"Monk! These ravine waters are bitterly cold. That mortal tiger of yours won't make it across. Leave him here to fill my belly, and I'll keep the chill from harming you. How does that sound?"
The waters of Eagle Sorrow Ravine chilled to the bone, and the waves thundered against the banks.
The jade dragon coiled in midair, silver scales gleaming all over his body, his eyes brimming with lofty contempt.
A-Hu crouched on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably, frightened whimpers rising from his throat.
It was absolute suppression born of bloodline. Before a true dragon, even the king of beasts was no more than meat awaiting slaughter.
Yet he still forced himself to stand on all fours.
Though his four legs shook like chaff in a sieve and his tail was tightly tucked, he moved forward one agonizing step at a time until he stood before Xuanzang, shielding him.
Over the past few days, master and disciple had crossed mountains and ridges in considerable harmony.
Ever since they had eliminated the "Six Thieves," Sun Wukong seemed to have truly shed some of his restlessness.
While traveling, the monkey still loved to leap about, but whenever Xuanzang began telling strange tales or casually offered a few words of Buddhist wisdom, he would scratch his ears and cheeks as he listened with relish.
A-Hu, too, seemed to understand, toiling without complaint.
On the rugged mountain paths, they relied entirely on A-Hu to carry Xuanzang. He cleared a path through mountains and waded across streams, and even when thorns occasionally tore his hide, he never ran away.
Xuanzang remembered passing a sheer cliff two days earlier. The mountain wind had been biting, and A-Hu had lain across the wind's path, shielding him from the cold all night.
Sitting on the tiger's back, Xuanzang felt the warmth of the fur beneath him. This was a living life, a little warmth along the cold, desolate road west.
"Master, A-Hu has fine legs on him. He's carried you steadily all this way, and he no longer hurts people," Sun Wukong had once remarked.
Xuanzang had stroked the tiger's head and laughingly scolded him. "You unruly monkey, you shouldn't speak of A-Hu that way. All living things have spirit. Since he willingly took refuge in the Buddha and accompanies us west, he is your junior fellow disciple."
His thoughts returned to the present.
Xuanzang looked at A-Hu, who was trembling before him yet still had not fled.
Since he was a disciple, how could Xuanzang possibly feed him to a dragon?
"A-Hu, fall back."
Xuanzang lightly patted A-Hu's back, urging him to retreat.
"Wukong!"
Sun Wukong could hold himself back no longer. His figure flashed, and the Golden Cudgel became a barrier, forcibly bracing the dragon's claw in midair.
"You loach! Attacking someone right before Old Sun-do you think I'm not here?!"
Boom!
Metal clashed against metal, sending sparks flying.
Ao Lie felt as though his claw had struck a towering iron mountain. An irresistible force rebounded up through it, rattling the scales across half his body. That single blow sent his enormous dragon form hurtling backward.
What tremendous strength! Ao Lie was aghast. He tumbled several times through the air before barely steadying himself.
Sun Wukong gave him no chance to catch his breath. He spat into his palm, gripped the Golden Cudgel, and let out a strange cry:
"You loach! With that paltry cultivation, you dare show off before Old Sun? Take this!"
His slight body shot skyward like a cannonball. The Iron Cudgel in his hands grew in the wind, becoming a jade pillar that could support the heavens, and came crashing down with a howl of wind and thunder that blotted out the sky.
Ao Lie dared not meet it head-on. He twisted his dragon body into a streak of silver lightning and narrowly evaded the blow.
Bang!
The Golden Cudgel struck a huge boulder beside the ravine. The massive rock instantly crumbled to powder, fragments shooting outward as dust billowed.
"Where do you think you're running?!"
Sun Wukong's blood was up. Riding his Somersault Cloud, he pursued relentlessly.
He darted and twisted through the air, moving as swiftly as a phantom. His Golden Cudgel whirled so tightly that not even wind could pass through, every strike aimed at the dragon's head, horns, or vulnerable spot below his neck.
After only a handful of exchanges, Ao Lie could do nothing but defend, without the slightest strength left to strike back.
This monkey was too ferocious!
Ao Lie groaned inwardly.
He had only wanted a mortal beast to satisfy his craving for meat. Who could have imagined he would kick such an iron plate?
A mere brush of that cudgel left a bloody welt. If it landed squarely, he would surely be turned to pulp on the spot.
"Roar!"
Driven to desperation, Ao Lie opened his mouth and spewed a bitterly cold blast of ice, trying to slow Sun Wukong's movements.
"A petty trick!"
Sun Wukong neither dodged nor retreated. He blew a warm breath into the chill, instantly turning the frost into white mist. Chuckling coldly within it, he planted a kick in the dragon's belly.
"Aaargh!"
Ao Lie screamed, his immense body plunging like a kite with its string cut.
As the monkey raised his cudgel to strike again, Ao Lie suddenly caught sight of the bank from the corner of his eye.
The monk was shielding the tiger, while the luggage that had been strapped to the tiger's back had slipped into the grass nearby.
