Volume 2: The Path That Can Be Told – Chapter 152: Fighting the Qilin

Are the Qilin without a king? After hearing Dayu’s words, Wukong pondered carefully.
Reptiles, birds, insects, and mammals all have kings to lead them. By this logic, the Qilin should also have a king. As they rank first among the five categories, they possess extraordinary intelligence. Among the five kinds of immortals—heavenly beings, gods, humans, spirits, and ghosts—most are humans. But is the king of the Qilin truly the Seven-Spirit Ape, or could it be… Pangu? Wukong guessed wildly but couldn’t figure it out.
“What kind of monster is Xiangliu? I’ve never heard of him,” Wukong asked.
Dayu replied, “Xiangliu is born with a snake’s body and nine heads. He is extremely ferocious. Though he resembles a snake, he has no scales at all. His back is covered with hard armor, and he has six legs on his belly, so he belongs to the insect category.”
Wukong asked further, “Since Xiangliu is so fierce, why hasn’t anyone been able to subdue him?”
Dayu said, “Xiangliu has eaten countless people, and wherever he goes, his venom spreads everywhere. Of course, we can’t just sit idly by. But this creature has great magical powers and can move extremely fast. After several battles, we still couldn’t capture him. Later, Xiangliu somehow bewitched the Phoenix, the king of all birds. When they appeared together, they caused havoc—using poison and fire respectively. Their ferocity was truly terrifying. I gathered dozens of ancient gods and fought hard for over a dozen times before finally defeating them. Since then, they have disappeared without a trace.”
Wukong remembered that Chi Songzi once said the Phoenix “acts as a accomplice to tigers,” which most likely referred to Xiangliu. Wukong originally had little impression of Xiangliu; his greatest interests were still the Qilin and the Phoenix. One reason was the Nine Spirits Sage and the Golden-Winged Roc, while the other was his innate curiosity.
Both the Phoenix and the Qilin are famous legendary beasts. It is said that seeing them brings good fortune throughout one’s life. But Wukong didn’t know what the difference between them was.
Suddenly, Wukong thought of something and said, “The Qilin has great magical powers. How did he end up here? Could he have also hunted down the divine apes?” Dayu shook his head and said, “The Qilin arrived here many years after us. I don’t know why he came. Without a reason, it’s best not to disturb his peace. To be honest, if you hadn’t come here, those past events would likely have been forgotten by fate sooner or later.”
Wukong thought for a moment and declared firmly, “I must meet the Qilin!”
Zhu Rong glared at Wukong and was about to speak when Dayu stopped him. Dayu said, “The Qilin is different from Xiangliu. He hates fighting. Since you have some connection to the Qilin, he surely won’t harm you. But just in case, I’ll give you this item. If anything goes wrong, use it—it should protect you.”

Seeing Dayu take something out of his arms, Rushou widened his eyes in disbelief, while Zhurong let out an exclamation of surprise. Wukong saw a small greenish-brown cauldron in Dayu’s palm—unremarkable in appearance but seemingly extremely precious.

Dayu said, “This cauldron is called the Yu Cauldron. I also forged it from the Xirang Furnace. As for its exact uses, I’ll leave that aside for now. I’ll teach you how to use it.” He then passed down a set of incantations to Wukong.

Wukong carefully stored the cauldron, feeling uneasy. Dayu smiled and said, “I’m only lending it to you temporarily. You must return it after use. Why are you so fearful?”

At that moment, Zhurong said, “You scared me! I thought you were giving it to Wukong.” Wukong couldn’t help asking, “What’s so special about this cauldron?”

Zhurong replied with a smile, “It’s nothing special. It’s just Dayu’s life treasure.” Wukong was shocked—Dayu was willing to lend him his life treasure, showing great trust.

Zhurong added, “Since he won’t give it to you, I’ll give you a treasure instead.” With that, he reached into his clothes and took out a small white shield, his beautiful eyes drooping.

