An Ill-Fated Fall into Pansi Cave (22)

Meanwhile, Bajie came to steal the treasure late at night.

This simpleton may seem clumsy, but he's actually quite shrewd. Knowing that stealing at night is dishonorable, he covered his head and face with a black cloth, leaving only his eyes showing, and carefully crept into the hall.

There were no lanterns in the hall, but the Rake stood in the center, its beams gleaming in the Rosy Radiance, making it clearly visible.

There were four shelves on the hall.

The first one to be placed Rake.

The last three items were a whip, a sword, and Mani Pearl, respectively.

Bajie went straight for the Rake and reached out to grab it, unaware that Ao Tu and the Eldest Sister Spider Demon were already waiting in the shadows.

Seeing that only Bajie had come, Ao Tu patted his eldest sister, signaling her to go and catch the thief.

The eldest sister then went out, picked up the Mani Pearl from the shelf, and threw them. With a "thud," the beads hit Pigsy on the back of Bajie head, knocking Bajie to the ground.

The older sister shouted, "Help! There's a thief! Catch the thief!"

Upon hearing this, Bajie, disregarding his headache, immediately fled outside.

Hearing the noise, the Little Demon outside rushed over with lanterns to catch the thief.

Bajie covered his head and face, tumbling and crawling, dodging left and right, and managed to escape from the crowd's pursuit in a sorry state.

Meanwhile, Wukong summoned Tang Sanzang and Sha Wujing from the room, instructing Sha Wujing to pack the luggage and Bajie, and wait for Bajie to bring the treasure so they could leave that very night.

Tang Sanzang and Sha Wujing were still unaware of what had happened.

Tang Sanzang asked, "Wukong, what happened? Where is Bajie?"

Wukong said, "Master, you should prepare to continue your journey. You'll know when Bajie returns."

Sha Wujing asked in confusion, "Isn't Second Senior Brother sick?"

Wukong said, "I can't explain this clearly. You can ask him when he returns."

Just then, a commotion broke out outside, and a dark figure darted into the room, startling both Tang Sanzang and Sha Wujing.

Sha Wujing stood protectively in front of Tang Sanzang, asking, "Who goes there!"

Bajie lifted the black cloth and said, "Junior Brother Sha, it's me!"

Sha Wujing looked over and saw it was his Second Senior Brother, Zhu Bajie. Bajie had a large bump on his head, was covered in sweat and dust, and had even lost one shoe. Startled, Sha Wujing quickly asked:

"Second Senior Brother, what happened to you? Why do you look like this?"

Bajie cried out, "Stop talking! It was all my Elder Brother's idea to steal the rake, and now I've been beaten up like this instead of stealing it! Quick, find me a place to hide!"

Seeing this, Wukong couldn't help but laugh. He told Bajie to lie back on the bed, cover himself with the quilt to hide the big bump on his head, and hide the black cloth covering his face under the pillow.

Before long, many Little Demon came looking for them. Seeing that Wukong and the others were there, they came in and asked, "Elders, have you seen a thief?"

Tang Sanzang was not good at lying, so he could only lower his head and chant the sutra, sighing inwardly.

Wukong asked, "What kind of thieves are they?"

The Demon Daoist, "It's a masked thief, tall and fat, who came to steal my mother's treasures."

Wukong said, "I didn't see it. Junior Brother Sha, did you see it?"

Sha Wujing lied through his teeth, saying, "I didn't see it either."

Just then, Little Demon came running up from behind, holding a shoe, and said, "Big Brother, look, this is that thief's shoe!"

Upon seeing this, Wukong quickly kicked Bajie's other shoe, which was next to the bed, towards Sha Wujing.

Sha Wujing stepped on it.

The Little Demon looked at the shoes and said, "Keep them safe for now. We can use them as evidence if we encounter anyone suspicious in the future."

The Little Demon then put the shoes away.

The Little Demon in front looked at Bajie lying on the bed, noticing that he was covered by Bajie, and asked, "Is Elder Zhu feeling any better?"

Wukong said, "I feel much better now, I'm just about to go to sleep."

The Little Demon didn't look at her for long after hearing this, and took her leave.

Wukong looked outside and, after confirming that Little Demon had left, called Bajie to get up.

