Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 317: Unexplained Affinity

Although Zhu Rong was not in her true form, Wukong recognized her at a glance. When Zhu Rong saw Wukong, a faint surge of magical energy emanated from her, indicating emotional disturbance. Wukong, of course, would not expose her and simply observed from the side.

Tang Seng said, “Grand Tutor, I’ve just arrived in this precious land—what is there to be joyful about?”

Zhu Rong replied cheerfully, “This is the Western Liang Women’s Kingdom. Since the beginning of time, no man has ever entered its capital. Today, as the imperial brother of the Tang Dynasty, you have come here. By the queen’s orders, I have been sent to propose marriage.”

Hearing this, Wukong realized Zhu Rong had copied someone else’s words and began to ponder. “Since the beginning of time…” That sounded like an extremely long time—could she really know about ancient events? Not to mention, what if some curious immortals came to this kingdom? And what about the women in the kingdom who gave birth to boys after drinking from the Mother and Child River?

Wukong then asked, “Grand Tutor, allow me to interject. You say no man has ever entered the capital—is that true?” Zhu Rong glanced at Wukong with approval in her eyes and said, “It’s absolutely true.”

Wukong asked, “So do all the women in the kingdom give birth to girls, with not a single boy?”

Zhu Rong nodded and said, “Exactly!”

Seeing Zhu Rong’s serious expression, Wukong knew she was also deeply concerned about this matter. In modern times, gender is determined by chromosomes. If the water of the Mother and Child River had such an effect, what was the purpose? Just to create all women in the kingdom? Where was the source of this river—was it natural or man-made?

Wukong waved his hand, signaling to Zhu Rong and Tang Seng to continue their conversation, while he went aside to think.

Tang Seng, looking puzzled, said, “The four of us have been to the kingdom but haven’t met anyone. How can someone propose marriage so quickly? I only have these three companions—whom in the kingdom could possibly be interested in whom?”

Zhu Rong replied, “The holy monk is very kind. It is my king who wishes to marry you. He is willing to offer the wealth of his entire kingdom as a dowry and wants to make you his husband. My king is willing to become the emperor, so he ordered me to act as a matchmaker to arrange this marriage.”

Hearing this, Tang Seng lowered his head and remained silent.

Wukong found this even more strange. The king of the Western Liang Women’s Kingdom was quite direct—without even meeting Tang Seng in person, he immediately proposed marriage. His character and temperament were unclear; how could he be so reckless? Tang Seng’s reaction was also odd. In the past, upon hearing such a proposal, Tang Seng would have firmly refused without hesitation.

Wukong recalled the complicated feelings between the two characters in Journey to the West and thought to himself, Could these two… be meant for each other? But there is no such thing as fate; everything on earth is controlled by the gods. Only by meeting the Queen will we know for sure.

Seeing Tang Seng deep in thought and silent, Zhu Rong said, “Elder, don’t worry too much. Such an important matter as marriage can’t be decided in just a few words. We should at least take a look at their appearances first. It’s not me bragging, but my queen is truly beautiful beyond compare—unique in the whole world. Even after traveling tens of thousands of miles, you’ve probably never seen someone so graceful and lovely.”

Wukong laughed and said, “Your Excellency makes a good point. Master, shall we go to the palace to meet them?”

Tang Seng frowned and said, “Wukong, don’t tease me.”

Wukong said to Zhu Rong, “Your Excellency, my master is a bit shy. Please step aside for a while while I talk to him.”

Zhu Rong replied, “Elder, please go ahead. I’ll wait outside.”

Zhu Rong and the accompanying female officials left Yingyang Inn. Tang Seng said, “Wukong, the reason I didn’t refuse right away is that I need the queen to issue a new pass. If I anger her and she refuses to let us pass, what shall we do?”

Wukong said, “Master, I thought you were really interested. If you’re determined to go west, not even a queen—or anyone in the world—can stop you.”

Tang Seng asked, “Does Wukong have a plan?”

