The child hung from the tree. He neither cried nor shouted again, only stared unblinkingly in the direction where the travelers had disappeared.
"Damn monkey, filthy pig, stinking monk..."
The child clenched his teeth, squeezing out each word through the gaps.
"I'll kill every last one of you!!!"
His little body gave a violent wrench in midair.
Crack!
The hemp ropes binding him snapped apart inch by inch, turning into countless burning crimson sparks that instantly set the dead pine ablaze.
Within a few breaths, the entire pine, so thick that three people could barely encircle it, had burned away without leaving even ashes.
The child landed lightly on the ground.
He suddenly raised one bare foot and stamped down hard.
"Mountain God! Earth God! Get out here before your king!"
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Xuanzang and his companions continued up the mountain. After roughly an hour, the mist grew heavier and heavier, turning from grayish white to murky yellow. It clung stickily to their faces, carrying a sulfurous stench that would not fade.
The path beneath their feet had changed as well. It had not become more treacherous, but rather unchanging-the same loose stones, the same withered grass, the same rock walls, stretch after stretch, as though someone had trapped them in a great sack from which they could never escape.
Little White Dragon quickened his pace and caught up with Wukong at the front, lowering his voice. "Senior brother, something's wrong."
Wukong held the Golden Cudgel across his body, his Fiery Golden Eyes scanning their surroundings warily, and nodded.
"I never expected that little fiend to have enough skill to block our way!"
"He must have threatened the local Mountain God and Earth God into shifting the mountain and changing the paths!"
"I'll clear the way ahead. Be careful