Volume 1: Unsayable – Chapter 19: Return Home
The Armored Ape said, “How can that be? I never had such thoughts. I merely saw this blessed land trampled by wild beasts. If we don’t unite to defend it, we’ll have nowhere to live!”
The Red-Tailed Horse Ape wanted to retort, but suddenly noise arose from below—the howls of wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards. Alarmed, he exclaimed, “Those beasts are here again! Defense first!”
The four elder apes directed the rest of the monkeys to take cover above the mountain waist and roll down the prepared stones and logs. After several loud crashes, screams came from below.
The Red-Tailed Horse Ape chuckled twice. “After all, they’re not as clever as our tribe. They only know to use brute force.”
But in no time, he could laugh no more. A scout monkey reported that the beasts had retreated to the foot of the mountain. The screams earlier were just from a few old, weak, sick, or disabled ones who came to probe.
Strange—when did these beasts become so smart?
Just then, a roar came from below, loud as metal, making the monkeys’ ears ring: “Our new Tiger King says that anyone on Flower-Fruit Mountain who refuses to submit should flee for their lives, or face certain death!”
The Red-Tailed Horse Ape said nothing. He ordered the scout monkeys to prepare for defense and guard the only path leading up the mountain. Although there was another path in the back, it was extremely steep, making it difficult for animals other than monkeys to climb. Moreover, two Armored Apes led two thousand monkeys to guard it, so it should be safe.
After waiting for a while, seeing no movement on the mountain, the beasts realized the monkeys were determined to defend their home and began launching attacks.
At the head of the beast army was a tiger-headed man over ten feet tall, fierce in appearance, surrounded by other powerful beast spirits. This tiger spirit had practiced for over a thousand years, taking on human form and understanding human nature. He traveled to the Kingdom of Aolai and discovered this precious land—Flower-Fruit Mountain. What surprised him even more was that it was occupied by a group of monkeys, a complete waste of such a treasure. So he gathered birds and beasts from the surrounding mountains and, within just half a year, built up a strong force.
Half a year of preparation for this one strike.
Before this, wild beasts occasionally raided in groups, but they were weak and posed little threat. Now, with so many beasts gathered at the foot of the mountain, like ants swarming honey, and birds circling the mountain top like dark clouds, even the monkeys couldn’t resist such a force. If not for their advantageous location, Flower-Fruit Mountain would likely have already changed hands.
At the tiger spirit’s command, there appeared: deer with branching antlers, gazelles staring blankly at people; pythons with red scales winding around, and mischievous white-faced apes playing around. Like hungry tigers, they pounced, causing birds in the mountains to take to flight in a flurry and beasts in the forests to flee in panic. The monkeys on the mountain were so terrified that they thought two Buddhas had emerged from their bodies and ascended to heaven. They had no time to worry about throwing rocks or boulders; they simply abandoned everything and fled for their lives.
The red-rump horse monkeys were in extreme distress, but with the rest of the monkeys retreating like a tide, it was impossible to stop them. They wanted to kill a few of the leaders to assert their authority, but after much hesitation, they couldn’t bring themselves to harm their own kind.
The two red-rump horse monkeys looked at each other with tearful eyes, realizing that all was lost. They had once hoped that the Stone Monkey King could find an elixir of immortality, allowing them to live a carefree life in this beautiful land. Now, all those hopes were gone.
Just then, two armed apes rushed over from the back mountain, followed by a group of distressed little monkeys. “We can no longer hold the back mountain. Birds throw stones from the sky, and many of our offspring are injured.”
The red-rump horse monkey said, “If that’s the case, let’s retreat to Water Curtain Cave! We can plan our next move there…”
This decision by the red-rump horse monkey was wise. There was only one way in and out of Water Curtain Cave, and its entrance was hidden and slippery, making it easy to lose footing and be trapped forever. It was easy to enter, but hard to exit.
So, he ordered the female monkeys under his command to enter Water Curtain Cave first, while the stronger males stayed outside to defend against enemies. If Water Curtain Cave were also taken over by beasts, there would truly be no place left to live. Seeing his kin fleeing everywhere in panic, the red-rump horse monkey cried out in despair, “Great King, I’m afraid we won’t be able to wait for you to return.”
※ ※ ※
Wukong had completed a major task. Now, with his extraordinary abilities, he felt confident he could go anywhere in the world. But at this moment, he naturally had to return to Flower Fruit Mountain first. There were his kin, Water Curtain Cave, where he could spread his teachings, and most importantly, it was the place where he was born. After thousands of years of nurturing, this bond was stronger than blood relations.
