Inside the Purple-Gold Red Gourd.
There was no sky, no earth, and no sense of the world outside.
Xuanzang floated like a fallen leaf in the boundless void.
He had been knocked unconscious the instant he was drawn inside.
But the little fox, who had already returned to the form of a young girl with three copper horns on her head, held Xuanzang's arm.
A faint yet pure white light appeared in her palm and slowly flowed into his body.
Xuanzang gradually came around.
The sound of crying reached his ears.
"Wah... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
The young girl, Copper Horn, clung tightly to Xuanzang with one hand while the other wiped haphazardly at the tears on her face.
Drip, drip. Warm tears fell into the silent emptiness.
"I didn't know... my second brother, he isn't usually like this. He's never been so fierce..."
Though Xuanzang's consciousness had only just returned, his eyes remained clear as water.
He did not pull his hand away. Instead, he turned it over and gently patted the back of the girl's trembling hand, saying softly:
"It isn't your fault."
Just then, Xuanzang looked past Copper Horn's shoulder and spotted another figure drifting through the void.
It was Zhu Bajie, trussed up tight.
Bajie's hands and feet were bound firmly together, making him look just like a New Year's pig about to be tossed onto the chopping block as he slowly rotated in the void.
But he seemed less unconscious than dead asleep. Thunderous snores echoed through the enclosed space, and drool hung from the corner of his mouth.
Xuanzang looked at Copper Horn and asked softly, "Little benefactor, could you perhaps help this disciple of mine?"
Copper Horn sniffled and nodded repeatedly.
Pulling Xuanzang along, she slowly approached the sleeping pig as though swimming