Prince Zhang left the inner chamber and headed straight for the chamber where the Stone Monkey was staying. From a distance, he saw the Stone Monkey loitering in the courtyard. Approaching without a word, Prince Zhang scooped up the Stone Monkey and soared towards the mountains behind the Great Saint Zen Temple.
Confused, the Stone Monkey felt Prince Zhang's grip tight as iron clamps, impossible to escape from. He feared that Prince Zhang intended to end his life right there. Unbeknownst to him, the National Teacher Wang Bodhisattva maintained strict rules against conflict and bloodshed within the temple grounds, punishable by severe consequences.
Flying far beyond the temple's perimeter, Prince Zhang's stern face made the Stone Monkey panic, trying to figure out how to escape from this predicament, given his lack of abilities.
Upon reaching a mountain peak, Prince Zhang threw the Stone Monkey to the ground and drew a long spear, a treasure given by the National Teacher Wang Bodhisattva on the day he took disciples. Besides combat, the spear had the ability to absorb fortunes.
Facing the Stone Monkey, Prince Zhang showed no emotion, regarding the Stone Monkey's first-grade human immortal talent as worthless. Many higher-ranked immortals had fallen to his spear.
The Stone Monkey lost all hope upon seeing the spear, knowing escape was impossible. Just then, he remembered a praising verse about Prince Zhang from "Journey to the West," hinting at a narrative strategy related to the prince's cursed fate and his search for immortality.
Aware that those afflicted by the Hua Gai star often sought refuge in Buddhism or Taoism for peace, the Stone Monkey realized Prince Zhang's discipleship was likely due to this curse.
Bluntly, the Stone Monkey said, "Kill me! The Hua Gai evil star will obstruct your life."
This statement shocked Prince Zhang, who had kept his cursed fate a secret from all but the Bodhisattva. The mention of the Hua Gai star's unique danger to his cultivation and life struck a nerve, halting his attack.
After a moment of hesitation, Prince Zhang finally spoke, questioning the Stone Monkey's origins.
The Stone Monkey claimed to be a unique stone-born monkey from the Eastern Victory Divine Continent, capable of discerning past and future, gambling that Prince Zhang was unaware of the abilities of four distinct types of supernatural monkeys.
Prince Zhang, still suspicious, asked for a solution to his cursed fate. The Stone Monkey suggested performing more good deeds and less killing.
Mocking the Stone Monkey's simple advice, Prince Zhang attacked. The Stone Monkey, caught off guard, leaped off the cliff in a desperate attempt to escape.
Prince Zhang, underestimating the Stone Monkey and not intending to kill him, pursued but was startled by a thunderous roar from the abyss, causing him to lose his grip.
The Stone Monkey fell unconscious, eventually waking up beside a stone pool, his clothes torn and his body bruised but comforted by the temperate water.
Prince Zhang, facing the challenge of explaining the escape, left the Stone Monkey's fate to unfold in its mysterious ways.
Prince Zhang left the inner chamber and headed straight for the chamber where the Stone Monkey was staying. From a distance, he saw the Stone Monkey loitering in the courtyard. Approaching without a word, Prince Zhang scooped up the Stone Monkey and soared towards the mountains behind the Great Saint Zen Temple.
Confused, the Stone Monkey felt Prince Zhang's grip tight as iron clamps, impossible to escape from. He feared that Prince Zhang intended to end his life right there. Unbeknownst to him, the National Teacher Wang Bodhisattva maintained strict rules against conflict and bloodshed within the temple grounds, punishable by severe consequences.
Flying far beyond the temple's perimeter, Prince Zhang's stern face made the Stone Monkey panic, trying to figure out how to escape from this predicament, given his lack of abilities.
Upon reaching a mountain peak, Prince Zhang threw the Stone Monkey to the ground and drew a long spear, a treasure given by the National Teacher Wang Bodhisattva on the day he took disciples. Besides combat, the spear had the ability to absorb fortunes.
Facing the Stone Monkey, Prince Zhang showed no emotion, regarding the Stone Monkey's first-grade human immortal talent as worthless. Many higher-ranked immortals had fallen to his spear.
The Stone Monkey lost all hope upon seeing the spear, knowing escape was impossible. Just then, he remembered a praising verse about Prince Zhang from "Journey to the West," hinting at a narrative strategy related to the prince's cursed fate and his search for immortality.
Aware that those afflicted by the Hua Gai star often sought refuge in Buddhism or Taoism for peace, the Stone Monkey realized Prince Zhang's discipleship was likely due to this curse.
Bluntly, the Stone Monkey said, "Kill me! The Hua Gai evil star will obstruct your life."
The voice of the stone monkey was not loud, yet to Prince Zhang, it was like a thunderclap in his ears. Since his childhood, he had left home to cultivate, and besides the Grand Sage, the National Teacher Wang Bodhisattva, no one under heaven knew that his fate was afflicted with the Huagai star. Moreover, the Bodhisattva had mentioned more than once that his Huagai evil star was different from ordinary people’s. A slight carelessness in his cultivation could lead to the nullification of all his previous efforts, ultimately resulting in a fate of utter destruction and death.
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The words of the stone monkey truly hit the mark by chance, striking right at Prince Zhang's vital point. Holding a long spear in his hand, he hesitated again and again but still found it difficult to thrust it forward.