Wukong summoned his cloud somersault technique and, with just one flip, entered that wonderful realm. Although it was called a cloud-somersault technique, to Wukong, it resembled the legendary ability to shrink distances, essentially instant teleportation. There was no actual flying in the sky; it was as if his mind and body moved simultaneously in an instant.
Upon reaching the territory of Aolai Country, Wukong slowed down and used invisibility magic to fly around the capital city. With his sharp senses, he memorized the location of the armory. “I’ll come back another time when I have time to fetch some weapons for my monkeys and descendants,” he thought.
Leaving the Country of Aolai, even without using the Cloud Climbing Vase, it only took a short while to reach Flower-Fruit Mountain. Once above the mountain, Wukong landed the cloud and looked down—a sight that utterly enraged the Great Monkey King. Unconsciously, he shouted the famous phrase known to later generations: “Monster, where do you run?”
In Wukong’s memory, Flower-Fruit Mountain was a paradise filled with rare flowers and plants, ripe peaches and plums, green mountains, and flowing waters. But now, the mountains were infested with wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards, while strange birds and beasts filled the skies, turning this peaceful place into a chaos. A few little monkeys hid trembling in rock crevices, with the vicious claws and fangs of bears and jackals just outside.
“What vile beasts dare to invade my Flower-Fruit Mountain, thinking it’s deserted!” Wukong unleashed his magic, his roar as fierce as the Buddha’s “Vajra Lion Roar.” All the beasts on the mountain were so terrified they couldn’t stand, and the birds fell from the sky, too weak to fly again. The soldiers all bowed their heads, except for a tiger spirit, who stood his ground and pointed at Wukong, saying, “You… fellow cultivator, what brings you here?”
Wukong landed and sneered, “A transformed beast like you still dares to speak arrogantly? Did you bring these creatures here to cause chaos?” The tiger spirit, initially shocked by Wukong’s roar, now calmed down and saw that Wukong was just an ordinary monkey about four feet tall with an unremarkable appearance. His tone changed, “You furry monkey! Surely these creatures are your kind. I just want this Flower-Fruit Mountain; everything else—”
Wukong laughed heartily. “How dare you, fool! Here’s a punch for you!” He stepped forward and threw a punch. The tiger spirit raised his arms to block, but Wukong’s divine power and profound cultivation made the punch shatter its bones and tear its tendons, sending it flying dozens of feet away and flattening it into a meat paste.
Wukong, quick-eyed, saw a wisp of white light escaping from the tiger spirit’s orifices and quickly fled. For a moment, he wondered why the tiger spirit was so weak, then saw the white light rise into the sky. He thought, “Even a thousand of such creatures wouldn’t help you take my Flower-Fruit Mountain!” He chased after it on the cloud, firing a palm thunderbolt. In a flash of lightning, the white light was dispersed. The poor tiger spirit, after thousands of years of cultivation, fell into eternal damnation due to one moment of carelessness. That white light was the tiger spirit’s original essence.
All cultivators have an original essence, which never leaves their body unless absolutely necessary. With its physical body destroyed, the tiger spirit had no choice but to escape. Normally, an original essence escapes extremely quickly, and cultivators of the same level cannot catch it without magical artifacts. But Wukong was incredibly fast, and even his ordinary cloud-riding technique was far superior to that of the original essence.
Wukong killed the tiger spirit, then turned around—every bird and beast in the mountains bowed before him, shouting, “Great King, spare our lives!” Wukong ignored them and simply called, “My children, come out!” From the Water Curtain Cave, rock crevices, vines, and tree branches, monkeys of all sizes emerged—over a thousand in number. Seeing Wukong standing majestically at the center with all the bowing birds and beasts around him, the monkeys were overjoyed and jumped around in ecstasy. The Armored Ape Monkey and the Red-Tailed Horse Monkey stepped forward to report how many monkeys had been killed and how many remained. Hearing this, Wukong clicked his tongue in dismay. He had been away for two years, and the number of monkeys had decreased significantly, which filled him with sorrow. “My children, do not grieve. Now that my powers have reached perfection, this Flower-Fruit Mountain will never be harmed again. Whoever dares to come here will surely not return.” The monkeys bowed and said, “We congratulate the Great King on mastering immortal arts! We congratulate the Great King on achieving immortality!”