When people are small and ask their parents where they came from, they usually get one of the following answers.
Picked up from the roadside.
Popped out from a crack in a rock.
Given as a bonus for topping up a phone bill.
Qingnu thought: Phone bills? Those didn't exist in this era, but she had actually encountered someone who popped out of a piece of meteorite picked up from the roadside!
And it was a monkey! Truly... a strange and wondrous thing.
Inside a small, broken house in Kunyang, Qingnu started a fire and sat squatting to one side, staring at the macaque eating fruit.
The fruit had originally been prepared specifically for Hongluan.
Seeing it eating happily, Qingnu looked around, picked up a wooden stick, poked the monkey with it, and asked, "Big Brother Monkey, is your surname Sun? Big Brother Monkey, my name is Shaodian. Stop eating for a second and give me an answer..."
The monkey snatched the stick from Qingnu's hand, gave it a few playful swings, and then went back to eating fruit.
"Hey... well, I'll be!"
Qingnu shot up in surprise, then immediately squatted back down.
Hongluan was deeply confused. She asked, "Dumb snake, weren't you always quite arrogant? Why are you afraid of this monkey?"
"If he really is Sun Wukong, I'm not so sure this snake could beat him!" Qingnu grumbled.
Once the monkey had finished his meal and felt comfortable, he turned to look at Qingnu, wiped his hands, and said, "Old Sun doesn't know any Sun Wukong you speak of. Never heard of him! Hehe..."
"Never heard of him? If you haven't heard of him, why do you call yourself 'Old Sun'!"
Qingnu's eyes widened, and she lashed out with a kick.
The wretched monkey had a copper head and iron arms. Even when Qingnu's kick landed, he didn't budge an inch.
Seeing Qingnu clutching her foot in grievance, he squatted down and said, "Someone dropped me down here and did indeed say Old Sun's surname is Sun. But as for whether I'm that whoever... Sun Wukong? Yeah, that name—whether it's him or not, I don't know."
"Dropped you down? Who dropped you?"
The snake girl muttered to herself, suddenly realizing something.
She jumped up and ran outside, looking up at the sky and shouting, "Thieving Heaven! Come out, or watch out! I'll help the Xinmang regime extend its life! My divine status is stabilizing; you'd better think carefully!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, a bolt of thunder flashed across the sky.
"Sigh..."
A soft sigh echoed from inside the small, broken house.
Qingnu turned back to see Heaven standing beside the monkey who looked suspiciously like Sun Wukong, gazing at her.
She stomped over to Him, pointed at the monkey, and asked, "You sent this?"
"It is I, yet it is not I."
Heaven shook His head, uttering a phrase that was rather cryptic.
Seeing Qingnu narrowing her eyes as if preparing to make a scene, He hurried to add, "The Medicine-Dispensing Fairy traveled south and saw that you were lonely and bored, so We sent him down to accompany you."
Qing·Lonely Old Snake·nu's mouth twitched. She glanced at the monkey and asked, "Then what is his name?"
"His surname is Sun. He has no given name; you may choose one."
Heaven forced a smile and asked, "Well? Are you satisfied with this arrangement?"
"A bird, a wolf, a monkey, and a snake... do you think I'm a zoo director?"
Qingnu rolled her eyes, but she felt Heaven's attitude was somewhat strange. She glanced at Him again and asked, "Why are you being so polite all of a sudden, even finding me a little pet? Could it be you're planning to scheme against this snake behind her back again?"
Seeing Qingnu's sudden vigilance, Heaven let out a sigh.
"I only ask that you behave yourself. Wait for the providence to transform into a dragon and stop making trouble for me!"
After dropping those words, Heaven vanished.
"He left quite quickly..."
After He was gone, Qingnu squatted down again, staring eye-to-eye with the monkey. The wretched monkey suddenly made a funny face at her.
Qingnu: "..."
If he isn't Sun Wukong, then what's there to be afraid of!
Qingnu gave the wretched monkey a good thrashing. So what if he had a copper head and iron arms? She just had to use a bit more strength.
After a 'warm and friendly exchange' with Qingnu, the wretched monkey became much better behaved.
"Will you be honest now?"
The monkey nodded vigorously.
