Volume 1: Unsayable Chapter 2: In a Single Thought

Monkeys have expressions as rich as humans’. For example, the monkey surrounded in the middle of Flower-Fruit Mountain was now forcing a smile: He had only thought about it, yet he had actually turned into a monkey and arrived at Flower-Fruit Mountain. Truly, time travel existed in this world!

Was his willpower too strong? These days, he had been constantly thinking about how to play the role of Wukong, dreaming every night of embarking on the journey to obtain Buddhist scriptures. Unexpectedly, after losing the chance to play that role in reality, he found himself in the world of Journey to the West, playing Wukong! It was like looking at flowers through mist—unable to tell which was real and which was fake.

The distance between reality and dreams is actually just a single thought away.

At this time… no, he should now be called the Stone Monkey. Hearing the other monkeys around him call out “Stone Monkey, Stone Monkey” and seeing their eager eyes, the Stone Monkey nodded and replied, “Yes, I am the Stone Monkey!”

Life on Flower-Fruit Mountain was carefree and colorful.

The Stone Monkey learned on his own. He kept searching for what made him different from the other monkeys but found nothing. Like all ordinary beings, he had a heartbeat, a pulse, could feel cold and heat, pain and itching. Although he could run, jump, climb, and pick peaches on his own, he wasn’t any better than the other monkeys.

Since he had emerged from that immortal stone, he should surely possess some innate special abilities. The Stone Monkey stared blankly at a large peach in his hand, pondering inwardly.

Ah Fei walked up to the Stone Monkey and pointed at the peach in his hand, saying, “Don’t eat it. Give it to me.”

The Stone Monkey glanced at Ah Fei, tossed the peach to him, and Ah Fei devoured it greedily, juice splashing everywhere, which made the Stone Monkey feel heartache.

The Stone Monkey could also get hungry, but he felt that peaches weren’t meant for humans to eat. Even if he had to eat them, he should do so in a civilized and respectful manner. The remaining peach pit must be buried deep in the soil—after all, it was a seed. With this pit, the peach wouldn’t die but would regenerate in some other form.

Watching Ah Fei’s gluttonous behavior, the Stone Monkey suddenly felt disgust. He turned and walked downhill.

Not far ahead, Ah Fei chased after him, excitedly saying, “There’s a clear stream at the foot of the mountain. How about we go take a bath?”

From afar, Flower-Fruit Mountain resembled a large peach, with a small stream flowing through it, dividing the peach into east and west halves. The monkey group on the east side was led by two arm-long apes, while the group on the west side was under the control of two red-rumped macaques. The Stone Monkey had been born not long ago and was reclusive by nature, always acting alone, so he hadn’t yet joined any faction.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, he saw hundreds of monkeys playing and frolicking by the stream. With a quick glance, the Stone Monkey could tell the hierarchy among them. Four old monkeys sat in the middle of the stream, their bodies twice as large as those of ordinary monkeys, wearing an arrogant demeanor as they seemed to be discussing something among themselves. Several monkeys were at each old monkey’s side, pouring water over them to wash them. The other monkeys stayed at a distance, seemingly not even eligible to do so. The Stone Monkey went to the stream, cupped water in his hands, and drank it—its sweetness and freshness instantly invigorated him. At that moment, a gibbon suddenly shouted, “Whose monkey is that? He really lacks manners!” Before the Stone Monkey could react, several smaller monkeys rushed over, pinned him down, and brought him before the gibbon. The other monkeys, seeing the commotion, gathered around to watch. Seeing the crowd packed tightly, pushing and shoving to get a good spot, the Stone Monkey thought, “It seems that watching isn’t exclusive to humans.” The gibbon demanded, “Where do you come from, monkey? How dare you drink water upstream?” The Stone Monkey was stunned. Could the story of “the wolf and the lamb” repeat itself? He thought, “Flower-Fruit Mountain is destined to be my territory. If I can’t even defeat you, what’s the point of staying here?” The Stone Monkey broke free from the smaller monkeys and shouted back, “Where do you come from, monkey? How dare you speak to me like that?” The gibbon was both shocked and angry. He had been the monkey king for decades, with none of his subordinates daring to defy him. Yet today, this strange monkey dared to talk back to him. Feeling his dignity lost, he snapped, “Listen well, you little newborn monkey! In Flower-Fruit Mountain, there are only four supernatural beings—two gibbons and two red-rumped macaques, who rule the eastern and western mountains respectively. And I am the king of the eastern mountain. Do you understand?” The Stone Monkey laughed heartily, leaving the other monkeys confused. Finally, after he had laughed his fill, he said, “I thought there was something special about it. Listen well—I was born from a magical stone on Flower-Fruit Mountain. Over the years, I’ve absorbed the purity of nature and the essence of the sun and moon. I’ve come here to become the king of Flower-Fruit Mountain! How dare you defy fate?” Chaos arose among the monkeys. A few smaller monkeys said, “He really came out of a stone! I saw it with my own eyes.” Word spread quickly, and soon all the monkeys knew the Stone Monkey’s origin and began to believe his words. The two gibbons and the two red-rumped macaques exchanged glances, unsure what to do. If they believed the Stone Monkey, their leadership would be threatened. If they refused to believe him and suppressed him, the other monkeys might not obey.

