Traveling Through the Kingdoms

"The fan is for fanning the fire, and the rope is for tightening my clothes. The two monsters you just encountered were my apprentices who tend the furnace."

The four travelers continued their journey without stopping. After helping a king find his true face, they wanted to continue their travels. Everyone was reluctant to part with them, but Tang Xuanzang and the others continued on their way.

The four travelers left Black Rooster Kingdom and were about to head to a mountain when Tang Xuanzang suddenly felt very alarmed and quickly called out to Sun Wukong to stop him.

"These mountains are high and steep; I must be careful. What if a monster comes to capture me?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong smiled and said to Tang Xuanzang:

"Master, don't panic. Just keep going. Don't worry, I will protect you."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang suddenly had an idea.

"Don't I still have so many Buddhist Secret Method I haven't used yet? I've only used them once against the demons before, and I can't keep relying on Sun Wukong to protect me."

A short while later, Hongyun suddenly drifted out of the ravine, soaring straight into the sky. There, it condensed into a ball of fire. Sun Wukong, seeing this, was greatly startled and quickly told Tang Xuanzang to stop, saying:

"Stop going any further! The monster is here now."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie panicked and quickly raised his Nine-Toothed Rake, while Sha Wujing grabbed his staff and surrounded Tang Xuanzang in the middle.

Just then, a demon appeared in the red light. He had long heard that there was a monk from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands who went to the Western Heaven Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures, and that eating a piece of his flesh would Changsheng.

The demon looked down from the sky and saw three disciples surrounding Tang Xuanzang on his horse.

"I just created a plump, white monk riding a horse, the very same Holy Monk of the Great Tang. How come he's now being protected by those three ugly monks? They look like they're about to beat him up. I wonder which one of them recognized me so quickly."

After thinking about this, the monster continued to ponder:

"If I try to catch him now, I definitely won't succeed. But I can trick him and catch him later. Don't rush me; let me go down and test him first."

After a short while, the monster transformed into a seven-year-old boy, his hands and feet bound with rope, hanging high in the tree, shouting loudly:

"Help me! Help!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong quickly looked up and saw that the Hongyun had already dispersed. He then said to Tang Xuanzang, "Master, let's hurry up and mount our horses."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang looked completely bewildered and said to Sun Wukong:

"Now that things are like this, you were just saying there were monsters, so why are you rushing on your way now?"

"I just saw Hongyun slowly rise from the ground and condense into a ball of fire in the air. It was clearly a demon. But the Hongyun disappeared in a moment. It must have been a passing demon that didn't dare to harm us."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong quickly explained to Tang Xuanzang.

Zhu Bajie quickly mocked Sun Wukong, saying:

"That sounds too unbelievable. What kind of monster travels on the road?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong quickly explained to Zhu Bajie:

"There must be a mountain on one of those mountains with a cave entrance. The demon king hosted a banquet, inviting monsters from all directions to attend. That monster was probably only focused on getting to the banquet and had no intention of harming anyone."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang was immediately relieved and spurred his horse forward. After traveling for a short while, he heard someone shouting for help. Tang Xuanzang was greatly startled and quickly asked Sun Wukong:

"At this point, who is still shouting for help?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong quickly stepped forward and said to Tang Xuanzang:

"Master, just keep walking and don't meddle in other people's business. The one speaking right now might not be a human, but a monster."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang immediately led his horse forward. After a short while, he heard the same person crying for help again. Finally, Tang Xuanzang no longer bear it and said to Sun Wukong:

"This voice can't be from Yaomo. If it Yaomo, there wouldn't be an echo. It must be someone in distress. We can go and help him."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong quickly said to Tang Xuanzang:

"Master, you should rein in your compassionate heart. Wait until you've passed this mountain before showing mercy. Going now would be extremely dangerous. You surely know that even plants and trees can cultivate into spirits, let alone ordinary Demon Beast."

After Sun Wukong finished speaking, Tang Xuanzang immediately spurred his horse and galloped away. Sun Wukong thought to himself, "Which demon is crying for help over there? I'll go and see for myself."

After thinking it over, Sun Wukong said to Sha Wujing:

"Wujing, come here and lead the horse slowly so I can go to the toilet."

As soon as Sun Wukong finished speaking, he immediately began chanting the incantation, using the Mountain-Moving and Earth-Shrinking Technique. He pointed his Jingu Bang backward, and Tang Xuanzang transformed over the mountain. After a short while, Sun Wukong continued to speed up and caught up with Tang Xuanzang.

After a short while, the monster on the hillside called out four or five times, but no one responded. The monster couldn't help but think to itself:

"I've been calling Tang Xuanzang for so long, why hasn't he come yet? He must have taken a shortcut."

After thinking for a moment, the demon immediately transformed into a red light and ascended to the sky again to investigate. At the same time, Sun Wukong also happened to see the demon and quickly continued to speak to Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing:

Everyone was on high alert; the monster was back.

Seeing this, the fairy in the sky said enviously, "Good heavens, I just saw a monk sitting on a horse, and now he's been hidden by these three. If I went to check, I would have found out who it was. The monk who discovered me has already been warned by them. Oh well."

After the monster finished thinking, the Hongyun continued to disperse, and it quietly observed from the side.

Upon seeing this, Tang Xuanzang became very angry and said, "You monkey, you're always teasing me. What's the point? Every time you say there's a monster, but then you say there's nothing wrong. It's mostly fake, and more fake than real. I'm getting off and walking now."

Seeing this, Sun Wukong quickly explained to Tang Xuanzang:

"Master, please don't be angry. Your hand injury can be healed, but if it's been captured by a monster, where will we go to look for it?"

After saying this, Tang Xuanzang's anger dissipated by more than half. After a while, he heard the cry for help again Tang Xuanzang looked up and saw that a child was tied to a tree.

"You, Sun Wukong, are so mischievous, utterly devoid of kindness, only thinking of how to commit evil. I just said that was a human being, but you called it a monster. Look, there's something tied to that tree, isn't that a person?"