Qingnu crossed her arms and sat on a stool, dangling her feet. The monkey immediately rushed over to massage her legs, his tail wagging as he asked, "Great one, is this pressure comfortable?"
"Hmm, it's passable."
Qingnu nodded and began to think.
"Sigh... macaque, macaque, what name should I give you?"
As she pondered, her gaze fell on the fire in front of them. Seeing the flames burning vigorously, she said, "How about I call you Sun Huowang?"
"Uh..."
The monkey's movements paused for a moment.
But after Qingnu shot him a sharp look, he quickly resumed massaging her legs and nodded repeatedly. "A fine name! I shall be called Sun Huowang. Many thanks to the great one for bestowing this name!"
Qingnu was very satisfied with his reaction and nodded slightly. "Mm, not bad... a teachable monkey!"
...
Following the Battle of Kunyang, the Xinmang regime collapsed like an avalanche.
Hundreds of thousands of the Greenwood Army struck at Hangu Pass, sending shockwaves through the region within the pass! The Qin royal family of Yongcheng—who had their noble titles stripped by Wang Mang and had suffered persecution for years—took 'Qin' of the 'Ying' lineage as their clan name. Leveraging their centuries of status and reputation in Guanzhong, they rose in response to the Greenwood Army, leaving the Xinmang regime attacked from both the front and back.
Chang'an was in a state of precarious instability as the fires of war drew near.
Inside the Han palaces, Confucian scholars gathered around Wang Mang, while messengers continuously arrived to report the movements of the Greenwood Army.
Days ago, Hangu Pass had already been breached by the Greenwood forces.
At the palace gates, Qingnu arrived leisurely, a bird on her shoulder and a monkey at her heels. She said, "The Greenwood Army comes from the east, and the Qin clan is in the west. Your ideal state has failed."
The Han Confucians were armed with swords. Seeing Qingnu approach, they drew their blades and shouted in anger, "How dare a witch speak such nonsense!"
Wang Mang stood up and dismissed everyone.
He walked alone to stand before Qingnu, bowed deeply to her, and said, "This... should be the last chance to ask of fate, Dr. Qing."
"Go ahead and ask."
Qingnu restrained Sun Huowang and looked at Wang Mang.
Wang Mang asked, "The ideal we seek—if it cannot be achieved now, will there be a time in the future when it is?"
"The Great Unification you desire, a world of Great Harmony... I haven't seen it in the thousands of years I've traveled. It wasn't found in the Three Dynasties, nor in the Qin or Han. But thousands of years from now, it will exist. Unfortunately, history is like a surging river; eras develop and eras change."
"Why value the ancient over the modern?"
If Wang Mang hadn't blindly worshipped the restoration of the Zhou system, perhaps the Xin Dynasty would have lasted longer.
But if he hadn't sought to restore the ancient ways, he would never have been propelled to power by the Confucian scholars in the first place.
A few days later, Chang'an fell.
The Greenwood Army swarmed into the city streets, leaving panic in their wake. The common people flocked to the Jade Maiden Shrine seeking protection. The Greenwood soldiers held a sense of awe and dread for Our Lady the Jade Maiden—who was legendary for her efficacy and had even aided the Great Han—and did not dare to disturb the shrine.
But Wang Mang's courtiers had no such protection.
In the chaos of the army, Wang Mang was driven to a desperate corner at Jiantai. The guards by his side had all fought to the death.
A Greenwood soldier shouted, "Wang Mang! Your kingdom is destroyed!"
Hearing this, Wang Mang's expression shifted. He raised the Confucian classics in his hand and rebuked the rebels, "You are but commoners... how could you possibly understand the Way of the Sages!!"
The Greenwood Army swarmed forward, severed Wang Mang's head, and presented it to Emperor Gengshi, Liu Xuan.
For the first time in over a decade, the banners of Han flew once more over Chang'an. Liu Xuan paid his respects at the High Ancestral Temple and the Jade Maiden Shrine, proclaiming his legitimacy to the world.
Children clapped and sang in the streets: "The great gale rises, the Han shall flourish!"
Atop the peak of Mt. Taibai in the Qinling Mountains, Qingnu gazed toward Chang'an. She saw the providence of Han roaring in the sky, yet it had split into two streams.
The providence of Gengshi was frail and weak, while the aura of Liu Xiu was vast and mighty.
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