An Ill-Fated Fall into Pansi Cave (25)

Meanwhile, Ao Tu left the Mani Pearl with Bajie.

The Mani Pearl, also known as the Supreme Prajna Treasure, is a Buddhist Sect treasure with countless uses. One of its functions is to ward off disasters and evil spirits, and to detoxify and cure diseases.

Bajie took out the Jewel, placed it in Tang Sanzang's bosom, and kept it warm for half the night. The poison in Tang Sanzang's body was then neutralized.

Then it was given to Sha Wujing to use, and after a little while, Sha Wujing's poison was neutralized, but his sword wound was difficult to heal.

It was the Yin Hour 3-5 AM), before dawn. Wukong used magic to open the prison door, put the Little Demon to sleep, had Bajie carry Sha Wujing on his back, and he took the luggage and escaped with Tang Sanzang.

As soon as the four left Yellow Flower Temple, they saw a large Spider Silk web blocking their way Mountain Gate.

Wukong exclaimed "This is bad!" and turned around to see his eldest Fourth Sister leading a group of people after them.

Wukong quickly stirred up the Spiderweb with his Golden Cudgel and said, "Master, Bajie, let's go!"

The four hurriedly fled down the mountain.

The eldest Fourth Sister followed behind.

Fourth Sister unleashed her Saintly Sword, sending it flying straight at Bajie.

Bajie looked back and was so frightened that he quickly pulled Sha Wujing up a little, saying, "Junior Brother Sha, something bad has happened! The Demon is catching up! Hold on tight, let's run!"

After saying this, Bajie carried Sha Wujing on his back and ran forward.

But how could two legs outrun a flying sword? The Saintly Sword pierced through, striking Sha Wujing in the back. Sha Wujing screamed, his body swayed, and he fell off Bajie's back.

Upon seeing this, Bajie was so frightened that he immediately lay down on the ground and pretended to be dead, remaining completely still.

Wukong turned around and saw that Bajie and Sha Wujing had both fallen. He anxiously called out, "Bajie! Junior Brother Sha!"

Bajie and Sha Wujing did not move.

One was too afraid to move, and the other had fainted.

Helpless, Wukong had no choice but to take Tang Sanzang and escape.

The eldest sister then lashed out with her whip, striking Tang Sanzang squarely on the back and knocking Tang Sanzang to the ground. The whip was extremely painful, and Tang Sanzang, unable to bear it, Earthly Way in agony, "It hurts! It hurts!"

Seeing this, Wukong tried to pull Tang Sanzang away, but he too was whipped five or six times and fell to the ground, writhing in pain and unable to get up.

The four of them were then arrested and taken back to prison.

As dawn broke, the Many-Eyed Monster ordered his men to hang up Tang Sanzang and his disciples and torture them.

Seeing this, Wukong instructed Tang Sanzang to pretend to be unconscious and not to open his eyes.

The young Daoist priest hoisted the four men up and, seeing that all four had their eyes closed, reported to the Many-Eyed Monster, "Master, these four monks have all fainted!"

The Many-Eyed Monster, "Wake them up by splashing them with Water General."

The young Daoist then drew cold water from the deep well and splashed it on Tang Sanzang and his companions.

Wukong, Bajie, and Tang Sanzang all pretended to be unconscious. When they were splashed with cold water, they only shivered but did not open their eyes.

Only Sha Wujing was truly unconscious after taking a sword wound, but he woke up immediately after being splashed with cold water.

The Many-Eyed Monster exclaimed, "Good! All the other monks are real, but he's faking it. Torture him severely!"

Upon hearing this, the Little Demon began to whip Sha Wujing.

Sha Wujing screamed in agony as he was beaten. Fortunately, he had tempered his mind in the Flowing Sand River before the Journey to the West, so his will was firm and he never begged for mercy.

Hearing this, Tang Sanzang couldn't bear it and wanted to plead for mercy, but Wukong said, "Master, you must hold back! If that Demon sees you pleading, he will surely beat you!"

Tang Sanzang had no choice but to endure it.

The four were beaten for half a day and then thrown into jail.

Tang Sanzang looked at Sha Wujing's injuries and couldn't help but shed tears, saying, "Wukong, what should we do?"

Wukong frowned, looking distressed; there was nothing he could do.

Sha Wujing Earthly Way weakly, "Elder Brother, now that Master is in danger and the Demon are fierce, you must not be complacent. Go to Heaven and ask for some Divine Weapon and Divine General, otherwise our lives will be in danger!"

