Chapter 108: Meeting the Seven Fairies Again

Sun Wukong and Yuan Wuji remained in a deep slumber, as if they would never wake. Their sleep was only broken by the arrival of the Seven Fairies.

"Huh? How long have I been asleep?"

Woken by the Seven Fairies, Yuan Wuji breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Sun Wukong still fast asleep. As long as Wukong was still in the Flat Peach Garden, it meant the Flat Peach Banquet had not yet begun.

The Seven Fairies were currently speaking with the local Earth Deity, likely asking after Sun Wukong’s whereabouts, as the garden was nominally under his jurisdiction. Yuan Wuji also spotted the youngest fairy among them. Usually, the Queen Mother arranged for the gathering of peaches herself; why were the Seven Fairies sent this year? The youngest fairy looked exceptionally excited, as they rarely had the chance to visit the garden.

The fairies began their harvest, but the orchard was largely picked clean, leaving only small, unripe fruits. They could only find a few larger peaches hidden in the shadows. The Fifth and Third Fairies had the most luck, as they were searching in the section of six-thousand-year peaches. Sun Wukong had consumed seven or eight out of every ten there, leaving only a few behind.

"Sister, why are the peaches so scarce this year?"

"They are all unripe and green."

The Eldest Fairy looked at the meager pickings in their bamboo baskets with a grim expression; they would never be able to fulfill their duty with these. "Let us head to the section with the nine-thousand-year peaches," she decided, calming the others.

Seeing the Seven Fairies approaching, Yuan Wuji immediately transformed into a peach leaf and hid to the side. As for Sun Wukong, it would take the "help" of the fairies to wake him.

Upon reaching the nine-thousand-year peach section, the situation was no better. While the three-thousand and six-thousand-year peaches had been ravaged by Wukong, the nine-thousand-year ones had been entirely harvested by the Queen Mother.

"How can there be so few nine-thousand-year peaches left? That's impossible!" the Eldest Fairy cried out. She had once asked the Jade Emperor about these rare fruits, and he had told her they were all in the garden, leading her to believe there would be a bounty.

"Eldest Sister, look! There is a huge peach here!"

The Fourth Fairy had spotted the peach that Sun Wukong had transformed into—the largest one they had encountered so far. As the Third Fairy reached out to pluck it, the moment she pulled it from the branch, Sun Wukong awoke. Deprived of the tree’s nourishment, he naturally snapped back to his senses.

Feeling himself being held, Wukong’s temper flared instantly. "Who are you? How dare you steal my peaches!" he bellowed.

The peach in the Third Fairy’s hand transformed into a golden monkey before their eyes. The peach vanished, and they assumed Wukong had snatched it away.

"Great Sage, please calm your anger! We were sent by the Queen Mother to gather peaches for the Flat Peach Banquet," the Eldest Fairy said, recognizing the monkey as the one and only Sun Wukong.

The Earth Deity, summoned by the shouting, hurried over. "Great Sage, they are indeed the Seven Fairies," he pleaded, terrified of the consequences if anything happened to them.

"Oh? A Flat Peach Banquet?"

"Yes, Great Sage."

"And who has been invited?" Wukong asked with a hint of anticipation. The fairies, failing to notice his tone, began to list the guests: the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats of the West, the Guanyin of the South, the Holy Emperor Chong’en of the East...

"And was I invited?" Wukong asked with a grin.

"We have heard nothing of that."

"I am the Great Sage Equaling Heaven! Why should I not be granted a seat of honor?"

"Those are the customs of the past; we know not of this year's arrangements."

"Fair point," Wukong said. "Stay here. I shall go and inquire whether I have been invited or not."

Just as he turned to leave, the Sixth Fairy muttered under her breath, "A monkey demon, wanting to attend the Flat Peach Banquet? What a delusional fool."

The comment did not escape Wukong’s ears. Before the Eldest Fairy could stop her, Wukong’s face turned crimson with rage. Overcome by pride and fury, he ignored who they were. Just as in the legends of old, he cast a freezing spell on the Seven Fairies and the Earth Deity. Yuan Wuji watched with relief as Wukong departed without further violence, though he remained wary for the youngest fairy.

Wukong, mirroring Yuan Wuji’s own temperament, would never suffer such an insult and was clearly heading off to cause chaos for the Queen Mother—the famous havoc at the Flat Peach Banquet.

Yuan Wuji had no interest in the banquet; it held no treasures that could entice him, and he dared not risk his safety. Having consumed the nine-thousand-year peaches and cultivated the attribute of life, he was satisfied. As for the banquet, he would let Wukong handle the destruction.

His next target was clear: the Tushita Palace of Taishang Laojun. If the nine-thousand-year peaches had such an effect, the Nine-Turn Golden Pills would surely be extraordinary.

"Eldest Sister, what do we do?" the youngest fairy sobbed, her purple eyes brimming with tears. She had never been restrained like this in her life and was terrified.

"Don't worry, little sister," the Eldest Fairy comforted her. "When we don't return, Father will realize something is wrong."

The Jade Emperor doted on the youngest fairy more than all the others combined. It had been her own willfulness that brought her along on this trip, and now, the Eldest Fairy feared both for her sister’s safety and the wrath of the Jade Emperor for allowing such disrespect to befall them.