#Zhenyuan jttw

[teddycicada]

En la novela, Tripitaka fue un buen amigo del Inmortal y dueño del árbol del Ginseng, Zhenyuan. Está amistad se dio cuando en la vida pasada de Tripitaka, Golden Cicada. Golden Cicada era el segundo discípulo de Buda.

Ambos se conocieron en una fiesta de Ullambana donde Golden Cicada le sirvio Té a Zhenyuan.

ZhenYuan le guardo un profundo aprecio desde entonces. Incluso 500 años despues aun recuerda a su amigo, Golden Cicada. Es tanto el aprecio que le tiene que le quiso regalar dos frutas del ginseng. Y Zhenyuan es muy protector con su arbol.

Para desgracia de ZhenYuan, los discipulos de Tripitaka complicaron las cosas. (Zhenyuan intento freir a Tripitaka. Ahí sí paso de verga ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ)

Pero todo se soluciono con la intervencion de Guan Yin, y Tripitaka comio una de las frutas.

Hay un fanfic muy bonito que incluye a este personaje:

Echadle un vistazo. La autora es genial

Kiss and tell! - Garden_heart_2 - LEGO Monkie Kid [Archive of Our Own]

[the-monkey-ruler]

If you were given the opportunity to adapt "Journey to the West" into a movie, how would you adapt it? (No necesariamente tiene que ser el libro completo, puede ser un capítulo en particular o lo que quieras).

Oooo I actually thought about this before! It was a while ago but it was so much fun to think! I will say would would do a full-on adaptation with every single arc with every arc counting!

Again I would love it to be 2D with that stretch kind of animation, I think that allowing it to be more stylized would allow designs to be more creative and expressive overall. I would also say to make it more “adult” in that there is blood and death, similar to how Samurai Jack or Lupin the 111 Part 5 is treated with being watched for a younger audience but like in no way is it just for kids either or holds back on the violence.

I would still love it to be a completely character-driven series spanning 14 years, with explored relationships and realistic development. I would still lean into a comedic tone, but still balance serious elements, with the characters treating even the most serious situations with a sense of humor. I would love to see them face challenges and lose the battle not because they are weak but rather because of their lack of cooperation. They start off as dysfunctional and at odds with each other but as the journey continues we see all five pilgrims learn how to work together and become a team. Despite initial disagreements, they eventually come together to overcome their foes, recognizing the importance of relying on each other. Very found family trope which I eat up like candy. Also a like of highlighting quiet moments between scenes, such as cooking and cleaning camp sights, and filler episodes focusing on flashbacks of characters like Bajie, Wujing, and Bailong, who feel depressed and lose their sense of self due to their new positions. I would love to show each season changing cause this is FOURTEEN YEARS and how that could be shown with changing seasons in the background.

Would still love entire character arcs for each character. Bajie once being a Marshall instead becomes a lazy pig on earth and falls into a state of depression and acts on whim, seeking fleeting joy. Throughout his journey, he proves he is a capable fighter and starts caring for others and despite being a jerk, Bajie cares in his own rough way and starts showing that while he isn't perfect he always tries to get better. Wujing, initially soft-spoken and quick to rage, initially avoids speaking due to his fear of being blamed for a single mistake. However, as he sees his brothers' loudness and brashness, he starts to see that he isn't judged for every mistake. He learns that ribbing isn't punishment, and he can relax around new people who are also screw-ups. This experience helps Wujing build self-confidence and stand up for himself without being a doormat to others. BaiLong starts off as a standoff member who doesn't speak much but he is still expressive and aggressive, like in that horse in Tangled. He sees himself as responsible for keeping Sanzang safe and is often in guard dog mode. Despite lacking scales or horns, BaiLong is treated like a brother and the pilgrims provide him with support he never got from his bio family. He is not a trained soldier but he comes to see himself as part of the group as they all have their strengths and weaknesses.

I would like Sanzang to be seen as inexperienced in the real world. He has lived in a monastery his entire life but is sheltered from other kingdoms. Sanzang sees corruption in the palace and is given a sign by Gaunyin to make a real change without politics or face-saving. The story should follow Xuanzang's Pilgrimage, where Sanzang sneaks out of Tang without the Emperor's approval, finding it worth it. But he is arrogant and believes he has everything figured out because he got to the highest level of monk in his kingdom quickly. When he meets his new disciples, he is forced to see how people with different paths of life than him have different points of view and how this challenges his own thinking. He starts to be humbled and starts to learn just as much from his disciples as they learn from him. Would love to explore Sanzang's emotional disconnect from his family trauma, including his father's resurrection and mother's suicide. Despite kidnappings, he becomes more open with his journeymates, demonstrating empathy for the stress of new responsibilities. Also, a physical transformation from his 20s to his 40s would be a concise choice as he would be the only mortal in the group, showcasing his growth and transformation throughout his journey.

But of course, I would have Wukong completely leaning into his ex-warlord persona, characterized by arrogance, cockiness, and a tendency to threaten with violence. He is charming, charismatic, and funniest, giving people a chance to walk away. His expressive and cartoonish reactions showcase his range of emotions. However, Wukong's excess of power harms the environment and people around him, leading Sanzang to push for less violent means. The use of 2D animation would showcase Wukong's creativity and innovation, capturing the audience's imagination and understanding of his power. Wukong's strength is evident in his diverse powers, but he needs to be more considerate and rely on Bajie and Wujing for protection. He learns how to acknowledge them as equals and recognizes that being the strongest person doesn't automatically make him right. In a long-running series, Wukong should gradually come to understand that he has a team and a different brotherhood compared to his past. This would be particularly interesting in the Demon Bull King episode. Wukong realizes he also was kinda sheltered in his own world, as he was surrounded by more yes-men than equals. His past brotherhood allowed him to demonstrate destructive behavior, leading to a spiral of self-sabotage. Wukong focuses on growing empathy for others, a skill that is difficult to learn. He struggles physically, mentally, and emotionally in situations, questioning his decisions. This constant battle with himself is particularly evident during a pilgrimage, where he must become dedicated to his mission and become a deity.

Wukong realizes that his power doesn't make him superior, and he needs humility, also parading Sanzang's own journey. He acknowledges that his teammates, including Bajie, Wujing, Sanzang, and BaiLong, have something to offer, even if it's not immediate strength. He starts to accept his limitations and recognizes that others can do what he can't. He hasn't realized his faults and is starting to rely on others, especially in a new group that sees him as a fellow Pilgrim. This newfound equality allows him to see himself as just like anyone else, trying his best. I would love a focus on the interaction between the five characters to maintain balance. More scenes where the initial gruff attitude changes over time, affecting the entire group or the group as a whole. This approach may seem extreme, but they believe it would be suitable for the show.

BUT AS FOR ARCS

General Yin 寅將軍- 1st Month. The first demon we see against Sanzang, would love to see Sanzang having to see his two guards sacrificing themselves for him and how that guilt carries with him for the rest of the journey. Also maybe adding a connection with Sanzang and a fear of Tigers for late down with Wukong being connected to Tigers and Sanzang being turned into a Tiger

Sanzang found Wukong right after maybe a 2nd Month. Really enjoy the idea that Sanzang chooses to help Wukong without knowing that he is disciple but just cause he trusted Wukong when he said he needed help. A clear sign of his naive nature but also how Wukong relied on that nature to save himself in the first place.

I think they get Bailong much later, maybe in the 4th or 5th month. Would love to see how Wukong and Sanzang interact on their own but also to have Bailong join to showcase Wukong's power. Would also love Sanzang poking a lil fun at Wukong saying that he could defeat dragons but he can't this one.

