"And don't question your punishment for wreaking Havoc in Heaven, either. If I hadn't intervened, do you think you would merely have been pinned beneath Five-Finger Mountain? The Jade Emperor and the others would have killed you long ago! I taught you those abilities, but not so you could cause trouble. Look at you-what have you done?"
Patriarch Bodhi seized the initiative and laid his cards on the table.
When he awakened from cultivation, he discovered that, damn it, Guanyin and Tathagata had actually tacitly allowed Zhu Bajie to take Sun Wukong's place, intending to let a disciple of the Human Teaching claim most of the merit from the scripture quest. He was both surprised and angry.
Now that he had come in person, he naturally intended to set the chaos straight.
Of course, his first priority was to teach Sun Wukong a proper lesson and straighten out his thinking.
"Uh, Master, I, I..."
Sun Wukong hadn't expected Zhunti to turn the tables and lay out so much to him instead. If not for the Vine Dao Venerable Group, he really would have believed Zhunti's nonsense.
"What do you mean, 'I'? Do you know that I've always regarded you as my most promising disciple? Yet your performance throughout this journey has disappointed me terribly. What makes Zhu Bajie worthy of lording it over you? Are you really willing to play second fiddle to him?"
Thinking Sun Wukong felt guilty, Zhunti intensified his assault on his heart.
"Master, of course I'm not willing. But, but Tathagata and the others put this Golden Cudgel on me, and I can't unleash my strength! You've come at just the right time, Master. Please speak to Tathagata and the others and have them remove this Golden Cudgel from my head. Wearing it is like being