The Dharma-Exterminating Kingdom

"Zhu Bajie, don't be afraid. We've encountered countless Yaomo before without suffering any harm. He's just a mortal king. What do we have to be afraid of? Let's find a place to stay."

"It's already late. When the people in the city return and see the four of us monks, they'll probably go and tell their king."

After saying this, Sun Wukong looked around and saw that people were gradually approaching them.

Sha Wujing nodded upon hearing this, and then added, "Eldest brother is right. Let's have Master find a place to stay first, and then we can discuss it in detail."

After speaking, Sun Wukong looked around and then pulled Tang Xuanzang and the others to a corner. Sun Wukong said, "You all sit here and wait for me to come back. I'll go into the city and gather some information for you."

At this moment, Tang Xuanzang was very worried about Sun Wukong and said to Sun Wukong, "Wukong, you must be very careful here. The law cannot be broken; you must be very careful."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong smiled and said to Tang Xuanzang, "Master, don't worry about this matter. I have my reasons."

After speaking, Sun Wukong leaped into the air and looked down. He saw a joyous atmosphere and auspicious light surrounding the place. Upon seeing this, Sun Wukong couldn't help but exclaim, "This place is so beautiful, why is it named the Dharma-Exterminating Kingdom?"

Then, Sun Wukong changed his appearance and arrived at a restaurant. Suddenly, he saw that the people there had taken off their clothes and headscarves and were all sleeping in beds. Sun Wukong saw this and was very happy, thinking to himself:

"This is wonderful, so easy! Master can go now."

Then Sun Wukong hatched a wicked plan. After those people fell asleep, he took all their clothes. Then Sun Wukong continued to think:

"If I do that, I'm afraid my master will definitely be unhappy. Forget it, I'll think of another way."

Just then, the waiter walked up to Sun Wukong and loudly addressed the people around him. "Everyone, please be careful here. Take good care of your clothes and luggage. This place is completely different from other places."

After speaking, the man stood up and said, "What the master said is right. We've been traveling for so long, and I'm afraid I'll fall asleep tonight and all my clothes and everything else will disappear. What should we do then?"

Upon hearing this, the waiter moved all their clothes into the house. Sun Wukong became very anxious upon seeing this, and quickly transformed into an insect, flying into the house with the waiter.

As soon as Sun Wukong entered, he heard the sound of a child crying inside. Sun Wukong thought to himself:

"If I wait for this woman to put the child to sleep, the master will definitely get impatient. I'd better think of another way."

She tried to transform Sun Wukong into a squeaking mouse on the floor, then jumped on it, grabbed his clothes and headscarf, and rushed out. The woman said in a panic:

"Oh no! The rats have become sentient beings!"

After saying this, Sun Wukong loudly proclaimed, "Waiter, don't listen to his nonsense! I am not Rat Spirit. I am the Sun Wukong, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, protecting Tang Monk!"

"Your king here is a tyrannical and incompetent ruler. I specially took your clothes to dress up my master. We will return them to you after we have passed through this city."

Then, Sun Wukong used a Law Technique to ride the clouds and arrive at the roadside. Tang Xuanzang saw a figure suddenly appear on the moon, and upon closer inspection, realized it was Sun Wukong. He ran to Sun Wukong's side and said:

"Wukong, do you think we can even get through this country?"

Sun Wukong put the clothes aside and said to Tang Xuanzang, "We can get through, but we won't be able to become monks."

Upon hearing that he didn't have to become a monk, Zhu Bajie immediately became interested and said to Sun Wukong:

"Brother Monkey, if we don't want to be monks, that's not impossible. We just need to not shave our heads for six months and hair will grow back."

"Your timing is too slow. If you have to wait six months, you might as well come now."

After speaking, Sun Wukong threw the clothes to Zhu Bajie immediately panicked and said:

"Why are you giving this to me? We're monks now, and we should be living like ordinary people, so how can we wear these clothes?"

Just then, Tang Xuanzang suddenly interrupted Zhu Bajie scolded him, "Don't interrupt me now. Let your senior brother finish speaking."

"Master, I've finished looking at this city. Although the king is none other than Friar Sha a character from Journey to the West who became king out of nowhere), he is a true Son of Heaven, and there's auspicious energy surrounding the city walls."

"I just borrowed some clothes from this restaurant. Let's dress up as ordinary people and go into town for the night. The next day, after we get up and have breakfast, we'll head west on the main road. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately began to explain to Tang Xuanzang.

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang nodded, then put on the clothes Sun Wukong had brought back. Just as he was about to leave, Sun Wukong suddenly stopped Tang Xuanzang and said to him:

"Master, once we enter the city, we can no longer address each other as master and disciple; we'll have to change our form of address."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie asked Sun Wukong with a puzzled look, "Then tell us, what exactly should we call him?"

After speaking, Sun Wukong pondered for a long time, then said to Zhu Bajie:

"How about we call each other brothers? Master will be called Tang Yi, Zhu Bajie will be called Zhu Er, Sha Wujing will be called Sha San, and I'll be called Sun Si. What do you guys think?"

Upon hearing this, Sha Wujing was immediately filled with admiration for Sun Wukong's cultural knowledge.

Then Sun Wukong continued:

"When we enter the city, you must not say a word. I will speak first. If he asks what kind of business we are doing, we will bring out the White Dragon Horse so he can see it and know that we are horse traders."

"If we had to give an explanation, we'd say we still have several plots of land that haven't been acquired yet, so they instructed us to come and reserve the houses first."

Tang Xuanzang asked Sun Wukong with a puzzled look, "Wukong, is this method you mentioned actually useful?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong nodded to Tang Xuanzang, who then continued speaking to Sun Wukong:

"But where will we find the money to pay?"

After speaking, Sun Wukong waved his hand dismissively and said to Tang Xuanzang:

"Master, even at a time like this, you're still worrying about money? You don't need to worry about that at all. I'll just find a few small stones and turn them into silver for him."