The white ape hurried over, drenched in sweat with a rather ill-looking complexion.
Sun Wukong's heart tightened.
Could something have really happened?
"Huff... Huff..."
Running up to Sun Wukong, the white ape was panting heavily, vigorously wiping the beads of sweat off his forehead, his expression turning from unsightly to excited, "Great King! I discovered a patch of Purple Leaf Fruit in a territory across from here, it's a gang of wild boars' domain, so I wanted to see what you thought!"
Uh...
Is that it?
So you're just out of breath from running?
Am I being too naughty, or am I seeing a boogeyman in every shadow?
With an inward roll of his eyes, Sun Wukong grandly waved his hand and declared dominantly, "Taking others' things is what barbaric demons do, we are civilized monkeys, we definitely wouldn't do that sort of thing. So, let's just go and ask General Yin Hu for it, he will surely give it to us!"
The white ape was suddenly stunned.
Those words, could it be madness?
Therefore, he asked uncertainly, "Great King, you mean to ask General Yin Hu for it?"
"That's right!" Sun Wukong answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world, a look of inscrutable depth on his face as he waved at the white ape, "You don't need to worry about the rest, just make sure to protect our tribe later, I'll take care of that fruit land myself."
Having said this and without waiting for the white ape to persuade him, he got up and walked towards the opposite mountain.
The white ape, feeling helpless, trudged back to his tribe, doubting that Sun Wukong could make General Yin Hu hand over the territory unless he drove away the wild boar herd by force; otherwise, there was no way.
But that herd of wild boars numbered in the hundreds, each one plump and burly, their size more than ten times that of the monkeys'. Should they come into conflict, the monkeys would likely come off worse, having no chance of victory.
Of course, if he and the Great King took action together, they could drive away the wild boar herd, but in the end, both monkeys would suffer greatly, a rather pyrrhic victory that would put the entire monkey tribe in difficulty.
This will not do!
"Eh... I hope the Great King has a good plan and can snatch (negotiate) it back from General Yin Hu."
The white ape paced with his hands behind his back, letting out a sigh of helpless resignation, a look of worry on his face as he entered the tribal land.
Meanwhile, right on the high ridge opposite the monkey territory, Sun Wukong had marched straight into the Wild Boar King's territory.
The Wild Boar King was massive, and as soon as Sun Wukong stepped onto the ridge, it charged at him with a roar.
Its tusks were bared, its limbs blurs of motion, resembling a heavy tank barrelling towards him.
Up the slope, its momentum increased by folds, reaching an immense force as it drew near.
Sun Wukong looked up, saw the dust clouds rolling in as the Wild Boar King bore down with the force of ten thousand pounds, and couldn't help but smile. As it got close, he fluidly stepped aside, easily dodging the charge.
He then stroked his ear, drew out his iron staff, twirled around, and landed a blow on the Wild Boar King, sending it howling in pain, tumbling forward, and rolling several times over.
With Sun Wukong's current strength, he could have easily smashed its head in one stroke, but to carry out his plan, he had incapacitated it instead.
At this moment, the Wild Boar King finally realized Sun Wukong's power. Though it was a beast without intellect, instinct drove it to seek fortune and avoid disaster. When it recognized the strength of an enemy, it didn't hesitate to turn and run, abandoning its territory altogether.
But Sun Wukong had a use for it and wouldn't let it escape. He stepped in front of it, grabbed its hind legs, and began whirling it around effortlessly.
The Wild Boar King screamed in terror, feeling as though it was about to be castrated, and by the time Sun Wukong put it down, it had turned completely limp, like a noodle.
In fact, this was the result of Sun Wukong releasing his demon aura. On the one hand, there was the suppression from the difference in levels, and on the other, the fear that stemmed from not being in control of its body. Thus, under this dual pressure, the Wild Boar King simply collapsed.
"It collapses just like that, its courage is way too small!"
Approaching the Wild Boar King, who lay sprawled out like a lump of mud, Sun Wukong dragged one of its hind legs and headed towards the area where General Yin Hu's presence could be felt.
