Unexpected

Chapter 22.

It was dark. Why was it still dark?! He was going to get out of this damn kingdom! He was flying over and over again... He was crying all over. And new tears kept flowing down his cheeks. He holds his stick in his left hand. He leaned forward, giving the cloud speed. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't even know how to stop it. It didn't matter now. Now he has his own disaster in his head. He can't gather his thoughts. Everything hurts so damn much. His heart hurt terribly. It can be compared to a pre-infarction condition, but our hero does not have a heart attack, only a struggling heart.
Ah.. he regrets everything now. Even the fact that he knew the truth. If he didn't do this, he would live in a false world, but would it make a difference? No, maybe it would be better for him to live in ignorance that his loved one had betrayed him, deceived him, and that it was all just a farce, a game to his detriment. All the tender words the prince said, saying that he loved him, that he was his light, that everything would be fine, that he would take care of him, left a mark on his heart. It hurt like hell. It tears his soul apart. He's overtired. He doesn't know what to do or how to stop this damn thing. His whole world collapsed. Only ashes remain. And the fucking memories that flash before his eyes... That night when they were together and made love. It's disgusting. How could he?! He was humiliated and deceived!
He doesn't feel well, he doesn't even know anything, he flies too fast, something similar to motion sickness. He couldn't stand it. However, his soul was completely destroyed. All that was left was crying and hatred.
He felt his muscles tremble from exhaustion. Maybe if he fell to the ground now, but this time he wouldn't wake up? Maybe then he would feel relieved? Because right now he feels fucking pain! A twinge in the chest. It won't work anymore. He can't stand it.
Suddenly the cloud tilts downwards. And Wukong no longer has the strength to stay on the cloud. He has no strength to... live anymore.
The cloud flies faster and faster downwards. Until it hits the ground with a grating noise and a bang, creating a large crater, leaving behind a trace of slackness. Did Wukong survive? Of course, because he is immortal! This is not comforting to him at all. Because it only makes him feel pain. Immortality provides no comfort or consolation. Why the hell did he do that?! He put the weapon to his ear.
He curled up into a ball. Tears mixed with the blood that ran down his face. Old wounds reopened. He was covered in dirt, dirty, and also in blood. His dress was tattered. Now all he is left with is anger, hatred towards... himself for the mistakes he has made.
Mistake number one went to fight the emperor, which he doesn't even remember, but it brings with it the whole tragedy of the lies started by his brother...
Mistake number two fell in love. And why did he need it?!
He started sobbing, he started screaming. He wanted to shout out all his anger. And there was a lot of it.
From the darkness he could hear "master!"
"Beware Ao lie! No one knows what it is!"
"It fell from the sky."
"Master, what are we doing?"
Wukong was unable to move. Will they hurt him? Kills? They won't make it anyway.
He didn't care.
"Master! There's someone here!"
"Sandy! Be careful, maybe this is some kind of trick."
Some creatures approached Wukong. One of them held a torch. The sight of them all was shocking.
"Master, what are we doing?"
"She needs help."
As usual, "she". And it's all because of this dress.
A man crouched down in front of him. He touched his forehead. "She has a fever. We're taking her to camp."
"Hey? Can you hear me? Ma'am?"
Someone touched his arm. It hurt. He shuddered. The creature moved its hand away.
But Wukong still felt the touch, it burned.
"Excuse me, can you stand up?"
He did not answer. He closed his eyes. It's just a bad dream. Bad dream. He will wake up and be better.
.
.
Liuer was in shambles. He wasn't angry. Anger was his only source of energy. He will fix everything, at any cost.
"Son, what happened?" asked the queen.
"Liuer, where is Wukong?" Ting asked.
He passed them.
"You all need to get out of here! Party's over!" the prince shouted angrily. "Captain!" he turned to the captain of the palace guard. "You are to get everyone out of the palace." he growled. The captain nodded. The guards started taking people out. There was a commotion.
The king emerged from the shadows and took a bottle of wine from the nearest table and drank from it.
