Volume 4: The Revelation Revealed – Chapter 480: Nostalgia
Hearing Hou Tu’s words, Wukong agreed and exclaimed with joy, “So Sister has agreed!”
Hou Tu replied, “What’s there to refuse? I am already Hou Tu—this isn’t exactly ascending to heaven in one step.”
Wukong said, “Exactly.”
Hou Tu added, “But this name must definitely be changed.”
Zhu Rong said, “What more is there to think about? The name ‘Lady Hou Tu’ is perfect—it’s well-known to everyone.”
Hou Tu nodded and said, “True. But please don’t give me any grandiose titles; I really can’t bear them.”
Wukong said, “Then let’s call her Lady Hou Tu!”
Dayu thought for a moment and said, “I have another idea. We should build a Hall of Lady Hou Tu and a Hall of the Rain God every thousand li across the four great continents. In times of disaster, people can pray at the Hall of Lady Hou Tu, and for rain, they can pray at the Hall of the Rain God. Assign people to guard these halls day and night, and if there are unsolvable problems, report them upward. What do you think?”
Wukong agreed, “That’s right. Only in this way can we address the people’s urgent needs. The tens of thousands of earth and celestial beings in Qitian Ridge can also be put to use now.”
Zhenwu took out a golden token that shone brightly and said, “Dayu, hold this token, and you’ll be able to command all the creatures in rivers, lakes, and seas across the world.”
Dayu took the token and said, “I just need to inform the Dragon King. There’s already a system for bringing rain across the seas. It was too complicated before, but now that there’s no longer the obstacle of the Heavenly Court, it should be possible to respond promptly to meet the people’s needs.”
After agreeing on this important matter, Dayu became busy. He said to Jin, Mu, and Huo, “How about following me to the Dragon Palaces across the seas?” With that, Dayu, Hou Tu, and the three of them headed to the Dragon Palaces.
Zhenwu smiled at Wukong and said, “I need to hurry back to Zixiao Palace. The Qilin will start tearing down buildings soon.” With that, Zhenwu took Ziwei into the sky, and the Holy Mother of Lishan naturally followed them.
Hou Yi said to Wukong, “I’ll head back to Qitian Ridge first.”
Wukong wondered why Hou Yi wasn’t going with Dayu and the others. Hou Yi continued, “Before coming here, Chang’e asked me to settle matters here, so I’m going back to find her. I don’t know what she needs.”
Wukong laughed and said, “Such deep affection between spouses—they can’t be separated even for a moment.”
Gradually, everyone dispersed, leaving only Wukong, the Yin-Yang Divine Ape, and Guanyin.
Guanyin looked at the Nine-Layer Zengcheng and said, “Lu Wu likely won’t give up easily. We still need to be cautious.”
Yin-Yang replied, “It’s fine. If he dares to cause trouble, I won’t allow it.” Yin-Yang was able to steal the thirty-six thousand-zhang jade pillars right under Lu Wu’s nose; taking his life would take but an instant.
The three left Kunlun Immortal Island and headed for Qitian Ridge. First, they had to arrange the thirty-six thousand-zhang-long jade pillars. On the way, the Yin-Yang Divine Ape asked, “Where is Buddha now?” Wukong replied, “Buddha escaped from the battle field; I can’t find him either at the moment.” The Yin-Yang Divine Ape said, “Even with your keen eyes, you can’t see him?” “Huh? You know about keen eyes too?” Wukong asked. The Yin-Yang Divine Ape replied, “Have you forgotten that I’ve awakened? All past events are clear before my eyes. I was born only slightly later than you; there are many things the Five Divine Apes don’t know, but I do.” “Oh?” Wukong sensed something hidden in the Yin-Yang Divine Ape’s words and hesitated, realizing that the Yin-Yang Divine Ape surely had much to say to him. When Guanyin arrived at Qitian Ridge, she didn’t stop but flew straight toward the Western Heaven. Before parting, Wukong said, “I’ll definitely go to the Western Heaven to find Guanyin the Great Bodhisattva when I have time.” Guanyin laughed and said, “Are you looking for me or that girl, the Dragon Girl?” Wukong smiled awkwardly and said, “There’s no difference really, no difference at all.” Guanyin laughed heartily, her black robes disappearing into the swirling clouds, and she vanished. While she laughed, Wukong felt deeply moved. Back then, the white-robed Guanyin, though of high status and kind-faced, smiled nine times out of ten times they met—but how genuine was that smile? Now, this black-robed Guanyin, though with a cold expression, had laughed from the bottom of her heart just now. From the upper to the lower, from the virtual to the real, discarding the false and retaining the true—wasn’t Guanyin also a blessed being? Qitian Ridge was in a flurry of activity. Naturally, Qilin was directing the Nine Spiritual Saints and the Great Peng, mobilizing the troops. Upon hearing they were going to the Heavenly Court to fetch treasures, all the demons were extremely excited. Wukong and the Yin-Yang Divine Ape ignored their chaos and went into the cave together to seal the thirty-six thousand-zhang-long jade pillars with secret techniques. The Yin-Yang Divine Ape said, “I’ll stay here. If the Five Brothers have time, they can come here; I’ll help them cultivate.” With that, he closed his eyes and began meditating. Wukong found it strange. Didn’t the Yin-Yang Divine Ape have something to say to him? Why did he start cultivating again? But he didn’t ask further. The Yin-Yang Divine Ape was now at a very high level of cultivation; he must have his own reasons for acting this way. When Wukong left the cave, he saw Hou Yi and Chang’e rising into the air from a distant peak and flying toward the sky. Wukong was puzzled. Ever since Chang’e entered Qitian Ridge, she had never left it. Where were they going? After thinking for a while, he realized Hou Yi was an honest man who wouldn’t hide any secrets, so he chased after them and asked, “Where are you going?” Hou Yi glanced at Chang’e and said, “My wife knows that the Heavenly Court has fallen. She’s worried about the Lord of the Moon and her sisters in the Guanghan Palace and wants me to go and bring them to Qitian Ridge to live there.”
