30. Just Like in the Past
"Your hand is cruel."
Sun Wukong’s head snapped around, revealing a face like a fiend.
His face was drenched in blood, crimson pupils gleaming, and vicious fangs bared beneath curled lips.
His shoulders trembled, Killing Intent mixed with his ragged breaths.
Tang Sanzang clicked his tongue.
"Look at yourself, Wukong. Look at your face. Does that look like the face of a disciple cultivating the Way of the Buddha?"
Wukong sneered.
"I only killed a Demon that tried to eat my master. It wasn’t a pointless slaughter. So why are you scolding , Master?"
Sun Wukong took a step closer, glaring at Tang Sanzang who sat atop the White Dragon.
His eyes were wide, fangs bared, Blood Scent radiating from his entire body, but Tang Sanzang remained calm, unshaken.
Wukong grew angrier. Didn’t this man cower and cry at the sight of other Demons?
Why, then, does he not fear the king of all Great Demons, the Demon King among Demon Kings?
Damn that Golden Headband.
A pathetic human male, relying on so Golden Headband, dares not fear the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
Wukong gripped the Ruyi Jingu Bang so tightly his hands shook. If not for the Golden Headband, he would have smashed that head in a Single Strike!
Even Bajie, oblivious to the tense atmosphere, looked flustered and tried to intervene.
"Ah, Brother Sun, why are you like this? Master’s always been like that. Let it go."
Tang Sanzang thundered.
"Bajie, stay out of this. Today, your senior brother needs a serious lesson."
"Ha. Unbelievable."
Annoyance flashed across Wukong’s face.
"Defending oneself against an enemy is unavoidable. Those Demons are just another trial and hardship blocking our path. You overca that hardship. But your thod was wrong."
"My thod? Ha. Is there a right way to kill? I’ve killed far more than you, Master. When it cos to taking lives, I’m leagues above you."
A look of sorrow crossed Tang Sanzang’s face.
Wukong, feeling his gaze, trembled. That look, that expression, that gesture—he could see it all: Tang Sanzang pitied him.
That deep pity made Wukong shudder.
"Master, this is my way. Anger or whatever else—I’ll kill any Demon that stands in my way, just like this."
"Where does the anger in your heart co from? Is it because you were hated in the Heavenly Realm? Because you were given a lowly post? Or because you were punished by the Buddha and imprisoned under the Five Elents Mountain?"
Wukong stared at Tang Sanzang for a long mont, then suddenly burst out laughing.
"Master, do you have a family?"
"…I do."
"I don’t."
"…"
"I’ve always said it. Heaven made , Earth shaped . That’s how I was born. Lightning struck, split a rock, and I ca out. I have no parents. No family."
Wukong spoke calmly. To Tang Sanzang, the enormous ape suddenly seed small. Though he was as tall as Tang Sanzang sitting atop the great White Dragon, his presence felt diminished.
Wukong turned away roughly.
"But that doesn’t an I’m a heartless monkey. I had no family, but I had brothers."
"You an the monkeys of Huaguo Mountain?"
It was a famous story—how Wukong erased the ordinary monkeys from the Book of Life and Death. That showed how much he cherished them.
For Wukong, born without family, those monkeys were his family, his brothers.
"Until I sought out my first master, I didn’t know violence or killing."
Wukong gazed blankly at the horizon. As if seeing a mirage at the edge of the endless desert, he recalled the past.
"I was just a stone monkey with so tricks."
"…"
"But even if I stayed quiet, the world didn’t leave in peace."
A dangerous light flashed in Wukong’s eyes.
"When I returned to Huaguo Mountain after learning from my master—do you know what I saw?"
Tang Sanzang fell silent. Wukong’s aura pierced even the powerful protection surrounding Tang Sanzang.
That’s how fierce Wukong’s emotions were.
"My brothers were bleeding. So had their limbs torn off and thrown into cauldrons, so were skewered and roasting, so were made slaves, forced to serve food made from their own kin!"
Wukong slamd the Ruyi Jingu Bang into the ground. The earth shook like an earthquake. The White Dragon reared up, neighing in terror. The overwhelming force twisted Tang Sanzang’s face in pain.
Yet, instead of reciting the Restraining Spell, Tang Sanzang t Wukong’s gaze.
"The Demon King of Chaos—he did all that. So what did I do? I tore him to pieces."
"…"
"Using the clone technique I learned from Patriarch Subhuti, I ripped him apart, piece by piece. That was the first ti my anger truly exploded. Turns out, I’d been bottling it up all along."
Wukong gave a bitter laugh.
"Patriarch Subhuti’s disciples looked down on . Said the ape was just pretending to be human. I didn’t understand then. I thought I was human too."
"…"
He acted human, spoke like a human, showed respect to his master like a human, ate like a human.
Wukong truly believed he was no different from humans.
He couldn’t understand the discrimination and contempt from the other disciples, but it piled up inside him.
When he tore the Demon King of Chaos apart and split his skull with a cleaver—
Wukong realized.
"I was just a monkey Demon, Tang Sanzang."
A monkey pretending to be human.
Ah, how ridiculous.
The king of Demons living among humans, pretending to be one of them.
Wukong chuckled. Tang Sanzang spoke calmly.
"Was that when it started?"
"…"
"Was that when your hand beca cruel, and you began living with such anger?"
Wukong didn’t answer. He didn’t even look at Tang Sanzang. He’d just start spouting more useless advice.
"Well done."
"…?"
Wukong’s head snapped up at the unexpected words.
Tang Sanzang spoke gently.
"If I were you, I couldn’t have held back either. After what happened to your family, how could you let it go? Killing the Demon King of Chaos was an act of rcy, saving countless others from his cruelty."
Tang Sanzang smiled at Wukong.
"You did well. Don’t regret it. I see now—I was your family too."
