The Fire Was Lit

If that old woman has any complaints, she should be beheaded immediately.

After a short while, Sun Wukong said to the king:

"Your Majesty, the name 'Golden Light' is inherently inauspicious. It cannot be retained; gold is a fluid substance, and light is merely a flickering quality. I am willing to go to great lengths for you and rename this temple 'Coiled Dragon Monastery.' What do you say?"

Upon hearing Sun Wukong's words, the king was overjoyed and immediately changed the name of the temple. He then arranged a banquet, and after the four of them had eaten and drunk their fill, they continued their journey.

However, the monks of Coiled Dragon Monastery saw Tang Xuanzang off and refused to return for a long time afterward. Some wanted to go to the Western Heaven with Tang Xuanzang, while others wanted to cultivate themselves.

When Sun Wukong saw that none of them wanted to go back, he used a trick: he plucked out all his hairs, blew a breath of magic on them, and they all turned into striped tigers that blocked their way. The group of monks were terrified and dared not move forward.

Sun Wukong then led his master away, whipping his horse. A short while later, all the monks burst into tears, crying out, "Kind and righteous elders, we have no destiny to be saved, yet you refuse to guide us!"

After hearing the monks' weeping, Sun Wukong put away his hairs and continued westward.

After a long time, I suddenly saw a long mountain path. However, the path was covered with thorns. Although there were obvious traces of the path, there were thorns on both sides.

Upon seeing the situation before him, Tang Xuanzang looked at Sun Wukong with a puzzled expression and said, "Wukong, how are we supposed to proceed on this road ahead? We must be exhausted."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong smiled and said to Tang Xuanzang, "Master, why do you say that? Why can't we walk this road?"

After hearing what Sun Wukong said, Tang Xuanzang explained it to Sun Wukong.

Tang Xuanzang said to Sun Wukong:

"Wukong, the path lies beneath these thorns, but now the thorns are overgrown; only snakes and insects crawling on the ground can get through."

"If we were to walk, we'd barely be able to straighten our backs, let alone with me on horseback. We'd definitely end up covered in bruises."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie smiled and said to Tang Xuanzang:

"Master, don't worry about that anymore. I'll go get something and use a rake to clear all these thorns. You can get through even if you have to be carried in a sedan chair, let alone on horseback."

After hearing what Zhu Bajie said, Tang Xuanzang looked at Zhu Bajie with some worry and said to Zhu Bajie:

"You're making it sound so simple, but the mountains are high and the road is long. We don't know how long it will take to get there. How can you waste this effort?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately said impatiently, "You don't need to worry about this. Let me go and take a look, okay?"

After saying this, Sun Wukong leaped into the air and looked around. Sure enough, there was no end in sight; it was truly a place with no village in sight and no shop in sight, just thickets of thorns.

After observing for a while, Sun Wukong jumped down and said to Tang Xuanzang, "Master, our destination is still far away."

Upon hearing Sun Wukong's words, Tang Xuanzang was immediately alarmed and Sun Wukong, "What should we do now?"

Sha Wujing smiled and said to Tang Xuanzang, "Master, don't panic. Let's do what they did and light a torch to burn all the thorns away. Then we can get through."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie immediately interrupted Sha Wujing and said sternly to Sha Wujing:

"How can that be? You have to think about it. If we set it on fire, this bramble thicket is currently experiencing a drought, and we could burn down the entire forest."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang hesitated for a long time before slowly saying to Zhu Bajie, "So what should we do now? How do we get through here?"

After hearing what Tang Xuanzang said, Zhu Bajie sighed and said seriously, "It seems you guys are still not up to par. You'll have to rely on me in crucial moments."

After saying this, Zhu Bajie used a trick, making his body extremely large and transforming his Nine-Toothed Rake into a sickle. He took a step forward and used the Nine-Toothed Rake to sever the entire economic structure, saying to Tang Xuanzang:

"Master, I've cleared away all the thorns now, so you can rest assured and get through this."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang was overjoyed and rode his horse across the road.

After a short while, Tang Xuanzang happily said to Zhu Bajie, "Bajie, we owe you a lot this time! If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have made it through that thorny thicket yet!"

Tang Xuanzang said to Zhu Bajie with some concern:

"Bajie, you've already worked hard, and we can't continue now, otherwise your body won't be able to handle it. Why don't we stay here for a while and rest before continuing?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie immediately said to Tang Xuanzang, "Master, please don't rush to rest. While it's still light, let's quickly find a place to stay."

No sooner had Zhu Bajie finished speaking than the four of them continued on their journey. After another day and night, they finally arrived at a quiet place.

The four travelers came to a tree on a downhill slope and suddenly discovered a dilapidated temple at the bottom of the slope.

Upon seeing the temple, Sun Wukong felt extremely uneasy. After a short while, Sun Wukong spoke up, warning everyone, "Everyone, please be very careful here. I have a feeling that this place is fraught with danger; we cannot stay here for long."

Sha Wujing then said seriously:

"Senior brother, you're really being too suspicious. There's not a single human being here, not even birds or beasts. How could there be any Demon Beast?"

Just as Sha Wujing finished speaking, a gust of cold wind blew by, and suddenly an old man appeared behind the temple. Upon seeing Sun Wukong, the old man immediately knelt down and said:

"Great Sage Sun, I am the local Land God. When I learned that you had come here, I had nothing to offer you, so I brought you some food."

After a short while, Sun Wukong suddenly noticed something was wrong with the old man, so he raised his Ruyi Jingu Bang and roared loudly:

"Master, please don't eat the food he gives you! This old man is very strange."

As soon as Sun Wukong finished speaking, his Ruyi Jingu Bang struck the old man, but Sun Wukong missed. The old man then vanished in a gust of yin wind.

When the old man was halfway there, he suddenly realized that Tang Xuanzang was still there, so he immediately came back and kidnapped Tang Xuanzang as well.