Chapter 119: Chapter 115: Wukong Battles Sha Chen?【6000 words, ninth update, seeking subscription】_2
Li Bai helped him up and said, "Dragon King, please rise. It is indeed inappropriate for you, a Greater Primordial Golden Immortal, to kneel before a True Immortal like myself."
The Jinghe Dragon King said, "Sir, please save me. Otherwise, I will kneel here until I die." He was truly terrified.
Li Bai’s words were delivered with absolute certainty. He was very satisfied with the Jinghe Dragon King’s reaction; he had worried this old diehard would be too proud and arrogant to listen. Now, it seemed he feared death even more. Fear was good; the real problem would arise if he *wasn’t* afraid.
Li Bai said, "Dragon King, please stand. I have come here specifically to help you."
Then, he proceeded to explain things in detail to the Jinghe Dragon King, mainly advising him to stop being so high-profile and to avoid entering the mortal realm lightly. It would be best if he could petition the Heavenly Court, voluntarily relinquish some power, and then close his doors to visitors. As long as he persisted for a few hundred years, until the journey to obtain scriptures was over, it would not be too late to emerge.
However, this fellow seemed somewhat reluctant to give up on the prospects promised by Buddhism, always wanting to gamble on it, his mood fluctuating unpredictably. Li Bai had spoken until he was parched, barely managing to subdue this fellow’s proud, arrogant, and gambling nature.
Finally, the Jinghe Dragon King said, "Sir, you can predict and calculate with extraordinary skill. Your master must be even more incredible. Could you introduce me to him?"
Li Bai immediately became wary and refused. He would absolutely not reveal his connection to his original self. Claiming him as his master was just a convenient fiction. Moreover, the Jinghe Dragon King was the biggest unknown factor. If he knew about Sha Chen’s existence, he would surely look down on him. A mere Great General for Folding the Curtain dares to advise *this king*!?
Thus, Li Bai said, "My master travels the four seas. I can only wait for my master to contact me. If he does make contact, I will surely introduce you."
The Jinghe Dragon King was immediately awestruck. So, it seemed great personages all enjoyed sowing their wild oats... no, he meant, roaming the four seas.
Li Bai cupped his fist and said, "I still have matters to attend to, so I must take my leave now."
The Dragon King said, "Should I encounter any uncertain issues, how shall I find you, sir?"
Li Bai’s cheeks twitched. Had all his earlier words been spoken in vain? Hadn’t he told him to go into seclusion for a few hundred years and just play dead? What could possibly require him to be found!?
But he also knew that neither the Heavenly Court nor Buddhism would let the Jinghe Dragon King keep a low profile. This was a crucial part of the great Journey to the West and the Heavenly Court’s power struggle. It all hinged on how long he could hold out and how much enemy fire he could draw.
Li Bai said, "When waves stir on the Han River, I will know the Dragon King is summoning me, and I will surely come."
Li Bai then departed.
The Jinghe Dragon King was indeed important. If he could attract enough enemy fire, it would significantly reduce the pressure on his original self. But Li Bai could not possibly devote all his energy to the Jinghe Dragon King. Sun Wukong was of the utmost importance, far surpassing a hundred or even a thousand Jinghe Dragon Kings.
After purchasing a large quantity of food and drink, he changed his route many times, taking a roundabout journey of three months before finally reaching Five Finger Mountain. By then, Five Finger Mountain was already shrouded in a dense, poisonous miasma. And although no gods or Buddhas were constantly monitoring it, the local Earth God and Mountain God kept watch day and night. Fortunately, their Cultivation was ordinary, and they didn’t notice the invisible Li Bai.
Sun Wukong, cultivating inside Five Finger Mountain, was incredibly restless. It had been over a dozen years since he last saw Li Bai, and his mouth was so bland he could hardly taste a thing; now, even the sight of the copper pellets and iron rations outside seemed delectable to him. Thankfully, he resisted.
"Could Old Li have forgotten about me? Or did someone discover him and kill him on the road? Or did he run away for fear of being found? This is trouble. How am I supposed to manage for the next few hundred years?"
"What a disaster! No more peaches, no more meat and wine! How am I going to endure this!?"
Every time Sun Wukong finished his Cultivation, he would lament his fate and rail against the heavens inside the cave. Having grumbled, he prepared to poke his head out and curse at the sky. If he didn’t vent, he would die of rage.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He looked outside, his Fiery Golden Eyes blazing.
Li Bai entered the cave within Five Finger Mountain and smiled, "Great Saint, is this how you greet me?"
Sun Wukong was overjoyed, his hands immediately rummaging for the food and drink as he said with a fawning smile, "Old Li, you haven’t been here for over a dozen years! Old Sun was just worried about you."
"Where’s the stuff? The food and drink? Bring it out! I’m so sick of those copper pellets and iron pieces they feed me, I’m about to vomit just looking at them."
Li Bai chuckled, and with a flick of his wrist, he produced a Qiankun Bag, tossing it over. "It’s all in there."
Sun Wukong glanced inside and was ecstatic. "So much! This is fantastic! Enough to last Old Sun for a year and a half." Then, looking slightly dissatisfied, he added, "Old Li, you’re not being much of a friend. Why didn’t you buy more? Did you run out of gold?"
He took out his Golden Cudgel. "Take this and pawn it. Buy as much as you can."
Li Bai pushed it back. "Your Golden Cudgel is immeasurably heavy. I can’t carry it, and nobody would take it. Besides, if you pawned it and then recalled it, wouldn’t the other party be utterly ruined?"
Sun Wukong grinned and began to eat voraciously, muttering, "What do you care if those people live or die?"
Li Bai’s expression flickered. Acts that harmed others with no personal gain? That was *his* domain. He’d harshly condemn anyone else caught doing it.
Moreover, if Sun Wukong were the type to harm others without benefiting himself, he likely wouldn’t feel any gratitude, and all Li Bai’s efforts would be in vain. He had to instill some ideas into Sun Wukong now. At the very least, he couldn’t allow Sun Wukong to become an ungrateful monkey, nor could he permit wanton slaughter. Otherwise, Buddhism would still have grounds to punish him.
After that, Li Bai proceeded to talk with Sun Wukong while they ate, instilling in him notions of cherishing loyalty and righteousness, the weight of profound gratitude, and the principle that even a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring.