"I can't do anything about it either. The two of us have to find the kasaya before Master finishes his sutras. Otherwise, when he finds out it's missing, he'll be terribly upset."
Although Sun Wukong said that, Ye Chen knew he didn't actually care whether Tang Sanzang was upset. The real problem was that the Buddha had sent the kasaya to Tang Sanzang through Guanyin.
If something that important went missing—and right under Sun Wukong's nose, no less—who knew how the Buddha would punish him once he found out? Sun Wukong was really afraid of the Buddha.
"Let's keep looking. We should also see if there are any monks still alive in the temple. Someone might have seen where the old abbot hid the kasaya." Ye Chen could only try to comfort Sun Wukong this way.
"That's all we can do. Let's search together this time, so Master doesn't find out the kasaya is missing." Sun Wukong nodded, agreeing with Ye Chen's plan, and the two of them headed deeper into the temple.
The fire last night had burned almost all the temple buildings to the ground. Every major structure had been affected; some had collapsed, while others had been blackened by the thick smoke.
Sun Wukong and Ye Chen searched for the kasaya and for survivors, but they had no luck. "Monkey, do you think the fire might have burned the kasaya up?"
"No." Sun Wukong shook his head. "I heard from Guanyin Bodhisattva that the kasaya has quite a history. They say anyone who wears it can escape the cycle of reincarnation. How could an ordinary fire destroy it?"
"I wonder if that bodhisattva was telling the truth. If she wasn't, the kasaya might already be a pile of ashes." Ye Chen sounded doubtful about the kasaya's ability