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墨書 Inktalez
The next morning, Zhao Yang hurriedly finished breakfast and said goodbye to his mother before setting off toward the back mountain. He brought along two scallion pancakes and half a plate of pork from home.
Before he reached the place where Sun Wukong was trapped, Zhao Yang excitedly shouted, "Little Monkey, Brother Tian has brought you something delicious that you've never tasted before, made by my mother herself. It's really good!"
"Let me see what tasty treat you have! You know, back in the day when I caused a ruckus... when I stirred up the market, I’ve eaten all kinds of treasures."
Zhao Yang secretly rolled his eyes. "This monkey is talking nonsense again, turning 'causing a ruckus in Heaven' into 'stirring up the market.' The latter is just a thug; does he really think I'm a fool?"
As Zhao Yang pondered this, he stepped into the open valley where Sun Wukong was located and suddenly saw a massive wild boar lying in front of him. It seemed to be dead.
"Wow, did you find your junior brother Zhu Bajie so quickly? Are you preparing to form a team to head to the West?"
"What’s Zhu Bajie?" Sun Wukong scratched his head in confusion. "Where did you learn all these new terms to bully Old Sun? Am I out of touch with the times?"
"How could I dare? Monkey Brother, you know five hundred years of history above and below; you’re omniscient and omnipotent. I'm just a grain of sand in the river of history, a speck of dust in this vast world. How could I compare myself to you?"
"Hmph, at least you know how to flatter. Old Sun won’t hold it against you." With that, he pointed at the wild boar beside him and yawned. "This stupid pig dared to feast on my territory while I was asleep last night and got choked to death by me."
"Wow, you killed such a big wild boar? That must have taken a lot of strength! Can you even use magic? Well, maybe your magic only works on low-level beasts or mountain monsters. I should praise him more," Zhao Yang thought to himself.
"Wow, Little Monkey, you're so impressive! You can take down such a big wild boar; no wonder you're..." Zhao Yang's voice suddenly cut off. "Damn it, the charm of an idol is too strong; I almost slipped up. But how should I praise him? Should I say he's truly a clever monkey? Whatever, I'll just go with that. 'Truly an extraordinary monkey spirit!'"
"Hmph, you can't even flatter properly." Sun Wukong looked disdainful.
"I'm not flattering; I'm just speaking the truth," Zhao Yang laughed heartily.
"You're asking for it!" With that, Sun Wukong slapped Zhao Yang on the backside.
"Hey, you damn monkey! I came to see you right after my serious injury healed, so take it easy!" Zhao Yang cried out while covering his backside.
"You little brat just loves to get beaten up. You’ve barely cultivated any True Qi and you’re already trying to show off your strength. It’s no wonder you’re in this situation," Sun Wukong scoffed.
Zhao Yang exclaimed in surprise, "You little monkey know about that? How did you know I lost my cultivation? Why didn’t you come to save me? Boo hoo hoo!"
"Alright, alright, stop pretending. Quickly bring out the good stuff you have and let Old Sun have a taste. If it’s delicious, I might teach you a thing or two," Sun Wukong said.
"Hmph, I don’t believe you have any skills. If you really had skills, how could you end up trapped under this mountain?" Zhao Yang deliberately provoked Sun Wukong.
Sure enough, Sun Wukong scratched his head in frustration and said, "You little brat from Mountain Hollow don’t know anything. The one I fought was a Buddhist Ancestor-level Monk. Even the immortals who have reached the ninth realm of cultivation in your world wouldn’t be able to withstand a finger from him. Of course, they wouldn’t be able to withstand a finger from Old Sun either."
As Zhao Yang handed over the scallion pancake wrapped around pork he had prepared, he retorted disdainfully, "Hmph, you’re just bragging. Immortals are supreme beings who can fly and do anything; they only exist in legends. You can’t even see them, let alone touch them."
Sun Wukong knew that Zhao Yang was intentionally provoking him. He initially wanted to play along and say, "Then I won’t teach you." But suddenly, he became excited and exclaimed, "What is this? It’s so delicious! Mmm, it’s even better than peaches!"
Zhao Yang sensed an opportunity and grinned, "This is a scallion pancake with pork made by my mother. I didn’t eat it myself; I brought it for you to try. How about it? It’s been years since you’ve had meat, right?"
"Get out of here! It’s not just been a few years; I’ve never had meat since I was born! No one ever told me how good meat tastes. You’ve got some filial piety there, kid. Since Old Sun is happy today, I’ll teach you a few tricks."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yang realized he had finally gained Sun Wukong's approval. He thought for a moment and asked, "Will these tricks grant me immortality?"
