Chapter 160: God

Seagulls startled into flight; under the blue sky, the ocean liner passed through far voyages, slowly approaching the dock. Zhou Shuo followed the crowd off the ship, gazing out at the territory of East Victory Divine Continent. He saw that, although there was a bustling dock in view, it was actually a stretch of withered-orange yellow rock, and within that yellow rock there were dwellings—presumably the characteristic buildings of Aolai Country.

"Older brother, where should I go to find lodging?" Zhou Shuo looked at the stretch of yellow rock and asked the boatman beside him.

"That way, there's an inn." The boatman, holding the mooring rope, pointed left outside the dock; there is a passageway leading to a huge square rock, the rock tall and square, with windows and doors carved all around—indeed it is a dwelling.

"Do you know how to get to Flower-Fruit Mountain?" Zhou Shuo, following the boatman's glance, took a look at Aolai Country's characteristic dwellings, couldn't help but smile and ask another question.

"Look over there, that's Aolai Country. Traveler, why would you want to go to Aolai Country? It's not a good place to go; I hear the monkeys are extremely fierce." The boatman pointed for Zhou Shuo; far to the east, amid misty water vapor, a mountain peak loomed faintly.

"I too have heard that Flower-Fruit Mountain in East Victory Divine Continent is a blessed cave-heaven, which is why I've come here." Zhou Shuo glanced sideways; the monkeys of Flower-Fruit Mountain are indeed fierce, nothing surprising, after all that is Sun Wukong's territory, that monkey is audacious to the point of even shouting the words 'The Jade Emperor takes his turn, this year it's my home'.

"You, a person from the central lands, have come all this way just to see Flower-Fruit Mountain? Though Flower-Fruit Mountain is beautiful, it has bears, tigers, and monkeys; those beasts fear no one, they are fiercely dangerous, and few people dare to go to Aolai Country." hearing Zhou Shuo's words, the boatman couldn't help but smirk.

"Then what good places are there in Aolai Country?" Zhou Shuo looked at the talkative boatman, couldn't help but smile and ask; if he didn't go to Flower-Fruit Mountain, where else could he go?

"You young man are quite amiable; let me tell you, although Aolai Country is remote and not as prosperous as your eastern lands, it has few disputes, a tranquil secluded place. If you are truly inclined, I'll point you to a place: from here heading south, there is a village." The boatman sized Zhou Shuo up and down; as his eyes shifted slightly, a hint of teasing rose.

"A Peach Blossom Shangri-La?" Zhou Shuo looked at the boatman whose eyes had shifted slightly, and raised his eyebrows.

"Naturally it's a Peach Blossom Shangri-La, and an excellent one at that; I guarantee that once you go, you won't want to leave." The boatman's eyes brimmed with earnest encouragement and teasing.

"Uncle, do tell me the good way!" Zhou Shuo looked at the coaxing, teasing fellow who was keeping secrets, and couldn't help but laugh as he pleaded.

"That village is nothing but women, and all of them beauties; I see you are also a vigorous young man, not a merchant still wandering about, so you might as well try your luck—if you manage to win a beauty's favor, settling in Aolai Country would not be a bad thing." The boatman looked at Zhou Shuo cooperating; the teasing faded from his face, and he seemed to advise, saying:

"Then I'll go have a look, thank you for your guidance, Uncle." Zhou Shuo looked at the seemingly kind boatman, smiled and nodded; if the earlier talk was teasing, then this fellow now harbored a somewhat ill-intentioned idea, though merely a faint encouragement—likely because the Daughter Village forbids men from approaching.

"No need, no need; if you don't encounter that romantic fortune, I might as well point you elsewhere: to the north of this country there is a dock; from there you can set out to sea, and I've heard you can reach the legendary Penglai Immortal Island." The boatman looked at Zhou Shuo appearing utterly clueless, felt a twinge of regret for having recklessly sent people to the Daughter Village, and spoke up again, pointing to another place.

"Oh, Penglai Immortal Island—has anyone ever been there?" Zhou Shuo looked at the boatman feeling remorse, his face showing slight surprise.

"I don't know, I've only heard people say so." The boatman shook his head, uttering a hesitant 'uh'.

"Well then, thank you, Uncle." Zhou Shuo looked at the boatman uttering 'uh', couldn't help but smile, nodded, and took his leave.

"Um, um, the Daughter Village—you absolutely must not go; I was just joking with you earlier, the Daughter Village forbids men from entering; if a man rashly goes in, he will surely be driven out and punished, lightly injured or worse, doomed." The boatman watched the departing figure, swallowed his saliva, and spoke loudly: earlier it was just a joke, the Daughter Village cannot be visited casually.

"I see, thank you for your lifesaving kindness, Uncle." Zhou Shuo looked at the boatman correcting his words, then turned, clasped his hands, merged into the crowd, and in the blink of an eye vanished without a trace; only the boatman stood there, mouth agape, stunned.