The cold tip of the spear was aimed at the stone monkey's chest. Although it only pointed into the void, the stone monkey still felt a chill approaching, not knowing what kind of divine power this was. "Hmph, just a Prince Zhang, a person of no significant standing, dares to treat me this way. Alas, the situation is stronger than the individual," he thought to himself.
Prince Zhang was puzzled and couldn’t figure out the origin of the stone monkey. Could it be that he had the ability to know the past and see the future? But if he truly was a divine monkey, why would his master abandon him like a worn-out shoe?
“Who are you?” Prince Zhang finally spoke up.
The stone monkey thought to himself, "As long as you speak, it's easy to handle." He then replied, "I am a unique stone monkey born and nurtured in the East Victory Divine Continent, capable of distinguishing good from bad fortunes and knowing the past and future." The stone monkey was still taking a gamble, betting that Prince Zhang didn't know the capabilities of the four unique divine monkeys. The dispute between the Monkey King and the Six-Eared Macaque had reached the Buddha himself, and he wagered that Prince Zhang wouldn't know about it.
As expected, Prince Zhang didn’t make things difficult for him, but he still had doubts in his heart: "Then tell me, how should I resolve my Huagai affliction?" The stone monkey replied immediately, "Just do more good deeds and kill less, that’s all."
Prince Zhang scoffed, "I thought you really had some abilities. Turns out you're just a deceiver, a fraud. Die!" The white spear in his hand, like a swift serpent, thrust directly at the stone monkey's chest.
Caught off guard by Prince Zhang's sudden betrayal, the stone monkey, though nimble, flipped and dived off the cliff.
Prince Zhang, underestimating the stone monkey's abilities, hadn't expected the stone monkey to dare leap into the bottomless abyss and had only intended to scare him, not truly kill him, thus he only used half his strength in the thrust. Seeing the stone monkey evade the attack, he remained calm, leaping up, although a step slower, his movement was as fast as lightning. He made a sideways leap in the air, attempting to catch the stone monkey.
At that moment, an unexpected change occurred.
From below the bottomless abyss, a thunderous roar echoed: "Aooo——"
The stone monkey felt a severe pain deep in his mind, as if it had been shattered, and he instantly lost consciousness, plummeting down. Prince Zhang, who was about to catch the stone monkey, was stunned by the roar, causing his form to stagger and his qi to disperse. He hurriedly used his white spear to stabilize himself against the cliff wall. When he looked again for the stone monkey, he was nowhere to be seen.
Leaving aside how Prince Zhang would explain his actions upon returning, the stone monkey, in a daze, didn't know how many hours he had fallen, nor what kinds of tortuous hardships he had experienced. When he opened his eyes, he found himself beside a stone pond, his clothes torn to shreds, barely covering his body, his furry legs covered in bloodstains, soaking in the pleasantly cool pond water.
Though he had wounds, they were not serious, and his mind was surprisingly clear. The stone monkey looked around; the stone pond was as large as a lake, too vast to see the other shore. The shore was narrow, only a few yards wide from the cliff wall. The pond water was eerily still and extremely viscous. Upon closer inspection, what appeared to be water was actually like the crude oil he had seen in his previous life, yet it had no smell.
The stone monkey slowly stretched his limbs, finding himself unharmed, and then stood up, his legs coated with a thick layer of grease which he could not easily remove in his haste.
Just then, a furry little hand lightly tapped his shoulder from behind, startling the stone monkey nearly to the point of jumping up. He calmed his mind, thinking, "Life and death are decreed by fate; what is there to fear?" He mustered his courage and turned around.
To his surprise, he saw a monkey smaller than himself, looking quite adorable and staring at him with wide eyes. Upon closer inspection, a thin, jet-black iron chain passed through the shoulders of the little monkey, tightly binding them so close together that it made the little monkey appear oddly shaped, as if hunchbacked.
The initial shock quickly passed, and seeing that the little monkey resembled him and was of his own kind, the stone monkey felt a surge of compassion.
Seeing the compassion in the stone monkey's eyes, the little monkey showed a sad expression. He deftly moved to a large rock beside the stone pond, sat there quietly, and just stared blankly at the pool of black oil.
The stone monkey saw his sorrowful demeanor, as if he was about to cry. The little monkey sobbed a few times, but no tears fell from his eyes. The air in this deep pond was extremely dry, and the little monkey's body was probably too dehydrated to shed a single tear.
The stone monkey walked over, gently touched his shoulder, and then sat beside him on the large rock. The two monkeys sat in silence at the bottom of the abyss, forming a dark silhouette against the landscape.
After what seemed like days and nights, the stone monkey felt extremely comfortable with the little monkey, as if they were brothers, or even father and son. This closeness far surpassed the many monkeys on the Flower Fruit Mountain.
Finally, the little monkey spoke, "What is your name?"
"I don't have a name yet. Just call me Stone Monkey. And you?"
"I'm called Wu Zhi Qi."
Heaven! An invisible hammer struck the stone monkey's fragile heart. He was—Wu Zhi Qi!
This seemingly unimpressive and even frail-looking little monkey was actually the ancient giant demon, Wu Zhi Qi!
The stone monkey, flustered, stood up and looked around again. The silence was like death.
"Is it just you here?"
"Just me, for I don't know how many years. Only me."
The stone monkey fell into deep thought. Since he had fallen from the cliff, he only heard a roar and then knew nothing else. Now, it seemed likely that it was Wu Zhi Qi who had saved his life. Wu Zhi Qi showed no malice towards him, but rather a bit of fondness. No, fondness wasn't the right word. It was more like a sense of closeness.