Perhaps drinking the water had refreshed him—his whole porcine self—or perhaps Zhu Bajie was naturally alert. Either way, he spotted Wang Yue and the Old Turtle the moment they appeared.
Zhu Bajie immediately nudged Sun Wukong and said with a grin, "Senior Brother, that young fellow you've taken a liking to is here!"
Everyone hurriedly turned to look. Sure enough, Wang Yue had appeared a short distance away with the Old Turtle riding on his shoulder!
Sun Wukong had been waiting quite a while for Wang Yue. The moment he saw him, he flashed over to his side.
He looked Wang Yue up and down and said admiringly, "Lad, you really are blessed by heaven. You may lack a suitable magical treasure or any impressive secret arts, but I reckon that for the next few hundred years, I'd still have to put some effort into beating you."
Wang Yue hadn't expected such high praise from Sun Wukong. He hastily replied, abashed, "You flatter me, Great Sage! May I ask what important business you summoned me for?"
Sun Wukong scratched the back of his left hand with his right, then grinned. "You seem remarkably well informed. I imagine you must have some secret art!
"So I thought I'd ask you to come to the Western Heaven with us. You might save me some trouble along the way!
"And didn't you make that Old Turtle a promise? We'd be heading the same way!"
Seeing that Sun Wukong was inviting him along, Wang Yue thought of the Great Heavenly Immortal Art Sun Wukong had taught him. He had no reason to refuse.
So Wang Yue smiled and said, "Great Sage, you and your two junior brothers are all accomplished seniors. Traveling with you and learning even a fraction of what you know would