Digging In

After saying this, Tang Xuanzang's face suddenly showed a hint of anger.

Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie were speechless, their tempers completely gone. The old man, seeing this, finally believed that the three who had barged in were indeed Tang Xuanzang's disciples, and quickly turned back to apologize.

"This elder's matter is nothing serious. I just turned off the lights and told them to go home."

Zhu Bajie, however, said nonchalantly:

"Since you've said that, then hurry up and bring out the food. We want to eat and then go to sleep."

Upon hearing this, the old man quickly said, "Hurry up and light the lamps!"

Just then, the old man's family members, upon hearing his words, immediately became very displeased and exclaimed in surprise:

"We already had many candles burning while chanting scriptures in the main hall, so why are we lighting lamps now?"

At this moment, several servants came over and saw that it was dark inside. They then hung up the lanterns. Suddenly, they looked up and saw Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing. They hurriedly dropped the lanterns and ran into the room, closing the door behind them.

These people were muttering softly, "Everyone run! The monster is coming!"

Sun Wukong took a torch, lit a candle, and brought a stool for Tang Xuanzang to sit on. Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing sat on either side, while the old man sat in front.

A short while later, an old man appeared, leaning on a cane, and said, "What kind of evil spirit is this? Why has it come to our house?"

Upon hearing this, another old man quickly said:

"Brother, these are not monsters. They are disciples of Tang Xuanzang who traveled from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands to the Western Heaven to retrieve Buddhist scriptures. Although they look fierce, they are very kind people."

The old man then asked Zhu Bajie, "How many people's worth of food do you need?"

After thinking about it seriously for a long time, Zhu Bajie said, "We'll probably need about thirty or forty people."

"The pale-faced master only needs one person, the hairy-faced one with Duke of Thunder's mouth needs two people, the one with a very dark complexion needs eight people, and I need more than twenty people."

Upon hearing this, the old man smiled and said to Zhu Bajie, "I've already seen through it, so you don't need to say any more."

After a short while, once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Tang Xuanzang stood up and suddenly remembered some questions, so he asked the old man:

"I wonder what exactly you intend to do, sir, and why you're starting this ritual?"

After hearing this, the old man sighed and slowly said to Tang Xuanzang:

When you arrived here, did you see anything?

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang smiled and said to the old man:

"All we saw here was a stone slab with the Tongtian River' written on it, and below those three characters, it said, 'The distance here is extremely far, and there isn't a single living creature in between.'"

"That's because you've only seen a small part of it. If you go any further up, you'll see what's really going on here. There's a Great King of Numinous Touch up there."

The old man sighed, and seeing Tang Xuanzang's nonchalant attitude, he slowly spoke.

Sun Wukong, looking completely bewildered, asked the old man, "Why is that one called the Great King of Numinous Touch?"

"Because that place was originally a temple, and no one prayed there. A few days later, because of a severe drought, people went there to pray, but it started raining shortly afterward."

After saying this, the old man showed a relieved expression.

Hearing this, Sun Wukong still couldn't understand why the old man was sighing, so he continued, "Isn't it fine as it is? Why are you still troubled by such things?"

Upon hearing this, the old man pounded his chest and said to Sun Wukong:

"That temple not only showed us kindness, but also harbored much more resentment; it only ate young boys and girls—truly a god."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong asked in confusion, "Does it need to eat young boys and girls? That's just too illogical. If it's a god, why would it eat these things?"

"At first, we didn't think much of it, but after a few days, we realized that something was really wrong."

After saying this, the old man showed a hint of doubt on his face.

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong said to the old man:

"Why would you say that? And after you mentioned that, I also noticed something was off about that spot, but I have this inexplicable feeling that there might be a monster hiding there."

The old man shook his head upon hearing this. After a short while, Sun Wukong suddenly realized something and said to the old man:

"Now I finally understand why you're shaking your head and sighing. Has this kind of thing happened to your family this year? That's why you're sighing here and have started sending monks to you again to perform rituals for those two children."

The old man nodded upon hearing this, then sighed. Seeing this, Sun Wukong pondered seriously. After a short while, Sun Wukong slowly spoke to the old man:

"You don't need to worry about this. Bring your child out so I can have a look."

Upon hearing this, the old man quickly picked up a small child and placed him on the table. Little did the child know that his death was imminent, he hopped around with an apple in his hands.

Upon seeing this, Sun Wukong silently recited a spell and transformed into the same size as the child.

The old man, startled, immediately knelt before Tang Xuanzang and said:

"Elder, quickly change your disciple back! He's transformed into my son's likeness, it's practically shortening his lifespan! Let's both reveal our true forms!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong quickly touched his face, revealing his true form. Seeing this, the old man immediately knelt down and said:

"I never knew you had such abilities! I'm truly astonished!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Old man, do I look just like your son? And how is my speech and mannerisms any different from your son's?"

Upon hearing this, the old man quickly said, "The face is exactly the same, the voice is exactly the same, and they're even wearing the same clothes. I wonder what the difference is between their weight and my son's."

After speaking, Sun Wukong laughed and said:

"Since that's the case, why don't you get a scale and weigh us together to see who's heavier?"

After a short while, the old man looked at Sun Wukong in surprise and said to Sun Wukong, "You two are exactly the same weight!"

"This is truly amazing! But what is your purpose in transforming into my son's appearance, Elder?"