Sun Kong’s words were not a lie to trick or mock Wuzhiqi before killing him.
The reason was simple.
After witnessing the immense power of the Journey to the West Gatling rounds just now, his mind had a sudden turn, and he changed his initial plan of retrieving the stolen treasure and getting revenge on the thief.
He no longer intended to eliminate these three monkeys who shared his fame.
Instead, he sought to subdue them.
What was the reason for this?
It was certainly not to emulate the Tang Monk from another timeline, who was indecisive and outwardly yielding but inwardly ruthless, nor to be like the Tang Monk in the Journey to the West movie, who was overly compassionate and constantly said that demons have demon mothers.
It was for the Journey to the West.
That’s right.
After a thousand words and ten thousand reasons, since transmigrating here, Sun Kong had been resolute about two things.
Firstly, no matter what, he had to join Spirit Mountain and cling to this cash cow.
Secondly, he must seize the initiative in the Journey to the West, even if it meant higher difficulty and more trouble, rather than being controlled by the Sages of all heavens, the Tathagata of Spirit Mountain, or the Jade Emperor of the Heavenly Court.
His initial refusal of Taibai Jinxing’s invitation, not coveting the mere position of Bi Ma Wen, was for this second objective.
Later, he shamelessly joined Spirit Mountain multiple times, astonishing the Vajras, Arhats, Bodhisattvas, Buddhas, and Tathagata from bottom to top.
This was also for the second objective.
And then, he intercepted Jin Chanzi, who was almost tricked into reincarnation, and sent him far away from the prying eyes of others, again for the second objective.
Now, Sun Kong thought about the fate of the Four Monkey tribes, which was also desolate and tragic. They were born of the same kind and should have helped each other, but they were sowed discord by those with ulterior motives and constantly fought amongst themselves.
They were truly pitiful.
If he truly did nothing, then it was highly likely that once the Journey to the West officially began, these three monkeys would either be captured and used as mounts or would retrace the old path of the Journey to the West in the Monkey King’s timeline.
He wondered, at that time, which monkey would compete with him for the true and false Monkey Kings?
But rather than let these three suffer a tragic fate, why not look at this matter from another angle? For example, first subdue the three monkeys, and then train them one by one and transition them into the Journey to the West.
Perhaps there would be no grand achievements.
But for minor achievements, such as replacing the three pig teammates who made Sun Kong very unhappy and unwilling to team up with them—Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and the White Dragon Horse.
Wouldn’t that be even better?
“Whether it was my past life, the four people and one horse team of the Journey to the West in various timelines, or this timeline, there was a pre-determined character setting line.”
“That is, not long from now, Zhu Bajie would offend the Jade Emperor by teasing Chang'e and be reincarnated, and Sha Wujing would overturn the Glazed Cup, commit a heavenly crime, and be banished to the mortal world.”
“And that White Dragon Horse, originally the third son of the Sea Dragon King Ao Run, set fire to a pearl in the palace and was reported by his own father. Although he escaped the death penalty, he was reduced to an animal.”
“To outsiders, all three had beautiful futures and bright prospects.”
“But, when has anyone ever asked them if they were willing to be manipulated, monitored, and forced to embark on this Journey to the West, which seemed like a child’s play?”
Wuzhiqi opposite him had not yet reacted to what it meant to maintain world peace or what it meant to punish evil and eliminate wickedness.
Sun Kong here, however, was thinking deeper and deeper, and felt immensely proud of his entirely new plan.
“Since Heaven gave me the opportunity to come here and let me personally experience the original desires and helplessness of the Monkey King, I should take the chance to do something big.”
“I can shamelessly join Spirit Mountain, so why can’t these three monkeys?”
“Why are all the candidates predetermined and unchangeable? I must try, just like making Jin Chanzi disappear completely, to have these three monkeys replace those three pig teammates.”
“The three monkeys become Buddhas with me and escape the sea of suffering, while the three pig teammates continue their original identities and do not have to worry about being banished. Wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds?”
With this thought, Sun Kong radiated an ineffable brilliance.
He himself might not have felt anything.
But at this moment, Wuzhiqi, whom he had painstakingly pulled out from the ruins, surprisingly did not seize the opportunity to sneak attack him or retaliate.
Instead, he revealed a look of dazed admiration!
“Monkey King… Brother Kong, you, you, you, where did you learn this brilliance?”
“It’s so magical, so warm, it seems to contain the sound of the Great Dao, and it has made my cultivation, which has been stagnant for many years, faintly enlightened, just a little bit short of breaking through.”
“What happened earlier, I admit I was wrong, and I apologize to you. I don’t understand this Biyou Palace Pass at all, and I can give it back to you.”
“But I have one condition, you must promise me!”
“Otherwise, I would rather die than yield!”
Wuzhiqi spoke more and more insistently, and in the end, his monkey eyes shot out a hint of the stubbornness of the Monkey King who wreaked havoc in heaven.
This scene also stunned Sun Kong. He originally thought these three monkeys were similar to Tathagata and others, and could be easily tricked and played with by him.
He did not expect.
They seemed to have their own will.
It was a Dao heart equal to his own, both in his past and present lives.
Sun Kong’s tone of voice softened considerably after this.
“Tell me your condition?”
“Since you call me Brother Kong, I naturally have no reason to neglect you, but we must first agree on the same issue as before.”
“I’ll give you ten seconds, and you must give me a satisfactory answer, otherwise, you are stubborn, and I am more stubborn than you. You resist, and I have plenty of ways to make you unable to resist.”
In the end, to persuade this Wuzhiqi, the Red-Haired Horse Monkey, who was getting along better and better with him, to join his future Journey to the West team.
Sun Kong suddenly took out the Journey to the West Gatling gun again.
As expected.
It instantly scared Wuzhiqi into trembling. But this fellow was quite intelligent. Knowing that he could be killed with one careless move, he still managed to maintain some strength.
“Brother Kong, you are magnanimous, don’t take it to heart. I truly don’t understand what you mean by maintaining world peace or punishing evil and eliminating wickedness.”
“I’ll say it again, I can admire you, fear you, and follow you, but I truly sell my art, not myself.”
“Please, Brother Kong, see clearly!”
Wuzhiqi had clearly misunderstood Sun Kong’s question.
As he spoke, this Red-Haired Horse Monkey, who was much older than Sun Kong, not only shed tears that made people’s hearts ache but also said something that made people both laugh and cry.
For the first time, Sun Kong faced a fellow creature with such speechlessness.
But he could only patiently explain a few words.
“Good boy, Little Wu, your Brother Kong has no intention of asking you to sell yourself. Don’t misunderstand. I purely feel that you three have a connection with the Buddha and shouldn’t waste the opportunity.”
His original intention was to stimulate these three monkeys with future Spirit Mountain positions to go on the Journey to the West with him.
He did not expect.
It was better not to mention Spirit Mountain, but as soon as it was mentioned, Wuzhiqi actually burst into tears!