Chapter 356: Questions and answers

Inside the cave, the chatter of the monkeys filled the air. They played with each other, jumping about and chasing their friends around, truly free and unrestrained.

“This Water Curtain Cave is so good. In the future, we won’t need to be afraid about those wild beasts.”

“Luckily, our great king managed to find such a place.

“In the future, I will only treat him as my king!”

…..

The monkeys continued chattering happily.

In the past, when they were in the peach forest, they would always be hunted by wild beasts. All of them were constantly filled with worry and unease.

Now, everything was solved.

The Water Curtain Cave was deep in the canyons, and only monkeys were able to leap such a distance. This was a residence innately suitable for them since no one else would be able to enter.

An invisible tension melted away. Those monkeys felt much more relaxed in their hearts and began to play with no reservations.

But there was a golden-furred monkey seated on the throne with a perplexed look on his face.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.

Ever since he became the monkey king in the Water Curtain Cave, he had been extremely puzzled.

Now that he had become the monkey king, he felt a type of feeling as though he had already reached the pinnacle of his life. There didn’t seem to be any more goals ahead.

Could it be that he had to cross the seas and search for the Fangcun Mountain now?

This didn’t seem to be right.

There were always deeper layers of meaning within recorded mythology. Things shouldn’t be so simple.

The original recording stated that the stone monkey stayed for 300 years inside the Flowerfruit Mountain before the desire to cross the seas surfaced in his heart.

Given how innately strong a spiritual stone monkey was, how could it not have such thoughts earlier?

There should be another deeper layer of truth behind what was recorded.

So, what should he do next? What should he do so that he could understand the true essence of being the monkey king?

His expressions were stretched taut as he pondered.

At this moment, a long-limbed old ape with snowy white fur walked over. It asked from afar, “Great king, why are you troubled?”

“Oh, so it is elder through-armed ape!” Feng Lin smiled as he nodded to the white-furred ape.

The through-armed ape was also one of the chaotic world monkeys, but it was different compared to spiritual stone monkeys who could only be birthed after absorbing thousands of years of spiritual qi.

The through-armed ape race was extremely limited in number. They also weren’t as unique as the spiritual stone monkeys.

Their abilities differed too. Since they were young, all through-armed apes were born with monstrous strength, but sadly, they had no other divine abilities.

Only by stepping on the path of cultivation would they be able to gradually control the sun and moon, shattering a thousand mountains and overturning seas and rivers.

If they cultivated all the way until the end, they wouldn’t be inferior even when compared to the spiritual stone monkeys.

In the investiture of the gods, there was also a through-armed ape named Yuan Hong. His magical powers were extremely profound and he was skilled in the seventy-two transformations. Even Yang Jian, the Erlang Deity, wasn’t able to subdue him. In the end, Goddess Nuwa had to use her mountain and river portrait before Yuan Hong was subdued.

This through-armed ape was one of the oldest apes and monkeys in the tribe, and it was also a general of the previous monkey king. Now that a new king had succeeded the throne, its status also rose and it became an elder. The authority it had within the tribe was one of the greater ones.

And because there were many wondrous aspects to this old ape, Feng Lin had always regarded it highly. All of a sudden, a thought struck him.

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An elder at home meant a treasure at home.

This through-armed ape was considered an old person among the monkey crowd; thus, its understanding of the monkeys would surely surpass Feng Lin’s.

Maybe, he would be able to find out some answers from it.

“Elder through-armed, how have I fared as the Monkey King?” Feng Lin calmly asked.

The through-armed ape smiled. “Great King is intelligent and majestic. Why are you puzzled? You managed to seek out such a paradise for us. From now on, the monkey tribe wouldn’t have to face calamities or difficulties. Great King, your act brings about the greatest virtue for all of us. Maybe your current strength still cannot be claimed as the strongest out of all the monkey kings that have led us before, but your achievement has already far surpassed any of the past kings. Even the old monkey king who fought the Green Wolf King and Blood Jackal King couldn’t compare to you.”