"What happened?" asked the queen. The king did not answer, he continued to drink wine. The following remained in the hall: the King, the Queen, Ting and Zu, Po and Rin, and Liuer. The captain came in.
Liuer started talking to the captain.
"Let it go. You won't find him again..." said the king.
Liuer didn't even look at him. He intended to start looking for his wife as soon as possible.
"Can you finally tell us what's going on?" Rin said. "Where is Wukong?"
"We're screwed." muttered the king. Which surprised everyone (except Liuer)
"Gather all the generals. We'll go searching right away." Liuer said. The captain nodded.
"Liuer, son, what happened, who is missing?" asked the Queen.
Liuer was about to leave. Every second counted. He must find her. He needs to get his Sunshine back.
"I won't let you take the army. You're not going anywhere!"
Everyone was surprised.
Liuer turned around. There was anger in his eyes. He quickly attacked the king and pinned him to the table. He slammed his head against the table.
"Liuer?!"
"Listen, old man. It's all your fault!"
"Liuer, what are you talking about?!"
The king tried to break free from it. They started fighting with each other. Be afraid. Liuer punched the king in the face, blood pouring from his nose. The king gave him back.
"Stop! Now!"
Zu and Po moved to get them away. Zu was held by Liuer. Liuer looked more willing to take the beating. The king took a deep breath, sat down in a chair, and held a napkin to his nose to stop the bleeding. He started to laugh.
"Liuer, calm down!" Zu shouted. Liuer showed off a little. He let him go.
"And what are you laughing at?!"
"Ha.. ha.. I couldn't have her, you can't have her either, history comes full circle."
"Husband, what are you talking about?"
"It's all your fault! You gave her that fucking book?!"
"No. It's quite funny. And unfortunately for us, he... I mean, she remembered everything. So you won't get her back."
"I don't need your help!"
"You need my army. And you won't get that."
Liuer lunged at him again. But this time the king used the shadows and started choking him. "Stop it! Husband, what has gotten into you?!"
"Dad! Stop it!" said Ting, who didn't understand anything, but knew that nothing good would come of it.
"There's still a lot you have to learn, son. You have to learn, how to lose. I let you do too much and now there are consequences." said the king ominously. Liuer tried to take control of the shadows, he's almost taken over. The king was afraid that Liuer would take control, he had to act quickly.
"I will find you a new wife. Don't worry. And now..." he stretched his other hand in front of him and recited some spell. A purple symbol flashed over the suffocating Liuer. A symbol of the inhibition of his power. "you're grounded." finished the king. Shadows flowed from the prince's mouth. He could finally breathe. The king won this round. Liuer won't forget this.
"Son," the queen and the rest ran to him. The king turned away from them.
"The generals are waiting for orders." reported the captain.
"Let them come to the meeting room," said the king and disappeared into the shadows.
I will take revenge, I will take revenge on all of them. Thought the prince. He got up from the floor.
"Liuer, will you finally tell me what happened?"
"The king made my wife run away." he said calmly.
"What?!"
"How so?!"
Liuer did not respond. He tried to summon the shadows, but to no avail. He giggled like a maniac.
The king was afraid that he would have no control over me. That's good, let him know that I am more powerful after all If the king wants to have fun, fine, he will have fun. The king won this game, but the next round will be mine.
.
.
.
It wasn't any better when he woke up. Everything hurt, but his head hurt the most. There was something wet on his forehead. He heard a noise. He slowly opened his eyes. The sky was dark. So he didn't get out after all. What a disappointment. He grabbed his head. He tried to get up. His whole body hurt terribly. He groaned. It was bad. Very bad. His vision was blurry. I think someone was talking to him. He didn't understand. His head was buzzing too much. Everything is gone. His world collapsed.
Now he noticed that his hands were bandaged. Someone was still talking to him. There was a fire in front of him. Now that his vision had cleared, he saw 4 beings looking at him or talking to him. One was a pig, when he saw it he flinched and wanted to move back, groaning in pain.