Seeing the shield, Dayu hesitated, unsure what to say. Wukong laughed and said, “We’re not going into fire or water—there’s no need for this.” Zhurong continued, “This shield is incredibly hard. Just be careful.”

After saying that, he pressed the shield into Wukong’s hands. Seeing Zhurong’s sad expression, Wukong didn’t know whether to take it or not and looked at Dayu instead. Dayu said, “Sister…” He usually referred to Zhurong as the Fire God. Though they shared the same mother, their bond went beyond that. Now, seeing the shield, he didn’t know how to persuade Zhurong.

Zhurong gave a bitter smile and said, “This isn’t for me. He’s carried guilt for a long time. Given his nature, he surely won’t blame me for doing this, right?”

Wukong was confused. Then Rushou said, “That’s right. If Brother Gonggong were to know, this would surely ease some of his remorse. The Fire God did the right thing.”

Only then did Wukong realize that the item belonged to Gonggong. Although Gonggong and Zhurong weren’t truly husband and wife, they had a deep affection for each other. This item must be very meaningful to Zhurong as well. Wukong quickly refused, saying, “That’s absolutely unacceptable!”

Zhu Rong said, “To be honest, though Gonggong is rough and aggressive by nature, he is not a villain. He once told me that the thing he regretted most in his life was harming the Divine Monkey of Creation. Upon reflection, the Divine Monkey of Creation had never done anything wrong or evil to anyone in the world, yet people, based on their own assumptions and selfish motives, repaid his kindness with resentment. By then, Gonggong already intended to die. With his temperament, if he couldn’t overcome this inner struggle, life held no meaning for him.” Zhu Rong glanced at the small shield in Wukong’s hand and smiled faintly, “Take it then. It’s an object belonging to the Water God; it’s of no use to me. If I miss him, I can simply think of him in my heart.” Though his words sounded casual, the others could tell that Zhu Rong was deeply saddened when thinking of Gonggong.

Wukong nodded, knowing Zhu Rong was determined. Without further words, he put away the shield. “Could you please tell me where the Qilin lives?” Da Yu replied, “The Qilin resides at the extreme southwest, where all beasts gather. It’s easy to find. You should know that the Qilin has a peculiar temperament. If too many people go there, it might cause trouble. I won’t be able to accompany you this time.”

Wukong said, “It’s fine for me to go alone. Goodbye!” With that, he soared straight south.

Da Yu watched Wukong’s retreating figure and nodded. “Whether we can return to the world and wash away the shame of avoiding disaster for tens of thousands of years depends entirely on Wukong.” Zhu Rong thought for a moment without saying a word before leaving on his own. Ru Shou said, “Since Wukong came here, Zhu Rong’s attitude has changed greatly. Could it be…” Da Yu shook his head slowly. “We must remember that fate is merciless. So many earnest hopes go unfulfilled. If Zhu Rong doesn’t understand this, then all those tens of thousands of years have been in vain.”

Ru Shou fell into deep thought, as if having an epiphany.

After traveling over two thousand li, Wukong looked down at the continuous mountain ranges below and the countless wild beasts leaping around in the forests and on the rocks—everything seemed very lively. He guessed he had arrived.

So he descended and searched through the mountains and forests.

At a stream, he saw many beasts lined up in two groups, leading a white tiger along the stream. On the white tiger’s back was a strange beast. It had a dragon’s head and deer’s antlers, its body covered in scales, with manes only on its head and tail. Its eyes were fiery red. Carried on the back of the king of beasts, surrounded by elephants, green lions, and spirit leopards, it resembled an emperor’s procession.

Judging from this grandeur, this beast must be the Qilin.

Wukong rushed ahead and then landed by the stream, shouting loudly, “Is that on the white tiger’s back the Qilin?” The procession stopped immediately, and a giant elephant roared, “Who dares to block our path?”

