Volume 1: Unsayable – Chapter 75: Favor of Fate
Di Long’s face turned red as he picked up his cup and drank it to the bottom. Then he continued, “Thinking about it day and night doesn’t solve anything. One day, I left the Hall of Demonic Soldiers alone and stood at its entrance, lost in thought. You must know that the Hall of Demonic Soldiers is located on the Fourth Heaven of Tianjie, far removed from the Great Luo Heaven. I knew full well that everything related to the Peach Festival was thousands of miles away from me. Though I worried about it constantly, it was nothing but delusional thinking. But even though it was so far away, it wouldn’t hurt to think about it, right?”
“At that moment, I saw many heavenly soldiers approaching from afar, heading straight for the Hall of Demonic Soldiers. I saw that these soldiers were surrounding a high-ranking heavenly general, so I hid far away. Only later did I learn that this general was a celestial general from the Great Luo Heaven, sent to search for the transformed worms.”
Wukong asked, “Why search for those worms?”
Di Long drank another cup and smacked his lips. “This wine is truly delicious—better even than the immortal wines in the heavenly court.” In truth, he never had the chance to taste immortal wines in the heavenly court; he was just being greedy. The Bull Demon King slammed a large wine pot in front of him and said, “Stop beating around the bush and speak up!”
Di Long hurriedly replied, “I’m not entirely sure about the reasons. I only heard the general say it was an order from the Queen Mother to gather ten different kinds of creatures.” Wukong thought that these ten kinds probably referred to gods, humans, spirits, and creatures like worms, scaled beings, feathered birds, and insects.
Di Long continued, “Later I found out that there was a performance at this Peach Festival titled ‘The Emperor’s Arrival,’ in which the Jade Emperor himself played the role of descending to the three realms, aiming to show compassion for all living things. Among all these living things, everything else could be found in the heavenly court, except for these worms, which couldn’t be found in the Great Luo Heaven. So they resorted to searching in the lower realms instead.”
“What a joy! It’s amazing that out of nearly a hundred thousand demonic soldiers in the Hall of Demonic Soldiers, there were only over twenty worms, including me.” Even though ten thousand years had passed, Di Long was still overjoyed when recalling it. “That general was also very happy and took us all to the Great Luo Heaven.”
“The set for ‘The Emperor’s Arrival’ was enormous. We weak worms were placed in the most inconspicuous corner, in our true forms, waiting for the Jade Emperor to make an appearance.”
“For three whole days, I rested in the soil of the heavenly court, not daring to move at all. The surrounding heavenly soldiers were mighty and kept this area under strict surveillance, obviously worried that we might act rudely and cause trouble in the heavenly court.”
“This day has finally arrived. I feel oppressed in my heart. Though we’ve reached the Great Luo Heaven, we’ve gained nothing. It seems that after ‘The Emperor’s Arrival,’ we’ll be sent back to the Xuan Tai Fan Yu Heaven. We can’t even see whether the Peach of Immortality is round or flat—back there, we won’t even have anything to show off.”
“At that moment, celestial music sounded. Good heavens! I’ve lived for hundreds of years yet never heard such beautiful music before. It instantly captivated my soul. Then, a celestial official began to proclaim, ‘The Supreme Emperor of the Golden Heavens, the Ultimate Sovereign, the Natural Marvel, the Ultimate Truth, the Jade Emperor! He rules all heavens, oversees all realms, and saves all ages. He is the ruler of all heavens, eternal and unshakable!’”
“Hearing this, even if I were a fool, I would know that it must be the Jade Emperor arriving. I pushed myself up from the ground, trying to see what the Jade Emperor looked like. Since I couldn’t see the Peach of Immortality, at least I could see the Jade Emperor.”
“I saw countless people approaching from afar. At the front were celestial officials and nobles, flanked by heavenly soldiers and guards. Surrounding them were numerous fairies and palace maids dancing gracefully. In the center, faintly visible, was a yellow canopy—of course, that was the Jade Emperor inside. The Jade Emperor was surrounded by thousands of people, hidden tightly. I couldn’t help but feel disappointed inwardly, telling myself, ‘What a foolish dream! How could we ordinary people ever see the Jade Emperor’s face so easily?’”
“Just then, good heavens! The Peach of Immortality! I saw it! The fairies dancing on both sides each held a jade plate, atop which were colorful flowers supporting a bright red peach, four inches in diameter. The peach was flat—so the Peach of Immortality is flat, I finally understood.”
“The procession kept moving forward, but the Jade Emperor still didn’t appear. It seems that ‘The Emperor’s Arrival’ was just a show put on by the Jade Emperor here. The fairies holding the Peach of Immortality were getting closer and closer to me. I was filled with excitement. Though I knew I had no chance of getting that peach, I still hoped to see it more clearly.”
