Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

(PS: Went to run errands in the afternoon; the third update will be late.)

Great White Golden Star was detained at Flower-Fruit Mountain for a month!

In that month, Leng Xuan took him here and there, but never into the core regions. Even with the discerning eye of the Great White Golden Star, he couldn't identify the Nine Dragons Gathering layout of Flower-Fruit Mountain.

"General Leng, when can I see the Great Saint again? What exactly has he been considering?"

"Venus, please stay calm. The boss is carefully considering; please, stay calm!"

Such exchanges occurred intermittently between Great White Golden Star and Leng Xuan until, eventually, Great White Golden Star could no longer bear it and, disregarding Leng Xuan's attempts to stop him, made a direct beeline for Water Curtain Cave Heaven.

"Move aside, I must see the Great Saint today!"

"This is a restricted area of Cave Heaven. Without the Great Saint's permission, no one may enter! Continue your reckless behavior, and don't blame us for being rude!"

The Demon Soldiers guarding the entrance to Water Curtain Cave Heaven clashed with the Great White Golden Star, and hands were about to be raised when suddenly, Sun Wukong's voice emerged from inside: "Who is causing such a clamor outside? Such audacity; bring him to me!"

"Venus, my apologies!"

Trailing a few steps behind, Leng Xuan shrugged his shoulders and from seemingly nowhere, produced a rope and swiftly bound the Great White Golden Star. Though Golden Star possessed the strength of a Taiyi Golden Immortal, like the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, he was accustomed to luxury and never fought; his combat power did not match his cultivation level.

He was no match for Leng Xuan, and promptly, he was bound tightly and pushed into Water Curtain Cave Heaven.

"Great Saint, it's me! Great White Golden Star!"

With his arms bound behind him, Great White Golden Star was pushed clumsily into Water Curtain Cave Heaven and, spotting Sun Wukong from afar seated on the throne in the main hall of Water Curtain Cave, he suddenly shouted out loud.

"Great White Golden Star? It is you indeed!"

It was as if Sun Wukong only then noticed Great White Golden Star; his expression darkened as he barked, "You old man, I have shown you great hospitality with fine wine and food at my Flower-Fruit Mountain, and you are a guest here. Why are you shouting and disturbing the peace of my Flower-Fruit Mountain?"

"Great Saint, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"

Great White Golden Star hurriedly explained in a frantic voice, "I did not intend to disturb; it's only that I have been here for more than a month, and if I do not report back to His Majesty the Jade Emperor soon, I fear His Majesty will be furiously displeased. I had no choice but to forcefully enter Water Curtain Cave Heaven; please forgive me, Great Saint!

Great Saint, you have considered for so long now; might I ask what your decision is?"

"Has it been a month already?"

Sun Wukong scratched his chin and nodded as if it was time, then gestured for the release of Great White Golden Star, "Well, after much consideration, I think being conferred an official title in the Heavenly Court is not such a bad thing; we can discuss it. However, I have a couple of conditions, and it's up to you, Venus, whether you can agree to them!"

Conditions? And two of them?

Great White Golden Star's lips twitched slightly. Sun Wukong proved to be the most troublesome Demon King he had encountered, bar none! A delay of over a month and now conditions too, this monkey must be doing this on purpose?

Muttering to himself internally, Great White Golden Star forced a smile on his face and swallowed his dry throat, whispering hoarsely, "May I know what the conditions are, Great Saint? Please, tell me first."

"Well, they are quite simple. The first one is that the Queen Mother must not punish Zi Lan Fairy, nor must she prevent Zi Lan Fairy from meeting me! Old man Venus, you yourself once said that once I ascend to Heavenly Court, I could freely meet Zi Lan; I remember everything you said, so this should not be difficult, right?"

"Well..."

Great White Golden Star was somewhat speechless; he had casually mentioned that previously as a pretext to coax Sun Wukong into joining the Heavenly Court, but Sun Wukong really had taken it seriously and insisted solemnly on it, which presented quite a difficult situation.

"What? You can't manage even this first condition? Old man Venus, you can't fulfill your own promises, I truly doubt the sincerity of the Heavenly Court! Forget it then, you may leave. No need to mention the matter of surrendering anymore!"

Sun Wukong's face darkened, and he snorted coldly, waving his hand as if to dismiss him.

"Great Saint, don't be angry, please don't be angry! It's not difficult, not difficult!"

Great White Golden Star panicked; having already delayed for more than a month, if things fell through now, how would he explain to the Jade Emperor upon his return? Given Zi Lan Fairy's status in the heart of the Queen Mother, she probably would not bear to punish her.

As for the meetings, it's only that the Heavenly Court restricts clandestine romance between male and female divinities, yet exceptions do exist with the approval of the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother—they are not without precedent. This probably would take some convincing, but it was not impossible to manage; he agreed first and would argue the case later.
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"Oh, so you agreed to the first condition?"

Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow, his expression somewhat relaxed.

"Agreed, please state the second condition, Great Saint!"

Great White Golden Star clenched his teeth and nodded.

"This second condition, actually, is also simple..."

Simple!

