Chapter Four: If There Is a Next Life

Pairs of mandarin ducks nest together, pairs of butterflies take flight,
The garden in full spring bloom leaves one intoxicated.
I ask the Holy Monk in a whisper:
Is the daughter beautiful?
Is the daughter beautiful?
What talk of royal power and wealth?
What fear of commandments and discipline?
I only wish for eternity,
To follow closely behind the one who holds my heart.
Deeply in love with you,
Deeply in love with you,
Wishing to be together always in this life.

In the instant the Golden Cudgel struck the white monster's "S-bomb," at the moment the bomb unleashed its devastating explosion, the intense heat, the massive flames, and a feeling of impending death unlike anything he had ever known caused Sun Wukong to subconsciously turn his head to look at the little fox. In that gaze, he saw her eyes, and they stirred a chord of affection that had been buried deep within his heart for over five hundred years.

Nearly four hundred years of living side by side, five hundred years of patient waiting.

She had waited, she had acted; she helped him dispel his loneliness, she shared his hardships, she was his first friend, and she helped him manage the Fruit Mountain with perfect order. She helped him spread word of his "great achievements," she...

Even at this moment, as her life was drawing to a close, the look in the little fox's eyes toward Sun Wukong remained one of unconditional trust and adoration, followed by a profound, lingering affection. It was the same deep, reluctant, and devoted gaze he had once seen in the eyes of the Queen of the Daughter Kingdom when she looked at Tang Seng as they departed.

In that moment, he finally understood why his master had shed that tear as he left, and why he had left those four words for the Queen.

At this instant, Sun Wukong's golden body was fading away bit by bit. He shouted those four words aloud to the little fox!

"If there is an afterlife!"

After those four words, the bodies of Sun Wukong and the little fox simultaneously turned to ash. Everything around them, including the entire Fruit Mountain, "disappeared," leaving behind only a massive mound of earth.

A colorful stone about a meter high stood atop the mound. The stone was shaped like a monkey.

Time is the swiftest yet slowest, the longest yet shortest, the most ordinary yet most precious, and the most easily ignored yet most regretful thing in the world.

In the blink of an eye, thousands of years passed.

A black Audi SUV pulled up to the foot of the mountain, and a young couple stepped out.

Looking up at the thousands of steps, the man looked at the woman with concern.

"Xueqin, perhaps we should let it go. It’s so high; your body won't be able to handle it." The man shook his head slightly at her.

"Yi, we have been married for five years and still have no children. Although Father hasn't said anything, I can see the expectation in his eyes. I also know you have always wanted a child, but I..." The woman raised her eyes and bit her pale lips. Her smile was bleak and listless, like a dying white lotus blooming in a frigid blizzard.

"Xueqin, I have never blamed you. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have… Regardless of whether you can conceive in the future, I love you." A tear fell from the man's resolute eyes.

"Yi, I heard there is a spirit stone in the temple up there, rich with spiritual power. Many people have had their prayers there answered. Will you accompany me up?" Ling Xueqin looked up into Sun Yi's eyes.

"Yes," Sun Yi nodded.

For the first few steps, Ling Xueqin insisted on walking by herself. After a short distance, she began to pant slightly. Sun Yi, aching for her, supported her and refused to let her continue on her own.

Finally, at her insistence, Sun Yi half-carried her, climbing slowly toward the summit, one step, one level, and one rest at a time.

An hour later, Sun Yi and Ling Xueqin finally reached the top. Sun Yi took water and a handkerchief from his backpack, opened the bottle for her, and then gently wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Yi, look, that is the temple," Ling Xueqin said, pointing to a simple yet tidy structure.

"Why does it feel like not many people come here to worship?" Sun Yi was still skeptical. If it truly possessed spiritual energy, why were there so few visitors? The well-known temples in the country saw at least hundreds of people every day.

"I'm not sure. I suppose many people are put off by the long flight of stairs," Ling Xueqin replied with a shake of her head. In truth, she was merely grasping at straws. Over the years, she had been to many places, tried Western and Chinese medicine, and prayed to all sorts of deities, all to no avail.

This place had been told to her by her father. He said that his grandfather's grandfather had prayed here, which was why he had successfully built his fortune from scratch and established their current business empire.

These thousand steps and this temple had been funded by the Ling ancestors in gratitude after their success. Regardless of whether the spirit stone truly played a role, out of respect for their forebears, the family had bought the mountain and instructed every generation of Ling heirs to visit and pay their respects.

As Ling Feilong's only daughter and the future heir to the Lingtian Group, and out of empathy for his daughter's plight, Ling Feilong had told her about this place, hoping it might be worth a try.

"What a beautiful stone." Sun Yi pushed open the temple doors and saw a stone about a meter tall standing in the main hall. The roof above the stone was fitted with transparent tiles.

