Telling the Truth
Upon hearing this, the monster trembled with fear and quickly said, "Spare me! Actually, the Dragon King sent us here to find the tower. My name is Wang Laowu, and that one's name Li Lao'er."
"The Dragon King had a daughter named Princess Wansheng. She was beautiful and talented, and she married a man who was vicious by nature, had nine heads, and possessed great Divine Ability."
"When she came here two years ago, she displayed great Law Power, causing a rain of blood that stained the pagoda and stole the relics from it. The princess also stole the Queen Mother Niangniang's Nine-Leaf Lingzhi Herb from Hall of Numinous Mist in the Daluo Heaven and kept it at the bottom of the pool."
Sun Wukong sneered upon hearing this, and slowly said, "No wonder this beast is so unreasonable. No wonder he invited the Bull Devil King to dinner there a few days ago. It turns out he specializes in teaching monsters who don't do anything productive."
Before Sun Wukong could finish speaking, Zhu Bajie and two or three monks carrying lanterns walked up and slowly said, "Master, you've finished sweeping the pagoda, why aren't you going to sleep? What are you doing here gossiping?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately said to Zhu Bajie, "Zhu Bajie, you've come at the perfect time! The treasure at the top of that tower was stolen by that Dragon King, who then sent these two little demons here specifically to search for the tower. I've managed to catch them."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie raised his Nine-Toothed Rake and struck at the two demons, saying as he struck, "Since they are demonic Zhu Bajie, what are they going to do with us? We might as well get rid of them now."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately stopped Zhu Bajie and said, "Zhu Bajie, you're really too hasty! Keep those two alive and take them before the emperor; that way, the monks' innocence will be proven."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie nodded. Then, the two little monks happily carried lanterns and ran to the bottom of the pagoda, where they addressed the other monks:
"This is wonderful! We've finally seen it! Hopefully, the monster who stole the treasure has been captured by these holy monks."
The monks were all very surprised and deeply moved by what the two young monks said. After a short while, Sun Wukong said:
"Quickly bring the iron chain, hook it around his spine, and lock him here. You all stay here and keep watch. We're going to sleep now, and we'll make plans for tomorrow."
After hearing what Sun Wukong said, the monks stared intently at the two demons.
Before they knew it, dawn had broken. Tang Xuanzang then said to Sun Wukong, "Sun Wukong and I will go into the imperial court now to exchange our travel documents."
Afterwards, Tang Xuanzang dressed and, together with Sun Wukong, arrived at the imperial city. Seeing this, Zhu Bajie asked Sun Wukong in confusion:
"Brother Monkey, why didn't you take those two monsters with you when you went?"
After hearing Zhu Bajie's words, Sun Wukong Zhu Bajie smiled and said to him, "You don't understand. We should see the Emperor first, and then we'll slowly explain the reason for this matter to him."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie nodded. Then, Tang Xuanzang and Sun Wukong arrived at the imperial court. Tang Xuanzang said:
"Please convey my message, sir: I am traveling from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands to the Western Heaven Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures. I wish to meet our king here to exchange my travel documents."
Upon hearing Tang Xuanzang's words, the ambassador immediately went before the emperor and reported:
"Your Majesty, there are two strangely dressed men outside who claim to have come from the Tang Dynasty on their way to the Western Heaven to worship Buddha and seek Buddhist scriptures. They want to see you to exchange their travel documents."
The king nodded upon hearing this, and then let Tang Xuanzang and Sun Wukong meet the court officials in the palace. When they saw Pilgrim Sun, they were very surprised, because Sun Wukong's appearance was truly frightening to them.
After a short while, Tang Xuanzang slowly said to the king:
"I come from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands. I am passing through here on my way to the Great Thunderclap Monastery in the Western Heaven to worship Buddha and seek scriptures. I dare not pass through here again without permission, and I would like to exchange my travel permit for this."
The king was overjoyed upon hearing this and slowly said, "Your emperor was able to select a high-ranking monk who traveled thousands of miles to worship Buddha and seek scriptures, while the monks here only know how to be thieves."
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang clasped his hands together and said, "Why would you say that? Have the monks here done something wrong?"
Upon hearing this, the king slowly said to Tang Xuanzang:
"There used to be a temple here, and on top of it was a golden pagoda that shone brightly. But a few days ago, a thief stole the treasure inside, and it hasn't emitted any light for a long time. I'm heartbroken."
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang smiled and said:
"Your Majesty, what you just said is quite unusual. When I arrived here last night, I found a group of monks being questioned about their crimes while in shackles."
"They accused us of some wrongful crimes, and when we returned to the temple to investigate, we discovered that the monster that stole the treasure was inside."
The king was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately said to Tang Xuanzang:
"Where are those demon thieves now? Why didn't you bring them with you?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang immediately said to the king:
"Those wicked thieves have now been imprisoned in the Golden Light Temple."
Upon hearing this, the king became extremely anxious and hurriedly said, "Immediately send my men to that temple and bring the thieves here. I want to personally interrogate them about why they stole my things!"
After hearing what the king said, Tang Xuanzang smiled and said to the king:
"Actually, you don't need to do anything about this; we can help you."
The king looked at Tang Xuanzang with a puzzled expression upon hearing this, and then Tang Xuanzang continued slowly:
"How do you plan to help? You didn't bring those demon thieves with you when you came here, so you might as well let my men interrogate them themselves."
After pondering this for a long time, Tang Xuanzang slowly looked at Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong immediately understood what was going on and was about to leave when the king continued:
"What's wrong with your apprentice? Why did he leave? Did he find it unbearable?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang smiled and said:
"Actually, that's not how it is. Now, I can have my apprentice bring those two monsters over. In fact, it was my apprentice who captured them."
The king was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly said:
"I will reward you handsomely if you can catch those thieves."
No sooner had the king finished speaking than he ordered some imperial guards to accompany Tang Xuanzang to the Golden Light Temple to capture the monster.