Upon hearing this word, Great White Golden Star's heart trembled. Sun Wukong had called the first condition simple, which turned out to involve making a promise on behalf of the Queen Mother. Now, calling this second condition simple, Great White Golden Star felt like he was about to fall into another trap.

"Slap, slap!"

Sun Wukong clapped his hands, and a figure walked out from the depths of Water Curtain Cave Heaven, it was Nezha.

"Venus, this second condition of mine concerns Nezha. You should know that Nezha has been oppressed and framed by Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing. Initially, Li Jing schemed to have Nezha and I fight to the death, hoping to use me to eliminate Nezha.

I did not know Nezha before, but after I intervened and saved him, helping him regain his Primordial Body of the Spirit Pearl, he felt indebted to us during the conflict between Heavenly Court and Flower-Fruit Mountain, helping us out. I won't go into details, as everyone knows what happened!

My request is that Heavenly Court stops pursuing Nezha, and that Nezha remains the Third Prince of Heavenly Court. How about it, this request isn't difficult, right?"

A sharp gleam flashed through Sun Wukong's eyes as he looked meaningfully at Great White Golden Star.

To tell the truth, Sun Wukong had thought about this matter for a long time. After Nezha came out of his retreat half a month ago, they had a discussion, and only then did they settle on this.

For Sun Wukong, although he had lived again through reincarnation, he was less familiar with Heavenly Court than Nezha. Having decided to accept a position as an official in Heavenly Court, it would be best to have someone within to support him. Nezha was the perfect choice, and Nezha himself was willing.

First, he originated from Heavenly Court; as long as Flower-Fruit Mountain had not completely severed ties with Heavenly Court, returning to Heavenly Court was indeed a better option, and he could be of much help to Sun Wukong.

Second, now that Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing was dead, there was no one left in Heavenly Court who could suppress Nezha directly. If he could return to Heavenly Court, he would surely thrive. Resource-wise, Flower-Fruit Mountain was ultimately no match for Heavenly Court.

Thus, after discussing it with Nezha, Nezha immediately agreed, turning it into the second condition for Sun Wukong to accept the invitation to the court.

"Just this condition?"

As Sun Wukong stated this second condition, Great White Golden Star was stunned; the reason being that this condition was indeed very simple!

When the Jade Emperor sent Great White Golden Star to invite Sun Wukong to join the court, he specifically instructed that if Nezha was willing to return to Heavenly Court, he would remain the Third Prince. Past matters could be erased with one stroke, not to be considered at all.

Even if Sun Wukong hadn't mentioned it, Great White Golden Star would have brought up Nezha's return to Heavenly Court himself. What a coincidence!

"Huh? What, Venus, can't you decide on this condition?"

"No, no, no, I really can! I guarantee here that if the Third Prince returns to Heavenly Court, His Majesty the Jade Emperor will definitely not blame the Third Prince. All treatments will be just like before, only better, not worse!"

Huh? Why was this old man Venus agreeing so readily this time? Could there be some deceit involved?

Sun Wukong and Nezha exchanged glances, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes. However, Sun Wukong did not ask any further questions. As long as Great White Golden Star agreed to the condition, that was sufficient. With Nezha's connections in Heavenly Court, without Li Jing's suppression, the future would indeed offer unlimited possibilities!

The matter was thus settled. Great White Golden Star said he needed to return to Heavenly Court to report Sun Wukong's two conditions to the Jade Emperor, but assured that he would try his utmost to fulfill them. He then hurriedly left Flower-Fruit Mountain and headed back to Heavenly Court.

Three days later, Great White Golden Star returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain with the Jade Emperor's imperial edict. The Jade Emperor had agreed to both of Sun Wukong's conditions. The second condition had originally been proposed by the Jade Emperor himself, so it hardly mattered whether it was agreed upon or not.

The main difficulty lay in the first condition; the Queen Mother was furious upon hearing that Zi Lan Fairy had been lured to Flower-Fruit Mountain by Sun Wukong. It took some persuading by Great White Golden Star to calm her down.

Once her anger subsided, the Queen Mother grew curious about Sun Wukong. She had treated Zi Lan Fairy like a daughter for many years and knew her character well—seemingly unperturbed and refined yet quite aloof, always polite yet distant towards everyone, never showing much warmth to any god or immortal. Yet, she was taken away by Sun Wukong, a bold and audacious Demon Monkey!

What skills did this Demon Monkey possess to capture the heart of Zi Lan Fairy? Since the Queen Mother had always treated Zi Lan Fairy like her own daughter, although the condition was agreed upon, she secretly decided to test Sun Wukong once he assumed his official role in Heavenly Court, to see whether he was truly worthy of Zi Lan Fairy.

With the imperial edict issued and the conditions agreed upon, Sun Wukong had no more excuses. After giving some instructions to Leng Xuan and others, he left Flower-Fruit Mountain with Nezha and Zi Lan Fairy, ascending to the clouds with Great White Golden Star, flying towards Heavenly Court.

Shortly after the three had departed, three figures flew from the horizon into Flower-Fruit Mountain, it was Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan, Ao Tian, and Ying Long along with Ying Tian.