Journey to the West: Starting from Changing Sun Wukong’s fate
Chapter 254 - 255: Aren’t You Afraid That Master Will Be Eaten by Demons?

Chapter 254: Chapter 255: Aren’t You Afraid That Master Will Be Eaten by Demons?

"Little demon, where are you running off to?"

Sun Wukong’s voice rang in Red Child’s ear, followed by Red Child suddenly falling from the Ninth Heaven.

A mountain had appeared on his back out of nowhere.

However, far away, the back of Sun Wukong was now free from any burden.

It seemed as if nothing had changed, just a swapping of places between the two.

"This monkey!"

Red Child’s face was flushed with anger, whether from the pressure of the stone or from Sun Wukong’s trick.

Watching Sun Wukong walk further away, Red Child felt utterly powerless.

...

Meanwhile, inside the Western Great Thunderclap Monastery.

Sakyamuni Tathagata remained seated on the Lotus Platform.

His expression was somewhat grim; he was of course aware of the events taking place at Withered Pine Stream.

Red Child was initially a strategic pawn planned by Western Heaven.

According to their original plan, this pawn should’ve been able to kidnap Xuanzang, at which point Sun Wukong would inevitably have to request reinforcements, and Buddhism could then offer some benefits to make peace with Sun Wukong.

This would be greatly beneficial to Buddhism.

But now, not only had Red Child failed to kidnap Xuanzang, he had also been trapped by his own Dharma body.

Being the promoter of the Journey to the West within Buddhism, he naturally couldn’t allow this situation to continue.

With a wave of his hand, he then said to the Vajra Arhat beside him, "Go quickly to Mount Putuo Luojia, in the Purple Bamboo Forest, and invite Guanshiyin Bodhisattva to come here!"

"Amitabha Buddha, I will faithfully execute the will of the Buddha!"

Upon hearing these words, the Vajra Arhat immediately left to carry out the command.

Before long,

Guanyin Bodhisattva stood upon the Lotus Platform, riding on Auspicious Clouds.

At that moment, Guanshiyin Bodhisattva was holding the Jade Pure Bottle in one hand, with a green and dripping willow branch sticking out of it.

Her other hand was formed into a palm standing upright, thumb tucked in.

Upon arriving, she chanted a Buddhist invocation.

"Amitabha Buddha!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva, majestic and dignified, now stood before Sakyamuni Tathagata, who was seated on the Lotus Platform, and he too responded with a chant of Amitabha Buddha.

He then spoke, "Bodhisattva, there has been an unexpected development in the Journey to the West. Go to the Withered Pine Stream Fiery Cloud Cave and proceed with the Journey to the West!"

Red Child had already been designated as an attendant for Guanyin Bodhisattva, and with his exceptional talents, it was deemed suitable for him to become her disciple, which would not be a loss for Guanyin.

Guanyin nodded and said, "I will faithfully execute the will of the Buddha!"

She then turned, standing on the Lotus Platform, and shot towards the distant horizon.

...

The Celestial Court was naturally observing this scene unfold. If there was a need for their intervention, they would step in, though at this moment it was clear they did not need to. After all, they had their own affairs to attend to.

Moreover, Western Heaven was the beneficiary of the Calamity of Measurement, so the Celestial Court would mostly refrain from interference, unless something necessitated their involvement.

Now, although the situation at Withered Pine Stream Fiery Cloud Cave had taken an unexpected turn, the Celestial Court was content to watch the excitement unfold.

At this time, Sun Wukong was chasing after Xuanzang and the others.

Meanwhile, watching Sun Wukong move away, Red Child’s face was marked with anger.

Struggling under the weight of the massive stone on his back, at that moment, a figure appeared in the void behind him—Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Upon seeing this scene, Guanyin Bodhisattva couldn’t help showing a surprised expression; no wonder Sakyamuni Tathagata had urgently instructed her to come.

How could they allow Xuanzang to pass through this trial so easily?

Moreover, this trial was not just about creating difficulties for Xuanzang, but also about making him appreciate the true value of the Scriptures and to treasure them more.

She raised her hand, and a divine wind swept forth, and in an instant, the mountain that had been suppressing Red Child vanished without a trace.

Red Child looked around in surprise, puzzled as to who might have helped him.

But no matter where he looked, he saw no one.

Then, remembering Sun Wukong, anger surged within him, and he exclaimed, "That despicable monkey, he’s truly infuriating! Even though I’m a demon, I hadn’t even struck at your master yet, and you already suppressed me!"

"Luckily, I was prepared. Watch as I kidnap your master directly; let’s see what you’ll do then!"

With these thoughts, Red Child sneered and summoned a fierce wind, and with a whoosh, a thunderous roar reverberated, sending rocks flying and sand swirling ferociously!

Suddenly, a windstorm arose, the black tempest rising high into the sky, darkening the sun, even uprooting trees from the mountainside.

The raging sand and the howling of the demon beasts filled the wilderness.

The wind was so strong that the three disciples could hardly maintain their footing, and even Zhu Bajie and Sand Monk could scarcely see into the distance. They were struggling to protect themselves, let alone safeguard Xuanzang.

Sun Wukong naturally knew that the demon must be at work.

