Boom... The vermilion giant gate cracked open a sliver once again!
Simon Stone's eyes suddenly widened, filled with anticipation.
Once more, it was the round-faced girl. She poked her head through the crack in the door, glanced at Simon Stone twice, then, after a moment, stepped over the threshold, straightened her clothes, and squatted down in front of him.
"You're still here?"
"When will Master Sage Subhuti see me?" Simon Stone asked.
"Master Sage Subhuti will not see you. You should leave."
"Why won't Master Sage Subhuti see me?"
The girl bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "I don't know why Master Sage won't accept you. It's just that Master Sage has never driven away those who seek the Dao. But this time, he won't take you in. Even if you kneel here forever, you still won't get in."
There was a trace of pity in the girl's eyes as she looked at Simon Stone.
"If I attain the Dao, I will leave on my own. If I cannot, I'd rather die at this gate."
"Then you can wait to die at this gate! Some children just can't be taught!" The girl sighed helplessly, turned around, and went back inside.
After a while, the girl returned, carrying a bowl of fresh water and vegetables.
"Did Master Sage ask you to bring these?" Simon Stone quickly picked up the jar and drank all the water.
"No, I just didn't want you dying here and dirtying the doorstep. I brought these on my own. Who knows, Master Sage Subhuti might scold me for it when I get back!"
Simon Stone didn't care about any of that and devoured the food ravenously.
The girl sat down beside Simon Stone, watched his animalistic eating, and smiled helplessly. "Why do you put yourself through this?" she asked.
Simon Stone said nothing, just kept stuffing food into his mouth.
"When you're done eating, will you go home?"
Hearing this, Simon Stone immediately stopped, gathered up the remaining food, and put it back on the tray.
"Alright, alright, I'm not chasing you away!" The girl quickly shook her head and waved her hands.
Only then did Simon Stone resume devouring the food.
"Hey... does your hand from last time still hurt?" The girl glanced at Simon Stone's now-scabbed hand and asked.
Simon Stone shook his head.
"Good, as long as it doesn't hurt... Actually, this is my first time chasing someone away, so I didn't know how hard to be. But you really are stubborn."
Simon Stone stuffed the last apple—core and all—into his mouth, chewed a couple of times, and swallowed.
"Ah..." he sighed contentedly, wiped his mouth, and looked at the girl. "What's your name?"
The girl had a pair of extraordinary sky-blue eyes, clear as a lake and utterly captivating.
"Just call me Belle. What's your name?"
"Simon Stone."
"Simon Stone? Why are you called Simon Stone?"
"Journey to the West," Simon Stone replied.
If that old man inside finally opens the door, he'll give me a new name—Sun Wukong. He'll say, 'You look like a macaque, so you'll take the surname Sun. To break ignorance and stubbornness, one must awaken to emptiness, so you shall be called Sun Wukong.'