Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

Chapter 286: Chapter 286 Impending Storm (1st Update)

(PS: Accidentally hit an extra 0 when typing the passcode on my locked screen, so dizzy! Just came out of seclusion, this is from yesterday. Two more chapters coming right up!)

Sun Wukong quickly learned that Erlang God Yang Jian was not exaggerating because the decree of the Queen Mother soon arrived at the Marshal’s Mansion. The decree concerned not only Nezha but also Sun Wukong and it specified that the Heavenly Soldiers and the Heavenly River Navy were jointly responsible for preparing the Peach of Immortality Banquet, with Nezha and Sun Wukong as the main organizers, while Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng would assist Sun Wukong!

“Eh, this sort of thing should be left to Zhu Tianpeng, I have no experience in this!”

As soon as he heard about it, Sun Wukong shook his head vigorously. The thing he hated the most was this kind of troublesome affair, otherwise, he wouldn’t have left all the matters of Flower-Fruit Mountain to Leng Xuan and the others to handle. Now, being asked to manage the Peach Banquet was really putting him in a tough spot!

“Great Sage, the Queen Mother said she would like to grant you and Zi Lan Fairy’s marriage, so you must accept this task. Otherwise, she will betroth Zi Lan Fairy to someone else…”

“How dare she?”@@novelbin@@

Sun Wukong glared and interrupted the celestial maiden who was delivering the decree, “This Queen Mother, so ignorant. I, Old Sun, am deeply in love with Zi Lan. How can she be so fickle and use this to coerce Old Sun?”

Sun Wukong’s nature had always been to resist coercion and to hate threats. Had anyone other than the Queen Mother said such things, if it had been the Jade Emperor himself, he would have already turned against him!

“Wukong, don’t talk nonsense!”

Zi Lan Fairy’s face flushed with embarrassment as she shot Sun Wukong a fierce glance before comforting the somewhat panicking celestial maiden, “Please return to the Queen Mother and tell her that the Great Sage will take on this task and the Peach Banquet will be well-prepared!”

Only then did the celestial maiden’s panicking expression ease, and she bowed to Sun Wukong, Zi Lan Fairy, and the others before leaving the Marshal’s Mansion.

“Zi Lan, why did you agree on behalf of Old Sun? That’s the Peach Banquet, a very troublesome matter, and I, Old Sun, hate trouble the most!”

As soon as the celestial maiden left, Sun Wukong immediately started to complain, while Erlang God Yang Jian and Nezha secretly laughed beside him.

“Wukong, the Queen Mother is doing this for your own good. You should appreciate her kindness!”

Zi Lan Fairy gave Sun Wukong another look and then glanced at Erlang God Yang Jian and Nezha, hesitating before speaking.

“Zi Lan, speak your mind. There’s no need to hold back. Yang Jian and Nezha are my good brothers, there’s nothing they can’t hear!”

Sun Wukong noticed Zi Lan Fairy’s hesitation, guessing that what she was about to say was taboo within the Heavenly Court. However, he, Erlang God Yang Jian, and Nezha shared a bond of life and death, so there was truly nothing that could not be said between them.

“Alright, I’ll speak plainly!”

Zi Lan Fairy nodded, unable to suppress her dramatic tone, “Wukong, the Jade Emperor wants to harm you, and he plans to do it during the Peach Banquet!”

“What?”

Nezha and Erlang God Yang Jian frowned, “The Jade Emperor wants to harm Wukong? Zi Lan Fairy, where did you get such information?”

“It was the Queen Mother who told me personally, asking me to warn Wukong to be cautious!”

Zi Lan Fairy recounted how Ran Deng Buddha and Guanyin Bodhisattva came to the Heavenly Court and had discussed with the Jade Emperor in the Lingxia Palace about dealing with Sun Wukong, “The Queen Mother said she had already tried to dissuade His Majesty the Jade Emperor, but he persisted in his waywardness. She was unable to stop him, so she assigned the preparation of the Peach Banquet to you, Wukong, so that you could be more vigilant and make arrangements in advance, to avoid being caught off guard!”

“This is what the Queen Mother told you to tell Old Sun?”

Sun Wukong widened his eyes in surprise, having always thought the Queen Mother and the Jade Emperor were of one mind; how could she risk a fallout with the Jade Emperor just to help him?

“You don’t understand, Wukong. Although the Queen Mother and His Majesty the Jade Emperor are nominally Taoist companions, this is only a formality set by the Hong Jun Daoist Ancestor. The Queen Mother has her own judgment about people and matters. She often spoke highly of you in front of me, saying she has great expectations for you. Hence, she has always opposed the Jade Emperor’s collusion with the Buddhist Sect to scheme against you. But the Jade Emperor is the true Lord of the Heavenly Court, and even she cannot stop his decisions; she could only let me remind you in advance to be careful.”

“Outrageous! That’s going too far!”

Nezha’s eyes widened, and he burst out in anger, smashing the desk in front of him to smithereens with a slap of his hand, “To think he is the Lord of the Heavenly Court, yet so hypocritical and sinister, it’s despicable!”

“Hao Tian’s behavior goes way beyond just being described as hypocritical and sinister, he is selfish, considering only himself and never caring for others. Wukong’s presence has already threatened his position, so no matter what, he needs to eliminate this threat completely to secure his status as Lord of the Heavenly Court. It’s really not that hard to understand!”

