Journey to the West: Starting from Changing Sun Wukong’s fate
Chapter 332 - 333: Does the Holy Monk Recognize Elder Sun?

Chapter 332: Chapter 333: Does the Holy Monk Recognize Elder Sun?

"Brother Monkey, are you serious?"

Zhu Bajie’s mouth was practically watering as he replied, "Brother, you treat this time, and next time when I have money, I’ll definitely treat you to a meal!"

Sun Wukong, seeing how eager Zhu Bajie was, couldn’t help but smile and said, "Sand Monk, you focus on cooking the rice; we’ll be back with the seasonings soon!"

Sand Monk, of course, knew that the eldest brother was teasing the second brother again, so he casually responded, "Go ahead, be sure to buy extra so we can have a full meal when you return."

Zhu Bajie, upon hearing this, left the house in high spirits.

After Sun Wukong found out where to buy oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, he headed towards West Main Street under the Drum Tower.

Zhu Bajie saw numerous delicious foods along the way and kept tugging at Sun Wukong to buy them for him, but Sun Wukong had no intention of actually buying them since he was merely teasing Zhu Bajie.

"Bajie, the stuff here isn’t great, there will be better things up ahead. We don’t have much money, we must choose the best to buy!"

As the two of them talked, they were once again surrounded by onlookers.

Before long, they reached the area around the Drum Tower and saw it surrounded by a crowd of people who were bustling and blocking the street.

Zhu Bajie looked at the scene and worriedly said, "Brother Monkey, I’d rather not go. It’s noisy over there; they might be capturing monks. Besides, we’re strangers, what if we’re mistaken for someone else and get taken away?"

Sun Wukong glanced at Zhu Bajie and retorted, "Nonsense! Monks haven’t broken any laws, why would anyone capture us?"

"Let’s go, we’ll buy some oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar and discuss this afterward!"

Upon hearing Sun Wukong say this, Zhu Bajie felt a bit helpless and said, "I don’t want to cause trouble, but look, Brother Monkey, once we get into the crowd, and they see how I look, they might get so scared they start stumbling over each other and cause chaos. If a few of them get trampled to death, I could be blamed!"

Sun Wukong nodded and said, "You do have a point. Just stand here against the wall, don’t move, and wait for me to come back with the purchases. Then, I’ll buy you some vegetarian noodles and baked buns to eat!"

His mouth watering again at Sun Wukong’s words, Zhu Bajie quickly nodded his head and turned to face the wall to avoid being seen by people.

Sun Wukong saw Zhu Bajie like this and could not help but laugh at the sight.

He then made his way through the crowd, which was indeed crowded. When he finally squeezed into the center, he realized that an Imperial Proclamation had been posted on the wall, attracting the crowd’s attention.

"What’s going on?"

Curious, Sun Wukong stared at the Imperial Proclamation.

"You must be from out of town!"

A man standing by, also looking at the Imperial Proclamation, said with a smile, "That’s why you don’t know. Our King of the Zhu Zi Country has fallen gravely ill because a monster appeared. The Imperial Medical Bureau can’t cure His Majesty!"

"So, an Imperial Edict for Recruiting Doctors has been issued; whoever can cure His Majesty, the King has promised to share his kingdom with him."

"But if anyone pretends to be a Divine Doctor, they might get their heads chopped off by the King. A good number of cheats have been executed these past few days!"

After hearing what the man said, Sun Wukong nodded.

Sun Wukong exhaled gently, causing a gust of wind to rise and the Imperial Proclamation to slowly fly down, drifting away into the distance.

It subsequently landed right in Zhu Bajie’s embrace.

Sun Wukong then went on his way.

As the gust of wind dissipated, the crowd realized the Imperial Proclamation was gone.

"Someone’s not afraid of death, they’ve taken the notice!" Bursting into laughter, the onlookers commented.

The eunuch commandants, seeing the Imperial Proclamation swept away by the wind, hurriedly went searching.

Onlookers, fearing they might get involved, scattered in terror.

An old Court Eunuch, leading the way, approached urgently and asked in a high-pitched voice, "Who took the Imperial Proclamation?"

Zhu Bajie heard the Court Eunuch’s words and realized that Sun Wukong had not returned, he turned around to search.

He was spotted by the guards and eunuchs in charge of the Imperial Proclamation, with the notice document in his embrace.

"Did you take down this Imperial Proclamation?"

The old Court Eunuch looked at Zhu Bajie, and though Zhu Bajie was rather ugly, if he could save His Majesty, the Court Eunuch naturally wouldn’t mind.

"What Imperial Proclamation? I have no idea what you’re talking about!"

Zhu Bajie genuinely didn’t understand what they were saying.

"What’s that in your embrace?"

The old Court Eunuch asked with a frown.

"In my embrace? I have nothing in my embrace!"

As Zhu Bajie said this, he reached into his embrace, only then discovering that he indeed had a notice document.

"I don’t know what this is!"

"Still pretending you don’t know what this is, hurry and bring him to heal our King!"

The old Court Eunuch, upon seeing the notice document in Zhu Bajie’s embrace, decided to take him straight to cure the King without caring if Zhu Bajie really knew how to treat illnesses.

"Wait, I know who took the notice, and I’ll take you to him!"

Zhu Bajie certainly knew who was responsible for taking the notice; it had to be his eldest brother.

This cursed monkey.

Before long, the people on the street had surrounded him in a circle.

"You have a rather peculiar appearance; where are you from?"

