Week 9 Story: Wukong The Strongest Of Them All

My name is Yang Oerlang. Son of the Lord of the Heavens. There have not been many in my lifetime that have come close to matching my strength. That held true for thousands of year until a monkey born from stone came into this world. I'm here to tell you his tale leading up to his unfortunate death.

Long ago on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, there laid a rock. Undisturbed for years until one day the rock split in half and there laid a monkey in the core. He was destined for greatness. He lived among the apes and monkeys of his kind until one day they proposed a challenge. One who could pass through the waterfall in the middle of the mountain, come back alive, and tell them what was on the other side would be named their king. And so the monkey, born of stone, took this challenge upon himself and made it to the other. This is where is tumbled upon a cave within and an iron bridge to walk across. He went back to tell the other apes and they named him their rightful king. He then proclaimed himself the Handsome King of the Apes. 

One day as he sat on his throne in the cave beyond the waterfall, he thought to himself that he would die one day. Scared of the day to come he sought out immortality and ventured off to find it. He ventured far and wide until one day he stumbled upon a wood cutter who showed him the way to a saint. This saint was his key to immortality and many other magical gifts and abilities. This is where the monkey born from stone got his famous name: Wukong. He studied under this master as his apprentice and soon learned the ways to immortality. That was not the only thing he learned. He learned to somersault half way across the world in one jump, incantations and spells, and other to shape-shift into 72 different forms. But this was the beginning of his downfall. He began to become arrogant. This lead to his expulsion from the temple. 

After this event he became worse and worse, but at the same time stronger and stronger. He defeated many foes such as the Devil King, the Dragon-King, the Ten Princes of the Dead, and even Notscha the son of our beloved general Li Dsing. With every win he gained he became more and more arrogant. This came to an end when he met me. 

One of the gods from the heavens, Guan Yin, came to grandfather and suggested that I go down and put an end to Wukong's reign. I accepted this challenge immediately since it been while since my last battle. I went down to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit and called for Wukong. He came to me with confusion for he did not know who I was. I told him that I was Yang Oerland and that I had come to apprehend him. He immediately began to attack me, but I fended him off easily. He stood no chance against me. Our battle took hours with over 300 rounds. Soon Wukong realized that he couldn't defeat me and tried to make a run for it. Foolish was he for I had the gods from above help me in his defeat. One of the gods, Laotzse, has a circlet of diamonds that he used to knock Wukong in the back of the head. He fell to the ground where he took his last breath. I stood above him and told him of all his wrong doings. After I finished up his lengthy list, I put an end to his life. The battle had come to an end and I emerged victorious. 

That the end of the infamous stone monkey, Wukong. 

(Yang Oerlang, Source: Ali Express)

Author's Note: 

In this reading, the story of Wukong is told in third person but I changed it up and decided to tell the story from a first person perspective. It is told by one of his foes, Yang Oerlang. Wukong is born on a mountain from a rock and it named the king of the apes on that island. After many years he begin become restless and seeks out immortality. He does so with a saint he finds and learns of other great abilities. He is then banished from this temple for his arrogance. Soon he defeats many enemies such as the Devil King and the Ten Princes of the Dead. He also acquires his golden rod from the Dragon King and Queen. After letting Wukong roam freely on Earth, the Lord of the Heavens takes notice to him and wants to have him punished. However, his advisers suggest otherwise and appoint him a lowly position in the heavens of stable keeper. He finds out the meaning of his position and rebels. He goes back to his mountain and the heavens send down Notscha and Li Dsing to bring him back. However, Wukong is too strong for anyone and defeats all his opponents. That is until Yang Oerlang, the grandson of the Lord of the Heavens, comes down and catches him. They bring him back up to the heavens and try to burn him to ashes but he escapes and reeks havoc in the heavens. Buddha is recruited and after tricking Wukong, traps him in a mountain and seals him away. I didn't want to include the latter half of the story and opted to end Wukong's life because of his arrogance. 

Bibliography: "The Monkey King Sun Wu Kung" by R. Wilhelm. Web Source