Journey to the West: Starting from Changing Sun Wukong’s fate
Chapter 315 - 316: Master Wants to Convert Again

Chapter 315: Chapter 316: Master Wants to Convert Again

A group of people had already arrived at the Golden Light Temple; upon seeing the Imperial Guards, the monks inside hurriedly went to report, and Sand Monk along with others came out to greet them. Sand Monk noticed Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie sitting in the sedan chairs, both wearing officials’ hats, as soon as he emerged.

Touching his head, Sand Monk said, "Big Brother, Second Brother! Could it be that the king has appointed you as officials?"

"Junior Brother Sand, you’re talking nonsense again. Our mission is to seek the Scriptures, not to become officials," Zhu Bajie said with a smile.

Sun Wukong got out of the sedan chair and said, "Junior Brother Sand, bring those two demons out. The king wants to interrogate them personally."

Sand Monk quickly said, "Big Brother, Second Brother, take me to the palace to see too, please!"

When Zhu Bajie heard this, he said with some surprise, "If you go, who will stay to look after the horses and our luggage?"

Hearing this, the monks of Golden Light Temple all said one after another, "Don’t worry, sirs, we will look after your horses and luggage."

Sun Wukong, upon hearing what the monks of Golden Light Temple said, nodded and spoke, "Wait here for us, take good care of our horses and luggage. Once we’ve presented the case before the king and cleared your names of any wrongdoing, we will let you go."

"Thank you, Grandpa!" the monks quickly expressed their gratitude.

Afterwards, Zhu Bajie and Sand Monk led a demon each, with the Imperial Guards clearing the way ahead; the group left the Golden Light Temple in a grand procession back to the Royal Palace.

By this time, the citizens inside the city had heard that demons were captured and all ran out to join the spectacle, filling the streets and alleys with onlookers.

Once back at the Royal Palace, Sun Wukong was the first to step into the hall and said, "Your Majesty, the demon thieves have been brought here, waiting outside the hall."

The king quickly said, "Bring the demon thieves into the hall."

Zhu Bajie and Sand Monk walked in with the two demons.

Seeing how fierce the demons looked, the king asked with fear and trepidation, "Holy Monk! Have you captured three demons here?"

Xuanzang couldn’t help but smile at this and hurriedly replied, "The two with fish heads are the thieving demons we’ve caught this time."

The king then asked, "And the other one?"

Looking towards Sand Monk, Xuanzang promptly made an introduction, "This one is also a disciple of this humble monk."

"I see," said the king, finally relieved. Then he turned to the two demon thieves and demanded sternly, "What kind of evil spirits are you, when did you steal our national treasure, how many accomplices do you have, what are your names, confess everything."

The demons had already been converted and naturally confessed everything.

"I’m called Ben Bo Er Ba, and he is Ba Ben Er Bo. Ben Bo Er Ba is a catfish demon, and Ba Ben Er Bo is a black fish spirit."

"To the southeast of here lies the Green Wave Pool, and in it resides the Old Dragon King Wansheng. We both are his subordinates."

"A few years ago, the Old Dragon King took in a Nine-headed Worm as a prince consort, and this Nine-headed Consort has vast divine skills."

"Three years ago, on the first day of the seventh lunar month, the Nine-headed Consort and Old Dragon King conspired as thieves, used their great magical power to bring about a blood rain, and in the tumult, they stole the treasures from the pagoda and placed them inside the Dragon Palace."

"Now the inside of the Dragon Palace is bursting with radiant light, so that even in the middle of the night, it’s as bright as day; and the Princess Wansheng had ascended to the Celestial Court and stolen the Nine-leaf Ganoderma from the Queen Mother of the West to nourish the treasure."

"We two are not the masterminds. We’re just small soldiers sent by the Dragon King to gather information. We have nothing to do with the theft of the treasure!"

Having spoken, Ben Bo Er Ba and Ba Ben Er Bo put their palms together and told the truth honestly.

"Your Majesty, I have now brought universal salvation to the two demons!"

Xuanzang slowly began to speak.

The two demons also said "Amitabha Buddha," adopting the image of those who had converted.

"Who would have thought the Holy Monk could be so capable! Indeed, you are worthy of being called the Holy Monk of the Great Tang!"

The king hadn’t expected Xuanzang to have such an ability, capable of directly subduing a demon.

Seeing that the king had recognized the truth, Xuanzang took advantage of the moment and said, "Your Majesty now sees clearly, and the truth is out. The monks of Golden Light Temple are indeed innocent. I hope your Majesty will show mercy and pardon the wrongfully accused monks."

Upon hearing this, the king also nodded and said, "The Holy Monk speaks the truth. Immediately issue a decree, pardoning the monks of Golden Light Temple."

"Moreover, issue an order to Guanglu Temple to prepare a banquet at the Qilin Hall to entertain the Holy Monk and his companions as a token of gratitude for capturing the thieves and to discuss the capture of the ringleader."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Hearing the king’s pardon for the monks, Xuanzang promptly gave thanks.

Zhu Bajie thought to himself, "This king isn’t so foolish after all. The treasure has not been retrieved yet, and the king knows that with just these ordinary people, it would be difficult to regain the treasure."

Therefore, he was treating Tang Monk and his entourage so well, with the intention of asking for their help in capturing the thieves and recovering the treasure.

Following that thought, Zhu Bajie couldn’t help but look forward to eating.

After that, the king personally led Xuanzang and his group to the Qilin Hall for the banquet.

The Saisai Country of the Western Regions, rightly so, had a lavish spread for the feast.

