Chapter 386 - 305: Tang Xuanzang Turns Into a Wage Worker.
Tell a story?
Upon hearing this, Monkey King furrowed his brows even further as his confusion grew.
What kind of story was this fellow going to tell? Why did he have to call him alone to the mountain?
“I’m all ears.” Monkey King gestured with his hands.
“In the East Sheng Divine Continent, there was a Spirit Stone nurtured by Heaven and Earth. Over countless years, it absorbed the essence of Heaven and Earth, gradually developing a spirituality…”
Xuanqing stood up, hands behind his back, gazing into the distance.
Following that, he combined various versions of Journey to the West and the actual situation in the Game World, telling the entire process of the Journey to the West with Monkey King as the main perspective.
At this moment, Monkey King’s mouth gaped open, his eyes losing focus.
After hearing this explanation from the Master of the Primordial Beginning, he felt terrible. To think that, all along, he had been the clown, the fool that the whole Three Realms were laughing at.
The Shimen sect was like a puppet master for monkeys, and he was just a monkey being watched by the crowd. Yet, he had still proudly assumed the appearance of the Monkey King.
“I… in my view” Monkey King’s lips trembled, trying to say something, but nothing came out.
After a long while, he said, “Thank you, Master of the Primordial Beginning.”
Monkey King bowed deeply to him.
His heartfelt gratitude was genuine. Consider this: the whole Three Realms had been treating him like a monkey show, yet only the Master of the Primordial Beginning had informed him of the truth.
In such a situation, how could he not be grateful?
“There’s no need to thank me. I quite admire your character when you charged into the Southern Heavenly Gate in a fit of anger, breaking the rules and bindings for freedom’s sake.”
“Moreover, Monkey King, although you have a mischievous disposition, you are loyal, upright, and grateful.”
As he spoke, Xuanqing raised an eyebrow, interestedly asking, “I heard that not long ago, you killed several bandits and were expelled from the school by Tang Xuanzang. Is it to repay the kindness of the child who gave you the peach in the past?”
Upon hearing this, Monkey King gave an awkward smile, and, somewhat embarrassed, said, “Well, not entirely. I thought that by doing so, I could both repay the favor and return to Flower and Fruit Mountain to be carefree. It seemed to be the perfect arrangement.”
“Hahaha, you’re really the witty intelligent stone monkey!” Xuanqing laughed heartily, praising him.
Now, Monkey King might be arrogant and full of swagger, but he also had his wits about him. The only reason he had fallen into Tathagata’s trap was because the entire Three Realms had been playing him from the start.
From the beginning, when the little monkeys urged him to become their king, to the passing of Old White Ape, to the monkeys urging him to wreak havoc in the East Sea, countless ‘Oscar-worthy’ actors had been taking part in this performance.
It was similar to the situation of the Truman Show. No matter how smart someone, they likely couldn’t have done any better under these circumstances than Monkey King had.
After the laughter, Xuanqing’s face suddenly turned serious, and he said, “Monkey King, I must say, I really admire you.”
“If you were to join my Taichu Dao, I can guarantee that, in this world, none shall dare to humiliate you from Heaven to Earth. What do you say?”
Upon hearing this, most people would have been overjoyed to learn that the master of a Dao Court thought so highly of them, and eagerly agreed.
However, Monkey King fell silent.
Then, he suddenly asked a very interesting question.
“May I ask, Master of the Primordial Beginning, do you know who was my teacher, the Bodhi Ancestor, and whether he had any connection with the Shimen sect?”
As the intelligent stone monkey among the four great Monkey Gods, his combat power might not have been the strongest, but he was undoubtedly the smartest one.
Xuanqing hadn’t mentioned the Bodhi Ancestor previously, but from the subtle clues he had given, Monkey King had already deduced that his master, who had taught him his skills, was not simply teaching him for the sake of teaching. There was a high likelihood that he was connected to the Shimen sect as well.
Upon hearing this, Xuanqing looked at Monkey King with some surprise.
However, being at his level, he did whatever he pleased and had no intention of hiding anything from Monkey King. Since Monkey King had asked about it, Xuanqing would tell him directly.
“Your master, the Bodhi Ancestor, is none other than one of the Two Saints of the Shimen sect, Primordial Lord.” Xuanqing said blandly.
As soon as these words were spoken, Monkey King’s body trembled.
Despite his suspicions from before, hearing the truth out loud was like having his heart torn apart by a knife.
Especially upon discovering that the entire Three Realms were making a mockery of him, he experienced a pain that words could not convey.
Perhaps, in Monkey King’s heart, the only family he had in the whole world were the other monkeys on Flower and Fruit Mountain, aside from his divine teacher.
Silence filled the main hall.
After a moment, Monkey King lifted his head, his eyes slightly reddened, and said in a somber voice, “Thank you for your kindness, Master of the Primordial Beginning. I still intend to protect Tang Seng on the Western Journey to Fetch the Scriptures, so as to repay the grace of my teacher, Bodhi Ancestor.”
Hearing this, Xuanqing laughed.
In fact, Monkey King’s answer was both surprising and reasonable.
It was surprising that even after enduring so much, Monkey King was still willing to repay the favor of his education by slavishly protecting Tang Seng on the Western Journey to Fetch the Scriptures, knowing that his own teacher, Bodhi Ancestor, was part of the Shimen sect.
It was reasonable because, by nature, Monkey King was a person who repaid even the smallest kindness with overwhelming gratitude. The incident of killing the bandits to repay the child was already taking things to such an extreme..