“They got even closer. The nearest fairy was less than ten zhang away from me. Suddenly, I had an idea. I silently prayed, ‘Peach of Immortality, if you can hear me, just jump out by yourself.’”
Di Long described it so vividly that everyone burst into laughter. The Bull Demon King said, “Do you think you’re that powerful? Just say it, and it’ll jump out?”
Di Long chuckled and said, “Do you find it strange? As soon as I said those words in my mind, the Peach of Immortality flew up with a thud and really landed right in front of me!”
The Bull Demon King slammed the table, his murderous intent evident: “Nonsense! Did you come here to amuse your old man?”
Wukong hurriedly stopped him. If the Earth Dragon wasn’t a fool, even with great courage, he wouldn’t dare talk nonsense in such a situation. He said to the Earth Dragon, “Then tell me why those peaches flew right in front of you.”
The Earth Dragon replied, “It’s embarrassing to say, but at that time I truly thought it was divine favor, that the heavens were moved by me. But then I thought, the Jade Emperor is the greatest in heaven—how could he have such kindness as to give me peaches for no reason?” He was naturally quick-witted, and seeing the demons of Flower-Fruit Mountain at odds with heaven, he spoke of the Jade Emperor without much respect.
“When those peaches fell, I saw most of the fairies in the crowd collapsing, as if under some spell. Most of the peaches in the plates flew up—it wasn’t just mine. It seemed this wasn’t divine favor but rather the work of an external force. Then all the immortals, officials, and heavenly soldiers started shouting chaotically, rushing to protect the Jade Emperor’s carriage, with no one paying attention to me.”
“Seeing the chaos and no one paying attention, I revealed my true form and devoured those peaches in a few bites. The taste, hehe, I’ll never forget in this life.”
Wukong found the Earth Dragon’s account vague. At this moment, he wasn’t interested in the peaches but wanted to know who had the audacity to cause such a disturbance in the Great Luo Heaven. “Then tell me, who caused all this commotion?”
The Earth Dragon said, “With my meager powers, how could I know who did it? After eating the peaches, I heard a voice say, ‘What a splendid peach banquet—why weren’t I invited?’ Then there was no more noise.”
The Golden-Winged Roc praised, “Mighty!”
The Bull Demon King and Wukong exchanged glances. Though he knew everything in the world, he couldn’t guess who this person was. Wukong asked the Earth Dragon again, “What happened after that?”
The Earth Dragon replied, “That chaos lasted only a moment. In just a short while, the Jade Emperor’s carriage moved on as if nothing had happened. After ‘The Emperor’s Arrival’ ended, I was sent back to the Hall of Demonic Soldiers.”
Wukong had intended to ask the Earth Dragon about some trivial matters of heaven, but unexpectedly, this ten-thousand-year-old Earth Dragon brought up such a story. As he said, ten thousand years ago, heaven had been invaded by an outsider—this person must have been extremely powerful to dare to attend the Peach Banquet unafraid. Unfortunately, the Earth Dragon knew too little to figure out who this person was. Otherwise, making an effort to get to know them might not be a bad idea.
Ten thousand years ago, the Bull Demon King hadn’t been born yet; Wang Yu, Feng Tong, and Fu Hai Jiao lived reclusively and naturally knew nothing about heaven’s affairs; Wu Zhi Qi was imprisoned underground, and the Nine Spirit Saints lived in the mortal world—none of them were aware of heaven’s events… Thinking of this, Wukong turned his gaze toward the Golden-Winged Roc.
Seeing a strange look in Wukong’s eyes, the Golden-Winged Roc laughed heartily, took a sip of the wine in his cup, and said, “Why are you looking at me, Wukong?” Wukong also smiled and replied, “Brother Roc has practiced cultivation for so long—surely no strange or unusual events can escape your notice.”
The Golden-Winged Roc said, “It’s true that I’ve practiced cultivation for a long time, but I’ve always preferred to be alone. As for trivial matters, I neither care to look at them nor listen to them.”
Hearing this, Wukong felt slightly disappointed. But then the Golden-Winged Roc changed his tone and said, “Yet I do know about this matter.” The Bull Demon King snapped, “If you know it, then tell us! Why be so hesitant? That’s not like a man!”
The Golden-Winged Roc shook his head and remained evasive, saying, “I can’t say it. It’s forbidden.”
Watching the Roc’s peculiar expression, Wukong seemed to grasp something vaguely. He had some suspicions, but couldn’t confirm them. So he said, “Never mind. It’s a matter from ten thousand years ago; perhaps it has nothing to do with us at all.” With that, Wukong nodded at the Roc. The Roc faintly felt that with just a brief glance, this monkey seemed able to see through his heart.