Chapter 10: The Lustful Monkey's Hero Worship

Chapter 10: The Lustful Monkey's Hero Worship

"From then on, Wukong declared himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, making friends far and wide. He took seven sworn brothers, all of whom were formidable demon kings. Suddenly, the Heavenly Court was enraged, and despite sending a hundred thousand celestial troops to attack the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit..." As he spoke these words, the sky began to brighten. Zhou Yu yawned, stretched his limbs, and said, "It's almost dawn. I'm so sleepy, time to hit the hay."

The lustful monkey looked at Zhou Yu with eager, pleading eyes, begging, "Tell me a bit more, just a tiny bit."

Zhou Yu rolled his eyes in annoyance and said, "More? We’ve been talking all night! Even a good story can't be finished in one sitting, right? Otherwise, what would be left to listen to later?"

The monkey had been enthralled by the tale of Wukong causing chaos in the Heavenly Palace, captivated by the celestial maidens and the Peaches of Immortality. Since the protagonist was a monkey just like him, he couldn't help but feel a strong sense of identification. He was hooked, but Zhou Yu was truly exhausted and refused to continue. The monkey had no choice but to give in, though not before making Zhou Yu promise to finish the story another time.

Zhou Yu fell into a deep sleep, but the monkey felt no urge to rest. He stood clutching his golden-black staff, watching the sun as it began its ascent.

The morning breeze blew, and under the sunlight, the monkey’s body shimmered with golden light. The black hue on his golden-black staff seemed to have faded just a little more.

"I will surely become a hero just like you," the monkey declared firmly.

By the time the sun was hanging high overhead, Zhou Yu woke up. He opened his eyes, sniffed the air groggily, and caught the scent of delicious roasted meat!

Following the aroma, he saw the monkey roasting beef. Seeing that Zhou Yu was awake, the monkey quickly handed him a piece of the cooked meat and said, "I just finished roasting it. Eat."

Zhou Yu took the beef with a look of disbelief and asked skeptically, "Why the sudden change of heart?"

The monkey looked a bit embarrassed and said, "I’ve always been on my own. After listening to your story yesterday, I realized that even a great hero like Sun Wukong needed the help of friends. I need that too. I want to be friends with you."

Zhou Yu lowered his head, took a bite of the beef, and chewed. Looking up, he said, "Not bad! Fine! From now on, we’re friends."

The monkey’s face lit up instantly. "Then let's continue the story!"

Zhou Yu felt a headache coming on. He waved his hand and said, "No rush. Let's eat first. And hey, you still haven't told me what exactly happened here to make it look like this."

The monkey replied, "Didn't I tell you? It was you, acting like a madman in the night. You almost killed me."

Zhou Yu thought for a moment and said earnestly, "How come I don't remember any of that?"

"You were just like a maniac, attacking everything in sight. Your body was covered in black energy—the same kind of black mist that surrounded that giant crab earlier—but yours was much purer and shaped like a crab," the monkey said, starting to eat his own portion of beef.

Zhou Yu pondered this for a long time. The monkey had no reason to lie, and given that the bamboo forest had been destroyed while he remained unscathed, there was no better explanation. He decided to believe it.

Looking at the ruined ground and flattened bamboo, Zhou Yu fell into deep thought. It seemed that by consuming the flesh and blood of that giant crab, he had gained immense energy, but he didn't know how to control it and was prone to fits of madness.

During this period, Zhou Yu had lost many memories. He could not recall how he had entered the giant crab’s body, nor did he remember the night of singing and madness that the monkey described.

However, that wasn't the point. The critical issue was that Zhou Yu desperately needed to master the power within him, and he had no idea what his current level of strength actually was. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but think of "Du Niang."

The watch on his left wrist was long gone, but the tiny green mole left him with a glimmer of hope. On second thought, Du Niang was essentially just an AI; even though her anthropomorphism was highly advanced, without a hardware host, it was logically impossible for her to still exist.

But what about that strange green mole? Unable to find an answer, Zhou Yu stopped dwelling on it. Since arriving in this world, there were too many things he didn't understand. Regardless, focusing on how to grow stronger was his only way out.

In truth, Zhou Yu had told the *Journey to the West* story to the monkey on purpose. Up until now, figures he once considered mere myths had appeared one after another. It seemed absurd, but it was happening for real, and he had no choice but to believe.

This monkey and his golden-black staff seemed to hold some kind of potential. Even if they didn't, the monkey's abilities were something Zhou Yu valued. Everything was about survival, and the monkey was born with a near-immortal constitution. Although he couldn't defeat any demon king yet, as long as he survived, he would grow stronger. His potential was immeasurable, and Zhou Yu didn't want to make an enemy of such a creature.

