The Monkey King

When he opened his eyes for the first time, under the dim red light of the fire, the young man vaguely saw three people, a bear and a monkey surrounding him.

"I finally woke up. This guy is really good at sleeping."

"Would you like to prepare some questions?"

"Don't you even have to think about it? Just ask how this black chicken country got into such a mess."

"I just woke up, maybe he's not quite awake yet, I need to let him rest for a while."

While everyone was talking about it, the man paused for a moment, pursed his lips, and then closed his eyes in a daze. For a while, there was no movement at all.

"Fainted again? Didn't you faint because of fright?"

"Have you ever seen someone so dizzy? I guess he hasn't woken up yet."

The black bear spirit bent down to take a closer look, and the breath from his nose hit the man's face directly.

Gradually, the man's face began to look ugly.

The monkey pointed, and everyone looked at the man's hand. I saw that his fingers were trembling slightly, and a closer look showed that his thighs were also trembling.

Suddenly, everyone understood what was going on. They all straightened up and silently looked at the man lying on the bed in the middle.

Not long after, a scream was heard, and the man sat up and rolled to the side, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Don't eat me! Don't eat me! I'm too thin and don't taste good! It's not good. eat!"

In the blink of an eye, he had shrunk to the corner and held a barrel lid in front of his chest. He looked at everyone with wide eyes and fear, especially at the black bear spirit.

The candlelight on the table swayed slightly, and everyone looked at him quietly, just in a stalemate.

After a while, Xuanzang shook his cassock and took a step forward.

The man winced in shock. Place the lid of the barrel towards Xuanzang.

Helpless, Xuanzang had no choice but to clasp his hands and salute, and said: "This benefactor, a poor monk wants to go to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures. He happened to pass by here and wanted to ask the benefactor what happened here."

The man stretched his head and asked carefully: "Are you...a monk?"

Xuanzang nodded. Smiled lightly.

The man swallowed dryly. Then he asked in a low voice: "What about them? Monk... Aren't monks fasting and chanting Buddha's name? Why are you with monsters? You are not transformed into a monster, are you?"

Xuanzang looked back at the monkey and the black bear spirit and said, "These few are friends of the poor monk and will never harm you."

"Monsters don't eat people? How...how can you prove it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the monkey took a step forward with the golden hoop. Xuanzang wanted to step forward to stop him, but the monkey pushed him away with one hand.

"Don't worry about this matter. I'll ask, otherwise I won't be able to ask until dawn, and it will be endless." As he said that, the monkey pressed the golden hoop against the barrel lid that the man was blocking in front of his chest, half-smiling but not smiling. He said: "Guess, if I want to eat you, can you run away?"

As soon as these words came out, the man's face suddenly turned purple and he was about to cry.

"I'm asking you something." Monkey emphasized again without expression.

Only then did the man seem to wake up. He shook his head with a sad face.

"Isn't it over now? What more proof do you need? Isn't it proof that you are still alive? Now I ask you, what exactly happened here?"

The man looked at Xuanzang with twinkling eyes.

"Say! Don't look around!"

The man quickly closed his eyes and shouted: "I...I can't explain clearly. In short, it's a mess now!"

Turning back and looking at Xuanzang, the monkey said again: "Then tell me, where did you originally live? What kind of business did you do, and why did you end up here?"

The man swallowed dryly and replied with a slight trembling: "Young man... I came here to avoid debt."

"Debt avoidance? Be more specific."

The man nodded heavily and said: "Xiao... Xiao was originally a merchant, and his family owned a grocery store... He has a wife and children at home, and his parents are still alive. Although the family is not rich, they can live a good life. To be stable. The year before last, prices soared. His Majesty issued a notice saying that prices should be stabilized and gouging was prohibited. Officials and merchants were established. If prices rise, they will sell them. If prices fall, they will sell them. Then...then..."

At this point, I choked on my words. The man lowered his head and opened his eyes slightly, with a sad look on his face.

The monkey thought for a while and said: "It's a good idea, better than banning price increases directly. What next?"

The man snorted twice, sucked back all the runny nose, and replied carefully: "Then...then something happened. The official came to my store to purchase a large amount of goods, and he gave me a low price. The goods that were originally purchased were forcibly sold at high prices... After going back and forth, Xiao... not only lost all his family property, but also owed a large debt to the government and was unable to repay it. My father was furious, and my mother followed him. Go... In order to avoid debts, the younger one fled with his wife and children, but he encountered bandits again..."

At this point, the dignified seven-foot-tall man burst into tears in front of everyone, crying so hard that his heart was broken.

Seeing this situation, everyone was suddenly speechless.

After a while, until the man was tired of crying and regained his composure, the monkey asked again: "What happened to the other people? There should be only a few people like you avoiding debt. Why are there no people in the villages we passed by?" Are you here?"

"This...it's a long story, and I'm afraid I can't tell it all."

"It's okay, you can tell as much as you know." The monkey removed the golden cudgel, moved a chair and sat in front of the man, and said, "Let's listen slowly."

