Chapter 419: Just Recording It

The Monkey King was pressed under the mountain, having lost count of how many times he had watched the grass leaves before him, or how many sunrises and moonsets he had gazed upon. Day after day, year after year, the taste of waiting was most excruciating.

Until this day, he was still idly counting how many new leaves the old tree ahead had sprouted, when at the end of the path in his line of sight finally appeared the figure he had long been awaiting!

A monk clad in a brocaded kasaya, wielding a nine‑ring tin staff, his handsome face tinged with dust, was leading a white horse slowly forward.

Beside him walked a burly man dressed as a hunter, carrying a bow and arrows on his back and a steel fork in hand, apparently a guide and guard.

The Monkey King's Golden Eyes and Fiery Eyes, partially dimmed by dust, suddenly burst with astonishing radiance!

He was about to leap up—if he could move.

"Master! Master!"

He shouted, "Master, why are you only coming now? Good timing, good timing! Quickly rescue me, and I'll ensure you reach the Western Heaven and obtain the true sutras!"

Xuan Zang, hurrying along, heard the voice, reined in his horse, and looked toward the source; at the foot of the mountain he saw a furry monkey head pressed down. Though its appearance was scruffy, its eyes shone astonishingly, lacking the malevolent glare of ordinary demons.

He already had a premonition, and hearing the other call him "Master", recalled the old man's words: "Ahead there will be a divine disciple to aid you," thus he knew this must be the disciple who had been waiting for him.

He was not frightened by the strange sight; instead he dismounted, handed the reins to the nearby hunter Liu Boqin, adjusted his kasaya, stepped forward, and with palms together asked:

"Are you the Handsome Monkey King?"

The Monkey King nodded repeatedly, his monkey face full of urgency: "Yes, yes, indeed! It is Lao Sun! Master, you recognize me, that could not be better!"

"Then why are you pressed beneath this mountain?"

"Ah! That brings us back to those days..."

The Monkey King spoke at breakneck speed, briefly summarizing the cause and effect of his great havoc in Heaven, and highlighted Guanyin Bodhisattva's enlightenment, stating that he had already taken refuge in the Buddhist Sect and was willing to protect his Master on the western journey.

"Master, please be kind and release me! Go and uncover the golden seal that the Tathagata Buddha left on the mountain top!" He strained to swivel his eyes, indicating upward:

"It's right there!"

Xuan Zang looked in the direction he pointed, and indeed saw a hint of Golden Light at the mountain top.

He paused briefly, did not refuse, and nodded to the Monkey King:

"Since we have been guided by the Bodhisattva, you and I share a master‑disciple bond, and you wish to protect my westward journey, this humble monk shall do my utmost to help you out of this bind."

Having said that, he and the hunter Liu Boqin set off together, climbing toward the summit of Five Finger Mountain.

At that moment, ten li away, atop the canopy of an extremely tall tree,

Yu Lin was leisurely leaning against the trunk, holding a camera that seemed out of place in this era, its lens aimed toward the distant Five Finger Mountain, as if awaiting something.

Tu Shan Zhi, perched on a sturdy branch at his feet, gently nipped his pant leg with her pointed mouth, her nine tails swaying, conveying curiosity: "Master, what are you filming?"

"Monkey leaves the mountain." Yu Lin adjusted the focus and replied offhand.

"Monkey leaves the mountain?" Tu Shan Zhi tilted her head, even more puzzled: "A monkey... what's so worth filming?"

She had seen countless rare birds, exotic beasts, and divine spirits.

"It's worth filming; just wait and see." Yu Lin merely explained, then focused intently on the viewfinder.

Tu Shan Zhi, seeing this, though still full of doubt, ceased asking, settled quietly, her nine tails folded before her, and, mimicking Yu Lin, gazed into the distance.

Time passed minute by minute.

Suddenly—

"Boom—!!!"

A earth‑shaking, sky‑rending roar, like thunder cracking on flat ground or a dragon flipping its body, suddenly came from the direction of Five Finger Mountain!

Even ten li away, the wave of sound made the leaves rustle.

Immediately after, the towering Five Finger Giant Peak, which had stood for five hundred years, began to split into countless massive fissures from the spot where the Golden Light vanished at its summit!

Rocks cascaded like rain, smoke and dust surged skyward, obscuring half the sky! The earth quaked, the mountains shook, as if the end of the world had arrived!

