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墨書 Inktalez
Sun Wukong felt a buzzing in his head, as if it were about to explode. One million Heavenly Soldiers and Generals had vanished in an instant, like meat thrown into a meat grinder. He swung his Ruyi Jingu Bang aimlessly against the ground, trying to vent the anger and confusion that had nowhere to go.
“Wukong, oh Wukong, have you truly awakened or not? Have you seen through the illusion or not?” A voice suddenly boomed in his ear, startling Sun Wukong. He turned sharply to see a Venerable figure draped in a robe, sitting majestically on a Golden Lotus Throne, looking at him with a half-smile.
“Who are you to question me?” Sun Wukong asked warily, gripping his Ruyi Jingu Bang tighter.
The Venerable was not angered; he simply replied calmly, “Sun Wukong, it’s time for you to wake up!”
Only then did Sun Wukong notice that everything around him began to turn illusory. The million soldiers and the banners filling the sky twisted and distorted like reflections in water before finally vanishing. A chill ran through him as he realized he must be dreaming.
“Who are you?” Sun Wukong managed to suppress his agitation and asked.
“I am the Void Master,” the Venerable said. “I came to awaken you because you have lingered too long in this false realm. Your true master is currently starving!”
Sun Wukong's heart jolted—Tang Seng! Yes, Tang Seng! How could he have forgotten his master? But what was this dream about?
He forced himself to calm down and asked the Void Master, “Please guide me!”
The Void Master smiled slightly and said, “You were just ensnared by the miasma of the Mackerel Spirit, which is why you became lost.”
“Desire? Can desire also take form?” Wukong asked blankly.
“It’s mackerel, a type of fish that lives in water, not desire. Great Sage, what are you thinking?” the Void Master chuckled.
“Oh, mackerel?” Sun Wukong was taken aback. “What kind of demon is this mackerel that can create a world?”
“When heaven and earth were first opened, the light and pure essence rose to the sky while the turbid and heavy essence descended to the earth. An essence that was between pure and turbid transformed into humanity,” the Void Master explained. “A more pure essence became you, Sun Wukong, while a more turbid essence transformed into the mackerel of Xiao Yue Cave.”
“He was born on the same day as you but represents darkness while you represent righteousness. His powers surpass yours tenfold. He is immensely large, with his head resting on Kunlun Mountain and his feet treading upon the realm of shadows. Now this real world cannot contain him; he can only temporarily reside in this illusory realm, calling himself Green World.”
“Virtual World? Real World?” Sun Wukong asked, confused. “May I ask, Venerable, what is the Virtual World and what is the Real World?”
“The universe consists of three realms: one is the No Illusion Realm, one is the Illusory Realm, and one is the Real World,” the Void Master replied, reciting a verse:
There are no spring men and women, only Mackerel Root.
There is no New Emperor, only Mackerel Ability.
There are no green brooms, only Mackerel Name.
There are no general's edicts, only Mackerel Script.
There is no heaven-splitting axe, only Mackerel Form.
There is no Little Moon King, only Mackerel Spirit.
There is no Ten Thousand Mirrors Pavilion, only Mackerel Completion.
There is no person in the mirror, only Mackerel Body.
There is no headwind world, only Mackerel Rising.
There is no Green Pearl Tower, only Mackerel Heart.
There is no Chu Xiong Yu, only Mackerel Soul.
There is no Lady Yu, only Mackerel Haze.
There is no King Yanluo, only Mackerel Realm.
There are no ancient worlds, only Mackerel Completion.
There is no future world, only Mackerel Condensation.
In the void, it seemed as if an invisible giant hand suddenly swept through, stirring up a fierce wind. Sun Wu Kong felt the world spin around him, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself on a familiar mountain path. He shook his head, feeling a haze in his mind, as if he had just experienced a bizarre nightmare. The dream was filled with strange phrases like "real world," "illusory world," and something about "mackerel." He scratched his head, trying to recall the details, but only felt a splitting headache as those phrases burst like bubbles in his mind, vanishing without a trace.
Looking up, he saw the familiar Peony Tree still standing quietly by the roadside, its large peony flower still vibrant and dripping with dew, as if time had never passed. He clearly remembered that when he left, the sun was hanging over the Peony Tree's top, yet now it seemed to be frozen in place, unchanged.
"What on earth is going on? Is I, Old Sun still dreaming?" he murmured to himself, confusion filling his eyes.
Meanwhile, Tang Seng woke from a spring slumber feeling refreshed. As he looked around, he noticed Wu Kong was missing, causing him some worry. He called for Ba Jie and Sha Seng and asked, "Where has Wu Kong gone?"
Ba Jie lazily replied, "Master, how would I know? That monkey is always elusive; he might have run off somewhere to play."
Sha Seng answered honestly, "Master, I do not know either."
Just as Tang Seng was pondering this mystery, he suddenly saw clouds swirling in the southeast direction. A handsome young man in white robes was being led by the Wooden Fork Walker and floated gracefully towards him. Tang Seng hurriedly dismounted from his white horse and bowed deeply.
