Journey to the West: Sun Wukong's Advice System
Chapter 172: The Strict Teacher Disciplines His Disciple and Destroys the Peach Garden?

Chapter 172: Chapter 172: The Strict Teacher Disciplines His Disciple and Destroys the Peach Garden?

Princess Wansheng was an attendant to the Queen Mother of the West, a fact that made Sun Wukong feel both surprised and as if it made perfect sense.

In his original life, Princess Wansheng would later steal the Queen Mother’s nine-leaf spiritual ginseng to nourish the nine-headed insect that was stolen from the sacrifice nation’s Buddhist treasures.

If it weren’t for this connection, how could she, a mere dragon maiden, have the strength to steal treasures among the many powerful beings in the Heavenly Court?

What truly astonished Sun Wukong was that someone from the Wisdom forum had previously mentioned that Princess Wansheng and the nine-headed insect were the true pair, and that her supposed fated marriage to the young white dragon was naught but fiction.

Yet unexpectedly, Ao Lie had developed feelings for Princess Wansheng now.

"Hmm, is this a coincidence?" Sun Wukong was somewhat puzzled, as it seemed too precise, perfectly recreating this baseless story.

After pondering it for a moment, he had no clear conjecture, but as for how to handle this situation, he had a plan in mind.

Sun Wukong looked at Ao Lie kneeling before him and sternly said, "Do you think you did wrong by hiding your relationship with Princess Wansheng from me, your teacher? You are mistaken!"

Ao Lie was shocked, and as he lifted his head to see his master’s strict expression, his heart trembled, and he vaguely understood where he had truly erred.

Golden Cicada, standing to the side and watching with interest, had only heard of strict mentor-disciple interactions but had never experienced them, as the Buddha never reprimanded him.

Sun Wukong continued gravely, "You erred by not trusting me, believing that I would vent my old animosity with the Wansheng Dragon Race on Princess Wansheng, and tear you two apart,

Do you view me as so unreasonable?"

Ao Lie knelt there, filled with fear and overwhelming guilt, and wept, "Master, I realize my mistake!"

Sun Wukong spoke with emphasis, "As my disciple, of course I wish to see you fare well. If Princess Wansheng is truly sincere to you, why would I interfere with your union?"

With tears in his eyes, Ao Lie looked at his master with even greater respect and trust.

He truly deserved to die for his mistake; his master had been so good to him, endowing him with a supreme Innate Spiritual Treasure, helping to suppress the fetters of karmic forces, and even transmitting to him the Ancestral Dragon Art, giving him the chance to grow stronger.

Yet, because of a woman, he had harbored other thoughts towards his master.

Sun Wukong instructed earnestly, "Ao Lie, remember, your teacher will never harm you. However, when dealing with others, you must be more cautious,

If you encounter something you can’t resolve, you must inform your teacher and not act brash or embarrassed, after all, even your teacher doesn’t have the power to solve all troubles."

"I’ll keep that in mind!" Ao Lie bowed deeply, "And there’s something else I need to tell you, Master. Just now, Chan Teaching’s Qingxu Daode Zhenjun’s disciple, White Cloud Boy, tried to pick peaches from the Peach Garden without any decree and got a beating from me; I fear he will not let this go."

"Hahaha, how is that a mistake," laughed Sun Wukong. "The Peach Garden is a key location in the Heavenly Court, and its peaches are treasures that help immortals of the three realms avoid disaster.

If he dares to intrude like that, that is a capital offence. You were justified; killing him wouldn’t even be too much,

In the future, when faced with such incidences, act boldly without worry; your teacher will back you up!"

"Thank you, Master. I understand!" said Ao Lie, even more respectful, and then took his leave.

After Ao Lie had left, Golden Cicada spoke up, puzzled, "Great Saint, I don’t understand. People often say that an endless cycle of vengeance leads nowhere. How could you teach your disciple to act in such a way?"

He had wanted to ask earlier, but he didn’t want to interrupt a strict teacher disciplining his student.

Sun Wukong smiled and said, "To those who are reasonable, one can indeed end the cycle of vengeance. But to those shameless and hypocritical folks, showing them kindness is akin to aiding a villain, only leading to others getting hurt.

True compassion is not forgiving their wrongs, but teaching them to become better people.

If they remain stubborn and unrepentant, then they must start over from scratch."

Golden Cicada pondered deeply, as these principles differed greatly from the scriptures he had studied in the Buddha Sect, yet he couldn’t outright refute them or label them as wrong.

Finally, he voiced the remaining doubt in his mind, "But what if personal grudges are involved? I’m aware of your disputes with Chan Teaching."

Sun Wukong gently shook his head, "You, as a monk, have misunderstood me. I only judge right from wrong; when have I ever acted on personal grudges?

Yang Jian is a Chan Teaching disciple, and Ne Zha was one too; what do you think my relationship is with them?"

Golden Cicada rose to his feet and bowed, "It is I who was mistaken."

Sun Wukong chuckled; making this monk admit he was wrong was no easy feat.

But while he had resolved Golden Cicada’s doubts, his own remained unanswered.

The incident with the Chan Teaching disciple intruding on the Peach Garden sparked many conjectures, but he still needed to consult with seniors from the Wisdom forum.

He immediately opened the Heed Advice system, connected his consciousness to Wisdom, and posted an inquiry.

"I am Sun Wukong. With the Peach Banquet approaching, a Chan Teaching disciple attempted to pick peaches from the Peach Garden in advance and was disciplined by my disciple Ao Lie. I ask the seniors here, how do you view this matter of Chan Teaching picking peaches?"

At the same time, he also attached the situation regarding Ao Lie and Princess Wansheng to the inquiry.

It wasn’t long before he received numerous replies from the forum members.

