Reward settlement

That night, the county magistrate, trembling with fear, invited Tang Sanzang and his disciple out of prison and respectfully apologized to him, saying he had misunderstood the holy monk from the Celestial Empire. He also ordered his servants to provide fine vegetarian dishes and fruit, and prepare the best guest rooms for their comfort.

Seeing this, Tang Sanzang chanted Amitabha Buddha's name and gave thanks for the Buddha's protection.

The next day, the magistrate ordered Guangzhi and Guangmou beheaded for making false accusations, clearing Tang Sanzang and his disciple's names.

Naturally, Guangzhi and Guangmou protested their innocence, saying that Venerable Ananda had instructed them to report the matter to the authorities. But words alone were no proof, and the Venerable Ananda they spoke of never appeared, so no one believed their story.

Only Sun Wukong paid them a little extra attention.

With the two monks executed, the matter was settled. Tang Sanzang called for Sun Wukong, ready to resume their journey to obtain the scriptures.

But the magistrate led all his officials forward to block Tang Sanzang's way and pleaded:

"Holy monk of the Great Tang, the people of this city suffer many calamities and hardships, and their livelihoods are difficult. Please take pity on them and perform a few days of Water and Land rites, reciting sacred scriptures to pray for blessings. Everyone in the city would be endlessly grateful."

Unable to resist the magistrate's earnest pleas, Tang Sanzang asked, "How many days of rites would you like?"

The magistrate said, "Please perform a full thirty-three days of rites to dispel the people's calamities and relieve their suffering."

Hearing this, Tang Sanzang repeatedly refused, saying:

"This humble monk was commanded by King Tang to travel west and obtain the scriptures. My route is still uncertain, and my quest remains unfinished. How could I linger so long in a foreign land? Absolutely not."

The magistrate pleaded insistently.

But Tang Sanzang only said that thirty-three days was too long, refusing to agree no matter how the magistrate tried to persuade him.

Seeing this, and not daring to reveal the truth, the magistrate settled for asking for only seven days of rites.

Tang Sanzang considered it. Seven days was not too long, so he agreed.

Over the next seven days, the magistrate laid out a thousand tables for a continuous banquet and invited Tang Sanzang, the holy monk of the Tang, to perform Water and Land rites. Everyone in the city came to eat and drink. The whole city rejoiced, and all its people were delighted.

Sun Wukong was somewhat surprised. He had judged the magistrate to be a greedy man that day, so how had he become so generous? But since the magistrate showed no intention of harming Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong did not look into it further.

Soon, seven days had passed, and Tang Sanzang once again prepared to leave.

They had only just reached the city gate when they found the entire city's people kneeling there, begging the holy monk to stay a few more days.

The people's pleas moved the heavens. Every household urged him to stay, and no one could bear to part with him.

Helpless, Tang Sanzang could only agree to remain another seven days.

Thus, the next seven days brought more sermons and teachings, along with more lavish banquets and drinks.

On the night of the fourteenth day, Tang Sanzang said to Sun Wukong:

"My disciple, if this continues, I fear the people will stop us again tomorrow. I think you should go pack our luggage and get the horse now. Let us leave tonight."

Sun Wukong laughed. "Master, the people adore you. What harm would there be in staying a few more days?"

Tang Sanzang said, "You monkey! When we set out, I promised His Majesty I would return in three to five years. We have only just left our homeland, and we do not even know whether we can obtain the scriptures. How could I dare linger here so long? If we carry on like this, when will we ever obtain the true scriptures?"

Sun Wukong said, "All right, all right. I'll fetch the horse. We'll leave tonight."

Sun Wukong went out to fetch the horse. As he passed a side room, however, he heard the servants of the residence chatting in the night:

"Is everything ready? Arrange for the people to stop that Tang monk tomorrow."

Another replied, "Of course, of course. Everything is ready. Say, isn't it strange? Our magistrate is usually such a miser. What's come over him lately? He insists on keeping that monk here to perform rites, and he's been running these banquets for so long, letting those mud-legged peasants feast for free."