"You can’t gain immortality," Sun Wukong rolled his eyes at him, recalling how he had asked his master the same question many years ago.
"I won’t learn then," Zhao Yang pouted.
"Not learn? You should know that the skills Old Sun teaches you may not grant immortality, but they are more than enough to deal with ruffians and bandits. They’ll even be useful against those mixed-breed scoundrels in your family!"
"I won’t learn! I just won’t!"
"Come on! You little brat, I haven't even taught you anything yet, and you're already acting up. You might as well go home and tend to the cattle," Old Sun said, raising his right hand and giving Zhao Yang two slaps. Smack! Smack! Of course, these slaps landed on his backside, but even so, they made Zhao Yang jump back and wail in pain; the monkey had put some real effort into it.
"Woo woo, you mischievous monkey! How dare you really hit me, Old Zhao! If you don't teach me some real skills today, I'll... I'll just refuse to leave!"
"Ambitious! Just look at you, a snot-nosed kid who thinks he can take on others after practicing a bit of True Qi. And here you are talking about 'real skills' in front of me, Old Sun! Tell me this: if being a king in your territory isn't a skill, then what is a real skill?"
"Real skills are about treading upon the masses, defying the heavens, plucking stars from the sky, transforming the sun and moon, opening the heavens and creating land, molding earth to create humans..." Zhao Yang wiped his nose and immediately began to dance and chant.
"Damn!" Sun Wukong slapped him again, sending Zhao Yang flying five meters away. "You think you're tough just because you're fat!"
Zhao Yang grinned through the pain as he cried out again. Sun Wukong ignored him and wiped his mouth after finishing a scallion pancake with pork. "Now tell me, what exactly do you want to learn?"
Zhao Yang quickly flipped over and knelt on the ground, scampering up to the monkey with a fawning expression. "Master, please allow me to bow before you. Just take me as your disciple and pass on all your skills to me—like how to move mountains and drain seas, summon clouds and mist, or perform those seventy-two transformations or ride the clouds and somersault through the air. I promise to study hard so that I won't tarnish your name when I walk between heaven and earth."
Sun Wukong was taken aback by Zhao Yang's words. He thought to himself, "How does this kid seem to know about my seventy-two transformations and cloud-somersaulting? Has my reputation spread to another realm?" Though puzzled inside, he replied aloud, "What nonsense! I don't know any of that stuff. Even if I did, I wouldn't want to teach you! When have I ever said I'd take you as my disciple?"
"But I already knocked my head as a sign of respect for my master! So even if you don't want to accept me today, you have to!" Zhao Yang continued with his thick skin, looking like a little bandit.
"When did this kid become so thick-skinned? Did losing his cultivation make his brain sharper?" Three black lines appeared on Sun Wukong's forehead.
"Uh, actually taking you as my disciple isn't out of the question. But first, I need to test your Wisdom Root. After all, I can't take a fool as my disciple—especially not my only True Disciple."
"Wisdom Root? A riddle game? Go ahead and ask away."
"Well then, look at me—Old Sun—handsome and dignified with shiny Monkey Hair. When I was born, auspicious signs filled the sky because I was so good-looking that all the monkeys revered me as their king. Now guess what title my knowledgeable old strategist gave me?"
Hearing this made Zhao Yang almost burst out laughing. "Look at him being so vain; he's just waiting for me to say 'Monkey King.' If I blurt that out directly, he'll definitely suspect me. So I'll throw out a few wrong guesses first."
"Golden Snub-nosed Monkey?"
"Wrong! Guess again!"
"A gorilla?"
"Wrong! Guess again!"
"Then... could it be the legendary..." Zhao Yang deliberately teased.
"The legendary what?" Sun Wukong asked eagerly.
"Could it be the legendary Flatulent Horse Monkey? The Stinky Monkey? The Tree Bag Monkey? The Circus Juggling Monkey? The African Green Monkey? The South American Big-Faced Monkey? The Amazon Rainforest Thumb Monkey?..."
"Stop, stop, stop! What kind of nonsense is this? I've never even heard of these. Why do you have to think of monkeys? The word 'monkey' is just a side note; the beautiful name is the key point. You're really so single-minded!"
"Oh, I get it, Disciple. No more guessing monkeys. Let's guess donkeys, lions, and tigers."
"Pfft—" Sun Wukong was so angry he nearly spat blood, gritting his teeth and saying, "Listen well, you brat. I'll give you three more chances. If you can't guess it this time, it means you lack Wisdom Root. Don't blame me, Old Sun, for being merciless then! Hmph!"
"Only three chances left, huh? How about... Monkey King?"