Jinchi Elder 金池长老 - 6th Month. would love to see how this would highlight Wukong's initial bloodlust and how he chooses to escalate situations to harm others. He didn't have to burn down a whole monetary down but he did because he WANTED to.

Black Wind King 黑風怪 - 6th Month. Same with how Wukong sees another Yao in the same situation as him with the headband and how even someone EXACTLY in the same situation as him and he still thinks Black Wind should die and how this could be a lesson in how he needs to learn to empathize. He was given mercy to try again and how so should other yao as well.

They find Bajie about 8 Months into the journey. I like to think that Wukong and Sanzang had a lot of time to themselves and that the change in the dynamics with Bajie.

Yellow Wind Demon 黃風怪 - 9 Month. This first Wukong ever gets HURT like he is BLIND. He never relied on someone before and now he has to trust Bajie the man he just fought in the last arc. It is kinda a moment he really gets scared and also Bajie shows the first signs that he does care enough not to leave Wukong for dead.

Wujing is picked up around the 11th month, nearly a year into the journey for Wukong and Sanzang but they get him after a huge miscommunication.

Great Zhenyuan Immortal 鎮元大仙 - 1st Year. First group crime together. Kinda Wukong wanted to rebel but also tried to connect with Bajie and Wujing similar to how he did with his brotherhood. He has to see that the dynamics aren't the same and struggle with seeing them as 'equals' rather than 'underlings. Would also love Zhenyaun bringing up his friendship with the Golden Cicida a lot more and how Sanzang feels about his past reincarnations.

White Bone Demon 白骨精 - 1.5 Year. CHANGE IN MORALS. Sanzang rather than fighting for not believe Wukong that White Bone Demon isn't a demon, he is more arguing that she hasn't hurt them and that Wukong shouldn't hurt anyone, human or yao, for what they MIGHT do. And Wukong KNOWS she is about to do something considering that up to this point, Wukong has killed more humans than demons on the journey Sanzang has his doubts. Bajie also acted on this point as more trying to get back at Wukong for the Fake-Gao situation but didn't think this would lead to banishment. Wukong tries and succeeds in resurrecting his home and sees that one of his past sworn brothers the Jaio Demon King sacrificed himself to keep his monkeys safe.

Yellow Robe Demon 黃袍怪 - 1.5 Year. The main change is that the wife does love Yellow Robe but also knows he is in the wrong and wants to go back to her family, also her kids don't die from the 2010 series. A lot of Bajie has to humble himself and see that he can't do this alone either and how Bailong and Wujing are gone. Sanzang is turned into a tiger but also him being hunted by humans. He sees what it's like to not be believed when Yellow Robe changes him and how this affects him greatly on the journey. Would love a reunion with Sanzang acknowledging that he shouldn't have sent Wukong away but he can't give up the idea that one should see the best in people and how he should have seen that in Wukong too.

Golden Horned King 金角大王 and Silver Horned King 銀角大王- 2nd Year. the first time the gang is back together and things are still tense but Wukong trying to lighten the mood while Sanzang trying to have a 'serious talk' all while demons are trying to capture him. Kinda more light-hearted but genuine trying is seen. Kinda like it just increases with how it goes from the Horned Kings, to their Mother, and then to the Great Fox King and it just escalates more and more to parallel how Wukong would rather just keep running from the Talk than sit down and talk to Sanzang until the end.

Lion-Lynx Demon 獅猁怪 - 2.5 Year. The fake Sanzang arc but also Wukong asking the fillet to be used to see who is real. Kinda a big show of trust but also a slow understanding of Sanzang and Wukong in how similar they are in their dedication, and willingness to put themselves in pain for each other. Also Wukong being outed as never eating humans cause he has healing powers and Wujing and Bajie poking fun at him for lying.

Red Boy 紅孩兒 - 3rd Year. Wukong OVERJOYED seeing a connection to his past. He thought that he could be an uncle to Red Boy but became heartbroken when he found out he was never mentioned to the kid and in fact he never heard of Bull King's Brotherhood, like it never existed. Makes Wukong have to reevaluate his past friendships and whether he cares more about them than they care about him. E.I. he was more used for protection than pure friendship. Asks Guanyin to show the kid mercy and Red Boy gets to be friends with Longnu and Muzha. Wukong still wants to have a connection with Red Boy but he more upset that he sees so much in himself in Red Boy, acting like his actions don't have consequences. Also love the Bajie/Wujing saving Wukong scene with Bajie giving him CPR and refusing to think someone like Wukong would die like that.

Black River Demon 鼉龍 - 3.5 Year. BAILONG ARC! I need Bailong fighting his cousin since this was more of a Wujing arc. But just how Bailong's own older brother comes to arrest the Black River Demon and we see how cold his family treats Bailong, pretending he is not even there, and how the pilgrims make an effort to show how they appreciate Bailong like his bio family never could. I would like to think Wujing conforming to him as this was originally more his arc since he was fighting underwater but more Wujing stepping up as the brother that Bailong never had.

Tiger Strength Great Immortal 虎力大仙, Elk Strength Great Immortal 鹿力大仙, and Antelope Strength Great Immortal 羊力大仙 - 4th Year. MY FAVORITE arc. Pure comedy just Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing coming together for the first time to bully/heckle another group of three together. Nothing brings people together like a common enemy and these three make sure to win every challenge with over-the-top enthusiasm. Makes Sanzang learn how to unwind a bit and come to laugh along with the hijinks. But really just need these three to have a great time committing crimes and Sanzang being non the wiser like "my pilgrims would never." Oh they would.

Spiritual Touch 靈感大王 - 4.5 Year. A more quiet episode of Sanzang seeing a village with his family name, maybe a Sanzang flashback to his mother's death and how he couldn't connect with his father. Sanzang wanted a family so bad but even when he got them back he couldn't make up for years of growing up without them and that he feel more close with Fa Ming as his caretaker. Also, Bajie trying to help with his perfect joke "Sink To The Bottom" and how he used to be a Water god. This would be a great time to have a flashback to Bajie's human past and he misses being a deity and how useless he feels in his new body. Heavy on the backstory and less on the demon.

Single Horned Rhinoceros King 獨角兕大王 - 5th Year. Bajie THOUGHT he was HELPING cause Sanzang was freezing by leaving the circle. I would love to see Wukong REALLY struggling as he loses to this guy at least five times, almost having a mental breakdown cause he even loses entire armies, heavenly armies that trusted him, and how he flashbacks to losing his monkeys against heaven. Takes a lot out of him and in the end he sees it is that the Rhino King does have the SAME weapon the Diamon snare that defeated him in the first place.

Ruler of Women's Country 女兒國國王 and Scorpion Demon 蠍子精 - 5.5 Year. I am not a fan of this being seen as a romance but more a Queen abusing her power to trap someone against their will. Poor Sanzang has been kidnapped by demons before but this is his first time being kidnapped by a human and he has to fight himself with how humans can commit horrid deeds as well which changes his worldview. Bajie, Wujing, and Wukong really become protective as women keep trying to harness Sanzang. Would love to see Wujing getting more confident and maybe touching on his own backstory at this point. Almost I'm a fan of 1996 Bajie where he is more of a romantic and he feels uncomfortable being seen as "just a piece of meat" when the women want them just because they are men.

