Journey to the West: Starting from Changing Sun Wukong’s fate
Chapter 330 - 331 I’m a Wild Boar, Not a Domestic Pig

Chapter 330: Chapter 331 I’m a Wild Boar, Not a Domestic Pig

A cold beam of light shot out.

The monster let out a strange cry.

One could see the huge body contorting a few times in mid-air before it crashed to the ground, landing in a clearing outside the courtyard.

Xuanzang still hadn’t reacted when the monster fell.

Zhu Bajie, upon seeing this, immediately perked up, swung his nine-toothed rake, and flew out to see a giant python about a dozen feet long lying on the ground, its body convulsively twisting but already breathless. That fool, regardless of life or death, swung his rake wildly.

Sun Wukong asked with a smile, "You fool, he’s already dead, why are you still hitting him?"

Zhu Bajie replied with a smile, "Brother Monkey, it’s always better to be careful, when has Old Pig ever enjoyed killing snakes?"

"How come this demon is so fragile? It died just like that!"

Sand Monk couldn’t help but sigh; the demons they had encountered before were not so easy to deal with, and now this one had been killed so easily.

The old men from the village, trembling with fear, hid inside their homes, peeping through the windows to observe. When they saw the hairy-faced monk take down the demon in one go, they were all astounded.

Later, when they heard that the demon had been killed, they all ran out to see for themselves.

Indeed, they saw a giant python lying dead outside, and the old men, with high spirits, pointed at the motionless python on the ground and said, "Good heavens! It’s this demon that has been harming people here. Thanks to you noble folks today, we can finally live in peace!"

The old men were beside themselves with excitement, and as they spoke, they knelt down on the ground to thank Sun Wukong and the others for their lifesaving grace in subduing the demon.

Meanwhile, the commotion outside disturbed the villagers, who, having heard that the demon had been slain, dared to come out. Soon hundreds of villagers gathered, and seeing that the demon had indeed been vanquished, naturally, they were endlessly grateful.

At that moment, Old Man Li stepped forward and said, "Gentlemen, just now we were discussing a reward with Elder Sun, but he refused to accept gold and silver."

"I’ve discussed it with the elders of the village, and we can’t possibly let you gentlemen work for nothing. All our families make a living by farming, and we’ll each give you two acres of good farmland, accumulating a total of one thousand acres located together. You gentlemen can build a temple there and meditate and chant, which would be far better than wandering around."

Xuanzang immediately waved his hands and said, "We still have to journey to the Western Heaven to seek scriptures; how could we stay here any longer? As monks, being given a meal and a cup of tea is already more than enough thanks."

"Truly a High Monk who has attained the Way!" When the crowd heard Sun Wukong’s words, they couldn’t help but praise him.

At this point, Sun Wukong’s eyes twinkled, and he said, "If you truly wish to thank us, there’s no need to pool together a thousand acres of fertile land. Simply find a spot on the outskirts of the village to construct three to five tiled houses with our statues enshrined within."

"Morning and evening, offer three sticks of incense, and we will ensure that everyone in this village lives peacefully and works happily, and that you have favorable weather for the crops."

Perhaps Xuanzang had no requests, but Sun Wukong knew this was an opportunity for his master to collect the power of incense and fire.

He learned from his senior brother that if Xuanzang were to contend with Buddhism, he would need the power of incense.

Although there were only five hundred households in this village—just a few thousand people—if they could build a temple, they would be able to secure some of the power of incense and fire each day, which was better than nothing.

The elders, having heard this, expressed one after another, "It’s a small matter. Please rest assured, gentlemen. We will start arranging this right away and guarantee to build a splendid temple for you gentlemen."

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Sun Wukong showed a smile on his face and said nothing more. He turned to look at the dead snake, and with a grin said, "Although the demon is dead, the snake gallbladder, snake skin, and similar things on this python can be used in medicine. I’ll take this corpse."

The villagers naturally had no objections.

Sun Wukong still wanted to strengthen his body, and the python’s strength was not small. Though its realm wasn’t high, its inner core was not weak, and it could be a good choice if his senior brother could use it to make elixirs.

Afterward, Sun Wukong handled the python himself, took out everything like the python’s inner core, and then burned the rest with fire.

The next day, everyone set out on the road again.

The villagers of Tuoluo Village were grateful for Sun Wukong and the others ridding them of the demon, so they provided dried food and fruits, and many came forward to see them off.

With five hundred families, seven to eight hundred people came to see them off, forming a large procession that stretched all the way to the base of Mount Qi jue, still reluctant to leave.

Upon reaching Sparse Persimmon Lane on Mount Qi jue, they were greeted with waves of foul stench.

Everyone covered their noses and chose to ride on horseback, looking at the blocked road with furrowed brows and asking, "Wukong, how are we supposed to get past this?"

Sun Wukong, with his hand on his forehead, took a look and saw a thick layer of rotten persimmons piled on Mount Qi jue; the outermost layer alone was more than a meter thick, who knew how much had been buried over the years.

The persimmons had rotted, like a thick layer of excrement, and were not only foul smelling but also revolting to look at.

Sun Wukong also couldn’t help but cover his nose and said, "This is indeed a bit tricky."

That’s when Old Man Li and others stepped forward and said, "Gentlemen, do not fret. We have already arranged to finish this part of the journey."

