The monkey, transformed into a flying insect, silently landed among the city ruins, its six compound eyes coldly watching below.
Sure enough, in the shadows of the street, there were several small figures—pointed snouts, thin tails, and gray fur—they looked exactly like rat spirits.
Unlike the typical crawling rat, the creature below moves in an unusually awkward posture.
It could barely stand on its two hind legs, its front paws tucked into its chest, and it walked with a wobbly gait, like a baby learning to walk. It was less a rat spirit and more a strangely shaped human. Sigh.
"Hurry up... the king is pressing us hard..." the first rat spirit said in a low voice, speaking in perfect human language.
Upon hearing this, the three rat spirits following behind became even more flustered, but still kept up closely, creeping towards the hut where Xuanzang and the other two were resting.
The monkey wanted to take it down directly, but remembering Xu Xiao's instructions, it could only fly in the air and follow quietly.
Several rat spirits had quietly moved to a spot a few feet away from the small house where Xu Xiao and the other two were resting, and were hiding behind a half-collapsed Buddhist shrine, secretly discussing their plans.
"Really... really want to go see?" the rat spirit's voice trembled. "Just looking at the house makes my heart pound. What if..."
"What can we do if we don't look?" The leader of the rat spirits turned around. " Great King Yellow Wind said we must keep a close eye on anyone entering the city these next few days! If it's the Tang Dynasty monks on their pilgrimage... we'll have done a great service! Maybe... we can finally be free!"
The moment the word "liberation" was uttered, the four rat spirits shuddered in unison, their eyes filled with both fear and anticipation.
Turning a perfectly healthy person into a rat demon, even losing control of their own life and death, is truly an unbearable experience.
Fortunately, the opportunity was right in front of them. Despite feeling an instinctive fear, the four rat spirits still took on the task of gathering information in order to escape their rat bodies.
The room was dimly lit, and Xuanzang's even breathing could be faintly heard. The four rat spirits had decided on their respective directions and were about to move out.
The monkey beside him had already figured most of it out. He stopped hiding, flapped his wings, and revealed his figure in the moonlight.
Deep within a hairy palm, like a net from heaven and earth, the four rat demons were caught in its grasp.
"Squeak--!"
"Certainly!"
The rat spirit screamed in terror, then abruptly stopped.
The monkey picked up the four rat spirits that had been Immobilization Spell, somersaulted back into the house, and casually tossed them to the ground.
The commotion startled Xuanzang from his deep sleep, and Xu Xiao slowly opened his eyes as well.
"Brother, Master," the monkey kicked the trembling rat spirit at his feet, "We've caught a few demons, and they are indeed as strange as you said."
Xu Xiao's gaze fell upon the four rat spirits, who were frozen in place by Immobilization Spell and curled up, still wearing tattered human clothes.
He possessed a faint demonic aura, but more than that, he exuded a strange human charm.
"Something's not right. Let me take a look." Xu Xiao walked forward curiously and casually touched the center of a rat spirit's forehead.
The Great Dao of Cause and Effect and Effect operates, and with his cultivation, he is able to explore the cause and effect of the beings before him through more than ten lifetimes of reincarnation.
However, the more Xu Xiao looked, the more his brows furrowed, and his complexion gradually worsened.
After a while, Xu Xiao withdrew his fingers and checked the other rat spirits one by one, his face turning ashen.
"Excellent! Excellent! What a wonderful Western Sect! What wonderful Bodhisattvas and Buddhas!!"
Xu Xiao spoke through gritted teeth, his coldness barely concealed.
" Amitabha Buddha! Celestial official, have you made any discoveries?" Xuanzang was standing nearby, also heard Xu Xiao's gritted teeth and asked, puzzled.
Xu Xiao gave him a cold look, then waved his hand, releasing the rat spirit's Immobilization Spell. "Let them tell you."
"Spare us... Immortal, spare us..." The rat spirits cried out in despair as soon as the Immobilization Spell was lifted, "We... we're not monsters!"
"Hmph! Quiet down! All of you, shut up first! If you keep making noise, I'll kill you all!" the monkey shouted from the side, scaring the rat spirits into silencing themselves.
Xuanzang looked reluctant and put his palms together, saying, " Wukong, wait a moment, let them explain in detail."
Seeing that Xuanzang was easy to talk to, the leading rat spirit trembled and kowtowed, begging for mercy. Then it cautiously spoke:
"Master, we are not monsters, we are really not monsters, please don't kill us."
"You say you are not demons," Xuanzang began, his voice calm, "But how do you explain your appearance and fur?"
The four rat spirits looked at each other, and tears welled up in their eyes.
It was the rat spirit with the woman's voice who spoke first, her words broken and intermittent, mixed with sobs:
"We... we were originally citizens of the Kingdom of Sahali. Fifteen years ago... fifteen years ago, the king ordered the extermination of the Buddha-respecting rats. Since then, a strange disease has broken out in the city, and all the perfectly healthy people have turned into this."
The leader of the rat spirits took over, his voice bitter, "The entire city has become like this. The king, ministers, monks, women and children... without exception. The city was abandoned overnight, and we can only hide in caves, surviving on our old food reserves..."
Xuanzang gasped in shock. "How could such a thing happen?!"
Xuanzang was utterly shocked. He had never heard of such a strange thing happening in the world. It sounded like a natural disaster, not a man-made one.
"Everyone says it's divine retribution for the king's persecution of Buddhism. Many of his subjects, turned into rats, couldn't bear it and tried every means to die, but it seemed like a curse."
"As long as we seek death ourselves, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, we simply won't die, except for physical mutilation or injury. We'll try every method imaginable, from being hacked to death, burned, or starved to death."
"We can neither live nor die; we can only beg the king of Yellow Wind Ridge to use his Magic Power to free us so that we can barely end our lives."
"I have come today to complete Your Majesty's mission and in return for a chance to be freed."
The rat spirit's words were filled with anguish, making Xuanzang's hair stand on end. Even the monkey felt a pang of pity and involuntarily clenched his fist holding the Divine Staff of Battle.
"Immortal Official... is this... true?" Xuanzang looked at Xu Xiao, wanting confirmation.
Xu Xiao's face was ashen, but he still stepped forward in the face of Xuanzang's questioning.
He pointed his fingers like a sword and gently sliced the forepaw of the leader rat demon—a drop of dark red blood seeped out, unlike the bloody green usually seen in demon blood.
He dipped his fingertip in blood, channeling his Magic Power, and the Great Dao of Cause and Effect behind him quietly began to operate.
He is using his Magic Power to transform past causes and effects, allowing them to manifest in the world.
With a flick of the finger, the blood from the fingertip transformed into a thin curtain, upon which scenes began to unfold.
--A magnificent Golden Buddha Kingdom, with numerous temples and chanting that never ceases. The people are devout, offering abundant sacrifices, and the lamps before the Buddha burn eternally.
--The royal family was furious that its subjects only knew how to worship Buddha, did not respect royal authority, and did not engage in production.
Large numbers of soldiers began destroying temples and Buddha statues, and monks were forced to return to secular life and farm.
--An ancient giant worm crawled out from the depths of the desert, wreaking havoc on the kingdom and harming its people every day.
--A giant rat demon descends from the sky to conquer the giant insect and rid the country of this scourge.
--The king appointed the rat demon as the royal advisor, revered the rat and suppressed Buddhism, and a strange disease began to appear in the city.
--Everyone lived in fear and turned into rat-spirit monsters. The city was abandoned. The rat demon apologized and hid in Yellow Wind Ridge, never to venture out again...
--The rat spirits lingered in the dark cave, barely clinging to life, even seeking various ways to die in order to find an early release.