Deep as the Sea

"If not for knowing Chu Xingchen, I'm afraid this disciple would not have been able to meet you here."

Wukong's tone carried a hint of self-abandonment, his expression one of resignation.

The old monk began to understand; it seemed nothing good had happened to this Buddha's Son since he met Chu Xingchen.

With a light chuckle, he steered the conversation to the main point:

"It couldn't have been easy to get in here. Did the Great Thunderclap Monastery have some task to entrust to you?"

Wukong spoke tactfully:

"The various Buddhas are all concerned about your well-being."

Upon hearing this, the old monk shook his head with a soft laugh: "You are a junior, yet also a Buddha's Son. You can speak plainly with me; no blame will fall on you. Do they wish to reprimand me for not intervening?"

"I made three vows with them. I lost, and that is why I could not intervene."

"You just take those words back with you. What happens afterwards is my affair."

"Is there anything else you wish to ask?"

Wukong gave a slight bow. Regardless, this had solved a major problem for him. He then continued his inquiry:

"If trouble were to arise in the Western Oxen Continent, I wonder if Ruzhong Buddha would be willing to take action?"

The old monk nodded extremely quickly: "Naturally, if I have the capability, I would naturally act."

Hearing this ambiguous answer, Wukong directly categorized it as a refusal to act. But this question wasn't something he had wanted to ask personally; he was asking on behalf of the Buddhist cultivators following him.

He cupped his hands in salute: "Thank you, Buddha. Do you have any other messages to relay back to the Great Thunderclap Monastery?"

The old monk replied with a calm expression:

"I am perfectly fine. Tell them not to worry."

Wukong bowed again. Having realized that this Buddha was unreliable, he immediately prepared to take his leave.

A Karma Buddha acting like this... no wonder he returned to the Western Oxen Continent.

"As you command. Wukong takes his leave."

Wukong saluted and prepared to depart.

"Wait." The old monk called out to stop him.

Wukong's steps halted, and he turned back to look.

He saw the old monk smiling and saying:

"Now that the True Sound Dharma Temple has fallen into such ruin, and I cannot leave easily, there are a few matters I need to entrust to you all to handle."

Wukong's heart sank slightly. The tasks from the Great Thunderclap Monastery were already enough to make his scalp tingle, and now a task was spawning sub-tasks.

The most crucial part was that he could not refuse. Even if he was a somewhat marginalized Karma Buddha, he was still a Karma Buddha.

Wukong kept his expression as calm as possible:

"Might I ask what matters?"

The old monk pondered slightly before speaking:

"The True Sound Dharma Temple is currently short-handed. You are the Buddha's Son and the core of the mission, so I won't delay you with this. The cultivators you brought have cultivation levels no higher than Nascent Soul."

"Currently, the Western Oxen Continent is fraught with danger. The Nascent Soul realm is still somewhat inadequate. They may stay here to handle affairs for me."

"You have Body Unity cultivation. That should be sufficient to handle everything. You may proceed with your tasks alone."

Not to mention Wukong, even the other Buddhist cultivators were collectively dumbfounded.

They too had their own missions to attend to.

Wukong found it even harder to accept. If these people were left behind, and something happened in the Western Oxen Continent, it would be very difficult for him to justify his position afterwards.

These Buddhist cultivators were monitors, but they were also his legitimate proof.

Wukong voiced his refusal:

"The fellow disciples who came with me all have their own tasks. I'm afraid they cannot stay."

Upon hearing this, the old monk's expression turned stern, his face darkening:

"Are you defying my order?"

"I dare not."

"Their orders are orders, but mine are not?"

"I dare not."

"Since you dare not, then follow my order. The order I give, I will naturally be the one to explain later."

Having said this, the old monk revealed the pressure of a Buddha, as if reminding him that he too was a Buddha, and a Karma Buddha at that.

A complex expression flickered across Wukong's face. Finally, with a tone of forced compromise, he said:

"Then, perhaps allow me to also stay and assist Ruzhong Buddha with affairs?"

