Volume 1: Unsayable – Chapter 7: Kill at the Third Watch

Prince Zhang left the inner chambers and headed straight for the room where the Stone Monkey lived. From afar, he saw the Stone Monkey pacing around the courtyard. Prince Zhang approached without a word, grabbed the Stone Monkey, and soared toward the back mountain of the Great Sage Zen Temple.

The Stone Monkey was confused. He felt Prince Zhang’s pale, tender hands like iron clamps, and no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t break free. He thought Prince Zhang intended to kill him there, and he was terrified. But what he didn’t know was that the Great Sage National Teacher, Bodhisattva Wang, enforced strict rules—no disputes or fights were allowed within the territory of the Great Sage Zen Temple, nor any trace of bloodshed, otherwise severe punishment would follow.

Prince Zhang flew farther and farther with the Stone Monkey, reaching the outskirts of the Great Sage Zen Temple. The Stone Monkey glanced at Prince Zhang’s stern face and quickly figured things out: Being dragged here in the dead of night surely meant nothing good. His own abilities were weak—how could he escape?

When they reached a mountaintop, Prince Zhang threw the Stone Monkey to the ground and, with a twist of his wrist, grasped a long spear. This Chu Bai Spear was a treasure given to him on the day he became a disciple of the Great Sage National Teacher, Bodhisattva Wang. Besides fighting enemies, it could also absorb vital energy.

Prince Zhang’s face remained cold and expressionless. To him, someone like the Stone Monkey, with mere human-level mental power, was worthless. Many high-level immortals had been killed by his spear to absorb their vital energy.

Seeing Prince Zhang draw the spear, the last glimmer of hope in the Stone Monkey’s heart vanished. He had no cultivation at all; even if he jumped off a cliff, he couldn’t escape Prince Zhang’s grasp.

Just then, a flash of inspiration struck him—he remembered the poem praising Prince Zhang from *Journey to the West*: “His ancestors came from the Western Desert Kingdom; my father was once its king. From childhood, he suffered many hardships, his fate plagued by an evil star above his head. Yearning for the secret of immortality through his teacher, they met and shared medicinal formulas…” Prince Zhang lived in the Desert Kingdom. Regardless of whether that kingdom was related to the River of Sand, just these two lines—“his fate plagued by an evil star above his head, yearning for the secret of immortality through his teacher”—offered a clue.

The Stone Monkey also knew that the “heavenly canopy” was one of the four pillars of fate. If a mortal’s fate was affected by this star, it was best for them to take a monk or Taoist as a teacher and convert to Buddhism or Taoism to ensure safety. It seemed Prince Zhang had converted to Bodhisattva Wang’s sect for this reason.

With this thought, the Stone Monkey spoke up, “Kill me! The evil star above your head will plague your life.”

The Stone Monkey’s voice was not loud, yet to Prince Zhang it sounded like thunder. He had taken monastic vows since childhood. Aside from the Great Sage National Advisor, Bodhisattva Wang, no one in the world knew that his fate was tied to the Huagai star. Moreover, the Bodhisattva had said more than once that his Huagai star was different from ordinary people’s—any slight carelessness in his cultivation would ruin all his efforts, leading to a fate of utter destruction.

The Stone Monkey’s words struck right at Prince Zhang’s weak point. Holding a long spear in his hand, he hesitated repeatedly but still couldn’t bring himself to strike.

The cold tip of the spear pointed at the Stone Monkey’s chest. Though it was merely a gesture in the air, the Stone Monkey still felt a chill, unsure what kind of supernatural power this was. Hmph, this mere Prince Zhang, an insignificant figure, dares to treat me like this. But circumstances are beyond one’s control.

Prince Zhang was utterly puzzled. Where did this Stone Monkey come from? Did he possess the ability to foresee the past and future? But if he were truly a divine monkey, why would his master abandon him?

“Who are you?” Prince Zhang finally spoke.

The Stone Monkey thought, “As long as you speak, things will be easy.” So he replied, “I am a unique stone monkey born and raised in the Eastern Victory Continent. I can discern good from bad and know what lies ahead.” He was taking a gamble here, assuming Prince Zhang was unaware of the abilities of these four types of divine monkeys. The conflict between the Beautiful Monkey King and the Six-Eared Monkey Monkey had only been resolved with the help of the Tathagata—Prince Zhang likely didn’t know about that either.

Sure enough, Prince Zhang didn’t attack, but he still had doubts. “Then tell me, how can I resolve my fate tied to the Huagai star?” The Stone Monkey immediately replied, “Just do more good deeds and kill less.”

