Chapter 336

【Lingtai Fangcun Shan?】

【What is it going to Lingtai Fangcun Shan for?】

【This problem continued to trouble you even after Li Ziliang quietly left, because this is entirely beyond the scope of your plan.】

【The future development direction you set for the monkey is to have it act as a rebel leader, leading people to behead you as a token of allegiance; that way, whether it later inherits the General's position or shuts itself away to live freely, it will not be purged by the anti-shogunate faction.】

【After all, you've always remembered that you wanted to help it fulfill its wish; although you still can't find a way to make ordinary monkeys and their descendants immortal, no matter what, you don't want it to miss out on the benefits while suffering the drawbacks!】

【But now, it suddenly left without a word and went to 「Lingtai Fangcun Shan」……】

【What does it want to do?】

【Recalling the words it had Li Ziliang bring, a bad feeling wells up in your heart, but being under house arrest now, no matter how worried you are, you can't go look for it……】

【And what's more, the surprises go far beyond just a monkey?】

【In this anti-shogunate coup, what surprised you most was actually Commander Ding and the anti-shogunate faction's true gods!】

【After all, you always thought what you did to them was practically asking for death—repeated exploitation, constant backstabbing, deception… all in all, you were actively undermining the foundation of your own rule.】

【With such conduct, you naturally thought you were doomed; angry, they would surely drag you to the guillotine and then publicly execute you!】

【But unexpectedly, from top to bottom they only hoped you would correct your mistakes and continue leading them along the bright and beautiful Great Dao……】

【Could it be…… that they are loyal to you, rather than merely shouting slogans?】

【After realizing this, you let out a long sigh: 'It seems I truly underestimated my own prestige and gratitude……'】

【This principle, if you think about it carefully, you'll know: your gratitude is not feigned; you truly owe the gods a second-life favor—it is because of you that they have the chance to be where they are today, and to them you are even closer than their own parents!】

【The vast majority of them were born under the shogunate and raised beside the Eight Banners, ordinary people who exist only because you brought the world hundreds of years of peaceful prosperity!】

【And the reason they could embark on the path of cultivation is also because you, selflessly, popularized the Contemplation Method that had been privately monopolized!】

【Moreover, their ability to become true gods en masse is also due to you strengthening the population and concentrating incense offerings; otherwise, given the situation at the end of the Shun dynasty, over the next three hundred years at most only one person could become a true god after a dynastic change!】

【Of these three great favors, none has been repaid; to the gods, the General's favor is truly an unpaid debt!】

【But alas, fate toyed with us; due to a series of causes, they ultimately ended up on your opposing side and personally destroyed your shogunate regime……】

【But even though things have come to this, they merely placed you under house arrest, with no intention to harm you; indeed, as soon as you repent and raise your arms in call, nearly three thousand true gods will cheer and rally to restore you!】

【As for what Commander Ding is?】

【If you wish, the gods can immediately have him impaled from behind with thousands of flying swords, and it would be suicide……】

【Commander Ding also knows this full well, which is why he neither harmed you nor listened to urgings to become the next General.】

【You are the eternal, sole General; no one can replace you, no matter how many years pass—when people mention the two words 'General,' their first thought will always be you.】

【You are the General of the Great New Dynasty, the General of the people, the General of the gods; the name 'General Lin' will be eternally etched in history and in the hearts of men.】

【General Lin, eternal and immortal……】

【……】

【After the anti-shogunate coup succeeded, the situation gradually calmed.】

【Especially after Commander Ding gave you his 'final verdict,' both mortals and true gods expressed no objection.】

【Although you still retain the title of shogunate General, due to the change of power, everyone gradually adapted to days without you.】

【An era known as the 'Lin Dynasty' gradually became history and came up in the after‑tea chatter of ordinary folk……】

【Whenever General Lin is mentioned, everyone instinctively cries 'Loyalty,' only then sadly realizing: the General is no longer here.】

【No one remains worthy of having everyone willingly shout 'Loyalty' and 'the debt of gratitude is unpaid'; that grand, fervent era that buried the old age and ushered in the new has ended.】

【Although the prosperous age remains prosperous, and the winter plum blossoms still shyly smile among the flowers each year, without the General, these colorful things and life always feel lacking a splash of color……】

【"The General is good in every way, except he cannot escape ill fortune in his later years……"】

【"The General's later years are ill‑omened; his disciple is covered head to toe in golden hair……"】

【"Great, no need for many words."】

【「……」】

【One sigh of admiration after another follows—this is nice, but hearing it too much eventually grows tiresome.】

【Then a dissatisfied youngster voiced an opinion: 'What's so great about the General? What personal contributions has he made for everyone?'】

【"I read the Draft of the Shun History; Shun Taizu personally did a hundred twenty years of good deeds for humanity, and his life was utterly unblemished—surely he deserves more praise and remembrance than a General ill‑fated in his later years!"】

【The youngster's lengthy discourse succeeded in drawing everyone's astonished gaze.】

【Just as he was secretly pleased, preparing to accept the crowd's agreement, someone laughed: 'Li Ziliang…… even Li Ziliang himself wouldn't dare say he's greater than the General, yet you went ahead and spoke for him!'】

