The two people and one horse continued onward. Ye Chen continued leading Tang Sanzang's horse, but Tang Sanzang seemed rather unsettled as he rode. Ye Chen glanced back several times and saw that Tang Sanzang wasn't meditating; instead, he stared nervously ahead.
"Master, don't worry. There shouldn't be that many monsters and demons along the road. What happened last time was probably just an accident," Ye Chen reassured him.
"Amitabha. I'm not worried for myself, but mourning those two attendants sent by the emperor. Their fates shouldn't have been like this. They were dragged down because of me."
"And I'm also silently reciting prayers for Ye Chen, asking Buddha to protect you and keep the monsters from capturing you and eating you alive."
Ye Chen found the comment rather baffling. Xuanzang knew perfectly well that he had an Indestructible Body, yet he still said something like that. Was he trying to move Ye Chen? That was a pretty clumsy way to do it.
"Thank you, Master." Though Ye Chen thought that, he still thanked him. The man was praying for his protection, after all; he couldn't just take a kind gesture and throw it back in his face.
"Master, where should we go next?" A few hours later, Ye Chen led the horse to a fork in the road. Unsure which way to go, he asked Xuanzang.
Xuanzang raised his head and looked at the roads ahead. "We should go that way, but it's a desolate wilderness. Could there be bandits or monsters?"
Ye Chen looked in the direction Xuanzang had pointed and recognized Shuangcha Ridge—the second trial they would face on their Journey to the West. He considered going around it, but after thinking it over, decided against it.
"Don't worry. With me by your side, you'll be safe,