Only a fan of the great Tang Dynasty’s Poet Li Bai, "Even though Xiao Bailong knew about Sun Wukong’s beef with the Myriad Saints Ancient Dragon family, he still got entangled with Princess Wan Sheng,"

What’s their relationship like, is it really all water under the bridge just because Princess Wan Sheng says she won’t hold a grudge?

This kid’s brain is clouded by passion! He’s digging himself a hole!"

Three Products, "This is just a pure, naive virgin meeting a high-level green tea bitch, totally unable to resist, haha."

Nine Nue, "Childhood’s bright moon, eh? What man could resist."

"Heh, indeed he’s digging himself a hole," Wukong thought to himself, but he had no hard feelings towards Ao Lie.

It’s not terrible for a student to make a mistake, just give them a knock on the head—that’s all. After all, nobody can guarantee they won’t make mistakes.

What’s fearful is those who know their errors yet don’t change, and repeatedly make the same mistakes.

As for Princess Wan Sheng, he certainly didn’t trust her.

A mere dragon girl who dared to steal the Nine-leaf Ganoderma from the Queen Mother of the West, just to cultivate her Buddha’s Treasures, showed her extraordinary boldness—she was definitely not a simple character.

Being so considerate and proactive towards Ao Lie, nine out of ten times, she was up to no good!

A netizen following the thread thought the same as him.

One Eight Zero’s Luo Moumou, "Princess Wan Sheng is definitely up to something, maybe she’s a spy planted in the Heavenly Court by the demon cult. Monkey bro needs to be careful, just like the guy above said, Ao Lie is totally unable to parry her. We need to figure out her real purpose."

[You have received a new suggestion: Find out Princess Wan Sheng’s purpose in the Heavenly Court, completing the suggestion will reward a fifth-tier treasure chest.]

"Hehe, this suggestion isn’t bad," Wukong said as he scratched his hands, already intending to do just that.

Luo Fei, "The OP’s simulation is quite logical; by adding the Chan Teaching’s premature peach picking into the equation, it explains why the Jade Emperor asked Sun Wukong to guard the Peach Garden in the original timeline."

Yan Yuchuan, "No need to add that to explain it, it’s just a resource monopoly. Before the Vast Wilderness turned into the Three Realms, the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother harvested how many batches of peaches.

Now, by using Monkey Bro to deplete a large number of ripe peaches in the Peach Garden, it’s like they’ve monopolized the resource of immortality in the Three Realms, and later they can simply say that the remaining peaches are not ripe and temporarily close the Peach Garden.

If they drag it out for a thousand years or so, the once-every-five-hundred-year Tribulations of Three Calamities and Five Disasters could kill off who knows how many disobedient deities!

As for the Golden Cores of Laojun and the Ginseng Fruits of Zhenyuanzi, those can’t be mass-produced and won’t affect the big picture.

So if the immortals of the Three Realms want to avoid the Tribulations, they have no choice but to align themselves with the Jade Emperor."

As Time Reverses on Moonlit Nights, "This explanation makes sense, but under the context of OP’s simulation, some corrections and additions are needed.

After the Jade Emperor takes back more power, there’ll be a struggle for financial authority when dispensing benefits to newcomers.

And with a fixed output of peaches, anti-corruption and strict supervision become imperative,

so that’s why he appointed Xiao Bailong as the guardian of the Peach Garden in the first place—to throw out bait and draw out the Chan Teaching disciples who would try to pick the peaches, and then use Sun Wukong like a blade to eliminate them!"

Feng Xuecheng, "Correct, the Jade Emperor really has a tough job right now. He’s got to deliver the goods he promised to his old staff, reward the subordinates who helped during the power struggle, distribute money to those without formal positions, and provide benefits to recruit new people.

With so much to hand out, the resources he had managed to gather were like a drop in the bucket.

If he wants to continue expanding his power, then fighting for peach resources becomes essential."

"Oh, I see," Wukong said after reading these replies, gaining a deeper understanding of the situation.

Previously, he only thought the Jade Emperor wanted to cut off the source of peaches for the Chan Teaching to deal with them, without considering the bigger picture.

He continued to read the following replies.

Eagle in the Northern Territories Yuan Benchu, "I think Monkey Bro needs to watch out for Chan Teaching’s retaliation this time. As mentioned in a previous problem post, Ao Lie is Monkey Bro’s weak spot, and Chan Teaching certainly won’t miss this chance for revenge."

Mist Hidden Secret Waves, "I have a bold idea. Since the Jade Emperor wants to destroy the existing peaches, why not use their tactic against them? Make a big move,

and as long as the Chan Teaching disciples come looking for trouble again, let Ao Lie go all out. After the Peach Garden is destroyed in the big battle, we can put the blame on the Chan Teaching disciples. Wouldn’t that be satisfying?"

Sky Outside Fly, "You madman, are you trying to push Xiao Bailong onto the path Monkey Bro once took, making him cause havoc in the Heavenly Court?"

Tier Two Ultimate Skill Blast, "Hey, not bad, not bad at all."

[You have received a new suggestion: Be wary of Chan Teaching’s retaliation, completing the suggestion will reward a fifth-tier treasure chest.]

[You have received a new suggestion: Destroy the Peach Garden and pin the blame on Chan Teaching disciples, completing the suggestion will reward a seventh-tier treasure chest.]

"Hmm, indeed not bad!" Sun Wukong mused, scratching his face thoughtfully, a fierce light flashing in his eyes.

Ever since ascending to heaven, he had been playing by the rules, always feeling restrained, which was quite annoying.

Now that he had the chance, of course, he wanted to go wild!

That being said, Wukong still maintained some level of caution in his mind. Before acting, he knew he had to make thorough preparations to ensure no one could catch him out later on.