Wukong replied, “It’s very simple. Master, pretend to agree first. Just say that you’ve entrusted the task of obtaining the scriptures to your disciples and ask the queen to issue a new pass. Then we can rescue you from the palace, how about that?”

Tang Seng thought for a moment and said, “This plan does seem sound. But you must definitely rescue me!”

Wukong laughed and said, “Master, don’t worry. If I don’t rescue you, even Buddha won’t spare me.”

So Wukong called Zhu Rong back in and said, “Your Excellency, my master has agreed, but he must meet the queen first. If she’s ordinary in appearance and lacks virtue, she’s not worthy of our holy monk.”

Zhu Rong was overjoyed and said, “As long as we meet, everything can be settled easily.”

Wukong asked, “When shall we go to the palace to meet the queen?”

Zhu Rong replied, “Since you’ve just arrived in our country, rest first. I’ll order the inn to prepare a feast. It’s not too late to go to the palace tomorrow.”

Wukong said, “We’ll follow Your Excellency’s arrangements.”

They returned to their room, and after a short while, a table full of delicious vegetarian dishes was brought in. Tang Seng picked up his chopsticks but didn’t eat, suddenly saying, “Wukong, this isn’t right!”

Wukong asked, “What’s not right?”

Tang Seng replied, “If the queen invites me in and wants to perform marital rites, that would be a huge problem. If I lose my vital energy, won’t that ruin my Buddhist virtue and cause me to fall from my spiritual state?”

Wukong laughed and said, “Master, that queen is so delicate. How could she force you? Just delay a bit, and I’ll come rescue you right away.” Hearing Wukong’s words, Tang Seng felt less anxious, but he still couldn’t settle down. He barely touched the food on his plate before putting down his chopsticks. Once everything was settled, Wukong left Yingyang Inn, transformed, and entered the palace to look for Zhu Rong. The Grand Tutor’s residence was easy to find. When Wukong arrived, he saw dozens of minor demons inside, but not a single person with magical powers in the Women’s Country. He naturally knew they were all disguised by the female demons from Qitianling. Zhu Rong seemed to have known in advance that Wukong would come looking for her; the door was wide open, and she was sitting in the main hall waiting. When Wukong entered the hall and revealed his true form, Zhu Rong said with a smile, “What brings the young elder here?” It had been a long time since Wukong had seen Zhu Rong, and he felt like joking, so he said, “I couldn’t forget the face of the Grand Tutor at first sight, so I came to pay a visit.” Zhu Rong’s face turned red as she scolded, “Wukong, stop talking nonsense.” Wukong stuck out his tongue and said, “We are both teacher and friend; it’s fine to joke.” Zhu Rong felt mixed feelings toward Wukong—she couldn’t explain why. Ever since Wukong had mastered spells related to the other five elements besides fire, her previous sense of closeness to him had diminished greatly. Now, when she saw him, she felt only a sisterly affection. Zhu Rong said, “Stop it. If you missed me, you would have come to see me many times at Qitianling.” Wukong replied, “Sigh, I’m not as free as you. I wish I could split into three or five bodies just to keep up with everything.” Zhu Rong laughed and said, “I’m not really blaming you. It’s really hard for you to make it this far.” Wukong said, “It’s hard if you put it that way, but easy if you put it another way. When faced with insurmountable difficulties, someone will surely help.” Zhu Rong had little understanding of the quest for the scriptures and didn’t know why Buddha wanted to tease them. Clearly intending to spread the Dharma, he yet devised such a troublesome method. But she wasn’t good at scheming and didn’t ask about it. She asked, “Did the Wood God or the Metal God cause you any trouble?” Wukong replied, “Of course they did. The West sent three monks in gray robes, barely able to match the three of the Wood God’s subordinates. That’s why we had to come here.” “Monks in gray robes? I’ve never seen them. Are they that powerful?” Zhu Rong asked. “Extremely powerful. Any one of them is a match for me,” Wukong answered. Having many questions after arriving in the Women’s Country, he added, “You’ve only been here for a short time. How did you become the Grand Tutor so quickly?” Zhu Rong said with pride, “It was naturally easy.” Wukong asked, “So where did that Grand Tutor go?” Zhu Rong replied, “She’s sick. Once I leave, her illness will surely be cured.”