"Hmm, interesting. I am Old Sun, the Monkey King. If you add my beauty into the mix, then you're right."
"Beautiful Monkey King?"
"Three words, three words!"
"Beautiful! Monkey! King!" Zhao Yang deliberately shouted those three words loudly.
As soon as Sun Wukong heard this, he became exceptionally excited and began to dance around, shouting, "These are the three words! These are the three words! Monkey King! I, Old Sun, am the Monkey King! In the Eastern Victory Divine Continent's Aolai Kingdom at Flower-Fruit Mountain's Water Curtain Cave, I am the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong! Hahaha!"
In his prideful moment, Sun Wukong revealed his monkey nature and didn't notice that his laughter contained a heavenly aura that startled all the beasts and spirits in the mountains to flee in panic.
“Old Sun hasn’t been this happy in a long time, not bad, not bad. Let me ask you again, do you know what title the demons gave me back when I caused a ruckus in Heaven?”
“Wait, didn’t this monkey just say he was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong?” Zhao Yang was dumbfounded, staring at Sun Wukong as if he were an idiot. “This is too idiotic; he just revealed the answer himself. Should I call him out on it? No, the monkey has too much pride. Should I pretend to guess wrong a few more times? That wouldn’t be good either; if I say too much, he’ll end up hitting me.”
“Could it be the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?!”
Sun Wukong’s eyes lit up with surprise. “How did you know my title?”
“I guessed,” Zhao Yang replied flatly.
“You guessed? Then what did you base your guess on? Tell me!”
“Come on, you just said it yourself! Besides, who in our world doesn’t know you? After all, monkeys are primates; they can’t compare to us advanced primates, humans.” Although Zhao Yang thought this in his heart, he didn’t dare to say it out loud. Instead, he patted his chest proudly and said, “Master, look here. Since ancient times, the highest among humans is called Emperor, among demons is called Saint, among monsters is called King, and among immortals is called Emperor. You, as the Monkey King and leader of the demons, are thus called the Great Sage. Earlier you also mentioned that you caused a ruckus in Heaven and went against the heavens. In the vast universe of chaos and order, Heaven is the greatest; Heaven is higher than Earth. So even if you are high up there, you are still equal to Heaven; hence you are called the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.”
Sun Wukong listened to Zhao Yang’s reasoning and couldn’t help but imitate his teacher’s manner of praise. “That makes sense! You’re teachable; indeed, you are!”
“Master overpraises me,” Zhao Yang humbly replied while feeling that flattering a monkey was an insult to his intelligence.
“Well, actually my name…” Sun Wukong hadn’t finished speaking when Zhao Yang interrupted him.
“It’s Sun Wukong; your master gave it to you, right? What I said is correct; I could answer that myself! Extra points for me!”
Sun Wukong slapped Zhao Yang five meters away without caring about his whining and continued, “I’ve followed my master for seven years learning the Way and studied for another three years. In those three years, I learned how to travel ten thousand miles with a single somersault cloud and mastered the Earthly Transformation of Seventy-Two Changes. Later on, because I showed off my divine power in front of my senior brothers and caused strong dissatisfaction among everyone in the Sect, my master expelled me from the Sect. Before leaving, my master instructed me not to mention his name or pass on any of his teachings to others. He has been extremely kind to me; how could a disciple betray him? Don’t you think so?”
Hearing Sun Wukong’s words, Zhao Yang realized that this errant master wanted to pass on true skills but couldn’t due to pressure from Bodhi Patriarch. This was also a test of his loyalty to his master. If Zhao Yang answered that it should be passed on to him, he would be letting his master down; if he said it shouldn’t be passed on, then he wouldn’t learn anything at all. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Since Ancestor said it shouldn’t be passed on to others, then I believe it indeed shouldn’t be shared. However, I wonder which seventy-two transformations Master referred to; could you share them with me so I can broaden my horizons?”
