Great Demon Sun Wukong-Chapter 536 - 512 (1.0) Journey to the West_3

This monkey, with fingers not quite nimble, pinched the flower petal and brought it to its nose to smell. The faint fragrance was elusive; the monkey furrowed its brow, its large eyes shining like bright stars, childlike in their clarity and innocence.

It then stared at the petal as if it were a lover’s red lips, from noon until dusk.

Finally, the petal began to wither and shrivel, and a blatant disappointment appeared on the monkey’s face. It looked up at the sky, then down at the ground, and at last stood up and ran down the mountain.

As for that petal, it slowly floated down from the mountaintop, falling into a babbling brook among the mountains, drifting with the current.

What’s above my head is the sky, and what’s beneath my feet is the earth. These are trees, these are bushes, streams, fresh fruit, grass, thorns, rocks... And who are those frolicking and gamboling ones, who look just like me, yet are so many mes?

A monkey looked at a group of monkeys, slowing its steps; a group of monkeys looked at a monkey, pointing and making strange noises.

"Come over here!" a tall monkey shouted.

"Why should I go over there?" the monkey said.

"We’re all monkeys; we should be together!"

"So, I am a monkey... Then, what does it mean to be ’together’?"

"Being together... it’s... it’s about not separating," the tall monkey answered.

"Does it mean being as close to you as I am now?" the monkey asked.

"That’s right, that’s right." The tall monkey threw a fresh peach and called out, "My name’s Ah Fei, this peach is for you to enjoy."

The monkey took the peach, puzzled.

"It’s very tasty," Ah Fei called out.

The monkey took a bite of the peach, its bright red juice splashing everywhere, adding many tiny droplets on its chest fur. "Does it like being eaten by us?" the monkey asked.

Ah Fei bared his teeth, appearing to smile: "I only know I like eating it; why should I care if it likes being eaten?"

The monkey looked at the peach in its hand, now bearing bite marks as if it was wounded, as if it was bleeding. Suddenly, the monkey felt some self-loathing—why did it have to bite into it? However, the taste was indeed... delicious!

"What’s your name?" Ah Fei asked.

The monkey, with the peach in its mouth, paused: "I don’t have a name."

"We all have names. I’m Ah Fei, that one is Ah Bao, that one is Xiao Tian..." Ah Fei introduced one by one.

An inexplicable emotion spread through the monkey’s heart, an uncomfortable sensation... was it sorrow? It was as if a voice was defining the meaning of sadness in the monkey’s mind. Who was it? Who was interpreting the definition of sadness for me?

Of course, there was no answer from nature.

Birds of a feather flock together, and the monkeys gathered around, with a young monkey saying, "You sprang out from a stone; I saw it." The monkey scratched its head, itself unaware of its origins.

Ah Fei put on a serious expression, which seemed somewhat comical, and said, "Let’s call you Stone Monkey then."

The monkey bit into the peach and murmured, "Stone Monkey... Stone Monkey, can that be considered a name?"

An old monkey said, "If you accept it, then it’s a name."

"Fine then, Stone Monkey it is," the monkey felt another strange emotion rising within, Stone Monkey, why did this name feel so familiar?

"Then I’ll call you that." Ah Fei was quite pleased; it was the first time he had named another monkey. In their group, generally, only a few of the older monkeys had this authority.

"Stone Monkey!" Ah Fei called out.

The monkey, as if unheard, lost in thought.

"Stone Monkey! Stone Monkey!" Ah Fei shouted again, but the monkey still did not respond.

A little monkey whispered, "What’s wrong with him?"

Ah Fei was somewhat ashamed and angry, it was the first time he had named someone, and yet the monkey ignored him. He raised his fuzzy arm and said, "This monkey is a bit hard of hearing, let’s all shout together."

About a dozen monkeys cried out in unison, "Stone Monkey! Stone Monkey! Stone Monkey..."

In the monkey’s mind, there was a sudden loud bang. He closed his eyes, his thoughts traversing across vast waters and mountains, through countless past lives, returning to that one life when he had been human...

Shi Hou was the name from his past life. His father’s surname was Shi, and his mother’s surname was Hou, so this ambiguous name came into being naturally.

Shi Hou studied performance arts, and his family, being businessmen for five generations, were considered extremely wealthy overseas. Unlike those rich second-generation kids who only knew about racing cars and hooking up with girls, he took his studies and work very seriously.

