Meanwhile, the household that had set the fire was hurriedly packing up its valuables, preparing to flee.
The situation had now gone completely beyond anything they had anticipated.
Their original thinking had been that, as long as they lit a fire to lure the monster out, the hairy-faced monk would surely act to destroy it once he saw it, and they would never have to expose themselves.
After all, during the day, that hairy-faced monk had asked his way through half of Chen Family Village, inquiring how to lure the monster ashore. If they took the initiative to bring it ashore, how could he possibly refuse to act?
What they had not expected, however, was that he really would do nothing.
In her anxiety, the woman had accidentally let something slip.
Now they must have been exposed.
Murder and arson were both capital crimes. Once caught, they would hardly escape with their lives.
Thus, while the monster was battling Wukong and the other two, the woman and the man seized the chance to flee home, pack their valuables, and prepare to escape Chen Family Village that very night.
The woman bundled up their money and cloth, while the man took their son. They had moved here from elsewhere and bore a different surname, and there were no elderly relatives in their household, which made things much easier.
The two fled under cover of darkness. Their child was only five or six and could not walk fast, so the man carried him on his back.
As for the child, he had no idea at all why his parents were taking him out walking through the night.
Afraid of being discovered, the two dared neither light a torch nor take the main road. Leaving the village was fairly easy at first, but