Six Eared Macaque 六耳獼猴 - 6th Year (perfect for this being nearly the halfway point in the journey to show the balance starting to change) Kinda seeing Wukong regress to his more violent tendencies due to the Queen in the previous arc. Kills bandits without mercy and shows them proudly to Sanzang cause "humans can be evil as well" and Sanzang still wants to hold on that anyone can change for the better. Wukong on the other hand still stands that if people don't want to change then they shouldn't be given the choice. This leads to the banishment BUT THEN Wukong being FORCED to face a version of himself that never wanted to change as well. Would he still go on the journey for the wrong reasons? Would he have lost all his empathy for even his own monkeys? Did the Six Ears deserve mercy like he was once given? A lot of self-reflecting on Wukong's part on what it means to forgive others but also to forgive yourself and I think the REAL turning point in Wukong's character development from someone forced on the journey to someone who wants to be there for his own sake. Sanzang and he might never see eye to eye but Sanzang starts to realize while he can see the best in others he can't be naive to the point of putting himself in danger and Wukong starts to accept that others deserve mercy like he was given as well.

Princess Iron Fan 鐵扇公主 and Bull Demon King 牛魔王 - 6.5 Year. HUGE ARC. The first arc which Wukong really comes to terms with his own changes as a person from a warlord to a pilgrim. Another this is about seven years into the journey as well. Wukong thought he could visit an old friend but Iron Fan is pissed as him and Wukong went to see Bull King himself but sees that it is very one-sided. Bull King USED to be a genuine friend but has moved on and had a family, seeing Wukong only as someone that he used to know and Wukong has to face that he lost a dear friend not by death but because they are two different people that have grown apart. Bajie and Wujing really step up to give Wukong backup, both in a fight but also in emotional support as while they don't know Wukong's old friends they want to show their support by being his friends now. Wukong used to be alone but he isn't anymore. Wukong mourns the loss of their friendship and asks Nezha to go easy on him. Iron Fan herself moves on to work on her own cultivation but ends on a small friendship between Wukong and Iron Fan.

Wansheng Princess 萬聖公主 and Nine-Headed Demon 九頭蟲 - 7th Year. Another huge Bailong arc and how he had his falling out with his family. I do enjoy the 1987 take that Bailong's fiance left him for the Nine Headed Demon and think this is another way that the pilgrims can be there for him as they fight the demons. Wansheng tries to get back on Bailong's side when she sees Nine Heads is losing but Bailong respects himself enough now to reject her and go back to his new friends who were there for him. Would also love Erlang and Wukong to have a moment to talk about how Erlang spared his family instead of doing the Nine Generations Punishment and how he is thankful hence why they are sworn brothers. I adore Erlang and Wukong's similarities and how Wukong is still going to do what HE wants but he is aware that he is trying to find out what truly needs now in his life.

The Tree Spirits - 7.5 Year. I really loved this as a quiet arc again with Sanzang just having a great time with Tree Spirits who kidnapped him who wanted to talk poetry. All the while Wujing, Bajie, Wujing, and Bailong are losing their shits trying to look for him. More comedic than anything and allows Sanzang to interact with yao that is not violent. Would like to keep out the end where they try to force Sanzang to get married and Wukong to kill them all again. Just that they get to escape and Wukong warns Sanzang that they could have killed him. But Sanzang reassures Wukong that he wasn't in danger, that people can be powerful but that doesn't make them bad and uses Wukong himself to make that point.

Yellow Brows Great King 黃眉大王 - 8th Year. Would love to see Yellow Brows kinda like how he is in Black Myth, someone delusional that he is right and deserves to be Buddha while running what is practically a cult. Still holds a grudge against the Golden Cicada and tries to take over the journey to one-up him. Makes Wukong kinda look at this guy and see a lil bit of himself, someone who always thought he was right and uses his might to enforce it. But Wukong knows that his own arrogance leads to his downfall.

Python Demon 蟒蛇精 - 8.3 Year. Just more of a joke demon, does not speak but they get to have hijinks trying to chase her and pin her down. Would love Bajie and Wukong trying to get her pinned down and leads to wukong being eaten and he has to grow to escape and just gets all over Bajie that he hates this part of the job.

Sai Tai Sui / Great King Jupiter's Rival 賽太歲 - 8.7 Year. huge on comedy, this is Wukong pretending to be a doctor, and Bajie, Wujing, and Bailong are being absolutely hilarious by playing along. Wukong actually has no idea what is wrong with the guy just finds out that he misses his wife and instead spends his time fucking around and seeing how much outrageous stuff he can get away with in the meantime. Also Wujing and Bajie being 'nurses' who just follow along to make the situation far more silly. They make this poor king eat medicine from dragon piss and snot the demon doesn't even really matter, just these four being bafoons.

Spider Demons 蜘蛛精 and Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord 百眼魔君 - 9th Year. Sanzang just trying to do something on his own to show that he isn't useless but of course leads to him being kidnapped. Kinda hits him hard how much he can't even get water/food by himself and hits his self-esteem. Would love to see Wukong kinda having another mental breakdown seeing his friends poisoned and how he really comes to care for them even to the point of panic. Kinda like the 1999 take where the sisters don't die in the end and Wukong spares them as long as they promise to change their ways after seeing how Hundred Eyes betrayed them.

Azure Lion 青毛獅子, Yellow Toothed Elephan t黃牙老象, and lden Winged Great Peng 金翅大鵬雕 - 9.5 Year. pure comedy. There are serious moments are this would be the first three-on-three since the Daoist arc but would love to see all of them fighting together side by side in a huge epic fight. These SHOULD be serious demons and they can be but this illusion is kinda shattered when Wukong first meets them by entering their army, lying about commands, going into their cave, and beating the crap out of Azure Lion from the inside out. Like Wikong defeats these guys practically single-handedly and Sanzang has to ASK Wukong to let them go. Sadly does lead to them coming back but does end with a big battle. Also, the Million Demon Kingdom that I love would to be fully explored.

White Deer Spirit 白鹿精 and White-Faced Vixen Spirit 白面狐狸精 - 10th Year. Another comedy as Wukong pretends to be Sanzang moments but would love to see how a yao family White Deer being an adopted father to White Fox and how she dies because of his plans. It would start more silly but gets serious when we really see how White Deer cared for his daughter but at the same point, they tried to kill like 10,000 babies so that would have been worse.

Lady Earth Flow 地涌夫人 - 10.5 Year. Big fan of the idea that Earth Flow was really in love with Sanzang due to his past life from the 2010 series. However, that love is one-sided and she is too blind to her own desires to see what he really wants. Really more exploring how Sanzang always feels overshadowed by the Golden Cicada but the pilgrims reassure him that he was chosen for who he is, not because he was someone else and how they are on this journey with Sanzang, not the Golden Cicada.

Ruler of the Kingdom of Miefa 滅法國 - 11th Year. Another good example of how humans can be horrible is that this king wants all monks to be killed. Treated with more humor as Wukong SHAVES the entire kingdom's heads but I do think that this would be a good point in which Sanzang can confront the king himself in how this king took out his rage on innocents and has reached a point where he understands misplacing rage. A good balance of how the King has to be accountable and also shows how Wukong is able to start solving issues without violence.

King of the Southern Hill 南山大王 - 11.5 Year. This one is a comedy arc but more tired with tragedy as well. The leopard demon here convinces Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing that Sanzang has died, leading to the three to have a funeral for Sanzang and cry over his body. Again leads to some good moments to show how the gang cares for each other but also cuts to Sanzang hoping that his friends come get him too. Kinda have a moment where the King thinks that once the pilgrims 'mourn' they will leave but they don't know about the 6 phase of grief REVENGE! Of course, all three of them try to kill the King for Sanzang but instead, this leads to the gang just being overjoyed that Sanzang is not dead. Also Wukong still 100% wanting to kill this leopard demon for tricking him.