"You gentlemen have helped us subdue the demon, and rid us of a great scourge. We are all deeply grateful and will now gather the able-bodied men of the village to carve out a new road for the gentlemen to pass."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong couldn’t help but smile and say, "You’ve said before that this mountain is eight hundred li wide, and you’re not Great Yu Divine Soldiers, how would you carve out a road? By the time you carve a new path, who knows if it will be the Year of the Monkey or the month of the horse."

At this moment, Zhu Bajie also said with a laugh, "If we want to get through, we’ve got to think of a way ourselves. Besides, making a new path would take too long. We’ve gotta use this old one, only I’m afraid there won’t be anyone to provide meals!"

Old Man Li said in a hurry, "What are you talking about, sir? You all are our benefactors. No matter how long you’re delayed here, we can afford to keep you fed. How could there be no one to provide meals?"

Upon hearing this, Sand Monk knew that Zhu Bajie wanted to take the opportunity to eat more.

He chuckled and said, "Well, in that case, it’s simple. You just prepare a few stones of rice and noodle meals for that long-snouted, big-eared monk to eat. Once he turns into a big pig and pushes through the old path, we can easily get through."

Zhu Bajie, upon hearing these words, flicked his sleeves and said, "Junior Brother Sand, all you do is tease poor old me. Everyone wants to stay clean, but you make old Zhu here look like a fool."

"Looking at those rotten persimmons and excrement, they’re stinkier than poop. How can I push through that?"

Sun Wukong hopped over to Zhu Bajie and said with a grin, "Bajie, stop making excuses. Have you ever seen a pig that couldn’t root in the ground? To them, rooting in dung is nothing at all."

"I’m a wild boar, not a domestic pig," Zhu Bajie retorted with a frown.

"Wild boars are even more capable! They can topple big trees and carve out caves in mountains. What’s a pile of rotten persimmons to them?" Sun Wukong continued to say cheerfully.

Xuanzang also looked at Zhu Bajie and hurriedly said, "Wuneng, if you really can clear the old path and get me across, I’ll credit you with the main achievement for this task."

Zhu Bajie thought to himself that this was not good. If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have thought about eating more.

Now, it seemed he couldn’t escape this task. So, he stopped making excuses and quickly said, "Master and all benefactors above, old Zhu originally possesses thirty-six transformations. As for those fancy, delicate items, frankly, I can’t do them."

"But if it’s about transforming into mountains, trees, rocks, mounds of earth, or becoming elephants, wild boars, water buffaloes, camels—I truly can do them all. It’s just that when this body grows larger, my stomach does too."

"I must eat my fill to do the work well."

The villagers quickly said, "We have provisions; we’ve prepared dry food and fruit, initially meant for starting the work on the mountain. But now, it’s all yours. If it’s not enough, we’ll go back and fetch more."

Zhu Bajie dropped his nine-toothed rake, chuckled with a hehe, and said, "Don’t laugh, everyone. Just let old Zhu handle this stinky business." With that, he shook himself and truly transformed into a large wild boar.

The villagers hurriedly piled up the dry food and fruits they had brought in front of Zhu Bajie. Opening his pig’s mouth wide, he inhaled sharply, vacuuming up the provisions like a cleaner.

All the dry food and fruits were sucked into his belly.

Seeing Zhu Bajie eat so much, the village elders quickly ordered people to ride back and fetch more food.

After Zhu Bajie finished eating, he did not care about the filth and stench and went forward to clear the road. He plunged his long snout into the ground and started rooting forward with his hooves, effortlessly opening up a pathway.

Having crossed this pathway, the four disciples said farewell to Old Man Li and the others, continuing their journey.

After an indeterminate amount of time,

Sun Wukong seemed to see a city in the distance.

"Wukong, can you see clearly what that place is in front?"

Xuanzang also saw it, but it was too distant to make out clearly.

Zhu Bajie and Sand Monk also looked towards Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong then burst into laughter, looking at Xuanzang and saying, "Master, you really don’t recognize characters. How did Great Tang send such an illiterate monk to seek scriptures in the Western Heaven?"

Xuanzang sternly said, "I’ve been a monk since childhood; I’m well-versed in thousands of scriptures. How can you say I don’t recognize characters?"

Still smiling, Sun Wukong said, "If you can read, then how come you don’t recognize the three big characters written plainly on the city’s Apricot Yellow Banner and instead ask me what place it is?"

Xuanzang really looked up carefully and managed to see a flag fluttering on the city wall. He frowned and said, "You impudent monkey, you’re talking nonsense again. Even if there are characters on that flag, one can’t make them out clearly with it fluttering in the wind."

"How come old Sun can see?" asked Sun Wukong.

"Bajie, did you see what’s written up there?"

"It says ’Zhu Zi Country’ in three characters," Zhu Bajie replied nonchalantly.

"But Master, it’s normal for you not to see clearly. Although you now have some strength, you’re still of mortal flesh and you can’t see very far!"

Zhu Bajie laughed and said, "You don’t have to listen to Brother Monkey’s nonsense!"

"Don’t worry, Master, as we get closer, we’ll be able to see clearly!" said Sand Monk comfortingly.

Soon they reached the front of the city.

This place was indeed Zhu Zi Country.