Journey to the West: Starting from Changing Sun Wukong’s fate
Chapter 287 - 288: Let This Old Pig Give it a Try

Chapter 287: Chapter 288: Let This Old Pig Give it a Try

"Boom!"

Sun Wukong’s golden hoop staff smashed down, and in an instant, the ground shook and mountains trembled.

"Eat my staff!"

Zhu Bajie, standing nearby, also revealed his true form, pulled out his nine-toothed rake, and chuckled, "You think you can eat Grandpa Pig, eat my rake!"

As he spoke, he swung his rake down fiercely.

Seeing Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie attacking together, the King of Inspiration was so frightened that his face turned pale.

He quickly dodged one after another.

The King of Inspiration was quick to dodge, and Sun Wukong’s staff only struck the demon’s arm, sending him flying.

The King of Inspiration, in pain, soared into the air, attempting to escape.

"Not good, the demon is getting away!"

Seeing this, Zhu Bajie couldn’t help but shout loudly.

"Amitabha, my Buddha is merciful, evil spirits turn back to the shore!"

Just then, a compassionate Buddhist chant was heard, and in a moment, it seemed to inspire a heart of conversion in the King of Inspiration!

"Die!"

Zhu Bajie, seeing the King of Inspiration restrained by their master’s chanting, leapt up violently and then crashed down violently, smashing his rake directly onto the King of Inspiration.

The King of Inspiration screamed pitifully, transforming directly into a goldfish, lifeless.

"What King of Inspiration? Just a mere goldfish spirit!"

Seeing this scene, Zhu Bajie shook his head and chuckled disdainfully.

"Wuneng, didn’t you see I was almost able to convert him?"

Seeing that he was close to converting the King of Inspiration, only for Zhu Bajie to slay him with a rake.

"Master, this demon committed grave sins, devouring many boys and girls, and deserved death. How would you explain to the people of Chen Family Village if you had converted him?"

Zhu Bajie, rolling his eyes and chuckling, said.

"This fool does make some sense this time!"

Sun Wukong nodded and then said with a smile, "We should also go back and tell the Chen Family Village the good news."

Xuanzang didn’t mind, and this time he was worried that his two disciples wouldn’t be able to handle the King of Inspiration, which is why he came to help.

With things now settled,

they decided to visit the abode of the two old masters together.

As the group left,

Two demon energies suddenly rose from the Tongtian River, and in a moment, they landed outside the temple of the King of Inspiration.

The two demon energies instantaneously transformed into the King of Inspiration and the Clam Spirit.

"Great King, that was really dangerous!"

The Clam Spirit couldn’t help but remark, though the King of Inspiration seemed ignorant of everything that transpired, it was all just a ruse to deceive the Western Travelers.

The King of Inspiration also couldn’t help but feel a tremor of fear, grateful for Garan’s warning; otherwise, he might have been in danger.

However, seeing the pitiful death of the goldfish spirit earlier, he was still incredibly angry and sympathetic; if he hadn’t had his subordinate take his place, he might have been the one who died.

"Great King, don’t be angry. After all, Sun Wukong is the same who caused Havoc in Heaven 500 years ago. He’s extremely skillful and difficult to deal with. And that fat Zhu Bajie, he’s Marshal Tianpeng, not easy to battle against!"

"But now that the Great King is ’dead’, they surely won’t be on guard. In this situation, we just need a small setup, and we might capture Tang Monk, and then we can certainly savor Tang Monk!"

The Clam Spirit then advised wisely.

Hearing this, the King of Inspiration nodded, quite pleased with the Clam Spirit’s words.

Though they couldn’t kill Xuanzang, tasting a bit of his flesh could certainly boost his Cultivation Level.

"Do you have any clever plans that can help me capture that Xuanzang?"

The King of Inspiration glanced at the Clam Spirit.

The Clam Spirit’s eyes flickered as if struck by an idea, then he leaned in and whispered his plan to the King of Inspiration.

Upon hearing this, the King of Inspiration’s eyes sparkled, and he laughed, "Indeed a brilliant plan, the future River God of Tongtian River is none other than you!"

"Thank you, Great King, thank you!"

Hearing the King of Inspiration’s words, the Clam Spirit was overwhelmed with excitement.

...

Meanwhile, within the Chen family estate,

The family had been anxiously waiting for Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie to return.

After all, Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie had transformed into the youngest of the Chen family, and if the demon discovered them, it could spell serious trouble.

Sand Monk was also quite worried, fearing that his master might encounter some issues.

However, given their master’s current strength, even if they encountered a demon, it might not necessarily be their master who would suffer, perhaps the demon might instead be converted.

After a short while, the trio returned to the Chen family.

"How did it go, Elder?"

Seeing the three return, the eagerly waiting Chen family and Sand Monk immediately greeted them.

Thud!

Zhu Bajie threw the goldfish in his hand and said, "This is your King of Inspiration here!"

"Ah? A goldfish?"

Seeing such a strange-looking goldfish, the Chen family members couldn’t help but be shocked.

