Chapter 015: Swearing an Oath and Establishing a Golden Orchid Alliance with Hook Chen

The Taoist in green robes had been chasing the Jiao Demon King for a full month but failed to catch him. Instead, the demon managed to flee from the North Sea to Flower-Fruit Mountain in Dongsheng Immortal State, where he happened upon Wukong who had just returned with the Jingu Bang. Thus began a fierce battle between Wukong and the Taoist, which remained unresolved until Wukong unleashed the God-Beating Whip and severely wounded the Taoist in green robes. Realizing the situation was dire, the Taoist spat out a mouthful of vital blood, sacrificing who knows how many years of his cultivation, and transformed into a streak of blood to escape.

Wukong was ready to subdue this scoundrel with the Great Year Whip, but the Taoist's movements were too swift. Indeed, he was decisively ruthless; before Wukong could make a move, the Taoist had already initiated the Blood Escape. His departure was so fast, indeed much faster than the VLOOKUP(A1025,[1]Sheet1!$A:$B,2,0), that Wukong, realizing he couldn't catch up, thought that even if he gave chase, he would likely need to use Blood Escape just like the other, and that simply wasn't worth it. The Jiao Demon King, eager to try, was stopped by Wukong who said "Don't chase a desperate foe," and so desisted.

The Jiao Demon King cursed, "Damn it, that bastard battled me in the North Sea. Despite my mana not being weaker than his, I was no match for his multitude of Magical Treasures and was chased for more than a month before I made it here. I was at the end of my rope and would have surely died by his hand had you not lent your assistance. Are you the famed Sun Wukong? I will surely repay this life-saving debt with a debt of gratitude!"

Wukong laughed and said, "My friend, there's no need to be angry. Since you have come across my abode today, we must be fated to meet. Come, let's drink a cup of wine together. As for the talk of a debt of gratitude, let's just consider it a jest. It's only right for us to draw our swords to uphold justice—it's in our nature!"

The Jiao Demon King, having fled for more than a month, was extremely weary. When Wukong invited him, he did not refuse and followed Wukong as they descended from the clouds to land on Flower-Fruit Mountain.

"Children, your Great King has returned!" Wukong shouted with laughter, and the crowd of Macaca gathered around, bowing down as soon as they saw him.

"Great King, have you attained the Gateway to Longevity?" asked an older Macaca.

"Naturally, I've learned the secrets of immortality and can protect all of you and your descendants for life," Wukong replied.

The Jiao Demon King thought to himself, could it be that this monkey only just learned the Taoist Arts? He then inquired, "When did you become an immortal?"

"I have cultivated for seven years and only achieved immortality this year," Wukong answered.

The Jiao Demon King was even more astonished, as becoming an immortal had taken him an unknown number of years. He asked, "May I venture to inquire the name of your respected master?"

Leading the Jiao Demon King into the Water Curtain Cave, Wukong said, "My master is just a common Taoist from the wilds—he dislikes any mention of his name. Please forgive me for not being able to disclose it."

The Jiao Demon King didn't mind Wukong's reluctance to mention his sect—everyone had their secrets. Just the fact that Wukong had saved his life and antagonized that Taoist was enough to move him. Little did he know that time had reversed by more than five hundred years, and Wukong was once his brother in arms. However, after the Seven Great Saints swore brotherhood, Wukong, unfamiliar with worldly ways, caused misunderstandings among his brothers, leading to isolation and a one-man fight with the Heavenly Court. If he had had the support of the other six Great Demons, his fate would not have been so miserable.

After a while, an old monkey brought forth the authentic "Monkey Wine" and laid out a table full of exquisite fruits and delicacies.

After a sip of wine, the Jiao Demon King smiled and said, "I've long heard of the fame of Monkey Wine and have tasted it in the towns of mortals, but those were too bland compared to the robust and refreshing flavor of the wine here in your home."

Wukong humbly accepted the praise and joined the Jiao Demon King in toasting and drinking merrily.

