I Am Destiny
"Why would you come looking to me for the Ruyi Jingu Bang?"
Dangrang's brow furrowed, the look of a man who had just heard something thoroughly absurd.
Sun Wukong's brow tightened.
"You really don't know?"
"The Ruyi Jingu Bang is the Great Sage's cherished weapon, is it not? Why ask me about it?"
"Because it's not in my hands right now."
"Hmm? Surely there isn't a soul in Heaven or on Earth with the guts to steal the Ruyi Jingu Bang..."
"I threw it. Straight down to the mortal world."
"You threw the Ruyi Jingu Bang into the mortal world?"
Dangrang's mouth fell open. A muttered What kind of lunatic stunt... drifted clearly to Sun Wukong's ears.
Sun Wukong cackled. Even he had to admit it was a pretty insane thing to do. Dangrang stared at him for a moment, then let out a snort of laughter.
"Then again, even that is just like you, Great Sage. Come to think of it, there was a rather peculiar incident some time ago."
Dangrang tilted his gaze upward, as though fishing something up from the far reaches of memory.
"If you hurled it down to the mortal world... roughly when was that?"
"Right after Tathagata bestowed upon me the title of Victorious Fighting Buddha."
"Let me see... that wouldn't have been so long ago. After you returned from Tianzhu and were summoned before Tathagata. Hmm."
Dangrang's eyes, closed as he measured the years, snapped wide open.
"Don't tell me that was the meteor?"
"Meteor?"
"It was such an enormous commotion I remember it perfectly. There was a time when the mortal world and the Celestial Realm were cleanly split apart, a hard border drawn between them. And then, of all things, the sky suddenly tore open, thunder crashed, and a meteor came crashing down far off in Nanman."
"Nanman is a long way from here. You could see it?"
"It would have to have been an extraordinary meteor. We Earth Deities were in an uproar, wondering if the end of the world had come."
Dangrang gave a full-body shudder.
"Thinking back on it, it really was strange. That was the very moment the mortal world was being forced open. I thought a celestial god was descending. But of course no god would have reason to descend... though if it was the Ruyi Jingu Bang, that would explain it. That thing is no mere weapon. Its rank is higher than most immortals, after all."
"So where did it fall, exactly?"
"I don't know the precise location. What I can say for certain is that it was somewhere near Nanman."
"Nanman... I think I passed through there once, during the pilgrimage."
It was not a fond memory. A land crawling with venomous insects and poisonous creatures — and that was hardly the end of it. Strange demons prowled there in droves. It was untrodden wilderness that human feet had scarcely ever touched; he had not seen a single soul. What lingered most vividly was the hardship of wandering about, begging alms so that Sanzang might eat.
Sun Wukong's eyes narrowed as he sifted through the memories.
"Is that bastard still alive?"
"That bastard? Who do you mean?"
"The Earth Deity who ruled the Great Rainforest. What was his name again..."
"Ah. Well, it's a long way off, so our paths never crossed, but I imagine he's still around."
Dangrang looked startled by the sudden mention of another Earth Deity, but nodded all the same.
"Of course. If the Ruyi Jingu Bang came crashing down from the sky, the Earth Deities in the area would have been in chaos. They wouldn't have just sat still."
"As always. No matter where I go, squeeze an Earth Deity first and the answers come out."
"...Did you really have to say that in front of an Earth Deity?"
"It's a compliment."
"How, exactly?"
"Means you're useful. Talented, even."
Sun Wukong grinned, utterly unbothered. Dangrang sighed and swept his two long feelers forward with his forelegs, as though stroking a beard.
"It likely fell near that fellow's domain. If it truly is the Ruyi Jingu Bang, I expect he's been managing it somehow."
"Hmm. That's a bit far."
"Far? With the Great Sage's Somersault Cloud..."
Dangrang trailed off mid-sentence. The moment he mentioned the Somersault Cloud, irritation had written itself plainly across Sun Wukong's face. His voice grew cautious.
"Don't tell me you can't use the Somersault Cloud either?"
"Whose fault do you think that is? That lunatic Bodhisattva's, that's who."
"Ahem. Ahem."
Dangrang smiled thinly. Who would dare nod along to calling Guanyin a lunatic? He steered the conversation elsewhere with practiced delicacy.