Prefect of Phoenix-Immortal - 12th Year. This was a kinda a more dramatic arc where a kingdom insults the good on accident and how they are punished with drought. I am taking a lot from the 1987 series in how Wukong was insulted on behalf of the people, seeing that their punishment was unfit for the crime, and how his empathy has been able to grow for him to become seen as a hero for the people. Also would love to see how Wujing really related to the people and how his own punishment left him uncertain and insecure over himself but how he was able to overcome these challenges despite what he has become.

Tawny Lion Demon 黃獅精 and Grand Saint of Nine Spirits 九靈元聖 - 12.5 Year. This one was the most interesting as this wasn't one where Sanzang gets kidnapped but rather the weapons were taken. I would change that the lions don't have to die but rather more of a comedy arc of the Nine Spirits trying to ground up his grandkids when he had a good relationship with the neighboring kingdom. This is a good example of yao and humans able to live in together without conflict and how Nine Spirits fears that his grandkids have ruined this peace. And of course, Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing use silly stunts to try to get their shit back. Also touching more on the pilgrim's own disciples the three princes and maybe even giving them names. I would just like to think that these three princes do always keep their teachings to heart.

King of Cold Protection 辟寒大王, King of Heat Protection 辟暑大王, and King of Dust Protection辟塵大王 - 13th Year. This one is something where I would LOVE Sanzang just being done with being kidnapped. Like he is not phased. He even warns the three to let him go because it as been 14 years and he really doesn't want to end this with these poor guys getting their butts whooped by his overpowering disciples. Kinda comedy but really would enjoy a good battle three on three again.

Jade Rabbit 玉兔精 - 13.5 Year. this one plays more on the 1999 series where the Rabbit is clear she wants to do this cause she hates the real Princess. It is actually nothing personal against Sanzang but just HE HAPPENS to be the one she chooses to marry. More of a mystery of where the real princess is but the gang finds her to get the Jade Rabbit arrested and Sanzang can get free of a forced marriage again.

Squire Kou - 14th Year. This one I think is the perfect arc to really end on, paralleling the first 6 bandits that Wukong fought. He could have killed the family that imprisoned them, but instead, he uses his power to freeze the bandits, get them back, convince the family that their relative's ghost is haunting them, go to Hell to get his spirit back and save the day with hurting a single human. He does an entire arc using his varieties of powers, wit, and intelligence to get out of this, a vast difference from the pure fighting warlord he used to be. I think this would be an arc heavy in symbolism and references to the first bandits they fought and Sanang SEEING the change in Wukong.

Great White Turtle 大白龜 - Of course, they make it to the end but of course, there is one last thing. I think Sanzang lost his cool and had his own breakdown at 'ruining' the scriptures something he spent so long to get but the gang trying to tell him that people make mistakes and that doesn't define them. And that maybe an imperfect world needs imperfect scriptures more than perfect ones because people need to doubt and learn for themselves. Just like Sanzang did. In the end Xiyouji is a story of hope and I think that Sanzang sees that even if things ain't perfect that doesn't make them any less valuable or wonderful and how that sentiment is seen with the new family he has found.

[journeythroughjourneytothewest]

Chapter 26 Recap: "Amid the Three Islands Sun Wukong seeks a cure; With sweet dew Guanshiyin revivies a tree"

After presenting a short poem on how for as much as “The proverb says the sword’s the law of life” it’s assured that “The strong man will meet someone stronger still,” this chapter begins where the first volume ended; the Zhenyuan Great Immortal grabs the Monkey King, and tells the simian to stop “playing with your magic” and restore his Ginseng Fruit Tree. As is becoming typical for Sun Wukong, the monkey laughs at hearing the angry proclamation of his foe, and even goes on to state that if the Master Zhenyuan had but made this demand in the first place, “we would have been spared the conflict.” The Monkey King then tells the Great Immortal to untie Tang Sanzang, and that he’ll “give you back a living tree.” Master  Zhenyuan declares that if Sun Wukong manages to restore his tree he’ll become the monkey’s sworn brother.

Reckoning that the other pilgrims won’t be able to escape, the Zhenyuan Great Immortal has Tripitaka, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing freed from their bonds. Zhu Bajie accuses Sun Wukong of wanting to “flee and take to the road all by himself” using the excuse of finding a way to revive the Ginseng Tree. The Monkey King declares he is “speaking…only the truth,” and that he plans to travel to the Three Islands and Ten Islets of the Great Eastern Ocean in order to ask the Immortals and Aged Sages that live there for a way to revive the three. He also declares he should be able to get the job done in three days. Likely feeling a bit suspicious of the monke, Tang Sanzang agrees to Sun Wukong’s three-day grace period, but also states that if the simian doesn’t return by then “I’ll begin reciting that ‘Old-Time Sutra’!” Fearful of the potential massive headache (but not enough to not threaten the Great Immortal’s kitchenware if Tripitaka isn’t given the best of care), the Monkey King sets off on his arboreal mission.

“Moving through the air like lightning and meteor,” Sun Wukong’s first stop in the Great Eastern Ocean is the “immortal region of Penglai,” a series of islands. There, he soon encounters a group of three immortals who look like old men playing encirclement chess. These are the Star of Longevity, the Star of Blessing, and the Star of Wealth. After the old men and the old monkey greet each other, Sun Wukong explains his situation while the immortals call him a “completely ignorant” dumb ape for having stolen the ginseng fruit and acting like it wasn’t a big deal, and of course for having broken the Ginseng Tree in the first place. The crux of the matter is that the “level of cultivation in Dao of the Great Immortal far surpasses” that of these three immortals, and that this is equally true for the Ginseng Tree; while “all you would need is one grain of my millet-elixir” to revive an earthly creature, the ginseng fruit “is the very root of all divine trees.” As such, these more lowly immortals have no way to heal it.

The Monkey King is dejected at this news, but the Star of Blessing encourages him by suggesting that there might be a cure for the tree somewhere else. The three immortals are also delighted upon learning of Sun Wukong’s fillet and the sutra that squeezes his head, for had “it not been for this little means of control, you would be crawling all over Heaven again!” Even so, the Star of Longevity promises that though the Great Immortal is these immortals’ senior, they’ll pay him a visit on the Monkey King’s behalf and also ask Tang Sanzang to not recite the Tight-Fillet Spell while the monkey is sincerely looking for a cure. Sun Wukong thanks them, and travels on.

The Stars mount the clouds and travel straight to the Abbey of Five Villages, where their arrival is announced by “the cries of cranes.” Zhu Bajie acts very familiar with the Star of Longevity, even calling him a “blubbery old codger.” The Star of Longevity calls him a “stupid coolie” in return, and the pig yaoguai and the three immortals get into a small name-calling contest before the arrival of Tripitaka and Master Zhenyuan. The three immortals are then able to give their account of Sun Wukong’s actions, all while being pranked by Zhu Bajie.

