Volume 1: Unsayable – Chapter 22: The Tiger Gains Wings
In a moment, Wukong returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain via the same route. Marshal Liu was the first to see him—dressed in golden armor and wearing a purple-gold crown with phoenix wings, he appeared majestic and extraordinary. Delighted, he exclaimed, “The king has returned with a treasure!”
The group of little demons surrounded Wukong like stars surrounding the moon. They crowded around to admire his attire, and Wukong shouted, “Kids, stand back!”
The monkeys stepped back, and Wukong smiled, saying, “What I’m wearing isn’t a treasure. The real treasure is right here!” He took out the Ruyi Jingu Bang from his ear and threw it into the air, where it immediately stood firmly on the ground.
Marshal Liu asked, “What’s so special about this little iron rod?” Wukong replied, “A little iron rod? Go ahead and pick it up!”
Marshal Liu reached out, but the Rod that Stabilizes the Seas weighed 13,500 jin—he couldn’t move it even a bit. Wukong laughed heartily and said, “This is the greatest treasure in the Dragon Palace. How could you possibly lift it?” Pleased to have obtained the Ruyi Jingu Bang, he naturally wanted to show off.
The Ruyi Jingu Bang stood there, growing taller in the wind until it reached over a hundred feet. Only then did Wukong retract his powers and put the rod back in his ear. If it had continued to grow all the way to heaven, trouble might have ensued. Even so, seeing the seventy-two demon kings, they were so terrified that they kowtowed in fear, as if their souls might leave their bodies.
Having accomplished a great deed, Wukong felt joyful. Back in his cave, heaccidentally -> accidentally noticed two books beneath the lamp stand on the table—books he had obtained from Patriarch Subhuti. Not knowing the language, he left them there untouched.
One day, he decided to take these two books with him, ride the clouds, and head straight for Aolai Country.
When he got close, he retracted his powers and transformed into an old man before entering the city. Inside, the characters on the signs along the road resembled those in the books, which pleased Wukong.
He found a bookstore and took out the book titled *Qi Tian Gun Fa*, asking, “Shopkeeper, I’m illiterate. Could you help me figure out what kind of book this is?”
The shopkeeper took the book and exclaimed in admiration, “What an ancient book!” After flipping through a few pages, he wondered, “Sir, where did you get this book?”
Wukong thought, Could it be that this shopkeeper isn’t an ordinary person? He casually made up an excuse, “My son likes to play with weapons. I don’t know where he got this old book. Since he’s illiterate, he asked me to come to the city and ask.”
The shopkeeper laughed and said, “I see. I was wondering what use you could have for this gun technique. I was being nosy.”
Wukong smiled to himself. Even though you’re just an ordinary person, managing to scare me is quite a feat for you.
“What? You say this book is the Staff Technique?”
The shopkeeper replied, “It’s clearly written on the cover—‘Qi Tian Staff Technique’! Though there are no illustrations, it’s all about the principles of using luck in practice. How could it be wrong?” With that, he handed the book back to Wukong and said, “Go find someone who can read and teach that boy. Otherwise, how can he practice?”
Wukong was quick-witted. He said, “Shopkeeper, find a literate employee to read this book to me once. If it’s too difficult, I’ll give it to him so he won’t learn spear and staff techniques and go out causing trouble.”
The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment. Wukong then took out two shiny silver ingots from his pocket. “This will be enough for the reading. Will that do?”
The shopkeeper was tempted but refused, saying, “That’s too much. Just for reading a book, there’s no need for so much silver.”
Wukong smiled inwardly. If they wanted it, they should just say so—no need for pretense. He threw the silver on the counter and said, “A honest man like you should accept it. I’m wealthy, so I don’t mind spending a little silver. Just take it.”
The shopkeeper quickly covered the silver with his sleeve and smiled politely, “Please, come in and have some tea.”
Indeed, money could move mountains. That day, Wukong sat in the inner room, listening to a fluent young employee read the book to him. The ‘Qi Tian Staff Technique’ had only a hundred or so pages. With the large characters and wide spacing typical of ancient books, before dark, Wukong had the employee read it slowly twice, while he memorized the entire book himself. Then he took his leave and returned to the mountain.
Along the way, Wukong was secretly delighted. This ‘Qi Tian Staff Technique’ turned out to be the personal secret manual of the ancient deity Dayu, consisting of three volumes in total.