Huaqing Village

"In the end, the imperial advisor couldn't bear to see me like this anymore and told me that I needed to use a child's heart to make soup so that I could recover."

"I didn't want to blindly follow orders, so I selected some children from the community, intending to have their hearts removed at noon today."

"Unexpectedly, you came, but the cage disappeared again. So the Imperial Preceptor said that Tang Xuanzang's heart was more powerful than that of a child. I was confused for a moment, which is why I wanted your master's heart."

Sun Wukong laughed upon hearing this, and said with a smile, "To tell you the truth, it was actually my master who, out of compassion, asked me to hide the child in the cage."

"Don't mention it yet. We'll see how you thank me later. Once I catch the monster, it'll all be my credit."

After saying this, he said to Zhu Bajie, "Bajie, hurry up and come with me to capture that monster."

However, Zhu Bajie said, "Although I will listen to you, I am extremely hungry and have no strength at all. What should I do?"

Then, Zhu Bajie's gaze slowly drifted to the king, but the king immediately issued a decree saying, "Quickly bring out all the finest wines and dishes from our kingdom."

Soon the food arrived, Zhu Bajie, full of energy, followed Sun Wukong as they soared through the clouds. The king, queen, and all the court officials were so frightened that they repeatedly bowed to the sky and said:

"This is truly a living deity descended to earth!"

Meanwhile, Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie had arrived at a mountain in the south. As soon as they came down from the clouds, they began to search for the location of the monster.

What came into view was a clear stream, with countless ocean currents flowing along both banks, and the exact location of Huaqing Village remained a mystery.

Sun Wukong felt a chill run down his spine, so he summoned the local Land God. Upon seeing this, the Land God knelt down tremblingly and said, "Great Sage, I am the earth god of Willow Grove Slope."

After speaking, the Land God knelt on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably. Seeing this, Sun Wukong laughed and said:

"Don't be afraid now, I won't hit you at all. I'm asking you, where exactly is Huaqing Village in Willow Grove Slope?"

The Land God pondered for a long time after hearing this, then said to Sun Wukong, "There is only one place here called Huaqing Cave, not Huaqing Village. I understand now; you must be from the Bhikkhu Kingdom."

Then, Sun Wukong said with a smile, "That's right, that's right. Bhikkhu Kingdom was harmed by a demon. When I arrived, I recognized it as a demon and fought with it for a long time. The demon couldn't beat me, so it ran away."

"However, I had no idea where the monster had gone. When I asked King Bhikkhu, he said there was a Huaqing Village here three years ago, so I came here."

After speaking, Sun Wukong looked around and then continued speaking to the Land God:

"But I searched for ages and couldn't find Huaqing Village, so I called you out to ask you."

Upon hearing this, the Land God immediately kowtowed and said, "Please forgive me Great Sage. King Bhikkhu is also the master of this place. When I was patrolling here, I discovered that the demon Divine Ability extremely powerful. If I reveal his secrets, he will beat me."

"That's why I didn't tell anyone. Now that you're here, go to that poplar tree, turn left three times, turn right three times, put your hands on the tree and call out three times. That's Huaqing Cave."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately followed the Land God's instructions and, along with Zhu Bajie, went to the stream and found a poplar tree. The poplar had nine branches, but they were all connected to a single root. Sun Wukong said to Zhu Bajie:

"Bajie, you stay far away from me and wait there while I open the door and drive that monster out. You wait for me outside."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie nodded and then sat down a few hundred meters away from the tree. Following the instructions of the Land God, Sun Wukong tried to open the gate.

Suddenly, the door opened with a loud bang, but there was no sign of the tree. Only a faint light emanated from inside, but it seemed no one lived there. Sun Wukong braved the light and rushed in, finding it to be a truly wonderful place.

Sun Wukong hurriedly stepped forward to examine it closely, and saw four large characters written on a stone: Huaqing Immortal Abode. Unable to resist, Sun Wukong jumped behind the stone.

Upon closer inspection, they found an old monster with a beautiful woman in his arms, recounting the events that had transpired in the Bhikkhu Kingdom. The old monster said:

"We had a perfect opportunity; three years of preparation could have been completed today, but that monkey saw through our plan."

After speaking, Sun Wukong rushed over, brandishing his Ruyi Jingu Bang), and shouted, "I'm going to kill all of you monsters! If you've got the guts, don't run away, take this!"

The old demon hurriedly abandoned the beautiful woman, picked up his cane, and rushed to meet her. The two then started fighting again in front of the cave entrance.

After a short while, Zhu Bajie got really bored outside, and then he heard Sun Wukong and the monster fighting inside the cave.

So Zhu Bajie, itching to try it, raised his Nine-Toothed Rake and struck the poplar tree. Blood gushed out immediately, and there seemed to be a sound. Seeing this, Zhu Bajie was very puzzled and thought:

"Wow, so this tree has become a spirit too."

Just as they were about to continue fighting, Sun Wukong brought out the monster. Without saying a word, Zhu Bajie immediately logged on, raised his Nine-Toothed Rake, and charged forward.

The old monster was already finding it very difficult to defeat Sun Wukong, and when he saw Zhu Bajie coming, he panicked and was defeated. He turned into a flash of cold light and tried to escape eastward.

However, Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie were not about to let this opportunity slip by, so they chased after the old demon.

Just as they were fighting, they suddenly heard the cry of a crane, and then a faint, auspicious light appeared. Sun Wukong looked up and saw that it was the Immortal Elder of the South Pole. The Immortal Elder of the South Pole covered the cold light and said:

"Great Sage, slow down! Marshal Tianpeng, stop chasing us. Now that I'm here, leave this matter to me."

Upon seeing this, Sun Wukong immediately bowed and asked, "Immortal Elder of the South Pole, what brings you here?"

Upon seeing this, Zhu Bajie laughed and said, "What are you doing here? You must have captured that monster."

The Immortal Elder of the South Pole smiled and said to Zhu Bajie and Sun Wukong:

"I've caught him, and he's right here. I hope you two will spare his life."

"This monster has nothing to do with you, so why have you come here and are asking me to spare its life?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong asked the Immortal Elder of the South Pole with a hint of doubt.

After speaking, the Immortal Elder of the South Pole said helplessly, "Actually, this monster was my mount. It had gotten lost at the time, and unexpectedly ended up here and turned into a monster."