Chapter 81 - 081: Sun Wukong Guards and Steals
The Jade Emperor had tasked Wukong with guarding the Peach Garden for several years, and Wukong had spent his days waiting for the peaches to ripen so he could pick and eat them.
Over the years, he would sleep soundly during his shift, only to chat a few words with Tao Yao if she came by, and the two had become good friends. Tao Yao, upon hearing from him what the outside world was like, felt some yearning, but still had no desire to leave. She was somewhat afraid, for she had grown up here since she was little. If she left, she feared more people would come to capture her. Without her father’s protection, how could she manage to survive on her own?
One morning, the Seven Fairies, attendants of the Queen Mother, arrived just as the Peaches of Immortality had matured, for the Queen Mother had decided to hold the Flat Peach Festival.
Wukong let out a strange laugh and said, "Tao Yao, come help Old Sun pick some peaches!"
With an affirmative reply, Tao Yao asked, "Sun Wukong, are you leaving?"
Wukong nodded and said, "My being here to guard the Peach Garden was just a facade. Now that the peaches are ripe and I’ve taken my share, it’s time for me to go."
"Ah... then, will you come back to see me?" Tao Yao asked, looking somewhat sad.
"That is..." Wukong thought to say "probably not," but considering Tao Yao’s solitude, he couldn’t bear to say it and instead said, "Of course! However, you could also come with me to see the world outside?"
Tao Yao puffed her cheeks and said, "I don’t think so, I’m waiting here for my daddy to come back! If he returns and doesn’t find me, he might be very worried!"
In his mind, Wukong thought, "Your deceased father is probably not coming back, not knowing where he has gone, not even bidding you farewell. I fear he didn’t care about you as much." But how could he say such words to hurt this lovely and innocent girl, so he smiled and said, "Perhaps your father is enjoying himself in the outside world so much that he doesn’t want to come back! If you come with me, we could find your father, right?"
After thinking it over and glancing outside the Peach Garden, Tao Yao indeed longed to go but was also afraid. She shrunk back and shook her head, saying, "No way, I’ll just wait here for my daddy to come find me. The outside world is so vast, how can I find him?"