Chapter 909: , I

As the previous book said, now is exactly the deep autumn of 'Several trees shed leaves, reed flowers scatter; a few mad poplars drop red leaves.' Look, 'The pine breeze in the small pavilion scents faintly, a verse of seeking immortals. Autumn wind, the jade rabbit cold; wild trees, the golden monkey howls; white clouds half the sky, the moon small.'

And also——

Azure sky, yellow earth, autumn colors blend into the waves; above the waves, cold mountains are verdant. The hills reflect the slanting sun, sky joins water; all over the mountains are tears of red leaves.

I want to express feeling, but I don't know what feeling is; I want to describe scenery, but I don't know where the scenery lies. All I see is boundless autumn color on the mountains ahead—red like fire, white like snow, blue like azure, green like emerald—and I also know where I am, what I'm writing about, where, who, and what............................

Reader, are there maple leaves on Pingdingshan? Where there are mountains there is water; where there is water there are trees. Here I am not randomly pairing mandarin ducks, blindly giving roses?

Reader, calm down, I'm saying——

The deep autumn of 'Autumn wind bleak, the weather cool; plants shake off, dew becomes frost,' the blowing is of several riverside lines, trees shedding reed flowers; look at those many mountains ahead, the wind sound solemn, red leaves falling.........................................................

It is——

*Beautiful, the mountain bones slender, stream water cold, lotus leaves broken, flowing water falls with flowers, spring gone, people weary..............................

The blowing is——

White? red smartweed frost-leaf ground, the vast sky sees falling clouds and a lone goose flying; faintly the dark wild clouds pass, the hillside farmer returns with his hoe. The goose has gone, indeed it is sorrowful, yet it is an old acquaintance; the ground is piled with yellow flowers, weary and worn, to this day, all are the tears of those who part..................................................

Sun Wukong of Huaguo Shan and the two demons of Pingdingshan—one a monkey head still lacking **, the other a demonic monster—stand before the gate of the Lotus Flower Cave on Pingdingshan, ready to battle.

The demon said: 'Monkey head, everyone says how great your abilities are, so why are you pretending to be a grandson in front of me today? I've shouted at you several times, yet you didn't even answer once. Monkey head? Are you scared, right? Monkey head, you'd better hurry back to Huaguo Shan, go lead your monkey brothers to play around. You just boasted about how great your abilities are. I've called you loudly for half a day, why won't you answer? Are you frightened? Isn't that so? Monkey head?'

Wukong laughed and said: 'Demon, what did you just say? I, Old Sun, am old, I've endured wind and rain by the sea, my eyes are a bit blurry, my ears a bit dull. Your voice just now was too soft; I still haven't heard clearly what you called. How can I answer you? Please speak louder.'

The official wants to ask, why does Wukong again swallow the words at his lips? This is Wukong's wisdom.

What great wisdom this is!

Wukong thought, this demon has many schemes, all sorts of bad ideas; he wants me to agree, there must surely be tricks here, hidden murderous intent. If I agree to him, being harmed by the demon is not a big deal. But my master and junior brothers have all been captured by this demon, still hanging in the cave, urgently waiting for me to rescue them. If I am captured again by this demon, he will put me into the Red Gourd. Then even the person who would report the crime would be gone. Besides, my death is a small matter. If I can't save my master, delaying his journey west to get the scriptures, that would be a great mistake. Moreover, my two junior brothers Bajie and Sands have not yet married; they've followed my master to this point, always rushing east and west, they haven't gained wealth, nor status, still bachelors. Now without money or status, which girl would dare to take them. Especially Bajie; the girl from Gao Lao Zhuang might still be waiting for him to make money, then return to marry. If this Bajie is harmed by the demon, the Gao Lao Zhuang girl would be waiting in vain.........

Reader, what time is it now, that Sun Wukong still worries about his junior brother Bajie and the marriage affair at Gao Lao Zhuang? This monkey head truly cares for people.

The demon looked at Sun Wukong dazed and stunned, thinking his earlier words had frightened him. The second demon laughed: 'How's that! Monkey head? Scared, right? You'd better hurry back to Huaguo Shan, go lead your monkey brothers to play around. You just boasted about how great your abilities are. I've called you loudly for half a day, why won't you answer? Are you frightened? Isn't that so? Monkey head?'

Wukong, who was still dazed, after the demon's call, laughed and said: 'Demon, what did you just say? I, Old Sun, am old, I've endured wind and rain by the sea, my eyes are a bit blurry, my ears a bit dull. Your voice just now was too soft; I still haven't heard clearly what you called. How can I answer you? Please speak louder.'

The demon said: 'Sun Lao Da, my voice is loud enough—even the mountains tremble from my voice—do you still hear me? I say, Sun Lao Da, why are your ears so dull? Well, I'll shout 'Sun Lao Da' once more——

The Sun Wukong on the cloud top, even in midair, really didn't hear what the demon was saying. At this moment, only the voice of 'Sun Lao Da' came from the clouds. That monkey head couldn't help but respond with a sound. This response wasn't a big deal, but Wukong lost control of himself, thus causing the wonderful chapters and interesting topics of my little essay.....................................................................