Watching himself acting so recklessly in the scene, Sun Wukong, who had not yet set off for the Western Regions, covered his face incessantly.
"When did I become like that?"
After pondering for a while, Sun Wukong realized it was probably because his own cultivation was insufficient. That Master Puti must surely be a wise and capable person.
Thus, after reaching the Western Regions this time, he would certainly focus on meditating and cultivating diligently.
"Top-quality large golden carp, just fished out of the sea!"
Seeing many people gathered at the coast, Sun Wukong understood that his avatar in the simulator had also seen it but had not joined the crowd. However, he decided to take a look.
Pushing through the crowd, Sun Wukong made his way in.
The people, seeing him dressed and capped, didn't take him for a monster but merely thought he looked somewhat unusual.
After inquiring about the situation, it turned out that this fisherman had caught a large golden carp along the coast and wanted to sell it. However, the fish was too large, measuring a full ten feet long, and its body shimmered golden under the sunlight, deterring any bids.
"This fish is too big, why not descale it and cut it up for sale?"
An elder suggested, noting that such a large fish was rarely seen in the world.
Sun Wukong glanced down at the fish, lying on the ground, ensnared in a fishing net, unable to move, with tears in its eyes.
"A big fish with tears must surely be a dragon's kin. Perhaps it's better to release it," he said.
Sun Wukong, thinking he might have dealings with the Dragon King, wanted to save this carp to forge a good bond, especially because the "As-You-Will Gold-Banded Staff" in the simulator truly seemed fated for him.
With such a good deed, he could also make a trade.
"No way."
The fisherman shook his head, visibly upset, "I caught it with great difficulty. How can I just release it? Even if it is a dragon's kin, nobody has seen one, I don't believe it!"
If it truly were a dragon's kin, how could a mere fisherman have captured it?
Then, the fisherman picked up a large cleaver, ready to chop the big carp into pieces to sell.
Sun Wukong hastily exclaimed, "Wait!"
The fisherman stopped and snapped irritably, "What do you want, you scrawny villager?"
Sun Wukong took out a dozen pearls from his robes, which he had obtained by capturing clams in lakes, seas, and rivers during his travels on Earth, in exchange for money.
Now, the money had run out, but he still had a dozen pearls left.
"Can I exchange these twelve pearls for the fish?" he asked.
Upon seeing the pearls, the fisherman immediately dropped his cleaver, dragged the big fish to Sun Wukong, and said, "Trade? Of course, let's trade!"
To the fisherman, no matter how big the fish was, it could only bring in a few silver pieces.
But these dozen or so pearls could provide for his entire family for much of their lives, making this skinny guy a real fool.
The fisherman walked away with the pearls, and the onlookers gradually dispersed.
Sun Wukong then picked up the ten-foot-long carp and released it back into the sea.
The moment the carp touched the seawater, it broke free from the net and swam joyously towards the depths of the ocean, creating splashes, thoroughly delighted.
After swimming some distance, it turned back to look at Sun Wukong, opening and closing its mouth, as if thanking him for saving its life.
Sun Wukong waved and said, "Be careful in the future and don't come ashore again."
The carp's head bobbed up and down, as if saying, "I understand," then it gazed at Sun Wukong for a long time, as if committing the strange-looking monkey to memory, before finally sinking into the sea.
Sun Wukong felt a great satisfaction at having done a good deed, so he went to a nearby forest to cut wood, preparing to build a raft to set out to sea towards the Western Regions.
Ancestral Master Subhuti, he must meet him to learn from the master's great wisdom.
The simulation had been paused by him; he was always single-minded, focusing fully on one task at a time and not concerning himself with others.
However, what Sun Wukong didn't know was that while he was cutting trees in the forest, a young monk had arrived at the riverbank.
"How strange!"
The young monk looked at the few fishermen on the shore and puzzled, asked, "Could the Bodhisattva be wrong sometimes? Told to come here to save a carp, yet there's truly none?"
Suddenly, a breeze blew by.
The monk felt something in his heart, his gold turned into a handful of incense ash with the wind, disappearing into the formless air.
"That dragon maiden is no longer tied to my fate."
"Return now."
The voice of The Bodhisattva Guanyin reached the young monk's ears.
The young monk uttered a prayer to Maitreya, his figure slowly fading away, transforming into a protector, the golden body of Guanyin, known as Mu Zha.
Of course, Sun Wukong knew nothing of this; he had already constructed his raft and set off from the Western Sea towards the West Bull Demon Continent.
Along the way, he had nothing much to do, so he continued the simulation.
[You obtained the Jingu Bang and used the Divine Skills of Law of Heaven and Earth to make all the demons around Huaguo Mountain bow to you, befriending six Demon Kings.]
[Later, because you were summoned by the underworld due to their soul call, anger filled your heart, and in a fit of rage, you caused chaos in the underworld and erased all the monkeys' names from the Book of Life and Death.]
[Your actions alarmed the heavens, and with complaints from both the Dragon King and the underworld, the Jade Emperor wanted to capture you. However, Taibaijinxing intervened, proposing to recruit you instead.]
[You became a royal coach, diligently performing your duties until you accidentally discovered that it was a minor post, so you ran back to Huaguo Mountain.]
[After returning to Huaguo Mountain, under the suggestion of the two One-Horned Demon Kings, you proclaimed yourself Great Sage Equalling Heaven. The Heavenly forces were dispatched to capture you, but neither the Giant Spirit God nor Nezha could match you, and you defeated them.]
[After your victory, the six Demon Kings came to celebrate and henceforth addressed you as Great Saint.]
Sun Wukong thought to himself, "In the simulator, the version of myself got along well with those six Demon Kings, but they clearly were just fair-weather friends, not worth deep relationships."
Currently, he hadn't met these six demons; an observer sees clear.
While he fought the Giant Spirit God and Nezha from the heavens, these six demons, along with the seventy-two demon kings from their caves, did not come to assist, adhering to the principle 'if it's none of my business, keep far away.'
And after his victory, they came to congratulate him, and upon seeing him naming himself Great Sage Equalling Heaven, they also fashioned a title for themselves, addressing him as Great Saint.
In the simulator, his virtual self was further flattered by these fair-weather friends, becoming even more arrogant, but he could not afford to be like that.
[After your triumph over the heavenly forces, Taibaijinxing once again intervened, securing for you a nominal post of Great Sage Equalling Heaven, which you gladly accepted. You began your role in heaven as Great Sage Equalling Heaven, but with nothing to do, you befriended every deity you could meet in heaven. The Jade Emperor eventually assigned you to manage the Immortal Peach Orchard.]
[Being a monkey, you naturally couldn't resist the peaches, but you were not so foolish as to eat them all at once. Instead, you plucked and ate the peaches secretly every few days.]
[Until the day of the Flat Peach Banquet where you learned from the Seven Fairies that you were not invited. Angered, you caused a commotion during the banquet, stealing and consuming the Golden Core of the Supreme Old Master, and thereafter fled back down to earth.]
Sun Wukong's body shuddered three times. Through the simulator, he had learned what kind of place the heavens generally were, never expecting his virtual self to be so bold.
It truly was!
Imperious!
Although the deeds of his virtual self were wrong, for some reason, he still felt an urge inside. After all, with such great abilities, why wouldn't they make full use of him?
He was not just a coachman or a figurehead.
It was indeed an underestimation of his worth!
Even if he had no merits, but with his martial skills, he could at least be a junior officer and rise through the ranks with deeds.
Why make it so difficult?