Erlang God Yang Jian sneered. He had long seen through the Jade Emperor’s true nature. It wasn’t just because his mother was pressed under the Peach Mountain years ago that he held a grudge; therefore, although he was a War God of the Heavenly Court and the grand Erlang God himself, he had never served in the court these years and chose instead to stay in his Guankou True Lord’s Temple, indifferent to imperial summons. More than just showing dissatisfaction with the Jade Emperor, he wished to keep out of sight rather than be part of the Jade Emperor’s dirty schemes.

“`

“Enough, Nezha. Erlang is right, the Jade Emperor has always been such a person, it’s not worth getting angry over him! He wants to plot against me, doesn’t he? Well, I, for one, can plot right back at him—what’s good for the goose is good for the gander!”

Sun Wukong’s eyes narrowed, a cold light flashing within their depths. The Jade Emperor wanted to scheme against him, but he was just as eager to scheme against the Jade Emperor. Taking an official post in the Heavenly Court had been a reluctant move, aimed merely at buying more time for himself and creating more opportunities for the development of Flower-Fruit Mountain. Now that his cultivation had soared to the half-step Quasi-Saint Realm, unless the Heavenly Dao Saint intervened, no one could suppress him. What was there to fear?

“Wukong, whatever you plan to do, I support you fully!”

Nezha took a deep breath and defiantly stated to Sun Wukong, without the slightest hesitation. He couldn’t care less about titles like Guardian Marshal of the Heavenly Court or the honorifics of the Third Prince!

His life had been saved by Sun Wukong; Wukong treated him like a brother, while the Jade Emperor was merely using him. Nezha knew well who was closer to him!

“Nezha, I might very well turn against the Heavenly Court and oppose the Jade Emperor. Would you truly stand by me then?”

Sun Wukong squinted, looking earnestly at Nezha as he asked.

“Of course, I support you! My role as the Guardian Marshal was solely to help you gain a firm footing in the Heavenly Court. Otherwise, I would never stay in this cold and indifferent place. Isn’t Flower-Fruit Mountain so much more interesting?”

Nezha shrugged and said, “Over these years, I’ve gained significant control over the Heavenly Army. If the Jade Emperor truly causes trouble, I’m confident that the Heavenly Army will stand aside without intervention!”

“If he really conspires against you, I’ll help you!”

Erlang God Yang Jian clenched his fist and patted Sun Wukong’s shoulder with his right hand, delivering a message that surprised and delighted Sun Wukong.

“Yang Jian, are you truly willing to help me?”

“You helped me on the Ascend to Heaven Platform. I’ve said it before; I, Yang Jian, owe you a favor, and I definitely intend to repay you!”

Erlang God Yang Jian gave a light cough, averting his gaze to the side.

Sun Wukong laughed. Yang Jian was really someone with a warm face but a cool heart—he clearly wanted to help, but insisted on framing it as repaying a favor.

“Then I shan’t be polite anymore. When the time comes, I might indeed call upon your aid!”

With that, everything was settled. Sun Wukong took on the preparation and guarding duties for the Peach Banquet, with the help of Nezha, they began the arrangements.

According to Queen Mother, the Jade Emperor planned to use the Peach Banquet as an occasion to provoke Wukong’s rebellion. As for what the exact scheme was, even the Queen Mother was in the dark; perhaps only the Jade Emperor and Ran Deng Buddha were privy to it. Sun Wukong had to consider every possibility and prepare for the worst. For instance, positioning soldiers of the Great Sage Army in key spots among the Peach Banquet guards so that they could play a constraining role should the Jade Emperor choose to act.

“Qin Feng, get the brothers ready. After the Peach Banquet, you guys may have to leave the Heavenly Court with me for Flower-Fruit Mountain!”

Sun Wukong called Qin Feng over and explained the Jade Emperor’s plans against him with a stern face.

“Great Sage, wherever you go, we’ll follow!”

Upon hearing the words, Qin Feng knelt down on one knee without hesitation, hand to his chest, pledging loyalty to Sun Wukong, “The brothers are wholeheartedly loyal to the Great Sage. Whether we remain in the Heavenly Court or go to Flower-Fruit Mountain, we have no complaints!”

“Good!”

Sun Wukong nodded in satisfaction and helped Qin Feng to his feet with a surge of Qi Force, “Qin Feng, I’ve always had high hopes for you. Rest assured, I won’t let down any of the brothers who follow me! Go now!”

After Qin Feng left, Zi Lan Fairy also took her leave. She needed to return to the Queen Mother’s side. Should there be any developments, she would be the first to know and could relay the information to Sun Wukong immediately.

Erlang God Yang Jian returned to Guankou True Lord’s Temple without involving himself in the preparations for the Peach Banquet. However, he would come to the Heavenly Court when the banquet took place, and should Sun Wukong require his assistance, he would not hesitate to help.

“Sun Wukong, I am still looking forward to a fair battle with you. You can’t die before that happens!”

“Hahaha, don’t worry, Yang Jian; my life is tough—no one can take it! You, though, had better strengthen yourself these coming days. It would be quite disappointing if you lost too easily to me then!”

Nezha also infiltrated his trusted men within the Peach Banquet’s guarding army, ready to act in unison at a moment’s notice. Everything was in place, just waiting for the Peach Banquet.

A storm was brewing!

“`

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