Volume 3: A Long Journey Chapter 272: The Fake Wukong Wukong saw Zhu Bajie outside Zifu Continent and was greatly surprised. He thought Bajie had returned to Gao Laozhuang to lead a mundane life after being demoted, but instead, he found himself on the immortal mountain of the Ten Continents and Three Islands. The immortals on Fangzhang Island did not recognize Bajie. They all pointed at this monster with a pig’s face and whispered among themselves. Bajie, rarely showing a serious expression, remained silent and waited quietly. On the white jade bridge, two boys kept watch. Any immortal who wished to meet the emperor had to be questioned by them first before deciding whether to be allowed in or not. Many of these immortals had weak cultivation skills and came hoping for a chance, as they heard that the Eastern Emperor would sometimes show leniency, allowing those with insufficient cultivation to be recorded in the immortal registry as celestial soldiers or officials. One after another, the immortals came to the white jade bridge, most returning disappointed—clearly, the Eastern Emperor had set very high standards that day. It was Bajie’s turn. Without waiting to be questioned, he stepped forward and whispered a few words. The boys’ expressions changed immediately, and they allowed Bajie to enter. The immortals waiting behind naturally felt resentful. Some immediately asked, “The Eastern Emperor is in charge of the immortal registry. How could he let even a demon in? He must have taken bribes!” One of the boys replied, “Stop making noise. That man was already on the immortal registry, so of course he can enter!” Hearing this, Wukong understood that although Bajie had been banished from the mortal world, his name remained in the immortal registry—apparently, the Heavenly Court had still kept a backdoor open for him. He followed Bajie in, feeling uneasy. He didn’t know what level of cultivation the Eastern Emperor possessed or whether his invisibility skill could deceive him. But in “Journey to the West,” Wukong’s invisibility skill had always worked perfectly. Now, with his powers far surpassing those of the original Monkey King, he felt a bit more confident. Bajie entered Zifu Continent and continued walking. After a while, Wukong saw nine jade pillars faintly visible on the left. Arranged in a nine-square pattern, their tops disappeared into the clouds—clearly much taller than those on Yingzhou Island. Wukong thought, “Those Nine Elders really didn’t deceive me.” Inside Zifu Continent was the Taiyuan Palace, where the Eastern Emperor held court. Bajie entered the main hall and knelt before the seated Eastern Emperor, begging, “Teacher, save me!” Teacher? How could the Eastern Emperor be Bajie’s teacher? Wukong wondered. The emperor seated above wore regal robes, but judging from his appearance, he seemed a few years younger than the Southern Pole Immortal—another youthful immortal. The emperor wasn’t surprised to see Bajie and said, “Stop shouting nonsense. Who is your teacher?” Ignoring those around him, Bajie cried, “Is it really you? I only recognize you as my teacher. Teacher, save my life!”

The Emperor smiled and said, “I have enlightened mortals and taught beings—eight thousand at the very least, if not ten thousand—but only Manqian is my disciple.” By Manqian, he naturally meant Dongfang Shuo’s Dao name.
Bajie said, “Anyway, you have to save me!”
The Emperor replied, “I gave you the Nine-Transformations Elixir in a past life—what does that have to do with this life? You were once the Marshal Tianpeng; how can you be so disregardful of dignity?”
Bajie grumbled, “If I’m already dead, what’s the point of dignity?”
The Emperor said, “If you go west with Tang Seng, even if you encounter demons, Sun Wukong will be there to protect you. The mission is safe—just requires some effort. What does that have to do with your life?”
Bajie indeed changed his tune and said, “Your Majesty doesn’t know—the monkey framed me. Tang Seng sent a decree to send me back to Gao Laozhuang. How can I still be considered a pilgrim now?”
The Emperor remained calm and said, “It’s still your own fault. Are you still not convinced?”
Bajie replied, “Fine, even if I’m at fault, killing someone only brings retribution. Then why did that monkey come to Gao Laozhuang to kill me?” Hearing this, Sun Wukong felt dizzy—it surely wasn’t he who was chasing Bajie. His first thought was naturally the Six-Eared Monkey. The Six-Eared Monkey? Why did it appear now? Even if it appeared, why kill Bajie? Who had ordered it to do this?
Upon hearing Bajie’s words, the Emperor of Donghua grew solemn and said, “Stop talking nonsense. Sun Wukong is still your brother-in-arms. If he were to exterminate you completely, there would be no good for him at all!”
Bajie said, “Your Majesty, it’s not Sun Wukong who wants to kill me—it’s Tang Seng who ordered it!”
The Emperor of Donghua snapped, “You’re getting even more absurd! Tang Seng is a holy monk who wouldn’t even harm a mosquito. How could he kill you! Bring him out!”
As Bajie cried out, the many immortals under the Emperor ignored him and dragged him away. Amid the chaos, a loud voice came from outside the Taiyuan Palace: “Hand over Bajie, or I’ll destroy your Taiyuan Palace!” That voice—wasn’t it Sun Wukong?
The Emperor of Donghua was stunned. He ordered everyone to release Bajie. Hearing Sun Wukong’s voice, Bajie was overjoyed and said, “He’s here! He’s here!” The Emperor’s expression darkened. “I really want to see what tricks this monkey has to cause trouble here!”
Sun Wukong flew out in haste. Seeing the figure outside, he couldn’t help but praise it—this one looked exactly like him. How could ordinary people tell the difference? It was, of course, the clever divine ape, the Six-Eared Monkey! But even after seeing it, he was still confused—why had it disguised itself as him to create such chaos?