The armless ape turned its eyes and let out a few hisses, instantly silencing the noisy troop of monkeys. Then the old monkey said, “Among you, who knows where this water comes from?” After a long while, no one replied. The monkeys were puzzled—why had they suddenly shifted from discussing the identity of the Stone Monkey to asking this question?

The Stone Monkey smiled inwardly; the armless ape was quite quick-witted.

The armless ape continued, “Today the sky is clear and bright. Let’s go together to find the source of this stream. Whoever finds it first can be the ruler of Flower-Fruit Mountain. What do you say?” Fearing to miss the excitement, the monkeys all agreed loudly.

The armless ape glanced at the Stone Monkey and asked, “Do you have the courage?”

Though small in stature, the Stone Monkey replied with confidence, “Even if I have to climb to the heavens or dive into the earth, I won’t fear it.”

The monkeys followed the stream upstream. The water flowed down from a high place, with strange rocks along the banks making it extremely difficult to climb. At the front were four tall, strong old monkeys who quickly left the smaller monkeys far behind. The Stone Monkey moved slowly, following the group from behind.

Ah Fei jumped out of the group and said anxiously, “Hurry up and climb! You’re about to lose!”

The Stone Monkey laughed and said, “It’s fine. I can’t lose.” If this were Flower-Fruit Mountain, who else besides himself would know about the Water Curtain Cave behind the waterfall?

The Stone Monkey climbed up the mountain along the stream. When he reached the top, he saw a cliff extending like a dragon’s head, pointing toward a waterfall on the opposite mountain, creating a natural scene of a dragon drinking water. The four old monkeys stood on the cliff, giving instructions.

Seeing that the Stone Monkey had just arrived, the armless ape showed disdain, and the other monkeys, like fence-sitters, mostly sided with it.

The Stone Monkey calmly stepped forward and asked, “Have you found the source of the stream?”

The armless ape replied, “The water at the foot of the mountain comes from this waterfall, which then gathers into a stream. I was the first to discover this.”

The Stone Monkey raised his eyes to watch the waterfall. The celestial spring was over twenty feet wide, with crystal-clear water rushing down. A loud roar came from the valley below, likely from a deep pool formed by years of rushing water. Occasionally, waves splashed against the cliff beneath, creating countless droplets—just as described in Journey to the West: “A white rainbow rises, and snowy waves fly high…”

The Stone Monkey asked the monkeys, “Do you know where the water of this waterfall comes from?”

The monkeys were confused.

The armless ape snapped, “Stop with your clever talk! The water of this waterfall obviously comes from the sky. Are you trying to deny it?”

The Stone Monkey glanced briefly at the Armored Ape and said, “To know where the water of the waterfall comes from, one must go inside the waterfall and take a look.”
What? Go inside the waterfall? This shocked all the monkeys greatly.
The cliff was only about ten feet away from the waterfall, and with their agile bodies, the monkeys could easily leap across it. But the opposite cliff was smoothed out by the rushing water, making it completely smooth with nothing to climb on. Falling from there would likely be fatal.
Seeing the monkeys intimidated by his “crazy idea,” the Stone Monkey seized the opportunity to say, “If I go in and find the source, will you be willing to make me your king?”
Monkeys are changeable and extremely curious, so many of them immediately shouted, “Yes! Yes!”
Seeing that most of the monkeys agreed, the Stone Monkey ignored the four old monkeys. He thought that as long as he had the support of the majority, it didn’t matter if a few refused—after all, they were few and weak and wouldn’t affect the overall situation.
The Stone Monkey walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down. It was a bottomless deep valley. His heart started pounding as he thought, “Journey to the West, oh Journey to the West, please don’t let me down.”
Just as he was about to leap, he heard a cry from behind. It seemed to be one of the little monkeys screaming in panic, causing him to get distracted and slip, falling down.
A thought flashed through the Stone Monkey’s mind—unexpectedly, upon arriving at Flower-Fruit Mountain, he not only failed to become the mighty Monkey King who would conquer the Journey to the West and achieve enlightenment but hadn’t even entered Water Curtain Cave. If the Journey to the West were compared to a role-playing game, it was as if he had died right after pressing “start.” The difference was that he probably wouldn’t get another chance.
As a mix of frustration, hatred, confusion, and regret surged through his heart, his body stopped falling and instead rose upward. It seemed there was an attractive force within the waterfall that pulled him in!