Caught in a Trap

"I noticed it was hot outside this morning, but now it's gotten so cold. I was worried you'd get cold, so I brought these clothes for you to wear first."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang quickly waved his hand and said to Zhu Bajie:

"You absolutely mustn't do that. Even though we are monks, we can't live like this."

Hearing this, Zhu Bajie was very puzzled. After a short while, he said to Tang Xuanzang:

"Since Master doesn't want to wear it, then I'll wear it myself, because I'm really freezing right now."

After Zhu Bajie finished speaking, just as he was about to put on Tang Xuanzang, Zhu Bajie came up and quickly stopped him.

"Bajie, you must never do such a thing. Although he's no longer here, he's still watching from heaven. If he finds out you're wearing his clothes, what will he think?"

Zhu Bajie wouldn't listen to any of that; he just smiled at Tang Xuanzang and said:

"Master, I'm human too. I've worn several vests, but I've never seen clothes like this before. If you're not going to wear it, let me put it on for a bit. I'll take it off when Brother Monkey arrives, and then we can continue on our way."

After saying this, Zhu Bajie put on his clothes. A little while later, the clothes suddenly tightened on their own, and Zhu Bajie lost his balance and fell.

Upon seeing this, Tang Xuanzang panicked and rushed to untie the knot, but he was no match for it. The three of them kept shouting, which had already alerted the monsters there.

It turned out that the house was a transformation by the demon, used to lure passersby. The demon was sitting inside the cave when he suddenly heard several wailing sounds. He quickly came out to check and found that several people had indeed been tied up.

The Yaomo quickly ordered his minions to take away the house and bring Tang Xuanzang, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, along with their luggage, into the cave. The old Yaomo sat on a high chair, and the lesser demons pushed Tang Xuanzang inside.

The Yaomo asked Tang Xuanzang:

"Where did you come from, monk? Why are you here? How dare you steal my clothes?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang felt extremely wronged and slowly said:

"This humble monk came from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands to the Western Heaven Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures. Because of hunger and the scorching heat outside, I came here to avoid the wind and sand."

"But my two apprentices saw your clothes and put them on. However, please rest assured, they have no ulterior motives and will return your clothes to you in a moment."

But to everyone's surprise, the Yaomo wasn't angry when it heard this; instead, it laughed and said:

"I've heard them say that eating Tang Monk will grant Changsheng. I've been looking forward to your arrival every day, and now that you've finally come, how can I let you go? What's your eldest disciple's name? Where is he now?"

After Tang Xuanzang pondered this for a long time, before he could even speak, Tang Xuanzang Zhu Bajie couldn't help but boast:

"I, Brother Monkey, am none other than Sun Wukong in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago."

Upon hearing this, the Yaomo was immediately filled with panic, thinking to itself:

"Oh no, we're in deep trouble now. I've heard for a long time that Sun Wukong is Divine Ability powerful and can wipe out all the Yaomo he encounters. But today we've run into him."

The Yaomo's expression changed immediately after he thought of this, and he said to his subordinates:

"Tie up Tang Xuanzang now, and take all the weapons from that pig and that man. After I capture his eldest disciple, Sun Wukong, I'll steam them all together and eat them."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding subordinates were overjoyed and quickly carried the three of them into the backyard, where they quietly awaited Sun Wukong's arrival.

At the same time, Sun Wukong arrived at the place where Tang Xuanzang had been sitting. Suddenly, he saw that the circle was empty. When he looked at the building again, he found that the building had disappeared and was replaced by some stones.

Sun Wukong was suddenly filled with panic, thinking, "What should I do now? My master must have met with a terrible fate."

After thinking it over, Sun Wukong immediately summoned his Somersault Cloud and was heading in the direction Tang Xuanzang had gone when he suddenly saw an old man.

Sun Wukong quickly asked the old man, "Old man, did you just see three people walking this way?"

The old man nodded upon hearing this, then sighed, patted Sun Wukong on the shoulder, and said to Sun Wukong:

"Those three have already been captured by that monster. Don't bother trying to save them; just worry about your own lives."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong felt a slight anger, but seeing how kind the old man had been in speaking to Sun Wukong suppressed it and continued speaking to the old man:

"Old man, you don't know this, but the pale-faced man who just walked by was my master, and the monster-like figure was my junior brother, but I don't know where he went."

After thinking seriously for a long time, the old man shook his head helplessly and said:

"If that's the case, then you'd better not go to save them. There's a monster in that mountain ahead, and it's highly skilled in martial arts."

"Your three companions will definitely lose their lives if they go there. If you go to look for him, you'll probably lose your life too. You'd be better off not going."

"But I can't stop you, nor would I dare to keep you here. You'll naturally know what's what."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong quickly thanked the person.

"Thank you for the reminder, senior. I'll go find them now."

Just after Sun Wukong finished speaking, the man suddenly revealed his true form; he was actually the mountain god of this mountain.

The mountain god suddenly summoned the earth god, and together they spoke to Sun Wukong:

"Great Sage, now that we've come this far, we dare not deceive you. We will accept this bowl of rice you've offered, so that you may use your Law Power to rescue Tang Xuanzang. Once Tang Xuanzang is returned to Tang Xuanzang, it will be a token of your gratitude."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong, his anger barely contained, finally snapped and rebuked:

"Since you knew I was already here, why didn't you come out to greet me? Why are you hiding here? What's the reason behind that?"

Seeing that Sun Wukong was already angry, the local deity quickly said to Sun Wukong:

"Great Sage, please don't be angry. I was afraid you would be impatient, so I didn't dare tell you what happened. I could only tell you in a roundabout way."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong suppressed his anger and said to the local earth god and mountain god:

"You two keep my things safe. I'm going to catch that demon in a bit."

After saying this, Sun Wukong took his Jingu Bang and headed straight for the mountain in front of him, searching for the demon's cave. After a short while, he finally saw it.

A group of lesser demons stood at the entrance of the demon cave. Sun Wukong looked for a long time but couldn't see any of them, so he randomly grabbed one of the lesser demons and asked it a question.