"Our Master didn't see her either!"
Zhu Bajie hurriedly jumped in front of Tang Sanzang and answered for him.
"Really?"
Six pairs of innocent, watery eyes turned toward Tang Sanzang, tormenting him all over again.
"Really. We swear we didn't see her." Zhu Bajie hurriedly thumped his chest again, trying to bluff his way through.
"Big Sister, it looks like we'll have to light Little Seven's match."
But there was absolutely no chance of bluffing their way through. Another little girl picked up a match from the ground.
"Yes, Second Sister, strike it. Since these big brothers didn't see her, we'll have to risk Granny's punishment and light Little Seven's match."
The eldest sister looked solemnly at the second sister.
Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and Tang Sanzang frowned. What were these little girls planning to do?
Swish.
Bang.
The next moment, however, they saw the second sister light the match. Its glow immediately illuminated the ruined temple and brought a trace of warmth.
But a second later, Zhu Bajie and the others' eyes went wide. Within the burning match's glow, the scene of the little match girl from earlier appeared again.
From the moment the little girl Sun Wukong had killed entered the temple, to her attempt to sell them matches, to her death beneath a single blow of his cudgel, everything played out faithfully and silently.
Bang!
As the little girl's head burst, the match's flame flickered and went out.
"Ah!"
The little girls seemed startled and scattered at once.
"It-it-it was you! You killed Little Seven!"
The six The Little Match Girls now understood everything. One pair of astonished, terrified, furious eyes after another converged on Tang Sanzang like knives.
"Y-you... why did you kill Little Seven? She-she was so kind, so little, and you-you killed her?"
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