Volume 1: Unsayable – Chapter 20: Reunion with Joy

Wukong then ordered the monkeys to tidy up the mess. With so many birds and beasts present, there was no need to return. From then on, they became laborers on Flower-Fruit Mountain, at the monkeys’ command.
All worked together, and Wukong used several magic spells to restore the vegetation. In just an hour or so, Flower-Fruit Mountain was once again covered in lush green trees, vibrant grass, and blooming flowers, even more beautiful than before.
Wukong leaped onto a high rock and shouted, “I traveled abroad and learned magical powers from immortals. They gave me the name Sun Wukong. From now on, all of our kind shall bear the surname Sun.”
The monkeys were overjoyed. These mere mountain monkeys had never even imagined they would have names.
“Armbreaking Ape Monkey and Red-Tail Horse Monkey, you four have contributed greatly to protecting the mountain. You will be appointed as the four great marshals—Ma Liubeng and Ba—responsible for internal affairs, external battles, and food procurement.”
The four old monkeys bowed in gratitude to Wukong. The Armbreaking Ape Monkey dared not mention establishing a new king of Flower-Fruit Mountain again. He kept looking at the Red-Tail Horse Monkey with flattering eyes, fearing he might complain to the king.
“The rest of the birds and beasts will be under Marshal Ba’s control, tasked with building roads, setting up camps, picking fruits, and patrolling the mountains. Those who refuse to obey will be thrown into deep ravines.”
At these words, the birds and beasts trembled with fear.
Wukong looked around and saw all the monkeys and beasts naked, except for himself, who was fully clothed. He found it amusing. He said, “Each of you go about your duties. I’ll be back soon.”
With a wave of his hand, a auspicious cloud appeared, carrying Wukong high into the sky, leaving the stunned birds and beasts behind.
Riding the cloud, Wukong flew over Aolai Country. Below was still the same city. It was early morning, and the streets were crowded with people. Wukong chanted a spell and summoned a strong wind, scaring the merchants and travelers into retreating in haste. In moments, all the shops and markets closed, and no one dared go outside.
Then Wukong landed on the cloud and headed straight to the armory. Although the door was locked, it couldn’t stop him. He opened the door and saw swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, sickles, lances, whips, maces, hammers, claws, andmeteor weapons weapons. There were also shields, ladders, ropes to trip horses, and ropes to bind people—every kind of weapon was available, along with all necessary military supplies.
Wukong didn’t bother choosing. He simply tore down half of his robe and used a magic spell to wrap all the weapons inside it.
After leaving the armory, he used invisibility magic to enter the silver vault and stole dozens of silver ingots. Then he plundered several cloth shops in the city. Before leaving, he dropped the silver ingots as payment for his purchases.

On their return to the mountain, the monkeys were playing carefree outside the cave entrance when auspicious clouds appeared in the sky—it was the Great King descending from above. With a shake of his robes, his weapons piled up before their eyes.
Wukong shouted, “Children, do not fight over them. Let Marshal Bong distribute them according to strength, so as not to injure yourselves while struggling.”
Wukong also ordered Marshal Ma to store the fabrics, thinking about where to find tailors to make clothes for the monkeys and their descendants.
From that day on, Wukong spent his days organizing drills in the mountains, commanding the monkeys to follow orders and practice combat formations.
As time passed, monsters from the surrounding mountains flocked to join him. Wukong’s horizons broadened—he had only heard of many of these beasts in previous lives; now he saw them in person. The Suanni, bear bears, mountain bulls, green rhinoceroses, cunning beasts, divine mastiffs… each one was mighty and magnificent.
Wukong assigned these beasts to the seventy-two caves for management, and from then on, they paid tribute and came to pay homage every year without fail.
Seeing that he still lacked some armor and weapons, Wukong raided human kingdoms several times. Within two or three years, his army on Flower-Fruit Mountain numbered over thirty thousand well-organized soldiers, turning the entire mountain into an impregnable fortress.
One day, Wukong practiced his supernatural powers in the Water Curtain Cave and stopped only after a long time, his face filled with indescribable joy. Over the past three years, he had practiced tirelessly day and night, mastering thirty of the thirty-six transformations of the Heavenly Stems, aside from the “heavenly” powers. With a mere thought, he could wield various spells effortlessly.
Full of confidence, Wukong’s face showed a hint of confusion. He pondered hard—should he seek fame in the world or retreat to cultivate in seclusion for a carefree life?
According to the plot of *Journey to the West*, he should have gone to the Dragon Palace to obtain treasures, been conferred a title in heaven, declared himself equal to the heavens, and then caused chaos in heaven. But at the thought of Buddha’s palm, he hesitated. Five hundred years imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain—such suffering would drive one mad! Although he had guessed that the Spiritual Platform Mountain was also a realm, it was merely a guess. If wrong, it wouldn’t be a joke. And even if correct, he had no way to break free at the moment—how could he dare confront Buddha?

