Interesting Journey to the Dharma-Extinguishing Kingdom (Thirteen)

Then Ao Tu recounted the story of his rebellious son.

Upon hearing this, Wukong was slightly taken aback and couldn't help but feel suspicious.

Why did he feel that the old man's words had a hidden meaning?

Wukong thought about it carefully. Since he left Mount Fangcun, he had never mentioned his past. No one could possibly know about his past. It must have been a coincidence.

After hearing Ao Tu's words, Tang Sanzang sighed repeatedly, saying, "As the ancients said: 'Teach them righteousness, and they will not be led astray by evil!'"

Ao Tu said, "Elder Tang is absolutely right. I regret failing to guide him onto the right path back then! Elder Sun, you are a capable man. Although that unfilial son is unfilial, I cannot bear to see him commit a capital offense! I beg you to have mercy and save him!"

Wukong waved his hand and said, "Old man, you're overthinking it! Your son has learned martial arts from somewhere and is quite strong. Let alone a few arrest warrants from the government, even if the King of Man mobilizes thousands of troops, he can't do anything to him."

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu showed no joy whatsoever; instead, his face was filled with worry as he said:

"Elder Sun, what are you saying? As the saying goes, 'Evil deeds will eventually be punished.' He has already done wrong by robbing people, and if no one keeps him in check, he will only commit greater crimes in the future. Even if he has some martial arts skills and the emperors of the mortal world cannot control him, there are still the gods in Heaven who can. As his father, how can I indulge him when his sins are small, only to regret it when his sins become great?"

Upon hearing this, Wukong couldn't help but look at Ao Tu. If he weren't certain that the old man was a Mortal, he would have thought that the words were deliberately said to him.

Hua Yunlong must have accumulated good fortune in his past life to have such a father. After hearing these words, Wukong felt that the old man was very pleasing to the eye and a kind-hearted person, so he agreed to Ao Tu's request again.

For the next few days, the four of them stayed at Ao Tu's house.

Following Ao Tu's instructions, the Patriarch Styx did not appear for Half a Month.

Wukong didn't know where the Thieves were hiding, and after searching several times, he still couldn't find them, so he had no solution.

On this day, two government officials, one fat and one thin, came and knocked on the door.

Ao Tu hurriedly went to greet him.

One of the thin officials presented a document, which read:

"Teacher Hua, your son has committed another crime. This morning he led a group to rob Wealthy Merchant on the road; this is the official document from the government. If he returns home, you two must not hide it from him; you must report it to the authorities!"

Ao Tu took the document, glanced at it, sighed repeatedly, and nodded, saying, "Definitely! Certainly! If that rebellious son returns, I will never tolerate him!" After saying this, he offered some tea money to the two officials.

The two constables collected the tea and headed out. The portly constable, a man of honest character, turned back and said, "Teacher Hua, your son has committed many serious crimes. If he surrenders himself, he might receive a lighter sentence. Otherwise, he will surely be beheaded!"

Wukong walked in from outside and saw the two officers. He asked, "What's wrong?"

Ao Tu said, "That unfilial son has committed another crime, robbing someone of their property."

Wukong perked up and asked the two officers, "Do you have any information about his whereabouts?"

The portly officer said, "Hua Yunlong's whereabouts are unpredictable; who knows where he's hiding?"

Wukong asked, "Where was the crime committed?"

The thin constable said, "On the Main Road south of the city! Hua Yunlong is different from other Bandits; he acts recklessly and always robs on the Main Road, never taking side roads."

Upon hearing this, Wukong rose on a cloud and went to the Main Road south of the city to investigate.

The Main Road was once bustling with pedestrians and carriages, but all traces of the thieves have vanished, and their whereabouts remain unknown.

Unable to find them, Wukong grew increasingly angry. He summoned the City God, the Earth God, Mountain God, saying, "You wretched spirits, come here! Each of you will receive a blow from this staff!"