The next creature was a man with horns? Well, maybe a dragon connection. There was also this big blue guy with a red beard. And probably an ordinary man dressed in monk's robes. Strange combination.
Wukong put his hands to his ears. He had to calm down. Inhale and exhale. Everything will be fine.., Everything will be fine.. No, nothing will be fine! Wukong found himself on the verge of tears.
He needs to pull himself together.
"Hello what's your name?" one of them asked.
Wukong looked at them. Now he's in a better position because he remembers who he is, but this time he won't be fooled so easily.
"I am Ao lie. This is Sha Wujing or Sandy, this is Zhu Bajie or Pigsy and this is Tripitaka, our master."
Wukong looked at the man. He didn't like this at all. This must be some kind of trick.
Ao lie sat down in front of him. He looked quite friendly. Liuer was like that too, and what happened? Catastrophe.
"So, what's your name?"
Wukong looked at them but didn't say anything.
"Do you remember what happened? We saw you crash to the ground. The fall could have..." the man said.
"I remember..." Wukong said quietly.
"So you don't want to tell us anything?"
"NO.."
The pig snorted. "Our master saved your life, woman, and you won't even say thank you?!"
"Bajie! Calm down, don't you see that something bad must have happened to her." Sandy interjected. Pigsy rolled his eyes.
"you should have left me there..." Wukong said sadly. The pilgrims looked at him in mild shock. The monk approached him.
"Master, don't believe it."
"You're overreacting, Bajie."
"I don't want to talk about it... I don't even want to remember it..." Wukong whispered. He brought his legs closer to his chest, wrapped his arms around them and rested his head on his knees.
"We won't hurt you."
"They said that too..."
After these words there was silence.
"it's late and we're leaving tomorrow." said the monk.
"What?" Wukong looked at him.
"We are on a journey. Our common mission is to reach the west and deliver the holy scriptures. If you wish, you can join us." said the monk.
"Master, is that reasonable? And she's a woman."
"Bajie! Don't be rude!" Ao lie scolded him.
"It's just a proposition."
.
Sandy was on first watch.
Wukong couldn't sleep anymore. He looked into the fire. He felt evil lurking in the darkness. And his husband is furious. I do not want to see him.
Sandy moved closer to him and placed a cup of tea in front of him.
Wukong looked at him uncertainly.
"It's just tea. It'll help calm you down." Sandy smiled.
"He said that too. I don't want to."
"Oh.. okay..." Sandy took the tea and took a sip. "You see it was just tea, but I understand your concerns."
.
.
Dawn has come. And Wukong was completely surprised. Sun? Sun!
But he managed to get out! Is free! He cried with happiness.
"Hey? Woman, are you okay?" Bajie asked.
"I'm free..."
"What?"
"I finally got out."
"What's going on?" Ao lie asked.
"Finally, after so many hardships, I can... oh..." he was supposed to say that he would go home, but he doesn't remember how to get there, he doesn't even know where it is. Another problem.
"Woman?"
"Can you stop calling me that? It's annoying."
"You didn't tell us your name so you prefer to be called a monkey?"
"No and I won't tell you, you will use my name like they did. I don't trust you."
"But who?"
Wukong fell silent.
"Okay, we understand." the monk said calmly. "please. Change your clothes" he handed Wukong clean clothes. "Unless you want to stay in that dress."
Wukong took the clothes. "Thank you." he muttered. He went somewhere in the bushes to change his clothes.
.
"Master, what do we do with her?"
"He can't come with us."
"This poor creature has been through a lot, she needs help."
"But Master, you don't see how she's behaving."
"She must have been through a lot. She looked like she ran away from her own wedding."
"You don't understand that she needs help. It's my job to help her."
"Because?"
"Didn't you hear what she said yesterday? She doesn't want to live. I don't know what happened, but every being deserves to live."
They sighed.
Wukong joined them. He held his dress in his hands.
"So have you decided, are you coming with us?"
"Hmm... for now it's a better option than wandering around the world not knowing where to go, so yeah."
