Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 220: The Five Kinds of Kings

Li Shimin was likely still wandering in confusion in the Wei River of the netherworld at this moment. This quest for the scriptures had far-reaching consequences, pulling even this human king into it. The impostor pretending to be the Tang emperor was by no means an ordinary person; Wu Kong shuddered at the thought of those sinister eyes.

The Supreme Lord Laozi said that the quest for the scriptures was at least a triple-win deal, and Wu Kong also began to realize that there might be an even bigger scheme behind it. What secrets lay hidden within these five kinds of kings to warrant such scheming? Wu Kong couldn’t figure it out and would have to learn more from the Qilin. So he asked, “Uncle, have Xiang Liu and the Phoenix come here to cause you trouble?”

The Qilin shook its head and smiled, “Although the Phoenix’s cultivation is similar to mine, Xiang Liu is merely a Hunyuan Golden Immortal. With Qi Tian Ling’s formidable presence, how would they dare to come?”

Wu Kong thought for a moment and said, “I’m afraid even the Great Emperor Zhenwu couldn’t stand their harassment, so he entered the Heavenly Court and took on the position of Heavenly Venerable to use its power to avoid trouble.”

The Qilin replied, “That’s possible too. It seems I really should talk to the Dragon God. If we don’t work together and let others divide us, won’t we suffer unjustly?”

Wu Kong was overjoyed. “Uncle, your willingness to do this is truly wonderful!” He had his own plans in mind—if the Qilin could ally with the Dragon God, these two united enemies would surely be a much stronger force. At the same time, it would balance the power between the Heavenly Court and Qi Tian Ling, which would be highly beneficial.

Who exactly stood behind Xiang Liu and the Phoenix? The children of the Phoenix were the peacock and the roc. The peacock was honored as the Buddha Mother, Peacock Great Bright King Bodhisattva, in the Western Heaven, while the roc’s whereabouts were unknown, though it was also intricately connected to the Western Heaven. Could the Tathagata be the mastermind behind it all?

Although this was possible, the Tathagata’s cultivation was far inferior to that of the Phoenix. Wu Kong didn’t believe he could control the Phoenix. Could the Tathagata also be a pawn in someone else’s hands? If so, it would be utterly astonishing.

As Wu Kong pondered, he heard noise outside. Going outside, he saw Tai Bai Jin Xing, sent by the Jade Emperor, to retrieve Li Jing’s body. One of the drunken demon kings wanted to fight when he saw the Heavenly Court officials, but was stopped by the Bull Demon King. The Bull Demon King said, “Li Jing’s body is in the western desert. No one in Qi Tian Ling has defiled it. Jin Xing can go and get it himself.”

Tai Bai Jin Xing thanked him and left. His once graceful figure now appeared somewhat hunched from behind. With a thought, Wu Kong decided that since Tai Bai Jin Xing was good at adapting to situations, why not send him a message?

So Wukong chased up Tai Bai Jin Xing from behind. When Jin Xing turned around, he saw it was Emperor Zhuanxu, the one who had killed Li Jing. Shocked, he immediately bowed and said, “Emperor Zhuanxu, this humble immortal merely seeks to retrieve the body of King Li. After all, he has descendants, and it’s only right that his body be properly buried.”

Wukong replied, “Jin Xing, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not trying to stop you; I have a request of my own.” Jin Xing looked puzzled and said, “The Emperor actually comes to me with a request? This fills me with great fear.”

Wukong smiled and said, “I’ve heard that Jin Xing is resourceful in every situation, but this matter can only be handled by you.”

Jin Xing said, “Please give your orders, Emperor.”

Wukong replied, “I dare not. I just hope you can go to Heaven and inform Emperor Zhenwu that I have an old acquaintance at Qi Tian Ling and would like to meet with him when he has time.”

Hearing this, Jin Xing felt relieved and said, “That’s a trivial task.”

Wukong added, “Although Qi Tian Ling is at odds with the Heavenly Court, times change, and old friendships should not be lost. Who knows, they might be useful in the future.”

Jin Xing pondered Wukong’s words and sensed something important, then said, “The Emperor is absolutely right. I will not fail to fulfill this task.”

After bidding farewell to Jin Xing, Wukong returned to Qi Tian Ling, quickly said goodbye to everyone, and reminded Feng Tong to inform him if Dayu and the others hadn’t returned by the next day. Then he left Qi Tian Ling and headed back to Huang Feng Ling.

His absence had lasted most of the day. Upon arriving at Huang Feng Ling, he quickly found Tang Seng and Zhu Bajie sleeping outdoors in a valley, while the Monkey King disguised as Laojun was meditating on a rock nearby.

When Laojun saw Wukong return, he hurried over and scolded, “You monkey! You were gone for so long. With blood all over you, how can you possibly have the sincerity to worship Buddha?”

Wukong laughed heartily. Unexpectedly, Laojun was in a joking mood as well and said, “This trip wasn’t in vain. I went to the South Sea and uncovered a great secret.”

Hearing about the secret, Laojun pulled Wukong to a secluded place and asked, “What secret is it? Tell me quickly. Consider it my reward for you.”

Wukong replied, “Don’t worry, Laojun. Even if you didn’t ask, I would tell you.” Then he recounted to Laojun about the “Zi Zai Palace” on the seabed of the South Sea. As he listened, Laojun’s frown faded, and he said, “I knew long ago that Guanyin wasn’t someone who would stay put, but I never expected her to associate with that old man from the South Pole. What a clever move! She even managed to trick them into giving her the Nightlight Wall from the West Sea.”

Wukong asked, “What exactly does Guanyin Bodhisattva intend by building up her strength? Can she succeed just with him?”

