Volume One: Unsayable Chapter 61: On Offering Surrender

After leaving the netherworld, what followed was… offering surrender, attacking the heavenly court, being besieged by heavenly troops, offering surrender again, the Peach Festival, another siege… These events unfolded one after another. If summed up, retrieving treasures from the Dragon Palace and leaving the netherworld were the triggers for the Rebellion in Heaven.
He analyzed everything in detail, ruling out one possibility after another, and finally concluded that the goal of those behind the scenes was to drive a rift between him and the heavenly court. The journey to the netherworld was not determined by time; the condition for triggering this event was when his side’s strength became sufficient to rival that of the heavenly court, or at least cause them significant trouble.
Currently, there were eight people on Flower Fruit Mountain with the strength of Taiyi Golden Immortals. Among the 72 Demon Kings, there were also a few at the level of Heavenly Immortals. There were over a hundred Earthly Immortals, and four to five thousand Human Immortals. They had indeed grown strong enough that the heavenly court could no longer tolerate them.
Upon further investigation, he had only gathered the Seven Great Saints for a few days—how could the news spread so quickly? The only explanation was that there was a traitor among them!
This traitor must be quite skilled; perhaps even among the eight. Wu Zhiqi, Wang Yu, and Feng Tong knew the truth and would never do such a thing. Among the remaining four, Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng was the least likely, as he was his savior. If he wanted to clash with the heavenly court, he wouldn’t resort to such methods. Even if he did, he might not have such deep scheming. Fu Hai Jiao had a deep grudge against the heavenly court, but since he had already said the heavenly court would come to besiege them within the year, he could wait for tens of thousands of years—there was no need to rush. As for the remaining two, the Golden Winged Roc and the Bull Demon King, he couldn’t see through them.
Offering surrender, besieging, besieging, offering surrender… Ultimately, both led to the same result. What exactly did this person want?
Wukong couldn’t figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it. He knew that as a time traveler, there were some things he could change, but many others he still couldn’t control. He was like a small boat, tossed by the waves of the Journey to the West, occasionally rowing the oars or adjusting the rudder. As for the outcome and whether he could influence the overall situation, with his current abilities and knowledge, he could only leave it to fate.
Wukong changed his mind and put away his Ruyi Jingu Bang. Killing these two was easy, but this time he had to treat them politely, leaving no evidence for the King of Hell to complain about. Although it wouldn’t affect the outcome, it would at least make those behind the scenes miscalculate once—considered a small revenge.
Hei Bai Wu Jian wasn’t surprised to see Wukong tear apart the chains. He simply led Wukong to the Hall of Yama.

Faint ghostly lights filled the hall, all emitting a weak blue-green glow, creating a rather eerie atmosphere. The hall was long and narrow; Wukong stood below, separated from the Yama King sitting atop by at least hundreds of ghostly soldiers.

Seeing Wukong standing below without bowing, the Yama King shouted, “Sun Wukong, why don’t you bow when you see your king?”

Wukong replied, “I dare to ask, Yama King, who exactly is allowed in your underworld?”

The Yama King was momentarily stunned but then answered, “Of course, those whose lifespans have ended. Don’t you know that if I order someone to die at midnight, they must not be allowed to live until dawn?”

Wukong smiled and said, “I certainly know that. But among these people, are there any Taiyi Golden Immortals?”

Upon hearing the words “Taiyi Golden Immortal,” the Yama King suddenly stood up. “You monkey, what nonsense are you talking? Don’t you know that once one enters the realm of immortals, they shed their mortal form and become beings beyond ordinary mortals, free from the three calamities and living as long as heaven and earth? Those who cannot escape the three calamities have their souls destroyed and turn to dust. Whether they live or die has nothing to do with my underworld. There isn’t even a single immortal in this place—how could there be any Taiyi Golden Immortals?”

Wukong said, “To be honest, I am indeed a Taiyi Golden Immortal. I’m afraid, Yama King… you’ve captured the wrong person.”

“Haha, complete nonsense! If I captured the wrong person, wouldn’t the world be in chaos? Bring him here—erase his name from the records and throw him into the rebirth pool!” the Yama King ordered.

Seeing that the Yama King wasn’t acting rationally, Wukong realized he must have been deceived by someone else. Remembering the events in Journey to the West, where the Ten Kings of Hell acted arrogantly at first and then obsequiously to trick Wukong into making mistakes, he used his ability to transform and appeared before the Yama King’s desk in an instant. Still smiling amiably, he said, “It must not be easy to sit in this position. Since you’ve captured the wrong person this time, I don’t blame you.”

Seeing Wukong’s supernatural powers, the Yama King realized without a doubt that this was indeed an immortal. Even if not a Taiyi Golden Immortal, his skills were at least those of a heavenly immortal. He quickly said, “Indeed, an upper immortal! I was blind—just a misunderstanding.”

