Chapter Twenty: Chaos

Chapter 20: Chaos

Zhou Yu looked at the lustful monkey with extreme seriousness. Seeing that the monkey did not seem to be lying, he asked, "Are you sure you didn't just say you popped out of a rock because you heard the story I told?"

The lustful monkey held that blood-red staff in his hand, spinning it incessantly above his head as he replied, "Do you think I'd lie to you for a taste of a celestial peach?"

Influenced by *Journey to the West*, the monkey had never eaten a celestial peach—he hadn't even eaten a regular peach—yet he was adamant that celestial peaches must be the most delicious things in the world.

Zhou Yu looked at the crackling campfire, from which sparks occasionally burst. He rubbed his head, feeling a prickly sensation; he had only just remembered that his hair had been completely burned off when that man carrying the large iron box had blasted him away with a punch. Now, only faint, dark stubble was emerging.

"It's all a bit chaotic. Let's think this through properly," Zhou Yu said, clutching his head.

There were too many things that were inexplicable, yet seemingly understandable. Thinking about them now made his head ache. First was that giant crab—what exactly was it? Then, why did Zhou Yu go berserk on nights of the full moon? Was the blood-red "Ruyi Jingu Bang" in the monkey's hand the legendary weapon? And finally, was there any possibility that the monkey was actually the reincarnation of Sun Wukong, the leader of the Four Demon Sages of the Animal Realm?

"You popped out of a stone, you possess an innate immortal body, and you've obtained the 'Ruyi Jingu Bang.' Looking at it this way, it is highly likely that you are indeed the reincarnation of Sun Wukong," Zhou Yu said.

The monkey was overjoyed upon hearing this. "It must be true! It definitely is!"

"But could you tell me more about that giant crab?" Zhou Yu asked.

The monkey, in his excitement, readily agreed and recounted the entire encounter with the giant crab in detail. After listening, Zhou Yu still couldn't find any valuable clues, so he had to let it go.

"You mentioned I go berserk during the full moon. What exactly is it like?" Zhou Yu asked again.

Recalling how Zhou Yu’s punch after going berserk had nearly killed him that night, the monkey still felt a lingering fear. "One moment you were perfectly fine, and the next, you suddenly changed. It was as if you had lost consciousness. Black energy emerged from your body, clinging to your skin and forming the shape of a giant crab..."

The monkey spoke with great animation, describing Zhou Yu’s violent state in vivid detail. As he listened, Zhou Yu furrowed his brow, falling into deep thought.

Legends said that werewolves transformed during the full moon. Zhou Yu would have dismissed this as nonsense before, but having been in the Luosheng Path for nearly a year, how could he not accept such claims now? According to materials he had once read, the reason werewolves transformed during a full moon was likely due to the changing gravitational pull between the Earth and the Moon.

The full moon hanging in the sky of the Luosheng Path world—while he didn't know if it was truly the Moon—certainly exerted a powerful influence on the gravity and magnetic fields of the two worlds during the full moon. Viewed through the lens of werewolf lore, Zhou Yu’s situation seemed perfectly explainable.

"Wait, I remember now. Your two episodes were different. The first time, you sang songs all night; the second time, you went berserk," the monkey suddenly said, slapping his forehead.

Zhou Yu snapped out of his contemplation. This was another problem. If it were truly a berserk state, why would the first episode involve singing? Was it some kind of illness? And the second time was far more severe—perhaps excessively so.

For some reason, Zhou Yu thought of "Duniang." Although that entity was sometimes annoying and excessively mischievous, her powerful analytical capabilities and database were incredibly useful. If Duniang were here, perhaps these problems could be solved. Thinking of this, Zhou Yu habitually looked at his left hand. The green mole seemed to have grown slightly larger and turned a deeper shade of green.

***

Shaking his head, Zhou Yu pushed these thoughts aside for the moment and spoke earnestly to the monkey.

"In all seriousness, I've already helped you take down the Buffalo King. According to our agreement, you should be taking me back to the Human Realm."

The monkey bared his teeth and smiled at Zhou Yu. "Don't you worry. We are in the north of the Demon Realm's heartland, and my home is further south. Sending you back will take us right past it. It's on the way. I keep my word; I won't lie to you."

Zhou Yu thought for a moment, then picked up a thin wooden stick that the bull-headed soldiers had used to build their earthen huts and began drawing on the ground. He first drew a wavy line to represent the endless Mi Mountains, then left a large blank space in the middle, and finally drew an 'X' at the end.

"Assume we are here," Zhou Yu said, pointing to the 'X'. "I need to get back to the Human Realm, which is represented by this wavy line. Are there any major mountains, rivers, or concentrations of demons between here and there?"

The monkey nodded. "Countless."

Zhou Yu frowned slightly. It seemed crossing the Demon Realm to return to the Human Realm would be quite troublesome.

"Can you roughly map out where some of the more powerful tribes are located?" Zhou Yu asked.

The monkey looked at the drawing, then at Zhou Yu. "I know it in my head, but I can't draw it."

Zhou Yu sighed. He couldn't blame the monkey; the guy had never been to school, not even nursery school, so being unable to draw was normal.

"Then do you know a route that can avoid the powerful demons?" Zhou Yu had to settle for second best.

The monkey nodded. "I know that, and I doubt anyone knows it better than I do."

