Conferred Gods: Start with a Phoenix clone

Chapter 1697 Reunion of old friends

It is said that the God of Poverty stole Sun Wukong's golden cudgel through strange means, and that if he is killed, he will "destroy" all the treasures. Pigsy was so frightened that he clung tightly to his nine-toothed rake.

This is a divine weapon that Laozi (the Supreme Lord Lao) forged for him. He even sleeps with it in his arms, treasuring it dearly and absolutely not wanting to lose it.

The Jade Rabbit also gripped her jade pestle tightly. Her jade pestle was made from a single piece of Kunshan jade. In terms of value alone, it was even more valuable than Sun Wukong's golden cudgel. The golden cudgel was essentially a "device" used by Yu the Great to stabilize the seawater, and its value was not high.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Can't you think of a solution?" The monkey looked at them hopefully.

Neither Pigsy nor Jade Rabbit uttered a sound, clearly not wanting to provoke this damned God of Poverty.

The monkey was so anxious that it scratched its ears and cheeks.

Tang Sanzang did give him a suggestion.

"Wukong, I am but a mortal, without your supernatural powers. However, I believe that everything in this world is governed by certain rules. Where there is birth, there is death; where there is poverty, there is wealth. Does the God of Poverty have no nemesis?"

A nemesis? A god of wealth? Sun Wukong blinked. Does such a deity exist in Heaven?

He suddenly thought of a deity, then became uncertain: "Master must be talking about the God of Wealth?! You idiot, junior sister! I don't think there was a God of Wealth in Heaven when I was the Great Sage Equaling Heaven?"

The Jade Rabbit thought for a moment and said, "I descended to the mortal realm early. I only remember that after you caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace, the Jade Emperor discussed the matter of re-establishing the God of Wealth. I don't know whether it was successful or not."

Old Pig kept rubbing his face, which was swollen from being slapped, and his voice was a little muffled as he spoke: "There is a new God of Wealth in Heaven, none other than Ji Fa, the former ruler of the Zhou Kingdom." (Chapter 1574)
Old Pig was the last to descend to the mortal realm; by the time he secretly hid the relics, Ji Fa had already been in office for many years. (Chapter 1601)
"You protect Master, I'm going to find this God of Wealth for help!" With a somersault, the monkey sped away from Wuji Kingdom.

Halfway there, he suddenly remembered that Wuji Kingdom was the territory of Manjushri Bodhisattva. "You don't even care about your own territory, why should I take care of it?"
He went directly to Mount Wutai, only to find that Manjushri Bodhisattva was not at the temple, supposedly having gone on a pilgrimage.

He found Jinzha, a disciple of Manjushri Bodhisattva.

Where did your master go?
do not know.

When will you return?

do not know.

Where is your brother Nezha?

do not know.

Jinzha knew nothing when asked.

"Alright, alright, I won't bother two people with one matter. You can come with me, Old Sun, then!"

Sun Wukong and Ji Fa were complete strangers. If Sun Wukong barged in and asked Ji Fa for a favor, Ji Fa would definitely be looking at him with a puzzled expression, thinking, "Who are you?"
Jinzha is the key to getting in touch. Even if Jinzha and Ji Fa don't know each other, it doesn't matter. Your father, Li Jing, definitely knows Ji Fa, and that's enough.

"Great Sage? Where do you intend to take this humble monk?"

"Great Sage?"

Sun Wukong dragged Jinzha away from Mount Wutai and headed to the Heavenly Court.

The Heavenly Court, the Treasury.

Ji Fa has done a pretty good job over the years, and he got rid of his probationary status early on.

The founding monarchs of ancient times were mostly polymaths; if you weren't, your subordinates would just try to fool you. You had to know a little about everything. Ji Fa wasn't a professional accountant, but he could still do the job.

These days, having a job is good enough; it's much better than living on welfare in Huoyun Cave.

