Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

Chapter 39 I, Old Sun, will take you away

"So it is you, Mr. Su! I've often heard our abbot speak of you, you are a major benefactor to our Qingyuan Temple!"

The leading monk put on a warm and friendly smile. They knew well that Su Wannian was none other than the eternal fox king, a demon fox. But not all demon foxes were the same, and this one before them was a well-known tycoon in the Accumulating Thunder Mountain region, with substantial wealth at his disposal.

They had no idea how much money he donated to their Qingyuan Temple in incense money each year, a real gold master who they couldn't afford to offend.

"Mr. Su, this little demon fox has caused quite a lot of damage to our temple's incense offerings. If we let her off just like that, how could we explain to the abbot when we return?"

"Right, this little demon has made us suffer a lot of losses, we can't let her off so easily!"

The monks, one after another, spoke their piece, and their intentions were clear. They wanted a hefty price to let the little fox demon go, and of course, that price was money.

"Of course! I, of course, wouldn't let the venerable monks suffer losses, nor would I let Qingyuan Temple be shortchanged!"

The eternal fox king laughed heartily. These monks who hadn't even reached the realm of Earth Immortals—he certainly wasn't afraid of them; what he dreaded was the Buddhist sect behind them. As the saying goes, "Money talks," and in the eyes of the eternal fox king, a problem that could be solved with money was not a problem at all—a sentiment he found reliably true.

"How much incense money would suffice to compensate your temple and the venerable monks for their losses?"

"Well, let me think about that… Pfft!"

The lead monk's face revealed a smug smile, ready to make an exorbitant demand, but before the extorting words could leave his mouth, he was smashed into a mush by an enormous iron rod falling from the sky.

"Why waste words with these shameless baldies? Compensation for losses? I think you should keep those rewards for me, old Sun. I'll take care of these guys for you!"

The one who intervened was naturally Sun Wukong. He had wanted to see what sort of abilities the eternal fox king possessed to have earned such a prestigious title. But the way he dealt with problems was simply to pave his way with money! Of course, having money isn't a bad thing, but wasting it on these dishonorable monks was utterly futile and even contributed to the enemy's cause!

"Who is this demon that dares to kill people from our Qingyuan Temple? Tired of living, isn't he?"

Seeing the lead monk killed by a single strike from Sun Wukong, the rest of the monks shouted out in a flustered but fierce manner, and began to recite Buddhist scriptures while making Dharma Decrees, shooting golden Buddha Seals towards Sun Wukong.

"Petty tricks, daring to show off in front of old Sun!"

Sun Wukong snorted disdainfully, letting the Buddha Seals hit him without so much as flinching.

"Look at you, fat and chubby, how can you be so useless? Haven't you eaten?"

After mocking them, Sun Wukong gripped the Ruyi Silver-Hooped Rod and with a slight effort, swept it around in a circle. The monks, none of whom had reached the realm of Earth Immortals, could not withstand the blows of the Ruyi Silver-Hooped Rod. Without even the chance to scream, they were all shattered to pieces.

Sun Wukong's palm then summoned the True Solar Fire, incinerating all the flesh and bone into ash that scattered with the wind. In the blink of an eye, not a trace of the monks from Qingyuan Temple remained.

"What are you doing?"

The eternal fox king watched this happen, stunned, his mind going blank. After a long silence, he let out a mournful wail, "It's all over, a great disaster has occurred!"

"Disaster, my foot!"

Sun Wukong looked at the eternal fox king with disdain, thinking that this old creature had lived his years in vain!

Besides making money, he could do nothing else; he had no backbone to speak of. It was no wonder that he sought the Bull Demon King as a son-in-law, with his entire fortune as the lure, wishing to pamper his daughter. It was a pity for the fair-faced fox that she met an untimely death at the hands of Zhu Bajie.

Wait, that's not right. The daughter of the eternal fox king, the fair-faced fox, is still alive and well in this life. Sun Wukong certainly wouldn't get trapped in the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord's alchemy furnace this time, so the Pill Furnace wouldn't tip over, and pieces wouldn't fall into the Mortal Realm to create the Flame Mountain.

Without encountering them, the fair-faced fox could continue her tender moments with the Bull Demon King, and it wouldn't be so easy for her to die.

"Hmm~~"

Shaking his head to dismiss these jumbled thoughts, Sun Wukong glared at the eternal fox king, who was still wailing about the trouble they were in, and roared impatiently, "Old fox, if you don't shut your yapping, do you believe your Sun Grandfather will slaughter you too?"

The eternal fox king immediately closed his mouth. He had personally witnessed Sun Wukong's violent onslaught, and didn't doubt that the God of Slaughter might actually take him out too.

Sun Wukong once again looked down on the spineless behavior of the eternal fox king. He couldn't be bothered with the old fellow and turned around to lift the barrier set by the monks. He then smiled at the little demon fox who was still trembling slightly and said, "There, little one, old Sun has taken care of those baddies for you. Where's your home? Hurry up and go back!"

"I... my name is Su Xiaoqing, and I don't have a home..."

The little fox demon spoke timidly, her eyes gleaming with tears, and with a pout, she began to sob.

