Volume 4: The Revelation Unveiled Chapter 495: Knowing the Inn of the Wayfarer

Wukong couldn’t help but wonder and asked, “How old are you?”
Longshu replied, “Eighteen.”
Wukong said, “Though young, you know many things—how remarkable.”
Longshu said, “I’m afraid you won’t believe me if I tell you. I knew many things right from birth.”

Longshu had no idea that the man in white before him was one of the most outstanding figures in the world today. What seemed inexplicable to Longshu was surely due to some underlying reason in Wukong’s eyes.

Hearing this, Wukong fell deep into thought. If Longshu had known the ways of the world from birth, it was obvious that someone must have been manipulating things behind the scenes. To make Longshu reappear with the same appearance, temperament, and goals as before—who would do such a thing?

Xuan Nu claimed to have killed Longshu, so she surely wouldn’t lie. Since she had already taken out Longshu’s essence to await his rebirth, why would she create another Longshu? From Xuan Nu’s perspective, Longshu held little significance for her. Besides, even if it were her doing, there was no need to hide it from Wukong.

Apart from Xuan Nu, the only other possible candidate was Tathagata. But after much thought, Wukong couldn’t figure out any reason for Tathagata to do this. Wukong couldn’t help but smile bitterly—having just entered the mortal world, he already faced a difficult problem. This problem seemed closely related to him, yet he couldn’t find the slightest clue.

As he pondered, suddenly an idea struck him—Longnu! Could Longnu know about this? Had she asked him to come to the mortal world to meet Longshu? After further thought, Wukong found this possibility extremely slim. Not only was Longnu’s cultivation not high, she might not even know of Longshu’s existence. Even if she did, this Longshu would not be the original one; he wouldn’t remember anything from his past life except for those scriptures, which wouldn’t be of much help to him.

Moreover, given Longnu’s deep affection for Longshu, if she had known of another Longshu in the world, she would have come to look for him long ago.

After some thought, Wukong asked, “Why did you choose the name Longshu? Who gave it to you?”
Monk Longshu replied, “I chose it myself.”
“Chose it yourself? Then there must be a reason,” said Wukong.
Longshu said, “What reason? I knew it from birth—that’s why I’m called Longshu.”

Unaware of time, the two had walked far. Seeing the lights at the foot of the Spirit Mountain fading into distance, Wukong said to Longshu, “You’re just leaving like this, without saying goodbye to your brothers in the monastery?”
Longshu replied, “Coming and going is free—what’s there to say?”
Wukong pointed ahead and said, “Though the moon is bright tonight, tomorrow the path ahead will likely be pitch dark. Aren’t you afraid?”

Nagarjuna asked in surprise, “What’s there to fear?”
“I can’t see it. Aren’t you afraid?” Wukong replied.
Nagarjuna said, “The place I’m going to is an unknown land—precisely what I’ve long sought.”
Wukong seemed to have countless questions for Bodhisattva Nagarjuna but didn’t know where to start, feeling extremely distressed. Seeing Nagarjuna stride eastward with firm eyes, as if the path ahead was the way to truth, he couldn’t help but feel admiration.
As expected, Bodhisattva Nagarjuna in his past life had also walked the world in this manner. Though troubled by Buddha’s scripture, he still yearned for the great truth—a truly difficult feat!
At this moment, Nagarjuna became a symbol of the pursuit of the ultimate truth of the universe. And he knew that the ultimate truth was creation—so what else was there to seek?
The Divine Ape was born from the chaos of creation; even if it died, it would be reborn. Even the rise and fall of the universe posed no threat to it. And the monk before him was none other than Bodhisattva Nagarjuna from his past life. Could it be that aside from the Divine Ape, others were the same? Life and death went on endlessly.
Thinking of this, Wukong suddenly remembered a saying: “I believe there is another me in this world. I just don’t know where he is, nor whether he came before or after me.”
Well, for now, he would consider this monk Nagarjuna as another Bodhisattva Nagarjuna. If he couldn’t find him, there was no need to push further—what was meant to happen would happen.
Wukong said to Nagarjuna, “The universe is a temporary dwelling for all things. Take care of yourself.”
Nagarjuna looked at Wukong carefully, smiled slightly, and nodded. “Are you leaving?”
“I am,” Wukong replied. He secretly cast a spell on Nagarjuna—one that could protect him and serve as a warning. If Nagarjuna encountered danger, Wukong could come to rescue him at any time.
Suddenly, Nagarjuna said, “This benefactor is no ordinary person.”
Wukong was slightly surprised. “How do you know?”
“I debated fiercely with other monks in the Great Joy Zen Monastery, often speaking boldly. You always showed approval, and I could tell.”
Wukong laughed. “How could that be?” Not to boast, but his cultivation had reached the heavens, and his skills in transformation were flawless. Even if Nagarjuna’s words touched his heart, it would be easy for him to remain calm. How could a mere mortal like Nagarjuna see through his thoughts?
Nagarjuna said solemnly, “Don’t doubt it. I see the heart.”
Wukong was stunned. Reading hearts? What kind of skill was that?
Wukong asked, “Are you good at reading people’s hearts?”
“I don’t really care about others’ hearts,” Nagarjuna replied, implying that ordinary people couldn’t catch his attention.

