Huaguo Mountain, the rushing water roared down the cliff, the sound thundering, sending up countless sprays.
At the source of the waterfall stood a steep cliff with a towering pine tree on its rocky surface.
Under the pine tree, a group of monkeys peeked and listened to the waterfall.
"Whoever among us can get into the waterfall and find the source, we'll make him our king."
The monkeys made this agreement, yet no one dared to jump into the waterfall.
"Hey."
A female monkey lifted her head and shouted up at the pine tree, "Didn't you say you dare to jump?"
"Of course I dare to jump!"
There sat a Stone Monkey on the tree.
The Stone Monkey swayed his legs on the tree trunk, his furry face puffed with fruit: "Let me finish my watermelon first."
He held the watermelon, his mouth sweeping from left to right, fresh juice flooding his face, and shortly after, the watermelon seeds shot out like a machine gun.
In the blink of an eye, the Stone Monkey was left with only the rind in his hand.
The Stone Monkey tossed the rind aside and jumped down from the pine tree.
"Watch me!"
The Stone Monkey walked to the edge of the cliff. Suddenly, a strange wind swept by, and the water waves hit the cliff rocks, soaking the Stone Monkey.
The other monkeys were terrified.
*Stone Monkey was always fearless,* he found the right direction, crouched down, and suddenly leaped like a spring, flying off the cliff into the waterfall, disappearing from view.
The group of monkeys cried out in shock, a few elderly monkeys with weak hearts were scared weak in the knees.
"That guy really jumped!"
"He must be dead!"
Stone Monkey charged into the waterfall, discovering a strange cave inside with an Iron Plate Bridge leading deeper.
He shook off the water droplets on his body and looked carefully, realizing that the water flowing under the Iron Plate Bridge surged against the cliff, flowing outwards upside down to cover the cave entrance, forming the waterfall.
Stone Monkey crossed the bridge, the strange cave growing larger as he walked, and minutes later, Stone Monkey's eyes widened at the massive stone cave that appeared.
The stone cave sparkled with Immortal Light, filled with naturally formed stone chairs and beds, dazzling the Stone Monkey and amazing him.
The air here felt as comfortable as springtime, and green bamboo, plum blossoms, and even a few towering pine trees grew on the stone wall.
Stone Monkey found a stone tablet at the cave entrance with two lines of text engraved on it.
"Blessed Land of Huaguo Mountain, Grotto Heaven of Shuilian Cave."
"Shuilian Cave."
Stone Monkey was delighted.
He turned around to share the good news, but after taking only a few steps, suddenly tripped, losing his balance and falling heavily to the ground.
"What tripped me!"
Stone Monkey clutched his head and stood up.
He looked down and saw it was a square stone.
"Wordless Heavenly Scripture, capable of revealing the events of four billion nine hundred million years in the future."
There was a line of strange characters engraved on the stone.
"Don't block the way."
Stone Monkey picked up the stone and threw it hard, but unexpectedly, the stone spun back, striking his head like lightning.
Stone Monkey exclaimed, "Aiya," and fainted.
Stone Monkey had no idea how much time had passed when he groggily woke up and looked around again, but he could no longer find the stone.
"Where did that guy go?"
Stone Monkey couldn't fathom it, rubbed the back of his head, and left Shuilian Cave.
Outside the waterfall, the group of monkeys was searching for Stone Monkey's body.
"Oh no, oh no, we found nothing, he must have fallen into the deep pool!"
"His body might have already been swept into the sea!"
"Shall we pick some flowers for him?"
The monkeys started discussing how to hold a funeral for Stone Monkey, when suddenly, a familiar figure sprang forth from the waterfall.
"A ghost!"
The monkey group scattered in a panic.
"Don't run, don't run!"
Stone Monkey shouted, "There is a cave inside the waterfall."
He described the appearance of Shuilian Cave to the frightened monkeys, and as they listened, every monkey began scratching their heads: "Is there really such a good place? Hurry, take us inside to see!"
Stone Monkey didn't hesitate and leapt back into the waterfall.
Some daring monkeys followed him immediately, and the timid ones, after some hesitating head-poking and neck-shrinking, also jumped in.
Once inside Shuilian Cave, the monkeys scrambled for bowls and basins, fought for seats and beds, moved things around, played until they were tired, and finally stopped.
Stone Monkey sat at a high position.
"Everyone, you said whoever managed to come in, we'll make him king. I've done it now, why don't you make me the king?"
The group of monkeys listened and none objected.
They formed orderly lines, kneeling before Stone Monkey, calling him king.
"Great King."
After kneeling, an old monkey eagerly offered a suggestion, "Since you are now the king, continuing to call you Stone Monkey doesn't seem appropriate. How about changing your name?"
"Change my name?"
Stone Monkey felt pleased, "What should it be changed to?"
The old monkey looked Stone Monkey up and down. Although he was called Stone Monkey, he didn't look like a stone at all. His whole body shone gold, features exquisite and handsome, quite beautiful.
"The Great King is so charismatic, why not call him the Monkey King?"
Said the old monkey.
The other monkeys heard this and happily jumped up.
"Monkey King is good, Monkey King is good!"
Stone Monkey repeated it a few times and found the name quite fitting.
"Alright, from now on, I'll be called the Monkey King!"
Having a king, the group of monkeys immediately gathered blooms and fruits from the mountain, holding a celebration feast for the Monkey King.
The Monkey King drank merrily and soon passed out drunk.
In his hazy dreams, he saw that stone again.
"Ah, so that's where you've been hiding, inside my head."
Stone Monkey grabbed the stone, but found that it was no longer a stone, but an actual book.
Upon seeing the book, Stone Monkey felt inspired, and surprisingly, he instantly understood the cover's text.
The History of the World: From Prehistory to the Twenty-first Century
"How strange!"
Stone Monkey scratched his head and began reading the book.
Once he started, he couldn't stop.
The Wordless Heavenly Scripture turned into books about four billion nine hundred million years in the future, appearing in Stone Monkey's dreams at intervals.
Stone Monkey's worldview was utterly transformed by these books!
A flourishing future world unfurled before him, and Stone Monkey hungrily absorbed the knowledge in the books.
However, as his knowledge expanded, so did Stone Monkey's questions: why, four billion nine hundred million years later, are there no Immortals, no Demons, only humans?
A year later, Stone Monkey had finished reading dozens of heavenly books.
He was itching to take some major action using the knowledge from the books.
Just as Stone Monkey was planning what grand thing to do, the Heavenly Book changed its appearance again.
"What book is it this time?"
In his dream, Stone Monkey opened the book, and a smile spread across his face.
"This guy popped out of a stone just like me!"
And coincidentally enough, the protagonist of this Journey to the West was also king of the monkeys on Huaguo Mountain, with even the same title.
Stone Monkey was captivated by the story in the book.
He flipped through the pages rapidly, dancing with joy at parts: "Awesome, made a mess of the Heavenly Palace!"
This fellow was truly formidable, causing chaos in the Heavenly Palace, a role model for my generation!
But why did the Monkey in the story increasingly remind him of himself?
Impossible, could I really be that handsome!
*Stone Monkey thought delightfully, but the subsequent story made him less happy.*
"Pathetic, pathetic!"
Stone Monkey's eyes widened, shooting a glare of anger.
Could this book's Monkey King really be him?
You've got to be kidding me, if it were him, wouldn't he have to become a monk?
"I refuse to be a monk."
Stone Monkey fumed, that fellow named Tathāgata was too cunning!
He even wouldn't spare a monkey!