An Ill-Fated Fall into Pansi Cave (24)

Meanwhile, Tang Sanzang and his disciples headed towards Yellow Flower Temple.

The four of them went up the mountain and met the gatekeeper, a young Daoist boy. Tang Sanzang bowed and explained his origins.

Upon hearing this, the young Daoist priest immediately went inside to report to his master.

Upon hearing this, the Many-Eyed Monster found Ao Tu and his fellow disciples, saying, "Tang Sanzang and his disciples are here! Hide yourselves and don't let them see you. I'll go and capture them!"

The eldest sister asked, "Senior brother, how will you capture them?"

The Many-Eyed Monster sneered a few times, took out the Poison he had concocted, summoned his young disciple, and had five cups of tea made—four cups of Red Date tea and one cup of black date tea. He said, "In a moment, I'll have someone watch the tea. Give them these cups of tea, and we can take them down without lifting a finger!"

All the Spider Demon agreed that it was a brilliant plan.

Ao Tu said, "Don't use black dates; that Monkey has sharp eyes, it'll definitely see through them."

Many-Eyed Monster, "Without black dates, I'm afraid we won't be able to distinguish the tea."

Ao Tu said, "Put a cracked jujube in there."

The Many-Eyed Monster exclaimed with delight, "Excellent! Your Great King!"

So they picked out the black dates and replaced them with three Red Date, the same as those in the other teacups, except one of them was cracked.

After getting ready, the Many-Eyed Monster straightened his clothes and headdress and went out to greet the guests.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples were waiting outside.

The Many-Eyed Monster stepped forward and descended the steps, saying, "Elder, I'm sorry for not greeting you sooner. Please come inside and have a seat."

Tang Sanzang returned the greeting and followed the Many-Eyed Monster inside. Upon entering the main hall, they saw statues of the Three Pure Ones. Tang Sanzang bowed three times, and the Many-Eyed Monster then invited Tang Sanzang to sit in the guest seats and asked:

"I heard from the child that the elder came from the Great Tang Eastern Land?"

Tang Sanzang replied, "Indeed. This humble monk comes from the Great Tang Eastern Land, and is on the orders of the King Tang to travel to the Western Heaven to worship Buddha and seek scriptures."

The Many-Eyed Monster exclaimed with delight, "So you're a high-ranking Reverend Monk from the Great Tang! My apologies, my apologies! Boy, quickly go and brew some good tea!"

Upon hearing this, the young Daoist went to fetch the five cups of tea that had been prepared beforehand.

The Many-Eyed Monster recognized that the cracked jujube was non-poisonous, so he distributed the four poisonous ones to Tang Sanzang and his disciples, keeping the non-poisonous ones for himself.

Wukong noticed that the teacup from the Many-Eyed Monster contained a cracked date, but since dates are often crooked and cracked, it was quite common, so he didn't pay much attention to it.

Furthermore, following Ao Tu's instructions, the Many-Eyed Monster mixed Poison with temple incense ash. The foul odor of the poison was concealed by Buddhist power, making it even more difficult to discern.

The Many-Eyed Monster, holding the teacup, said, "Please, elders, have some." Then he drank some himself first.

Seeing this, Wukong picked up the teacup, took a sip, and immediately realized it was poisoned. He quickly threw the teacup to the ground, saying, "Master, don't drink it! It's poisoned!"

Unfortunately, it was too late. Tang Sanzang, Bajie, and Sha Wujing had already drunk the tea. In an instant, Bajie clutched his stomach and fell down, Sha Wujing's eyes were filled with tears, and Tang Sanzang was spitting out saliva.

Seeing that Wukong had taken a sip and was unharmed, the Many-Eyed Monster thought to himself that this Monkey was indeed formidable, no wonder the Great King had repeatedly warned him. He then drew his Precious Sword and shouted, "Sun Wukong, how dare you smash my teacup!"

Wukong cursed, "You beast! You poisoned my master and fellow disciples behind my back, and now you blame me for breaking your teacup!"

The Many-Eyed Monster sneered, "You brought this trouble upon yourself, don't you know that?"

Wukong said, "My master and I just entered the gate and have never met you before. What trouble could there be?"

The Many-Eyed Monster said, "You and your master broke the Precepts, pretending to marry into my sister's family in Pansi Ridge, and stole her treasure before escaping here. Do you still dare to say there's no trouble coming your way?"

Upon hearing this, Wukong realized that the Daoist was actually the Elder Brother of those female Demon, so he shouted loudly:

"Demon, stop distorting the truth! If you hadn't tricked me out of my treasure, would I, Old Sun, have taken it?"

Having said that, Wukong drew his Golden Cudgel and struck at the Many-Eyed Monster.

The Many-Eyed Monster, wielding Precious Sword, fought with Wukong, cursing as they fought:

"Sun Wukong, you said my junior sister stole the treasure first, yet she didn't run away. Instead, you and your master fled in the dead of night. Isn't that just because you have a guilty conscience?"

Wukong said, "Do you think Old Sun, didn't know that your junior sister set a trap to steal the treasure?"

