Journey to the West: Starting from Changing Sun Wukong’s fate
Chapter 316 - 317: Luring the Snake Out of the Cave, Not Even Telling Old Pig

Chapter 316: Chapter 317: Luring the Snake Out of the Cave, Not Even Telling Old Pig

Zhu Bajie beside them couldn’t help but laugh and said,

"Who among you will go down to inform the Great King?"

Xuanzang looked toward Ben Bo Er Ba and Ba Ben Er Bo,

Ben Bo Er Ba spoke up, "If I don’t enter Hell, who will?"

Saying this, he dove headfirst into the water.

The waters of the pool had already turned chaotic, a stick stirring wildly for no reason, causing total turmoil...

Ben Bo Er Ba charged straight to the Dragon King’s palace, shouting, "Great King, it’s not good, it’s not good!"

Dragon King Wansheng was just frowning and angrily scolding the jerk disturbing the Green Wave Pool when suddenly he saw this guy shouting and rushing in, which infuriated him even more.

The Nine-headed Prince Consort, clad in silver armor, stood up and scolded harshly, "Ben Bo Er Ba, what’s all this chaos about? What’s not good?"

Ben Bo Er Ba replied, "To report to the Prince Consort, I was captured by Xuanzang and Sun Wukong while patrolling yesterday. Now, Sun Wukong, Xuanzang, and others have arrived at the Green Wave Pool, and have sent me down to pass a message."

"What message?" the Nine-headed Prince Consort asked.

Ben Bo Er Ba said, "Sun Wukong demanded that we immediately return the Shariputra, or else they will beat everyone here to death with a stick."

"Prince Consort, Great King, I think we should reconsider our stance,"

Ben Bo Er Ba held back from clasping his hands together.

Hearing this, Dragon King Wansheng shuddered in fear and said tremblingly, "Son-in-law, what should we do? Others might be manageable, but this monkey is truly troublesome."

"He’s not an easy one to handle, should it really come to a fight, this place is no match for the Celestial Court. He will surely turn the world upside down!"

The Nine-headed Prince Consort, however, laughed, "Father-in-law, rest assured, since youth I’ve picked up a few tricks. Within the Four Seas, too, I have crossed paths with many a hero. A mere monkey, what’s there to fear?"

"Let me go out and capture him, to serve as a dish to accompany father-in-law’s drink!"

Finishing speaking, the Nine-headed Prince Consort then noticed that Ben Bo Er Ba looked hesitant to speak.

The Nine-headed Prince Consort frowned and said, "Ben Bo Er Ba, if you have something to say, spit it out. Why hesitate?"

"Prince Consort, if possible, let’s quickly hand over the Shariputra to avoid bringing disaster upon ourselves,"

Ben Bo Er Ba still couldn’t resist advising.

"Audacious!"

The Nine-headed Worm scoffed coldly, surprised that his subordinate had started lecturing others over the course of the night.

The Old Dragon of Wansheng also spoke up, "I think Ben Bo Er Ba is right, son-in-law. Maybe we should hand over the Shariputra after all!"

Hearing this, the Nine-headed Worm’s brow furrowed, and he coldly said, "Father-in-law, why should we boost the morale of others and diminish our own prestige? Let me go out and battle that scoundrel for three rounds, I guarantee they will recoil and dare not look up."

The Old Dragon of Wansheng, frowning, thought for a moment then finally nodded and said, "That sounds reasonable, but son-in-law, be very careful, and if you’re not a match, we can reconsider our strategy."

The Nine-headed Worm nodded, then shouted loudly, "Someone, bring me my armor."

Immediately, Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals brought over the armor and weapons of the Nine-headed Worm and helped him get dressed.

The monster appeared, wearing a tarnished silver helmet shining like snow, donned in helmet and armor as bright as autumn frost, overlaid with a brocade robe surrounded by colorful clouds, wearing a rhinoceros belt like a gold-wrapped python, wearing pigskin boots, holding a moon-tooth rake, and stormed out of the Dragon Palace with a menacing air.

Outside the Green Wave Pool.

Sun Wukong also stopped whipping up the wind and rain and began to wait.

Zhu Bajie, noticing that the waters of Green Wave Pool had calmed down, asked, "Master, when that demon comes out, who will take him on?"

Sand Monk also frowned and said, "Inside this Green Wave Pool, there must be many demons, we have to be on guard!"

"It’s a small place, the Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals are trivial, probably only that Nine-headed Worm is of some concern!"

Having been to the East Sea Dragon Palace before, Sun Wukong noncommittally said,

"If the Nine-headed Worm makes a move, he probably won’t come alone, fearing superior numbers on our side might cause some trouble!"

Sun Wukong smiled and said, "Superior numbers? What’s to fear? When the time comes, Master’s act of Universal Salvation will convert all the demons in this pool, and retrieving the Shariputra will be a breeze!"

Xuanzang shook his head, looking grave and said, "If the Nine-headed Worm managed to snatch Buddha’s Treasure, he might have some tactics up his sleeve, we better be careful!"

Xuanzang was confident in himself, yet prudently cautious just in case.

"Additionally, no matter who comes, if possible, we should quickly retrieve Buddha’s Treasure. That way, we can manage both advancing and retreating!"

Sun Wukong thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Master’s plan is indeed brilliant, let’s split into two groups, making it hard for them to focus on both fronts."

"Junior Brother Sand, Master, you handle the Nine-headed Worm here while Old Sun and Bajie go down to search for the Buddha’s Treasure!"

Sun Wukong looked at Zhu Bajie and said with a smile,

"Brother Monkey, why do you drag me into diving missions?"