Wukong leaned against the Prison Cell wall and sighed bitterly, "It's not that I don't want to go, but I've been whipped several times, and my whole body aches, making it difficult to fly."

Bajie said, "Brother, I'll use the beads to heal you."

Wukong hurriedly said, "Okay! Okay! Come quickly!"

Bajie took the Jewel and stepped forward, lifting Wukong's clothes, but could not find any injury. He asked in confusion:

"Strange! Strange! There's no swelling or wound on your back. It's like when Junior Brother Sha was stabbed twice, with two holes on either side from which blood was gushing out. At that point, we would Dao Wound were and be able to treat them. But how do we treat yours?"

Wukong said, "That whip is strange; even I, Old Sun, don't know what it is!"

Sha Wujing Earthly Way weakly, "Second Senior Brother, since you can't heal Elder Brother, please heal me first! I'm in terrible pain!"

Upon hearing this, Bajie quickly began to treat Sha Wujing.

Unfortunately, the bead's power was limited; it couldn't heal the sword wound, but it could barely stop the bleeding.

Wukong said, "Bajie, I am unable to leave now, so I can only rely on you to go to Heaven to ask for reinforcements."

Bajie, usually lazy and unwilling to exert himself, now faced with great calamity and with Wukong unable to move, understood the gravity of the situation and, no longer lazy, agreed. He simply asked:

"Brother! I'm willing to go to Heaven to ask for troops, but how do I get out?"

Wukong said, "Pretend to be sick with the plague. When that Little Demon sees you, he will surely throw you into the Back Mountain and bury you. After they leave, crawl out of the ground and go to Heaven to ask for reinforcements."

Bajie listened and agreed.

Wukong then instructed, "After you ascend to Heaven, do not be rude; you must respectfully invite all the Immortal Household."

Bajie agreed.

Wukong added, "That Demon's treasure is so powerful; it must not be from the mortal realm. When you go to Heaven, you must find out the origin of the treasure and not act rashly."

Bajie agreed anyway.

After agreeing on their plan, Bajie rolled on the ground, first holding his breath, keeping a breath in his chest, tightening his throat and tongue, and immediately his whole face began to turn red, sweat appeared on his head, foam came out of his mouth, and his hands and feet twitched.

Wukong shouted, "Help! Help!"

The young Daoist priest entered upon hearing the noise and asked, "What is it?"

Wukong pointed at Bajie and said, "This man has contracted a plague. You must quickly take him out, or we'll all get sick and die, and your master won't be able to eat Tang Sanzang's Flesh."

The young Daoist priest looked at Bajie and saw that his face was flushed and sweating profusely, he was foaming at the mouth and convulsing all over, which were indeed symptoms of the plague. So he quickly reported to the Many-Eyed Monster.

Just then, Ao Tu was giving a sermon to the Many-Eyed Monster and the Spider Demon demons.

Upon hearing the young Daoist's report, Ao Tu knew that Bajie was feigning illness, but he didn't expose him. Instead, he said, "In that case, bury Zhu Bajie."

Upon hearing this, the young Daoist priest called upon several of his fellow disciples, and together they carried Bajie out, dragged him to the Back Mountain, dug a large pit, and buried him.

One of the young disciples even tried to steal some of the "silver" from Bajie's body, but his senior brother stopped him, saying, "Silver from the dead is foul; if you touch it, you might catch a plague!"

The young Daoist then dared not touch it.

Bajie was buried in the soil and didn't move. After the Daoist boys left, he used his long snout to dig out of the soil, climbed out, and rode the clouds to the Heaven.

Upon arriving in the Heavenly Realm, the Heavenly Soldiers did not recognize Bajie and, seeing that Bajie was covered in mud, tried to stop him. Fortunately, the Heavenly King Guangmu recognized Bajie's appearance and allowed Bajie to enter.

Bajie entered the Heavenly Gate, requested an audience with the Jade Emperor, and after being informed through layers of intermediaries, the Lingxiao was finally opened, allowing him to see the Jade Emperor.

The Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor asked, "Marshal Tianpeng, why are you here to see me instead of protecting Tang Sanzang on his Journey to the West?"

Bajie bowed deeply and respectfully, saying:

"Your Majesty, when my master and I passed through Pansi Ridge, we encountered seven female Demon and a Yellow Flower Temple Master, who was their Demon brother. They blocked our path. They possessed a powerful Precious Sword and a strange whip! The Precious Sword injured Sha Wujing, and the whip wounded my Elder Brother. Therefore, I had no choice but to ascend to heaven to beg Your Majesty to send troops to our aid."