A Strange Encounter

The four travelers embarked on their journey to the Western Heaven once more. After some time, they arrived near a city. Tang Xuanzang reined in his White Dragon Horse and said to Sun Wukong, "Wukong, look ahead at that imposing building. It seems there are many people there."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong looked intently toward the place that Tang Xuanzang had mentioned.

After a short while, Sun Wukong said to Zhu Bajie:

"Hey idiot, look ahead! There seems to be a beautiful woman up there!"

Upon hearing the word "woman," Zhu Bajie's eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately said to Sun Wukong, "Where is Brother Monkey? Quickly point him out to me!"

Upon hearing what Zhu Bajie said, Tang Xuanzang and Sha Wujing felt utterly helpless. Sha Wujing shook his head helplessly and said to Zhu Bajie:

"Second Brother, is that all you've got? Didn't you realize that Brother Monkey was lying to you the whole time?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie suddenly realized what was going on and glared angrily at Sun Wukong, but Sun Wukong simply shrugged indifferently.

A little while later, Sun Wukong said to Tang Xuanzang, "Master, that city ahead looks like the residence of an emperor."

Upon hearing this Tang Xuanzang nodded, and then Zhu Bajie, looking completely bewildered, said to Sun Wukong:

"Brother Monkey, isn't this just a small county town? Why do you insist that it's the residence of emperors? Have your eyesight deteriorated to that extent?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong explained to Zhu Bajie:

"You may not know that the residence of an emperor is naturally different from that of a county town. Look at the city in front of you now; it has more than a dozen city gates and a circumference of several hundred li."

"Those towering pavilions, soaring into the clouds and adorned with vibrant colors, must possess the magnificent grandeur of a great nation."

After Sun Wukong Sha Wujing finished speaking, Sha Wujing immediately began to flatter Sun Wukong, saying:

"Senior Brother has a sharper eye; he could tell at a glance that this is the residence of an emperor. But what is the name of this city?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong smiled and said to Sha Wujing, "There's no mention of the city's name here; we'll have to ask once we get there."

After Sun Wukong finished speaking, he took Tang Xuanzang with him. When they arrived at the city gate, they looked around and saw that the main street was very wide and the alleys in the middle were interconnected. They also saw that the people were wearing luxurious clothes.

A little while later, I suddenly saw more than a dozen monks wearing shackles begging for food at the door, their clothes in tatters.

Upon seeing this, Tang Xuanzang felt deeply saddened and couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow for the monks.

After a short while, Tang Xuanzang finally lost his patience and said to Sun Wukong, "Sun Wukong, go and ask them why they are suffering here."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong walked towards the group of monks and said to them:

Why are you monks all here? What happened that led to you being put in shackles?

Upon hearing this, the group of monks immediately knelt down and said to Sun Wukong, "We are monks from Golden Light Temple."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong looked at the group of monks with a puzzled expression and asked, "Where is Golden Light Temple now?"

After Sun Wukong finished speaking, he brought the group of monks to Tang Xuanzang. Tang Xuanzang asked, "What exactly happened to you? Why did you become like this? Tell me slowly, I'm listening quietly."

After listening to this, the monks pondered for a long time before speaking to Tang Xuanzang:

"We didn't know you came from afar. You look somewhat familiar, and you all seem to be very kind people."

"The reason I can't tell you this in front of you is because there are too many people here. Please come with me to our four temples, and I will explain it to you in detail."

After listening to what the monks said, Tang Xuanzang pondered for a long time before slowly nodding and saying:

"That's not entirely impossible. Otherwise, we can go to your temple first."

Finally, the group followed the monks to Golden Light Temple.

Upon entering, Tang Xuanzang was greeted by a series of dilapidated Buddha statues and altars.

However, those candles had long since turned to ash because they hadn't been lit for a long time.

Seeing this, Tang Xuanzang's eyes welled up with tears. The monks, noticing his expression, quickly said to Tang Xuanzang:

"Sir, you don't need to do this for us at all."

"You all look different. Are you from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands?"

After one of the monks finished speaking, the other immediately spoke up.

After hearing what the monk said, Sun Wukong sneered and said to him:

How did you know? Do you perhaps possess some kind of precognitive ability?

Upon hearing this, the monk smiled wryly and said to Sun Wukong:

"How could I possibly have the ability to foresee the future? I just had a dream last night. They said a holy monk from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands would save our lives and redress our grievances."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang was overjoyed and quickly said:

"So what exactly is your grievance? And what is this place called?"

Upon hearing Tang Xuanzang's words, the monks immediately knelt down and said to Tang Xuanzang, "This city is called Horse-Racing Kingdom. It is a necessary stop on the way to the Western Heaven Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures. In the past, several places would send grain to this place every year."

"Even if we, the Horse-Racing Kingdom, don't invade them, they will automatically hand over the spoils."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang immediately sensed something was amiss and quickly said, "Since your place is so powerful, your king must be a good king."

Upon hearing this, the monks immediately explained to Zang Xuanzang, "Elder, what you said is actually quite the opposite. Our king here is not a good king at all."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang looked puzzled, and the monks continued to explain to Tang Xuanzang:

"Our Golden Light Temple was originally shrouded in auspicious clouds, and at night it would emit light that could be seen from thousands of miles away."

"However, after some time, a sudden rain of blood fell from the sky. At daybreak, everyone was terrified. The ministers reported this to the king, wondering if the Jade Emperor would punish them."

After the monks finished speaking, one of them paused and then continued:

"Then our king found some Daoist priests to perform rituals here."