Wukong replied, “I’ve been entrusted by the Nine Sacred Spirits to come here in search of the Qilin elder.”

The monster on the White Tiger’s back lazily descended to the ground, each of its four feet supporting a auspicious cloud. It said, “Jiuling Yuansheng? What is that?”
Wukong was slightly surprised. If it were a qilin, how could it not know Jiuling Yuansheng? After thinking for a while, he said, “It’s the Lion-Nine King.” The qilin shook its head, ignored Wukong, and climbed back onto the White Tiger’s back, signaling it to move forward.
Wukong thought to himself, no wonder Dayu said this qilin was strange—it clearly didn’t seem very intelligent. Staying where he was, he asked again, “Lion-Nine King, do you recognize him?”
A spirit leopard immediately shouted, “Stop blocking the way! Move aside quickly!”
Wukong racked his brains but couldn’t think of any other name for Jiuling Yuansheng, so he asked again, “The Lion-Nine King is a nine-headed lion. As the king of all beasts, how could you not know him?”
Seeing that Wukong still wouldn’t move, the spirit leopard bared its teeth, prepared to attack, and leaped at him with its hind legs. How could Wukong take it seriously? With a flick of his hand, the spirit leopard flew sideways into the forest by the stream. Wukong hadn’t come here to fight; he only wanted to drive it away and didn’t use much force. But the spirit leopard turned around and attacked again. Wukong thought to himself, “What an ungrateful thing!” and swatted it aside with more force. This time, the spirit leopard rolled several times before standing steady and daring not to approach again.
A giant elephant about twenty feet tall stepped forward, using its trunk to grab Wukong. Wukong quickly grabbed it, thinking that if he didn’t show some skill, the qilin might not even look at him. With a shake of his arm, the huge elephant, weighing thousands of pounds, lost its balance, stumbled backward several steps, and fell into the forest, knocking over several trees as thick as two people holding arms around each other.
Many beasts, seeing how powerful Wukong was, didn’t dare approach. The White Tiger carrying the qilin let out a low growl, and the qilin rose into the air before the White Tiger dashed off like an arrow.
Wukong knocked the White Tiger down with a few punches and kicks, feeling puzzled. The qilin was known as the king of all beasts, yet it remained indifferent when its own kind was bullied. Could it not really be a qilin?
Sure enough, when the White Tiger was defeated, the qilin turned and left, with the other beasts following it in a rush. Wukong found this very strange and followed after it. As it walked, the qilin let out a few strange cries.
Wukong followed for a mile or two before seeing auspicious clouds approaching in the distance. Clouds? He had been here for three hundred years and had never seen clouds before. Upon closer inspection, he saw a giant beast standing on those clouds, looking exactly like the qilin on the ground.
Wukong thought to himself, “Oh no! So the one on the ground is just a young qilin. No wonder it doesn’t know Jiuling Yuansheng. The one in the sky is the real one.”

Wukong quickly called out from afar, “Elder Qilin, I am here on behalf of the Nine Spirits Sacred One!” The giant qilin in the sky descended but ignored Wukong, first examining the smaller qilin carefully. The smaller qilin cried a few more times, as if complaining to the larger one. Sure enough, after listening for a while, the qilin rushed at Wukong in a fit of anger. Wukong hurriedly explained, “It’s a misunderstanding; I am—” Before he could finish, the qilin spat out a stream of purple flames. Wukong quickly dodged, and as the qilin swished its giant tail like a steel whip, Wukong dodged to the side again, drawing his iron staff and saying, “Don’t—” The qilin opened its mouth wide once more, this time spewing thick smoke. Wukong quickly used a magic spell to blow the smoke back. The qilin then brought down its massive claw, and Wukong raised his staff to meet it. In this clash, it became clear that the qilin truly lived up to its reputation—even two Roushou gods wouldn’t have such strength. Wukong immediately rolled away using a supernatural skill, in a state of disarray.