Small World

At this, the old monkey paused.

He turned to the other monkeys and asked, "How are things outside? Has that little monkey entered the world we created for him?"

"Rest assured, Duke Lu, everything went according to plan. The stone monkey entered it the moment he left Flower-Fruit Mountain. We notified Duke Zhao, Duke Liang, Duke Wei, and Duke Yi long before the stone monkey planned to go out to sea. Nothing will go wrong!"

Hearing this, the old monkey, Cheng Yaojin, nodded slightly. "Good. Let's see whose disciple that little monkey will ultimately become."

The others hesitated for a long while before finally voicing the question that had troubled them for so long.

"Duke Lu, since we all know that the stone monkey bears the mandate of destiny and is the vanguard destined to stir the winds and clouds, why don't His Majesty and the dukes simply bring him under Holy Tang's command and nurture him carefully? Then, once he achieves fruition in the future, wouldn't Holy Tang claim the greatest share of the world's fortune and supreme merit?"

However, Cheng Yaojin shook his head. "That little monkey is a born 'variable,' a free-spirited Heart Monkey. At his core, he is not of the same path as our human dynasty, which values order, ethics, and social principles. Forcing him would be like imprisoning a colorful phoenix in a golden cage. Not only would we fail to raise him well, we might even damage his spiritual nature. Besides, since Holy Tang intends to use this little monkey to expand the human path and set Qiankun in order, taking the largest and most essential portion of the feast, we must leave some for the others. After all, they still have to take part in this play!"

As he spoke, he glanced