The City God, the local earth Mountain God were terrified and immediately knelt down, begging for forgiveness, saying, "Great Sage, please forgive us! Great Sage, please forgive us! We don't know how we offended Great Sage, Great Sage, and we beg you to allow us to repent!"

Wukong said, "You are all local earth gods, Mountain God, and City God, with the duty to monitor Good and Evil. Now, a great thief has appeared in this place, and Mortal cannot subdue him. Why don't you do anything about it?"

Upon hearing this, the local deity asked, "Is the Great Sage referring to Hua Yunlong?"

Wukong said, "That's right."

The City God, the Earth God, and the Mountain God kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Great Sage, you have truly wronged us. It's not that we didn't care about Hua Yunlong, but we were simply powerless to do so. Great Sage, you are unaware that Hua Yunlong came here specifically to abduct the three of us."

Wukong asked in surprise, "Is that so? What did they take from you?"

The City God said, "I had a precious jade, which he robbed of."

The Earthly Way, "I had a Millennium Spirit Wood, which he stole."

The Mountain God said, "I had a piece of Divine Iron from the mountain, which he stole."

Wukong angrily said, "What a scoundrel! How dare he rob the Mountain Gods and Earth Gods! Doesn't he fear divine punishment?"

The Earthly Way, "Reporting to the Great Sage, Hua Yunlong didn't say he robbed us, but only that he borrowed us. He said we were his neighbors and came specifically to ask to borrow some treasures. Our divine power is weak, and we are terrified of him. If we don't lend them to him, we fear he will demolish our temple, leaving us nowhere to hide. We had no choice but to lend them to him. We are only Yin Spirits, of low rank and position, unable to ascend to the Heavenly Realm to file a complaint. We can only suffer in vain and let him bully us."

Upon hearing this, Wukong's expression turned somewhat strange, as if he had thought of something. He changed the subject and asked, "Do you know where his hideout is?"

The Mountain God said, "This humble god knows, but dares not speak of it."

Wukong asked, "What is there to be afraid to say?"

The Mountain God said, "If I tell him, Hua Yunlong will definitely take his anger out on us."

Wukong said, "With me Old Sun, here, what are you afraid of?"

The City God, the Earth Mountain God, and the Mountain God exchanged glances and cautiously Earthly Way:

"Great Sage, that day when you fought Hua Yunlong, we were all in the shadows, deploying Yin Soldiers to help you subdue the Great Sage!"

Upon hearing this, Wukong was filled with shame and said:

"That day, Old Sun, fell into his trap. When he talked about fighting with words, I wasn't on guard and was ambushed and hit."

All the gods said, "Yes! Yes! If it comes down to true skill, that thief is no match for the Great Sage!"

Wukong said, "Very well, I, Old Sun, will not make things difficult for you. Just tell me the thief's whereabouts, and I will go find him myself."

The City God, the Earth Mountain God breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Mountain God said:

"Great Sage, follow this road south; that thief often robs in this area."

Upon hearing this, Wukong lifted the spell and released the gods to return home.

The next morning, Wukong, dragging Bajie along, led the White Dragon Horse to the Main Road south of the city.

Bajie said, "You Monkey, what are you doing bringing me here so early in the morning? I'm not even awake yet!"

Wukong laughed, "Fool, wake up! I'll take you to catch the thief!"

Bajie asked, "Catch a thief? Catch what thief?"

Wukong said, "Naturally, it's Hua Yunlong. I'll transform into a Wealthy Merchant, and you transform into a carriage driver. Let's lure the thief out of his den!"

Upon hearing this, Bajie immediately shook his head and turned back.

Wukong grabbed him and said, "Why are you running?"

Bajie said, "Not run? Others may not know, but I do! You fought with someone earlier, took a blow, and disappeared somewhere. It took you a whole day and night to get back, and you lied to the old monk that you went to scout out information. Now you want me to do this kind of business with you? Is this some kind of fun?"