Sun Wukong looked at Zhao Yang with satisfaction as if he had suddenly changed his demeanor and seriously pondered before saying: “The Earthly Transformation of Seventy-Two Changes—though it’s called seventy-two changes, it actually encompasses Endless Transformations with boundless applications. Ordinary people think my seventy-two transformations only involve changing size or form into flowers or fish or insects; however, these transformations are merely one type of Transformation Technique among the seventy-two changes. The seventy-two transformations include: Passing through Shadows, Summoning Spirits, Carrying Mountains, Controlling Water, Borrowing Wind, Creating Mist, Praying for Clear Weather, Praying for Rain, Riding Fire, Entering Water, Hiding from the Sun, Controlling Wind, Boiling Stones, Breathing Fire, Swallowing Swords, Creating Portals to Heaven, Divine Movement, Walking on Water, Staff Release Technique, Cloning Technique, Invisibility Technique, Head Restoration Technique, Body Freezing Technique, Demon Slaying Technique, Summoning Immortals Technique, Soul Pursuit Technique, Soul Capturing Technique, Cloud Summoning Technique, Moon Fetching Technique, Transporting Beasts Technique, Bird Taming Technique, Energy Restraint Technique, Great Strength Technique, Stone Penetration Technique, Light Generation Technique , Obscuring Techniques , Guiding Techniques , Consuming Techniques , Opening Walls Techniques , Rock Jumping Techniques , Sprouting Techniques , Climbing Techniques , Drinking Water Techniques , Lying in Snow Techniques , Violent Sun Techniques , Ball Manipulation Techniques , Talisman Water Techniques , Medical Techniques , Time Awareness Techniques , Earth Recognition Techniques , Grain Avoidance Techniques , Nightmare Prayers.”
Zhao Yang was taken aback upon hearing this. He had thought these seventy-two transformations were merely about changing into fish or birds or insects or flies but didn’t realize they encompassed all aspects of worldly methods. If one truly wanted to practice these seventy-two transformations fully throughout their life as a cultivator would likely never finish learning them all—and he had no interest whatsoever in doing so. After pondering for a moment more he asked: “I wonder if Master has mastered all these seventy-two transformations?”
Sun Wukong replied proudly: “Of course! Old Sun has only practiced this one method throughout his life; naturally I am exceptionally skilled at it! As they say: mastery in one area leads to mastery in all areas. Moreover Old Sun does not belong to this realm; in my world there’s a saying: ‘One day of Enlightenment leads to Ascension.’ It speaks of how Ascending to Immortality requires Wisdom Root and opportunity—not like this Cultivation realm where one must progress step by step. But because of this reason there are very few immortals in that world; anyone who wishes to Ascend must give up their emotions and desires and sever worldly attachments through suffering until their family line is completely extinguished before they can become immortal.”
Zhao Yang continued to ask, "Master, I would like to know what method in your teachings can grant longevity?"
Sun Wukong chuckled, "You know, I asked my master the same question hundreds of years ago. After hearing it, my master took out the Heavenly Gang's Thirty-Six Transformations and the Earthly Transformation of Seventy-Two Changes for me to choose from. I chose the Earthly Transformation of Seventy-Two Changes. However, after mastering it, I found no method for longevity. Eventually, I realized that there is no such thing as a method for eternal life in this world. Even if there were, I couldn't betray my master by passing on the Seventy-Two Changes to you. Do you still wish to take me as your master?"
Hearing Sun Wukong's words, Zhao Yang felt a pang of sadness but still bowed deeply and said, "Once a disciple, forever a father. Today, I, Zhao Yang, take Sun Wukong as my master. I will honor you as my father and have no regrets in this life."
"Good! Haha, you truly are a disciple worthy of my attention. Since you respect me as your master, I will accept you as my apprentice. In truth, even if I were to pass on his teachings to you, he wouldn't blame me. However, after careful consideration, I believe the Seventy-Two Changes are not suitable for you. If you were to learn them, it would be difficult for you to make progress in this life. While I cannot teach you the Seventy-Two Changes, I can teach you an even more powerful technique. But with your current body, you're not ready to learn it yet. Therefore, starting tomorrow, you must come here every day to undergo my training!"
"I understand, Master!" Zhao Yang suppressed his inner excitement.
Sun Wukong cleared his throat and said, "Alright, you can head back for today. Remember to bring some good food for me tomorrow. This pig was specially hunted for you; take it back with you."
Upon hearing Sun Wukong's words, Zhao Yang couldn't help but sweat profusely at the back of his head. He thought to himself, "Wait a minute, Monkey Head said this pig wandered into his territory and he killed it this morning; now he's claiming it was specially hunted for me." However, he replied aloud, "Master, this wild boar is probably at least five or six hundred pounds. Without my cultivation and with my meridians still aching faintly, I doubt I can drag it."
"You fool! Just when I praised your cleverness, you've gone and acted foolishly again! Do you think those slaps I gave you today were for nothing? Your body is much stronger than before; the pain in your meridians was supported by my True Qi!"
After hearing Sun Wukong's words, Zhao Yang finally realized that there was indeed a vast amount of True Qi within his Dantian. This True Qi was far denser than what he had before. As he mobilized the energy from his Dantian and channeled it through his palms, he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of strength and began jogging down the mountain while carrying the wild boar.
"Don't forget to bring me a piece of pork tomorrow!"
"I know already, you old monkey!"
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