The Wooden Fork Walker quickly helped Tang Seng up and smiled, "Master need not be overly courteous. I am the Wooden Fork Walker under Avalokiteshvara. The Bodhisattva appreciates your long journey westward and has specially sent a disciple to assist you."
Hearing this, Tang Seng was overjoyed and quickly asked, "May I know which esteemed disciple has been sent?"
The Wooden Fork Walker turned slightly and pointed at the young man beside him, saying, "This is Wu Qing. The Bodhisattva said that although Wu Qing is your fourth disciple, he should be ranked below Wu Kong and above Wu Neng to form the phrase 'Kong Qing Neng Jing.'"
Tang Seng was secretly amazed at how the Bodhisattva had arranged everything so meticulously down to the names of his disciples. He immediately instructed Wu Qing to greet his fellow disciples while he burned incense and prayed in gratitude for the Bodhisattva's grace.
Unbeknownst to him, all of this was merely part of the Mackerel Spirit's cunning scheme. The Mackerel Spirit possessed great powers and could change forms at will; while trapping Sun Wu Kong in an illusory world, it transformed into Wu Qing's appearance and lurked beside Tang Seng, waiting for the right moment to take Tang Seng's life and consume his flesh for immortality. Little did it know that at this moment, Wu Kong's dream had already been awakened by the Venerable in the void.
As The Wanderer approached through the air, he noticed a handsome young monk sitting beside his master. However, this monk exuded an odd aura that made one feel nauseous. Wu Kong thought to himself that this was bad; it was clearly a monster in disguise trying to deceive his master! Without hesitation, he pulled out Ruyi Jingu Bang from his ear and swung it at the young monk. Poor little monk didn’t even have time to react before being struck back into his true form—a dead mackerel lying on the ground with red light spilling from its mouth and a fishy smell rising to the heavens.
Wu Kong focused his gaze, and to his surprise, the red light transformed into a magnificent pavilion. Inside stood a man in a yellow robe, calling out loudly, "Lady Yu, my beloved consort!" With that, the red light enveloped the pavilion and drifted off towards the southeast.
At that moment, Tang Seng's voice came from below, weak and somewhat irritated, "Wu Kong! Where have you run off to? I'm starving!"
Hearing this, Wu Kong's heart sank; he knew his master would start lecturing him again. He hurried back to Tang Seng's side, bowed deeply, and recounted everything that had just happened.
It turned out that Tang Seng had been anxious and angry waiting for Wu Kong’s return. Just when he finally saw Wu Kong come back, he discovered that without a word, he had killed the newly accepted disciple. This made Tang Seng furious. Just as he was about to scold Wu Kong, he noticed that the new disciple was actually a dead fish. Realizing that Wu Kong had seen through the monster's trick, his anger subsided significantly. After Wu Kong vividly described the events, Tang Seng felt a pang of sympathy for him and said, "Wu Kong, you truly have worked hard to protect me."
Beside them, Ba Jie couldn't help but interject, "Master, this Monkey Head went off to play by himself; how is that hard work? The real hardship is on us—sleeping outdoors every day and living in fear!"
Tang Seng shot Ba Jie a glare and turned back to Wu Kong, asking, "Wu Kong, how long did you stay in that Green World? It feels like only a short while has passed."
Scratching his head, Wu Kong replied, "Master may not know this, but the perception of time depends entirely on one's state of mind. If the mind is lost in confusion, one feels time slipping away; if the mind is clear, time seems to fly."
Tang Seng nodded in partial understanding and asked further, "So which is it—does the heart last longer or does time?"
Wu Kong answered, "A short heart is Buddha; a short time is demon."
Sha Seng then spoke up, "Master, now that the demons have been vanquished and the world is peaceful, why not let my senior brother go prepare some offerings? You can take a moment to rest your mind before we continue our journey westward."
Tang Seng agreed. "That sounds good."
Wu Kong took his leave and flew off into the distance. Not long after, he encountered the Mountain God and Earth God. Remembering how he had sought their guidance days earlier only to find them missing despite chanting spells for quite some time, he felt anger rise within him. Pointing at them, he scolded, "You two lazy fellows! Where did you hide when I came looking for you? Hurry up and extend your hands so I can give you a hundred whacks to vent my frustration!"
The Earth God trembled in fear and quickly explained, "Great Sage! Please do not be angry! A few days ago when you were taken by that love demon beyond the heavens, our powers are too weak to reach you there! Please forgive us this once and consider it a chance for redemption!"
Wu Kong snorted coldly and said, "So you mean to say you have some merit?"
The Earth God’s eyes darted around before he quickly added, "Great Sage may not know this; it was I who personally helped pull that flower out of Zhu Bajie's ear!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Kong remembered indeed there was such an incident and decided not to press them further. He let them go.
Continuing his flight forward, it wasn't long before he spotted a peach blossom grove in the distance with smoke curling up from it—clearly indicating someone lived nearby. Wu Kong landed on a cloud and walked into the village. Just as he was about to seek someone for offerings, he suddenly heard the sound of reading coming from a quiet room. Curious, he walked inside and saw an old gentleman teaching several students. What do you think he was teaching?
It was precisely the phrase: "Follow the heavenly way without transgressing its bounds."
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