The monkey wasn't lying. He had fought almost every Demon King without dying. Aside from his bizarrely powerful defense and regenerative abilities, his talent for running away was actually his strongest suit. Just like when Zhou Yu hadn't yet crawled out of the giant crab shell, the monkey would actively go looking for trouble with the Buffalo King every time he recovered. Although he couldn't win, he could always enrage the Buffalo King and then narrowly escape into the Black Bamboo Forest.

"Then I can rest easy," Zhou Yu said. He lay back, looked at the star-filled sky, and let out a yawn.

The stars twinkled like countless beautiful gems adorning the night sky. This reminded Zhou Yu of the cultivation technique Duniang had once given him, which involved absorbing starlight to convert into personal power. He had stopped practicing it after realizing it caused dizziness and blurred vision. Later, Duniang had confessed that while it was a top-tier technique, it had been tampered with; practicing it to an advanced level would likely cause one to lose control of the energy in their body and explode.

Thinking about it, the Heavenly Army truly went to great lengths to deal with the Asuras.

In fact, one question had long troubled Zhou Yu: why was he the only Chinese person among the transmigrators? He had discussed this with Duniang before, but they had never reached a definitive answer. At the time, Duniang had only vaguely suggested it might have something to do with the departure of the Eastern Celestial Realm.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yu couldn't help but wonder: if the legendary Monkey King was the ruler of the Animal Realm within the Six Paths, did those mythological figures truly exist? Furthermore, what was the relationship between gods, immortals, humans, ghosts, Asuras, and the demon tribes?

If the Heavenly Path was the domain of gods and Earth was the Human Realm, then they were theoretically equal. Yet, it appeared that the Heavenly Path and the Asura Path were far ahead of humans in terms of both strength and technology. So why did they value humans so much? Given their power, humans were merely like ants; compared to their technology, humanity was still in the Stone Age.

Yet, humans had indeed become the object of their competition for countless years.

As he thought, Zhou Yu gradually fell asleep. The monkey also dozed off, using his blood-red staff as a pillow. The campfire slowly died out. Under the starlight, the green mole on Zhou Yu’s right wrist gradually deepened in color, emitting a faint, almost invisible green glow.

That night, the bull-headed soldiers who had fled in all directions spread the news of the Buffalo King's death and the fact that Buffalo Valley had been occupied by the lustful monkey.

***

The Demon Kings near Buffalo Valley reacted differently. Some took a "wait and see" approach, others hoped the monkey would cause even more trouble, and some galloped through the night, leading their demon armies in a grand march toward Buffalo Valley. They used the pretext of capturing the monkey, but in reality, they intended to occupy and annex the valley that had originally belonged to the Buffalo tribe.

Among them, two Demon Kings were particularly aggressive: the Eagle King, who considered himself rarely rivaled by anyone beneath the Five Great Demon Kings, and the Leopard King, known for his cruelty. Both were already on their way.

The two armies moved slowly, not advancing at full speed. On one hand, they truly did not want to have any more contact with the "unkillable" monkey; regardless of how weak an opponent might be, an unkillable one was the least welcome kind. On the other hand, they were cautious. After all, the Buffalo King was a relative of the Green Bull Demon King, and they feared that occupying the valley would bring trouble. Thus, they all hoped someone else would enter first to test the reactions of the bull tribe.

When he woke the next day, the sky was already bright, and the sun had long risen above the horizon.

Zhou Yu stretched and woke the monkey. Just then, one of Zhou Yu’s clones slid down from the tall rock at the highest point of the canyon and ran toward them. Zhou Yu had split off a clone to keep watch during the night, which was why he had been able to sleep peacefully. However, it seemed something had happened.

"What's going on?" Zhou Yu asked.

"Two groups are approaching from the east and west. One is advancing rapidly on the ground, and the other is flying toward here in the sky. Both are quite large in scale," the clone reported.

"Quick! Let's go see," Zhou Yu said, pulling the monkey, who was still rubbing sleep from his eyes, to begin climbing the canyon.

Because his body had been strengthened countless times, his coordination and flexibility were absurdly high, allowing him to climb to the top of the canyon with ease. Shading his eyes, he looked out. In the distant west, billows of smoke were rolling toward them, and in the eastern sky, there was a swarm of black dots.

After looking, the monkey jumped up and cursed, "It's that shameless Eagle King and that treacherous Leopard King!"

Zhou Yu made a prompt decision. He leapt down the canyon and shouted, "They’re definitely coming for us! Quickly, grab our things and run!"

The monkey, however, was indifferent. He stood on the rock at the top of the canyon, shoulder-carrying his staff. In the morning sun, he did indeed have a certain air of grandeur, but Zhou Yu was in no mood to praise him. After reaching the bottom of the valley, Zhou Yu quickly picked up the giant bull-fork, bit down on it, and climbed back up toward the top.

After a short while, Zhou Yu reached the top, took the giant fork from his mouth, and said, "Are you not leaving yet?"

The monkey replied nonchalantly, "I have never run away before being defeated."

Zhou Yu thought to himself, *Does this guy have a masochistic streak?* He said anxiously, "That was before! Now it’s different!"

The monkey nodded. "It is indeed different. I’ve become stronger, which means I have even less reason to run."

These words nearly made Zhou Yu explode with rage. *If you want to die, that's your business, but you need to get me out of the Demon Realm first!* Zhou Yu complained in his heart.