Sunlight streamed through the tiles, illuminating the stone and causing it to emit a multicolored glow.

"Perhaps this time it will really work."

Ling Xueqin was also captivated by the multicolored light. How could an ordinary stone emit such a beautiful radiance?

"Why does this stone look like a monkey? Did someone carve it?" Sun Yi observed closely.

"No, it formed naturally." Ling Xueqin did not tell Sun Yi that this mountain actually belonged to the Ling family, nor did she speak of the family's history with it. She was afraid—afraid that Sun Yi would pin too much hope on it, only to be disappointed in the end.

Ling Xueqin knelt down devoutly, pressed her palms together, and closed her eyes.

"Spirit stone, I beg you, let me conceive a child for the Sun family and carry on their lineage."

Seeing his beloved wife so earnest, Sun Yi also knelt respectfully beside her, cleared his mind, and closed his eyes.

"Spirit stone, if you are truly divine, I only hope you can cure Xueqin’s illness and restore her health. As long as she is healthy and happy every day, I truly do not care whether she can conceive."

Both kept their prayers silent in their hearts, never speaking them aloud.

Sincerity brings spiritual response.

The multicolored light on the spirit stone suddenly converged into one point and surged into Ling Xueqin's body. Afterward, the stone lost its luster, turning into an ordinary rock, and even the monkey-like shape vanished.

"Yi, Yi."

After finishing her prayer, Ling Xueqin opened her eyes, noticed the change in the stone, and immediately exclaimed in surprise.

"What is it? Did you kneel for too long? Are you feeling unwell?" Sun Yi looked at Ling Xueqin with concern.

"No, look, the stone’s light is gone. Was our request too much?" Ling Xueqin pointed at the stone, feeling a bit sorrowful. Could it be that she really was destined never to have children in this life?

"It’s not that. It must have been the sunlight. We should really trust in science; the multicolored light from earlier was likely just a refraction of the sun at a specific time," Sun Yi said, observing carefully and offering a scientific explanation to comfort her, not wanting her to dwell on it.

Ling Xueqin hadn't held much hope to begin with, so after hearing Sun Yi's comfort, she stood up, bowed once more, and walked down the mountain, supported by him.

On the way down, Sun Yi did not let Ling Xueqin walk; he carried her step by step.

Longcheng, the capital of the Longteng Kingdom, has a population of about thirty million. In its eastern suburbs, there is a four-lane private road. The entrance to the road is guarded by sentry posts, with two bodyguards in black suits and miniature earpieces standing at each.

A large warning sign stood at the intersection: Private Property, No Entry.

At the end of the road lay a luxurious estate covering nearly a thousand acres. The air was filled with the sound of birds and the scent of flowers; it felt like spring all year round.

The main building of the estate was a five-story European-style villa. Four Corinthian Roman columns stood before the entrance, grand in scale and magnificently decorated.

The estate featured a golf course, badminton court, basketball court, small cinema, gym, helipad, outdoor swimming pool, leisure fish pond, and organic vegetable greenhouses. There were over three hundred servants and bodyguards on the premises.

This was the estate of the wealthiest family in the Longteng Kingdom, the Ling family.

A black BMW drove in slowly.

When the guards saw the license plate and the passengers, they immediately saluted and let the car pass.

By the fish pond, an old man in white leisure wear was fishing.

"Sir, the young mistress is back," a butler dressed in a black tailored suit with a white bowtie said softly as he walked to the old man's side, carrying a tea set with freshly brewed black tea.

"Hmm. How does the young mistress look?" the old man asked, his tone revealing an air of authority.

"Not very well. I suspect the trip did not achieve the expected result," the butler reported.

"Take the tea to the study. I'll go check on Xiao Qin first."

The old man stood up and walked straight toward the villa. The fishing line on the rod left by the side moved, and the tip of the rod twitched. The old man heard the movement, looked back with a slight smile, and continued toward the villa with his hands behind his back.

The butler walked over to the rod, picked it up, and quickly reeled it in.

A red carp flew out of the pond, trailing a splash of water, its tail flapping vigorously as it tried to break free from the hook. A few drops of water splashed onto the butler's eyes, shimmering with rainbow colors as they refracted the sunlight.

"Xiao Qin, how are you?" The old man walked over to see Ling Xueqin resting on the sofa.

"I'm fine," Ling Xueqin said with a faint smile, though it remained listless.

"Dad, have some tea," Sun Yi said, bringing over two cups. He placed one in front of Ling Feilong and brought the other to Ling Xueqin's lips.

"I can do it myself," Ling Xueqin said, reaching out to take the cup from Sun Yi.

After Ling Feilong urged his daughter to rest well, he returned to his study; he did not want to burden her with anything.