not originally immortal. They just lived much longer than ordinary people, thousands or tens of thousands of times longer. However, if their cultivation did not reach the level of a Quasi-Saint, they would eventually die of old age. This is why so many demons on the Journey to the West wanted to eat Tang僧's flesh. The longer one lived, the more one wanted to live.

The nine-thousand-year peaches planted by Queen Mother of the West, once eaten, granted one the same lifespan as heaven and the same age as the sun and moon. Who could resist such temptation? However, other demons did not have Yang Zhen's "stealth" technique and could not avoid the Demon-Detecting Mirror at the South Gate of Heaven. Thus, for thousands of years, there had been no thefts in the Peach Garden.

After wandering around the Peach Garden, Yang Zhen indeed found Sun Wukong lying on a peach tree, leisurely eating peaches.

Yang Zhen quickly finished the peach in his hand and then threw the pit at Sun Wukong's head.

"Thud!"

Sun Wukong, who never expected anyone else to be in the Peach Garden, was startled and quickly jumped down from the tree. He looked around but saw no one. After circling the garden a few times and confirming that no one was there, Sun Wukong scratched his head in confusion and leaned against a peach tree to continue eating.

Seeing Sun Wukong's silly behavior, Yang Zhen couldn't help but laugh. He had just pranked his second master, and now he could prank his first master. He wondered if he should go see his third master, the mysterious Sha Wujing. What kind of person was he? What did the Curtain-Rolling General actually do? Was he really just a curtain roller? Sha Wujing was the most mysterious character in the Journey to the West.

"Thud!"

Seeing that Sun Wukong had given up looking for him, Yang Zhen threw another peach pit at Sun Wukong's head.

"Who's there?" Sun Wukong, no matter how innocent, now knew someone was playing with him. Without thinking, he took out his Ruyi Jingu Bang and swung it around. Since leaving Mount Fangcun, Sun Wukong's temper had become increasingly irritable, especially after the two invitations from Heaven, which had only fueled his arrogance.

"Hey! Monkey, it's me!" Yang Zhen revealed himself and said to Sun Wukong.

"Kitty?" As soon as he saw Yang Zhen, Sun Wukong immediately threw his Ruyi Jingu Bang and pounced on Yang Zhen, knocking him to the ground. Looking at Yang Zhen, Sun Wukong asked in confusion, "Kitty, why are you here? You're so obedient, did the master kick you out too?"

"No, I came out to do some business and wanted to visit you at Flower-Fruit Mountain. But the monkeys there said you had become an official in Heaven, so I sneaked into the Heavenly Court to find you." Yang Zhen smiled and then kicked Sun Wukong away, saying, "I didn't expect the Jade Emperor to appoint you, a monkey, to guard the Peach Garden. He must be blind."

"Hehe!" Embarrassed by Yang Zhen's words, Sun Wukong scratched his head, not knowing what to say.

However, Sun Wukong's thick skin was well-known in the three realms. Soon, he started chatting with Yang Zhen about what had happened since they last met. He even introduced Yang Zhen to the different types of peaches in the garden, telling him which were three thousand years old and which were nine thousand years old. Before they knew it, the two of them were eating peaches and chatting about the amusing events of the past hundred years.

After nearly an hour, Yang Zhen suddenly said, "Monkey, if Queen Mother of the West finds out you've eaten so many peaches, she will surely punish you. You should be careful."

Well, Yang Zhen's face did turn a bit red when he said this. But his face was also very thick, and he quickly recovered from his guilt, looking at Sun Wukong with genuine concern.

"No problem, no problem!" Sun Wukong waved his hand and said, "With my abilities, the Heavenly Court can't do anything to me."

Seeing Sun Wukong's carefree attitude, Yang Zhen thought to himself, "Indeed, the Heavenly Court's two invitations and the recognition of Sun Wukong as the 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven' have made him arrogant and disrespectful. He probably feels no fear, only guilt, about stealing the peaches."

Well, Sun Wukong wouldn't be in danger, and in the future, he would become the Buddha of Victory in Battle, reaching the level of a Great Immortal. He would achieve the ultimate cultivation. Thinking of this, Yang Zhen smiled and said, "If that's the case, I won't worry about it."

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