Everything unfolded just as it had in the plot. Xuanzang had initially been watching from the sidelines, but he soon noticed something was wrong and pulled out a book to search through.
At the same time, he kept observing the situation.
After the bearded middle-aged Taoist accepted the villagers' grand bows and flattery, took the valuables they had pooled together, and prepared to leave, handing the fish that had been blasted to death over to the villagers to deal with, Xuanzang finally found the fish's origins.
By then, he saw that the surrounding villagers were in an uproar!
"Beat it to death!" one villager shouted.
"Isn't it already dead?" another villager yelled angrily, his face twisted with rage.
"Beat it to death again!"
"Make sure it never dares come out and harm people again!"
"Take revenge for Luo Er, who's still unconscious!"
Xuanzang froze for a moment, then hurried out and said, "You've got it all wrong! It's not the culprit!"
The villagers were stunned, then immediately turned to look at him.
Xuanzang wasn't afraid. Facing the villagers' twisted expressions, he said, "It's just a Gu family fish. It's naturally docile, optimistic by nature, and has an excellent character. It's just a little too big."
The village chief immediately stepped forward and asked, "Who are you?"
"I am Chen Xuanzang, an unordained disciple of the Mahayana Buddhist sect, a demon exorcist who subdues monsters and demons!"
The village chief said, "We all know about Gu family fish, but we've never seen one this big. The Venerable Taoist said it was possessed by a demon!"
How could the middle-aged Taoist, who had just captured the "water demon," tolerate Xuanzang ruining his source of income?
He handed the basket containing the valuables to a young Taoist beside him, then immediately jumped out