"Heh heh. In a manner of speaking, you're walking the pilgrimage all over again."
"Anyway, thanks for the tip. Nanman, huh. I'll have to make time for a trip."
This wasn't just any errand. This was the Ruyi Jingu Bang. He couldn't keep relying on a steel staff forever. That sensation of the staff settling perfectly into his grip. That dizzying feeling of looking down upon the world with arrogant ease.
The Ruyi Jingu Bang was a demonic treasure. Even Sun Wukong himself had once gone wild, drunk on the staff's magic and power. And paradoxically, that was what put him at ease. There was not a single being in the world, besides Sun Wukong, who could wield it. Even that fake Sun Wukong, who had imitated him so well, hadn't been able to handle the staff, had he?
It's not like the Seven Star Sword or the Golden Cord, things I have to worry about falling into their hands. There's no chance the Ruyi Jingu Bang would ever change sides.
A demonic treasure like the Ruyi Jingu Bang chooses its own master. The thought that it might pick someone else never even crossed his mind. If you lacked the ability, you couldn't even pick it up. Someone of the Seven Great Sages' caliber might be able to handle it, sure — but what reason would the staff have to choose them?
That's right. That thing knows nobody but me.
Sun Wukong had accomplished the foremost purpose of his visit to Mt. Wudang. Now he turned his attention to other matters.
"All right, let's talk about the world for a bit. What's going on in the Wudang Sect, and which Taoist did that Honghaea bastard make contact with?"
Dangrang did not answer at once. His mouth worked in hesitation before he finally spoke.
"Great Sage... you are living in the mortal world now."
"What's that supposed to mean, all of a sudden?"
"You are the Victorious Fighting Buddha. And the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven. A god of the Celestial Realm. You must not interfere in the world of mortals. Every law would shatter and turn on its head."
"..."
"I do not interfere in the mortal world. All of this is destiny, woven from the tangle of karmic ties, is it not? Destiny simply flows, like the Milky Way. Great Sage, you must not intervene in fate."
Sun Wukong looked steadily into Dangrang's eyes. A thread of unease had surfaced there.
This was Dangrang's dwelling, his domain. He had a duty to keep his territory stable and at peace. At the same time, he bore the responsibility of blocking any variable that might interfere with the world. To Dangrang, Sun Wukong was a fatal variable — a sudden storm, a crash of thunder, a towering wave, tearing through a peaceful current that had been flowing exactly as it should.
Sun Wukong understood the worry at once. He spoke with a sheepish look.
"Come on. I'm not that stone monkey from the old days."
"Every place the Great Sage ever danced a round... we all know what became of it."
"Know what..."
"So do not intervene in the mortal world. Do not intervene in destiny."
"Listen, Dangrang."
Sun Wukong looked at him, unhurried. A cool gaze. And beneath it, a thin smile.
In the end, Dangrang had no choice but to talk.
It wasn't because of violence. Dangrang was not so paltry an Earth Deity that he would fold under force. Sun Wukong had found another way. He communicated with the Celestial Realm at once and summoned Master Janggyeong into the cat he carried in his robes.
"Teacher Sun is acting on Tathagata's command, Dangrang. His course has been sanctioned by Tathagata himself, and by Guanyin as well."
With Master Janggyeong taking Sun Wukong's side and doing the persuading, Dangrang hadn't a prayer of holding out. This was Master Janggyeong's personal guarantee. Even if one couldn't trust a word out of Sun Wukong's mouth, there was not a soul in the Celestial Realm who did not trust Master Janggyeong. In the end, Dangrang had no choice but to answer every question, and thoroughly.
Having heard it all, Sun Wukong narrowed his eyes and stroked his chin.
"Hmm. So that's how it is."
Every incident that unfolded on Mt. Wudang fell within Dangrang's sight. All of it, as clearly as the palm of his own hand. Non-interference in the mortal world was the principle of an Earth Deity. Thanks to that, everything Dangrang relayed was utterly objective. Not a shred of personal feeling entered into it. He simply laid out the facts, one after another.
"Even if it's a gathering of Taoists, it's still a world of humans, huh."
Sun Wukong had pierced through the entire current of events unfolding in the Wudang Sect.