The two fought back and forth, their battle raging like a whirlwind. After Fifty or Sixty Rounds, the Many-Eyed Monster gradually felt his strength waning and realized he was no match for him. So he tore open his Daoist Robe and took off his clothes.

Back in the Zhu Zi Kingdom, Wukong had fought with Sai Taisui and had his clothes removed by Sai Taisui, who then used the Earth Blaze Array to attack him. Therefore, when he saw the Many-Eyed Monster about to take off his clothes, he knew something was wrong and turned around Somersault Cloud away.

The Many-Eyed Monster had just taken off his robe, revealing Thousand Eyes under his sides, and was about to unleash Golden Light when he realized that Wukong had vanished from his sight.

The Many-Eyed Monster searched left and right, but couldn't find him anywhere. Finally, he rose into the air on a cloud and shouted from a high place, "Sun Wukong, where are you? If you don't come out, I'm going to eat Tang Sanzang!"

He called out several times, but Wukong didn't come out.

Seeing this, the Many-Eyed Monster turned around and prepared to manipulate Tang Sanzang.

Suddenly, Wukong jumped over and struck the Many-Eyed Monster- Many-Eyed Monster on the back with his staff, knocking it down from the Heaven and crashing headfirst into the Daoist temple.

Wukong landed with the momentum, holding his Golden Cudgel against the Many-Eyed Monster's head, and shouted, "Demon, quickly hand over the antidote! If you hesitate even for a moment, I'll make sure you lose your life!"

Upon seeing this, the Many-Eyed Monster cried out, "Junior sister, save me!"

Upon hearing this, the eldest and Fourth Sister came out together.

Upon seeing that it was two people, Wukong laughed and said, "Demon, it seems you're truly at your wit's end. Why did you have to call these two women? Even if the remaining five came, it would be useless!"

The Many-Eyed Monster remained silent upon hearing this.

The eldest Fourth Sister silently recited a spell.

The Saintly Whip on Wukong and the Saintly Sword on Sha Wujing instantly fell into their hands.

Seeing this, Wukong realized something was wrong and turned to Somersault Cloud away.

The eldest sister, whip in hand, shouted, "Sun Wukong, don't run!"

With a single lash, the tip of the whip pierced the air.

This whip is called the Saintly Whip, which is used to subdue those who try to escape. Under its fierce aura, it cares nothing for morality Law, and is even more ignorant of the rules of Heaven and Earth. It lands directly on Wukong's back.

With a crack of the whip, and without a visible injury, Wukong tumbled off the cloud and landed on the ground, clutching his back and crying out, "Ouch! Ouch! This is so painful! This is so painful!"

The pain was excruciating, and although there was no physical injury, it was truly unbearable, comparable to the Scorpion Demon's poisonous Horse-Felling Poison Stinger.

Wukong rolled off the dust, staggered to his feet, and tried to leave, still in pain.

The eldest sister lashed out with her whip several more times, striking Wukong's back and making it impossible for Wukong to escape again.

Before long, all four of them, master and disciples, were bound and hung in the Yellow Flower Temple.

The seven Spider Demon sisters stood before Tang Sanzang and his disciples.

The eldest sister said, "Tang Sanzang is disrespectful as a master, allowing his disciples to steal. He shall be lashed twenty times!"

Tang Sanzang was in abdominal pain and could not speak.

Wukong knew the whip was powerful; one lash and his master would be in excruciating pain. He quickly said, "I stole the things; my master didn't know. You should punish me instead!"

The eldest sister said, "Let's beat up Tang Sanzang."

The Second Sister raised her whip and lashed Tang Sanzang twenty times.

Tang Sanzang was in pain all over his body and couldn't help but cry out in pain.

Wukong was quite surprised, thinking to himself that his master was so able to endure pain. He himself couldn't even walk after being whipped a few times, but his master was still energetic after being whipped twenty times.

The eldest sister continued, "Sha Wujing stole the sword and pierced his side three hundred times!"

Upon hearing this, the Fourth Sister drew her Saintly Sword and plunged it into Sha Wujing's side.

The malevolent energy entered his body, Sha Wujing screamed in agony before fainting.

Fourth Sister turned around and said, "Eldest Sister, the monk has fainted from the pain."

The eldest sister said, "Lock them in jail first, and then we'll use Punishment tomorrow."

So the four of them were Prison Cell.

Wukong was alright; the whip only stung him, but he had no injuries and recovered quickly.

Sha Wujing and Tang Sanzang fared much worse; both were poisoned and subjected to Punishment, compounding their injuries.

Sha Wujing remained unconscious.

Tang Sanzang's lips turned blue, and he was in excruciating abdominal pain, making it difficult for him to even speak.

Wukong couldn't help but shed tears, crying out, "Master! Master!"

At this moment, Wukong suddenly noticed that Bajie, who was also poisoned, was not in pain.

Wukong asked, "Bajie, are you alright?"

Bajie shushed him, swayed his body, and, with his back to the Little Demon guarding outside, took out the Mani Pearl, saying, "Brother, quickly give this treasure to Master! This treasure can ward off disasters and cure poisons!"