Zhu Bajie then vividly described what had just happened.

In his words, he displayed his many acts of bravery and fearlessness.

"I didn’t expect it was a goldfish that became a spirit. I really didn’t see that coming!"

Upon hearing this, the young and old of the Chen family couldn’t help but feel emotional.

However, when they heard that Elder Zhu had killed the King of Inspiration with a single rake, they were even more excited. Wouldn’t they be free from the threat of the King of Inspiration from now on?

"Quick, quick, clean the guest rooms for the elders and let them rest!"

The Chen brothers immediately treated them to good food and drinks and arranged guest rooms for them!

Just before dawn, the master and disciples all started feeling cold.

Zhu Bajie, shivering, couldn’t sleep and called out, "Brother Monkey, it’s cold!"

Sun Wukong didn’t care and said, "You fool, you are so useless. Monks should be immune to the elements, how can you be cold!"

However, just then, Xuanzang also couldn’t help but say, "Disciple, it really is cold. Look, there’s no warmth at all under the blanket, and my hands feel like they’re holding ice!"

Even Zhu Bajie, a demon, felt the cold, showing how chilly the weather was.

The four Westbound Travelers couldn’t sleep either. They got up, dressed, and opened the door.

As soon as they did, they saw a vast expanse of white—it had indeed snowed!

Sun Wukong, seeing this, couldn’t help but exclaim, "No wonder you all feel a bit cold. It turns out such heavy snow has fallen now!"

The four of them looked out, and indeed, it was a great, heavy snow!

Dark clouds enveloped the sky, and a dense fog thickened. With a fierce northern wind blowing, the heavy snow covered the ground.

The snow fell thick and fast, like willow catkins swirling in the wind.

The four were moved by the sight and then saw two old men from the Chen family ordering some servants to clear the path and bring them hot water to wash their faces.

They also received some breakfast and had charcoal fires brought to their rooms.

Xuanzang, somewhat puzzled, asked, "Old Benefactor, what season is it now? I wonder if it can be divided into spring, summer, autumn, and winter?"

Chen Cheng smiled and said, "Although this place is remote, our customs are no different from other lands. We share the same sun and sky; there must be a division of four seasons."

Hearing Old Master Chen’s words, Xuanzang became even more puzzled.

"If the seasons are divided, why is there such heavy snow and such cold now?"

Chen Cheng replied, "Although it is only July now, yesterday was already the start of autumn, making it August. Here, it is common for us to have frosts and snows in late August."

Xuanzang shook his head and said, "That’s very different from our Eastern Land. There, it only snows in winter."

While they were talking, some servants brought over some warm porridge to warm their bodies.

As they were drinking the porridge, the snow kept falling heavier.

Xuanzang, seeing this scene, couldn’t help but worry about the journey ahead.

Chen Cheng said, "Elder, don’t worry. I have plenty of food here. I can support you for the rest of your lives, more than enough!"

Hearing Old Master Chen’s words, Xuanzang couldn’t help but smile bitterly and said, "Old Benefactor does not know the hardships of a monk. I am, after all, out to obtain the Western Classics. At the very least, I must return with the scriptures, yet now, after so many months and years, let alone the scriptures, I haven’t even covered half the journey."

"I was only hoping to find a small boat to cross the river, but now it’s snowing, and I don’t know when we can set out!"

Hearing Xuanzang’s words, Chen Cheng replied, "Elder, don’t worry. It won’t take many days. Once the weather clears and the ice melts, even if it means spending all my wealth, I will ensure your safe passage across the river!"

"Thank you for your hospitality," Xuanzang said.

Upon hearing this, Chen Cheng shook his head and said, "Elder, I have not yet thanked you enough for your blessings yesterday, despite the feast. It’s hard to repay your kindness."

Just then, they suddenly heard from outside that the surface of the Tongtian River was frozen and that there were people crossing it.

Old Master Chen also explained that those were probably traders going to the Xiliang Women’s Kingdom. The local customs and values were different there—a one-tael item here could be worth a hundred taels there, and vice versa.

Because of the high potential profit, these merchants risked crossing the ice.

If they waited for the ice to melt before moving on, who knows how much time that would take. In the end, Xuanzang decided to take the risk.

The four, escorted by the people of the Chen family, arrived at the banks of the Tongtian River.

"The ice looks very thick!"

Xuanzang saw that indeed, many people were walking on the ice, which seemed very solid.

"Thick or not, let Old Zhu test it first!"

Zhu Bajie didn’t want to take chances.

"You fool, how do you want to test it?"

Sun Wukong heard this and couldn’t help giving Zhu Bajie a glance.

"Brother doesn’t know, but wait for me to strike it with my rake. If the ice breaks, it means it’s thin and naturally riskier to cross. If it doesn’t break, it means the ice is thick, and we can walk on it."

Xuanzang nodded and said, "Bajie makes sense. Let’s try it!"

Zhu Bajie, hearing this, rolled up his sleeves, raised the Nine-toothed Rake with both hands, and smashed it down onto the ice.