His official position began as the God of Prosperity, and he rose through the ranks to become the God of Wealth, the God of Treasures, the God of Treasures, and finally the head of the Treasury, the God of Great Virtue and Wide Response.

The position of Heavenly Venerable only determines the amount of incense offerings and celestial essence he receives; it is his own rank, which is equivalent to an "official position." The position of the God of Wealth is the "job," and the job is far more important than the official position.

In the past, many civil and military officials of the Zhou state were listed as gods. Among Ji Chang's hundred sons, more than thirty ascended to heaven. Ji Fa only maintained polite exchanges with these former officials and brothers, and did not have any close friendships with any of them. He used to be able to go fishing with Jiang Ziya, but recently, when Jiang Ziya was given an important position by Long Ji, he immediately drew a line, and his desire to become a loyal minister was quite obvious.

When Sun Wukong arrived, the Finance Bureau was still a scene of bustling activity.

The two were from completely different eras. Just as Sun Wukong had never met the Jade Emperor before, Ji Fa only became the temporary God of Wealth after Sun Wukong's havoc in the Heavenly Palace. The two were also perfectly separated.

Jinzha had participated in many battles in the mortal realm during the Shang and Zhou dynasties and the Zhou and Han dynasties. He could only say that he knew Ji Fa, but he was not familiar with him at all. In the hundreds of years since the Investiture of the Gods, he had no dealings with him again.

He reluctantly went to see Ji Fa and introduced them to each other. After hearing their request, Ji Fa felt completely baffled.

"May I ask, messenger, do you have an imperial decree from the Jade Emperor?"

Jinzha glanced at the monkey, as if to ask, "Do you have one?"
"I'm done for! I've lost all my staffs!" Sun Wukong shook his head.

Ji Fa resolutely refused: "Ji Fa has duties to perform and cannot leave lightly. You two should go find someone else."

Even while conversing with the two, the officials of the Finance Bureau were extremely busy. Officials would come to consult with him from time to time, carrying documents. Ji Fa listened with his ears, watched with his eyes, and issued judgments with his hands. The entire Finance Bureau was like a wound-up toy, embodying the word "busy".

In this atmosphere, it is indeed inappropriate to call someone's superior out on business.

Ji Fa's meaning was simple: if you have the Jade Emperor's decree, whatever it may be, I will do it for you; if not? Sorry, go back to where you came from.

As they left the Finance Bureau, Jinzha complained to Sun Wukong, "You have nothing, yet you come to a high-ranking official in Heaven whom you don't even know to run errands for you? Is that even allowed?"
Sun Wukong pondered a solution with a furrowed brow and downcast eyes. He had a strong sense of江湖 (jianghu, the world of martial arts and chivalry) and often preferred to get things done through personal connections rather than through official channels.

Jinzha couldn't be of much help in this matter, so Sun Wukong didn't make things difficult for him and let him go.

Sun Wukong strolled around the Heavenly Court, occasionally seeing familiar faces and waving hello.

He felt that the duties of the God of Prosperity were probably similar to those of the God of Wealth, and that he should also be able to deal with the God of Poverty. However, he had no relationship with the God of Prosperity, Bigan. Bigan always had a stern face, as if everyone owed him five hundred taels of silver. The monkey was not good at dealing with this kind of person.

But who else can we turn to right now?

"Hey? Brother Ma?!" He suddenly spotted a familiar face: Ma Liang!

Aside from the monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain, Ma Liang could be considered his first friend. At that time, he was not the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and could not perform the Seventy-Two Transformations; he was just an ordinary monkey. The two could be said to have met when they were both humble beginnings.

Ma Liang was also very happy: "Stone Monkey? You're much more handsome than before, I almost didn't recognize you! Hey? Why are you in Heaven? Have you become an immortal?"

Sun Wukong was extremely proud: "Haha, I now have a surname! My master named me Sun Wukong!"

He temporarily forgot his troubles about losing the Golden Cudgel and boasted to his old friend Ma Liang.

(End of this chapter)