Rescue

As soon as Sun Wukong finished speaking, the three of them soared into the air on a cloud. The women of the Women's Kingdom were astonished at the sight and immediately knelt down in worship.

"Those strange-looking people are not to be feared, Your Majesty. Tang Xuanzang was also an enlightened immortal. We were blind and mistook him for someone else, thus wasting this divine favor. Your Majesty, please return to the court."

The king felt extremely ashamed upon hearing this, and returned to the palace with his officials.

It is said that Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie rode the clouds together, following the whirlwind until they arrived at a high mountain. The wind had long since died down, and they had no idea where the monster was.

After observing the area for a while, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie Sha Wujing suddenly found a cave. Upon seeing this, Zhu Bajie immediately raised his Nine-Toothed Rake, intending to smash it against the stone door.

Seeing this, Sun Wukong quickly stopped him:

"Bajie, don't panic. We got here by following the whirlwind, and now we've come across this door. We don't know what's underneath."

"If we open this door, it will surely disturb the monster inside. Let me observe from here first."

After speaking, Sun Wukong used his Transformation Technique to transform himself into a bee. When he arrived at the door, he saw a monster there, gloating and saying something.

A little while later, two monsters came out carrying a bowl of noodles.

"Your Majesty, this is a plate of buns made with human flesh, and the other is a plate of buns made with red bean paste."

Upon hearing this, the female demon laughed and said, "Quickly bring out that Tang Xuanzang."

After speaking, the demons went to the back and slowly brought Tang Xuanzang out. Tang Xuanzang's face was pale, and there were traces of tears in his eyes. Seeing this, Sun Wukong sighed inwardly:

"Oh no, Master has been poisoned! What should we do now?"

The female demon slowly descended and pulled Tang Xuanzang along, saying:

"Tang Xuanzang, don't worry. Although my place is not as luxurious and prosperous as the palace in the Women's Kingdom, it is peaceful and comfortable. You can read Buddhist scriptures and keep me company."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang remained silent for a long time. Seeing this, the demon, without showing any anger, slowly said:

"You don't need to worry here. I know you didn't eat anything in the Women's Kingdom, so here are two dishes of rice, one with meat and one with vegetables. Eat these to calm your nerves."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang thought to himself, "I've been here for half a day without saying a word or eating anything. That demon is quite different from the Queen. At least the Queen treated me with human dignity and courtesy, but this demon is extremely ruthless."

"What if they make things difficult for me? Besides, none of my three apprentices are here. I reckon they don't know I'm trapped here."

Upon thinking of this, Tang Xuanzang felt extremely dejected. After a short while, the demon spoke:

"Tang Xuanzang, are you going to eat or not?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang slowly asked, "What kind of filling is the meat-filled one, and what kind of filling is the vegetarian one?"

The demon covered his mouth and chuckled upon hearing this, then slowly said to Tang Xuanzang:

"The meat-filled ones are made with human flesh, while the vegetarian ones are made with red bean paste."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang slowly replied, "I only eat vegetarian food."

After speaking, a demon handed Tang Xuanzang a plate. Tang Xuanzang didn't even look at it, but instead handed the meat bun to the demon. Upon seeing this, the demon smiled and said to Tang Xuanzang:

Why don't you break this bun open and see what kind of filling is inside?

After pondering this for a long time, Tang Xuanzang said to the demon, "A monk dares not break his vow of vegetarianism."

Upon hearing this, the demon looked at Tang Xuanzang intently for a short while before continuing:

"You monk, you had other food but didn't eat it, so why did you drink the water from the Mother-Child River?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang slowly replied, "I was forced to drink that water back then, but I'm fully recovered now. Why are you bringing this up again?"

Tang Xuanzang utterly devastated. He thought to himself:

"You really know how to rub salt in the wound. If I weren't already poisoned, I wouldn't be expecting my disciples to save me. I would have subdued you directly with my Buddhist teachings."

Watching the two men's conversation from the other side, and fearing his master might say something else, Sun Wukong immediately revealed his true form, took out his Ruyi Jingu Bang), and said:

"You monster are utterly rude."

Upon hearing this and seeing Sun Wukong, the demon panicked, spewing thick smoke that immediately enveloped the pavilion, and slowly said, "Children, quickly take Tang Xuanzang away."

After saying this, the monster jumped out of the door with a steel fork in his hand and cursed at Sun Wukong:

"You monkey, you're being incredibly unreasonable! How dare you barge in and spy on my appearance! Don't go! I'll kill you today!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately used his Ruyi Jingu Bang to block the attack, and the two fought their way to the door. Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing were waiting at the door. After a short while, they saw the two of them rush out. Zhu Bajie quickly led the White Dragon Horse and said to Sha Wujing:

"Wujing, you stay here and watch the horses and luggage. I'm going to fight that monster. I'm afraid my senior brother won't be able to defeat him."

After Zhu Bajie charged at the monster with his Nine-Toothed Rake in hand. Upon seeing this, the monster quickly used a trick, breathing fire from his nose.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Bajie hurriedly tried to escape, but it was too late; the fire had already scorched a patch of Zhu Bajie's fur.

Zhu Bajie quickly covered his fur and said to the monster, "You monster are so ungrateful! You even dared to burn my skin!"

A short while later, the monster charged at Zhu Bajie, wielding a steel fork. As it fought, the monster said to Sun Wukong:

"You ungrateful monkey! I know you, but you don't know me. Even the Buddha Tathagata is still afraid of me. Do you think I'd be afraid of either of you? Get up here now, I'm going to beat you both into submission today."

As soon as the demon finished speaking, she raised her weapon and charged forward again. The three fought for a while without a clear winner. The female demon stepped back and stung Sun Wukong on the scalp with her tail.

Sun Wukong was immediately overcome with pain and quickly fled with Zhu Bajie, while the demon returned in triumph.

Zhu Bajie was a little confused, so he looked at Sun Wukong and said:

"Brother Monkey, what happened to you? You've been yelling about being in pain, but I don't see any injury on your part."