The Jiao Demon King was originally a Jiao Dragon from the North Sea, a formidable force in his own right. Since he stayed out of the way in his own corner of the vast ocean, the North Sea Dragon King didn't bother to manage him, and the Jiao Demon King himself was cautious, always instructing his subordinates to avoid clashes with the Dragon Palace. This is how he managed to command a territory in the North Sea, but then the Taoist in green robes came out of nowhere and attacked, leaving the Jiao Demon King with no escape routes through heaven or earth. He had to hide and flee from Uttara Kuru Kingdom to Dongsheng Immortal State.

"Who is this Daoist? To wield such power and primarily Buddhist Divine Skills and Magical Treasures," Wukong inquired.

"If I'm not mistaken, that Daoist is none other than the Great Sage King Bodhisattva. He's been capturing masters from the aquatic tribes everywhere. Afraid of exposing himself, he disguised himself as a Taoist," the Jiao Demon King replied, "Recently, the Great Sage King Bodhisattva captured the Water Mother Lady, a koi fish that attained enlightenment. After subduing her, no one knows where she's been detained. He continued to hunt down members of the aquatic tribes. Though he posed as a Taoist, it was obvious to me that he is the King Bodhisattva."

Believing most of the story, Wukong had had encounters with the Great Sage King Bodhisattva. Although this Bodhisattva was almost an ant compared to Bodhisattva Guanyin, he was still a Bodhisattva with an established rank, and therefore the God-Beating Whip was so effective against him. Wukong couldn't help but ponder—he had been given a replica of the God-Beating Whip by Patriarch Subhuti; was it perhaps meant for him to create even more chaos in the Celestial Palace? With this weapon, even if a powerful Heavenly Deity were to come, he could still send him away defeated and disgraced.

Wukong nodded and asked, "Who is this Water Mother Lady?"

"The Water Mother Lady is from the Uttara Kuru Kingdom; she is a koi from a lake who, through a fortunate set of circumstances, cultivated to become an immortal. Unlike usual demons who delight in harming people, she protected the local inhabitants, ensuring good weather and abundant harvests. The locals held her in high esteem and even built a Taoist temple for her, offering incense and worship. I only recently heard of her capture before that King Bodhisattva turned up on my doorstep," replied the Jiao Demon King.

Surprised internally by the malice of King Bodhisattva, whom he had previously deemed a benevolent figure, Wukong inquired of the Jiao Demon King, "What purpose does he have in capturing these masters of the aquatic tribes?"

The Jiao Demon King sneered, "Alchemy, crafting magical treasures, refining the Golden Body, what else is there? I suspect that those captured aquatic experts have all met with foul play!"

Wukong said, "He's so arrogant, capturing aquatic experts from everywhere, are the Four Seas Dragon Kings, who are the chiefs of the aquatic tribes, and the Hook Chen Emperor of the Heavenly Court, really just going to let this slide?"

The Hook Chen Emperor is the Great Emperor who oversees all demon races. King Bodhisattva captures aquatic demons left and right; it's impossible that the Hook Chen Emperor doesn't know about it.

Drinking his wine, the Jiao Demon King spoke leisurely, "There's only one possibility then, this King Bodhisattva has a powerful backer! Look at him, his mana isn't even higher than mine, but he managed to secure the Bodhisattva Rank so early. It must be that he's got the Buddha Ancestor from the Western Heaven backing him. Although the Hook Chen Emperor is in charge of the demon race, with the increasing conflict between Buddhism and Daoism nowadays, where would he dare add fuel to the fire? Moreover, King Bodhisattva disguises himself as a Taoist when capturing aquatic experts. When it's time, he could just pin this disgrace on the Daoist sect. If Tathagata steps in to speak, he too can only swallow the insult. At that point, it would be a self-inflicted humiliation. Such trivial matters, in the eyes of the Hook Chen Emperor, might seem too insignificant to bother with. After all, he is a Great Emperor, and there are so many demons in the world. To him, this is probably just a minor incident."