In the meantime, the Monkey King makes his arrival at the Fangzhang Mountain. It’s a beautiful place, but the simian is “in no mood to enjoy the scenery.” He is able to find an immortal quickly who we learn is the “Grand Thearch of the East,” said to have “saved the world a few times from distress.” Greeting this immortal “somewhat shamefacedly,” Sun Wukong is soon invited into to the Grand Thearch’s palace for tea. While waiting for the tea, the Monkey King is also greeted by a “lowly immortal named Dongfang Shuo,” who we learn had “palmed from Heaven’s gods’ peaches three times.” After Sun Wukong and Dongfang Shuo greet each other as “old burglar” and “little crook” respectively, the Grand Thearch orders Dongfang Shuo, religious name Manqian, to bring them tea. Manqian leaves, and Sun Wukong makes his request for a cure for the Ginseng Tree. The Grand Thearch calls him an “ape” who has “no care for anything except to cause trouble everywhere.” He also tells the Monkey King that Master Zhenyuan is “the patriarch of earthbound immortals,” and that even Sun Wukong doesn’t have the power to escape him. Furthermore, as the Ginseng Fruit Tree is the result of a “spiritual root that came into existence at the time of creation,” there’s no cure that the Grand Thearch knows of. Hearing this, old Monkey decides to take his leave, not daring to stay for an offered cup of jade nectar.

The next stop is the island of Yingzhou, another lovely realm for immortals. Here he finds nine immortals “with luminous white hair and beards” and “youthful complexion” “playing chess and drinking wine, telling jokes and singing songs.” Sun Wukong walks up to this gathering, and these immortals “quickly rose to greet him.” After the Monkey King and these Nine Elders exchange pleasantries (and Sun Wukong is lightly chided by the Nine Elders because had he “not disrupted Heaven, he would be even more content than we are), the monkey gives an account of his so far fruitless effort to restore the Ginseng Tree. After being told that he causes “too much trouble! Just too much trouble. Honestly, we don’t have a cure” but also being invited to “drink some jade nectar and eat some lotus root,” Sun Wukong swiftly takes his leave of the nine elders and heads straight to the Potalaka Mountain. There he finds “the Bodhisattva Guanyin giving a lecture to the various celestial guardians, dragon-ladies, and Moksa in the purple bamboo grove.” Noticing the Monkey King’s arrival, Bodhisattva Guayin sends the Great Mountain Guardian, formerly known as the Black Wind King, to meet him. After almost getting into an altercation with this yaoguai-turned-divine-guardian because he addressed him too familiarly, Sun Wukong “at once became solemn and earnest” when he hears that Bodhisattva Guanyin had asked the Great Mountain Guardian to greet him, and follows the bear down to have an audience with the bodhisattva. The Monkey King bows down and gives an account of what happened. The bodhisattva scolds him as a “mischievous monkey,” and Sun Wukong agrees that he “was truly ignorant.” Bodhisattva Guanyin also asks the Monkey King why he didn’t come to her sooner, which secretly pleases Sun Wukong as he assumes this means she as a cure. And indeed, the bodhisattva reveals that the “sweet dew in my immaculate vase can heal divine trees or spirit roots.” Declaring himself “lucky! Truly lucky!,” Sun Wukong flies behind Bodhisattva Guanyin back to the Abbey of Five Villages.

Master Zhenyuan was in the midst of “having lofty conversation with the Three Elders” when he notices the bodhisattva has arrived. Soon after all the assembled immortals, yaoguai, and one mortal man greet her, Bodhisattva Guanyin leads the party to where the Ginseng Tree lies dead. She orders Sun Wukong to stretch out his left hand, and, dipping her willow twig into the sweet dew of her vase, she “then used it as a brush and drew on the palm of Pilgrim a charm that had revivifying power.” She next tells the Monkey King to “place his hand at the base of the tree and watch for the sign of water spurting out.” Sun Wukong does so, and soon a “clear spring welled up from the ground.” After making it known that only something made of jade should be used to scoop up the water, Bodhisattva Guanyin then says the tree should be pushed back into an upright position and that this water should be poured over it from the top down. And so the Great Immortal “asked the little lads to take out some thirty jade tea cups and some fifty wine goblets with which they scooped up the clear water. Pilgrim, Eight Rules, and Sha Monk raised the tree into an upright position and covered its base with topsoil. They then handed the jade cups one by one to the Bodhisattva, who sprinkled the sweet liquid onto the tree with her willow branch as she recited a spell.” Before long, “the tree turned green all at once with thick leaves and branches.” Furthermore, twenty-three ginseng fruits ripen as well, one more than they had before.

The Great Immortal is very pleased by the restoration of the Ginseng Tree, and has ten of the fruits gathered so that he could host a Festival of Ginseng Fruits in honor of Bodhisattva Guanyin and the Three Elders. Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing each get a fruit, and seeing a bodhisattva and immortals consume the fruit convinces Tang Sanzang to eat one as well, meaning that he is now quite the immortal monk. After Sun Wukong thanks the Bodhisattva Guanyin and the Three Stars for their assistance they go back to their respective homes. To end the celebration, Master Zhenyuan “also prepared some vegetarian wine for a banquet, during which he and Pilgrim became bond-brothers.” And it is on the note that both Tang Sanzang and his disciples go to bed happy and have a restful night at the Abbey of Five Villages that this chapter ends.

[angstandhappiness]

INTERESTING

The let's-slice-wukong-open-like-a-tangerine scene from ch25 of @dorkshadows's fic! i jest but it was actually SO atmospheric and eerie with the statues and the bajie pov and his discomfort... and jiu gong sitting under a statue of herself... really captured my imagination haha so i tried super hard to convey all that even though coloring and to a lesser extent shading aren't the strongest of my suits <:3c

[jedineedlove]

Ginseng Fruit and A Sworn Brothers'

Another Random thought for the LMK collection

So back to season two the episode Ping-Pong Panic. During Wukongs "vacation" which in whole I will make a post later about. But for this episode, we got the fruit babies later identified as Ginseng Fruit the ones from the JTTWs, In an earlier post I already pointed out how they were different from the books and how that affected the overall LMK JTTW version. The JTTW Bajie and Wujing (Piggsy and Sandys's past lives) ate the immortal granting fruit but considering the fruit is alive in this universe and the pilgrims are reincarnated that didn't; happen but what accord to me is maybe I had that half right. What if the fruit being alive was not a constant thing but this batch we saw was just a one-time thing. Something that happened during the "vacation". Then that brought my train of thought to the actual chapter these guys are from it being the chapter right before LBD.

This chapter introduces us to Zhenyuan Daxian: a Taoist deity who is the patriarch of Earth immortals. He resides in Wuzhang Temple on Longevity Mountain. There in the temple is the special Ginsenfruit tree. The tree itself is described as

"Formed when the primeval chaos was first being divided before the separation of Heaven and Earth. The fruit of the tree is known as the "Grass-returning Cinnabar" or "man fruit" The tree produces only 30 fruit every 9,000 years and is shaped like an infant less than three days old, by just smelling the fruit a person can extend his life span 360 years, a person who eat the fruit livs and addition 47,000s"

The Taoist deity was a friend of the Golden Cicada, So during the journey when the pilgrims were coming his way he was visiting someone and left his servants Qingfeng (Clear Wind) and Mingyue (Bright Moon) to give 2 fruits to the monk.

Tritpak refuses to eat them disturbed by their appearance, the two eat the fruits themselves. Wukong steals some for himself and the pilgrims, gets caught, and in anger destroys the tree. Zhenyan gets mad and will only forgive if Wukong can resort the tree. And makes a promise to become sworn brothers with Wukong if he completes the task. So Wukong asks around and finds no one then finally asks Guanyin. She's mad but assists in the restoration. When the tree is restored here's what I think a lot forget. It went by so fast. Zhenyan was so happy with the results he gave some fruit to Wukong, Bajie, and Wujing and then fulfilled his promise and BECAMES SWORN BROTHERS WITH WUKONG. No fanfic ever mentions this.

That's right WUKONG DOES HAVE A SWORN BROTHER!! So then that made this part of the episode all the more concerning.

