Chapter 199 - 56 The Charm of Journey to the West

Words : 1812 Updated : Oct 3rd, 2025

Chapter 199: Chapter 56 The Charm of Journey to the WestXiao Jie spun the tale of Journey to the West, and initially, the White Ape didn’t take it seriously, treating it merely as a pastime. However, as the story moved on, his expression gradually grew more fascinated. The more he listened, the more captivated he became, quickly turning solemn and attentive, listening intently as if bewitched. Xiao Jie watched the White Ape’s transformation with a secret delight, thinking that indeed the allure of Journey to the West was irresistible, especially for monkeys – after all, they were the most relatable audience. He was soon telling the part where the Stone Monkey proclaimed himself Monkey King in Shuilian Cave, and then how he daily indulged the monkeys in merriment and feasting. ["One day, the Monkey King was feasting with his troop when suddenly, an old monkey collapsed headfirst onto the stone table, motionless. The Monkey King, startled, asked, ’What’s wrong with this old monkey?’ Another old monkey near him checked for breath, then sighed and said, ’Your Majesty, this old monkey is dead.’ ’Dead? What is dead?’ The Monkey King appeared completely puzzled. ’Dead means no longer being able to hear, see, speak, or eat.’ Upon hearing this, the Monkey King suddenly felt a chilling terror and lost all appetite. ’Is there no way to avoid death?’ ’Your Majesty jests. All things in this world meet their end; how can there be such a thing as not dying?’ The Monkey King suddenly cried out in dismay, ’Alas, what should we do now?’] At this point, the White Ape also showed a deep expression, glancing at his own white fur and feeling a sense of kinship; he too was of an advanced age, and though his body remained strong due to special reasons, who knew how long he might live? It was pitiful that he was close to death and yet still unclear about the meaning of life, truly a vexing way to die. Xiao Jie watched the White Ape’s reactions, secretly thinking that the tale had indeed hit home. However, the story did not stop. [Just then, the old monkey spoke, ’Your Majesty, actually, there is a way for you to achieve immortality.’ The Monkey King responded in delight, ’Oh, what is that method?’ The old monkey continued with words that both shocked and delighted the Monkey King, leading to the next part of the story. What exactly did the old monkey say? Stay tuned for the next part to find out.] The White Ape immediately widened his eyes, ’What happens next, what happens next?’ Xiao Jie simply chuckled, ’The next part of the story? Let me clear the Tree Knot Monsters, then I’ll continue.’ The White Ape refused to accept that, ’All those Tree Knot Monsters and such can wait, keep talking, keep talking.’ But Xiao Jie spoke very seriously, ’Senior Yuan, as the saying goes, one must be loyal to whom they serve. Since I’ve accepted this task of clearing the tree monsters, I must fulfill it, and not abandon it halfway.’ Moreover, I’m practicing saber skills to avenge; if I neglect my training just to tell you the story, how can I ever master my saber skills and avenge myself? Please understand, senior.’ The White Ape was both angry and anxious but found himself without recourse. Although he retained some of his animal instincts, deep down, he respected human moral views and disdained those ignorant monkeys, consequently, he snorted coldly, ’Hmph, fine, your point is valid. Go on, hurry.’ ’Don’t worry, senior. Once I’ve done what needs to be done, I will naturally come back and continue the story.’ Having said that, he turned to leave and a notification popped up on the screen. [System Notification: Nameless White Ape’s favorability towards you has increased by 3 points.] Not bad, not bad, just narrating the beginning has already earned me 3 points. Once the entire Journey to the West is finished—no wait, I might not even need to finish it. Probably just getting to the Big Chaos in Heaven would suffice for a 100% favorability.] Xiao Jie thought confidently. The reason he didn’t finish the story all at once was certainly not to keep the audience in suspense; it was purely to benefit from calculating favorability multiple times. With this ace up his sleeve, he needed to max out the favorability in one go. Plus, it was also an opportunity to level up and practice his saber skills. Arriving in the narrow valley, those Tree Knot Monsters had indeed respawned, though not fully, approximately seven or eight of them. Xiao Jie calculated the time and figured that it seemed about an hour to respawn a full wave. Resurrecting about ten waves a day could nearly increase his experience by 50%. A half-level per day, and the pace of leveling up wasn’t slow at all. But it was unfortunate that the game implemented experience penalties. Now at level 14 killing level 10 monsters, he still got 60% of the experience points. At levels 16 and 17, he would only get 40% and 30% respectively, and the needed experience cap would only increase, making it harder to level up by then. Xiao Jie didn’t rush to fight the monsters right away, casually pulling out his phone to search for Journey to