"Excellent!" Ao lie said and was about to hug him, but Wukong quickly moved away. Ao lie calmed down. "Sorry, I just wanted to hug you."
Ao lie turned into a horse. Wukong's eyes widened in surprise.
"How..."
The pilgrims just chuckled.
And they set off on a journey.
.
.
For the first time since he can remember, he has never seen such beautiful colors. It was bright everywhere. Warm. The sky was beautiful. Air. Trees, flowers, grass.
They walked through forests and meadows. And Wukong enjoyed the views. It was beautiful. The butterflies were beautiful!
The pilgrims did not understand his fascination with nature, but they left it without comment.
They stopped at a stream to refill water.
"So woman, what should we call you?" Bajie said.
"Definitely not a woman, nor a she."
"Why won't you tell us your name?" Sandy asked.
"Because I don't want to. The last time I said my name, they used it to my disadvantage."
"Oh.. someone hurt you?"
"Can we not talk about it?"
Ao lie transformed into his more human form. "So maybe Sun? Sunny?"
Wukong chuckled nervously. "Why like this?"
"Because you're happy to see the sun."
"Oh.. okay. I like it."
It's not like that's my surename , Wukong thought.
Bajie looked at him skeptically.
They moved on. They even entered a human village. It was just wow. Although people looked at him strangely.
Later they stopped somewhere in a clearing. It was starting to get dark.
They spread out the camp. Bajie cooked soup. He served it to everyone. Wukong looked at it strangely.
"What? Is something wrong with you?"
Wukong sniffed the soup, making sure the pig hadn't put anything strange in it, and then took a sip. "It's tasty." Wukong said. "Thanks."
"So..Sunny, where are you from?" asked Ao lie who had just sat down next to Wukong.
"Ehm... far away?"
"And you know that you fell from the sky? How is that possible?"
Wukong had to wonder if they were worth it. He looked at them.
"yh.. it's okay, if you don't want to, don't say it."
"But you know that since we're traveling, we should know something about each other." Bajie interjected.
Wukong sighed. "Okay, I can tell you that. I was flying on my cloud and I lost control and fell down."
"Wait, what the cloud!?"
"Of course, I managed to summon a cloud, thanks to which I managed to escape..."
"Did you run away from your own wedding?" Ao lie asked.
"..."
"Ao lie!" Tripitaka scolded him.
Wukong sighed. He started playing with the wedding ring on his hand.
"Okay. I'll tell you now. Yes. Is that what you could call it? But it's not like I ran away from the altar... unfortunately, I ran away after... after I said "yes" and married a man who promised me everything, and yes he actually lied to me for a long time. And they just wanted to imprison me..."
"Oh... I'm sorry." Tripitaka said.
"I also." Wukong said sadly. "but now I'm free. All I have to do is go home."
"And where is it?"
"That's the thing, I don't remeb... I don't know how to get there."
"Oh..."
"So maybe we can help you somehow? Where is it?" Ao lie asked.
"Okay, I'll tell you, but don't laugh at me."
everyone looked at Bajie. He rolled his eyes. “Fine. I'll try.”
"From what I know... I mean from what I remember... I lived on a mountain of flowers and fruit."
"Oh.. why did you think we would laugh at you?"
"Because... because they told me this place doesn't exist..." he said very quietly.
Ao lie felt sad. He hugged him. And a tear rolled down Wukong's cheek.
"The monkey king lives there, lived there, as far as I know." Tripitaka said.
"He lived?" Wukong said.
"Were you one of the monkey king's subjects ?" Sandy asked. Wukong moved his head in the negative.
"It was hundreds of years ago Sandy." Bajie said. "She couldn't have known him, he's been dead for hundreds of years."
"A hundreds years?" Wukong said. So what? He has been trapped in this dark realm for centuries?! It is impossible!
"From what I know, or rather from what legends carry, the monkey king died in the battle with heaven." Tripitaka said.
"Did you konw him?" Wukong asked. Maybe this will help him learn something... about himself.
