At a Loss

After speaking, Sun Wukong swung on the swing inside the Azure Lion's belly again.

The Azure Lion fell to the ground again, silent and still, not uttering a word. It seemed to want to die, yet it placed its hand on its stomach. The Azure Lion came to its senses and uttered a sound.

"Oh, the infinitely kind Great Sage Equal to Heaven, please spare me!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong thought to himself, "What's his purpose in suddenly saying this to me? Never mind, I'll just ignore him."

"Don't bother anymore. Just save your words and call me Grandpa."

But Sun Wukong was still unwilling to give up, so he said to the Azure Lion.

The Azure Lion valued its own life and kept roaring:

"Grandpa, Grandpa, please spare my life! I'm willing to send your master across the mountain."

Sun Wukong was eager for Tang Xuanzang to go and seek Buddhist scriptures, so after hearing what the Azure Lion said, a trace of kindness arose in his heart, and he slowly said:

"Since you've already said that, I'll let you off the hook. But how do you plan to send my master to the Western Heaven Paradise to retrieve the scriptures?"

"That's easy to say. Although I don't have any gold, silver, jewels, or rare treasures like glass here, the three of us brothers can carry your master in a sedan chair across this mountain. How does that sound?"

Now that he had heard Sun Wukong say he would spare his life, the Azure Lion was naturally unwilling to miss this opportunity, so he fawned over Sun Wukong.

"Since you're offering to escort me in a sedan chair, that's much better than some treasures. Open your mouth now and I'll come out."

Sun Wukong's eyes darted around, and after thinking seriously for a long time, he said to the Azure Lion.

Just then, Kunpeng quietly approached the Azure Lion and slowly said:

"Brother, let him out now. When he comes out, bite him hard, tear Sun Wukong to shreds, and swallow him. Then he won't harm you anymore."

It turned out that Sun Wukong could hear everything clearly from inside the belly. So, Sun Wukong's eyes lit up and he came up with a plan. He didn't go out, but instead lengthened his Jingu Bang and made a sound to test the waters.

Sure enough, when the monster took a bite, there was a "crack" sound, and all of its front teeth broke off.

Seeing this, Sun Wukong pulled back his staff and shouted, "You monster, I spared your life, yet you try to bite me and harm me. Since that's the case, I won't come out; I'll just kill you inside my belly!"

Upon hearing this, the Azure Lion panicked instantly and hurriedly complained to Kunpeng:

"Brother, you're harming your own people! If I had gotten him out, that would have been fine, but you told me to bite him. I didn't manage to bite him, but it hurt my teeth a lot. What should I do now?"

When Kunpeng saw the Azure Lion complaining to him, he used a provocation tactic and loudly proclaimed:

"Sun Wukong, I've long known of your great Divine Ability. I heard you were swaggering around at the Southern Heavenly Gate, and all the gods in the Hall of Numinous Mist were afraid of you. But now, on the journey to the Western Heaven to retrieve the scriptures, you've turned out to be a coward."

"Why would I be a coward? Can you explain that to me in detail?"

Hearing what Kunpeng said, Sun Wukong scratched his monkey fur and said angrily.

Upon hearing this Kunpeng was overjoyed, knowing that Sun Wukong had taken the bait, and then continued:

"Our intention is that since you're the one who Heavenly Palace, then come out now and I want to have a match with you. That's what makes a true hero. Why are you hiding in my elder brother's belly? What kind of behavior is this? You're just a nameless coward and a shrinking turtle."

"Yes, if I stay inside this guy's stomach, even if I smash his intestines and liver, killing this monster wouldn't be difficult. But it would ruin my reputation, so forget it."

After thinking it over, Sun Wukong sighed and said...

"Then open your mouth now, I want to have a contest with you. But this hole is too small to hold weapons properly, so let's go to a more spacious place."

Upon hearing this, all the demons, large and small, followed Kunpeng and waited outside the cave for Sun Wukong to emerge. The elephant demon, accompanied by the Azure Lion, came to the entrance and shouted loudly:

"Sun Wukong, come out now! I've cleared a battlefield for you; it'll be much easier to fight here."

After speaking, Sun Wukong, inside his stomach, heard a vast crowd outside. Listening more closely, he also heard the sound of wind, and realized that the outside was indeed that open space. He thought to himself:

"If I don't go out now, it means I've lost their trust. If I go out now, that monster, who's all bark and no bite, tricked me out by saying he'd send my master out, and then he'll bite me."

"Now I've left a whole bunch of little demons waiting for me here. Or should I think of a way to have the best of both worlds? I can leave, but I need to leave something inside his stomach."

After thinking it over, it plucked a hair from its tail, blew a breath of magic on it, and it turned into a rope, but the rope was only as thick as a hair and several hundred meters long.

Then, Sun Wukong tied the rope to the heart of the Azure Lion, making a slipknot. He didn't feel anything when he first tied it on.

But when Sun Wukong pulled the string Azure Lion cried out in pain. Sun Wukong, holding the other end, smiled and thought:

"Once I get out, I'll definitely ask him to escort my master. If he agrees, things will be much easier. Otherwise, hehe!"

"But if I don't deliver it, I won't have time to fight him. I'll just tug on the rope, and it'll feel like I'm inside his stomach."

After thinking for a while, he transformed into a small monkey and crawled out until he reached the monster's throat. The monster opened its mouth wide, its upper and lower teeth like sharp blades. After pondering for a long time, Sun Wukong shouted:

"No, this might not work. If I crawl out of his mouth and then pull on the rope, he'll be afraid of the pain and bite down, breaking the rope. I'll definitely have to find a place where he has no teeth to get out."

Then Sun Wukong climbed up the rope to the lion's teeth and kept climbing until he reached the Azure Lion's nostrils. The Azure Lion's nostrils instantly felt itchy, and a sneeze sent Sun Wukong flying.

Sun Wukong faced the wind and instantly transformed, returning with one hand secretly pulling the rope and the other holding an iron rod. The Azure Lion, unaware of the danger, saw Sun Wukong come out and immediately raised his weapon to strike him.

However, Sun Wukong, wielding his Ruyi Jingu Bang, saw the elephant demon wielding a spear and the Kunpeng wielding a sword, and together they swarmed forward.