Tongtian River
Meanwhile, Ancestor Hongjun and Ao Changsheng were observing the conversations and actions of the four masters and disciples from the sky.
After a while, Ao Changsheng said to Ancestor Hongjun:
"I specifically arranged this ordeal for them. Will they be able to get through it safely?"
Upon hearing this, Ancestor Hongjun smiled and looked at Ao Changsheng, saying:
"If they can't even handle this kind of thing, how can they possibly help you complete this Immeasurable Tribulation?"
Upon hearing this, Ao Changsheng suddenly felt that what Ancestor Hongjun said made some sense, and then Ao Changsheng and Ancestor Hongjun continued to watch.
At the same time, upon hearing Sun Wukong's words, Tang Xuanzang was greatly alarmed and filled with sorrow, his voice choked with emotion as he said:
"What should I do now? If even this small difficulty can stop me, how can I face Buddha?"
Upon hearing this, Sha Wujing quickly comforted Tang Xuanzang, saying, "Master, please don't worry. Look, isn't that a person up ahead?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately raised his Ruyi Jingu Bang and said:
"Since there's someone ahead, I'll go ask him and see who he is and if he knows where we are."
Sun Wukong immediately jumped over, only to find that what was in front of him was not a person, but a stone slab with three large characters carved on it, and a circle of smaller characters in the middle.
The stone slab had the remaining small characters written on it, "Tongtian River The Tongtian River is eight hundred li long, and very few people can cross it."
Upon seeing this, Sun Wukong quickly said:
"Master, come quickly! I know where we are now!"
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang was greatly surprised and rushed over. When he saw the three characters "Tongtian River," he felt a pang of sadness.
"We've been traveling for so long, constantly tormented by that monster or troubled by this river. It's been so arduous."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie began to advise Tang Xuanzang:
"Master, please don't say such discouraging things. Listen, which family is cooking over there? Let's go there and eat something quickly, then come back tomorrow to see if there's a boat."
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang listened carefully and realized that there really was a moment. His eyes lit up and he immediately went there. After a short while, he arrived at a beach and saw a row of houses.
Tang Xuanzang dismounted and came to one of the houses by the roadside. He saw a flag hanging above the door and the house inside looked desolate. Upon seeing this, Tang Xuanzang quickly said:
"Wukong, the people here are rather desolate, unlike those over there. Let's come here. Let me go over there first and ask those old people."
"If they agree, we'll all move in. Don't come over yet; what if you frighten the old man?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately understood what Tang Xuanzang, saying:
"Since you've said so, Master, then you can go without worry. We'll just stay here and watch the luggage."
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang removed his hat, baring his head, and went to the door of the house. After a short while, an old man appeared inside, wearing several Buddhist beads around his neck, preparing to close the door. Tang Xuanzang was greatly surprised upon seeing this and quickly said:
"It's so late, sir, we know we're disturbing you, but we still had to come."
The old man glanced at Tang Xuanzang said to him:
"You've come too late; we have nothing left here."
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang looked at the old man with a puzzled expression. After a short while, the old man slowly said:
"There's nothing left now. If you had come sooner, the monks could have been fed well by staying here, and I could have given them some more things. But why did you only come now?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang instantly realized what was happening and quickly said to the old man, "I didn't come here to eat."
"If you didn't come here to eat, then what are you doing here?"
The old man looked at Tang Xuanzang with a puzzled expression, wondering whether Tang Xuanzang was truly a monk.
After a short while, Tang Xuanzang slowly said to the old man:
"Please don't worry, sir. I come from the Great Tang of the Central Land, on my way to the Western Heaven Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures. I'm just passing through and would like to stay here for the night."
Tang Xuanzang had already told the old man the truth, but after hearing it, the old man no longer believed what Tang Xuanzang Tang Xuanzang and questioned him:
"That's completely false. If you were coming from the Tang Dynasty, you wouldn't have been able to reach the Western Heaven from such a long distance."
"Besides, there were so many monsters along the way; you were bound to have been eaten. How did you manage to get here all by yourself?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang smiled and explained to the old man:
"I was able to come here because I had three disciples with boundless Law Power to protect me."
The old man's doubts subsided slightly, and he continued speaking to Tang Xuanzang:
"Since you already have apprentices, why didn't you bring them up instead of leaving them there?"
"Since you've put it that way, I'll just call them all over."
After saying this, Tang Xuanzang called out to Sun Wukong Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing at the door.
Sun Wukong was naturally very impatient, and Zhu Bajie was also a bit reckless. After hearing what Tang Xuanzang said, the three of them immediately came to his side. The old man was so frightened by what he saw that he sat down on the ground.
Seeing this, Tang Xuanzang immediately comforted the old man, saying:
"Please don't worry, sir. Although these three people aren't very good-looking, they are all my apprentices."
Upon hearing this, the old man patted his chest and slowly said to Tang Xuanzang:
"Since that's the case, then let's bring them all in. I happen to have a few spare rooms here; you can stay there."
The group entered the courtyard like bandits, leaving their horses and luggage behind. They went into the main hall and found several monks chanting scriptures. Zhu Bajie pouted and asked:
"What scriptures are you monks chanting?"
Upon hearing this and seeing Zhu Bajie's appearance, the monks were instantly terrified and fled in panic. Seeing this, Sun Wukong Zhu Bajie burst into laughter, and the monks, even more frightened, hurriedly fled for their own lives.
After witnessing what Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie had done, Tang Xuanzang couldn't help but reprimand them:
"You people are extremely unkind. I tell you every day to be kind to others, so why aren't you being kind and instead causing trouble here?"
"Look, you've scared all of this old man's friends away."