Although Zhu Bajie had said he was going to take them to find the person who removed the notice, with the Imperial Proclamation now in his possession, they naturally didn’t want to find anyone else.

The old eunuch couldn’t help but ask.

"We are from the Eastern Land on a mission to the Western Heaven to seek scriptures; my master is the Imperial Brother of the King of Tang and has now gone to present the documents for verification,"

"My senior brother and I came here to buy some groceries. I didn’t go over there because there were too many people, so my senior brother asked me to wait here."

"Clearly, he saw the notice here, stirred up a whirlwind to remove it, and secretly tucked it into my bosom before leaving."

Zhu Bajie hurriedly explained.

The eunuch nodded, seemingly recalling something, and said, "Not long ago, I saw a white-faced, chubby monk heading straight for the royal gates, could that be your master?"

Bajie repeatedly nodded, saying, "Exactly, exactly."

The two eunuchs looked at each other. Since Zhu Bajie wasn’t the person who removed the notice, they were not in a position to take him away.

One of the eunuchs asked, "Where did your senior brother go?"

Zhu Bajie replied, "The four of us, including my master who went to present the documents, and the three of us, along with our horse, are resting at the Huitong Inn. After my senior brother teased me, he likely went back to the inn ahead of me."

The old eunuch, seeing that Zhu Bajie was very honest, then said, "Commandant, don’t trouble him anymore, let’s all go to the inn together, then we will know the truth."

Zhu Bajie sighed in relief, finally getting rid of the people who had caught hold of him, and said, "It’s you grandmas who are sensible."

A commandant nearby scolded, "What nonsense is this pig talking about? How can he call us, the eunuchs, grandmas?"

Zhu Bajie laughed and said, "This Zhu Zi Country is truly strange, reversing yin and yang—clearly a granny, not referred to as grandma or granny, instead being called eunuch."

The crowd said, "Quit your babbling, quickly find your senior brother."

The street became noisy with chatter as everyone headed to the inn’s front.

Zhu Bajie reminded them, "Remember, all of you!"

"My senior brother is not like me, one to be manipulated. If you anger him, beware, for he might strike you with his staff, and you’ll all be off to see Yama!"

"After you meet him, you must greet him respectfully, calling him Elder Sun, otherwise, if he gets angry out of embarrassment, even if you want to behead him, it will do no good."

The court eunuchs and commandants exchanged glances and said in unison, "If your senior brother truly has such abilities and can cure the King’s illness, he indeed deserves half of the kingdom, and we ought to kneel before him."

Zhu Bajie nodded.

The onlookers outside the door were all buzzing with conversation.

Zhu Bajie, leading a group of eunuchs and commandants, entered the inn directly.

All they could hear were Sun Wukong and Sand Monk talking and laughing in the guestroom.

They were talking about the notice removal prank they played on Zhu Bajie.

Zhu Bajie heard them and stormed in, shouting, "You unfilial fellow, you tricked me into buying plain noodles, baked buns, and flatbreads to eat, and it was all deceit!"

"Now you’ve stirred up a whirlwind, removed some Imperial Proclamation, sneakily slipped it into my bosom, and made fun of me; are we still brothers?"

Zhu Bajie was seething with anger.

Sun Wukong couldn’t help but laugh and said, "You blockhead, you must have taken the wrong path. I passed the Drum Tower and bought some groceries. When I came looking for you, you had already disappeared, so I came back first. What Imperial Proclamation?"

Zhu Bajie, of course, didn’t believe him; he hadn’t moved an inch, and yet Sun Wukong was claiming he took a wrong turn?

Zhu Bajie snorted and said, "Now the officers who came to inspect the notice are here."

Upon hearing Zhu Bajie’s words, several eunuchs and commandants bowed in respect and said, "Elder Sun, today our King is fortunate that Heaven has sent you. You must be a person of high ability, capable of curing our King’s disease. When the time comes, you will have half of the kingdom."

Hearing this, Sun Wukong’s expression changed. He took the notice from Bajie and said to the officials, "So you are the officers come to inspect the notice?"

The eunuch bowed and said, "We are internal servants from the Ministry of Rites, and these are the Brocade-Clothed Commandants."

Sun Wukong nodded and said, "This Imperial Edict for Recruiting Doctors was indeed removed by me; I deliberately had my disciple bring you here."

"Since your monarch is ill, as the saying goes, medicines don’t chase after patients, and one doesn’t beg doctors for a cure."

"Go and tell your King to personally invite me, and I will surely be able to cure him of his ailment."

The old eunuch was startled upon hearing this.

One of the commandants said, "Having such brash words, he must be capable. A few of us will enter the court to report, while some will stay here to serve."

To serve was to ensure Sun Wukong would not run away.

Thus, four eunuchs and six commandants were dispatched, and they went straight to the court to report, "Joy abounds for our sovereign!"

The King of the Zhu Zi Country was just talking with Xuanzang after their vegetarian meal when he suddenly heard this and inquired, "Where does this joy come from?"

The eunuch reported, "We, your humble servants, hung the Imperial Edict for Recruiting Doctors under the Drum Tower, and a Holy Monk, Elder Sun from the Great Tang of the Eastern Land who came to seek scriptures, has removed it. He is currently at the Huitong Inn and requests Your Majesty personally to invite him, claiming he can cure Your Majesty’s illness. Therefore, we’ve come to report."

Hearing this, the King of the Zhu Zi Country turned to Xuanzang and asked, "Does the Holy Monk know this Elder Sun?"

"He is indeed my disciple, but I have never heard of him having the ability to heal!"

Xuanzang was also somewhat taken aback.