The Six-Eared Monkey held a black-iron rod, quite similar to Wukong’s Ruyi Tianji Rod; without careful examination, it would be hard to tell them apart. Wukong thought to himself that the person behind him must have put in a great deal of effort to create this rod, which was indeed a rare magical weapon. Yet, lacking the refinement of the Xirang Furnace, it lost its ability to change shape at will and could not adjust in size or weight, though its weight was still much less. But how could anyone else tell the difference?

Donghua Emperor pointed at the fake Wukong and said, “Sun Wukong, you should properly go on your pilgrimage. Why kill innocents needlessly?”

The fake Wukong replied, “Hehe, Donghua Emperor, Zhu Bajie is a rejected disciple of Buddhism. You had better not meddle in this matter!”

Donghua Emperor sneered, “Sun Wukong, you too became a monk halfway through. In just a few days, you already consider yourself part of Buddhism?” As a renowned Taoist figure, he had always favored Taoism over Buddhism. How could he not get angry at the fake Wukong’s words?

The fake Wukong said, “Don’t worry about anything else. Just hand over Zhu Bajie, and nothing will happen to you!”

Donghua Emperor replied, “Do you think my Fangzhang Mountain is some place you can come and cause trouble?”

The fake Wukong laughed, “How is your Fangzhang Mountain compared to the Tongming Hall? I’ll smash your heavenly court from top to bottom!”

A few of Donghua Emperor’s subordinates could no longer hold back and attacked using their talismanic weapons. The Six-Eared Monkey had practiced diligently day after day, and these Taiyi Golden Immortals found themselves helpless against him, even fearing the iron rod in his hands.

Seeing the fake Wukong’s formidable strength, Donghua Emperor shouted, “Back off!” He reached into his robe sleeve and drew a sheathed sword, saying, “Today, I’ll teach you what heaven and earth truly mean!”

Upon seeing the sword, the fake Wukong’s expression changed drastically. Shouting, “Not good!” he performed a somersault in the air and vanished without a trace.

Having been disturbed by the fake Wukong, Donghua Emperor was in a bad mood, but since he hadn’t even had to fight to scare him away, he had saved some face. Believing what Bajie had said to be true, he said, “Come into the hall. I have questions for you!”

Seeing Donghua Emperor take action, Bajie felt greatly relieved. Over the past few days, he had been chased by the fake Wukong like a stray dog, barely escaping by using his best skills. When he had nowhere else to go, he remembered Donghua Emperor.

Once inside the hall, Donghua Emperor asked, “What did that monkey say when he was chasing you?”

Bajie replied, “He just said… that I was ruining Buddhism and that he wanted to kill me.”

Donghua Emperor said sternly, “You committed offenses before, and a single decree of exile was enough to atone for them. There’s no need to settle old scores. Surely, after leaving Tang Seng, you committed some unforgivable mistakes, right?”

Bajie stammered a few words but couldn’t speak clearly.

Donghua Emperor said, “If you won’t talk, then leave.”

Bajie hurriedly said, “I’ll talk, I’ll talk—what’s the big deal? I was sent back to Gao Laozhuang by Tang Seng, feeling extremely distressed. Naturally, I wanted to find my wife Cuilan. As the saying goes, a short separation is better than being newly married. We’ve been apart for several years—this isn’t just a short separation; it’s a long one, far worse than being newly married. It’s even worse than getting married twice or three times—”
“Say something useful!” ordered the Eastern Emperor.
“Just physical pleasure!” Bajie replied. “In the world of heaven, earth, and humanity, men and women loving each other—what’s wrong with that? Since I’ve been demoted, I’ve left Buddhism. What vows do I still need to abide by? Why should they keep meddling with me?”
After hearing Bajie’s words, the Eastern Emperor fell silent in thought. After a long while, he said, “Buddhism is indeed too overbearing!”
Bajie said, “Your Majesty, please save me! If I leave this immortal island, that monkey will surely come back. My life isn’t important—what matters is that it will damage Your Majesty’s reputation.”
The Emperor said, “Manqian, go prepare a room behind and let him stay there.”
Bajie kowtowed several times before following Dongfang Shuo away.
Wukong left the Taiyuan Palace and flew straight out of the immortal island, never looking back. In his fury, how could the Eastern Emperor dare to appear and demand the Thousand-Foot Jade? The Six-Eared Monkey had acted incredibly convincingly; even Wukong himself couldn’t explain it clearly with a hundred mouths.
Flying in the air, Wukong smiled bitterly. He never expected that in this life, he would still be impersonated by the Six-Eared Monkey once again. Judging from the situation, the troubles this time wouldn’t be any less severe than before.
In his past life, the Six-Eared Monkey had impersonated Wukong to take his place on the journey to the West. They often had to confront each other, posing great risks. Although even the Heavenly Court, the King of Hell, and Guanyin couldn’t tell them apart, Rulai eventually saw through it. This time, the Six-Eared Monkey was impersonating Wukong to commit evil deeds—chasing after Bajie and angering the Eastern Emperor—all under the guise of Buddhism, which naturally angered Taoism. And the Six-Eared Monkey only needed to act once; after that, he didn’t need to show up anymore. Showing up would only expose him, as there could only be one Sun Wukong in the world. All these consequences would naturally be blamed on Sun Wukong, and sooner or later, someone would come after him to make him pay.
After much thought, Wukong secretly admired the person behind these schemes. No matter who this person was, their cunning was truly remarkable. Zhu Bajie was almost a good-for-nothing, yet he was still used by this person, who even succeeded in stirring up the Eastern Emperor’s resentment toward the pilgrimage group. The Eastern Emperor was in charge of the celestial records—every immortal in heaven had dealings with him. If he decided to make things difficult for the pilgrimage group, Wukong would be overwhelmed.