Wukong thought for a while before making a decision. Anyway, he had to retrieve the Ruyi Jingu Bang. For someone who had thoroughly studied Journey to the West, the Ruyi Jingu Bang should rightfully belong to Sun Wukong; it would be unbearable not to get it and use it. As for whether the Dragon King would complain to the Jade Emperor or if the heavenly court would send troops to suppress them, those were matters for later. After all, there was still Taibai Jinxing who could descend to earth to persuade them. Wukong knew that his personality differed greatly from that of the true Monkey King—he came from a civilized society and lacked wildness and impulsiveness. Relying on his intelligence and wisdom, he could handle whatever came his way.

At that moment, Marshal Ma Yuan, the Armored Ape, came in to report that dozens of tailors captured from the mortal world months earlier had worked day and night to finish making clothes for all the monkeys—two sets each. He asked Wukong what to do with these tailors, whether to kill them or release them.

Wukong said, “Give them some gold and silver to keep quiet, and have the demon kings outside the cave send them back.” Marshal Ma was stunned. The king was kind-hearted, not at all like a typical demon. Over these days, he had interacted with the seventy-two demon kings of the caves, all of whom were ruthless killers who treated human lives as worthless. He had long become accustomed to seeing hostility in everyone. How could he know that Wukong was actually a human who had traveled through time, and thus wouldn’t kill innocents needlessly?

Watching Marshal Ma’s back as he left, Wukong thought to himself: The Armored Divine Ape mentioned by Wu Zhiqi probably wasn’t these two apes in my cave; otherwise, there would have been no signs of anything unusual when they got close. Thinking of Wu Zhiqi, Wukong felt a pang in his heart. In this world, Wu Zhiqi gave him the strongest sense of closeness, and he felt deep sympathy and sorrow for Wu Zhiqi’s plight.

“Don’t worry. Sooner or later, I’ll rescue you,” Wukong said to himself.

When Wukong stepped outside the cave, the monkeys were practicing in the mountains. Seeing him, they shouted, “King!” This attracted many beasts to pay their respects. Wukong waved his hand and smiled, “You all are skilled with swords and clubs, and have bows and arrows, but I don’t have a single weapon that’s suitable for me. What should I do?”

Marshal Liu Yuan, the Armored Ape, replied, “King, don’t you know that the Dragon Palace is full of treasures? There’s a stream beneath the Deep Gorge of Water Curtain Cave that leads straight to the East Sea. It’s quite nearby. Since you’re not afraid of water or fire, why not borrow a treasure from there? You’ll surely be satisfied.”

This conversation was roughly similar to the original text, but Wukong now had more thoughts. These four old monkeys had great experience and spoke much better than the other monkeys. Could they really be some kind of special species?

So Wukong asked, “Marshal Liu Yuan, how do you know that the Dragon Palace is full of treasures?”

Marshal Liu Yuan replied, “Your Majesty, I grew up on Flower-Fruit Mountain since childhood and often played by the sea. To be honest, I have some small fish and shrimp as friends in the sea, and they’re the ones who told me about it.”

Wukong nodded and said, “Good. Since it was said by someone from the sea, there must be no falsehood. I’ll go!” With that, he leaped down from the deep ravine, dived into the water, and drifted downstream toward the vast ocean.

Since Wu Zhiqi had taught Wukong the power to control water, Wukong didn’t even need to recite any spells to avoid water. With just a thought, the waves parted to create a clear path for him.

Indeed, the scenery in the sea was magnificent, quite different from that on land. Wukong saw colorful aquatic plants, diverse shells, lively fish, and bright corals—sceneries he had never seen before in his life. Delighted, he set aside his quest for treasures for the time being and began to enjoy himself in the sea.

……

In the Purple Cloud Palace in the heavenly realm, Emperor Zhenwu strolled leisurely with his eyes closed, a faint smile on his face. “As expected.” He immediately summoned the turtle general and took out a jade slip from his bosom. “Deliver this to Ao Guang.”

The turtle general took the order and left. With his extraordinary powers and mastery of water, he entered the sea as smoothly as if walking on solid ground and returned in no time to report. Zhenwu asked, “Is there anything unusual elsewhere?”

The turtle general replied, “Ao Guang accepted the order gladly. Nothing unusual.”

Zhenwu nodded and told the turtle general to retire.

In truth, what he wanted to ask was, “Are there any guests elsewhere?” Phrasing it this way showed Zhenwu’s careful thinking.