Journey to the West: Sun Wukong's Advice System
Chapter 54: Pooling Wisdom and Efforts

Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Pooling Wisdom and Efforts

Sun Wukong returned to the Imperial Horse Administration and was still pondering who the real culprit behind this case could be, and what their motive might be.

His first suspect was the Jade Emperor.

Since learning that Wood Treasury Star Lord Deng Hua actually controlled the Imperial Horse Administration, Sun Wukong had begun to doubt the current situation of the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor, though a sovereign of the heavens, seemed unable to even manage a single government office properly.

After getting involved in the Deng Hua and Xiao Zhen case, it became clear to Wukong that the followers of the Chan teaching had deep roots in the Heavenly Court.

From this, he affirmed that the Jade Emperor’s power must have been usurped, or at least partly so; the Jade Emperor hadn’t fully controlled the Heavenly Court.

"Hmm, just as I had thought before, the followers of the Chan teaching are the prime suspects in the smuggling of Heavenly Weapons," Sun Wukong mused.

Of course, one couldn’t eliminate the possibility of other powerful and well-connected immortals being involved.

Based on the current situation, the Heavenly Weapons issue revealed during the previous suppression of the six-eared macaque, though Martial Emperor True Warrior and Taibai Gold Star had not publicized it and no news had leaked out for so long,

it was certain that the matter had caught the Jade Emperor’s attention.

"If I can guess that the followers of the Chan teaching are the prime suspects, the Jade Emperor must also speculate as much," Sun Wukong scratched his face.

Therefore, it was reasonable to deduce that the Jade Emperor had good cause to orchestrate this chain of schemes, first targeting Wood Treasury Star Lord Deng Hua, then framing the Golden Treasury Star Lord Xiao Zhen, who served as the Armory Order Official.

This way, he could seize power from the Chan followers and also uncover the weapon smuggling issue.

He and Yang Chan were only dragged into this because of their previous conflict with Deng Hua on Magpie Bridge Mountain.

Having sorted out these points, Sun Wukong still felt as though he was missing something, but he couldn’t put his finger on what exactly it was. After all, he rarely engaged in such sly and cunning plans before.

At that moment, he decided to connect his consciousness to Zhihu and post a question, seeking the collective wisdom of the netizens there.

"I am Sun Wukong. I’ve just finished investigating the murder of Wood Treasury Star Lord but couldn’t find the real killer. May I ask for advice from the seniors here?"

Below the question was a summary of his investigation experience, including the discovery of poisoned wine, letters, the case’s doubts, the deep roots of the Chan teaching in the Heavenly Court, and his final speculation about the real culprit.

Responses came quickly.

Jaw-dropping Marshal: "Is this mythical world that trashy? Still using these low-level methods? Which immortal can be killed by poison? Which immortal still writes letters on paper?

If the host is playing the freemium game of Sun Wukong’s life simulation, just play it properly and don’t imitate such intelligence-lowering experiences. It’s classless!"

"This guy!" Sun Wukong scratched his ears and cheeks, vexed at being thought a liar.

With his observations over the years, he had clearly seen that not every Zhihu netizen possessed Divine Skills, nor were they all noble seniors like those in the sixth grade or experts in the myths of yore.

For instance, this marshal right off the bat doubted him and defined everything according to his own beliefs.

If there are miraculous pills that can heal an immortal’s injuries, then why can’t there be poison that can kill an immortal?

What’s wrong with immortals writing letters on paper? The Jade Emperor reads books, and all the heavenly palaces record all sorts of affairs on paper—besides, the paper used in the Heavenly Court isn’t the same as that used in the mortal world!

The following responses made Sun Wukong smile with satisfaction; indeed, there were more seniors who understood the larger picture.

Anxi Mountain Hermit: "The person above is taking too narrow a view. Aren’t the scriptures of Mount Ling written on paper? And they are not even waterproof.

You say poison cannot kill an immortal, why not let the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord concoct a pill that can poison and kill a Daluo Golden Immortal to test it out?"

Keep It Simple: "Haha, to think bigger, my Dao friend, would you like to try a dose of Saintly Demise Pill?"

Wang Lao Er: "Take a closer look at the host’s simulated experience. It’s obvious that the real mastermind behind the scenes intended to use the paper letter to frame Xiao Zhen. You shouldn’t generalize this issue to all immortals."

After these three seniors replied, no one else questioned Sun Wukong’s experience.

The rest of the responses focused more on the case itself.

Bodhisattva Crossing the Sea: "From the clues provided by the host, it’s really possible that the Chan followers are the smugglers. Sun Wukong, you must be very cautious when opposing them because you have no idea how low their moral bottom line might be."

