Chapter 7 Return to Huaguo Mountain

As Sun Wukong continued to cultivate, the Bodhi mind within his heart grew more and more sentient, and Sun Wukong himself felt his wisdom increasing by the day.

Insight and morality were also increasing with each passing day.

The brothers on the mountain didn't understand and didn't imitate, but simply waited for the Master to pass on the teachings, learning the arts of Stillness, Motion, Techniques, and Flow, and then they would descend the mountain to make their livings.

The Master was greatly fond of Sun Wukong's intelligence.

"Truly, a naturally born divine monkey!"

As Sun Wukong learned, the Master was also growing, and it could be that in the future they would be able to confirm each other's understanding.

That day, as usual, the Master was preaching to his disciples.

Even though he spoke eloquently, the only disciple who truly understood was Sun Wukong; the others were merely going through the motions, and some even dozed off.

Subhuti shook his head quietly.

After completing the lesson, the Master asked all disciples to go practice on their own, except for Sun Wukong who was left alone.

"Wukong, why aren't you leaving?"

"Master, I have already achieved the fruits of Buddhism and Taoism, only the fruit of Confucianism eludes me; I humbly seek your guidance."

Sun Wukong bowed deeply, his expression sincere.

The Master said, "That I cannot teach you. You will need to descend the mountain."

Sun Wukong trembled: "Master, are you sending me away?"

The Master raised his eyebrows and said crossly, "Who is sending you away? It's just that I no longer have much to teach you; you have formed the Bodhi mind, wisdom came naturally to you, and myriad wonderful dharmas spontaneously arise. I, as a teacher, feel somewhat ashamed."

Sun Wukong chuckled, "So I am still your disciple?"

The Master asked curiously, "Why, would you not wish to be?"

Sun Wukong quickly said, "Willing! Willing!"

In the simulator, he was sent away by the Master, and he couldn't even declare that his master was Master Puti.

Now, however, things had changed.

Wonderful!

Wonderful!

The Master shook his head, unaware of what his disciple was thinking.

Then Sun Wukong said, "Master, the fruit of Confucianism must be sought in the mortal realm, and I fear I must leave."

"Go ahead, go ahead."

The Master was indifferent, "Just remember to come back and visit often."

Sun Wukong was moved, "Disciple will remember."

Following that, Sun Wukong left the Three Star Cave, looking around at his fellow brothers; although none had truly become immortals, they had all learned the Master's skills.

Thereupon, he extended an invitation: "Fellow brothers, I am about to embark on a great endeavor, would anyone care to join me?"

"No, no!"

"Dear brother, go on your own, go on your own!"

They dared not accompany Sun Wukong.

After all, they were human, and Sun Wukong was a monkey; his talk of undertaking great deeds likely meant rallying the forests and aiming to rule as king.

They did not want to get involved in such murky affairs.

Sun Wukong was not annoyed but merely a bit regretful.

These disciples had the opportunity to come and meet the Master, which was a form of fate. However, it was a pity they did not seize the chance; they came to the mountain seeking immortality but only for learning a skill to secure a peaceful life in the mortal world.

As the Master had said:

Difficult! Difficult! Difficult!

The Way is most profound; do not take the Golden Core lightly.

Without meeting a true sage to pass on secret teachings, empty words only tire the tongue!

One must first comprehend the classics of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism to learn the path to eternal life—at the very least, to grasp the Master's real meanings when he preaches the Way and to appreciate the essence.

Regrettably, none of these people could truly comprehend the depth of the scripture lessons the Master usually taught; they treated them as a mere daily morning ritual to complete.

Pitiful!

Regrettable!

Just as Sun Wukong was about to mount the clouds and fly away, the stone lions at the gate spoke.

"We wish to leave with you."

These two stone lions had developed spiritual intelligence early on, and could speak and recognize human language. In their free time, they would even sing aloud with Sun Wukong.

The other disciples were not surprised, only chuckling.

"Look at these two stone lions, spouting nonsense again."

"Exactly."

"They have limbs, yet cannot move; how could they leave?"

However, the two stone lions ignored the disciples nearby and looked at Sun Wukong, saying once more, "We wish to leave with you."

Although these two stone lions had gained spiritual intelligence, only their faces could move; their bodies remained as still as stone and could not move.

Sun Wukong asked, "Why do you want to leave with me?"

The first stone lion said, "Every day we see disciples coming and going, but you alone respond to us."

The second stone lion said, "You teach us to read and write, and you sing with us. If you leave, we might have no companions."

Sun Wukong's heart filled with joy: "Then let us leave together."

No sooner had he spoken than Sun Wukong blew a breath of air, and the two stone lions rose with him on a cloud, flying eastward, leaving a long rainbow in the sky that lingered for a long time.

Truly:

Heavy with mortal bones on departure, once enlightened, both body and soul lighten.

None in the world commit to the aspiration, yet to commit to the profound is to comprehend it clearly.

"Too fast!"

"Too fast!"

The two stone lions, feeling the wind against them, were both terrified and delighted.

Terrified that at such speed, they might fall and shatter; delighted that Sun Wukong possessed such divine skills, with a limitless future ahead.

Sun Wukong chuckled, his innocence more apparent, and his speed increased by a third.

Whoosh—

The speed was so intense that it caused the two stone lions to faint.

Can stone lions faint?

Sun Wukong did not dwell on this question, his eyes fixed on Huaguo Mountain, which they were fast approaching, his heart overflowing with excitement.

"Home, we are almost there..."

Huaguo Mountain.

Underneath Shuilian Cave, a group of monkeys were carefully inspecting their surroundings when suddenly a golden rainbow appeared in the sky, prompting them to hide.

"Everyone hide quickly, another demon is coming!"

"Hide!"

The monkeys chattered and hid among the bushes.

The golden rainbow descended, revealing two stone lions, each half a zhang tall.

A monkey whispered, "They look like lions made of stone."

"Children, your king has returned!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the monkeys rushed out eagerly.

They saw Sun Wukong leap from behind the two stone lions and gather with the monkeys.

An old monkey, overwhelmed with joy, pushed through the crowd and approached Sun Wukong: "My king, is it really you?"

Sun Wukong said, "Of course it's me."

The old monkey lamented, "My king, you've finally come back. A demon king from the north wanted to seize our cave, and we resisted him to death to preserve our home."

"But that demon king has kidnapped many of our young ones; we don't know if they're dead or alive."

Although Sun Wukong had known about this through a simulator, facing the reality still filled him with rage.

"That audacious demon!"

After swearing, Sun Wukong said to the monkeys, "Children, go and play; watch how I will punish that wicked demon and rescue the young ones he has taken."

No sooner had he spoken than Sun Wukong leaped up, transforming into a golden rainbow, and arrived at Three Star Cave.

Seeing a little demon using a goat to plow a field with a large pig, he descended from the clouds, caught the little demon in his hand, and said, "You little demon, hurry inside the cave and tell that wicked demon that his Sun Gramps has arrived!"

The goat demon, released by Sun Wukong, ignored the fields and the escaped wild pig, stumbling into the depths of Three Star Cave.