Journey to the West: Starting from Changing Sun Wukong’s fate
Chapter 329 - 330: A Little Demon Scares You Like This

Chapter 329: Chapter 330: A Little Demon Scares You Like This

Xuanzang heard this and couldn’t help feeling depressed inside. If they truly had to go by what the elder said, they would indeed struggle to pass through this place.

At this moment, Sun Wukong jumped out and shouted, "Old man, you truly lack compassion. We have come from afar, merely asking for a night’s shelter. Why speak in such a way as to frighten us?"

The elder wasn’t short-tempered either. Seeing Sun Wukong’s unpleasant appearance, he was not afraid and retorted, "You, this hairy-faced monk, do not look like anything good, daring to offend me, an old man."

Sun Wukong retorted with a laugh, "Old man, you are blind. Old Sun might be ugly, but don’t I have skills?"

"What skills do you have?" the old man asked curiously.

Seeing the elder’s curiosity, Sun Wukong couldn’t help but laugh, "Old Sun has plenty of tricks! I can travel between heaven and earth, nothing is impossible for me, subduing demons and eliminating evil is a piece of cake."

Upon hearing this, the elder’s face subtly changed, and he quickly asked, "Can you truly subdue demons and quell devils?"

"Subduing demons and quelling devils is just a trifle," Sun Wukong said confidently.

"That’s because our Brother Monkey is extremely powerful. If he wants to, isn’t subduing demons and quelling devils a piece of cake?"

Zhu Bajie chimed in at this point.

Seeing this, the elder’s face lit up, and he promptly made a complete about-face in attitude, hastily saying, "High monks from the Tang Dynasty, please come rest at my humble home."

The elder quickly ushered them into the living room and then instructed his wife and daughter-in-law to quickly prepare a vegetarian meal to host the high monks.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the elder offered them tea. Sun Wukong smiled and said, "Old man, what matter is it that you have provided us with this meal?"

Old Li took a moment before responding, "Not to hide from you all, I have heard that you can subdue demons and eliminate evil!"

"Actually, there is a demon here that often harms people. Please show some compassion and subdue it for us! We will be highly grateful."

"I knew it wasn’t just a simple thing. Master, this is your turn!" said Sun Wukong as he looked towards Xuanzang.

A compassionate expression appeared on Xuanzang’s face.

"Why isn’t this monkey-headed fellow going to kill the monster?"

The elder couldn’t help but curiously turn his gaze towards Sun Wukong.

Zhu Bajie couldn’t help but laugh, saying, "Old man, you can see that you don’t know who the true one is. He is our master; how could he possibly be without strength!"

Hearing Zhu Bajie’s words, the elder appeared surprised, looking at Xuanzang whose appearance seemed like an ordinary person without any hint of strength.

He truly didn’t expect Xuanzang to have much capability.

Now hearing Zhu Bajie’s words, the elder nodded in agreement.

Indeed, if he could control these peculiar-looking people, how could his strength be weak?

Sun Wukong looked at the elder and asked, "Old man, this place is open and populated, not a remote area. What kind of demon is so bold to cause trouble here?"

The elder quickly began to explain, "This place is called Tuoluo Village, and historically no evil spirits have ever appeared here."

"But three and a half years ago, suddenly a gust of wind arose. At first, we thought it was just changing weather, but then a demon appeared and ate many of the village’s cattle, sheep, pigs, and horses. If it had only eaten livestock, that would have been one thing!"

Continuing, the elder sighed deeply and said, "Now it even eats people, regardless of men, women, young, or old. Anyone it encounters, it simply swallows whole."

"Since then, the demon comes to torment our village every few days. If you could help us eliminate this scourge, we would be immensely grateful."

Sun Wukong muttered, looking at Xuanzang, "This demon is indeed difficult to catch."

He couldn’t help but think of the celestial Immortals and Buddhas. Clearly, this was another ordeal set up by the celestial Immortals and Buddhas.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie perked up, shaking his pig head and saying, "This demon is really difficult to catch. If we knew where to capture the demon, that would be one thing, but we don’t even know where it is!"

"We are just itinerant monks, wanting only to stay for the night and leave tomorrow. How can we possibly catch a demon."

Hearing this, the old man suddenly became anxious, furrowing his brow and angrily saying, "You just boasted easily about subduing demons and eliminating evil, and now you say the demon is difficult to catch? You are merely a bunch of monks lying to get food and drink."

Sun Wukong responded with a smile, "Old Benefactor, do not be angry. This demon is easy to capture, but the hearts of the people here are not united, which makes it difficult."

Old Li frowned and asked, "How are the hearts of the people not united?"

Sun Wukong explained, laughing, "This demon has been causing chaos here for three years. If the hearts of the people were united, each household could contribute a little money to invite a mage from somewhere to capture this demon."

"Ah!" Old Li sighed deeply and said, "To say spending money to hire someone to capture the demon is really embarrassing."

"The year before last, we heard that there was a monk south of the mountain who could capture demons, so we pooled silver taels to invite him to capture the demon. When the monk arrived, he wore a kasaya, burnt incense, chanted sutras, and rang bells, which alarmed the demon. A black wind arose and came to the village."

