Journey to the West is one of the four great classics of Chinese classics, and the story of the true and false Monkey King is one of the most exciting chapters. In the story, Sun Wukong was expelled back to Huaguo Mountain by Tang Seng because of a misunderstanding with Tang Seng. But at the same time, the six-eared macaque took the opportunity to incarnate into the appearance of Sun Wukong, trying to harm Tang Seng. In the end, the true and false Monkey King was identified in front of the Buddha, the six-eared macaque was subdued, and Sun Wukong also returned to the scripture-learning team.
However, in the subsequent chapters of "Journey to the West", we never see Monkey King appear again. There are many different explanations and speculations about this issue. One of the theories is that the story of the Monkey King, whether it is true or false, is actually a dream of the Monkey King. In the dream, he went through an ordeal and finally realized the true meaning of learning from the scriptures. When he woke up from the dream, he continued to embark on the path of learning the scriptures.
There is some truth to this interpretation, because throughout Journey to the West, many episodes are presented in the form of dreams. And, from a literary point of view, this interpretation can also add color to the story and make the reader more impressed with the storyline.
Another view is that the story of the Monkey King is actually a catastrophe for the Monkey King. During this catastrophe, he was killed by a six-eared macaque, but in the end, through the struggle with the six-eared macaque and the help of Lord Nyolai, he managed to survive the catastrophe. However, after the catastrophe, he may have left the scripture study team for some reason, and did not follow Tang Seng to continue his journey.
There is also some basis for this interpretation. In "Journey to the West", many disasters are to test the will and determination of the scripture-learning team. As a member of the scripture-learning team, Sun Wukong may have left because he got some kind of revelation or understanding in this catastrophe, which gave him a new pursuit and goal.
No matter what kind of explanation and speculation, each has its own truth and basis. And the final answer may only be told by the original author. In any case, the story of the real and false Monkey King is a very classic scene in "Journey to the West", which not only shows the wisdom and courage of Sun Wukong, but also presents the hardships and challenges on the road to learning scriptures.