Winter departs and spring arrives, drizzling light rain envelopes the towers of the Imperial Palace.
Inside the tower, the aroma of tea pervades, the old King taps the white chess piece on the table, and after a while, shakes his head and sighs: "Immortal, I have lost."
"Consider this a concession."
Sun Wukong waves his hand, and the chessboard on the table disappears immediately.
Although it was not the first time witnessing this, the old King still marveled.
"Immortal, is this visit again for seeking talent?"
The old King continued to ask.
Sun Wukong shook his head, the demons of Huaguo Mountain need to learn various knowledge, but they are naturally free-spirited, and now there is a phenomenon of not learning.
"I want to exchange for some human goods."
Sun Wukong said, too much may be inadequate, affairs done slowly end up perfect, he must take some interesting items back from the Kingdom of Aolai to broaden those little demons' horizons, then they would realize the importance of knowledge.
"This is what I have brought for exchange."
Sun Wukong took out a treasure chest from his sleeve, upon opening it, it was full of glittering pearls, the King counted and there were at least twenty or thirty.
These were all fine pearls, the King called the Prime Minister to exchange them for items of equal value according to Sun Wukong's requirements.
After the Prime Minister left, the King suggested: "Half of the population of the Kingdom of Aolai relies on fishing for a living, you can have those little demons come help us, to fend off storms and earn money."
Sun Wukong shook his head: "It's not that I am unwilling, but I can't control them."
Over this past year, he and the old King had been frequent visitors, and over time, their emotional bond had grown strong, with some matters no longer needing concealment.
In fact, everyone at Huaguo Mountain from the Kingdom of Aolai was under the protection of Sun Wukong.
He used Monkey Hair to transform into small monkeys to follow those humans, and if any demons attempted to harm them, he would immediately know.
With tens of thousands of little demons at Huaguo Mountain, if this method was not used, how could those humans be unharmed.
"Once those little demons leave Huaguo Mountain, although I can control them there, once their demonic nature emerges, capturing humans for consumption, I fear I cannot manage."
Sun Wukong said to the King.
"So that's how it is..."
When the King heard this, he suddenly understood.
That makes sense; demons aren't so easily changed—if not for this Demon Immortal, Huaguo Mountain would certainly be a demon den.
Thinking this, the King's respect for Sun Wukong only grew.
Truly deserving the name Wise Monkey, Sun Wukong ruling over Huaguo Mountain was indeed a blessing for their Kingdom of Aolai!
The Prime Minister still needed some time to prepare the items.
The King took Sun Wukong on a tour around the Imperial Palace, Sun Wukong looked around everywhere, there were Auspicious Clouds enveloping above the palace, but no sight of any eminent immortals.
"Do you have any high immortals here?"
Sun Wukong asked.
The King shook his head: "Kingdom of Aolai is a small country with few citizens, how could we have any high immortals!"
Sun Wukong couldn't help but sigh.
"Does the Immortal have any troubles?"
The King asked.
Sun Wukong nodded: "Huaguo Mountain has numerous and disorderly demons, I am looking for someone to act as a deputy, who knows the rules, maintains discipline, and can manage the crowd of demons."
He had already established a preliminary order and regime at Huaguo Mountain, appointing various demon kings as generals. Four old monkeys served as supervisors, responsible for awards and penalties.
However, over the year, Sun Wukong realized that although the Demon Kings had brawn, they lacked wisdom, often failing to grasp his ideas.
Even though the four old monkeys were knowledgeable, their management of the crowd of demons still couldn't satisfy Sun Wukong to the degree he desired.
They could clarify rewards and punishments to keep the demons from causing trouble, but what Sun Wukong needed was someone better—at least not inferior to the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Aolai in management.
"Immortal, I have a son."
Upon hearing this, the King's eyes lit up: "He is good at management and could assist you."
"No, no."
Sun Wukong expressed gratitude for the King's kindness but still shook his head: "This person must be highly skilled in Daoist skills."
Common humans teaching some techniques is fine, but trying to manage a group of demons, they wouldn't obey.
"The Immortal can impart Daoist skills to him."
The King quickly added.
Sun Wukong shook his head; he had no time to teach disciples, and the royal family's talent was also insufficient.
He frankly spoke highly, though the King was disappointed, he could only silently lament it was a pity.
Soon after, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Aolai led several horse carriages filled with goods piled up like a mountain to the Imperial Palace.
Sun Wukong plucked a monkey hair, blew it into the air, and shouted, "Transform!" It then changed into two to three hundred little monkeys that picked up the items and flew away, riding the clouds.
After flying two hundred leagues over the water, Sun Wukong suddenly frowned and instructed the little monkeys to bring the items back to Shuilian Cave, while he himself landed on an isolated cliff.
"Come out!"
Sun Wukong looked towards the sea, "Who are you? Why have you followed me for a year?"
Immediately, a splash appeared and a young girl flew out of the sea.
The girl was dressed in blue, with a treasure sword hanging at her waist, her appearance like a lotus emerging from water, and two small horns on her forehead, the mark of the Dragon Clan.
Sun Wukong gazed at those dragon horns, pondering over her identity.
"Let me ask you," the Dragon Girl said to Sun Wukong, "Did you save a carp twenty years ago in Southern Continent?"
"A carp?" Sun Wukong slightly frowned, "I can't remember clearly."
The Dragon Girl was suddenly a bit disappointed; how could it be like this, she had searched for so long, and only the Monkey King was most likely—also, those similarly beautiful eyes.
"I only saw a big fish."
Sun Wukong continued, "But it was white, I don't know if it's the carp you mentioned."
"It is indeed you!"
The Dragon Girl was both shocked and delighted, and she hurried toward Sun Wukong in three steps, but then stopped halfway.
The reason was what Sun Wukong said: "That big fish was also a crybaby."
The Dragon Girl immediately clenched her teeth; she had gone to great lengths to find her benefactor, yet he only remembered her as a crybaby.
Sun Wukong didn't notice anything unusual in the Dragon Girl.
"What do you want with this matter?"
"That big fish is my friend," the Dragon Girl took a deep breath and then said, "You have shown it kindness, I should reciprocate!"
"Reciprocate the kindness?" Sun Wukong smiled, "No need to reciprocate."
The Dragon Girl was a bit surprised that the Monkey King did not accept her gesture of gratitude.
But she rolled her eyes and then said, "I heard your conversation with the King of Aolai; you need to manage a group of demons, I can help."
Sun Wukong was briefly stunned, then his eyes gleamed with golden light as he stared at the Dragon Girl, seeing above her head Immortal Light and Auspicious Clouds, not as powerful as his, but sufficient to deal with various Demon Kings.
With the Dragon Clan being highly esteemed in the eyes of demons, managing the demons of Huaguo Mountain with the Dragon Girl's identity and strength was not a problem.
The only problem was whether her intellect was sufficient.
"Follow me."
Sun Wukong decided to test the Dragon Girl and give her a chance.
For one, talents are hard to find; secondly, there was a chance to establish relations with the Dragon Palace.
Although he still didn't know the Dragon Girl's full identity, as she appeared in the East Sea, she might be somewhat helpful in obtaining the Ocean Stabilizing God Needle.
"What's your name?"
On the way, Sun Wukong asked.
The Dragon Girl quickly answered, "Ao Luan."
Ao is the surname of all the Dragon Clan.