"After a fierce battle with the monk, within a short while, the monk was captured and taken to the sky and then thrown down. We rushed over to see him, his bald head smashed like a crushed watermelon."

"We even pooled money to buy a coffin for his burial and paid a large sum of silver to his disciple."

"Haha! Monks like this who bluff and deceive deserve to die, but what happened next?" Sun Wukong laughed heartily as he spoke.

Old Man Li then continued, "Last year, we heard that there was a Taoist skilled at subduing demons, so we pooled together a large sum of silver to invite him over!"

"That Taoist set up his altar and started to perform rituals, dancing with a peach wood sword, burning talismans, and clanging his token, claiming he was summoning celestial deities to subdue demons."

"Yet, no celestial deities arrived, but a demon did, and it clamped the Taoist in its mouth, dragging him up into the clouds. We searched everywhere, only to later find the Taoist dead in a creek outside the village, soaked through like a drowned rat."

"Haha! Taoists like this who swindle money deserve to die as well." Sun Wukong laughed again and said, "Old man, you need not worry, we shall subdue the demon for you."

The old man, upon hearing this, was overjoyed, but then furrowed his brows and seriously said, "If you truly have the means to subdue demons, I will immediately gather the village elders to write up a contract, stating that if you capture that demon, you can take as much silver tael as you want without any deduction. But if you fail, you can’t blame us for withholding the payment."

"Haha! The old man is scared of being swindled." Sun Wukong heard the elder’s words and couldn’t help but laugh, "We are not those kind of people; if you don’t believe us, you can invite all the village elders to come here and we can sign the contract as proof."

Old Li indeed hurried off to bring the village elders to draw up the document.

"Brother Monkey, this old man is really pitiful!"

Zhu Bajie watched the elder leave and couldn’t help but laugh as he spoke.

"Indeed he is pitiful. It’s all trials set by the Immortals and Buddhas. While Buddhism thrives, ordinary mortals suffer!"

Sun Wukong shook his head as he spoke.

Listening to Sun Wukong’s words, Xuanzang also felt complicated.

Sand Monk, too, frowned. Initially, he wanted to return to the celestial Court, but after the previous ordeal, he began to doubt whether the celestial Court was doing the right thing.

After all, when they were in trouble, the celestial Court didn’t seem to want to help.

It was initially said that whenever they encountered trouble, the celestial Court would definitely help.

But last time, they didn’t intervene, making him suspect that the celestial Court was planning to abandon them.

Zhu Bajie, Xuanzang, and others had already realized long ago that the Journey to the West was merely a play staged by the Immortals and Buddhas.

After a while, Old Li indeed returned with several elders from the village to set up the document with Sun Wukong and others.

The elders were discussing with Sun Wukong and Xuanzang about how much they should be compensated after subduing the demon.

Xuanzang was very magnanimous, asking for nothing.

As they were talking, a roaring wind arose outside, and the elders started to tremble with fear.

"Not good, the demon is here!"

"This monk is really an omen; no sooner does he mention a demon than it arrives."

Saying so, they hurriedly hid inside the house and locked the door.

Xuanzang, however, was not afraid at all and strode boldly into the courtyard, while Zhu Bajie and Sand Monk, seeing the elders hide, followed suit.

Xuanzang, Sun Wukong, and others gathered in the courtyard.

Zhu Bajie was initially planning to hide with the elders, but Sand Monk did not agree and pulled him into the courtyard as well.

In an instant, amidst the wild wind, two lights faintly appeared in mid-air. Zhu Bajie laughed upon seeing them, "It turns out to be a friendly demon! We should make friends with it!"

Sand Monk, puzzled, asked, "You haven’t even seen his face; how do you know if this demon is good or evil?"

Zhu Bajie, smiling, replied, "The ancients say, travel by night with a candle, and without a candle, stop. Look, he’s carrying a pair of lanterns to light the way; he must be good."

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "You are mistaken, those aren’t lanterns, but the demon’s own eyes."

Zhu Bajie shivered with fright and exclaimed, "Good heavens! If its eyes are this big, how big must its mouth be! How big its body must be!"

"It seems this demon must possess considerable Divine Skills; we better hide instead of inviting trouble."

Sun Wukong turned and glanced at Zhu Bajie and said irritably, "You fool, always trying to cheat and shirk work. Just a small demon scares you like this; with your attitude, you definitely won’t attain Buddhahood, even when we reach the Western Heaven."

Zhu Bajie casually replied, "What’s the use of Attaining Buddhahood? Life is far more important!"

Their chatter alerted the demon, who opened its massive jaws and charged towards Sun Wukong and others.

"Hmph!" Sun Wukong snorted and said, "Fiend, cease your rudeness!"

With a slight lift of his right hand, a piece of Monkey Fur transformed into a flying knife. A cold star shot out and directly entered the demon’s mouth. A ’puff’ sound was heard, and a shower of blood rained down from the sky.

Sun Wukong had thrown the flying knife, which entered through the demon’s mouth and pierced through its skull, flying out from the back of its head.