"Huh? If I stay out of my body too long, I'll become a wandering soul? What should I do now? Monkey, maybe I shouldn't go with you. Could you take me back instead?"
After Sun Wukong told him that he might not be able to return if he stayed out of his body too long, Ye Chen suddenly felt afraid. He looked at Sun Wukong beside him, his eyes full of pleading.
"Heh heh, you brat. You threatened I, Old Sun in the Heavenly Court and made me lose face in front of all those Kami. If I didn't teach you a lesson, wouldn't I be tarnishing my title as the 'Son Goku'?"
"Don't, Monkey—no, Great Sage! With a reputation as great as yours, how could you hold a grudge against an insignificant nobody like me? Besides, if Buddha finds out I turned into a ghost, won't he come after you?"
Ye Chen hurriedly invoked Buddha's name, but who would've thought that Monkey seemed completely unafraid of Tathagata Buddha now? "So what if Buddha comes after me? I'll just tell him a monster killed you and I brought you back from the underworld."
"Please don't, Great Sage! I was wrong, all right? I'll never threaten you again. From now on, I, Ye Chen, will do whatever the Great Sage says. If you say east, we'll never go west!"
"You fool. Why would I send you east? We're going to the west to undertake the Journey to the West." Sun Wukong burst out laughing. "Don't worry. With I, Old Sun here, tell me, which King Yama would dare drag you into the underworld?"
"So as long as I stay with you, it won't matter if I'm out of my body for a long time?" Ye Chen asked uncertainly.
"Relax. I'm not