Chapter 17 Monkey

"Hey there, brother."

Before Wang Liang could even make out his surroundings, he was greeted by a somewhat dejected voice.

Following the direction of the voice, Wang Liang noticed a monkey squatting on a massive boulder right in front of him.

The monkey was covered in unkempt, matted golden fur that looked as though it hadn't been groomed in centuries, with a few withered leaves clinging to it.

He wasn't very tall; if he stood straight, he would probably only be around one meter thirty in height. Compounded by his habitual squatting and hunched posture, he looked even shorter.

Yet, perhaps because the monkey was perched atop the giant boulder, he somehow managed to project a sense of looking down from above.

While Wang Liang was still scanning his surroundings, the monkey stretched out his left hand. "Got any food? Melons, fruits, flesh, blood—even stones will do. I'm starving!"

As the monkey moved, Wang Liang noticed that only his head and left arm seemed capable of motion. Whenever his body or right arm attempted to move, golden chains would materialize nearby, tightly pulling him back.

Forget climbing down from the boulder; he couldn't even budge an inch.

Wang Liang examined his surroundings more closely and realized he seemed to be inside a grotto. The grotto was not large, spanning roughly thirty square meters in total, with the boulder in front of him taking up about ten square meters of that space.

The remaining area was cluttered with tangled tree roots and vines, alongside a thick layer of dead leaves on the floor.

Though it was unclear where those leaves had come from, it was obvious they weren't edible.

Wang Liang straightened his posture, gripped his Life-Slaying Saber tightly, and fixed his gaze on the monkey.

"Who are you?"

"Me? My name is Sun Wukong!"

As soon as the monkey finished speaking, the phantom of a colossal golden-furred ape materialized behind him. The giant ape stood a full ten meters tall, its arms planted on the ground like towering pillars, muscles bulging with veins across fists the size of water vats, its golden fur fluttering like burning flames.

"The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong! *Ahem!*"

Before he could finish, he let out a cough, and the miraculous apparition behind him instantly vanished.

He shrugged his left hand in helpless resignation. "Well, you saw it. That's pretty much the situation. You can call me Sun Wukong, or you can call me the Great Sage—I rather prefer that name. By the way, brother, got any food? Doesn't need to be anything fancy, just enough to fill my stomach."

Only then did Wang Liang snap back to reality. Naturally, he carried provisions with him for his journey, but he had no idea what kind of food this Sun Wukong might fancy.

"What would you like to eat? I have some dry rations and fruits here. See if any of this appeals to you."

With that, Wang Liang took the prepared food out from his pack.

Unsure of how far west he would have to travel, Wang Liang had prepared an abundance of supplies this time. Alongside normal fruits, he had packed a large quantity of flatbreads, as well as a collection of fresh and dried meats intended for cooking along the way.

However, it was uncertain whether Sun Wukong would even care for most of what he had brought.

Squatting on the boulder, Sun Wukong merely reached out a hand, and several portions of food leaped directly into his palm. Without a second thought, he shoved the food into his mouth.

Wang Liang noticed that Sun Wukong possessed rows of blood-stained, razor-sharp teeth—a clear indication that this was not a creature living on a purely vegetarian diet.

Furthermore, he proved quite picky about his food, selecting only the provisions that Wang Liang had crafted himself, the ones imbued with special attributes.

As he chewed away, Sun Wukong mumbled, "Got any more? Bring out a bit more. Don't worry—putting aside the fact that I'm trapped here, even if I had full freedom of movement, I wouldn't do anything to you. You carry the scent of the Old Man's crucible. Since I ate a few gourds of his golden pills, I have to give you at least that much face."

After swallowing a few mouthfuls, Sun Wukong added with a hint of dissatisfaction, "How is this all the edible stuff you have? Any more? I'm practically dying of hunger."

With that, Sun Wukong began rolling around on the giant boulder, though every time he moved, chains would snap into existence and yank him back to his original spot, causing him considerable distress.

"I do have some food made of metal. I'm not sure if you can eat that."

Wang Liang grew increasingly uncertain of what manner of entity was before him. He racked his brain—he really didn't have much attribute-bearing food left, but he had packed every single one of the metallic dishes from the goat demon Daniu's treat without eating a single bite. He had no idea if this would suit the fellow's palate.

After a moment's hesitation, Wang Liang retrieved all the metallic foods, including the Molten Bronze Wine.

The moment he placed the items on the ground, a flash of delight appeared on Sun Wukong's face. Reaching out, he snatched up the bottle of Molten Bronze Wine and poured it straight down his throat.

After downing the entire flask of bronze liquid, he shoved the bottle into his mouth as well and bellowed loudly.

"Refreshing! It's been ages since I had a drink this satisfying. If you had this stuff earlier, you should've brought it out right away! Here, take a seat. Wait till I finish eating, and we'll talk."

Without missing a beat, Sun Wukong grabbed iron pellets made of metal and crammed them into his mouth.

Wang Liang had previously tested the hardness of those iron pellets; swinging them at someone's head could inflict serious trauma. Yet Sun Wukong crunched through them as easily as if they were ordinary fruits, effortlessly chewing the items into fragments before swallowing them down.

Seeing Sun Wukong behave in this manner, Wang Liang finally understood that the Iron Mountain Tavern hadn't enjoyed such booming business for no reason.

It seemed there genuinely were beings out there with a taste for this sort of fare.

In just a few bites, Sun Wukong devoured every last piece of the metallic food.

Then, he patted his belly with a heavy thud.

"So full! I haven't eaten this well in centuries. This meal alone will hold me over for another three years. Now then, brother, what brings you to this place?"

"Just passing by. I was being hunted by a tiger demon lacking spiritual awareness, escaped all the way over here, and finished him off. Next thing I knew, I got sucked in."

"Ah, you took a life out there? Hahahahaha! So you killed a living creature out there! No wonder."

Sun Wukong laughed heartily while slapping the ground with his left hand.

"No wonder you were dragged in. This Five-Element Mountain was created to suppress me. To prevent anyone from using vital blood arts to strengthen me, anyone who takes a life nearby gets sucked in and locked up for seven days. You can only leave after being purified by Buddhist chants. So prepare yourself for some bad luck."

"Buddhist chants?" Wang Liang frowned. "What Buddhist chants?"

"You'll find out soon enough. I'm stuffed. Put away whatever's uneatable yourself. Seven days passes in the blink of an eye, no need to rush."

With that, Sun Wukong squatted back down on the massive boulder, plugged his ears with his functional left hand, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

As Wang Liang stood there wondering, a bizarre sound of chanting echoed directly beside his ear.