Crossing over is never an easy thing; it means abandoning everything from your past.
And when the journey isn't going smoothly, when all that's left is idle time to think, the only memories that remain become a tremendous burden on the mind.
Drifting at sea, Simon Stone found himself in such a state. He missed Blossom Mountain, but even more, he missed his father, his mother, his classmates, his teachers, his cellphone, his TV, the internet... In short, he missed everything.
If he could go back, even if he were given ten Monkey Kings, he would have no interest.
Back on Blossom Mountain, he was always busy just trying to survive, barely having time to think about these things. But now...
All the things he'd carelessly forgotten over the past few months now surfaced endlessly to torment him.
Staring all day at the endlessly blue sky and the endlessly blue sea, missing all those things over and over—it was a feeling that seemed as if he might suffocate at any moment.
Several times, he stared at the dark, deep blue water below for hours, nearly jumping in.
"Maybe if I die, I'll cross back," he thought.
Turning to glance at the tent he'd built from branches and leaves, and the pile of fruit inside, he thought again: "But even if I don't jump, I could die at any moment."
From his birth on Blossom Mountain to drifting at sea, when has Simon Stone ever not been struggling for survival?
Setting out to sea was truly an act of madness. On this vast ocean, even the largest raft was no different from a fallen leaf. Those fruits might rot before Simon Stone even finishes eating them.
He could only hope the coconut-shell water would last until they reached the other side of the sea.
"Maybe there’ll be a storm tonight. The raft will be destroyed, and so will I."
"What nonsense are you talking about, monkey?" Canary glared at him fiercely.
Good things rarely happen, but bad things always do. That very night, a storm really came. A huge wave smashed the raft to pieces, turning three months of the monkey tribe’s effort into nothing.
After struggling for his life in the sea all night, by the next morning, the monkey had only a single tree trunk left.
No water, no food—only Canary remained by his side.
"See! I told you not to say such unlucky things! What do we do now?" Canary flapped her wings and nagged incessantly.
"I've noticed..."
"Notice what?"
Simon Stone gazed at the blazing sun and said slowly, "I noticed that when I'm truly about to die, I can't bear to let go."
"You're crazy!" Canary was nearly in tears with anxiety.
Simon had already considered this possibility before heading out to sea. In fact, his only real hope for the journey was the birds’ unique sense of direction—like having a natural compass.
According to their plan, they would use the monsoon to head southwest, reach the Southern Lands, and then cross it to reach the Western Isle.
But in their current situation, even a 'compass' probably wouldn't help much.
Canary hurriedly flew up into the sky, darting back and forth in a panic. After half a day, she returned.
"Did you see any islands?"
"No." Canary shook her head in disappointment.
"No water, no food—in this situation, conserving energy is the most important thing." Simon Stone flopped down on the half-submerged tree trunk, with only his tail twitching about.
"If you fly a bit farther, maybe..."
"Go look for an island. As long as you find one, we'll be saved," Simon Stone said, eyes half-closed.
"But what if I find an island and can't find you?"
Canary was right—the ocean currents changed in an instant.
With Canary's sense of direction, finding an island wouldn't be hard. But once out of Simon Stone's sight, whether she could find him again after finding land was a huge problem.
Simon Stone did not answer this question.
The monkey and the canary sat silently at opposite ends of the tree trunk, not saying a word for a long, long time.
It wasn't until the midday sun was scorching Simon Stone's back that he finally spoke: "Go. Without me, you'll definitely survive."
"And what about you?" Canary asked.
"Me? I'm Sun Wukong, a spirit monkey born of heaven and earth. I won't die so pitifully."
Canary didn’t understand. She just shook her head: "I’m not leaving. Even if you survive, you won’t get anywhere without me. Didn’t we agree to seek immortality and enlightenment together?"
"Why talk about that now? Go. I won’t blame you."
Sometimes, despair is a kind of relief. Facing the vast, endless sea, he could do nothing, yet somehow felt at peace.
Maybe he was supposed to die when he crossed over—not every Simon Stone could become Sun Wukong. Perhaps forging a path like Sun Wukong’s was a one-in-a-million chance.
Thinking it through, this failed attempt didn’t matter much. But dragging an innocent canary to die with him—he couldn’t accept that.
"I’m not leaving." Canary raised her eyes.
"If you stay, you’ll only drag me down! Go! If you don’t go, you’ll die too!"
"I won’t go! Mind your own business! I’ll do whatever I want! I’m not leaving!" Canary’s tears streamed down her face.
Simon Stone’s eyes slowly reddened as well.
Since coming to this world, he’d cried more than a few times. Was Sun Wukong always this quick to tears?
But heroes aren’t supposed to shed tears.
"It seems I’m not a hero after all."
Just like that, the first day passed.
When the sun rose on the second day, the seawater that had splashed onto him had already evaporated, leaving grains of salt clinging to his fur. It made Simon Stone uncomfortable all over.
Even worse was the hunger and thirst.
All these sensations made him extremely irritable, yet he didn’t even have the strength to lose his temper.
There was still no sign of an island. Hoping to drift into one by following the current would take the luck of a lottery winner.
Looking across to the other end of the tree trunk, Canary, crouched with her feet pulled up on the bark, was also starting to weaken.
Death was already close at hand.
"Should we go?"
"I’m not going," Canary said stubbornly.
Simon Stone didn’t ask again. He simply gazed quietly at the sky.
This line is irrelevant to the novel and should be skipped.
On the third morning, as the sun rose over the sea, Simon Stone and Canary leaned against each other.
Simon Stone had to be careful not to crush her, but he liked the feeling of leaning on each other.
"Should we go?"
"I’m not going." The answer was the same, but this time Canary didn’t even open her eyes.
"Why do you insist on seeking immortality and enlightenment? I’ve never seen a monkey like you," Canary asked.
"That’s because I’m not a monkey."
"Not a monkey?"
"Well, I am a monkey, but... Anyway, I'm not an ordinary monkey. I should have waited three hundred more years before going to sea. That would have been better. Maybe I was too impatient."
"Why?"
"I don’t know."
...
"Sparrow, do you have any wishes?"
"I’m a canary! Canary... never mind, I don’t have the strength to argue. My wish... I want to fly higher and farther, like an eagle. Then I could go to more places... If I were an eagle, I’d have found an island by now."
"That day will come. Once we reach Crescent Star Cave and cultivate immortality, anything is possible," said the monkey.
"Can I cultivate too?"
"Of course."
"After cultivating, what can we do?"
...
"Monkey, why do you seek immortality?"
"For... I don’t know, let me think. I don’t want to be an ordinary monkey anymore. I want to master the Seventy-Two Transformations and then find a place to be the Mountain King. Ideally, I’ll have a few concubines and live a carefree life, never having to fear little things like the Leopard King. Then I’ll build you a palace on Blossom Mountain, just like a human emperor’s, and anything you want—nothing will be beyond me."
"A few concubines? You don’t need to cultivate for that. I know several female monkeys who drool just looking at you."
"Bah! Who wants a female monkey? When the time comes, only a fairy will be worthy of me... Hmm, a beautiful fox spirit would do too."
"Why not a canary spirit?"
Simon Stone suddenly widened his eyes at the indignant Canary.
Well, if the Bull Demon King can hook up with a fox spirit, and the snake spirit can get together with the scorpion spirit... Thinking about a monkey spirit and a canary spirit, maybe it’s not so strange after all.
But neither of us has become a spirit yet, right? Can love really transcend species? Why does it feel so awkward?
"Fine, fine! When I’m Mountain King, I’ll have someone bring you back to be my wife of the stronghold."