Chapter 514: Mission Accomplished, Then Retire!

Hand over Mount Huaguo!

The affairs of the Three Realms are now completely settled.

The old gods have been abolished.

The rules have been established.

That scarlet-gold pillar piercing heaven and earth stands planted right in the middle of the Three Realms; whoever sees it must weigh their own worth.

Sun Wukong yawned.

Shouldering the Iron Staff, with one hand holding Yao, the two turned into a streak of light that sliced across the starry sky.

The direction was not Fangcun Mountain.

It was Mount Huaguo.

"Let's go home and have a look."

Wukong turned his head and smiled at Yao.

Yao didn't speak, just nodded and tightened her grip a little.

She understood him.

After fighting for so long, killing so many people.

He wanted to go home and take a look at those little monkey brats.

The streak of light landed at the gate of Mount Huaguo.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Wukong froze.

At the entrance of the Water Curtain Cave stood a dense crowd of monkeys.

Big and small, old and young, all were squatting there.

Some were picking lice.

Some were gnawing peach pits.

Some were scratching each other's backs.

There was a gray-furred little monkey riding on the neck of a chubby monkey, pulling its ears like a steering wheel.

It was as lively as a market.

Everything remained unchanged.

Wukong stood at the mountain gate, the corners of his mouth curving upward.

Then—

「Squeak Squeak Squeak——」

The monkeys on the outermost ring saw him first.

The female monkey that had been picking lice was the first to shriek, tossing away the lice in her paws and leaping up.

"The Great King has returned!"

"It's the Great King!"

"Great King! Great King! Great King!!!"

The whole of Mount Huaguo seemed to have been set alight.

The monkey troop exploded out of their nest.

Dozens of monkeys jumped down from the trees.

Hundreds of monkeys poured out of the cave.

Monkeys over the mountains and fields, with a rustling sound, all crowded toward the mountain gate.

Some did somersaults.

Some bounced off the tree branches.

Some leapt straight down from the top of the waterfall, fell on their buttocks, scrambled up, and kept running.

The little gray monkey riding on the chubby monkey's neck rolled over with its mount, got up with its face covered in mud, and still shouted, "Great King! Great King! Great King!"

They all swarmed forward.

Leading them was an old monkey whose fur was almost all gone.

He ran the fastest, panting the hardest.

"Gr... Great King..."

The old monkey rushed up to Wukong, his knees went weak, and he almost collapsed.

Wukong, quick-eyed and quick-handed, reached out and caught him.

The old monkey lifted his head; his wrinkled monkey face was streaked with tears.

"Great King... you've come back..."

"I'm back."

Wukong smiled and patted his shoulder.

"I'm back, I'm back."

The old monkey kept repeating those three words over and over, mumbling them, tears dripping down.

Around them, the monkey crowd had already formed three rings.

The little monkeys tugged at Wukong's pant legs, while the big ones jumped and shouted in the outer ring, making the whole mountain tremble.

Yao stood behind Wukong, watching this scene, her eye sockets also red.

This is home.

No matter how many people were killed outside, how many battles fought.

This place will always be the simplest and purest spot.

They made a fuss for a little over half an hour before the monkey troop quieted down.

Sun Wukong sat on the big stone at the entrance of the Water Curtain Cave, with over four hundred monkeys packed tightly below, as if holding a meeting.

He cleared his throat.

"Lao Bai Mao."

The old monkey, whose fur was almost all gone, trembled as he stepped forward: "Great King, I'm here."

"From now on, you'll handle all the affairs of Mount Huaguo."

The old monkey didn't react.

He stared for three breaths, mouth hanging open: "Great… Great King?"

"I won't live on the mountain anymore. I'll come back if there's something, but day-to-day—feeding, drinking, relieving themselves, fighting, sharing peaches—you decide."

The old monkey's eye sockets reddened again.

He knelt, his knees hitting the stone slabs with a thud.

"Great King… this is… this is handing over the mountain to…"

"Hand it over to you to manage."

Sun Wukong cut him off, his tone light as if commenting on today's nice weather.

"The kingdom I won isn't for me to be some great king. It's so you can live your days without having to watch anyone's face."

"From today on, Mount Huaguo belongs to Mount Huaguo itself."

The old monkey lay on the ground, crying so hard his whole body shook.

He had lived for several hundred years and had seen no great wind or waves.

But at this moment he cried like a child.

The Great King had completely handed over this blissful land.

It wasn't abandoning them.

It was truly letting go.

The surrounding monkey troop also quieted down.

A few young monkeys glanced at each other, their eyes shining.

That was the light of being able to stand up on one's own, without needing anyone's grant.

"Stop howling."

Sun Wukong jumped down from the stone and kicked the old monkey's butt with his toe.

