Tang Sanzang and his disciples had been bound to the pillars beneath the eaves.
Tang Sanzang complained incessantly.
That night, Wukong used an escape spell to slip out of his ropes, then freed Tang Sanzang, Bajie, and Sha Wujing. They quietly retrieved the white horse and their luggage and fled through the temple gates.
He also ordered Bajie to uproot four willow trees, which he transformed into their likenesses. Their features and appearances were identical; they spoke when questioned and answered when called. Left bound there, they were indistinguishable from real people.
That night, the master and his three disciples once again fled Wuzhuang Temple without stopping to rest their horse.
They traveled until dawn. By then, Tang Sanzang was utterly exhausted, so they sheltered beneath a hillside to escape the wind and rest.
Great Immortal Zhenyuan rose at dawn, ate his vegetarian breakfast, and ordered his disciples to beat Tang Sanzang and his three companions. The four figures turned into tree roots.
Great Immortal Zhenyuan sneered, mounted a cloud, and caught up with Tang Sanzang and his disciples in an instant. He shouted, "Sun Wukong! Where do you think you're going? Give me back my Ginseng Fruit Tree!"
Hearing him, Bajie said, "Ah, here he comes again!"
Wukong advanced with his Iron Staff, while Bajie and Sha Wujing came to his aid. They surrounded Great Immortal Zhenyuan in midair, raised their divine weapons, and attacked together.
Great Immortal Zhenyuan merely parried with his fly whisk, letting the three assail him from every side. Half an hour passed, and he had not budged an inch. With a sweep of his sleeve, he once again gathered Tang Sanzang, his disciples, the white horse, and their luggage into it.
He turned his cloud around and returned to the temple. He had Tang Sanzang and his disciples suspended and bound to trees, then ordered his disciples to carry out a large cauldron.
Wukong laughed. "Bajie, what good fortune! They're bringing out a cauldron. They must be cooking us a meal."
Bajie said, "Well, that's something. Let them feed us. At least we'll feel better dying on full stomachs."
The disciples set the cauldron below the steps and stoked a fierce fire until the oil boiled.
Great Immortal Zhenyuan said, "Put Sun Wukong in the oil and fry him, to avenge my Ginseng Fruit Tree!"
Wukong was not afraid of the boiling oil itself, but he feared whatever immortal arts Great Immortal Zhenyuan might use. Not daring to enter the cauldron in person, he cast a spell and sent out his primordial spirit, leaving a stone lion weighing thirty thousand pounds in his place.
Great Immortal Zhenyuan's disciples came to lift him. Seven or eight could not budge him; it took twenty to hoist him up. They all said, "This monkey may be small, but his flesh is solid!"
They carried him over and hurled him into the cauldron. With a resounding crash, the false Wukong reverted to a stone lion and smashed through the pot. Drops of boiling oil splashed up, raising several large, fluid-filled blisters on the young Daoists' faces!
Great Immortal Zhenyuan said angrily, "This wretched monkey is utterly insolent! How dare he break my cauldron? Untie his master, Tang Sanzang, and bring a new pot. Fry him to avenge my Ginseng Fruit Tree!"
Hearing this, Wukong thought, Master is too frail. Once he goes into that oil, one bubbling will kill him, two will scorch him, and three or five will turn him into a mushy mess of a monk! I'd better go and save him.
Wukong came down again and spoke soothingly. "Sir, don't fry my master. Fry me instead! Just now, I urgently needed to relieve myself, and I was afraid I'd foul your oil and spoil it for cooking. Now that I've emptied everything out, I'm ready for the pot."
Great Immortal Zhenyuan gave a cold chuckle. He walked out of the hall, seized Wukong, and said:
"Sun Wukong, stop flaunting your supernatural abilities here. I know what you can do, and I've heard of your illustrious name. But however capable you are, you cannot escape my grasp. Even if you went to see that Buddha of yours in the West, you would still have to restore my Ginseng Fruit Tree."
Wukong laughed. "Sir, how petty you are! If you want the tree alive again, what's so difficult about that?"
Great Immortal Zhenyuan said, "Such a boast! If you possess a supernatural ability that can restore the tree to life, I will exchange the eight bows with you and become your sworn brother."
Wukong said, "Release them, and I'll guarantee you a living tree."
Great Immortal Zhenyuan judged that they could not escape him, so he ordered Tang Sanzang, Bajie, and Sha Wujing released.
Sha Wujing said, "The tree is already dead. How will Eldest Brother bring it back to life?"