"No home? Well... hey, hey, don't cry!"

Sun Wukong was somewhat dumbfounded, for he dreaded women's tears the most, especially from such a young girl – not to mention the little fox demon who, while sobbing, threw herself into his arms and clung tightly to his waist as if she was terrified he would run away.

"Big brother, can you take Qing'er with you? Qing'er doesn't want to stay here alone; those bad people will kill Qing'er!"

The timid voice arose, the sense of helplessness instantly striking a soft spot in Sun Wukong's heart. Without knowing why, he nodded, bent down to pick up the little fox demon in his arms, "Alright, I, Old Sun, will take you with me. From now on, you are my sister, Sun Wukong. Would you like to change your surname to Sun and be called Sun Xiaoqing?"

"Yes! Qing'er will listen to brother, from now on, Qing'er will be called Sun Xiaoqing!"

The little fox demon smiled, her eyes curving into crescent moons. She wrapped her arms around Sun Wukong's biceps and nuzzled her little face against the soft hair on Wukong's cheek. She closed her eyes and fell asleep within moments. It seemed that the poor girl had indeed been frightened for far too long and was exhausted.

"Hey, hey, wait a minute, young man, wait a minute!"

Just as Sun Wukong was about to leave with the little fox demon Sun Xiaoqing, he was stopped by the Fox King, which caused him to frown, "What do you want?"

"Young man, it was I who stopped those people just now, you can't just take her away like that!"

"What, you want to make things difficult for her too?"

Sun Wukong's eyes narrowed slightly, a dangerous gleam flickering within.

"No no no, that's not what I mean!"

The Fox King waved his hands frantically, "I mean to adopt her as my goddaughter. Rest assured, young man, I will treat her as if she were my own daughter!"

"Goddaughter? Don't you already have a daughter? Why would you need Qing'er?"

"What are you talking about, young man? I have no children of my own; where did you hear I have a daughter?"

"You have no daughters?"

Sun Wukong's eyes widened as he looked at the Fox King, his face full of confusion. It didn't seem like he was lying, which was odd. Didn't the Fox King have a daughter named the Jade-faced Princess?

Wait a minute!

Sun Wukong's gaze shifted to the little fox demon Sun Xiaoqing, who was asleep on his shoulder. Could it be that this little girl was the Jade-faced Princess?

Of course! Considering what had happened before, if he hadn't passed by and intervened, Sun Xiaoqing would definitely have been rescued by the Fox King with money from those monks and taken back to Mount Cloud Cave as his adopted daughter. And when she grew up, wouldn't she become the Jade-faced Princess?!

"It seems that destiny arranges its own plans, and this is our fated encounter in this life, isn't it?"

Gently stroking the hair at the back of the sleeping little fox demon Sun Xiaoqing's head, Sun Wukong smiled coldly at the Fox King, "Sorry, but she has already acknowledged me as her brother. Now, she is my sister Sun Xiaoqing, and I'm afraid she's not available to become your daughter! Besides, someone who is always bowing and scraping like you, doesn't deserve to be Sun Xiaoqing's father!"

With those words, Sun Wukong soared into the sky with the little fox demon Sun Xiaoqing in his arms, riding the clouds away. In a blink, they vanished without a trace, leaving the Fox King standing there, dumbstruck as a wooden chicken. After a long while, his face fell and he began kicking the ground in frustration.

"Where did that damn monkey come from, snatching away my carefully chosen precious daughter just like that – the daughter that took me so long to find!"

The Fox King had taken notice of Sun Xiaoqing when she first arrived at the bounds of Accumulating Thunder Mountain. There were no shortage of fox demons on Accumulating Thunder Mountain, but none as charming, cute, and kind-hearted as Sun Xiaoqing.

The Fox King had intended to adopt her for a long time, just waiting for the right moment to make her feel grateful and willingly accept him as her father.

Just as Sun Xiaoqing angered the monks of Qingyuan Temple, and the Fox King was about to rescue her, Sun Wukong appeared. He defeated all the monks from Qingyuan Temple and whisked Sun Xiaoqing away. All the Fox King's long efforts evaporated into thin air; he was so angry he almost spat blood!

Sun Wukong didn't care whether the Fox King was going to spit blood. Riding the Somersault Cloud, he flew with the sleeping little fox demon Sun Xiaoqing back to the Water Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain.

"Eh, it's already showing signs of progress!"

As the cloud paused in midair above the Water Curtain Cave Heaven, Sun Wukong noticed that several layers of formation had been laid down across the entire Flower-Fruit Mountain. They were mostly illusion arrays, along with some offensive and defensive Great Formations. Though not particularly sophisticated, they were certainly many times better than having no defenses at all.

Apart from that, sentry posts were constructed all around the outside and inside of Flower-Fruit Mountain, and many new buildings and structures had come up around the Water Curtain Cave Heaven. Compared to before, Flower-Fruit Mountain had now become as secure as a sealed drum.

"This Leng Xuan really has some capabilities! Heh, this is getting interesting!"

My new book "Creating the Ultimate Primeval in Journey to the West" has been uploaded to Qidian; I hope everyone will add it to their library and enjoy reading it!