"Remember my words."

"Live well."

"As long as there's enough peaches to eat, don't be greedy."

"Don't meddle in outside affairs; if someone comes looking for trouble, just beat them back."

"If you can't win, run; run back and call for me."

He said it casually.

But the old monkey memorized every word with his life.

Sun Wukong added another line: "Also—don't learn from those old gods who bully people with their power. Just because your Xiūwéi is high doesn't mean you can go bully the rabbits and wild deer at the mountain's base."

"The monkeys of Sun Wukong don't do that kind of disgraceful thing."

"Yes! Great King!"

The old monkey kowtowed, his voice ringing a third louder.

Sun Wukong nodded in satisfaction.

He turned and walked into the monkey troop.

The little monkeys swarmed over all at once, like a flock of fuzzy balls bumping against his legs.

Sun Wukong crouched down.

A little gray monkey lay on his knee, head lifted, its black-bean eyes shining as they looked at him.

That was the same one that had just been riding the fat monkey.

The mud on his face wasn't wiped dry yet, with snot hanging from his mouth.

"Great King, will you come back?"

His voice was soft and childlike.

Sun Wukong reached out, his rough palm gently rubbing the little monkey's head.

"Come back. If you miss me, shout up to Heaven and I'll hear."

The little gray monkey grinned.

Sun Wukong pulled a few peaches from his bosom.

They weren't immortal peaches or spirit fruit, just wild mountain peaches he'd plucked along the way, greenish with a reddish tint and still covered in dew.

He stuffed them one by one into the little monkeys' paws.

One even smaller little monkey failed to catch the peach, letting it roll to the ground.

It chased the peach for two steps, then sat down on it.

Then it lifted its head and gave Sun Wukong a silly grin.

Sun Wukong also laughed.

He laughed lightly and tenderly.

He was completely unlike the Great Sage Equal to Heaven outside who could shatter stars and destroy worlds at a whim.

Yao stepped forward.

She squatted at the mouth of the Water Curtain Cave, her hands lightly pressing against the ground.

Seven-colored light flowed from her palm like water, seeping into the soil of Mount Huaguo.

The light spread quickly.

From the mountain base to the summit, from the Water Curtain Cave to the Peach Forest behind the mountain, the entire Mount Huaguo was covered for a moment by a thin layer of colored light.

Then the light sank into the ground and vanished.

"All right."

Yao stood up and patted the dirt off her hands.

"I've set up three dream-realm barriers. Anything that tries to force its way into Mount Huaguo will first be dragged into a dream and get lost for forty-nine days."

"By the time it gets out, you'll have already run away."

The old monkey knelt again.

Yao hurried to help him up: "Don't kneel, don't kneel, or your knees will be Fèi le."

A chorus of friendly squeaks came from the monkey troop.

The sun leaned westward.

Golden light fell on the Peach Forest of Mount Huaguo, gilding every leaf with a warm hue.

The waterfall at the Water Curtain Cave splashed noisily.

Several little monkeys washed and ate peaches beneath the waterfall.

The old monkey, stooped, was teaching a group of adolescent monkeys how to divide tomorrow's rations.

Everything is fine.

Everything is moving toward a better direction.

Sun Wukong stood on the summit, overlooking the land he had fought desperately to guard.

The wind blew in, carrying the sweet scent of peaches and the earthy odor of soil.

He took a deep breath.

Solid.

The kind of solidity that rises from the gaps in his bones.

These monkey brats will have a good future.

No need to fear thunder falling from Heaven.

No need to worry about some clueless immortal coming to cause trouble.

Mount Huaguo is Mount Huaguo.

Monkeys are monkeys.

Free and at ease.

"Let's go."

Sun Wukong turned and waved at Yao.

"Where to?"

Fangcun Mountain.

He paused, a hint of smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Master's tea is probably cold again."

Yao stepped forward and took his hand.

Their silhouettes turned into a stream of light in the sunset, shooting upward.

On Mount Huaguo, more than four hundred monkeys raised their heads, watching that light fly farther and farther, growing smaller and smaller.

The little gray monkey nibbled a peach and mumbled, "Great King is really handsome."

The fat monkey knocked it on the head: "Eat your peach."

The mountain wind remained unchanged.

The peach blossoms remained unchanged.

Only the mountaintop position was left empty.

Fangcun Mountain.

The Bodhi Patriarch sat at the table, the teacup before him completely cold.

He wasn't looking at the tea.

His gaze pierced countless dimensions, fixed on the black giant tree at the edge of the universe.

Three more cracks had appeared on the trunk compared to an hour ago.

That golden eye no longer moved.

It closed.

As if gathering strength.

Bodhi's left hand clenched the teacup silently.

A fine crack silently spread along the cup wall.