Laojun said, “It’s hard to say. Those two are quite smart; they know the situation is unstable now, so naturally they want to take this opportunity to form alliances and expand their power, so that no matter whether Buddhism or Taoism wins in the end, they can demand high prices.”
Wukong replied, “It seems their vision stops here. If heaven and earth perish in the future, what’s the point of fighting over Buddhism and Taoism?”
Laojun smiled and said, “What you say is true—not everyone knows the secrets of heaven and earth.”
These casual words from Laojun reminded Wukong—that indeed, some secrets are not known to everyone, and he couldn’t generalize. Since Guanyin and the Immortal of the Southern Pole were showing signs of unrest, it meant they were dissatisfied with the current situation. It was only natural for her to strive for a better status for herself.
Laojun asked, “With the heavenly court suffering a great defeat today, they won’t dare trouble Qitianling anymore.” Wukong asked, “With the heavenly court defeated, are you happy or sad, Laojun?”
Laojun replied, “What’s there to be happy or sad about? The Jade Emperor lacks a pure heart and is overly ambitious. The gods in the heavenly court have long had complaints. The current pretense was merely sowing the seeds of disaster; it’s just that the emergence of Flower-Fruit Mountain and Qitianling exposed those seeds hundreds of years earlier.”
Wukong thought for a moment and asked, “What about the Great Emperor Zhenwu? Do you know his background?”
Laojun said, “Zhenwu isn’t from our Taoism. He is the true form of the Ancestral Dragon, also known as the ruler of all scales. Of course, I know about him.” Seeing Wukong’s expressionless face, Laojun asked, “Do you also know about Zhenwu?”
Wukong replied, “The ruler of the five categories. I heard about it from the Qilin.”
“Hmm, that makes sense. Those two must know each other.”
Wukong then asked, “Do you know about the Phoenix and Xiangliu?”
Laojun said, “Of course I do, but I’ve never had dealings with them; I’ve only heard of them.” Wukong wanted to learn more about the Phoenix and Xiangliu, but Laojun seemed uninterested. It seemed the Phoenix and Xiangliu rarely appeared in the world, and whenever they did, it was related to the Qilin and the Ancestral Dragon.
Wukong still had one thing unclear. He clearly remembered Dayu saying, “If there is a divine ape, it shall be king; if not, then the Ruo species has no king.” The Qilin also said that the human king was the king of the Ruo species.
Wukong leaned toward the Qilin’s view. First, since the Qilin was the ruler of beasts, it should know such common knowledge better than Dayu. Second, the Tathagata had also said that the four monkeys in the world did not belong to the five categories. Since each of the other four categories had a king, logically, the Ruo species should too. What was Laojun’s explanation?
When he voiced this question, Laojun laughed and said, “Dayu was kind and meticulous, but he was wrong here. Apparently, he also heard it from others. What the Qilin said is the correct answer.”

Since Laojun also said so, Wukong was completely convinced. It seemed that three and a half of the kings of the five categories were under coercion, with only the qilin being free.
Laojun asked, “Why did you mention Zhenwu and inquire about the leaders of the five categories?”
Wukong had no idea at all about the leaders of the five categories, so he recounted in detail the changes in the phoenix’s temperament, the qilin being forced into the three realms, Li Shimin being replaced by a two-headed monster fish, and the mark placed on Emperor Zhenwu.
After hearing this, Laojun’s expression changed drastically as he muttered, “It’s bad, it’s really bad…”
Wukong asked, “What’s bad?”
Laojun replied, “Don’t mention this to anyone else. I’ll first report to my senior brother and discuss it further.” Without waiting for Wukong’s reply, he soared away on a cloud.
Watching Laojun’s retreating figure, Wukong felt a ominous thought arise in his mind. But being anxious was useless; even Laojun couldn’t make a decision yet and needed to consult the Supreme Heavenly Lord. It seemed he could only wait for Laojun to return to uncover the mystery.
With many doubts in mind, Wukong had no choice but to suppress them. He transformed back into a monkey and went to check on Tang Seng and Zhu Bajie. Apparently, Laojun had cast a spell on them, making them fall into a deep sleep, with no idea when they would wake up. Only the White Dragon Horse was grazing leisurely nearby.
When Wukong approached the White Dragon Horse, the horse looked up at him, blinking its big eyes twice, showing slight surprise. Wukong knew that although the White Dragon Horse had the form of a horse, it was intelligent and spiritual. In the pilgrimage group, it was the most diligent, far surpassing that fool.
Wukong understood that the White Dragon Horse didn’t understand why he had knocked out Tang Seng and Zhu Bajie. It couldn’t tell which one was the real Wukong and which was the fake one. Since Laojun had cast the spell, it naturally assumed it was Wukong’s doing, and Wukong couldn’t explain this to the White Dragon Horse.
Wukong stroked the horse’s neck and thought of Guanyin Bodhisattva. The luminous wall from the Western Sea Dragon Palace came from there. This deal was truly bold; if either the Jade Emperor or the Buddha found out, it would be a disaster for the Southern Sea. And he couldn’t reveal this matter either. If the two powers of the Southern Sea joined forces, it would further disrupt the world’s balance, which would be highly beneficial for the Qi Tian Ling.
After hearing Laojun’s judgment about Guanyin, Wukong wasn’t entirely agreeable. After all, Guanyin already held a very high status in Buddhism. In the Western Heaven, although there were said to be three thousand Buddhas, those who could freely roam the world were extremely rare. Most of them sat in meditation on Ling Mountain, either due to extreme devotion to ignoring worldly affairs or because of the strict rules of Buddhism. In any case, few Buddhas appeared in “Journey to the West.”

Among these frequently seen Buddhist masters, Guanyin is only slightly below Buddha and the Eastern Buddha; what more could she ask for?