"No. He lived centuries ago, everyone who knew him is probably dead now, of course there are still celestials who surely remember him well."
"I can tell you the legends about him if you want."
Wukong nodded, he was curious. And they didn't know him. Maybe start over? As someone else.
"Ages ago, there was a monkey who wanted power. He wanted to be like the heavenly ones. The heavenly kingdom agreed to accept him. And he unleashed chaos there. He ate all the peaches, drank all the heavenly wine, and took the immortality pills."
"Cheeky monkey." Bajie said. Tripitala glared at him.
"Back to the story. After that, the celestials got angry and trapped him in the furnace, hoping to regain the essence of immortality."
"It's terrible." Sandy said.
"Yes. But he managed to escape after probably 50 days? The monkey king was so furious that he unleashed another chaos in the sky and swore revenge on the heavens, then returned to the earth, where he prepared for a war with the heaven. Then when he attacked the heavens , the emperor managed to defeat him."
"This is what happens when you have too big an ego." commented the pig.
Wukong felt sorry. Was he really perceived that way? As a monkey craving power?
The truth hurts.
"My cousin Ao Beng knew him." said Ao lie.
"Really?"
"Yes. He told me how one time the Monkey King ran into him unexpectedly and picked up one of the huge columns and made it into his weapon. Apparently only the Monkey King could lift this weapon."
Wukong touched his ear. His staff is a pillar from some palace. This is quite unusual.
"You didn't say he was dead," Sandy said. "You just said he was defeated."
"Yes, we don't really know what happened to him." Tripitaka said.
"So he's dead." said Bajie.
Wukong sat quietly. He thought about his previous life. Could he start rebuilding?
Since everyone thinks he's dead (except his husband, who probably hates him).
All those who know him have died... so no one is waiting for him at home.
"Hey Sunny, are you okay?" Ao lie asked.
"Oh..yes. I'm tired." Wukong said.
"This... journey drags on forever, but you know, it wasn't even that bad today. The worst thing is when our master gets into trouble."
"In trouble?"
"Yeah, sometimes some demon will kidnap him because he's some important reincarnation or something and if someone eats him, he'll be immortal."
"Seriously?"
"Ao lie! Don't say such things, she'll want to eat him." Bajie interjected.
"What?! I won't eat anyone! And stop calling me she!"
"Because what? You're a woman."
Wukong just growled.
"You don't want to be called her?" Tripital asked.
"No one in that kingdom understood that I preferred..."
"be referred to as he?"
"Yeah... but now (sigh) I don't care, people only see what they want to see anyway. And they only hear what they want to hear, so do what you want."
It sounded depressing.
Tripitaka sat down next to Wukong. "We'll respect that."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously. If it makes you feel better, brother."
"brother?"
"ehm... you know, travel connects bonds, and we treat each other like brothers... And you travel with us, so.. Of course if you want"
"oh.. okay.." that was nice. The feeling of being understood and accepted.He lost everything and now he gained something new But he hopes it won't turn into a nightmare this time He has to be careful.
Tripitaka smiled. "Anyway, time to go to sleep, we have a long way to go tomorrow."
As Tripitala was leaving, Wukong said, "Thank you."
Tripitaka just smiled.
Maybe this trip won't be so bad after all?
.
.
.
Darkness. Dark-furred monkeys dressed in armor searched the forest.
Just because the king forbade the prince from leaving the castle and looking for Wukong, it doesn't mean that the king himself couldn't have sent soldiers to look for Wukong.
So yes, the king himself sent soldiers to search for the missing princess during the night. Since he made an agreement with the heavens not to let Wukong go, there is now a king in charge of Wukong. So Wukong's escape goes to the king's account. So this is his mistake, which he will have to fix and think of something to say to the heavens. This time, when Wukong returns, the king will not be so generous. And he will do what he should have done a long time ago. A devilish smile spreads across his face.
.
.
What about the prince, you ask? Oh... he's making his own plan. He will let everyone think that the king has won, but now the game is his. Now he will be the one pulling the strings.
😈
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