Wukong was speechless for a moment. It turned out that the Grand Tutor’s illness was indeed a trick orchestrated by Zhu Rong. Fortunately, it didn’t endanger anyone’s life. He asked, “Have you noticed any strange things in the Land of Women?”
Zhu Rong replied, “Of course there are issues. No men have ever come to this land, and the Mother and Child River is also very strange.”
Wukong asked, “What if a man were to come here?”
Zhu Rong said, “That’s exactly the strange part. It’s not that there are no men in the Land of Women—though it’s hard to find even one within thousands of miles. This place… has extremely heavy yin energy. Ordinary men who enter this area would likely not survive more than a hundred days.”
“What? Do they die?” Wukong asked anxiously.
Zhu Rong nodded. “More or less.”
Wukong thought for a while and said, “That doesn’t make sense. As the saying goes, ‘Those who retain yang live; those who lose it die.’ Women also have yang energy, so why are they unharmed?”
Zhu Rong replied, “That’s precisely the odd part. Not only are women unharmed, but they even live longer.”
Wukong said, “That’s true for ordinary people. But if not a single immortal has come here either, that’s rather strange.”
Zhu Rong said, “Most immortals in the world are under some kind of supervision. I don’t know what prohibitions exist in the Heavenly Court or in the Western Heaven. Otherwise, why isn’t a single immortal here?”
Wukong laughed and said, “The Western Heaven is full of monks. Entering the Land of Women would violate their vows. Who would dare to go? I really don’t know if the Heavenly Court has such a rule. Since you say so, there must be some truth to it.”
Hearing Wukong’s praise, Zhu Rong smiled gracefully and said, “I figured this all out myself. Am I not amazing?”
Wukong gave a thumbs up and said, “Amazing. But what’s so strange about the Mother and Child River? Have you gone to investigate?”
Zhu Rong replied, “You fool! I feel uncomfortable as soon as I get into water. How could I possibly investigate the Mother and Child River?”
Wukong laughed and said, “Are you afraid of drinking the river water?”
Zhu Rong raised her eyebrows and scolded, “Are you trying to provoke me?”
Wukong waved his hands repeatedly and said, “You misunderstand. I mean, with all your skills, it would be a shame if you didn’t find a successor.”
Zhu Rong became even angrier. With a wave of her hand, a ball of purple fire shot toward him. Wukong, not wanting to anger her further, swallowed the fire with a gulp and apologized, “Sis, don’t be angry.”
Hearing him call her “sis,” Zhu Rong immediately calmed down. “That’s right. It’s best if you call me sis. Call me that from now on.”
Wukong also liked Zhu Rong quite a bit. He said solemnly, “Since you’re my sis, I can’t just treat this casually.” He knelt on the ground and bowed to Zhu Rong respectfully several times. Zhu Rong was both surprised and delighted. She helped Wukong up and said, “You really regard me as your sis.”

Wukong laughed and said, “Is it because you think I’m too young, or too old?” Wukong had only been reborn for a thousand years, while Zhurong was an ancient being from tens of thousands of years ago. But if counted from the Origin Divine Ape, Wukong was actually tens of thousands of years older than Zhurong.
Zhurong replied, “What’s there to talk about being old or young? Having you as my brother, I’m naturally very happy.”
Wukong said, “I’m happy too. I wonder if you’ve gained anything else since arriving in the Western Liang Women’s Kingdom?”
“Anything else? The Western Liang Women’s Kingdom is full of women, no men at all. Perhaps because of that, there are no sectarian disputes, and I’ve had a peaceful life. Knowing you would come here, I used some tricks to become the Grand Tutor and waited for you here.”
“Waited for me specifically? Is there anything else?” Wukong asked.
“Hmm, that queen is a bit strange,” Zhurong said.