Sun Wukong glanced around cautiously, as if afraid of being discovered by a third party, making Yin Hu nervous as well.
Then he leaned close and whispered, "Brother Tiger, I've taken a liking to the Purple Leaf Fruit Land and the Wild Boars, and I'd like you to do me a favor!"
Yin Hu, thinking he was about to be told a great secret, was unhappy to realize he was being asked for a favor, nearly flipped out, "Does Brother Golden Monkey not know that they are under my jurisdiction? No matter what, they are my subordinates, how could I possibly just give them away? If I did that, who would still want to follow me, Yin Hu?"
Though he seemed angry, he was actually just haggling, pretense of caring for his subordinates, just waiting to see if Sun Wukong could offer something tempting enough.
Sun Wukong could see, and the Wild Boar King was moved to tears, thinking Yin Hu had finally come to his senses and started valuing his tribe.
Little did he know that Yin Hu was assessing the value, thinking about how to sell the pig herd for a good price.
Sun Wukong's face twisted in conflict, his frown indicating distress, which made Yin Hu even more certain of the preciousness of the secret he was about to share, his heart ablaze with greed, he couldn't help but say, "Don't say Brother Tiger doesn't look after you, in the future you can dig up some purple fruits to fill your bellies, but forget about taking over the land."
Such a big-brother act, he sounded extremely generous.
The fish had taken the bait. Sun Wukong concealed a smile, his face suddenly showing a determined look as he mumbled to himself, "Never mind, if this goes on, my monkey tribe will starve to death, a big secret is good, but not as important as the tribe, time to let go!"
Yin Hu's eyes lit up upon hearing this, praising, "Brother Golden Monkey has a good heart, worthy of a monkey king, I admire you!"
After all, lying costs nothing, just heap on the praise.
His words seemed to help Sun Wukong make up his mind, his teeth gritted, he exclaimed, "Damn it, never mind, let's spill it!"
This thrilled Yin Hu to no end, "Right, right, right, that's how it should be!"
"But you have to promise to give us that land!" Seemingly afraid that Yin Hu would go back on his word, Sun Wukong brought up the subject again, still appearing a bit hesitant.
Seeing an opportunity he couldn't miss, Yin Hu immediately slapped his chest, promising that if the big secret was true, he would certainly allocate the Purple Leaf Fruit Land to the monkey tribe and so on, he was almost swearing an oath.
This stunned the Wild Boar King, who incredulously watched Yin Hu's hypocritical face, the pig utterly despaired.
Meanwhile, Sun Wukong was still acting, pulling Yin Hu to a secluded corner and looking around again, as if he were a vendor selling pirated action DVDs in an alley.
But this made Yin Hu even more certain of the invaluable secret he was about to hear, already believing it halfway.
Showing a moment's hesitation, Sun Wukong swallowed, then finally said, "This is a big secret I heard at Zen Temple, extremely precious, it's said that whoever obtains it will gain an unsurpassed opportunity, what with ascending to the heavens in one step, attaining a holy name is nothing more than a moment's thought."
Gulp~
Yin Hu swallowed hard, then began to feel it was somewhat unrealistic, skeptical, he asked, "What exactly is this treasure, to have such power?"
Tch!
If I knew, I wouldn't tell you.
"Just listen to me... oh no, I mean, let me analyze it for you!"
Nearly slipping up, Sun Wukong quickly corrected himself, seeing that Yin Hu hadn't noticed, he started to bluster, "Brother Tiger, think about it, something that is considered a treasure even by the people at Zen Temple, how precious must it be?"
Yin Hu nodded, his imagination already running wild.
Then he listened as Sun Wukong continued, "And think about it, what could make them send the leader of the Saber Wolf Sect to find..."
Yin Hu was shocked, and then some long-forgotten memory suddenly surfaced, and as he pieced it together, it seemed to fit perfectly.
He stared wide-eyed, excitedly grabbing Sun Wukong's arm, whispering as if afraid of being overheard, "Brother Golden Monkey, are you talking about that disturbance from a thousand years ago?"
Sun Wukong gave a confused look, conveying a 'you tell me' expression with his eyes.
Yin Hu got the hint, putting the pieces together, he realized, "No wonder Ling Xu Zi suddenly stormed the Zen Temple, killing all those monks, gathering the Demon Clan, and hunting the monkey tribe, looks like he was afraid you'd leak the secret!"