Bajie said, "How can a dead tree be cured? He's just telling him what he wants to hear, using the search for a cure as an excuse to slip away. I'm afraid he won't bother with us!"
Tang Sanzang said, "He would never dare abandon us. I'll ask him how he intends to cure the tree."
He called out, "Wukong, where will you go to find a remedy for the tree?"
Wukong said, "As the ancients said, 'Remedies come from beyond the sea.' I'll go to the Eastern Ocean and travel through the Three Islands and Ten Continents, visiting immortal elders and holy sages to find a way to bring the dead back to life. I guarantee I'll revive his tree."
Tang Sanzang said, "How long will it take you to return?"
Wukong said, "Only three days."
Tang Sanzang said, "Then we'll do as you say. I'll give you three days. Return within that time, and all will be well. If you aren't back after three days, I'll recite that scripture."
Hearing this, Wukong could only resign himself and say, "As you command, as you command."
Wukong was about to leave, but he feared his master might be mistreated in his absence, so he said to Great Immortal Zhenyuan:
"I'll be back soon. You must not neglect my master. Supply him with tea and meals every day. If his clothes get dirty, wash and starch them. If his face grows even a little sallow, I won't accept it; if he grows even a little thinner, I won't leave your gates."
Great Immortal Zhenyuan said, "Go. I will certainly treat him well."
Only then did Wukong leave.
No sooner had Wukong departed than Ao Tu came out and said:
"I heard a commotion outside the hall. Has your master returned?"
Qingfeng and Mingyue hurried forward to greet him. "Heavenly Venerable, this is our master."
Ao Tu looked up and saw Great Immortal Zhenyuan.
A Purple-Gold Crown upon his head, a carefree crane-feather cloak upon his frame.
Shoes upon his feet, a silken sash about his waist.
Three strands of beard drifted beneath his chin, raven feathers layered beside his temples.
A fly whisk held between his fingers-truly a Great Luo Immortal.
Ao Tu offered a greeting, and Zhen Yuanzi returned it. "I heard some time ago that you had arrived, fellow Daoist, but the affairs of the temple have kept me too busy to welcome you. I beg your forgiveness."
Ao Tu said, "You are too kind."
Great Immortal Zhenyuan said, "I hear that you have come from the West expressly to heal my precious tree?"
Ao Tu said, "Indeed."
Great Immortal Zhenyuan said, "May I ask what supernatural ability you possess? Might I see it?"
Ao Tu said, "Please look, Great Immortal."
With that, a flash appeared behind Ao Tu, revealing the Five-Colored Divine Light: green, yellow, red, white, and black.
Within that radiance, a Treasure Fan glimmered in the red light.
A Golden Lotus rested in the white light, emanating a sacred aura.
Within the black light lay a sheet of divine water, shining with the three lights of sun, moon, and stars. It was the Three-Lights Divine Water.
Ao Tu said, "This is the Three-Lights Divine Water. It can heal immortal trees and spirit seedlings."
Great Immortal Zhenyuan was slightly startled, but he did not show it. He merely praised him:
"A fine supernatural ability indeed! Earlier, I went to Miro Palace in Shangqing Heaven to hear a lecture and happened to meet Old Mother Lishan. She said she had recently taken a son-in-law. Do you know anything of this, fellow Daoist?"
Ao Tu smiled. "I know nothing of that. I have been cultivating in seclusion in the Western Holy Land and have heard no news of the outside world."
Great Immortal Zhenyuan smiled. "I see. Your body is brimming with pure energy, fellow Daoist. I imagine you have cultivated since childhood. Why, then, did Qingfeng and Mingyue tell me you wanted two people to eat?"
Ao Tu said, "I must have expressed myself poorly. When I said I wanted two little people, I meant two Ginseng Fruits, not actual people."
Great Immortal Zhenyuan said, "I see. That is easily arranged."
Nearby, Bajie overheard Ao Tu's conversation with Zhen Yuanzi and said, "Master, this is bad!"
Tang Sanzang said, "What is it?"
Bajie said, "Didn't you hear that Daoist? He can heal the Ginseng Fruit Tree. If he cures it, won't we be useless? Who knows how they'll punish us then!"
Hearing this, Tang Sanzang grew deeply worried.
Bajie said, "Master, watch me spoil their business."
Bajie shouted, "You there, Daoist! Don't let him fool you! My elder brother has already knocked down that Ginseng Fruit Tree. How could there be a single fruit left on it?"
Before you continue