Once again, he plunged into the waterfall, clutching the thick rope with his hands and feet as if holding onto his very life. Enduring excruciating pain, he inched forward bit by bit.
Water flooded into his nostrils, but he forced himself to hold on. If he coughed, all his efforts might be wasted again. And he wasn’t even sure if he’d have the courage to attempt this life-and-death struggle one more time.
At this moment, if anyone could peer through the roaring waterfall, they would see Simon Stone’s ferocious face. His eyes were wide as bronze bells, bloodshot. When his hands and feet weren’t enough, he wrapped his tail around the rope, then bit down hard with his mouth, gasping for breath whenever he could.
Still, he moved forward, inch by inch.
His entire body was enveloped by the raging waterfall; his organs felt as if they were about to burst. At last, he saw it—the dark, shadowy entrance to Cascade Cave on the other side of the falls.
“Cascade Cave... I did it... Damn!” Simon Stone broke free from the torrent, mustered his last ounce of strength, and leapt into the cave—still tethered to the safety rope around his waist.
The moment he landed, he collapsed to the ground, rolled over, spat out water, and gasped for breath. It felt as if his heart would leap right out of his chest.
After a long, long while, he finally caught his breath, sat up, hugged his knees, and gazed up at the waterfall.
“Why me? Why am I the one who has to come to this damned place and play the part of Sun Wukong? Everyone knows Sun Wukong is legendary, but no one ever thinks about how hard it is.” Simon Stone thought.
Nothing ever goes smoothly. Maybe the road ahead will be even tougher.
Dim light filtered through the waterfall. From inside, the entire cascade looked like a massive curtain of light, clear and blue as warm jade—a truly magnificent sight. But the biting cold brought by the rushing water made him shiver all over, leaving no room to appreciate the view.
“Can this damned place really be our base? Cascade Cave... Sure, once I master the Seventy-Two Transformations, I’ll be fine, but what about my fellow monkeys? Besides, I can’t even hear my own voice in here—can anyone really live in this place?” Gasping for breath and feeling his throat go dry, Simon Stone swallowed hard and looked toward the pitch-black cave. “Maybe it’s better inside.”
As he thought about it, his eyes grew red, though no tears came.
“I should be happy. With Cascade Cave here, the odds are high that this is Blossom Mountain from Journey to the West.” he comforted himself.
The rushing water roared past him, and bathed in blue light, he stared blankly at the dark cave.
But even if he really was that stone monkey, so what? Was he supposed to just keep walking that path forever?
Gritting his teeth, Simon Stone stood up again.
He jumped back, grabbed the rope, and then let go lightly. The piercing pain surged through every part of his body once more, and the force of his descent quickly pulled him out of the waterfall’s reach.
He slid back out the way he had come.
The monkeys on the mountain and by the pool all began to howl, making for a spectacular scene in the sunset. Yet Simon Stone suspected even they didn’t know what they were celebrating.
This was simply a place where reason didn’t apply.
Simon Stone wiped the water from his face, forced himself to turn, and climbed back onto the rope, inching his way up.
“Monkey King!” a monkey shouted.
“Monkey King! Monkey King! Gah gah gah gah!” The monkeys shouted in a frenzy, clapping and frolicking.
“This scene is anything but serious!” Simon Stone thought.
He collapsed to the ground and fell into a deep sleep.
When the sun finally set, Simon Stone awoke. Pairs of bright, black eyes surrounded him, each monkey holding a different kind of fruit.
Hungry, Simon Stone grabbed a piece of fruit and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing rapidly—almost choking himself.
Days without worrying about food... how wonderful, he thought.
The monkeys formed a ring around him, cheering and leaping for joy.
“Well, you really have become the Monkey King. The boy is teachable,” the Canary remarked, shaking her head like a schoolteacher.
That simple comment reached Simon Stone’s ears, and he immediately stopped stuffing fruit into his mouth, turning to meet the Canary’s gaze.
There was a hint of shock in his eyes.
The tangerine-colored bird had brilliant, gorgeous feathers and dark, beady eyes. Her slightly raised head radiated uncommon pride—this was the monkeys’ first impression of her.
All the monkeys followed Simon Stone’s gaze, and for a moment, the Canary was the center of attention.
“Never seen a bird as beautiful as me, have you, monkeys?” The Canary laughed from her perch on a branch above their heads.
“Did you just say... ‘the boy is teachable’?”
“You don’t understand, do you? Of course you don’t.” The Canary lifted her head and sighed with pride.
“Sparrow, where did you come from?” Simon Stone squinted and asked.
“Spa... Sparrow? You called a beauty like me a sparrow! Are you blind? I’m a canary! Canary! You stupid monkey!”
Here, it was normal for animals to speak, but for one to casually drop a reference from human history books—that was anything but ordinary.
At the very least, it meant one thing: she’d met humans before!
Just as Simon Stone was about to press further, a tiger’s roar rang out, shaking the forest!
The monkeys instantly scattered, expertly leaping into the surrounding trees, leaving the exhausted Simon Stone alone with a pile of fruit—facing a tiger!
“What is that...” Simon Stone’s eyes widened, his mouth fell open, and his tail shot straight out like a pen. The two peaches he still held slipped quietly to the ground.
At that moment, the tiger sauntered toward him. For some reason, Simon Stone thought he saw a strange smile on that fierce, savage face.
Wasn’t the tiger afraid he’d run? No—the tiger had been watching him for a long time and knew he couldn’t climb trees!
“I’m doomed...” That was the only thought left in Simon Stone’s mind. With his skinny arms and legs, fighting a tiger was pure fantasy.
He didn’t know where the strength came from, but the exhausted Simon Stone leapt straight into the deep pool. Unfortunately, it was a foolish move.
Before he could recover from the icy water, he saw the tiger leap in after him.
"Now I'm really done for..."
Water was Simon Stone’s only hope at that moment. But he’d clearly never watched Animal World in his past life—tigers can swim too!
He kicked desperately, barely moving an inch, while the tiger swam right up to him and snapped its jaws!
Simon Stone would never forget the feeling of that moment for the rest of his life.
The piercing pain from his shoulder, blood swirling on the surface of the pool, the taste of blood in his mouth as he gulped water in panic—and his feet couldn’t even touch the muddy bottom.
The tiger stretched its neck and flung Simon Stone back onto the shore!
He soared through the air and crashed heavily onto the grass, blood splattering across the green blades.
Enduring the agony, Simon Stone looked back at the deep pool, only to see the soaking-wet tiger climbing out and lazily shaking water from its fur.
It was right there—just a breath away!
He could even feel the heavy breath of the beast before him.
It was a suffocating feeling.
At that moment, the whole forest held its breath, ready to witness the death of the newcomer Simon Stone at the tiger’s jaws.
“Damn it, Sun Wukong... How could you die like this?” Simon Stone was in despair, but even so, his body reflexively kicked, trying to put more distance between himself and the tiger.
The tiger didn’t seem in a hurry to eat its prey. After reaching the shore, it panted and slowly walked toward Simon Stone, step by step.
Its claws made only a soft rustling in the grass, but to Simon Stone, it was the most terrifying sound he’d ever heard—the footsteps of death.
Maybe he should try to run, but could a monkey ever outrun a tiger?