If I can't get any meat, I can't leave empty-handed either. I'll at least take something as collateral and force them to submit.
His thoughts racing, Ao Lie used his downward momentum. Instead of plunging straight into the water, he lashed his tail.
The strike was not aimed at Sun Wukong, but slammed into the pool beside the bank.
Crash!
A towering wave surged up, carrying countless stones and clods of mud, and crashed toward Xuanzang and A-Hu on the bank.
"Master, watch out!"
Seeing this, Sun Wukong abandoned his pursuit. He wheeled around and instantly appeared before Xuanzang, whirling the Golden Cudgel into an impenetrable round shield that blocked every drop of the airborne water.
When the mist dispersed, all was calm again.
There was no trace of the white dragon left in the sky.
Only the pool still churned violently, spreading ring after ring of ripples.
Sun Wukong put away his cudgel and spat on the ground.
"Rotten luck! That loach got away! Lucky he slipped off so fast, or Old Sun would've pulled out his dragon sinews for a belt!"
Xuanzang brushed the moisture from his robes, his expression calm. But as his gaze swept over their surroundings, one eyebrow suddenly lifted almost imperceptibly.
"Wukong."
"Don't be afraid, Master. Old Sun beat the fear into that loach. He won't dare come out again."
Sun Wukong looked immensely pleased with himself.
"I'm not afraid, but I'm afraid our luggage is gone."
Xuanzang pointed to where A-Hu had been crouching.
The spot was empty.
Every piece of luggage that had fallen there had vanished without a trace.
Sun Wukong followed his finger and froze. Then his thunder-god face flushed scarlet, and he scratched his ears and cheeks, so furious that the three corpse spirits within him leaped in rage.
"That thieving loach! He couldn't beat Old Sun, so he stooped to stealing chickens and sneaking off with dogs! He's made a fool of me!"
He pointed at the water and unleashed a torrent of abuse:
"You refused the courtesy wine, so now you'll drink the punishment wine! Since you're hiding underwater and playing dead, Old Sun will turn your pool into a hot pot!"
Sun Wukong was hot-tempered to begin with. When the white dragon stubbornly refused to emerge, he bent at the waist, took a stride, and leaped to the ravine's edge.
He unleashed his River-Turning, Sea-Stirring power. The Golden Cudgel in his hands became a thousand-foot pillar, which he churned furiously through Eagle Sorrow Ravine.
The once crystal-clear waters of the cold pool instantly turned murky, mud and sand surging through them like the swelling waves of the nine-bend Yellow River. Enormous waves towered skyward, their roar making even the cliffs tremble.
Deep in his ravine abode, Little White Dragon was guarding the stolen bundle and sulking.
He had intended to hold it as collateral, forcing the monk to surrender the tiger or make the monkey retreat.
Who could have known this monkey was a madman?!
His abode shook, the current turned muddy, and sand poured straight into his nostrils. He could neither sit nor lie in peace.
Grief and fury filled Little White Dragon's heart. Blessings never come in pairs, but disasters never come alone. I only just escaped death under heaven's laws. I haven't even spent a year here, passing my days as fate allows, and now I've run into this vicious demon!
The more he thought, the angrier he grew. He was a dignified dragon prince-when had he ever suffered such humiliation?
"Enough! At worst, the fish dies and the net breaks!"
Little White Dragon transformed into a handsome young man clad in silver armor. Gritting his teeth, he took up a silver spear, broke through the waves, and leaped out once more.
Splash!
Water scattered in all directions. Standing atop the waves, he pointed at Sun Wukong and cursed, "Where did you come from, you vicious demon, to bully me like this?! I already gave way to you. Why must you disturb my home?! Leave at once, and I won't hold you accountable."
Sun Wukong withdrew his cudgel and stood on the bank, chuckling coldly. "What do you care where I came from? I'm your Grandpa Sun! You thieving loach, you stole my master's luggage while I wasn't looking. You're courting death! Return it, and I'll spare your life! But if you dare say no-heh!"
Little White Dragon had intended to offer a few conciliatory words and return the luggage, but hearing Sun Wukong speak so insolently, he stiffened his neck, and his heart hardened as well.
"I've hidden that luggage in a deep cave underwater. If I won't return it, what can you do?!"
"You've got nerve! If you won't return the luggage, taste my cudgel! I'll kill you, loach, then ransack your home!"
When words found no common ground, even half a sentence was too much. The two fought again beneath the cliffs.
This time, Sun Wukong was truly enraged. Cudgel shadows overlapped, every strike deadly.
Though Little White Dragon fought for his life, he had never been Wukong's match. With his earlier injuries, his shortcomings were all the more glaring.
After only a few exchanges, Little White Dragon could no longer withstand him. Both his arms went numb, and the webs between his thumbs and forefingers split from the impacts.
Seeing the Golden Cudgel about to descend on his head again, Little White Dragon knew he would certainly die if he kept fighting. Desperation sparked an idea. He shook his body, transformed into a little water snake, and slipped with a swish into the thick water weeds along the bank.
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