Wukong said, “Alright, let’s put that aside for now. I want to ask you—do you have any evidence to support your claim that Pangu isn’t omnipotent?”
Nagarjuna replied, “Of course. Everyone says Pangu was omnipotent when he created the world, but in my view, he created it because the world was trapped. With his abilities, he could probably only create the world; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been trapped here. Why else would he be here?”
“Huh?” Wukong was shocked. Nagarjuna’s words were truly astonishing. If he hadn’t known Nagarjuna was just an ordinary person, he might have thought some great deity had come to enlighten him.
How had he not thought that Pangu also created this world? Buddha’s actions had led him to great misunderstandings. Buddha wanted to steal the essence of Pangu’s creation to escape the world. Wukong had assumed that Pangu alone possessed three-nines of that essence, thus having the ability to escape. Nagarjuna’s words had awakened him.
Pangu spared no effort in creating the world—he used himself as the earth to nurture all things, gave up part of his essence to create the Peach Tree for the Seven Divine Apes to eat, and used his internal organs to create the five elements for the Five-Element Apes to cultivate. He also created Xuan Nu, Ksitigarbha, and Di Ting as part of this creation lineage. Pangu’s actions seemed impeccable. As the most important figure in this lineage, he shouldn’t have had any ulterior motives. But having selfish desires and wanting to escape the world were two different things.
If Pangu also wanted to escape the world, then all his actions were aimed at creating the Seven Divine Apes, mostly for himself—the Spiritual and Wise Ape. Was he trying to use himself to escape?
Wukong replied, “Truly profound insights. I admire you!”
Nagarjuna asked, “Do you have any other opinions on this matter?”
Wukong said, “What you said is exactly what I was thinking.”
Nagarjuna nodded and said, “It’s rare to meet someone who understands me today.”
Wukong smiled inwardly. It’s not just understanding—you don’t realize that once, you were me, and I was you. Wukong said, “The most detestable thing among all creatures is the notion of hierarchy, which leads to bullying the weak and ignoring right from wrong. But as long as the law of the strong preying on the weak exists, reason is lost, and the source of evil arises from there.”
Nagarjuna said, “Strength and weakness don’t matter; evil comes from the heart.”
Wukong said, “As long as one holds to the right path in their heart, evil thoughts cannot hide.”
Nagarjuna said, “The world is not like you and me. How can we expect them to understand?”

Wukong sighed. The path of fate was somewhat fair, but the vast majority of people in this world were ordinary. Aside from those on the path of fate, how many truly lacked selfish motives? Even Laojun always wanted to hoard more peaches to make elixirs—let alone the hundreds of millions of mortals. Yet the mortals were not entirely to blame. Though he “hated the existence of selfishness,” human nature was what it was; what could be done?

Nagarjuna continued, “In life, one endures countless sufferings. Only by enduring them first can one escape them. There is birth, old age, sickness, and death; there are unfulfilled desires, encounters with hatred and resentment, and separations from loved ones. Before mortals can comprehend these, they return to dust.”

Nagarjuna looked up at Wukong and asked, “You say that heaven and earth are temporary shelters for all things. Do you understand what that implies?”

Wukong replied, “It is said, ‘Life in heaven and earth is like that of a traveler on a long journey.’ It is also said, ‘Life between heaven and earth is temporary; those who are temporary will eventually return.’ Whether they are immortals or mortals, sooner or later they all return to dust. Who can remain unperished forever?”

Nagarjuna nodded and said, “Exactly. Everyone has the desire to live, but who can avoid returning to dust? Yet the outcome is often the opposite of what one wishes—this is the greatest injustice in life!”

“Is it fate playing tricks on people, and heaven and earth tormenting all beings?” Wukong asked.

Nagarjuna laughed heartily. “Well said! I wanted to see why heaven and earth act in this way, and you’ve figured it out in just a few words.”

Wukong felt deep respect. What Nagarjuna was seeking, he too was searching for. As the Divine Ape of Fate, a being who had transcended the realm of sages and ascended to the realm of yin and yang, how could one not admire Nagarjuna, who, despite being an ordinary person, held such great aspirations?

Seeing Nagarjuna’s spirited demeanor and recalling those worldly monks who had debated with him, Wukong was moved. Unconsciously, he recited a passage from “Free and Easy Wandering”: “There was a bird called the Peng. Its back was like Mount Tai, its wings like clouds hanging from the sky. It soared upward through the whirlwinds for ninety thousand li, breaking through the clouds and carrying the blue sky above it, before heading south toward the Southern Ocean. The common birds laughed at it, saying, ‘Where is it going? I leap up only a few feet before diving down, soaring among the weeds—this is also the height of flight…’”