Perhaps due to his sadness, the man seemed no longer as afraid of monkeys and black bear spirits as before.

He looked up at the monkey, sat on the ground leaning against the wall, and said slowly: "Actually, the weather here was always smooth, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. Although there were occasional injustices, they didn't cause any trouble. The origin of everything, Let’s start with the Prime Minister’s succession to the throne.”

"The prime minister will be crowned king?"

"Well, the original king died, and the old king had no children, because there were only three generations. By this generation, the Wang family was extinct. Because the prime minister has always been honest, prestigious and well-liked, everyone unanimously elected him as the new king. "

"Then what?"

"Then, it was okay at first. After His Majesty ascended the throne, he punished corrupt officials and built water conservancy projects."

"That's all a good thing. Now what?"

"Five years ago, there was a drought in the Wuji Kingdom... It was not serious in fact, but some people did starve to death. So, His Majesty ordered the government to open warehouses to provide disaster relief."

"The government doesn't have enough food?"

"The government has enough food, and every disaster victim has received food. However, the big problem is after the disaster."

"Go on. Go on."

The man nodded and continued: "After the disaster, His Majesty issued several decrees requiring that a household should not own more than ten acres of land. Otherwise, it would either be confiscated, given to the poor, or beheaded. In addition, no one was allowed to lend money." After such a commotion, several wealthy families in the town immediately pooled their military pay to revolt. However, they were quickly suppressed. The officers and soldiers rewarded their merits based on the number of heads... One of my relatives... was captured and used as cash. Everyone is killed. This is not over yet. No one is allowed to lend money, so what will happen when there is no loan?"

"For this reason, His Majesty issued a new order, saying that private loans were not allowed, and the state would only charge low interest rates for loans. Originally, everyone was happy when they heard the news. But when it was actually implemented, they were all dumbfounded. Those officials, Not only do they lend money when there is a shortage of crops, but they also lend money when the grain warehouse is full, and they lend a lot... No matter how low the interest rate is, how can this farmer afford the interest compounding? I know several honest farmers who are like this He owed huge debts and ended up with his family ruined. I originally thought it was just their business, and those of us who do business would never be involved, but I didn’t expect..."

"Then, refugees spread everywhere, and all kinds of bandits and robbers were everywhere like locusts. Your Majesty began to recruit troops to suppress the bandits. Those who originally avoided debts now have a group of deserters. Your Majesty also issued a decree to punish those who deserted the military service. Sitting together... This time, the whole village fled... Then, His Majesty's decrees came one after another, and then..."

At this point, the man looked like he couldn't go on. He raised his head and blinked at the monkey.

There are so many things that have been said, and things that have not been said... It took a long time to make this place such a mess, and it was completely caused by the government itself.

For a moment, everyone was silent.

Such a king has never been seen before.

After being silent for a long time, Xuanzang slowly walked up to the man, stretched out his hand to help the man up, and said, "Don't be afraid, almsgiver. The poor monk will go to the capital of the Wuji Kingdom to find the King of the Wuji Kingdom and ask him for advice."

"Do you have to take care of this kind of thing?" Monkey asked.

"Since we are looking for the method of universal salvation, we naturally cannot stay out of it."

"Master, can you advise your majesty?" The man looked at Xuanzang with wide eyes.

Xuanzang smiled lightly and said, "Let's give it a try."

The man was doubtful.

While Xuanzang was having a detailed discussion with the man, Monkey suddenly remembered the case he knew about the Wuji Kingdom.

In this plot, isn't it supposed that the old king had a dream and said that this king was transformed from a lion into a spirit? How come this happened?

Thinking about it, he pulled the canopy and walked out the door.

"What?"

"Don't you think this king is a little weird? I have never heard of such a character in this journey. Why don't you and I go to the palace first? If there is nothing different about the king, Xuanzang wants to enter the palace to give advice. , just let him. If there is anything strange, you and I can handle it first."

Tianpeng glanced at Xuanzang in the room and said, "I'll just go. You'd better stay."

"Alright."

After handing each other over, the monkey quietly returned to the house, while Canopy quickly ran into the courtyard, flipped and jumped into the air, and galloped away in the direction of the royal capital.

Along the way, the canopy deliberately lowered its altitude and flew over the mountains and rivers. The villages and towns along the way had only a few firelights. They seemed to be the same as the villages and towns they had seen before.

Not long after, he had arrived above the royal capital.

It looks a lot better here than it did along the way.

After quietly finding the location of the palace, the canopy's figure swayed and turned into a moth, sneaking in through the night.

Perhaps because of the unrest in the country, the entire palace was brightly lit even late at night. However, Wuji Country is a small country after all. It is a country with only a few cities in it. Naturally, the palace cannot be that big.

After walking through the heavily guarded palace for a while, Tianpeng found a figure that everyone called "Your Majesty."

However, with just one glance, Tianpeng was completely stunned.

"Is this... a roller blind?" (To be continued ~^~)

PS: Hmm... I feel like this chapter is not well written...