Wukong's Debt

The monkey planted flat peaches, but they didn't grow as well as the ones in the Queen Mother's garden.

So the monkey stole water from the Bodhisattva of Pure Water to water the peach trees.

But that one theft landed him in debt...

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Though he had the power to wreak havoc in Heaven, he couldn't save one person.

Wukong no longer had the strength to raise a hand and wipe his mouth, but he still smiled. “So what if I die...”

That was the only time the monk Xuanzang ever lost control.

Deep sorrow lay buried in Xuanzang's eyes. Bajie had never imagined he would see such anguish on the face of a monk who seemed so harmless. Yet in the blink of an eye, Xuanzang was once again the same foolish, meek monk. He stopped chanting and said nothing but the usual empty, monkish platitudes to Wukong, who was writhing in pain on the ground.

Many years later, when Bajie recalled the scene, he suddenly understood that the tragedy had already been set in motion back then.

He didn't know whether these people were all too good at pretending, or whether he himself simply lacked the insight to see the truth. He had never noticed how much unspoken pain and helplessness they hid behind their faces and deep in their hearts.

People called it fate, a trial, the will of Heaven that could not be resisted. But these people had never stopped using what little strength they had to fight against Heaven.

Where is the Buddha? The Buddha has always been in everyone's heart. The greater the heart, the greater the Buddha.

This story was published under a secret identity in issue 24 of the magazine Transmigrate COS, under the title “Wukong's Chronicles.” I now think that title was a little lacking, so I changed it to “Wukong's Debt.”

Another story in the “Postscript to the Journey West” series:

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