I have two theories for this:

Theory ONE: Wukong visited Zhenyuan during his "vacation"

When Wukong sends the box he sends it through a portal of his power. We know this because MK recognizes it as something from Monkey King. And with Wukong traveling he is the only constant person with powers like this.

The first thing about the box is the locks and stickers all over it.

A monkey lock with MK-style cautionary stickers so made by Wukong. But the contents are from Zhenyuan. So along the "vacation," he stopped by the tree again but why? To get advice from this high-up Toaist? While there I think something happened remember the description of the tree growth patterns it only grows every 9,000 years that much time has no way passed. So why have they grown early? Maybe have something to do with Wukong when he was there. Maybe the fruits were normal during the journey and they aly got worped when Wukong visited now, it also explains why HE handled it and not the one in charge of them. To fix what he did he offers to keep the rotten fruits imprisoned or find them a home somewhere else.

-or

It could be they were already corrupted by something else and the immortal asks Wukong for a favor maybe even in exchange for information about LBD. Take care of the problem and he can have the information Zhenyuan possesses.

Theory Two: Zhenyuan sent a package to Wukong and the fruit was already corrupt.

Perhaps Wukong was intercepted during the "vacation" by Zhenyuan and was asked and accepted responsibilities for the fruit babies, or like in the note wukong sent MK. . . . . . .

In the note he sent to MK;

"Dear MK as you know I'm super busy on vacation, I've got a special delivery, but I won't be able to get to it for a while, you must not open it no matter what, it's bad news, but I know there no way you're gonna listen to that, so I also sent you a training blindfold, you must wear the blindfold all day, only when you truly learn to listen can you take it off."

So in theory 1, you could dismiss the note when it says he received the package because he was keeping things from MK. But if there is some truth to it then the fruit might have been corrupted all along or something else happened recently but for some reason, Zhenyuan sends the fruit Wukongs way, maybe because Wukong broke the tree so the fluke might be because of him, or there is trust. It's hard to tell.

But anyway all that aside the main thing about all this is how come no one is talking about the sworn brotherhood between these two? Clearly, something is going on between the two with the fruit babies' appearance in the show.

Please tell me what are your thoughts? ANd if i said anything wrong please tell me in the comments.

Thank you :)

Wrote most of this PRE SEASON 5 JUST NEVER POSTED : )

[nikofortuna]

JTTW Chapter 27 Thoughts

Chapter 27 for the @journeythroughjourneytothewest Reading Group! CW: Snakes under the cut! I wonder how many more times I’ll be using that disclaimer throughout the story.

I love the use of the title Handsome Monkey King in the title of this chapter since that is the position Sun Wukong returns to.

Awww, Zhenyuan not wanting to let them go just yet is really cute! Though I wonder why they didn’t at least take some rations with them. Sometimes their travel organisation skills leave much to be desired.

“I fear the horse may” sir, that is still a dragon. Why does everyone keep forgetting that? I’m not wondering why Bailong Ma doesn’t say anything though, he’s probably pretty content with not having to exert himself as a dragon.

Animals being listed again? Deer no less?!

The deer in question are our beloved toothy boys! Chinese Waterdeer!

The python mentioned might be a Burmese Python! They’re native to Southern and Southeast Asia, so the location fits and they are one of the largest species of snake!

Look at this adorable little scale puppy!

What a boopable snoot!

Tang Sanzang, dude, the silly monkey obvious made a joke here no need to go off on him like that.

Also you’re not even walking! You just get to sit on the horse and enjoy the scenery. Honestly this monk can be such a brat sometimes.

Sun Wukong paid attention in Biology!

Why didn’t he have the Tudi he even called for aid with taking out the demon attest his claims though? He should at least know of a demon in this mountain and that would already make Sun Wukong far more believable. Also there should be some deities hanging around to watch over Tang Sanzang as well, why don’t they chime in to clear up the situation?

Usually people put their name on their clothes if anything, but this lady put a nametag on her spine instead! Makes me wonder about the story behind that and subsequently her backstory, because I don’t think she necessarily put it there herself given the location.

And there he goes. On the one hand this is kind of a stupid conflict that will hopefully not repeat after it inevitably gets resolved, but on the other hand in the next chapter we’ll see why it was a bit of a good thing this happened.

[tickledpink31]

Hang on a sec, when wukong gave mari the genshin fruit, was she tricked or ate it of her own free will?

Both I would say. Let me explain.

This was Wukong's little shit era. Wukong at this point in his life was quite bad at expressing his romantic feelings for Mari/Xiaodie, and his courting attempts were often off-putting at best.

Once Wukong found out about the fruits' properties, his immediate thought is: "Hey, I'll give this Xiaodie, so she can stay with me!" He intended to give his share that he stole with Xiaodie, but the pilgrims were already caught by Clear Wind and Bright Moon. Wukong also accidentally lost the fruit that he was going to give to Xiaodie after he destroyed the tree in anger.

Oops.

It wasn't until after Guanyin revived the tree that Xiaodie actually got a bite of the fruit. She didn't understand what the properties of the manfruit were at the time, but since Zhenyuan was throwing a ginseng feast for everyone, and she thought it would have been rude to refuse his gift, she decided to eat the slice of fruit that Wukong was trying to feed her. It took awhile for it to sink in what eating the manfruit meant for her.

Yeah, Wukong during the LMK era is mortified about his past "romantic gestures" if you could call them that. He still winces about them to this day.

(On an slightly unrelated note, I should probably change the name of Mari and Wukong's oldest daughter since this ask reminded me that a character from jttw already has that name. I'm talking about Bright Moon [Mingyue])

[journeythroughjourneytothewest]

I know you submitted this a few weeks ago @loyaltykask, but now that it is officially the day to start "Journey to the West...2!!!" I can finally thank you both for your patience and for your choice selection of quotes. And yes! It is very fun that they have a "eat a fruit and become immortal/even more immortal" part at the end of Chapter 26.

Chapter 26

@journeythroughjourneytothewest

Great Immortal: I do not believe you Wukong: Bet

Bajie is saying that he has no faith Bajie would be saving them but Sanzang is like "nah fam he got this"

Monkey making sure none of this shit is going to go down when he gone

I'm going to have to double-check to see if this is the guy that approves whether you are a bogus immortal or a true immortal because that is very interesting they have a patriarch of Earth-bound immortals that do not reside in heaven. Makes me wonder if Puti is the Patriarch of heaven-bound immortals who are approved for heaven in that case.

These homies have no faith

"I'm on parole" and they like GOOD

I feel like Wukong aint there then the shit-starter is dedicated to Bajie for calling out celestials/immortals for their fancy-ass names and calling them out

Wukong being such a SHIT demanding Balck Wind to call him "Father"

He really said you would be nothing without me, I got you this gig else you would have been brain matter on the end of my staff. Poor Black Wind dealing with him like a Karen at customer service

Even Guanyin be like that tree is as sacred as YOU, being made from heaven and earth damn

I see a lot of Media say that Bajie and Wujing were also trained under Puti, hence why he is considered the patron for Heavenly immortals and that the students of his school go on to get ranks in heaven. So like either they were trained after Wukong left or even when he was there all things considered. But that just a popular interpretation

Guanyin coming INTO CLUTCH

This fucker being like "why is someone so high as yourself dealing with the riffraff?" Guanyin being straight up "Sanzang and Wukong are my boys you dumb bitch" Wukong in the back like "GET EM SIS!"

Oh that is so sweet

They had a party!