The group of wild boars at the Purple Leaf Fruit Land saw the Wild Boar King being captured and remained indifferent, but whenever Sun Wukong came near, they would let out warning howls and dig up the ground, trying to appear more ferocious.
As expected, they're eyeing the Purple Leaf Fruit Land and have even given up on the Wild Boar King.
Sun Wukong had no plans to snatch it by force, so he skirted around them and continued dragging the Wild Boar King to find General Yin Hu.
The ridge was rugged and uneven, with rocks and thorns everywhere, and it was only thanks to the Wild Boar King's thick skin and dense flesh that Sun Wukong was able to blaze trail after trail.
Soon, they arrived at a circular area where two tall pine trees stood in the midst of the Emerald Bamboo Forest.
The emerald bamboos swayed in the wind, subtly revealing a cave hidden behind the forest. Sun Wukong could clearly see it; outside the cave, two tiger demons were eating meat and drinking wine, and they had already spotted him and were looking in his direction.
This was exactly what Sun Wukong had intended. The two tiger demons approached, it was one of the Five Generals, "Has King Monkey an issue? This place is the territory of our tiger clan. If King Monkey has no business, please leave!"
In their own territory, the tiger demons naturally didn't have a good tone. If it weren't for Sun Wukong's strength, they might have killed him for food right then and there.
It wouldn't be the first time.
Bang!
The Wild Boar King was thrown out, landing heavily in front of the two tiger demons. Sun Wukong smiled and said, "Go call for General Yin Hu, tell him I have important matters to discuss, that I have an enormous favor to offer him."
The two tiger demons were shocked by Sun Wukong's strength in capturing the Wild Boar King alive, and upon hearing that he wanted to see General Yin Hu, their tone unconsciously became much more polite, "King Monkey, please wait. We will report to the General immediately!"
After speaking, they paid no more attention to the Wild Boar King and turned to run back to the cave.
Poor Wild Boar King was also under the jurisdiction of General Yin Hu, but now no demon paid it any heed. Just because it was not of the same race, not only was its treatment worse than that of an ordinary white tiger, but it also had to regularly offer up members of its own kind for the tiger race to eat, such was its plight that it could not even garner sympathy—a truly sorrowful predicament.
However, this was exactly the outcome Sun Wukong wanted to see most.
The indifference shown to the wild boar group was a good thing; it meant one less unstable factor, and now his plan could advance a step further as he began to seek development for the monkey tribe.
"Hahaha... Brother Golden Monkey, I didn't expect you to come visit so soon."
With a hearty laugh, General Yin Hu swaggered out of the cave, followed by six generals, each one exuding demonic energy that soared to the skies, looking incredibly imposing.
But in Sun Wukong's view, it was all just nouveau riche pretension, a brave front that was mismatched and out of place.
Nevertheless, since he was on their turf, it was only proper to show the necessary respect. So, he pretended to be impressed and with a look of envy, he praised, "Brother Tiger's grand manner, I wonder when I can achieve such a feat, truly the envy of us monkeys."
"Hahahahaha..."
That was exactly the response General Yin Hu had been waiting for. He burst into delighted laughter, casually encouraging Sun Wukong with a few words, then they circled back to the great favor Sun Wukong had mentioned earlier.
Seeing his eager face but pretending to be casual, he asked, "I hear Brother Golden Monkey has important business with me, I wonder how difficult it is, if it's within my power, of course I'll help you, brother!"
You might as well have asked how great the favor is, if it's not significant, you wouldn't help.
That way, I might actually respect you a bit more.
Though disdainful in his heart, Sun Wukong's face already wore a triumphant expression as he leaned in close to Yin Hu's ear and whispered mysteriously, "This is information I obtained at a great price. Had it not been for how hard life is for my tribe, I really wouldn't want to share it with other demons."
Seeing Sun Wukong's mysterious demeanor, General Yin Hu's eyes immediately lit up at the thought of what it could be and urged, "I wonder what difficulty Brother Golden Monkey is facing that he even needs to exchange a major secret for help. It can't be that hard, can it?"
What a greedy Yin Hu, not casting the falcon until the rabbit is seen.
Yet unknowingly trapped, thinking himself clever, when in fact, he's being led by the nose by Sun Wukong.