Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 763 - 762 - : The Ginseng Fruit Disappeared

The Six-Eared Macaque’s eyes were filled with resentment, but for the sake of that one fruit, he restrained himself and said with a smile, "Whether or not my master eats that fruit, what does it matter if you give it to me? Surely you can’t expect the fruit to grow back on the tree once it’s eaten, can you?"

"Indeed, the fruit cannot grow back on the tree, but how we dispose of it is none of your concern. Since my master has said the fruit is for your master and not for you, we certainly cannot give it to you. If you wish to eat it, you should first work on improving your cultivation. When your cultivation impresses my master, then come and ask for a fruit," Mingyue said, then closed the door and left.

The Six-Eared Macaque was so furious he itched to bite something, yet he was helpless and felt looked down upon, as if these people were treating him with contempt. What nonsense, withholding the fruit from him—he was determined to have it!

So the Six-Eared Macaque waited in the room for quite a while, until there was no longer movement outside, then he slipped out.

He had intended to search the kitchen for the remaining uneaten Ginseng Fruit, but as he passed by a room and heard voices inside, he approached and saw a door slightly ajar, then quietly peeked through the crack.

He saw the two Little Immortal Boys who had led him here, each holding a Ginseng Fruit and beginning to eat.

The juice was rich, and the two Little Immortal Boys relished their feast. The Six-Eared Macaque watched, his mouth watering with desire.

Now, it wasn’t just for the Spiritual Power that he craved the Ginseng Fruit; the very sight of them enjoying the fruit so immensely made him absolutely need to taste it for himself.

But since they had eaten the fruit, the Six-Eared Macaque began to search the courtyard, hoping to find another somewhere.

As he searched, he suddenly saw in the center of the courtyard a large tree, its branches lush and every branch adorned with heavy fruits, unmistakably Ginseng Fruits.

Overjoyed, the Six-Eared Macaque thought if he had known about this large tree, he wouldn’t have bothered asking the Little Immortal Boy. Not only did he not get any fruit, but he also endured humiliation; the thought still made him burn with rage.

However, the tree was tall and for some reason, it was impossible to use Immortal Techniques to fly up; he could only climb using brute strength. But he was a monkey, and what monkey couldn’t climb a tree? Picking a Ginseng Fruit should be simple for the Six-Eared Macaque.

The Six-Eared Macaque climbed the trunk, then pulled out a Magic Artifact to knock a Ginseng Fruit from the top. As the fruit fell, he climbed down, ready to collect it, but after searching around, he couldn’t find the Ginseng Fruit that had just fallen to the ground.

"This is really strange. I clearly saw it fall, but in the blink of an eye, it disappeared," he mused.

The Six-Eared Macaque scratched his head and continued his search for the Ginseng Fruit, but still found nothing. He was becoming increasingly frustrated, and then it occurred to him that perhaps the fruit, being so full of Spiritual Energy, had been eaten by the Local Deity upon falling to the ground.

The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense, so he took his Magic Artifact and tapped on the ground until the Local Deity emerged.

"What’s the matter? What’s the matter?" The Land Deity felt someone summoning him and emerged from the earth. Surveying the surroundings and realizing this was the Wu Zhuang Temple, he then turned to address the summoner, "Are you, Sun Wukong?"

"That’s me," the Six-Eared Macaque responded. "I had just picked a Ginseng Fruit from above. Why did you eat it?"

The Local Deity was utterly confused, "Chef Wukong, what are you talking about? What Ginseng Fruit? If you wanted one, wouldn’t Master Zhenyuan of Wu Zhuang Temple have picked it for you? Why ask me for it?"

"Although I am the Local Deity of this place, I don’t handle affairs either. I am only in charge of matters outside the Wu Zhuang Temple, while everything inside the temple is managed by Master Zhenyuan," said the Land Deity.

"I’m not Chef Wukong, you’ve got the wrong person," the Six-Eared Macaque said, his face turning ashen.

The Land Deity was stunned for a moment. This face was clearly that of Chef Wukong, so how could it be that he was now the one mistaken, "If you’re not Chef Wukong, then who are you, and why would you disguise yourself as him?"

"Who’s disguising as him? This is my original appearance!" the Six-Eared Macaque said, irritated.

"You, Local Deity, your eyesight must really be poor, which is why you need to eat Ginseng Fruit to replenish your spiritual power, right? I’m giving you the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to cough up that Ginseng Fruit, otherwise, don’t blame me for not being polite!"

All of a sudden, the Land Deity noticed the monkey’s six ears and realized who he was—wasn’t this the Six-Eared Macaque that was supposed to accompany Jin Chanzi on a Journey to the Western Heaven for Scriptures? It seemed he was just passing through here.

"Oh, so it’s the esteemed Sun Wukong, I’m truly sorry, I’ve been under the earth and don’t come out much to meet people, so I mistakenly identified someone else. Please don’t take offense," the Land Deity said, apologizing with a laugh.

"But as for the Ginseng Fruit, I really didn’t eat it. Why don’t you look elsewhere, or ask the two Taoist Boys sitting under the temple master to pick another one for you?" After realizing his mistake, the Land Deity said apologetically with a smile.

The Six-Eared Macaque still remembered being mistaken for someone else just now, and he was truly angry. It was bad enough to be mistaken, but to accuse him of eating Ginseng Fruit and then deny it, "I don’t have much patience, and while I’m still not angry, you’d better spit out that Ginseng Fruit."

"As I said, I didn’t eat the Ginseng Fruit, why won’t you believe me?" the Land Deity said helplessly, finding the monkey quite stubborn.

No matter what was said, the Six-Eared Macaque was convinced the Ginseng Fruit was eaten by the Local Deity. With the fruit having disappeared after falling to the ground, other than assuming the Local Deity had secretly consumed it, he could not find any other possibility.

"The fruit that I had just picked from the tree—I don’t know how, but it disappeared. Now you tell me, wasn’t it you who stealthily ate it?" the Six-Eared Macaque fumed.

The Local Deity finally understood—it was all about the fruit. He explained to the Six-Eared Macaque with a smile.

"This is how it is. The Ginseng Fruit is full of spiritual energy, it blooms once every three thousand years, bears fruit every three thousand years, and takes another three thousand years to mature. Not only is growing the fruit a hassle, but picking it is troublesome too. It fears the Five Elements, falls when it meets metal, withers when it meets wood, burns when it meets fire, dissolves when it meets water, and integrates when it meets earth," the Land Deity explained.

The Six-Eared Macaque narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?"

"The fruit you dropped just now fell to the ground, right?" asked the Land Deity.

"Yes, that’s why I suspected you stole the Ginseng Fruit because it fell on the ground. But from what you just said, it wasn’t you who stole the fruit?"

The Six-Eared Macaque looked at the Local Deity, and if that was the case, he indeed had wronged him. His own Magic Artifact was made of metal, so he didn’t think much of it when picking the fruit. Now it seemed, it was just a coincidence.