In the center of the collapsing mountain, a speck of Golden Light suddenly flared!

Immediately, a figure shot forth like an arrow released from a bow, or like an ancient beast breaking its seal, bearing an unparalleled Frenzy and five hundred years of ecstatic energy, soaring straight into the heavens!

"Lao Sun is out—!!! Hahaha!!!"

It was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the Monkey King!

After landing, he first snarled his teeth toward the west, then, as if shedding a heavy burden, he forcefully stretched his limbs that had been pressed for five hundred years, scratching his ears and cheeks, overjoyed beyond measure.

Finally, he vaulted gracefully, landing lightly before Xuan Zang, who had just descended from the summit, and knelt respectfully, performing the grand master‑apprentice bow.

"Thank you, Master, thank you, Master!.........."

"Alright, let's go."

Yu Lin packed away the camera, nodding with satisfaction,

Tu Shan Zhi watched the jubilant monkey and the still‑shaken monk in the distance, then glanced at her own master's "mission accomplished" expression.

So… the master traveled all this way just to film this monkey leaping out?

This hobby is truly hard to understand.

Isn't she prettier than that monkey... a little annoyed.

But when Yu Lin said to go, she said nothing, leapt lightly, and settled snugly in Yu Lin's arms.

Only shortly after Yu Lin had just left.

While joyously circling the newly‑met Master Xuan Zang, bragging about the Monkey King's boundless powers, he suddenly seemed to sense something, sharply turned his head, his Golden Eyes and Fiery Eyes blazing as he stared toward the forest where Yu Lin had just been, a flash of surprise crossing his monkey face.

"Wukong, what's wrong? Is there any danger ahead? Or… did something else come to mind?" Xuan Zang, noticing his changed expression, tightened the reins and asked concernedly.

The Monkey King blinked, scratched his cheek, and, somewhat uncertain, said: "Master, don't worry, there's no danger. It's just that back there, a faint aura that felt somewhat familiar to Lao Sun flashed by, then vanished in an instant."

"It could be an old acquaintance passing by, or a traveling celestial official, or perhaps the local Mountain God or Earth deity noticing Lao Sun's escape and coming to take a look. No trouble, no trouble, no need to mind it."

Xuan Zang, hearing this, felt that the "familiar aura" might conceal something, but seeing that the Monkey King himself was uncertain and showed no sign of tension, he relaxed and said:

"Then, let us continue on our way."

"Alright!" the Monkey King chuckled, and kept moving forward.

Night fell.

They arrived at a household, and Ra drew near, staying there for the night.

Until the next morning at dawn they set off again.

After walking roughly half a day, with the sun already sinking westward, they entered a dense mountain forest with no village ahead and no shop behind.

The forest was deep and thick, the light dim, the atmosphere inevitably a bit eerie.

At that moment, from deep in the woods ahead a sudden cacophony of whistles erupted, and then "Seng! Seng! Seng!" leapt out six hulking men, each brandishing gleaming knives, spears and clubs, fierce faces, blocking the road.

The leader swung his ghost‑head sword horizontally, and with a hoarse, broken‑drum voice roared: "Hey! This mountain I opened, this tree I planted; if you wish to pass, leave a toll!"

Another immediately shrieked: "If you bite off even half a 'no', heh heh, we'll kill you, not even bury you!"

These six bandits exchanged words, and even reported their own nicknames:

"Sir, I'm called Yan Kan Xi!"

"Your grandpa, I am Er Ting Nu!"

"I am Bi Xiu Ai!"

"Laozi She Chang Si!"

"Do you recognize Grandpa Yi Jian Yu?"

"Aren't you scared of you Shen Ben You, Tai Sui Ye!"

These bizarre, oddly ominous titles, when spoken, would surely make ordinary traveling merchants' souls flee in terror.

Xuanzang sat on his horse, repeatedly chanting Buddhist names.

However, Sun Wukong, walking ahead, listening to these titles, watching these clueless thugs, not only did he not get angry; a hint of smile flashed in his fiery golden eyes.

He had been suppressing his pent‑up anger for five hundred years, longing for a proper outlet; these short‑sighted fellows were literally a door‑to‑door 'pastime'!

He grinned, showing two rows of stark white teeth:

"…they came right to my door…just perfect, just perfect!"

"Don't go, take a hit from old Sun first!"