They never show the party in media that so cute

SANZANG EVEN ATE ONE IN THE END HE PRACTICALLY IMMORTAL NOW SHIT

[teddycicada]

No te metas con el territorio de los monos. Ellos te daran una buena paliza si lo haces.

El que molesta a Tripitaka es ZhenYuan. XD

Boceto basado en un fic que comisione. Dadle una oportunidad y dejadle un bonito comentario a la autora. Lo hizo genial y asi animamos a que mas gente haga fics.

[the-monkey-ruler]

Monkey King Reborn (2021) 西游记之再世妖王

Director: Wang Yunfei Screenwriter: Wu Xiaoyu / Wang Yunfei Starring: Bian Jiang/Zhang Lei/Cai Haiting/Su Shangqing/Zhang He/Lin Qiang/Liu Sicen/Wang Chenguang/Baomu Zhongyang/Zhang Bin/Chang Jin/Tut Hamon/Zhang Yaohan/Bai Xuecen/Qiu Qiu/Chang Wentao/Li Jiaxiang Genre: Action / Animation / Fantasy Country/Region of Production: Mainland China Language: Mandarin Chinese Date: 2021-04-02 (Mainland China) / 2021-08-07 (Re-release in Mainland China) Duration: 95 minutes Also known as: Journey to the West: Ginseng Fruit / Monkey King Reborn IMDb: tt14391088 Type: Retelling

Summary:

When chaos first emerged, the world's first demon came into the world, named Primordial / Yuan Di (voiced by Zhang Lei), and was regarded as the ancestor of the demon. Millions of years later, the former demon king Sun Wukong (voiced by Bian Jiang) was rescued from the Five Elements Mountain by Tang Seng (played by Su Shangqing). Wukong promised to protect Tang Seng and go to the West to learn scriptures. The legendary demon ancestor Yuan Di appears again, and the Three Realms are in danger. Two generations of demon kings are destined for a final battle, but this time, Sun Wukong meets a real powerful enemy.

Source: https://mov-20.chinesemov.com/2021/Monkey-King-Reborn

Link: https://myflixer.pw/watch-movie/monkey-king-reborn-75178.5590519 https://www.bilibili.tv/en/video/2008955865

[mythicalmagical-monkeyman]

Okay so these are all the JTTW villains I found with a plant theme:

The Immortal Zhenyuan had a special Ginsengfruit tree and he has two servants Qingfeng and Mingyue.

Yellow Robe Demon also goes by the Wood Wolf of Legs.

The King of Spiritual Touch is armed with Nine Petals Bronze Hammer.

The Tree Spirits (which is self explanatory)

When the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord is defeated he is sent to guard Thousand Flowers Cave.

Lady Earth Flow (earth = plant, it's a stretch but she is powerful)

The King of the Southern Hill uses a plan called " "strategy of separating the plum blossom's petals" to try and defeat the pilgrims.

special spoilers!

just an observation and my incredible paranoia.

Keep reading

[the-monkey-ruler]

Immortal taoist masters can't kill? In fsyy there is a rule mentioned that they cannot kill (which they later break), but I was wondering if this in jttw is also a rule for them and if the rule is still obeyed.

I can’t say for certain if the rules apply in Xiyouji as I never see it really enforced. There certainly haven’t been any Immortal Taoist Masters that have killed at least but they certainly threatened and nearly committed acts that would definitely kill a normal human. The only Immortals I see that have killed or possibly killed are Bogus Immortals.

So the first True immortal we see is Master Puti who in Xiyouji presented as a Taoist master, and he swore that he would kill Wukong himself a very painful death, if he ever breathed a word of their master and apprentice relationship.

Immortal Zhenyuan in the Ginseng Fruit Arc tries to whip them as well which only tickled Wukong would have absolutely killed Sanzang. He also tried to boil the pilgrims alive, which eve Wukong was worried might have divine magic and killed him as well and certainly would have killed Sanzang.

Those are the only immortals I can think of that threaten outright to the point of killing but I can't say that if they planned to just hurt them to the point past death and still keep them alive. But in either case, they have no qualms with carrying out those threats.

Other Taoist immortals are considered bogus in that they are not recognized by heaven, and this could be because most of them are also demons. This could be a difference in whether or not they just threaten or outright kill as these Bogus Immortals have planned to kill or have killed in the past.

Black Wind Demon hasn't killed but Immortal Ruyi did try to take on Wukong to avenge his nephew. Hard to say if he was trying to kill Wukong or just annoy him but the malice was there. Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord DEFINITELY tried to kill the pilgrims with poison and was going to eat Sanzang so no reservations there. And the Great King of the Southern Mountain also has killed before and planned to kill Sanzang.

So it just might be a difference between the two novels but Taoist immortals at least in Xiyouji have been shown to be quite violent in some cases. Bogus Immortals are the only ones with confirmed kills and True Immortals only threaten to kill.

[journeythroughjourneytothewest]

Chapter Twenty-Four Recap: At Long Life Mountain the Great Immortal detains his old friend; At Five Villages Abbey, Pilgrim steals the ginseng fruit

This chapter begins with Sun Wukong teasing Zhu Bajie, who they find tied to a treat and “screaming continuously because of the unbearable pain.” In response to this the former marshal “was so mortified that he clenched his teeth to try to endure the pain without making any more noise.” Sha Wujing, for his own part, “could not bear to look” at his companion’s condition, and so “he put down the luggage and went forward to untie the ropes.” As soon as he’s freed Zhu Bajie “could only drop to his knees and kowtow toward the sky, for he was filled with shame.” He’s also left “more embarrassed than ever” when he sees the slip of paper proving it was bodhisattvas he was trying to marry, and finally proclaims that he’ll “never dare do such foolish things again. Even if it breaks my bones, I’ll carry the pole and luggage to follow Master to the West.” Tang Sanzang is glad that his swinish disciple is “finally speaking sensibly.”

The pilgrims then travel for a time until one day they come upon a tall, “magnificent mountain” which Tripitaka finds so “extraordinarily beautiful” that he can’t help but wonder if they are near the Thunderclap monastery and thus their journey’s end. Sun Wukong, however, assures his shifu that they “are nowhere near” their destination; it is “one hundred and eight thousand miles” to reach Thunderclap, and they “have not even covered one-tenth of the distance.” The Monkey King further tells his “worthy brothers” Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing that if the journey was just about taking them to see the Buddha, they could do it in ten days. If it was just him, “I could probably make about fifty round trips in a day and there would still be sunlight.” Yet when it comes to the human Tang Sanzang, he could “walk from the time of your youth till the time you grow old, and after that, till you become youthful again; and even after going through such a cycle a thousand times, you may still find it difficult to reach the place you want to go to. But when you perceive, but the resoluteness of your will, the Buddha-nature in all things, and when every one of your thoughts goes back to its very source in your memory, that will be the time you arrive at the Spirit Mountain.”

In regards to where the pilgrimage currently is, however, Sha Wujing notes that “a place of such scenic splendor must be the residence of a good man.” Sun Wukong agrees, and indeed the reader is informed that this is the Long Life Mountain, the local of the Daoist Abbey called Five Villages Abbey, which is the “abode of an immortal whose Daoist style was Master Zhenyuan and whose nickname was Lord, Equal to Earth.” Five Villages Abbey is furthermore the home of “a strange treasure…a spiritual root that was formed just after chaos had been parted and the nebula had been established prior to the division of Heaven and Earth. This living treasure is “called grass of the reverted cinnabar, or the ginseng fruit.” It takes nearly ten thousand years for the fruit of this tree to ripen, and even then there are only thirty fruits, each one shaped “exactly [like] a newborn infant not yet three days old, complete with the four limbs and the five senses. If a man had the good fortune of even smelling the fruit, he would live for three hundred and sixty years; if he ate one, he would reach his forty-seven thousandth year.”

