Volume 1: Unsayable Chapter 59: Li Changgeng
When Wukong put forward this proposal, to his surprise, not a single one of the seventy-two demon kings objected; instead, they were all overjoyed and praised, “The Great King is truly wise!” It turned out that these lesser demons also wished to live, move around, and play together with their kind, but since the ruler of Flower-Fruit Mountain hadn’t spoken, who would dare to suggest it?
Although some demon kings ended up with fewer subordinates as a result, there was no resentment. These demon kings only sought joy and didn’t place much importance on power struggles. Besides, on Flower-Fruit Mountain, all demons were equal by tradition, and even with fewer numbers, no one dared to oppress others.
Wukong had expected some difficulty in convincing them, but things went so smoothly that he called upon the four marshals—Ma Liubeng and Ba—along with some literate demons to make copies while keeping the original safely. Once the caves were reorganized in the future, the copies could be distributed so that everyone could learn from them. Fengtong reminded him, “Wukong, even the demon kings in these wilds are probably illiterate. How can you expect them to learn?”
Wukong found this strange. When he asked the demon kings, indeed, fewer than a handful could read. He then asked, “How did you manage to reach the realm of immortals?” Some said it was due to divine fortune, some said through constant meditation, and some said by consuming magical fruits or elixirs. Only one tiger demon claimed he had read a book on cultivation by chance.
Wukong hesitated. If none of them could read, it would be difficult. At that moment, the ruler of the Divine Mastiff Cave said, “Great King, this is easy. Let’s go down the mountain and capture some literate mortals to teach us.”
Fengtong nodded, saying, “That works.”
Wukong pondered. Though he was a demon beast, he still harbored deep affection for humans. But since this matter was urgent and there was no other solution, he resolved himself, “Alright, let’s do it this way.” He selected a few cave rulers who looked presentable and ordered Marshal Ma Liuyuan to lead them down the mountain to capture some scholars.
Before leaving, Wukong added, “Under no circumstances harm anyone’s life. Bring plenty of gold and silver, and agree with them that they can go home as wealthy men after two or three years.” The cave rulers exchanged glances, wondering how there could be demons who acted in such a way. In the past, whenever they saw mortals, they would simply capture them and devour them without hesitation—why go through all this trouble?
Seeing their hesitation, Wukong’s expression darkened, and he shouted, “Hurry up and go!” The marshal demon kings were terrified at his roar—the thunderous voice of the Great Golden Immortal was beyond their endurance.
Wukong sighed inwardly. Whether as a demon or a human, it’s all about the heart. But crossing this threshold of the heart is truly difficult! Being human brings its own joys, while being a demon brings its own freedom.
Perhaps only through loss can one truly understand the myriad changes in life. Often, one wishes to forget the world, yet always, at the end of all paths, one meets again. As times change, only memories remain, hard to let go of…
Above the thirty-third heaven, the Ziwei Palace was in chaos. All twenty-two star generals were present, gathered in the Ziwei Hall, yet the throne in the center remained empty. Two people sat on either side of the throne. On the left was the Left Assistant Emperor of Ziwei, his face dark, lost in thought; on the right was the Right Assistant Emperor, the exact opposite of the Left Assistant, his face filled with anger.
One level below, seven chairs were arranged in order—these were the seats of the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper. The twenty-eight other stars had no seats in the hall.
The Right Assistant Emperor shouted, “Fangxin Tu and the other five star generals died in the human world. Why has no report been made yet? Before leaving, the Emperor explicitly instructed that any major incident must be reported to me and the Left Assistant Emperor. How can I explain such chaos now?”
The Seven Stars of the Big Dipper and the twenty-two star generals below all bowed their heads, too afraid to speak.
After a moment of silence, the Left Assistant Emperor said, “This matter is… very strange. Bi Yue Wu and Wei Tu Zhi went down to capture demons—this is something we both know. But Fangxin Tu and the others belong to the Eastern Seven Stars, and this mission has nothing to do with them. Why did they suddenly go down?”
The Right Assistant Emperor demanded, “Does anyone here know if Bi Yue Wu and the others have shown any unusual behavior recently?”
After a long silence, one of the three from the Western Seven Stars stepped forward. He had no hair on his forehead but a single horn, a golden face, and a protruding nose—this was the star general Kang Jin Long. He spoke in a low voice, “Your Majesty, these four have been acting strangely for over ten days. We rarely see them. Though there are oddities, we truly don’t know what they’re doing.”
At that moment, a dark-haired woman stood beside him. She was beautiful and tall—this was Jiao Mu Jiao. She said, “I saw these four go down to the human world three times in the past month. It’s quite strange.”