Wukong smiled and said, “Since it’s a misunderstanding, let’s drop it here. You’d better take care of yourself.” With that, he patted the Yama King’s shoulder, his words seemingly meant to comfort him, but to the Yama King, they carried a completely different meaning. “Take care of yourself?” It could just as easily be interpreted as a threat.

After leaving the Yama King’s hall and exiting the Netherworld City, Wukong found himself surrounded by white emptiness, not knowing where to go. Suddenly, he heard the monkeys chattering wildly, “The king is awake! The king is awake!”

Wukong opened his eyes and saw that he was still lying on a high branch—what had happened earlier was just a dream.

Calmly, Wukong jumped down from the tree trunk and said with a smile, “After drinking so much wine, I must have slept very soundly.”

General Bong stepped forward and reported, “Your Majesty, an old man from Flower-Fruit Mountain, accompanied by two attendants, claims to be an angel from the upper realms and requests to see you.”

Wukong shuddered. How could they arrive so quickly? The heavenly troops sent to suppress the demon monkey had not yet arrived, but those sent to offer amnesty had already come. Unaware of the intrigues within the heavenly court, many messages remained confined to certain areas and gradually faded away.

Amnesty… amnesty… Wukong repeated in his mind. Well then. “Since they’re heavenly messengers, why not invite them up the mountain? Let’s hold a banquet in front of the Water Curtain Cave!”

When Wukong returned to the Water Curtain Cave, he saw the seven members of the Bull Demon King’s group sitting quietly inside, none of them saying a word, lost in their thoughts. Wukong smiled and said, “Why aren’t my brothers competing in martial arts today? Have you already defeated someone?” None of them replied.

Wukong asked, “Could it be that you’re uneasy after hearing about the visitors from the heavenly court?”

The Bull Demon King replied, “What’s there to be uneasy about? The heavenly court always pretends to be one thing in front of others and another behind their backs. I, the old Bull, can’t stand that.”

Wukong said, “Brothers should not speak rashly. With this amnesty offer from the heavenly court, it’s possible that I, the old Sun, might have to go to heaven after all.”

At these words, everyone was shocked.

Wuzhiqi said, “That’s absolutely impossible! We’ve already killed heavenly generals—this is a grave crime. If we go to heaven, won’t we be at the mercy of others?”

Fuhai Jiao angrily retorted, “I thought you were loyal and righteous. Who would have thought you’d be greedy for profit? If you go to heaven, I’ll just return to the North Sea to live in leisure!”

The Bull Demon King was also stunned, but knowing well that Wukong was full of schemes, he said, “Brother Jiao, don’t be hasty. Could Wukong explain things in detail so we won’t be confused?”

The Nine Spirit Saints and the Golden Winged Roc merely smiled without speaking, as if they had grasped some hidden truth.

Wukong didn’t answer but said, “That heavenly envoy has already been invited outside the cave. Why don’t we all go together and see what he has to say.”

The Bull Demon King was taken aback. “That’s good. Since Wukong has kept us in the dark, let’s all go and find out for ourselves.”

The eight of them left the Water Curtain Cave and saw an old man in white standing in front of it, holding a feather duster. Two people followed behind him—one dressed as a civil official, gentle and upright with a noble demeanor, while the other military official seemed unremarkable, raising his eyelids disdainfully, as if looking down on everything.

Wukong thought to himself that this man must be Tai Bai Jin Xing. He led everyone forward to greet them.

After everyone sat down, the old man said, “I am Tai Bai Jin Xing from the West. I’ve long heard that Flower-Fruit Mountain is full of heroes who stand out among the best in the world. Now, carrying the imperial edict from the Jade Emperor, I’ve come to invite you all to heaven to be recorded among the immortals. In the future, you can bring honor to your families.”

“Hey, old man, stop talking nonsense! Heaven is like a dragon’s den or a tiger’s lair to us. Don’t try to deceive us here!” The one who spoke was Fuhai Jiao.

The Sea Dragon had long held a grudge against the Heavenly Court, but he knew his own strength was insufficient to overcome them alone. By chance, he met the people from Flower Fruit Mountain, feeling as if he had met an old friend in a foreign land. He thought his chances of revenge were high, but to his surprise, though the people of Flower Fruit Mountain were ambitious, they never brought this matter up openly. Just then, the Heavenly Court offered them amnesty—how could he not be angered? Thus, he took the initiative to challenge them, hoping to make Taibai Jinxing back down.

The others remained silent, waiting to see how Taibai Jinxing would respond. Taibai Jinxing smiled and said, “Your friend is mistaken. The Heavenly Court represents the true teachings of Taoism. We all share the same origin—why not unite to make our Taoist sect thrive? You say the Heavenly Court is a place full of dangers, and that’s true as well. For those demons who harm living beings and cause chaos, the Heavenly Court certainly won’t allow them to harm others. But if you have a kind heart and are dedicated to the path of Tao, then the Heavenly Court is the best place in the world.”