That well-known director in the country, surnamed Zhang, famous for filming Jin’s works, had in recent years turned to classical masterpieces, with "Journey to the West" as his very first project.

Shi Hou’s mother was bent on getting her child into the entertainment industry. The Shi Family was never short of money and forcibly paved the way with silver, buying the role of Sun Wukong for Shi Hou.

Shi Hou disapproved of his mother’s actions. He had always looked down upon Director Zhang’s works, yet he was particularly fond of "Journey to the West". After much deliberation, he agreed to his mother’s wishes.

Shi Hou had flipped through "Journey to the West" countless times since he was a child, and he knew every character in the book, no matter how major or minor. In preparation for the role, he had read this classic masterpiece from start to finish multiple times.

After getting the script, Shi Hou had the most disappointing day of his life. The script was simply terrible. After reading it, Shi Hou couldn’t help but wonder, could it get any worse?

Inserting slapstick, parodies, and continuity errors were the theme of the entire script. No matter how he looked at the plot, Shi Hou couldn’t see how this was the "Journey to the West" he held dear in his heart.

Throwing the script aside, Shi Hou opened his computer and sent an email to the screenwriters:

This version of "Journey to the West" is too orthodox, I’m afraid I cannot handle it.

If the script is revised according to the following pattern, I am willing to play any role in it.

In the Three Kingdoms period, Tang Monk and his disciples were ordered by Sun Quan to fetch the True Scriptures from East Wu to West Shu; along the way, they encountered the heroes of Liangshan who sought to rob them, but fortunately, Dai Yu drew her sword to rescue them. Because of this, Tang Monk and Dai Yu developed an epic, deeply-engaging romance. Bao Yu, who was Dai Yu’s childhood sweetheart, went to settle accounts with Tang Monk and ended up being killed by city management officers. He reincarnated as Kongming, governed West Shu, and took control of the True Scriptures... In this way, all four great classics would be captured in one net, traversing time and ethics, challenging logic and customs. Wouldn’t that be delightful?

After sending the email, Shi Hou shook his head with a smile. Why bother getting upset with others? In this era, even the crappiest works have countless fans. Let them be.

Shi Hou tore up the script that countless people coveted and then picked up the phone to call his mother: "I’m not taking this role." Shi Hou could imagine the astonished expression on his mother’s face on the other end of the line, but still, he offered no explanation, hung up, and turned off his phone.

Any film or television production must respect the original work; this is the least bit of conscience, Shi Hou always believed. However, "Journey to the West", well, perhaps not many truly understand it. He had watched the ’86 version of the "Journey to the West" TV series, and quality-wise, it was barely recognizable by form alone. The only creditable thing was that the crew had put their hearts into it. From this perspective alone, it wasn’t blame-worthy, and it could be seen as a form of respect for everyone’s labor.

As for the countless explicit and implicit themes, secret messages of prophecy, struggles for power, and tactics in "Journey to the West", perhaps they are hard to express through other forms of art.

Wu Cheng’en, if it was truly through one man’s effort that "Journey to the West" came to be, calling him a deity would not be an exaggeration. As Shi Hou pondered, he picked up "Journey to the West" again and soon became engrossed in it.

The poem goes:

When Chaos had not yet dissipated, heaven and earth were in disarray, vast and boundless, unseen by any.

Ever since Pangu shattered the primeval world, differentiation of the clear and the murky has commenced.

The load of all living beings turned towards utmost kindness and brought forth all creation as inherently good.

If one wishes to understand the Creation’s primal achievements, one must read "Journey to the West’s" tale of Equaling Heaven...

What? The tale of Equaling Heaven?

The last two lines should be "If one wishes to understand the Creation’s primal achievements, one must read ’Journey to the West’s’ tale of Exorcising Calamity." Exorcising Calamity, originally meant to dispel tribulations, so how did this book in his hand become "Equaling Heaven?"

Carrying great doubts, Shi Hou continued flipping through the pages. After briefly scanning a few pages, the corner of his lips revealed an honest smile, he whispered to himself, "This is my Journey to the West..."

Before he finished speaking, Shi Hou’s figure turned into a beam of white light and entered the thick "Journey to the West"...

"No, wait, I haven’t finished reading—," Shi Hou’s voice abruptly stopped inside the room. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, Monthly Pass. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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