The first servant said, "Who knows? But I heard the magistrate say he would keep that monk here for thirty-three days even if it cost him the official robes on his back."

The other said, "That really is strange!"

Outside, Sun Wukong's eyes darted as he listened.

He would give up his official robes just to keep Master here for thirty-three days?

Sun Wukong realized something was wrong.

He hurriedly transformed into a tiny insect and flew into the magistrate's home to investigate.

At that moment, the magistrate's wife was making a tremendous scene.

"I'm done! I can't live like this anymore! Why should our family's fortune go toward feeding those mud-legged peasants? One day of rites to pray for blessings would have been one thing, but you've kept this up for half a month! If this goes on, we'll run out of money. If you don't give me an explanation today, I'm taking our son back to my parents' home!"

With a miserable expression, the magistrate said, "Ah! I-I hate spending it too, but what choice do I have? Don't ask. I can't tell you."

Seeing this, Sun Wukong knew the magistrate was hiding something important from him. He immediately revealed his true form, seized the magistrate, and demanded:

"Speak! Why are you holding my master here? Are you in league with a demon?"

The magistrate's wife trembled with terror at the sight.

The magistrate stammered:

"Elder Sun, what are you talking about? What demon?"

Sun Wukong said, "You won't shed a tear until you see your coffin, will you? You're asking for a beating!"

As he spoke, he pulled the Golden Cudgel from his ear, shouted "Grow!", and thrust it into the roof, sending half the roof flying.

At that moment, Ao Tu was hiding in the clouds, watching the situation below.

His system's progress had already reached twenty-four days, qualifying him for the True Dragon Pearl reward. Even the next stage's reward, the Five-Fire Divine Flame Fan, a houtian spiritual treasure, was not far away.

Unfortunately, Sun Wukong had noticed something amiss at this very moment.

Ao Tu felt regret, but his movements did not falter in the slightest. He immediately fled into the distance.

The True Dragon Pearl was already an excellent reward. It would let him quickly advance to the Golden Immortal realm and transform into a true dragon. Once he succeeded, he would at least count as a respectable fighting force along the Journey to the West.

Below, the magistrate was already terrified out of his wits. Under Sun Wukong's threat of violence, he spilled everything like beans pouring from a bamboo tube, confessing the entire story.

After hearing him out, Sun Wukong frowned. "Venerable Ananda again?"

Recalling what Guangmou and Guangzhi had said before their deaths, Sun Wukong thought, This Venerable Ananda must be a demon in disguise, waiting for a chance to murder my master!

With that thought, Sun Wukong leaped out of the room and surveyed his surroundings with his Fiery Golden Eyes, spotting something unusual in the sky.

"Demon, don't you run!"

Sun Wukong sprang up and flew into the air.

By then, Ao Tu had long since fled, leaving only wisps of cloud behind.

As the saying went: like voices answered one another, and like energies sought one another. Clouds followed dragons, winds followed tigers, and when a sage arose, all things beheld him.

Looking at those lingering wisps of cloud, Sun Wukong guessed that a dragon had left them behind. He shouted into the sky:

"Demon dragon, come out if you dare and face your Grandpa Sun!"

Ao Tu had already left, so naturally he could not

come back.

Sun Wukong shouted abuse for a long while, but there was not the slightest response. He could only return empty-handed.

For the remainder of that time, Ao Tu stayed hidden and did not show himself.

To his delight, the system's progress did not stop, but continued to increase.

Although his plan had been exposed, Tang Sanzang still had to travel normally to leave the Guanyin Monastery region, and that travel time also counted toward the system's progress.

Three more days passed. When the system's progress reached twenty-seven days, Tang Sanzang and his disciple finally left the Guanyin Monastery region.

The system began settling the mission rewards.

[Ding! Settling rewards. Total delay: twenty-seven days.]

[Ding! Reward obtained: Art of Moving Mountains.]

[Ding! Reward obtained: Sixth-Turn Golden Elixir.]

[Ding! Reward obtained: True Dragon Pearl.]

[Ding! Twelve surplus days automatically transferred to the next side mission. Next side mission: Exorcising demons at Gao Village.]