the West. He recounted the previous parts from memory, but as the story became more complex, he had to stick to the script. "Why not make an audiobook and just play it for White Ape?" After some thought, Xiao Jie gave up on that idea mainly because the voice in the audiobook didn’t sound quite right. It was better to do it himself to control the pace. He planned to go back and recite from his phone, making slight adaptations as needed so that he wouldn’t get stuck. In the blink of an eye, the Tree Knot Monster had respawned, and Xiao Jie summoned Xiong Da, wielding the Blood-drinking Blade and charged into battle. It was a frenzied slaughter, given his current strength, taking on these Level 10 Little Monsters was a piece of cake, not to mention he had Xiong Da as his sidekick. He could easily handle two or three of them at a time. The Tree Knot Monster didn’t deal much damage, the only troublesome thing was its entangling skill—facing it alone and getting caught could be truly dangerous. But with Xiong Da as his meat shield, there was nothing to fear. In less than fifteen minutes, Xiao Jie had cleared all the Little Monsters in the valley. Checking his experience points—they were up by 10%, and the Gale Saber Technique also had advanced to 60% of Level 7. By the time he got back to where White Ape was, it was evident that the monkey was eagerly awaiting his return. "Quick, quick, quick, what happens next?" White Ape hurried him. Xiao Jie chuckled and then continued with the story. "The old monkey said, ’My king, I’ve heard that there are immortals overseas who know the secret of Immortality. If the king could master it, he naturally wouldn’t have to die...’" Xiao Jie continued smoothly, telling the tale while observing White Ape’s reaction. White Ape was clearly absorbed, fully embodying the protagonist in his mind. As the storyline progressed, White Ape’s expressions continued to change. One moment he would wear a slight smile, the next he would be scratching his head in perplexity. When he heard about the Stone Monkey facing a storm, his face was filled with tension, but when he heard about the Stone Monkey being taunted and driven away by humans, he bared his teeth in anger as if he were there, wishing he could punish those humans himself. When he heard about the Stone Monkey meeting an immortal and successfully becoming a disciple, White Ape was overjoyed. With the news that the Stone Monkey had received the name Sun Wukong and had learned the Seventy-two Changes, White Ape’s expression slowly turned deep and reflective. He even muttered to himself, "Right, Immortality, I should be seeking immortality, right? But even if I attain immortality, will I be happy? Just living forever in this valley with these foolish monkeys, it seems the longer I live, the duller it feels." "Sun Wukong? That name indeed sounds lovely. Maybe I should pick a name for myself too. Why didn’t I think of getting a name before..." "I wonder which one of those two is more powerful than Bodhi Ancestor..." Listening to these muttered thoughts, Xiao Jie quietly took note. These were hidden clues indeed. ’Those two,’ who were they that even White Ape would compare them to the Bodhi Ancestor? Could they be immortals? Soon, the story came to a pause again. "If you want to know what happens next, listen to the continuation in the next episode...’ "You, you, you!" White Ape was thoroughly enjoying the story when it suddenly broke off, making him anxious. Xiao Jie spoke calmly, "Senior, don’t be in a rush. I’ll go wipe out some Little Monsters and then come back to continue. I have to practice my martial arts if I want to avenge myself, as you yourself said, my saber skills aren’t too polished. Therefore, I need to train even more diligently. Why don’t you teach me your saber techniques? If I could master such advanced skills, taking revenge would be as easy as flipping my hand, and I could tell you the whole story in one go without any concerns." White Ape just huffed, "I’ve told you before, you can’t learn my saber skills. Go on now, hurry up..." "So, are you enjoying the story? Want me to change it?" "No need, this story is quite good. Hurry along now." System Notification: White Ape’s favorability towards you increased by 3 points. Not bad, not bad, at this rate, I should be able to max out favorability by noon. Xiao Jie continued to defeat monsters and then came back to tell the story. At this point, the story had finally reached its climax. Sun Wukong had mastered the spells, bid farewell to the Bodhi Ancestor, returned to Huaguo Mountain, and the next few segments were filled with exhilarating events—defeating the Demon Lord of Mayhem, seizing the Jingu Bang from the Dragon Palace, entering the Underworld to strike off names from the Book of Life and Death, and forming brotherhoods with the seven great demons... White Ape listened with glowing eyes, scratching his head vigorously, as if desperate to substitute himself into the story, he repeatedly sighed, "That’s what a monkey’s life should be! That’s what a monkey’s life should be! If one must be a monkey, one should be Sun Wukong!"

Chapter 199 - 56 The Charm of Journey to the West

Comments (0)