So at that moment, William Carter gladly accepted the other party’s request and warmly invited Charles Baker to stay for dinner that evening.

Charles Baker smiled and nodded in agreement.

Next, Charles Baker’s attendant presented paper and pen.

This was also the first time since arriving in this world that William Carter had seen the paper and pen of this world.

The paper wasn’t anything like parchment; it was quite similar to the paper used on Earth in his previous life, though the quality was clearly not on par with that of his previous world. Still, it was good enough for clear writing.

But the pen truly surprised William Carter. If not for the much thicker refill, William Carter would have sworn it was a pencil from Earth!

Seeing the look of amazement on William Carter’s face, Charles Baker asked, “Young friend, you haven’t seen this kind of pen before, have you?”

Without waiting for William Carter’s reply, he turned to his attendant and said, “Go, bring all the paper and pens I brought from town and give them to our young friend.” Then he turned to William Carter and said, “A small gift, just a token of my regard.”

William Carter nodded and accepted it without hesitation.

Three days later, Charles Baker left, satisfied, with the manuscript of chapters 1 to 27 of “Journey to the West.”

Such news could not be kept secret.

Where there’s one, there’s two. The morning after Charles Baker left, another high-ranking magic apprentice came to visit.

The process this time was much the same as before. Perhaps because the most unfathomably powerful Charles Baker had set an example, the newcomer was equally polite. After seeing off the second guest, an acquaintance from the Redstone Mercenary Group, Cleo Carter, came to visit.

Cleo Carter’s intentions were, of course, self-evident.

Sensing that there might be many more such visitors, William Carter immediately discussed with Cleo Carter to give him a copy of the Journey to the West manuscript, and then direct all future manuscript seekers “to Cleo Carter.”

Cleo Carter readily agreed and immediately issued a statement in town through the Redstone Mercenary Group.

With that, William Carter finally escaped the tragedy of writing until his wrist was exhausted, and the huge commotion caused by telling the story of “Journey to the West” quietly subsided under these circumstances.

As for whether there would be any further consequences, that remained to be seen.

Chapter 13: The Whole Town Talks About Sun Wukong

William Carter had always been worried and concerned about the reactions of those with great martial power. Now, seeing those hidden undercurrents quietly dissipate, he finally let out a long sigh of relief, though at the same time he couldn’t help but feel a bit frustrated—

What was the point of all this trouble? Who did I provoke? I just told a story, didn’t I?

Meanwhile, the influence of Journey to the West was at its peak throughout the town, and as the center of the storm, it was rapidly spreading to neighboring towns.

Someone made an iron staff, wrapped both ends in gold, slung it over their shoulder, and walked up and down the street. From time to time, someone would shout, “Sun Wukong! Golden Cudgel!”

Soon, more and more golden cudgels appeared on the streets.

Not only ordinary people did this—even some warriors swapped their weapons for golden cudgels!

When William Carter heard about this from people in the group, he couldn’t help but shake his head repeatedly. These guys who could casually change even their weapons for eating—weren’t they afraid that, unfamiliar with their new weapons, they’d get themselves chopped down?

What amused William Carter most was that, after a few days, the brother in the group nicknamed Skinny Monkey also had a golden cudgel in his hand. Every morning, he’d swing it around the training ground, looking so proud!

This made the little kids envious, and they all clamored for one.

So, not long after, every one of these kids had a little golden cudgel in hand. Of course, the ends weren’t wrapped in gold, but in copper! Some weren’t even made of iron, but wood.

Luckily, they didn’t care about that, each one grinning from ear to ear.

As for the circuses and acrobatic troupes, those who used to train bears, lions, or birds all switched to training monkeys! Otherwise, no one would come to watch.

It was said that in Giant Rock City, the town closest to Redstone Town, many children’s pets had become monkeys.

As a result, the monkeys in the forest were out of luck. These creatures, once worth almost nothing, suddenly skyrocketed in value! But whether they were happy about it was hard to say.

On the other hand, William Carter had inadvertently opened up a new way for the various mercenary groups in Redstone Town to make money.

A small inn put up a stone statue at its entrance—a stone monkey carrying a golden cudgel. As a result, business boomed!

But the good times didn’t last. After a few days, the innkeeper suffered a misfortune: someone came knocking at night, beat him up, and smashed the statue at the inn’s entrance.

Then, the Wolf Fang Mercenary Group, whose power in Redstone Town rivaled that of the Redstone Mercenary Group, erected a more than ten-meter-tall stone statue of Sun Wukong in front of the largest inn in town. Underneath the giant Sun Wukong, there were a dozen or so smaller Sun Wukongs standing, sitting, or lying down in various poses.

Every day, locals, out-of-towners, and even people from Giant Rock City came in droves to visit and stay at the inn!

Before long, the Wolf Fang Mercenary Group went even further, hiring a highly skilled stonemason from Giant Rock City at great expense to start carving all kinds of Sun Wukong statues.