Tang Monk adjusted his kasaya and looked up at the sky. The sun had already tilted westward, and the clouds on the horizon had been dyed a pale orange, as though someone had watered down paint on a canvas and let it slowly spread.
"Now that Miss Su has been settled, we should not linger here for long," Tang Monk said. "Since Mr. Bai said he does not keep outsiders overnight, let us head down the mountain and find somewhere to stay."
"Somewhere to stay?" Sun Wukong slung the Golden Staff over his shoulder. "Master, there's no village ahead and no inn behind. Where are we supposed to find a place?"
"We will find one." Tang Monk spoke with such certainty that it sounded like he was reciting scripture.
Chu Yang glanced at him but did not expose him.
He led the donkey back along the way they had come. After walking for the time it took to burn an incense stick and crossing a low slope, their view suddenly opened up. Below lay a narrow dirt road winding along the foot of the mountain, and in the distance, several wisps of cooking smoke could faintly be seen.
"There are houses," Chu Yang said.
Sun Wukong leaped onto a large rock by the roadside and shaded his eyes as he looked ahead. "More than houses. There seems to be a town up ahead. It's not big, but it looks pretty lively."
Tang Monk's eyes lit up. "A town?"
"Yeah. There are banners, shops, and people driving donkey carts out of town." Sun Wukong suddenly grinned. "Master, has your mouth been blessed or something? You said we'd find a place to stay, and one appeared."
Tang Monk pressed his palms together, his expression calm. "Amitabha. Good, good."
As Chu Yang led