"It's starting to make sense, piece by piece."
The martial artists who had been waiting on the road to Mt. Wudang as if they had come out specifically to receive him. Even Gwangso's attitude during the inspection at the mountain's foot. Quite a few complicated things were unfolding within the Wudang Sect's grounds.
Sun Wukong's brow furrowed.
"I hate complicated."
"Then wouldn't it be better not to intervene at all?"
"That's not an option, Dangrang."
Sun Wukong snorted.
"There are those Taoists Honghaea made contact with, remember."
"Mmm... does the Great Sage believe they are the reincarnations of demons?"
"Why else would they be in bed with Honghaea?"
A thread of cold scorn had entered Sun Wukong's voice.
"Demon reincarnations, cultivating the Tao..."
Sun Wukong snorted a laugh at Dangrang's mutter.
"It's not that unusual. Even in the old days, there were plenty of stories about some renowned Taoist or Buddhist monk who turned out to be a demon in disguise."
It had been common. More common than you'd think. There had even been ones who'd cultivated genuine spiritual power and put on a convincing impression of an immortal.
"Even if they are reincarnated demons, they are human now. That, too, is the natural current of things. Whatever they are plotting, whatever they are doing..."
"Not my problem. If they've got a complaint, they can take it up with Guanyin up there."
"..."
Sun Wukong cursed Guanyin freely whenever he pleased, yet never hesitated to borrow her name when he needed it. The paradox of it — that he was acting with Guanyin's tacit approval. Even an Earth Deity of Dangrang's standing dared not argue.
"If it were up to me, I'd wash my hands of the Wudang Sect's business."
He meant it. Even at a glance, the Wudang Sect was tangled in complicated affairs. He had no desire to stick his nose in. Let them fight and stew among themselves — what did he care?
Unfortunately, the situation wouldn't allow it. Honghaea's traces were sitting right there, plain as day. At the very least, he had to squeeze the Taoists who'd made contact with Honghaea. But to lay a hand on them...
"I'd have to interfere openly. Dive straight into the heart of the Wudang Sect."
Sun Wukong stroked his chin. It would have been so much simpler to just meet Geumgak, collect the remaining fragments of the Seven Star Sword and the Golden Cord, and be on his way.
"Somehow the hardships just keep piling on, don't they, Guanyin. You really are something."
He no longer even had the energy to scream at her.
As Sun Wukong sat in a state of something like resignation, Dangrang suddenly asked,
"Ah, come to think of it — the Great Sage can now communicate freely with the Celestial Realm?"
Dangrang's gaze fell on the cat, now left with only its spiritual form after Master Janggyeong had returned to the Celestial Realm. His voice was full of wonder.
"To think that after the mortal world and the Celestial Realm were split apart, Master Janggyeong can still borrow a cat's body and speak whenever you wish..."
"It wasn't always like this."
"Then? Did you perhaps invent this ability yourself?"
"Come on, how would I manage that? What Tathagata split apart, you think I can just reverse?"
Dangrang's eyes said he didn't understand. Sun Wukong scratched his chin.
"I ate Myodu-eung's Inner Core."
Dangrang's eyes flew so wide they looked ready to split. The voice that came from his mouth trembled roughly.
"D-don't tell me... you killed him?"
"Me?"
Sun Wukong was so incredulous a hollow laugh burst out of him.
"Do I look like the type to kill an Earth Deity, or the type to keep him alive and work him to the bone?"
"Mm. Keeping them alive and working them until they beg to be killed... that does sound more like the Great Sage's style."
"You know me well. I didn't kill him."
"If an Earth Deity left behind an Inner Core, that would mean someone killed him."
"Honghaea."
"...!"
Only then did Dangrang understand the situation, and a sigh burst from him. He also realized he could no longer stop Sun Wukong from intervening. An Earth Deity of this world had been murdered. Was that not a distortion of destiny itself?
"If I had not been strong enough, I might have been burned to ash by Honghaea's Samadhi True Fire that day."
"Maybe so."
Dangrang looked at Sun Wukong once more. He had grasped the gravity of how things were unfolding. He realized that he was, in fact, in a position where he ought to be helping the Great Sage.
"Great Sage. There is something I should tell you."