A Sword Cold As Frost Across Fourteen States: "The true mastermind behind the scenes aimed at framing and setting up others. He must be someone familiar with Xiao Zhen and Deng Hua, knowing them very well, and also planted his own people around them. Following this lead will surely lead to the real murderer

And you must investigate quietly, as anyone capable of committing such a murder in the Heavenly Court is definitely not simple."

"Finally, no thanks."

[You have received a new suggestion: Investigate Xiao Zhen and Deng Hua’s acquaintances in secret to find the real mastermind behind the murder, completing this suggestion will reward you with a fifth-tier treasure chest.]

"The two seniors are right!" Sun Wukong’s expressive eyes sparkled with divine light.

Logically speaking, he didn’t need to continue the investigation since he had a grudge against Xiao Deng.

But as the netizen seniors taught, you can’t just look at the surface of problems.

Through investigating this case, he had the opportunity to get to the bottom of the Heavenly Weapons smuggling case and find the smuggler.

And that smuggler must be connected to the demon sect, giving him a chance to locate Moluo and the Six-Eared Macaque, and then to eliminate the Six-Eared Macaque!

Moreover, the senior from Omniscient Honghuang mentioned earlier had suggested that the timing of Moluo and the Six-Eared Macaque’s rebellion was somewhat early, urging him to discover their true purpose for rebelling, which upon completion would reward him with a seventh-tier treasure chest.

So, of course, he had to continue!

What’s more, by conducting the investigation, he could complete one suggestion after another, earning more rewards to enhance his own strength.

Continued to read the following replies.

Omniscient Honghuang: "I have an idea, Sun Wukong suspects that the Jade Emperor is the mastermind, but I don’t think so.

We can start from the poisoned wine in the host’s simulation, originally an immortal wine, which, after being tainted with demonic qi, became the black poison wine emitting a strange aura,

In the Three Realms, those capable of this sort of method are either demons or members of the demon sect, and the subordinates of Buddha Wutian originally were comprised of both demons and deviants.

Would the dignified Jade Emperor use such demonic-inspirited poison wine?

One who represents Heaven and rules the Three Realms certainly isn’t as simple as he appears on the surface. If he’s involved in such sinister and deceptive schemes, then Heaven is really blind, and he deserves to be overshadowed by the enshrinement teachings.

The smuggler, however, could lay hands on such poison wine, and then craft a successive chain of calculations.

So, I think that the Jade Emperor started to take action to investigate after he learned about the smuggling of Heavenly Weapons.

The smuggler, sensing danger, committed the murder of Deng Hua to shake off trouble, framing it on Xiao Zhen, who was in charge of weapons.

These two are disciples of saints from the enshrinement teachings, with stature that’s just right, fitting most of the characteristics of the Heavenly Weapons smuggler.

Moreover, their status within the enshrinement teachings is awkward: they were cannon fodder during the Era of the Gods, and now in Heaven, they are stuck in limbo, so even if they died, it wouldn’t truly infuriate the higher echelons of the enshrinement teachings.

If the smuggler is indeed from the enshrinement teachings, then pushing these two out could be seen as a compromise to the Jade Emperor. It remains to be seen whether the Jade Emperor will accept it or not.

Of course, even if the Jade Emperor doesn’t accept it, I dare say that if Sun Wukong continues to investigate, the evidence he finds will definitely point towards Xiao Zhen and Deng Hua."

A Little Potato: "The dude above is awesome!"

Young Abin: "The dude above is awesome!"

Pure Love: "The dude above is awesome!"

After reading these replies, Sun Wukong scratched his face, finally understanding what he had overlooked.

The seniors indeed had more wisdom and saw things more clearly.

"Perhaps I have wronged the Jade Emperor," Wukong thought. "Xiao Zhen is a bit clever, but actually he’s brainless.

He considers himself superior, despising the demon race from the bottom of his heart. There’s even less chance of him smuggling Heavenly Weapons with the even more notorious demon sect. The true smuggler is someone else indeed!

The Jade Emperor must have seen through this issue; hence in his eyes, Xiao Zhen’s life and death are not important, otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked me to continue investigating the doubts."

Having realized this, Wukong started to worry, scratching his ears and cheeks.

Because according to the deductions of Omniscient Honghuang, even if he continued the investigation, the evidence would point towards Xiao Zhen and Deng Hua.

How then could he unravel the Heavenly Weapons smuggling case?

He voiced his doubts under the reply from Omniscient Honghuang.

Soon, he received a response: "When you lack direction, just watch and wait for the opponent to make a mistake."

[You have received a new suggestion: Wait for the opponent to make a mistake, completing this suggestion will reward you with a fourth-tier treasure chest.]

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