Teaching Disciples in Jade Flower Prefecture (12)

Meanwhile, Wukong and Bajie fled back to the palace overnight.

Inside the palace, the lights were bright, and the Old King, Tang Sanzang, and the three Prince were all waiting anxiously in the hall.

Wukong and Bajie returned.

Old King exclaimed joyfully, "The two elders are back!"

Wukong asked, "Why are Your Majesty and my master still awake so late at night?"

Old King said, "The three elders have been gone for a long time and have not returned. My master and I are extremely anxious and cannot sleep at all! I wonder if the Demon has been subdued yet?"

Wukong said, "It's embarrassing to admit! My two junior brothers and I changed our appearances, sneaked into the cave, retrieved our weapons and treasures, and had already captured the seven lion monsters. Unexpectedly, there was another old demon in the cave who could grow heads. Three heads suddenly appeared out of thin air, biting the three of us and capturing us in the cave. Just now, taking advantage of the darkness and the cave's unpreparedness, I managed to free myself from the Rope, open the cell door, and come out."

Upon hearing this, Old King exclaimed repeatedly, "That was truly dangerous! That was truly dangerous!"

The Third Prince looked behind Wukong and Bajie, but couldn't see Sha Wujing to the left or right. Worried, he asked, "Master Sun, Master Zhu, you've returned, but why hasn't my master come back with you?"

Upon hearing this, Wukong Bajie turned around to look, and indeed Sha Wujing was nowhere to be seen.

Bajie said, "Junior Brother Sha is too slow. He probably didn't make it out of the Demon Cave and was captured by the Demon again!"

Upon hearing this, the Third Prince couldn't help but shed tears, saying, "Master! Master! I thought you couldn't escape and have fallen into the hands of Demon. I'm afraid your life is in danger, and you will be separated from your disciple by Yin and Yang!"

Tang Sanzang was also very anxious. He got down and said to Wukong:

"Wukong, what should we do? Wujing has been captured by Demon, will he be eaten?"

Wukong said, "No! No! Things changed then. From what that old demon said, I knew that I, Sun Wukong, was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven incarnate, and that Bajie was the reincarnation of Marshal Tianpeng. Therefore, I guessed that he must be Demon from Heaven and dared not eat Junior Brother Sha."

Tang Sanzang said, "Even so, there are many Demon in that cave, and we can't guarantee that nothing will go wrong. We should find a way to rescue Wujing as soon as possible!"

Wukong said, "Master, don't worry, please rest assured. Tomorrow, I will go to Heaven to investigate and find out its origins so that someone can subdue it."

Tang Sanzang nodded, finally relieved.

Old King then asked everyone to go back and rest.

The Eldest Prince and Second Prince comforted the very worried Third Prince and led him back.

The Third Prince said, "My power is too weak to Subduing Demons. It would be better to have someone prepare some gold and silver tonight and send it over tomorrow morning, so as to protect my master's life; lest some Little Demon in the cave become hungry and secretly eat my master."

The Eldest Prince said, "Third Younger Brother's plan is excellent; I will contribute one thousand gold pieces."

The Second Prince said, "I will also contribute one thousand gold pieces."

Upon hearing this, the Third Prince thanked his two elder brothers. The next day, before dawn, the Third Prince got up and instructed people to load gold and silver into the carriage, which was then escorted out of the city at dawn.

The carriage had barely left the city when it turned back.

The Third Prince asked, "Why are you back again?"

The Guards pointed to the distant Heaven and cried out, "Your Highness! Run! The Demon are attacking!"

The Third Prince was greatly alarmed. He looked up and saw that in the distance, just as dawn was breaking, there was a rolling wind, billowing fog, flying stones and sand, and a vast expanse of Black Qi.

Although the Third Prince was only a mortal and couldn't recognize demonic energy, he could tell that this was no good fog. He immediately ordered his soldiers to block all four city gates, seized a Fast Horse, and, taking advantage of the early morning when the streets were deserted, rode back to the palace to report:

"Father King! Holy Monk! It's terrible! Demon are attacking! Quickly, take cover!"

Old King, Tang Sanzang, and the others were all startled awake.

Wukong jumped onto the eaves of the mansion and looked into the distance. Sure enough, he saw the old demon leading a group of lions, each wielding a weapon, spraying mist and stirring up wind as they attacked.

With nowhere to hide, Old King had no choice but to leave the palace and, together with the three Prince, appoint soldiers to guard the city.