Fuck!
Sun Wukong was startled.
Everything had been pieced together by conjecture.
A perfect connection, truly miraculous.
Seeing his shocked face, Yin Hu, assuming he had guessed correctly, couldn't help but feel smug, "Brother Golden Monkey, you need not be so shocked, I, Brother Tiger, have lived for nearly two thousand years, even took part in the Journey to the West, if it weren't for my sharp mind, I would have long been dead."
emm…
I don't know if you're smart or not.
But I would say, "Beautiful, got another important clue."
Looks like I'll need to come over for a chat more often.
With a purpose in mind, Sun Wukong looked at Yin Hu with a much friendlier gaze, "Brother Tiger is wise, so I won't beat around the bush. Let's talk about that big secret!"
Straight to the point, skipping the probing and showing his hand!
However, Yin Hu stated the facts, not thinking about testing their truth, and hurriedly said, "Brother Golden Monkey, please tell me quickly, so we can discuss it together and strive to obtain the treasure as soon as possible."
Sun Wukong chuckled secretly, then brought up another matter, "Brother Tiger, do you know that my monkey clan entered the western high ridge from various places?"
Yin Hu played along, "Various places?"
Sun Wukong smiled mysteriously, saying with profound meaning, "Exactly, the Thousand Fruit Forest!"
Hiss~
Inhaling sharply, Yin Hu suddenly had a bold guess, somewhat excitedly said, "Could it be, Brother Golden Monkey, that the treasure you mentioned... "
Sun Wukong nodded, speaking mysteriously, "I wasn't sure at first, but after hearing what the multiple-headed turtle said, I believe that Thousand Fruit Forest is the most unique, indeed a wonder of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range."
Hiss~
His words shocked Yin Hu for a full hundred years.
Because it connected with a certain memory of his.
He couldn't help saying, "No wonder so many forces appeared after that shocking change a thousand years ago, the multiple-headed turtle, Spirit Void Zi, Black Hawk, Dragon Flood Dragon, they must all know something. It turns out I was the only demon kept in the dark."
At this point, Yin Hu felt somewhat angry, feeling as though his intelligence had been dragged along the ground over and over again.
Sun Wukong, of course, was consoling, and surprisingly gained favor, bringing their relationship a few steps closer.
After getting angry, Yin Hu became excited and couldn't wait to ask, "So according to Brother Golden Monkey, is that big secret hidden in the Thousand Fruit Forest?"
But he saw Sun Wukong first nod and then shake his head, saying, "I can't be certain, but there must be some connection. Otherwise, the multiple-headed turtle wouldn't care so much and be in such a hurry to lead us through the Thousand Fruit Forest."
Yin Hu nodded, thinking more and more that it made sense, and then thought of the important matters, probing, "Then what does Brother Golden Monkey think we should do?"
Finally, here it comes!
I've been waiting so long, the flowers are nearly wilting.
Listen, Sun Wukong smiled triumphantly, put his arm around Yin Hu's shoulder, and said affectionately, "I plan to first improve the strength of the monkey children, then cooperate with Brother Tiger to take down the Black Hawk King's lair directly."
Listening to this good plan, Yin Hu nodded and said, "So you're interested in the Purple Leaf Fruit Land, wanting to use that group of wild boars to enhance the strength of the monkey clan?"
Thinking he had seen through it all and seeing Sun Wukong nod, he immediately felt triumphant and generously promised, "That's a trivial matter, Brother Tiger has agreed. Brother Golden Monkey, just take what you need."
"In that case, thanks a lot, Brother Tiger!"
Sun Wukong was tearfully grateful, making a series of solemn promises before he left carrying the Wild Boar King, leaving Yin Hu in a daze.
To have gifts delivered to the door and still take something back, now that's unheard of.
But this also shows the desperation of the monkey clan, having reached the point where Golden Monkey doesn't care about losing face, even to the extent of using a big secret to exchange for a chance to survive.
Yin Hu chuckled softly, believing he had seen through everything, and couldn't help but think even less of the monkey clan.
This was exactly what Sun Wukong wanted.
"General Yin!"
At this moment, the Rat Demon hurried back from another direction, came to Yin Hu's side, and began to report in a whisper.