【The youngster objected: 'So what? The General is simply not as perfect as Shun Taizu!'】

【Someone sighed: 'You little brat…… you can't tell who truly treats you well, can you?'】

【"No matter how hard Li Ziliang works for a hundred twenty years, it's not for you; he mainly does these things for the benefit of his own Li family……"】

【"Don't believe me? Look at the histories—does the hundred‑twenty‑year prosperity under Li Ziliang's rule essentially differ from previous dynasties?"】

【"Has he shared various knowledge with the common folk? Has he scattered his descendants among the populace? Has he, out of pity for cultivators, sacrificed his own foundation?"】【"Where did Shun Taizu's descendants go? Where did General Lin's descendants go? ……"】

【One question after another left the youngster bewildered: 'Does the General have any descendants?'】

【"Of course—there is one son and one daughter, both indistinguishable from ordinary folk…… to the point that no one realizes the General even has descendants……"】

【The General has descendants?!】

【Hearing this, the others were also stunned: 'We really didn't know that……'】

【"Brother, how do you know the General's family affairs?"】

【Facing the crowd's skepticism, that person laughed ha‑ha, gave no further explanation, slung the iron rod over his shoulder, and walked off step by step toward the distance……】

……

When Lin Liu saw his disciple again, it was already years later.

"Master! I've come to save you!"

A youth who had sneaked into the shogunate knelt before Lin Liu, overcome with joy at not having seen him for years, and couldn't help scratching his cheeks and ears, exclaiming, "Who are you?"

Lin Liu was dazed, when did I get another disciple again? "Oh no! I forgot to change back to my original form!"

The young man belatedly realized, hurriedly transformed, his whole body growing golden fur, becoming the familiar form that Lin Liu knew……

"Disciple!"

Lin Liu felt both joy and surprise:

The joy was that after many years of separation, they finally reunited today!

The surprise was, why did it come here? What has it experienced these years? 【Having finally reunited with the long‑lost disciple, the excited you have many things you want to say to it!】

【Back then it had Li Ziliang leave a line, "May the master endure a few days of humiliation," and it wanted to "make the sun and moon dark and then restore light"…… Such dangerous talk naturally made you anxious and uneasy.】

【As for what it intends to do? Obviously, it wants to go to Square Inch Mountain to find a means to help you restore the authority of a general!】

【You are naturally moved by this, but you neither want to regain your position nor want it to fall into danger……】

【"Sorry for keeping you waiting, Master!"】

【It gave a helpless smile: back then we agreed it would return in a few days, but it ended up dragging on for years, really giving it a sense of having broken its promise.】

【But these years weren't wasted for it!】

【It proudly showed you the iron staff in its hand: this is a treasure given by Puti Laozi, able to easily shatter a true god's body— a graze means death, a hit means injury!】

【It also cultivated the immortal method given by Puti Laozi— of course, not the kind that lets one transcend the mundane after practice, but one that boosts its combat power; it specifically wanted this, and now it can take on at least a hundred true gods, and with the iron staff in hand, even several hundred are not impossible to fight!】

【Hearing its words, you couldn't help but feel moved, yet you still didn't want it to go on an adventure, after all you already had a death wish……】

【"Master, there's more!"】

【After showing off its treasure and technique, the monkey gleefully said: "I have a name now!"】

【This made the worried you startle: a name?】

【You had tried before to give it a name, but each time it found it unsatisfactory— this one no, that one no…… So you eventually stopped giving it names, just calling it monkey, or referring to it as a plant, and calling it "Yuan Qizhu".】

【Now it has a satisfactory name, which must have been given by Puti Laozi at Square Inch Mountain.】

【You were very curious: "What name could make this reckless monkey satisfied?"】

【"Wukong!"】

【The monkey raised its head, puffed its chest, and proudly said: "The patriarch summoned me to be called Wukong!"】

【"It said, 'To break the dark obstinacy one needs Wukong,' so it named me Wukong!"】

【Wukong……】

【Your heart stirred, you repeated the name and its origin over and over: "To break the dark obstinacy one needs Wukong"? Since it was a gift from Puti Laozi, does this carry any special meaning or message?】

【As you were thinking, the monkey… Wukong again said self‑satisfiedly: "The patriarch originally wanted to give me a surname, but I refused…… I said, a name can be given by others, but a surname can only come from one's parents; Puti Laozi treats me well, but it is not my master—I have only one master!"】

【"But since I now have a name, I can't lack a surname…… so I took one for myself!"】

【You felt touched by the master‑disciple bond, never expecting that for your sake it would even refuse to acknowledge Puti Laozi, this teacher who gave it instruction……】

【You became even more curious: "What surname did you take?"】

【"I think adaptation isn't random fabrication; a surname must of course be drawn from the classics……"】

【Wukong smiled proudly.】

【"Originally I wanted to share your surname Lin with you, Master, but then I thought it wouldn't be proper— a surname must follow one's parents, not one's master…… so I took apart your two characters 'Lin Liu' and used them; this way the master won't blame me, and it also shows our closeness."】

【"Although I can't take the surname Lin, I can take the surname Liu!"】

【"So my name is Liu Wukong!"】

……

(End of chapter)