It so happens that on the very day the pilgrims are passing through the Long Life Mountain, the Great Zhenyuan Immortal received an invitation from the Celestial Worthy of Original Commencement to attend a discourse on “The Daoist Fruit of the Chaotic Origin.” Master Zhenyuan is furthermore an immortal who “had already trained countless disciples to become immortals,” and while he takes forty-six of his current disciples to attend the lecture, he leaves behind the two youngest, Clear Breeze and Bright Moon. This is because while Master Zhenyuan “cannot refuse the invitation of the Great Honorable Divine…an old friend of mine will be passing by here any day. Don’t fail to treat him kindly: you may, in fact, strike down from the tree two of the ginseng fruits for him to eat as a token of our past friendship.” This old friend is none other than Tang Sanzang, who Master Zhenyuan had met as “Golden Cicada, the second disciple of Tathagata, the Aged Sage of the West. Five hundred years ago, I became acquainted with him during the Feast of the Ullambana Bowl, when he presented me tea with his own hands as the various sons of Buddha paid me their respect. That’s why I consider him an old friend.” Clear Breeze and Bright Moon accept these instructions, along with the warning that though “Tripitaka Tang is an old friend, his disciples, I fear, may be somewhat rowdy. It’s best not to let them know about the fruits.” And with that Master Zhenyuan and his disciples leave for Heaven.

The pilgrims soon reach the Five Villages Abbey, where they are greeted by Clear Breeze and Bright Moon. These Daoist youths lead the Tang Monk and his disciples into the central chamber, and though Sun Wukong starts causing a ruckus Tripitaka reprimands him and order his disciples to graze Bai Longma, look after the luggage, and get ready to prepare a meal so that they can eat and leave. The disciples go about fulfilling their shifu’s orders, and Clear Breeze and Bright Moon are filled with admiration as to how effectively Tang Sanzang can get his yaoguai disciples in line. After further checking to see if Tripitaka is indeed who he says he is, the Daoist youths then serve him tea before fetching two of the ginseng fruits for his enjoyment.

Tang Sanzang’s reaction to this fruit, though it is graciously given, is far from polite. For as soon as he sees them, he “trembled all over and backed away three feet, saying ‘Goodness! Goodness!...is this abbey so destitute that they have to practice cannibalism here? These are newborn infants not yet three days old! How could you serve them to me to relieve my thirst?” It’s at this that Clear Breeze recognizes that Tripitaka has “been so corrupted by the fields of mouths and tongues, but the sea of strife and envy, that all he possesses are but two fleshly eyes and a worldly mind. That’s why he can’t recognize the strange treasure of our divine abode!” And indeed, the Tang Monk won’t eat the fruit and refuses to believe that they’re fruit in the first place instead of three-day-old babies. Left with no other choice, Clear Breeze and Bright Moon take the fruit away. Further, as the ginseng fruit will “become still and inedible” if “kept too long,” they eat the fruit themselves.

To their bad luck, however, their chamber was “immediately adjacent to the kitchen.” As such, Zhu Bajie, who was “busily cooking rice,” heard all about the ginseng fruit through the shared wall and thus wants to taste some. Yet “reluctant to do anything himself, he decided to wait for Pilgrim’s arrival so that they could plan something together.” As soon as Sun Wukong comes back from grazing Bai Longma, Zhu Bajie immediately tells him that there’s ginseng fruit to be had at this abbey, and encourages the Monkey King to steal some for the pilgrims to sample. Sun Wukong agrees to do so, and after receiving some instruction from the pig yaoguai on how to go about gathering the ginseng fruit, he uses “the magic of body concealment and stole into the Daoist chamber.” There he “borrows” the gold mallet required to knock down the ginseng fruit, and then steals into the abbey’s gardens, where he soon locates the ginseng tree, a massive plant “over a thousand feet tall, and its base must have measured sixty or seventy feet around.” Sun Wukong soon spots one of its fruits, which “certainly had the appearance of an infant with a tail-like peduncle. Look at it dangling from the end of the branch, with limbs moving wildly and head bobbing madly! It seems to make sounds as it swung in the breeze.”

As he is “an expert in climbing trees and stealing fruits,” a delighted Monkey King soon reaches this fruit and taps it lightly with the gold mallet. While it does drop at once, it’s nowhere to be found on the ground. Assuming that “the local spirit of this garden” is responsible for the fruit’s disappearance, Sun Wukong summons him and reprimands the “humble deity” for preventing the Monkey King, “the world’s most famous thief,” from claiming his prize. The local spirit, however, tells Sun Wukong that as the ginseng fruit “is something that belongs to an earthbound immortal, whereas I am only a ghost immortal,” that he doesn’t “even have the good fortune to smell it!” The garden spirit goes on to inform the Monkey King that the fruit is “resistant to the Five Phases,” i.e. that while it will fall if it “encounters gold,” its properties will be lost if it touches wood, water, fire, or earth, and that as such it “has to be held by a tray cushioned with silk handkerchiefs.” The ground where this particular ginseng fruit landed is furthermore now “three or four times harder than raw iron,” something Sun Wukong sees for himself when he uses his golden-hooped rod to give the ground a “terrific blow” without leaving “the slightest mark.” Mollified, the Monkey King tells the local spirit he had made a mistake in laying blame, and as such the spirit is free to go.

Still intent on tasting the fruit, Sun Wukong “held the golden mallet in one hand and, with the other, pulled up the front of his silk shirt to make a little sack.” In this manner he’s able to collect three of the ginseng fruits. The Monkey King runs back to the kitchen with his prize to share with Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing. The sand monk is also able to recognize the fruit right away, for “when I was the Curtain-Raising Captain, I waited on the Throne to attend the Festival of Immortal Peaches, and I once saw many immortals from beyond the sea presenting this fruit to the Lady Queen Mother as a birthday gift. So I have seen it, but I have never tasted it.” Sha Wujing then asks to “try a little,” and Sun Wukong announces that there’s “one for each of us brothers.”

Sun Wukong, Sha Wujing, and Zhu Bajie proceed to enjoy the stolen ginseng fruit. The former marshal, however, finishes his “with one gulp” and immediately asks the Monkey King to “fetch me another fruit so that I can take time to enjoy it.” Sun Wukong reprimands the pig yaoguai, saying that as there are “only thirty such fruits in ten thousand years,” it is their “great fortune to have eaten one already,” and to be content with that. Zhu Bajie, however, “kept muttering and mumbling to himself,” and so when Clear Breeze and Bright Moon return to fetch tea for Tang Sanzang, “they heard Eight Rules complaining about ‘not enjoying my ginseng fruit.’” The Daoist youths’ suspicion is immediately aroused, and rushing to the ginseng tree they count the number of fruits multiple times, finding now that there’s only twenty-two fruits instead of the twenty-eight that were there before. They thus determine that four fruits were stolen by “that bunch of rogues,” and so go to Tripitaka and “berated him with all kinds of foul and abusive language, accusing him of being a larcenous baldhead and a thievish rat.” Finally the Tang monk “could not endure it any longer,” and so asks them plainly what they’re so upset about. Clear Breeze and Bright Moon then accuse Tang Sanzang of stealing and eating their ginseng fruits, or if not him then his followers are to blame. Tripitaka calls his disciples over to learn the truth, but Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing agree to deny the thievery. Whether the pilgrims will get away with the theft and lying is a question that will have to be left for the next chapter.