The Right Assistant Emperor snorted and said, “Acting sneakily—surely it’s nothing good!”
The Left Assistant Emperor said, “Going down three times in a month already violates the strict rules of our Ziwei Palace. Why didn’t you report it earlier?” Jiao Mu Jiao replied, “It is indeed my fault. I am willing to accept punishment!”
The Right Assistant Emperor rolled his eyes and exhaled sharply. “Put this matter aside for now. Does anyone else know anything about these four star generals recently?”
One of the seven Northern Black Tortoise Star Generals stepped forward and said, “On the day of the Emperor’s birthday, I noticed these four often whispering to each other, their faces filled with joy—this is truly strange.” The speaker had a sharp mouth and eyes that darted around nervously; he was none other than the Empty Day Rat from the Northern Seven Constellations.
The Left Assistant Emperor’s expression darkened, and his anger grew even more. As expected, the Willow Earth Deer from the Southern Seven Constellations, who was good at reading people’s expressions, stepped forward and said, “How can this be? On the Left Assistant Emperor’s birthday, who wouldn’t be happy? What’s so strange about this? I think you’re just used to taking advantage of situations without any solid evidence, making random guesses.”
The Right Assistant Emperor said, “This indeed doesn’t amount to much of a clue, but those who speak are not guilty.”
The Empty Day Rat replied, “I wouldn’t dare speak nonsense. Everyone knows I’m from the realm of spiritual rats. In the past, I’ve committed some thefts. Whenever I was about to obtain treasure, I couldn’t help but show joy—this is human nature, hard to conceal. That day, I saw the expressions on the Four Rabbits of the Heart Room just like mine back then, as if they had stolen something valuable and hidden it from everyone.”
At that moment, the Left Assistant Emperor cleared his throat, interrupting the Empty Day Rat. But the Right Assistant Emperor said, “Empty Day Rat, go on.”
“As for the Tail Fire Tiger and the Ji Water Leopard, they usually hide their emotions, but that day they were extremely excited and got drunk. Do you all remember?”
The Right Assistant Emperor frowned. He had also been at the Left Assistant Emperor’s birthday banquet that day. After recalling, he realized the Empty Day Rat was telling the truth. He asked, “And then?”
“The Empty Day Rat continued, “That’s all I know. After that, I have no idea what happened.”
The Left Assistant Emperor could no longer tolerate it and snapped, “Nonsense! All of this is nonsense!”
The Empty Day Rat trembled slightly, clearly intimidated by the Left Assistant Emperor’s authority. He quickly bowed and retreated.
The seven stars of the Big Dipper, who had remained seated in the hall, finally spoke up. They all stood up at once, bowing to the two emperors in the hall and then nodding to the twenty-two star generals below. The leader, Greed Wolf Star, said, “Six star generals were defeated, and not even their original spirits managed to escape. This shows how fierce our opponent is—surely a notorious old demon. Please, Emperor, petition the Heavenly Court to send heavenly troops to suppress them and restore justice to our Ziwei Palace!”
Greed Wolf Star was known for his fairness and generosity, and he held high prestige in Ziwei Palace. Indeed, as soon as he spoke, everyone echoed, “Please, Emperor, petition the Heavenly Court to send heavenly troops to suppress them and restore justice to our Ziwei Palace!”
The two emperors in the hall were now at a loss. Though they had held high positions for many years, they had never encountered such a major event and hesitated to make a decision. Although the Jade Emperor was the ruler of all heavens, the Purple Star Emperor, as the ruler of all stars, was no less significant. It was uncertain whether seeking his help would be in line with the Purple Star Emperor’s wishes.
Worse still, the Purple Star Emperor had gone to the lower realms to meditate; it was unknown where he had gone or how long it would take him to return. The two emperors exchanged glances, and the Right Assistant Emperor nodded and said, “Everyone, please step back for now. We will decide on this matter after discussing it between the two of us.”
Just then, a heavenly soldier guarding the door entered the hall and announced loudly, “Taibai Jinxing has arrived outside and requests an audience with the Great Emperor.”
The Right Assistant Emperor hurriedly said, “Please invite him in at once.”
The seven stars of the Big Dipper and the twenty-two constellations exited through the side door. The Left Assistant Emperor and the Right Assistant Emperor went down the steps to greet him. Taibai Jinxing wore a white Taoist robe, with three strands of white beard hanging below his chin. Holding the Taiyi Cloud Fan, he walked as if his feet never touched the ground, seemingly ready to ride the wind away—truly the epitome of an immortal.