Kingdom of Zhuzi

Just then, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing stepped forward and said, "Master, please don't listen to Brother Monkey's tricks. It's so far from here to the city gate; we can't even see the city walls clearly, let alone the words written on them."

Upon hearing this Sun Wukong immediately spoke, instantly slapping Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing in the face. Sun Wukong said:

"Those three large characters written in front of you read 'Kingdom of Zhuzi.' If you don't believe me, you can come closer and see for yourselves whether it's true or not."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang pondered for a long time before saying to Sun Wukong, "I've seen this country in books before. It's a country in the west, and we still need to obtain the travel permit."

Sun Wukong ignored Tang Xuanzang's words and continued walking forward.

A short while later, the group arrived inside the city. As the four of them walked down the street, they saw that the people there were all well-dressed and spoke politely, no less than those in the Great Tang.

The surrounding vendors were very enthusiastic, but passersby noticed that Zhu Bajie was ugly.

Sha Wujing had a very dark face and a very burly body, while Sun Wukong had a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks. As a result, the surrounding merchants immediately lost their business and rushed over to look at the three of them as if they were animals.

Seeing this, Tang Xuanzang did not want to cause too much trouble, so he said to them, "Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, the three of you should lower your heads and just keep walking forward."

Upon hearing what Tang Xuanzang said, the three immediately lowered their heads and followed closely behind Tang Xuanzang.

However, after a short while, Sun Wukong finally couldn't resist and started looking around.

Some people still had jobs, so they watched for a short while and then went back. But some people were idle, like those naughty kids who went up and threw bricks at Zhu Bajie while laughing and joking.

After a short while, they arrived at a guild hall. Upon seeing the guild hall, Tang Xuanzang said to Zhu Bajie Sun Wukong Sha Wujing:

"Disciple, let's stay inside for a while until everyone has dispersed, otherwise it will cause a huge commotion."

Everyone nodded upon hearing this, and then went inside together.

However, there were two people in that guild hall, one in charge and one in charge, who were outside counting heads. Upon suddenly seeing Tang Xuanzang, they were greatly surprised and immediately stepped forward to stop Tang Xuanzang, saying:

Who are you? Why are you here? And where are you going?

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang used the same words he had spoken to others, which Tang Xuanzang could only say:

"This humble monk comes from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands, on his way to the Western Heaven Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures. Now, I am passing through here and cannot sneak in, so I wish to find your king to exchange for a travel permit before continuing my journey."

"Now that it's getting late, I'd like to rest here for the night."

Upon hearing what Tang Xuanzang said, the two ambassadors immediately withdrew and then treated Tang Xuanzang as a distinguished guest, cleaning rooms for him and his Tang Xuanzang and letting them rest. Tang Xuanzang was extremely grateful for this.

After a short while, the room was cleaned, and the two ambassadors invited Tang Xuanzang inside.

Seeing this, Sun Wukong thought with resentment:

"These two people are heartless. Why didn't they let us sleep in the more luxurious rooms? Instead, they gave us such a shabby place. Who are they trying to disrespect?"

Tang Xuanzang was very kind-hearted and didn't think too Sun Wukong about it. So he patted Sun Wukong Tang Xuanzang the shoulder and said:

"Wukong, you're lucky to have a place to stay. Why are you so concerned about everything else? Monks don't care how simple the surroundings are."

"This place is not under the jurisdiction of our Great Tang, nor is it connected to our country. Moreover, they may not even know what our country is, so it's not appropriate for us to stay here."

Sun Wukong was furious upon hearing this, and said defiantly to Tang Xuanzang, "Master, just you wait and see. Since they are unwilling to receive us with the highest honors, I will make them do so."

Just after Sun Wukong finished speaking, the two ambassadors had their servants bring in some food.

After Tang Xuanzang received the food, the servant said to Tang Xuanzang, "There is a clean kitchen over there; you can go there to cook."

After hearing what that person said, Tang Xuanzang earnestly asked him:

Where is your emperor now?

Upon hearing this, the servant pondered for a long time before slowly saying to Tang Xuanzang:

"Let me put it this way, Your Majesty. Our Emperor has not held court for a long time. Today is an auspicious day, and he is currently discussing with his officials what kind of imperial edict to issue."

"If you need to exchange your travel permit now, you'd better hurry, or you might not be able to see the Emperor tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang nodded to the servant, and after a short while, he arrived in front of the Five-Phoenix Tower.

Upon seeing Tang Xuanzang, the ministers immediately returned to report to the emperor, "Your Majesty, there is a monk from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands in the East who wishes to travel to Thunderclap Monastery in the Western Heaven Paradise to worship Buddha and seek scriptures. He has now arrived here and wishes to exchange some travel documents."

Upon hearing the ministers' words, the emperor was immediately pleased. At that moment, he muttered softly:

"Excellent, this is wonderful! I haven't been here at all because I've been sick. We were just about to discuss finding a doctor, and now a highly virtuous monk has come to our country."

After the king finished speaking, he immediately summoned Tang Xuanzang to his side. After Tang Xuanzang bowed three times and kowtowed nine times, the Tang Xuanzang invited him to have a meal. A little while later, Tang Xuanzang handed the travel documents to the king.

Upon seeing the travel permit, the king was overjoyed and said to Tang Xuanzang:

"I have some questions for you now, and you must answer them carefully. What dynasty is your Great Tang now? How many virtuous ministers does it have?"

After thinking carefully for a long time, Tang Xuanzang answered the king's questions one by one.

After hearing Tang Xuanzang's words, the king fell into deep thought. After a short while, his body finally gave way, and he let out a painful groan. He then asked Tang Xuanzang:

"You've come this far in so long, shouldn't you have died along the way?"

After hearing what the king said, Tang Xuanzang smiled and said to the king:

"Your Majesty, you must have misunderstood. Our Emperor has a prime minister named Wei Zheng. He is knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, and can distinguish between yin and yang. He is an excellent minister."