“Just this achievement alone far surpassed the past monkey kings?” Feng Lin couldn’t help but feel astonished.

Although he was confident, it didn’t mean that he was egotistical.

Just by finding a Water Curtain Cave, his achievements already surpassed the past monkey kings? Wasn’t this too simple?

“That’s precisely it.” The elder smiled. “The meaning of a king is to protect its tribe. The past kings had no way to break through the waterfall barrier, no way to lead us into the Water Curtain Cave. Only you, our current Great King had managed to do so. You give us a place of safety, we would never have to be afraid of invaders ever again. Just this point alone makes your achievement surpass the past kings!”

(I’m actually so outstanding!)

Feng Lin touched his chin, could being overly outstanding be a mistake?

(If I reach the pinnacle of being a monkey king so easily, wouldn’t the future be meaningless?)

…

He sank into deep thoughts once again.

What was the meaning of the monkey king’s existence?

He couldn’t find any way to continue and seemed stuck here in the cave.

…

Some time later, the through-armed ape spoke again, “The Water Curtain Cave is very good, but there’s one thing…”

“What thing?” Feng Lin asked.

“Mhm, it isn’t a bad thing though.” The elder furrowed its brow. “It’s just that in the past, the monkey tribe suffered threats every day and had vigilance in their hearts, not daring to slack off. Now that the entire tribe has migrated into the cave, there’s no pressure on them at all. If too much time was spent in safety, they would all become lazy—sleeping after eating, eating after sleeping. There would be no differences between the monkey race and the pig race then. We might lose our wild nature and no longer have the motivation to do anything.”

“Isn’t this a good thing?” Feng Lin was unconcerned. “Monkeys are vegetarians by nature. There are countless peaches in the peach forest to eat, so there’s no need for them to fight against the other races anymore. When the old monkey king was alive, wasn’t he filled with doting love to the monkeys? In addition, based on innate talent, the monkeys of our tribe would never be the opponents of the other wild beasts. Even if our wild natures were lost, there’s nothing much to worry about.”

“It’s not like that.” The elder shook its head. “Our monkey race was born with four limbs. We can walk erect, we can climb trees, and we can travel through the air by leaping, akin to birds. We have all sorts of unique characteristics. Just based on the toughness of our bodies, we would naturally not be the opponents of other wild beasts. But us monkeys are able to make use of tools and have our own strong points. Once, the monkey race was the largest in population in the Flowerfruit Mountain. But because we grew too powerful, the other demon kings of the various races decided to join forces and start a war with us. That war led to our foundation being weakened greatly. Countless killing occurred and the old monkey king was one of the lucky survivors of that war. It’s just that during that war, all the monkeys and apes with potential died while fighting the enemies. The remaining ones were all ordinary members with no talent, resulting in the potential of our monkey tribe to decline until you, the new great king, appeared. This is pretty strange; there’s only a single tribe of monkeys remaining in the Flowerfruit Mountain. I still cannot understand how great king was born.”

This touched on the birth of the spiritual stone monkey. Other than the old monkey king knowing about this, Feng Lin wasn’t prepared to reveal anything to others.

After he heard the elder’s words, Feng Lin sank into deep contemplation once again.

The Monkey King had to protect his tribe, but was his duty really as simple as finding a place of safety?

One must know that in the legends, the monkeys under Sun Wukong were courageous and powerful. They even dared to fight against a hundred thousand heavenly troops, killing their way into the heavenly court and wreaking havoc in the three realms. They weren’t weak like the current monkeys in the Water Curtain Caves at all.

In that case, there must be something he, the Monkey King, still had to do.

After understanding the crucial point, Feng Lin suddenly stood up in shock. He stared at the monkey tribe whose attitudes grew lazier and lazier.

So this was the case.

He completely understood now.

Who was he?

He was the Monkey King of the Water Curtain Cave in the Flowerfruit Mountain! He wasn’t a babysitter for these monkeys.

What was a king?

Kindness doesn’t make a king!