A Comeback

Seeing this, Tang Xuanzang quickly grabbed the old man and whispered:

"Old benefactor, you are so kind and generous, please allow us to stay here for the night."

The old man trembled, unable to speak, and after a short while, shook his head and waved his hand, saying:

"No... no... they don't look like humans, they're monsters."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang immediately smiled and said, "They just look like that, please don't worry, they are not monsters at all."

Upon hearing this, the old man's legs trembled as he slowly said, "A Yaksha, a Horse-Face, and a Duke of Thunder."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately became furious and roared, "Is the Duke of Thunder my grandson, and the Yaksha my great-grandson, or is Horse-Face my great-great-grandson? What on earth are you talking about?"

Upon hearing this, the old man was terrified, his face turning pale. He tried to rush inside, but Tang Xuanzang quickly led him to the thatched hut and awkwardly said to the old man:

"Old benefactor, please don't be afraid of him. That's just how he speaks, and he's quite rude."

While they were trying to mediate, an old woman suddenly came out with a five or six-year-old child and said:

"Grandpa, why are you so scared?"

Upon hearing this, the old man finally spoke, saying, "Old woman, hurry up and bring out the tea."

The old woman indeed put the child on the ground, and then brought out several cups of tea.

Seeing this, Tang Xuanzang drank the tea, bowed to the old woman, and said:

"This humble monk has traveled from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands to the Western Heaven Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures. Now that we have arrived here, we would like you to stay with us for the night. However, my three disciples are rather ugly, and your husband was quite startled when he saw them."

Upon hearing this, the old woman said to Tang Xuanzang, "Just seeing how ugly they are frightened you like this. What will you do if you encounter tigers, leopards, and wolves in the future?"

Upon hearing this, the old man quickly replied, "You make it sound so simple. It's one thing if those people are ugly, but if they're all monsters, then it's hard to say."

"I said they looked like Yaksha, Horse-Face, and Duke of Thunder, and that person said Duke of Thunder was his grandson, Yaksha was his great-grandson, and Horse-Face was his great-great-grandson."

"When I heard that person say those words, I immediately felt very scared."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang quickly replied:

"No, no, it's just that the one who looks like the Duke of Thunder Sun Wukong is my eldest disciple, Sun Wukong; the one who looks like the Horse-Face is my second disciple, Zhu Wuneng; and the one who looks like a Yaksha is my third disciple Sha Wujing. Although they are ugly..."

"But since they all belong to the Buddhist Order and haven't committed any heinous crimes, and aren't Yaomo, why should we be afraid of them?"

Upon hearing this, the old woman was overjoyed and quickly said to Tang Xuanzang, "Since that's the case, then bring them up quickly. We can't leave them outside alone."

A little while later, they arrived at the thatched cottage and sat there for a short while.

The old woman was kind-hearted and immediately arranged some food for the four of them.

After a short while, as it grew darker, the lights were gradually turned on.

Meanwhile, Tang Xuanzang there chatting with the people, and after a short while, he said to the old man:

I wonder how many people still live here?

After pondering this for a long time, the old man said to Tang Xuanzang, "Actually, I'm all alone here now. My wife is taking care of my little grandson."

After hearing what the old man said, Tang Xuanzang smiled and said to him:

"Then please have your son come and see me."

Upon hearing this, the old man sighed and slowly said to Tang Xuanzang, "I wish I could, but now my son is no longer here."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang looked at the old man with a puzzled expression, while the old man continued slowly:

"My son harbored evil intentions, neglected his duties, and started robbing people on the street, committing murder and arson. He associates with scoundrels, and he hasn't returned since he went out a few days ago."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang pondered for a long time, and then thought to himself, "Presumably, Sun Wukong killed his son."

Tang Xuanzang, feeling uneasy and restless, sat there and said, "But nowadays parents are so kind, yet their children are so fierce and vicious. How did the world become so chaotic?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong jumped over and said:

"What use is an unfilial son like this, who only brings trouble to his parents? I'll find him for you and kill him."

After thinking carefully for a while, the old man said to Sun Wukong:

"Then I still have to send him away. Besides, he has no family now. Even if he's not good enough, I still have to use him to cover the grave for me and my wife."

Upon hearing this, Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie laughed and said to Sun Wukong:

"Senior brother, please don't meddle anymore. We're not government officials, what do their affairs have to do with us? Besides, why don't you tell him that he could give us a blade of grass so we can sleep here for the night and continue our journey tomorrow?"

Upon hearing this, the old man slowly stood up, went to the backyard, and took out a bundle of straw for them to rest in.

That said, the old man's son was indeed among that group of thieves. Two of their leaders had been killed by Sun Wukong the day before yesterday, and the rest of them had scattered and fled. Around four in the morning, they regrouped and arrived at the old man's door.

Upon hearing the knocking, the old man panicked and hurriedly said, "Quickly, open the door and let them all in."

Upon hearing this, the old woman hurried to the door, opened it, and a group of people rushed in, shouting, "We're hungry! We're all hungry! Is there any food left? Quickly, get us something to eat!"

The old man's son left and came in. Suddenly, he saw a white horse in the backyard and asked the old man in confusion, "Whose white horse is that in the back of the house?"

The old man slowly said:

"It's that monk from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands who went on his journey to the Western Heaven to obtain Buddhist scriptures. He stayed here last night and they're still sleeping. He just came to our house for a meal."

The old man's son was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly said, "That's wonderful! It was so effortless!"

The group of people the old man's son brought back were all bewildered upon hearing this. After a short while, they asked in confusion, "What exactly happened to make you say that?"

The old man's son smiled and continued to speak to the group, "The monks who killed the leader are now living in my house."