For now, things seemed to be going well. The tale of the chaos in the Heavenly Palace had greatly increased the monkey's favor, and he now viewed Zhou Yu as a friend. In the demon territories, Zhou Yu knew all too well what would happen to him without a demon friend.

He had considered this: the demon beasts serving under the Demon Emperor White Bone Crying would never provide him with help. Only this demon monkey, who was also hunted by the demon tribes, was the most suitable companion. While staying with him might draw the ire of the demon clans, traveling alone would lead to the same fate if discovered. Furthermore, although the monkey wasn't yet at the demon king level, he was quite capable. Combined with Zhou Yu, they could potentially hold their own against an average demon king. A small, cautious team led by a monkey familiar with the demon power structure was his best chance of returning to human territory.

He wondered how the old man and the others were doing. That guy with the big iron box, who was very likely Saint Seiya, had he attacked A-Bu-Li and the others? And Liu Yueming, he wondered what had become of her.

Thinking of his old acquaintances filled Zhou Yu with worry, but it only strengthened his resolve to return to humanity.

"Monkey, you know I’m a human. Traveling through demon lands is bound to cause trouble. After I help you defeat that giant wild bull, can you help me avoid the other demon kings and get back to the human side?" Zhou Yu asked.

The monkey looked him up and down carefully and asked, "You're a human?"

Zhou Yu was puzzled. He looked at his hands and feet, touched his face, and asked, "What about me doesn't look human?"

"You look like a human, but among the demon tribes, some noble races gain the ability to take human form once they reach adulthood. Some of them even idolize human civilization," the monkey explained.

"There's such a thing?" Zhou Yu was surprised, then added, "But I really am a human."

"You're actually a human?" The monkey looked at him with suspicion, then relaxed and said, "Even if you are human, it doesn't matter. We are friends now, so don't worry about me betraying you. I don't have any friends among the demons anyway."

Zhou Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought the monkey knew he was human all along, but it turned out the monkey had been regarding him as a fellow demon.

Though the monkey was cunning, he was quite loyal. Zhou Yu knew the monkey needed his strength, so he didn't worry about any immediate betrayal.

"I didn't know there were demon tribes that worshipped humans. Does White Bone Crying allow that?" Zhou Yu asked.

The monkey chuckled, a look of profound mockery on his face. "White Bone Crying was originally formed from human bones; why would he reject humans?"

"Then why does he lead the demon army to attack humans?" Zhou Yu asked.

"I don't know. But regardless, even if he was human once, he isn't anymore. He's powerful, and it's not hard to understand why he’d want to conquer humanity."

Zhou Yu was silent for a moment. "White Bone Crying is really made of bones... You're right. He was human, but he isn't now. No matter what he does, he won't be accepted by humans. He is a demon, through and through."

The monkey tossed aside the beef, picked up his golden-black staff, and spun it. "Neither human nor demon, yet he sits on the demon throne. He longs for the human world, yet leads the demon army to slaughter humans, plunging both worlds into fire and blood. Such a fellow can only be called a devil."

Zhou Yu nodded. "I don't know how the war is going. When I was still on the human side, it was a stalemate, but there were traitors. It’s said that areas occupied by the demons are left barren—even the bark is eaten, and the demon army is running out of food."

The monkey burst into loud laughter, clutching his stomach, tears welling in his eyes.

Zhou Yu was baffled. "Is that funny?"

"It seems you humans know nothing of the demon world! The demon army running out of food? What a joke! Do you know how many demons there are? How do you think they all survive? They survive by eating each other!"

The monkey straightened up and continued, "The demon army will never run out of food because there are countless low-level demon beasts. These beasts are constantly driven to the front lines—partly as cannon fodder to exhaust human strength, and partly as food."

The monkey's words left Zhou Yu in shock.

He looked out over the vast, endless plains of the demon territory and said, "It's that cruel?"

"What did you expect?" The monkey let out a bitter laugh. "Actually, when my foster father was alive, he tried to improve this situation. He worked to disperse the demon tribes that were packed together, reducing conflict and ensuring every tribe had more natural resources. Although the demon realm is barren, low-level beasts can eat even dirt. Life was hard, but it wasn't like this."

Zhou Yu felt a pang of sadness. History showed that even the worst peace was better than any war. While war was sometimes unavoidable, it was undeniable that the innocent suffered and died the most.

Thinking of the impending war on Earth, Zhou Yu's mood grew heavy.

"From today on! Like Sun Wukong, I will become the King of All Demons and unite them! No more of this scattered mess where we just slaughter each other or attack humans." The monkey pointed his staff toward the setting sun.

Zhou Yu felt moved. A demon monkey, humiliated and hunted by his own kind, was now determined to lead them out of their plight. Was this irony or destiny?

Watching the monkey’s back, waves of emotion stirred in Zhou Yu. He said, "We need a plan."