Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4 - 7 2018 | Page 199

Wukong’s Resolution towards Mankind
St. Paul's Convent School (Secondary Section), Cheung, Margaret - 15
I
t was a long time after Xuanzang and his companions, the Monkey King, friar and the talking pig had
retrieved the numerous scrolls of Buddhist sacred texts from guardians, and a long time after the four
had ascended to the Spiritual Mountain, where they were given several titles that marked them as gods.
Too long of a time, in fact, Wukong, the Monkey King thought, as he was one day lounging in one of the
many gardens that the Mountain possessed, staring mindlessly at the lazy fluttering butterflies, and the
blooming flowers, each beautiful on its own and therefore even more splendid grouped together. It had
been more than a hundred years since he set off on that journey with Xuanzang and his companions. He
was starting to get restless.
“What are you doing here, Brother?” A glance at the garden’s entrance informed him of the arrival of
another; his companion who had travelled with him to the Western Regions and obtained the sacred scrolls
together, Zhu Bajie.
“Just relaxing in the garden,” He replied absent-mindedly. “You? Why are you here?”
The pig planted himself on the bench near the one Wukong was lounging on, and replied, “Master told me
to look for you. He said that you seem restless these few days and it could be a sign of trouble.” He yawned.
“He also said that you might ransack the palace sometime soon so I should watch you.”
“Liar,” Wukong accused. “Master would never say anything of that sort.”
“And if he did?” A grin spread itself lazily on Bajie’s lips, and he, too, laid down on the bench in a fashion
similar to that of the monkey’s, eyes focused on the white clouds rolling across a bright blue sky but barely
looking.
“If he did, then I shall confirm it!” In one smooth move, he sprang off the wooden bench and onto the
stone that formed the paths weaving within the spacious garden. “Master wouldn’t have said anything of
that sort.” Wukong repeated, then nodded, as if affirming to himself such an idea, and set off towards the
direction of the grand palace.
The pig merely stared at his old friend’s retreating back, and did not reply. When Wukong finally
disappeared from view, he sighed and muttered, “Since when has he not decided to stir up trouble? Master
should not have worried that much. After all, that monkey is bound to come back sooner or later.”
And confirm it he did. Wukong stalked into the palace, ignoring the guards situated on either side that
serves to ward off intruders – in which case, himself – and headed straight for Xuanzang’s chambers, which
were placed deep inside, so by the time he reached it, his anger had somewhat subsided, though he was
ready to fly into a rage the moment he set eyes on the meditating Xuanzang.
“Master!” He exploded, throwing open the door with a force so hard it nearly flew off its hinges. Such an
intrusion would have angered any other person in the palace enough to cast Wukong away without a
demand for an explanation, and possibly exile him to the mortal realm, but Xuanzang merely opened his
eyes and glanced sideways towards his pupil, who looked as if steam would rise from the top of his head
shortly. “Did you tell Bajie to watch over me because I may cause trouble?”
“That I did,” The man replied calmly, and ended his prayer. He stood up, and shut the doors gently, then
beckoned the monkey into his quarters. “How about you and me have a chat together? I see you are rather
agitated, Wukong.”
“Master, I – ” He started, impatient to draw forth a direct answer from him. However, another look
silenced his protests halfway, and Wukong’s shoulders relaxed, as if defeated. “If you wish,” He said plainly
instead.
“Excellent.” And so he sat, at the table that was placed in the middle of the room obediently, despite not
really wanting to. Xuanzang placed two teacups made of fine china onto the wooden surface, and carefully
poured tea into both. “Now, would you tell me the reason you came again, in a civilised manner?”
“The thing is, Master – ” Impatience rising inside of him like flames in a fire as he spoke. “Bajie told me
that I needed constant surveillance because I seemed to be restless these days. The very idea of that pig! I
shall punish him for you, Master,” Wukong finished eagerly, seeking for hints of approval from his Master.
However, Xuanzang answered calmly, “That’s true. I did ask him to watch over you, because you do not
seem like your normal self, Wukong. The normal you would have knocked and walked in politely in a
subtle manner, instead of tearing my door rudely away from the wall, and demanding explanations for
baseless arguments.”