Sun Wukong had been in rather poor condition lately.
He kept feeling as though someone were speaking in his ear.
And the things it said were all strange.
Things like, "The mighty Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, has actually fallen so low," or, "The gods and Buddhas across the heavens put on a grand show and kept you completely in the dark. You're nothing but a joke."
These mocking words aimed at Sun Wukong constantly drifted into his ears, sometimes clearly, sometimes faintly.
In any case, the feeling was awful. It was as though a demon were whispering in his ear at every moment, and Sun Wukong was sick to death of it.
Yet sometimes, the things that voice said would leave Sun Wukong silent for a long time.
That voice had once mentioned the term "running dog."
And Sun Wukong recalled that, when they had dealt with Guanyin in the Western Liang Women's Kingdom, Guanyin had said something similar, questioning why he had not obediently remained a dog of the Buddhist School.
At the time, he had thought Guanyin was merely lashing out in anger, speaking without thinking and questioning the Journey West to Obtain the Scriptures.
But now, it was obvious that was not the case. There were clearly unknown matters hidden within, or perhaps some filthy conspiracy.
Sun Wukong kept wondering: what exactly were those unknown matters?
What had he truly experienced in the past?
What exactly had he done five hundred years ago?
But whenever he tried to recall those things, the Tightening-Headband Incantation would flare up.
That Golden Headband would dig firmly into his skull, as though it meant to split his entire body apart. The pain was unbearable.
Then that blurry figure would always appear in his mind, along with a name