Prince Zhang sneered, “I thought you truly had powers. Turns out you’re just a deceiver. Die!” The tip of his spear shot forward like a serpent, aiming straight at the Stone Monkey’s chest.

The Stone Monkey had been less vigilant. Unexpectedly, Prince Zhang turned on him in an instant. The Stone Monkey was nimble—he flipped over and leaped off the cliff.

Prince Zhang had underestimated the Stone Monkey’s abilities in the first place. He hadn’t expected the Stone Monkey to dare jump into an abyss. Moreover, he only wanted to scare him, not really kill him, so he used only half his strength with the spear. Seeing the Stone Monkey dodge, he remained calm. He leaped up, though a step slower, moving like lightning. He made a horizontal turn in midair, aiming to catch the Stone Monkey.

It was then that something unexpected happened.

From beneath the bottomless abyss, a thunderous roar echoed: “Aowang—”

The Stone Monkey suddenly felt a severe pain deep in its mind, as if something had shattered inside, causing it to lose consciousness instantly and plummet downward. Prince Zhang, who had been about to catch the Stone Monkey, was stunned by the roar and his movements froze; his breath became disordered. He quickly leaned on his Chu Bai spear against the rock wall to steady himself before searching for the Stone Monkey, but it was already gone without a trace.

Leaving aside how Prince Zhang would explain this back, as for the Stone Monkey, it was in a daze, unaware of how many hours had passed or what hardships it had endured. When it finally opened its eyes, it found itself by a stone pond. Its clothes were torn into strips, offering no cover, and its two furry legs were covered in blood. Being in the cool water felt quite comfortable.

Although it was injured, the wounds weren’t serious, and its mind was clear. The Stone Monkey looked around. The pond was extremely large, almost as big as a lake, so vast that it couldn’t see the other side. The shore, however, was narrow, only a few dozen feet wide from the mountain wall. The water was unnaturally still and viscous. Upon closer inspection, it realized this wasn’t water at all but resembled crude oil it had seen in its past life, yet it had no smell.

The Stone Monkey slowly stretched its limbs. Feeling unharmed, it stood up, though its legs were covered in a thick layer of grease, too difficult to remove in such a hurry.

Just then, a furry little hand gently patted its shoulder from behind, startling the Stone Monkey so much it almost jumped. It calmed itself down and thought, “Life and death are in the hands of fate; what’s the use of fearing?” So it mustered up courage and turned around.

Upon turning, it was shocked again. There was a monkey even shorter than itself, looking very cute, staring at it intently. Upon closer look, a thin black iron chain ran across the little monkey’s shoulders, tightly binding them together, pressing its shoulder blades so close that it appeared hunched over, giving it a strange shape.

A flash of fear passed through the Stone Monkey’s mind. Seeing how much the little monkey resembled itself, it realized it was of the same species and felt compassion.

The little monkey, sensing the pity in the Stone Monkey’s eyes, showed a sad expression. It lightly moved to a large rock by the pond, sat down on it, and remained silent, staring blankly at the black, oily water.

Seeing its sorrowful expression, as if on the verge of tears, the little monkey sniffled a few times, but no tears came out. There was plenty of kerosene in the deep pond, and the air was extremely dry—there was probably not a single drop of water left in the little monkey’s body.

The Stone Monkey walked over, gently stroked its shoulder, then sat down beside it on the rock. The two monkeys sat side by side in silence, their silhouettes forming a dark shape deep within the abyss.

After what seemed like an eternity—unknown to him as to how many days and nights had passed—the Stone Monkey felt extremely comfortable being with this little monkey. It was as if they were brothers or father and son; this sense of closeness far surpassed that among the many monkeys on Flower-Fruit Mountain. Finally, the little monkey spoke up, “What’s your name?” “I don’t have a name yet. I’m just called the Stone Monkey. What about you?” “I’m named Wu Zhiqi.” Heaven! An invisible hammer struck the Stone Monkey’s fragile heart—he was Wu Zhiqi! This unremarkable-looking monkey, who even seemed rather frail, was actually the ancient giant demon Wu Zhiqi! In panic, the Stone Monkey stood up and looked around again—dead silence. “Is it… just you here?” “Just me. For countless years, I’ve only had myself.” The Stone Monkey fell into deep thought. Ever since he fell from that cliff, he had only heard a roar and then lost consciousness. It seemed likely that it was Wu Zhiqi who had saved his life. Wu Zhiqi not only held no ill will toward him but also seemed to have some fondness for him. No, “fondness” wasn’t the right word—it should be “a sense of closeness.”