Six-eared Macaque knelt outside the gate, waiting for a long time, but no answer came.
Its heart sank little by little.
It knew it shouldn't have come.
It had been to many places.
After leaving the cave where it had lived for countless years, it had wandered all over the East, searching for the great powers who had gone to Zixiao Palace to hear the Dao.
It thought that as long as it could become a great power's disciple,
there might be a sliver of hope of overturning that punishment: "The Dao is not to be taught to Six Ears."
It found Dijun and Taiyi.
That was the first time it had gathered the courage to approach and ask for an audience.
After hearing its story, Dijun's expression changed, and he immediately refused.
Taiyi was even more direct, waving it away without so much as a word.
It found Minghe. The lord of the Blood Sea gave it a cold look and said just one word: "Leave."
It found Kunpeng.
A complicated expression flickered in his eyes, but in the end, he still shook his head and refused.
It found the Twelve Ancestral Witches.
Dijiang ignored it completely. Houtu, however, looked at it with pity, but eventually shook her head gently and said, "I can't help you."
It found King Father of the East and West Queen Mother.
King Father of the East sighed and said, "The Dao Ancestor's words—who would dare defy them? Go."
West Queen Mother said nothing. She only turned her face away, unable to bear the sight of it.
It found Randeng.
The ancient Daoist looked at it for a long time before finally saying:
"You're asking the wrong person. If I took you in, I'd be making an enemy of the Dao Ancestor. Go."
Again and again, it was refused, and again and again, it fell from hope into despair.
In the end, it went to Kunlun Mountain.
The Three Pure Ones.
They were its last hope.
It knelt outside Kunlun Mountain for three years.
Laozi did not see it.
The palace gate remained shut the entire time.
Yuanshi did see it.
Yuanshi valued etiquette and rules above all. He glanced at it and said only one thing:
"The Dao Ancestor himself said the Dao is not to be taught to Six Ears. If you know what's good for you, leave on your own."
It knelt there and refused to go.
Yuanshi said nothing more. He turned and left, and the palace gate slammed shut.
Just as it was despairing and preparing to leave, a voice reached its ears.
"Wait."
It turned and saw a Daoist in a blue robe standing not far away.
The Daoist looked young, with bright eyes and an aura of keen purity.
Shangqing Tongtian.
Six-eared Macaque hurriedly knelt. "I beg the True Man to take pity on me!"
Tongtian looked at it, a complicated expression flickering in his eyes.
He knew what this monkey had done, and he knew what the Dao Ancestor's words meant.
But seeing the monkey kneeling on the ground, its eyes full of pleading, he felt a twinge of compassion.
"Your heart is steadfast in seeking the Dao."
He spoke slowly. "Though the Dao Ancestor said the Dao is not to be taught to Six Ears, I can see that your Six Ears divine ability hasn't been completely destroyed. It has only been sealed.
"That means the Dao Ancestor hasn't entirely blocked your path."
Six-eared Macaque trembled all over, tears welling in its eyes.
Tongtian continued, "I... can give you a sliver of hope."
Six-eared Macaque was about to bow when a voice suddenly descended from the sky.
"Third Brother, be careful what you say."
Yuanshi appeared not far away, his expression grave.
Tongtian frowned. "Second Brother, this monkey's heart is steadfast in seeking the Dao, and its innate nature is quite good.
"Though the Dao Ancestor punished it, he didn't completely destroy its abilities. That means there's still room to maneuver.
"What's wrong with taking it as my disciple?"
Yuanshi shook his head. "Third Brother, you're too softhearted.
"The Dao Ancestor's words are Heaven's will.
"'The Dao is not to be taught to Six Ears'—those five words don't just apply to this time. They apply to the future as well.
"If you take it as your disciple, you'll be going against Heaven."
Tongtian fell silent for a moment and looked at Six-eared Macaque kneeling on the ground.
Then he looked at Yuanshi's grave expression, and finally sighed.
He turned to Six-eared Macaque, apology in his eyes. "You... should go. I can't help you."
Six-eared Macaque knelt on the ground, tears silently sliding down its face.
It did not resent Tongtian. The fact that Tongtian had been willing to help was already enough to make it grateful.