The old monk replied with displeasure:

"The matters of the Great Thunderclap Monastery also require someone to handle them. Do not question further. Go and attend to your tasks properly."

Wukong wanted to argue more, his gaze also turning to the Buddhist cultivators behind him—Can't you resist a little too?

The old monk seemed unwilling to say more or ask further. He simply reached out and pushed. A vast sea of Buddha light surged forth, directly shoving Wukong outside the Great Hero Hall.

He also closed the door behind him.

Wukong stood somewhat dumbfounded, looking at the tightly shut door. For a moment, he considered peeking around it to see the situation inside and plead a little more.

But in the end, he did not do it.

This door, closed yet seemingly not, was enough to bar him, a Body Unity cultivator, from entry.

Wukong did not understand Ruzhong's intention.

Why did he specifically want him to go alone?

And they had been talking just fine initially; the change in attitude was simply too fast.

Wukong knew well that further discussion was useless, and more questions might even earn him a beating.

Filled with unwillingness, he stood outside the solitary door for a long time, but in the end could only leave helplessly.

The door that seemed to defend against nothing was now successfully keeping him out.

Wukong headed outward.

Fortunately, leaving wasn't like entering; he didn't need to invoke Chu Xingchen's name.

As Wukong's figure passed through the layers of formations, he was deep in thought, considering whether he should first return to the Great Thunderclap Monastery on the Central Continent to bring more people, when a familiar voice interrupted his actions.

"Well, if it isn't Buddha's Son Wukong?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Wukong's figure paused, and he looked over.

He saw Chu Xingchen leaning against a tree, a smile on his face as he looked him over.

Wukong hesitated slightly, but thinking that his people had already been kept at the True Sound Dharma Temple, he walked towards Chu Xingchen.

"Patriarch Chu, is everything well?"

Chu Xingchen smiled and nodded:

"Thanks to the Great Thunderclap Monastery's magnanimity, I'm getting by comfortably enough."

Wukong pretended not to understand the sarcasm and instead asked:

"Why are you here?"

"Someone sent me word that a monk was using my name to sneak into the True Sound Dharma Temple. But I remember never having given any monk such a favor, so I came specifically to see which blind, death-defying monk it was..."

Chu Xingchen paused mid-sentence, putting on an expression of feigned surprise:

"That monk wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"

"It was me." Wukong nodded bluntly in acknowledgment, then questioned, "Was it you, Patriarch Chu, who prompted Ruzhong Buddha to specifically keep the Buddhist cultivators who came with me?"

Chu Xingchen frowned:

"What kind of talk is that? As if the Buddha were my family member. What he does, can I change it?"

Although Wukong felt this matter was absolutely related to Chu Xingchen, hearing these words, he could only hold his tongue.

After all, he had no evidence, and the Buddha was, after all, his own sect's Buddha.

Chu Xingchen looked towards the layers of ritual formations, seemingly counting them:

"Eight formations in total. I heard you invoked my name once for each formation you passed."

"Calculating it that way, you owe me eight favors. Do you acknowledge that?"

Wukong's eyes widened. Seeing Chu Xingchen's shameless calculation, he hurriedly refuted:

"But I only entered the True Sound Dharma Temple once."

Chu Xingchen responded with a cold laugh:

"If you want to calculate it that way, then I'll just use your name later to set things right, pushing all the way from the Western Oxen Continent to the Great Thunderclap Monastery, invoking your great name to everyone I meet. After all, I'd only be going to the Great Thunderclap Monastery once."

Wukong completely lost his temper. Adjusting his mood, he said:

"Patriarch Chu, just speak plainly. I'll acknowledge the debt."

Chu Xingchen's face broke into a smile again:

"That's much better. Things have two sides. With fewer burdens, you won't be hesitant when you need to act."

"Though my favor to you is as deep as the sea, with effort, it can still be repaid in full."

"There is now a small matter I would have you attend to."

Wukong's face turned ashen, understanding perfectly well in his heart.

A favor as deep as the sea could never truly be repaid.

A 'small matter' could very well cost him his life.