Wukong said, “I see. This is certainly a good thing. Even moving the Guanghan Palace here wouldn’t be a problem.”
Chang’e nodded slightly and thanked Wukong. After bidding them farewell, Wukong changed his mind and headed straight for Guanjiangkou. He still remembered that when he and Xuan Nu went to search for the Peach Tree, they had seen Yang Jian in the Heavenly Palace.
Yang Jian was the emperor’s nephew. His mother, the Fairy Yunhua, was said to be the emperor’s own sister. But Wukong knew that the Emperor and the Queen Mother were just two young children brought from the previous era. How could they have relatives in this world? Actually, this matter wasn’t that important. Most likely, the Emperor was lying, creating a family connection to conceal his origin from the previous era. Still, Wukong wanted to find out more. Besides, he hadn’t seen Yang Jian in a long time and really missed him.
After a while, they arrived at Guanjiangkou. Wukong landed in front of the main hall. Just then, Kang Anyu came out. Seeing Wukong, he was overjoyed and stepped forward to greet him, “Great Sage Equal to Heaven, how did you find the time to come to Guanjiangkou?”
Wukong smiled and said, “I haven’t been here for a long time. I really miss Lord Erlang.”
Before he could finish speaking, Yang Jian came out of the hall, laughing heartily as he approached Wukong. “Brother, over the past few hundred years, this world has changed completely for you.”
Wukong also laughed loudly and said, “It’s all trivial matters.”
They were invited inside the hall, and Yang Jian immediately ordered Kang Anyu to bring some fine wine.
After opening a jar, Grand Marshal Kang filled Wukong’s cup first. Wukong raised his cup and drank it all with Yang Jian, praising, “The wine still tastes as good as before.”
Yang Jian seemed slightly melancholic and said, “It’s just that such fine wine is hard to come by now.”
“Oh, why is that?” Wukong asked.
Yang Jian smiled and said, “You still ask me? All the fine wine I have comes from the Heavenly Palace. Now that the Heavenly Palace no longer exists, who would make wine anymore?”
Wukong was a bit puzzled. If the Emperor and Queen Mother had died, Yang Jian must have known, yet he didn’t show any sign of sorrow. That made no sense at all.
Wukong tentatively said, “It’s sad that the Emperor and Queen Mother’s empire of tens of thousands of years was destroyed in just one day.”
Yang Jian looked at Wukong and said, “There’s nothing to be sad about. It’s actually good news for me!”
“Brother, why do you say that?” Wukong asked.
“Hmph! That Emperor sent people to kill my father, separating my parents and tearing us apart. Although he’s technically my uncle, I hate him deeply!” Yang Jian said angrily, taking another drink.
“Technically your uncle? How does that work?” Wukong asked.
Yang Jian replied, “Technically, that means he’s not my mother’s full brother but a relative by marriage.”
As expected, this wasn’t much different from what Wukong had thought. But why did the Jade Emperor insist on recognizing her as his sister? He claimed it was to prevent doubts about his identity, but that seemed unnecessary. As the supreme God of Heaven, even if he admitted he was born without parents and had no relatives, who would dare object? It seemed the Jade Emperor had other motives.
Wukong thought for a moment and said, “This is indeed strange. Then… did Brother Yang go to the Heavenly Court the other day to pick up your mother?”
Yang Jian was slightly surprised and asked, “How did you see me?”
Wukong replied, “It was just a coincidence. I happened to be in the Heavenly Court at that time as well.”
Yang Jian looked at Wukong with disbelief, puzzled. He had practiced the secrets of the Xuan Kong method for many years and believed that his third eye ability was unmatched by most. Although Wukong had also learned this method, he had started much later than him. Moreover, Yang Jian had been cautious in his actions in the Heavenly Court and had investigated everywhere without finding anything unusual.
Wukong had originally hidden some of his powers. Now, seeing Yang Jian full of doubts, he smiled slightly and revealed all of his strength without hiding it.
With a “whoosh,” Kang Anyu, who was standing nearby, couldn’t withstand the pressure of Wukong’s divine power and dropped the wine jar to the ground. Yang Jian, though much stronger than Kang Anyu, was also shocked and stood up abruptly, pointing at Wukong and asking, “You… how did you do this?” Seeing Wukong’s current strength, which was almost on par with that of the Primordial Heavenly Lord, Yang Jian was extremely astonished.
That monkey was only slightly stronger than him back then. How could he have become a sage in just a few hundred years!
Wukong waved his hand, first bowing to Kang Anyu, then turning to Yang Jian and saying, “The ways of fate are mysterious and beyond explanation in just a few words. Why, am I not happy that my strength has increased so much, brother?”
Yang Jian replied, “Of course I’m happy, but it’s just… too incredible.”
Wukong said, “Let’s put me aside for now. First, I want to ask you, brother—when did the Jade Emperor recognize your mother as his sister? What’s the real story behind it?”
Yang Jian said, “That’s also very strange. According to my mother, she originally had a clear background—her family consisted only of three sisters, with no males. Back then, the Jade Emperor sent an immortal official to our house and took my mother to the heavens without explanation. When the Jade Emperor saw her, he was polite and acted in accordance with proper etiquette. My mother was confused and repeatedly asked why he insisted on recognizing her as his sister. After a while, the Jade Emperor grew impatient and replied, ‘I naturally know you’re not my sister. You just look similar.’”