Bajie got up, clutching the large bump on his head, and cried out in pain, "It hurts so much!"

Wukong couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Fool, I taught you to steal the Rake, how did you end up like this?"

Bajie said, "I was just about to make a move when that female Yaoguai saw me and threw a Jewel at my head, which is why I look like this."

Wukong laughed loudly.

Tang Sanzang, unaware of the reason, hurriedly inquired:

"Bajie, what's going on? Weren't you sick? Why did you go stealing again?"

Sha Wujing was also very puzzled.

Bajie looked at Wukong and said, "Brother! Why don't you talk to Master about it?"

Wukong laughed and said, "Fool, what have you done? What am I supposed to say? You tell your master yourself!"

Having no other choice, Bajie reluctantly told Tang Sanzang the truth.

Tang Sanzang was furious when he heard this. He scolded Bajie several times, but was still not satisfied. He reached out to hit Bajie, but seeing the large bump on Bajie's head, he had no choice but to stop.

Bajie said, "Master! Your disciple knows he was wrong and will never dare to do it again! Please remember to beat me this time, and let my senior brother beat me again after I recover."

Seeing this, Sha Wujing pleaded, "Master, since Second Senior Brother has truly repented, please forgive him for now. It's not entirely his Second Senior Brother; it was that Demon who instigated him to deceive you."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang sighed and said to Bajie, "Very well, tomorrow you will break off the engagement. I will spare you this time, and punish you again after your injuries have healed."

Bajie said, "Master, I also want to break off the engagement, but I'm afraid those female Demon are just pretending to marry me off to trick me out of my treasure. If I break off the engagement, they won't want to return my Rake."

Tang Sanzang asked, "This... can we go to court?"

Wukong laughed and said, "Master, that's unreasonable of you. Who sues Demon?"

Sha Wujing asked, "Elder Brother, what should we do?"

Wukong laughed, "No problem! No problem! That fool is clumsy; I'll take you there tomorrow."

Late the next night, the four of them packed their belongings again, fed the horses, and Tang Sanzang stayed in the house Sha Wujing, Bajie, and Wukong went out.

The three walked together into the hall. Sha Wujing walked cautiously and said, "Elder Brother, we are monks. Isn't it inappropriate for us to commit such a theft?"

Bajie said, "What's wrong with that? That Rake is mine. If I take my own things, can that be called stealing?"

Sha Wujing said, "That's true, but I'm still not good at stealing!"

Bajie said, "Don't worry, our Elder Brother is here!"

Sha Wujing looked at Wukong and asked, "Elder Brother, are we just going to go like this without covering our faces? What if someone sees us?"

Wukong said, "Don't worry! Don't worry! Come with me!"

The three entered the hall, Wukong saw several Little Demon guarding it. He flicked a few Sleepy Bug at each of them, and all the Little Demon fell asleep.

Wukong looked around carefully again, making sure no one else was there, and then laughed, "Quick, get the treasure!"

Upon hearing this, Bajie quickly put his Rake back.

After succeeding, the group was about to leave when Bajie noticed the Mani Pearl was still shining. He stopped in his tracks and said to Wukong, "Brother, look! This is the treasure the Demon hit me with yesterday!"

Upon hearing that it was Demon's treasure, Wukong immediately stopped in his tracks.

Sha Wujing also stopped to look.

But there, a Precious Whip, a Precious Sword, and a Jewel were quietly placed on the platform, unattended.

Sha Wujing immediately took a liking to the Precious Sword.

The Precious Sword exuded an intense murderous aura; one could tell at a glance that it was a valuable treasure.

Sha Wujing, unable to look away, couldn't help but say, "Elder Brother, the Demon have so many treasures. If we take their Rake and they find out, what will they do if they use these treasures against us?"

Upon hearing this, Wukong couldn't help but laugh and said, "Junior Brother Sha, you mean...?"

Bajie laughed, "I know what Junior Brother Sha is thinking. There are three treasures here. Let's just go all out and each take one!"

Sha Wujing hurriedly explained, "No, no, I'm afraid that Demon will use the treasure against Master!"

Wukong laughed and said, "Yes! Yes! That's what I think too!"

Upon hearing this, Bajie paused for a moment, then said, "Yes! That's what Old Pig thought too!"

The three exchanged a smile and began to divide the treasure.