Before the appointment was even finished, the Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage had already arrived with his lions. The old demon was seen spewing mist and stirring up black clouds: Gale howled and swept across the ground, and a thick Black Fog darkened the sky. Stones and sand flew, frightening even gods and ghosts; trees were pushed down and tigers and wolves were startled.

It appeared in the dark sky, revealing its true form. It opened its mouth and revealed nine heads, which frightened the King, Prince, Tang Sanzang, and others to the ground. It then swallowed one head in each mouth, and the nine mouths respectively held the King, the Eldest Prince, the Second Prince, the Third Prince, Tang Sanzang, Bajie, and the White Horse. There were two extra mouths, one for speaking and the other for holding Wukong. Wukong Somersault Cloud away.

The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage then carried the six people, not counting the White Horse, and went straight back to the cave.

Seeing that their great revenge had been achieved, the lions did not make things difficult for the common people. They roared and laughed as they returned to their cave together.

Only the women and children in the palace remained, weeping and wailing, unsure of what to do.

Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage returned to the cave, threw the King and his entourage to the ground, and ordered his Little Demon to bind them and lock them in the Prison Cave.

Old King wept, saying, "I didn't heed the words of the Perfected One back then, but now they have indeed come true. I, a member of the royal family, am now bound by Rope and confined in Prison Cave!"

The Eldest Prince said, "Father King, we can't find the Perfected One now, and it's no use regretting it. We can only wait for Master Sun to come and save us!"

Old King sighed and said, "That's the only way."

The Third Prince cried out, "Where is my master? Could he have been eaten by Demon? Master! Master! You died so tragically! I have not yet repaid the kindness of your teachings, and I have failed to fulfill my filial duty!"

Sha Wujing said, "Don't cry! Don't cry! You're making me cry myself to death!"

Upon hearing this, the Third Prince immediately stopped crying.

Everyone looked closely at the corner and saw that Sha Wujing was sleeping there. Because it was too early and not yet fully light, the Prison Cave was even darker. Sha Wujing looked gloomy and had many shoe prints and dust on his body, so the others hadn't seen him at first.

Sha Wujing said, "Master, you've arrived. I'm a little injured, so I won't bow."

Tang Sanzang said, "Wujing, you are injured, you should rest quickly!"

Meanwhile, Wukong had already arrived in the Heavenly Realm and was heading towards the Eastern Ultimate Palace of Wondrous Crags.

Wukong recognized the old demon's nine heads as those of Nine-Headed Lion, having seen it once before. He guessed it was likely Lion Beast under the command of Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy, and thus came to invite it.

Before long, they arrived at the Immortal Gate.

A Immortal Child greeted them.

Wukong went inside, met the Celestial Worthy, explained what had happened, and laughed, "Celestial Worthy, this time it must have been your Mount that caused the trouble!"

Upon hearing this, Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy immediately went to the lion's den and summoned the Lion Slave.

The Lion Slave was fast asleep, only waking up when the gods nudged him, and said:

"Grandpa, the other day I saw a bottle of wine in the Great Thousand Nectar Hall. I stole it and drank it, and before I knew it, I was drunk and fell asleep. I forgot to lock it up, so the lion escaped."

Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy said, "That wine is the ' Reincarnation Jade Nectar ' given by Taishang Laojun. You should be unconscious for three days after drinking it!"

Wukong asked, "Could it be that it was given to me by Laozi at the Hundred-Flower Festival at Yaochi Taishang Laojun time?"

Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy said, "That's right."

Wukong said, "That old man, why doesn't he refine more Golden Elixir instead of this kind of wine? He's really made my Old Sun miserable!"

Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy laughed and said, "You Monkey! You're blaming Taishang Laojun now! If you hadn't wanted to be a teacher, how would you have provoked this den of lions?"

Wukong laughed and said, "I have no intention of blaming you! I have no intention of blaming you! Please, Celestial Worthy, subdue that Lion Beast for me! My master, junior brothers, and the King and Prince of Jade Flower Prefecture have all been captured, and we do not know their Life and Death."

Taiyi Heavenly Lord of Great Mercy said, "Great Sage, rest assured, my Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage is also a True Spirit who has cultivated for a long time: when he shouts, he communicates with the Three Sages above and penetrates the Nine Springs below, and he does not harm living beings casually. I will go and take him away."

Wukong exclaimed joyfully, "I am deeply grateful! I am deeply grateful!"