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“ Uuuuuuugh , come on Master!” Wukong groaned, kicking the ground in frustration as his master fetched water from a well, “We need to get back on the road!”
“We need to help these people, Wukong.” Sanzang replied as he pulled up the bucket.
“But we already killed the demon! What more do they want!?” he huffed.
The monk sighed, “Did you act like this when other monkeys needed help on your mountain?”
Wukong glared at him, “They’re my people, I owe it to them to help and defend them.” he growled offendedly, “We don’t owe these people anything!”
Sanzan had to take a deep breath to calm himself in the face of the other’s anger, “Well, perhaps it would help if you didn’t think of kindness as a currency.” he replied.
Wukong paused at that. There wasn’t yet a look of understanding, but he could see the sparks behind Wukong’s eyes as he thought about it.
Walking past him, Sanzang brought the water over to an unfortunate family who had had their home destroyed in the battle.
“Here,” he smiled kindly as he handed it to the father, “You must be parched.”
“Thank you, Bhante.” the man returned his smile with a fragile one of his own, trying to keep a brave face for his family.
“Do you need help finding shelter? My friends and I would be more than happy to help out with that.”
“It’s alright, a family friend is letting us stay in their barn,” he said, “You’ve already done enough.”
“Still, if you need anything do not hesitate to ask.” Sanzang said, patting his shoulder before walking down the street to see if he could find anyone else in need.
Wukong quickly caught up to him, tugging on his sleeve like an impatient child, “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course, Wukong.”
“So, if you give kindness to everyone, isn’t there the chance you help someone that doesn’t deserve it?” he asks, “And what if your help enables them to do harm?”
“Well then, it reflects poorly on them and not I.” he answers patiently, “And if some people I am kind to end up being bad, does that mean everyone else is suddenly undeserving of it as well?”
“But they could take advantage of your kindness to hurt you!” he argued, “Is that risk really worth it?”
He hummed in thought, “Think of it this way. If I lived with the assumption that everyone else has only bad intentions for me, I would be too scared to even step outside the monastery. I would never have begun on this journey, and I would have never come across you.”
The Monkey King paused as he considered that.
“And wasn’t me removing the seal on your mountain an act of kindness?” he posited, “You could have been a man-eating demon trying to eat me, but I still helped regardless, didn’t I?”
“...Yeah, you did.” he concedes with a huff, crossing his arms.
As Sanzang walked ahead, the Monkey King suddenly called out, “Master?”
“Yes Wukong?” he turned to face him.
“What can I do to help?”
The monk smiled, patting his disciples head, “Alright then, see if you can find food in the forest to give these folks so they don’t need to worry about their next meal.”
“Yes, Master.” he nodded, summoning a cloud and taking off into the forest.
As he watched the monkey disappear into the distance, Sanzang couldn’t help but beam with pride as he continued his walk.