Not mentioning the stunned boatman, after Zhou Shuo merged into the crowd he did not seek lodging at an inn, but instead turned directly east, climbing over several ridges all the way toward Flower-Fruit Mountain; if the boatman's last words had not been mentioned, he might still have gone to look at the Daughter Village, but that fellow had a sudden change of heart, so there was no need to go looking for trouble.

"Flower-Fruit Mountain!" Zhou Shuo crossed several ridges; the high-altitude clouds and mist gradually cleared, a green mountain loomed faintly in the distance, and far off one could hear the gentle sound of flowing water in the mountains.

Zhou Shuo, aiming for the green mountain ahead, found a path up the slope, trekked through thorny thickets to reach the mountainside; all he saw before him was a lush forest with blooming red flowers, a rumbling waterfall sound echoed from between the peaks, amid a harmonious mist, birdsong and insect chirrs filled the woods.

"Delicious." Zhou Shuo walked along the mountain trail, entered a peach grove, reached out and plucked a peach, washed it with mountain stream water and ate it; the peach flesh was sweet and juicy, the mountain scenery was beautiful—Flower-Fruit Mountain truly is a Peach Blossom Shangri-La; the monkeys' fortune is good too, living here they need think of nothing, food and clothing are provided by mountain bounty, yet living like this seems somewhat meaningless.

"What in life is truly meaningful? When lacking food and clothing we rush to seek them; when food and clothing are no worry, we complain of being too lonely, never satisfied!" Zhou Shuo finished the peach, let out a sigh, flung the peach pit into the stream, where it splashed with a plop and echoed.

Having eaten the peach and taken in the scenery, Zhou Shuo moved his shoulders, reached out and began to climb the mountain path, rushing all the way to the summit in one breath, gazing out at the azure sea and blue sky, as well as the waterfall forests of Flower-Fruit Mountain.

"I am Zhou Shuo, Sun Wukong—where are you?!" Zhou Shuo gazed at the boundless azure sea and sky, let out a loud shout; his voice rang out in waves, echoing continuously over the sea, and even provoked several roars of bears and tigers from the mountains below, startling a flock of birds.

"Um!" Zhou Shuo, hearing the echo fade away, involuntarily plopped down flat on the rock, watched the sun gradually sink on the horizon, then lay straight down on the rock, closed his eyes, feeling the days growing ever more boring, not knowing what one ought to do.

"Mother..." Zhou Shuo thought of his elderly mother still on Earth, and of the many worlds he had experienced; his body gradually fell asleep, his primordial spirit drifted out of his body, gazing at this world without joy or sorrow, then dissipated in place.

Leaving form and knowledge behind, hiding in the cosmic void, Zhou Shuo felt his will expand boundlessly; the four great continents were all encompassed in his mind, countless stars stood firm in the cosmic void, and in the endless expansion of emptiness, the Three Realms and Six Paths gradually revealed themselves to him.

The Three Realms and Six Paths, all myriad things and beings, nothing escaped his sight; this was a complete whole world. Zhou Shuo's mind leapt over them, still wandering in the formless expanse, scanning countless worlds, finally turning toward the long-uncontacted azure planet, his gaze landing amid the skyscrapers at the heart of Asia.

"Has your divine wandering returned?" Zhou Shuo stood in the high-rise building, glanced at his own palm, savoring the impressions his mind had gathered while touring the worlds, then turned his gaze to the surroundings, seeing pedestrians hurrying to and fro, vehicles flowing like water on the road.

"Go backward." Zhou Shuo looked at a prosperous city, shifted his hand slightly; the pedestrians and vehicles that had been moving forward began to orderly retreat, accompanied by orderly-retreating scenes, some buildings gradually vanished, the glass and flooring of the skyscrapers peeled off bit by bit, then were reinstalled by workers into their original producers, the steel frames were likewise dismantled piece by piece, and the asphalt roads and streetlights on the streets likewise faded away bit by bit.

Time flowed backward bit by bit; Zhou Shuo walked within that reverse time, watching China regress from the twenty-first century to the twentieth, then to the nineteenth; in his eyes the people were like leeks, one batch after another retreating, sinking back into the earth, then a new batch of people emerged, growing young again, hairstyles and attire continually shifting—from short modern hair retreating into braids and horsehair caps, then further retreating into silk caps and official robes…

Of course, time and space had become manipulable; what meaning remained, if any? Relatives, family, nation, ethnicity—if one wished, anything could be recreated anew.

However, each new relative, family, nation, and ethnicity that appears is a responsibility, or else a karmic consequence; unless the world forever remains in chaos, there will continually arise black-and-white colors, until the colors blend to an indivisible fineness, and then return to chaos.