Zhu Bajie was overjoyed and let loose, gobbling down food with abandon.

While other tables had barely touched their food, his was already wiped clean.

Knowing this was an honored guest, the court officials didn’t want to slight him and quickly brought another table’s worth of dishes for Zhu Bajie.

However, in just a short while, Zhu Bajie had once again devoured every dish and piece of fruit, and the officials, having no other choice, had to provide yet another table for him.

The banquet lasted until noon before it ended. Then the King spoke up, "This feast merely shows our appreciation for the Holy Monk’s achievement in capturing the demon."

He then turned and instructed an official from the Guanglu Temple, "Quick, change the setting to the Jianzhang Palace, and again request the Holy Monk to devise a plan to capture the thief and retrieve the treasure for the pagoda."

Xuanzang immediately replied, "If we are to capture the thief and recover the treasure, there’s no need for another banquet; we shall take our leave now and set out to capture the monster."

The King wouldn’t have it and insisted on pulling Xuanzang and the others into the Jianzhang Palace, where another feast was prepared.

By this time everyone had eaten their fill and couldn’t possibly eat any more, except for Zhu Bajie, who still wolfed down his food and quickly polished off two more tables before patting his belly and declaring, "Excellent! Old Pig is now nine-tenths full."

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes, the King raised his cup and asked, "Which of the Holy Monks is willing to lead the charge, subdue the demon thief, and recover our national treasure?"

Xuanzang, with a smile, replied, "I will take Wukong and go."

Hearing Xuanzang’s words, the King was surprised, having thought Xuanzang was just an ordinary monk, not realizing he was a high monk capable of subduing demons.

"Very well, very well! With Xuanzang leading the monks, we will surely triumph and capture the monster," said the King with great joy.

He then eagerly inquired, "How many soldiers will Holy Monk need, and when will you depart from the city?"

Zhu Bajie suddenly interjected, "What need is there for soldiers, and what time to consider? I’ll also accompany Master, and with our bellies full of wine and food, capturing them will be a piece of cake."

Sun Wukong, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but laugh and said, "You blockhead, since when have you been so eager?"

Zhu Bajie chuckled and replied, "After eating so many of this King’s feasts, Old Pig can’t just shirk from putting in some proper effort now that he seeks to recover the national treasure."

Sand Monk also chimed in, "Master, Old Sand wishes to go as well!"

Xuanzang nodded slightly and said, "That’s well, since this is the case, then the three of you accompany me to the Green Wave Pool."

Upon hearing that no troops were needed, the King followed up, "Since no soldiers are needed, what weapons will you require? I will instruct my men to prepare them."

Zhu Bajie laughed and said, "We can’t use your weapons. We have our own."

The King was overjoyed and hastily commanded, "Bring large bowls, I wish to personally bid the four valiant heroes a hearty farewell."

Having hosted two banquets in a row, Sun Wukong and his companions were nearly done with drinking and naturally reluctant to drink more.

Sun Wukong quickly gestured and said, "No need for more wine, it can be saved for our victory toast when we return."

"However, we must take these two demons with us, so they can confront the Nine-headed Worm."

The King hastened to nod in agreement, and Zhu Bajie, bracing his spirits, turned to Xuanzang and said, "Master, let’s hasten our departure with Brother Monkey!"

"Depart!" Xuanzang declared with a sweeping gesture, leading his three disciples out of the hall.

Zhu Bajie, Sun Wukong, and Sand Monk employed their Flight Technique and, carrying Xuanzang, soared into the sky, following closely behind one another towards the southwest direction.

The two demons trailed behind them.

The King of the Saisai Country and all the civil and military officials watched as Xuanzang and his companions rode the clouds and fog away, each of them unable to resist bowing in deep reverence, exclaiming, "The reputation is well-deserved! Only today have we witnessed such immortals and living Buddhas!"

Seeing the group had disappeared from view.

The King turned and said, "With my mere mortal eyes, I’d never imagined the Holy Monk to be an Immortal capable of riding the clouds and fog."

"Your Majesty’s grace, with the Holy Monk’s assistance today, our Saisai Country will surely regain its former majesty!"

At this moment, the many ministers eagerly voiced their agreement.

...

The Green Wave Pool was not far from here, just ten-plus li to the southwest.

From a distance, it looked like a vast lake, a bottomless expanse of black water nestled among chaotic boulders.

The water was like a black mirror, reflecting the sky above.

Sun Wukong was the first to jump out and said, "Master, the demon must be underneath this water. Allow your disciple to coax them out."

Xuanzang, gazing at the mirror-smooth surface of the water, couldn’t help but nod, "Go ahead."

Without further words, Sun Wukong took out the Jingu Bang, muttered the magic word ’Change!’ and in an instant, the Jingu Bang elongated, transforming into a massive stick that he plunged deep into the Green Wave Pool and stirred forcefully, shattering the calmness of the water, causing whirlpools and turbulent currents accompanied by the sound of splashing water.

Suddenly the entire Green Wave Pool was agitated into chaos.

Sun Wukong shouted, "Demons of the water, heed me! The Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Grandpa Sun, is here. Present yourself with the treasures from the Golden Light Temple’s Pagoda of the Saisai Country obediently to spare your lives."

"Should you utter even half a word of dissent, I shall turn this pool into a meat grinder and reduce all of you, your families, to mincemeat!"

"Wukong, there is no need for such brute force; give them a chance to reform," Xuanzang said with his hands clasped, slowly speaking out.

"Master is thinking of converting them again!"

Upon hearing Xuanzang’s words, Zhu Bajie remarked from the side.