It was just... its last hope had been crushed, too.
It rose to its feet, bowed deeply to Tongtian, and then turned to leave.
After leaving Kunlun Mountain, it wandered aimlessly.
It didn't know where to go or what to do.
It only knew that it couldn't stop.
If it stopped, it truly would have nothing left.
After walking for who knew how long, it looked up toward the West.
There stood Mount Sumeru.
It had heard of that place, the home of the two great powers of the West, Jieyin and Zhunti.
It had also heard that a Daoist named Xuande cultivated with them.
Those three had sat in the front rows when they heard the Dao at Zixiao Palace. They were clearly important figures in the West.
It hesitated for a long time.
The West was different from the East.
The East had many great powers, but it also had many rules and placed great importance on etiquette.
The West was barren, but perhaps... perhaps they didn't care so much about such things?
This was its last hope.
So it came to Mount Sumeru.
Kneeling before the gates of Mount Sumeru, it called out those words and then waited quietly.
The mountain was utterly still.
Its heart sank little by little.
So it really wasn't going to work, after all?
Beneath the Bodhi Tree, Xuande quietly watched the mountain gate.
He could sense how the monkey felt at that moment.
Despair, helplessness, and the last stubborn spark of its desire to seek the Dao.
He suddenly spoke.
"Fellow Daoists, I believe we can take it in."
Jieyin and Zhunti looked at him at the same time, surprise on their faces.
"Fellow Daoist?" Zhunti said. "This monkey eavesdropped on the Dao Ancestor's lecture. The Dao Ancestor himself said the Dao is not to be taught to Six Ears.
"If we take it in, wouldn't that..."
Xuande shook his head and said slowly, "Fellow Daoists, hear me out."
He looked toward the mountain gate, his gaze profound.
"The Great Dao is fifty, Heaven's evolution yields forty-nine, and one escapes."
He continued, "Though the Dao Ancestor said the Dao is not to be taught to Six Ears, I can see that the monkey's innate divine ability wasn't destroyed. It was only sealed.
"That means the Dao Ancestor did not completely block its path.
"Perhaps that escaping one was left for it."
Jieyin furrowed his brow, deep in thought.
Xuande continued:
"Just now, as we discussed the Dao, Fellow Daoist Zhunti said that fate unfolds naturally: we should neither force it nor give up on it.
"This monkey's heart is steadfast in seeking the Dao. It has gone everywhere in search of a master, suffering defeat after defeat and trying again each time. That is fate;
"It has come to Mount Sumeru and knelt at our gate. That is the opportunity.
"If we ignore it, we are giving up; if we take it in, we are going with the flow."
A thoughtful look flickered in Zhunti's eyes.
Xuande added, "Compared with the East, the West is already short of talent.
"Look at Zixiao Palace, where three thousand cultivators gathered. More than ninety percent were from the East, while the West had only a handful.
"Though this monkey has been punished by the Dao Ancestor, its origins are extraordinary. It is one of the four great spirit monkeys of Heaven and Earth, gifted with divine abilities: Keen Hearing, Discern Truth, and Know Past and Future.
"If we bring it into the West and teach it with care, it may yet become a pillar of the West."
He paused and looked at Jieyin.
"Fellow Daoist Jieyin, you said earlier that before entering Nirvana, one must first enter the world.
"To enter the world is to form bonds with all beings. Today, this monkey has come seeking our help. If we turn it away, wouldn't we be severing that bond?
"If we take it in, we will form a good bond. If it becomes a worthy figure in the future, that will be a blessing for the West;
"If it does not, we will still have done all we could, with nothing to reproach ourselves for."
Jieyin remained silent for a long time.
Zhunti, too, fell deep in thought.
Xuande knew they needed a little more time.
He raised his eyes toward the mountain gate. The monkey was still kneeling there, its body trembling slightly.
He suddenly remembered the monkey's fate in later legends.
It failed to learn by eavesdropping, its path to the Dao was cut off, and it wandered for countless kalpas, only to die on the Journey to the West, becoming one of the so-called "True and False Monkey King" ordeals.
But that was the fate it would have faced if nothing changed.
Now it had come to Mount Sumeru, and there was still a sliver of hope.