Showing Off

"To be honest, I have three more apprentices waiting at the door, but they're so ugly I don't want to frighten you."

"So what? I'm still going to see them no matter what."

The prince spoke to Tang Xuanzang, seemingly not taking his words to heart. Tang Xuanzang, however, had no choice but to say to the servants around him, "Since you've said that, I have no choice but to call them in."

After he finished speaking, the servants went out. A little while later, one of them said, "We've never seen those monks before, how could we recognize them? Tell us a good way to tell them apart!"

Just then, the person following them said to the servants, "I heard them say there are three ugly monks sitting in the guesthouse now; these must be them."

Then, the servants, looking puzzled, asked Sun Wukong and his companions, "Excuse me, which one of you is a disciple of the Great Tang Dynasty monk who went on his pilgrimage to the West? Our prince has ordered that he invite you to dinner."

Zhu Bajie was sleeping when he suddenly heard a vendor and couldn't help but jump up and shout, "We are who we are! We are who we are!"

When the servants saw Zhu Bajie's appearance, they were terrified and said tremblingly, "Oh no! This might be a pig demon! What should we do?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately grabbed Zhu Bajie's ear and said, "Bajie, be more civilized and don't act wildly."

After speaking, Zhu Bajie regained his composure, and then Sun Wukong had Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, carrying the load, back to the palace together.

The prince was terrified when he saw that Tang Xuanzang's disciple was very ugly. Tang Xuanzang clasped his hands together and said, "Prince, you can rest assured. Although my disciple is ugly, he has a very kind heart."

Upon hearing what Tang Xuanzang said, Zhu Bajie immediately stepped forward, bowed, and said to the prince, "Your Highness, I greet you."

The prince was quite surprised to see this, but then Tang Xuanzang, "Prince, all my disciples were taken in from the mountains and don't know how to bow. Please don't blame us."

After speaking, the prince could only shake his head. Suppressing his inner fear, he invited Tang Xuanzang to dinner. Tang Xuanzang followed the prince into the hall, still reluctantly scolding Zhu Bajie:

"You fool, you have no manners at all. You might as well not speak at all. Why are you so rude? Look, you've even frightened the prince."

Then Sun Wukong chimed in to Tang Xuanzang Sun Wukong, saying, "Look how good I am! I don't even say a word, which saves me some energy."

Sha Wujing joined the battle. He remarked, "He's better off not speaking; once he does, he startles everyone."

Just then, Zhu Bajie finally couldn't bear it any longer and spoke up:

"How could you say that to me? My master taught me just a few days ago that I should greet people when I meet them, but you say this to me today, which makes me feel very helpless."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang explained it to Zhu Bajie. Tang Xuanzang said:

"I told you to greet people and that was it, not to start making a scene after meeting the prince. How can you not distinguish between high and low status?"

Just as Tang Xuanzang speaking, the prince led him to the fourth courtyard. After a while, the food was served, and the four of them stopped talking and ate.

The prince returned to his palace, where three younger princes were present. Seeing his haggard appearance, they asked, "Father, what's wrong with you today? Why are you so frightened? Can you tell us what happened?"

After hearing what his son said, the prince explained it to him. The prince said:

"Actually, a monk from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands came here before to summon the Password. I saw that he was a handsome man, so I let him stay here for a meal."

"But he said he had apprentices at the gate. When I saw his apprentices, they all looked like Yaomo, which terrified me, and that's why I looked like this."

It turned out that the three little princes were different from others; each of them was competitive and ambitious. After hearing their father say those words, they rolled up their sleeves and said to their father:

"They must be demons from the mountains, disguised as humans. Let's take out our weapons and take a closer look."

After speaking, the eldest prince took out his staff, the second prince took out a nine-toothed rake, and the third prince took out a black stick. They strode out of the palace with great pride and shouted loudly:

"Who are the monks on their pilgrimage to the West? And where are they?"

Upon hearing the eldest prince's words, his subordinates were immediately astonished and knelt down, saying to him:

"The eldest prince and the others are eating there now."

Without a word, the eldest prince barged in, shouting, "Are you human or monster? Tell me now, and I'll spare your lives!"

These words startled Tang Xuanzang so much that he immediately dropped his rice bowl, stood up, bowed, and said:

"This humble monk traveled from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands to the Western Heaven Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures. Of course, I am a human; we are not monsters."

However, the eldest prince pointed at Tang Xuanzang and said to him, "You're the only one who looks human, but your disciples are all so ugly; they must all be monsters."

At this moment, Zhu Bajie was only concerned with eating and completely ignored the eldest prince. However, Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing stood up and explained:

"We are all human beings. Although we may be ugly, we are kind at heart. Where did you three come from? Why are you saying such things?"

The servants nearby quickly explained, "Actually, the person standing in front of you is our prince's son, His Highness."

Just then, Zhu Bajie, having finished eating and drinking, put down his bowl and said, "Your Highness, what's with all of you carrying weapons? Do you want to fight us?"

The second prince strode forward, brandishing his nine-toothed rake, and swung it at Zhu Bajie. Zhu Bajie, seeing this, grinned and said:

"The weapon in your hand is only fit to be given to me as a subordinate; it's nothing more than a tool to be subservient to me."

After speaking, Zhu Bajie lifted his clothes, took out the nine-foot-tall pagoda, and shook it. Instantly, it shone with golden light and exuded a fierce aura, frightening the second prince so much that he dared not show off his skills in front of an expert.

Sun Wukong saw the eldest prince jumping around with a stick in his hand, so he took out his Ruyi Jingu Bang), stood it upright, and said to the eldest prince with a smile.