Zhu Bajie couldn’t help feeling a bit gloomy.

"Combat in water, aren’t you experienced in it? Old Sun is not familiar with it, it’s better if we go together for mutual support!"

Sun Wukong said as a matter of fact.

"But what about Master?"

Zhu Bajie glanced back at his master.

"Master, what is there to worry about? With the power of conversion within you, no demon can get close,"

Sun Wukong said, then glanced at Sand Monk and added, "Besides, with Junior Brother Sand protecting Master, there’s nothing to fear!"

It seemed Sand Monk was even more concerned than they were.

Without waiting for Zhu Bajie’s agreement, Sun Wukong pulled him into the water.

The two of them immediately transformed into two little fish and swam swiftly toward the Crystal Palace.

Not long after they had entered the water, they saw the Nine-headed Worm leading a troop of Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals swimming out from the direction of the Dragon Palace.

Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie quickly hid in a nearby coral thicket.

After the Nine-headed Worm had passed, they emerged and continued swimming toward the Dragon Palace.

Soon, they arrived outside the Dragon Palace, and Zhu Bajie asked, "Brother Monkey, what should we do now? Should we just storm in?"

"No rush! Let’s first find a way to locate the Buddha’s Treasure," he replied.

After thinking a moment, Sun Wukong instructed, "You wait here; I’ll go in first to scout the situation and try to find the Buddha’s Treasure and the Nine-leaf Ganoderma. If anything unusual happens, immediately storm into the Dragon Palace to back me up."

"Okay!" Given the circumstances, Zhu Bajie quickly agreed without hesitation.

Soon after, Sun Wukong transformed, disappearing in front of Zhu Bajie by using an invisibility technique, then strutted into the Dragon Palace.

Upon arriving at the palace, he saw that the Old Dragon King was inside, issuing orders to his Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals to strengthen their defenses to prevent Xuanzang and his followers from breaking into the Dragon Palace.

At this moment, Sun Wukong recalled what Ben Bo Er Ba had said.

The group of demons had placed the Buddha’s Shariputra inside the Dragon Palace, shining brilliantly, lighting up the place as if it were broad daylight even at midnight.

But why hadn’t he noticed anything unusual now?

Clearly, these cunning creatures had hidden the treasure in advance.

The Buddha’s Shariputra had been stolen by the Nine-headed Worm, and the Nine-leaf Ganoderma had been taken by the Wansheng Princess; presumably, the treasure was likely kept with the Princess. As long as he found her, how hard could it be to find the treasures?

Sun Wukong made a round inside the main hall but did not find Wansheng Princess; he guessed she was probably in the inner hall. Thus, he bypassed the main hall without anyone noticing and quietly made his way to the inner hall.

There, he heard some maids talking about the Wansheng Princess.

Seeing an opportunity, Sun Wukong followed the maids to the Princess’s sleeping chamber.

Inside, he saw the Princess directing her maids to hide some of the palace’s treasures.

Sun Wukong watched from a hidden spot, noting that Wansheng Princess indeed had considerable beauty.

No wonder she had utterly captivated the Nine-headed Worm, bold enough to even steal the Buddha’s Treasure.

However, the Princess appeared panicked and slightly disheveled, probably aware that trouble was imminent and in a rush to hide her valuables.

After observing for a while, he saw they were only hiding ordinary treasures, such as pearls, agates, gold, and jade, which would indeed be priceless in the Mortal Realm.

Yet, for Sun Wukong, these treasures were of little use; what he really needed were the Buddha’s Shariputra and the Nine-leaf Ganoderma.

Considering how precious the Buddha’s Shariputra and Nine-leaf Ganoderma were, it was unlikely that the Wansheng Princess would let the maids hide them; she must have already secured them somewhere safe.

With the Dragon Palace being so vast, finding these two treasures was not going to be easy.

But Sun Wukong, ever so clever, soon had a plan.

Thus, he stepped outside the palace, plucked a strand of hair, blew a breath of Immortal Qi, and immediately transformed it into an exact replica of himself holding a gold-inlaid box and a white jade box, quickly swimming out of the palace.

The patrolling Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals soon spotted the suspicious monkey and began shouting loudly, "A spy! Catch the spy!"

As they yelled and chased with knives and spears.

Wansheng Princess, hearing the commotion outside, promptly asked in a loud voice, "What’s going on?"

At that moment, a Fish Monster rushed in, looking panicked, and said, "Your Highness, a monkey just sneaked into the palace and stole two boxes before escaping. We don’t know what treasures were inside."

"A monkey? Could it be Sun Wukong!" Wansheng Princess exclaimed, quickly asking, "What did those two boxes look like?"

The Fish Monster hurriedly gestured, "About this big, one was a gilded box, and the other was a white jade box. The monkey ran too fast; I didn’t see them clearly."

"No good!" Wansheng Princess inwardly cursed, turning to walk towards the inner hall.

Seeing the Wansheng Princess head toward the inner hall, Sun Wukong knew she must be going to check the hidden treasures, so he quickly followed.

Meanwhile, at that moment, the patrolling Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals chased the decoy Sun Wukong out of the Dragon Palace.

Seeing his brother emerge and being pursued, Zhu Bajie immediately charged out to aid Sun Wukong in confronting the Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals.

With a swing of his Nine-toothed Rake, he thrashed the troop into disarray, sending them scattering in all directions.

"Brother Monkey, why are you running?"

Zhu Bajie turned his head and discovered Sun Wukong had transformed into a strand of Monkey Fur and vanished.

"You sly Pilgrim!"

Zhu Bajie cursed under his breath upon seeing this scene.