But he was not in a hurry. Even if the demon really did take his master away, was he afraid the demon wouldn’t return him?

By the time Sun Wukong saw his two junior disciples, Xuanzang had already disappeared.

Clearly, he had been taken away by the monsters, vanishing in an instant, leaving no trace nor direction to search for.

At that moment, the wind was calm and the daylight was peaceful.

Sun Wukong walked over and could only hear the White Dragon Horse making some noise.

The luggage was left on the road, Zhu Bajie was blown off a cliff, and Sand Monk was shouting from the side.

"How are you guys?"

Sun Wukong asked with a frown.

Sand Monk stepped forward and said, "Elder brother, the wind came so suddenly, we didn’t have time to guard against it!"

By this time, Zhu Bajie had also flown up from the bottom of the cliff.

Although the fierce wind had blown him down the cliff, for Zhu Bajie, this was not much of an issue.

After arriving at the top, Zhu Bajie couldn’t help but look around in surprise and said, "Where has Master gone?"

Sand Monk frowned and said, "The wind came so quickly, we only had time to dodge it, Master was hiding on the side, now we do not know where the wind has blown him!"

Zhu Bajie also spoke helplessly, "I feel like Master was made of lamp wick, just blown away by the wind in an instant!"

"No need to talk anymore, he must have been captured by a demon!"

Sun Wukong said directly.

"Brothers, It seems we should have disbanded already!"

Upon hearing Sun Wukong’s words, Zhu Bajie nodded in agreement and said, "Right, the earlier we break up, the better. Each finding a mountain to become a great king isn’t too bad!"

"That road to the Western Heaven is so long, seemingly endless, we don’t know when we’ll ever arrive. Now that Master is gone, there’s no point in continuing. We might as well disband sooner rather than later!"

Upon hearing this, Sand Monk was momentarily stunned, then hurriedly spoke up, "Elder brother, what are you talking about? All of us committed sins in our past lives and were converted by the persuasion of Guanyin Bodhisattva, who had us repent, change our Dharma names, and take refuge in Buddhism, to protect Xuanzang as he seeks scriptures in the Western Direction to atone for our sins."

"Now, if we just give up here, speaking of finding our own paths, wouldn’t that contradict the goodwill of Bodhisattva and ruin our own virtues? If others come to know about this, wouldn’t they laugh at us, saying we start things but never see them through?"

Sand Monk was persuading earnestly from the side, as being assigned by the Jade Emperor as an insider, he naturally could not allow the Journey to the West to end here.

Furthermore, if they stopped here, he feared he would never be able to return to the celestial Court in the future.

"Brother, you are right, but you were easily deceived by the demons. Old Sun has fiery golden eyes and can naturally distinguish right from wrong. That wind just now was caused by that boy tied to the tree!"

"I didn’t want to save him at first, but since you insisted on saving him and had me carry him, he directly transformed into a huge mountain trying to crush me!"

"Although I managed to shift the demon’s mountain peak and hoped to catch up with you, I didn’t expect that he had already stirred up the strong wind and abducted Master!"

"I am somewhat disheartened, but now that Junior Brother Sand has spoken so, there’s some sense to it. We can’t just let this go. What do you think we should do?"

Sun Wukong looked towards Sand Monk.

Zhu Bajie also sighed and continued, "Junior brother is right, we shouldn’t disband like this, but what should we do, Junior Brother Sand? Where should we search for our master?"

Seeing that both his older disciples were looking at him, Sand Monk couldn’t help feeling at a loss; he had no idea what to do.

He simply didn’t want his two elder brothers to leave because of this.

"Elder brother, Second Senior Brother, we should thoroughly search for a while. United, we will surely find Master!"

Sand Monk hurriedly spoke.

Though he didn’t know where Master was, that was all he could say.

"Then let’s split up and search!"

Sun Wukong nodded and, after discussing with Zhu Bajie and Sand Monk, decided to search in three different directions to find their master.

The three of them parted ways.

After walking some distance, Zhu Bajie found Sun Wukong.

"Elder brother, are you planning to lay a scheme for Junior Brother Sand?"

Zhu Bajie said somewhat mischievously.

"Isn’t it normal for us to search separately?"

Sun Wukong spoke indifferently, "Besides, since Sand Monk wants to play the mediator, he must provide some clues; otherwise, it won’t make sense, right?"

"You want the celestial Court to actively rescue Master?"

Zhu Bajie slapped his forehead as he spoke.

They had long known about Sand Monk’s identity.

But in such a situation, it was time for them to exert their influence.

After all, the celestial Court didn’t want the Journey to the West to fail either!

"Whether or not Master can be saved, is secondary, you fool. Haven’t you realized yet? The Calamity of Measurement in the Journey to the West is a play set by the celestial Court and Buddhism. Even if we don’t save him, Master won’t have any trouble!"

"You mean you don’t want to save Master? Aren’t you afraid that Master will be eaten by that demon?"

Zhu Bajie was shocked to hear this, even though he knew the Calamity of Measurement in the Journey to the West was a joint venture between the celestial Court and Western Buddhism.

But if he were to do nothing, Zhu Bajie dared not take that risk.

After all, Xuanzang was innocent.

"This time we can try and see if Buddhism and the celestial Court will really ignore this!"