Wukong chuckled coldly, "If I encounter that scoundrel again, I'll make sure to crack his head open with a single whip! Today I've shattered his Golden Body and damaged his vital energy, forcing him to use the Blood Escape technique. He won't recover for years."

The Jiao Demon King happily agreed, "That's right, Wukong my friend, you're strong in mana, and your magical treasures are formidable. I am not as capable!"

The Jiao Demon King was most skilled at water battles, but for some reason, King Bodhisattva was even more adept than he, gliding through water effortlessly. Additionally, King Bodhisattva could control even more of the Water Element Power than the Jiao Demon King, so the home turf of the sea bottom suddenly turned into an away game. The Jiao Demon King had to leave the sea to engage in magic combat with him. But the Jiao Demon King lacked magical treasures, while King Bodhisattva had plenty, and with the cultivation of the Southern Polar Divine Light Divine Skills, the Jiao Demon King was even less of a match.

In his past life, the little experience Wukong had in water battles was all learned from the Jiao Demon King.

Wukong laughed, "Why should we still address each other as fellow cultivators? How about this, Old Sun feels a kinship with you, let's become sworn brothers, shall we?"

The Jiao Demon King was momentarily stunned, then joyfully clapped his hands and laughed, "Good, good, good! We'll be sworn brothers of different surnames. The path of cultivation is perilous; in future, we can support each other."

Wukong then called out, "Servants, prepare the incense table and paper candles for me!"

In no time, a group of Macaca brought over incense sticks, paper money, candlelight, and so on. These items were all stolen by them when they sneaked into the Ao Lai Kingdom. Monkeys are the animals closest to humans, with two hands, two feet, and a brain, so they love to imitate humans the most. Some wise old monkeys sent the younger ones to steal stuff used in human society from the Ao Lai Kingdom.

The Jiao Demon King and Wukong joined hands and knelt before the incense table. Wukong said, "Brother Jiao, you are older than me and you acquired the Dao before me. You are my elder brother!"

"Hehe... good, good." The Jiao Demon King rubbed his hands together in glee. Being sworn brothers with someone so capable in battle was the best outcome for him; he wouldn't have to worry about the likes of King Bodhisattva causing him trouble anymore.

Wukong and the Jiao Demon King hung up a portrait of the Hook Chen Emperor. Demons don't worship Heaven or Earth, but Hook Chen instead. Both of them pledged, "O Hook Chen Emperor above! Today, I, Sun Wukong, and the Jiao Demon King, are sworn brothers of different surnames. We do not ask to be born on the same day, month, and year, but we wish to die on the same day, month, and year. The road ahead is long; we shall support each other to verify the Hunyuan. We must not harbor any suspicion, engage in fights, or turn against each other. If we violate this oath, let heavenly thunder strike us down, and let us be annihilated. Please, Emperor, bear witness."

After the two became brothers, the portrait of the Hook Chen Emperor flashed a beam of light that shot up into heaven and entered the Hook Chen Palace.

Any oath taken in front of the Hook Chen Emperor's statue would fly into the Hook Chen Palace. If someone broke it, the Hook Chen Emperor would know, and thunder would descend to pulverize the violator. That's why most demons generally refrain from swearing oaths before the Hook Chen Emperor.

The Jiao Demon King and Wukong talked and laughed heartily, and since the Jiao Demon King was quite powerful, he was willing to become brothers with him. The Jiao Demon King was inherently arrogant; otherwise, he wouldn't have stayed in the North Sea without seeking the protection of the Guangze Dragon King, Ao Shun. With Ao Shun's protection, even if King Bodhisattva had all-encompassing abilities, he wouldn't have been able to act, as it would have equated to declaring war on the Heavenly Court. Even with a strong backer in Buddhism, he would have been discarded like a useless pawn.

After becoming brothers, Wukong addressed him as "Big Brother," while the Jiao Demon King called him "Second Brother." They drank wildly again and were extremely jubilant.

Just then, they heard the sounds of intense fighting outside. They exchanged glances and left the Water Curtain Cave.

Who do you think that person is?

If you want to know what happened next, please listen to the next installment.