Life was precious, but the price of freedom was even higher!
The Stone Monkey was determined to resist. He wanted to break free from the shackles of fate!
A few days later, the Stone Monkey got the monkeys to weave a bamboo raft and filled it with fruits. After that, he picked up the bamboo pole and jumped onto the raft.
"King, are you really going to leave?"
"Can you not leave?"
The monkeys were reluctant to part with the Stone Monkey.
Although he had only been the king for a short period of time, the knowledgeable Stone Monkey had quickly gained the respect of the monkeys.
During this year, the Monkey King had taught them many things. He brought them to the Flowerfruit Mountain in the morning and the Water Curtain Cave in the evening. He picked flowers in the spring and searched for fruits in the summer. He was so happy. But why did the Monkey King suddenly have to leave to seek immortality?
"Time is precious, I have to leave."
The Stone Monkey was also reluctant to part with the monkeys, but he didn't change his mind.
According to the heavenly book, the Monkey King was a spiritual monkey born from the heavens and earth. Before he left to learn martial arts, he had lived in the Flowerfruit Mountain for hundreds of years.
Since he knew his future, how could the Stone Monkey wait for hundreds of years?
He wanted to find the Crescent Three Stars Cave as soon as possible while he was still young.
"Everyone, I'm leaving!"
The Stone Monkey bade farewell to the monkeys and used all his strength to prop up the bamboo pole. The bamboo raft floated and drifted towards the sea.
The monkeys looked at his departing back view and all of them covered their faces and wailed.
Not long after the Stone Monkey set out to sea, he looked ahead. The sea was boundless and misty, and he couldn't tell north from south.
"Old Turtle."
He used the bamboo pole to pat the surface of the sea. "Is that the north-west side?"
"Reporting to the King."
A turtle appeared on the surface of the sea.
"That is the north-west side."
The turtle replied.
According to the book, the Stone Monkey chose to set out on a day when the south-east wind was blowing. However, he didn't know how long it would take to reach the South Continent.
The scenery on the sea was always the same. After a few days, the Stone Monkey got tired of looking at it. Every day when the sea was calm, he would lie on the bamboo raft and sleep, entering his dreams to read.
The turtle escorted the bamboo raft and didn't encounter any accidents.
Along the way, a prawn soldier discovered the bamboo raft.
"Old Tortoise, why are you here?"
The shrimp soldier swam towards the sea turtle with the long spear in his hand. "Didn't you go to Mount Huaguo?"
This was someone Sea Turtle knew.
"I'll escort the King to the South Continent."
The turtle said to the shrimp soldier.
"Great King?"
The prawn soldier emerged from the sea and looked at the bamboo raft. "Is that monkey your king?"
The sea turtle nodded. "It is the king of the monkeys, macaques, and horse monkeys of Mount Huaguo."
"Monkey King?"
The prawn soldier was stunned for a moment before he laughed out loud. "Old Turtle, you have cultivated for five hundred years in vain. Your brain is muddled. Instead of going to the Dragon Palace, you are going to be a monkey's servant."
"The Dragon Palace doesn't lack me."
The Sea Turtle didn't mind and asked, "Aren't you working in the Dragon Palace?
Why did you come out so casually? Aren't you afraid that the Dragon King will blame you? "
"Sigh, don't mention it!
The little princess of the Dragon Palace ran out to play, and everyone is looking for her. "
The prawn soldier looked worried. "The Dragon King is furious. If he can't find her, who knows how many shrimp soldiers and crabs will lose their heads."
"I can't be lazy. I still have to find the little princess. Old Turtle, see you next time."
After saying that, the prawn soldier swam away with the long spear.
Looking at the waves that it left, the sea turtle shook his head.
"The King never wants people's heads."
The sea turtle thought to himself.
He originally wanted to work in the Dragon Palace, but the masters of the Dragon Palace didn't care about the life of a small demon like him.
However, the Monkey King was different. He had only been king for a year, but he was lively and cute. He was clear about rewards and punishments. Many wild beasts of Mount Huaguo submitted to him.
The sea turtle had lived for five hundred years and had seen many big demons, but none of them were as special as the Monkey King.
The Monkey King was born strong and didn't fear wolves, tigers, and leopards. Once he found a good teacher, he would definitely shine. His achievements wouldn't lose to those of the dragons.
The sea turtle was confident about the future. He escorted the bamboo raft all the way and finally arrived at the South Continent.
"I'm finally here."
The Stone Monkey jumped ashore from the bamboo raft. After saying goodbye to the sea turtle, he walked toward the beach.
It was night time when the bamboo raft approached the South Continent. The Stone Monkey thought that he wouldn't see anyone at the beach, but he found some people fishing and digging for clams in the dark.
According to the Heavenly Book, after the Monkey King came ashore, he played a trick of pretending to be a tiger. The humans were so scared that they threw away their baskets and nets and ran in all directions. The Monkey King grabbed a person who couldn't run, stripped him of his clothes, and put them on.
The Stone Monkey had calculated the difficulties he would encounter in advance, so he didn't need to pretend to be a tiger.
He asked the monkeys to weave a tiger skin coat and put on a tiger skin hat before going ashore. Only his round eyes were exposed.
The Stone Monkey asked a man on the beach for directions. The man noticed his clothes. The tiger skin was not something ordinary people could afford.
The man thought that the Stone Monkey was a young master of a rich family. He didn't dare to be negligent and answered him in detail.
The Stone Monkey asked for directions and was about to leave when he noticed that many people were gathered in the distance, discussing something. He didn't know what they were doing.
The stone monkey, who was still stubborn, walked over and heard someone asking the price in surprise.
It turned out that two fishermen had caught a big stranded fish on the beach. But this fish was too big, and no one dared to buy it rashly.
When the Stone Monkey squeezed through the crowd and entered, he heard an old man with a white beard say, "This fish is too big. Why don't you cut it up and sell it?"
The Stone Monkey looked at the ground. There was indeed a one-meter-long fish lying on the ground. It was trapped in a net and couldn't move.
"It's crying."
The Stone Monkey saw two strings of tears flowing from the big fish's eyes. "Let it go."
"Let it go?"
The two fishermen were angry. "How can we let it go? If you don't want to buy it, get lost."
They raised their two meat axes and were about to listen to the old man's suggestion to cut the fish into pieces.
"Wait …"
The Stone Monkey stopped them and took out a pearl from his pocket. "I'll trade this with you."
Seeing the pearl, the two fishermen's eyes widened.
"Okay, okay, we'll trade!"
The fisherman threw the axe away and took the pearl in ecstasy.
In order to adapt to human society, the Stone Monkey had asked the monkeys to find some pearls in advance. These pearls weren't rare in Mount Huaguo at all.
The Stone Monkey asked the two fishermen to release the big fish back into the sea.
The big fish touched the water and made a splash with its tail. After swimming for a distance, it turned around and looked at the Stone Monkey with gratitude.
"Don't go ashore so casually in the future."
The Stone Monkey waved at it, his pair of pure eyes shining like stars under the moonlight.
The big fish looked at the Stone Monkey for a while, as if remembering him in its heart. Then, it dived into the sea and disappeared.
The Stone Monkey did a good deed and walked back to the town in a good mood.
Not long after he left, a young novice monk came to the beach.
"Strange."
The young novice monk looked around. "Bodhisattva asked me to save a fish. Where did it go?"
A gust of wind blew and the young novice monk suddenly had an idea. He opened his palm and the silver in his palm turned into a handful of ashes, which were blown away by the wind.
"Come back."
The voice of Bodhisattva reached the young novice monk's ears.