"…What do you an, Master?"
"Those Demons you killed just now—they tried to eat , didn’t they? Just like the Demon King of Chaos killed your monkeys. That’s why your hand was so cruel. To you, I am family."
Wukong was montarily speechless. After a pause, he scoffed.
"Ha, that’s unexpected, coming from you, Master. Didn’t you always say to show rcy, even to those steeped in evil?"
"We’re not Buddhas. Why act like one?"
"…"
"This too is part of becoming a Buddha."
Wukong never expected the usually upright Tang Sanzang to say such things.
He seed like a different person.
But that was as far as it went.
"Still, you must strive to beco a Buddha. If you commit such cruel killings again, I’ll punish you."
"Punish ?"
Tang Sanzang smiled and began reciting the Restraining Spell.
The Golden Headband tightened as if to crush Wukong’s skull. Wukong clutched his head, rolling on the ground and screaming.
"Agh! Stop! Stop, Master! I was wrong!"
*
Wukong rubbed his throbbing forehead.
Even without the Golden Headband, he sotis felt that pain.
Phantom pain, perhaps.
'Damn that Tang Sanzang.'
Ah, just thinking about him gives a headache.
The reason these old mories surfaced was the Demon King of Chaos, now bound in chains in the Heavenly Prison.
"You said you had sothing to say to ?"
The Demon King of Chaos glared through his tangled hair.
"How do you know about the Seven Star Sword?"
"It belongs to soone I know."
Grand Marshal Tai Shang lost it, and so Demon got ahold of it, causing endless trouble.
The Demon King of Chaos looked at Wukong strangely, then suddenly spoke.
"…You have a scent about you."
"Scent?"
Wukong’s eyes widened. Muhwa had said sothing similar—she’d sensed a familiar scent on Honam Island.
"An overwhelming, inescapable feeling. Raw and unfiltered."
"…"
Wukong stared at him.
'Strange.'
He knew what the Demon King of Chaos ant.
'That’s the feeling Demons get when they et a superior Demon.'
It was a feeling Wukong had never experienced himself.
Many Demons had said similar things to him.
Even if they claid to be Demons in a past life, he was human now. How could they sense anything demonic about him?
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Wukong’s mind.
"You’ve seen one, haven’t you?"
Soone like .
So—
"Is your leader a Demon?"
Wukong’s eyes glowed red, golden pupils piercing the Demon King of Chaos. The Demon King trembled. A natural, instinctive reaction. Yes, he’d experienced it before. He’d t soone like Wukong before.
"What are you people?"
"Aren’t you one of us?"
"…"
Now that’s a bit insulting.
"Lowly Demons calling the Victorious Fighting Buddha ‘one of them’? That’s rich."
"Would you consider joining us?"
"Are you trying to recruit ?"
He gestured for him to go on.
"Your power would be invaluable in the world our leader is creating. After all, you’re one of us. Why stay on that side?"
Wukong looked appalled.
"You sound like so cult leader."
What are these bastards after?
"You want to join? Why ?"
"Because you’re one of us."
"You keep saying ‘one of us.’ What does that an?"
"Humans who aren’t truly human. Those born with limitless potential, able to wield superhuman power. We call ourselves Hidden People."
"…"
Wukong pondered.
Limitless potential, superhuman power, Hidden People.
'Even if they don’t know about their past lives as Demons, do they at least suspect sothing?'
How?
Wukong’s thoughts turned to their leader.
The one who made them subconsciously aware of their past as Demons.
Did he possess Fate Vision, the ability to see past lives?
Like Wukong’s own Flaming Golden Eyes?
"I need to et your leader. Only then can I decide if I’ll be swayed by his ideals."
Wukong spoke casually. The Demon King of Chaos fell silent for a while.
"Our leader is a busy and noble person. Even if you want to et him, it’s not easy. But if you bring a fragnt of the Seven Star Sword and show your intent…"
He continued,
"If you want, I can introduce you to soone."
"Soone?"
"Soone who’s t our leader many tis."
"…"
Wukong cald his turbulent mind and listened.
Where to find him, how to et him, what he looked like.
Exactly as the Owl Demon had described.
A man with a lump beside his nose.
Having heard everything, Wukong stared at the Demon King of Chaos.
Did he really think Wukong would be swayed? Why was he being so cooperative?
'Does he really think I’ll join them?'
If so, then he instinctively knows he’s different from humans, just as the Demon King said.
'Even if they don’t know about their past lives, or that they’re Demons, at least they realize they’re not quite human.'
Wukong set aside his thoughts. He’d gotten all he needed. His cold gaze fixed on the Demon King of Chaos.
"Are you suggesting all this because you want to spare your life?"
The Demon King looked around. The Heavenly Prison of the Namgung Clan. Even if Wukong was a Retainer here, he knew escape was impossible.
He shook his head.
"What’s there to fear in sacrificing for the great cause? If soone as strong as you joined our leader…"
"Sacrifice for the cause, my ass."
"What…?"
"Sacrifice? No, it’s just a pointless death."
"…!"
The Demon King’s eyes widened. Wukong sneered.
"You’re dying a pointless death today."
Thud!
He never finished his protest. A blast of energy from Wukong’s fingertip pierced his forehead.
The Demon King of Chaos collapsed, eyes wide open.
"What a pathetic bastard."
Wukong’s gaze pierced beyond the physical, staring at the Demon King’s soul.
Baring his fangs at the ominous energy gathering behind him.
"Begone. I’ll destroy your soul myself."
Just like he did with the Blood-Iron Fiend, he would do the sa now.
He seized the Demon King’s writhing soul in his grasp.
A violent light shone in Wukong’s eyes.
Just like in the past.
"I’ll tear your soul apart, piece by piece."
Reviews
All reviews (0)