Journey to the West: Starting from Changing Sun Wukong’s fate
Chapter 344 - 345 Brother Monkey, do you see if there is a monster over there?

Chapter 344: Chapter 345 Brother Monkey, do you see if there is a monster over there?

Afterward, the King of Zhu Zi Country returned to his palace with the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace.

Zhu Bajie was eagerly waiting for the feast prepared by the King.

Saliva was already drooling from his mouth.

Xuanzang, of course, paid no mind to the feast and, with furrowed brows, said, "It seems the Bodhisattva already suspects you’ve tampered with something, I’m afraid she’ll target us from now on!"

Sun Wukong smiled and said, "Master, don’t panic. Buddhism has long regarded me as a thorn in their side, one more thing hardly makes a difference!"

"Big Brother is right; there aren’t many good ones in Buddhism. To prosper their Buddhism, they resorted to such tricks, bringing calamity upon the common folk along the way and making us deal with it. It’s all for the sake of promoting Buddhism!"

Zhu Bajie snorted in agreement.

Sand Monk didn’t speak, but he felt the same way.

Sure enough, a little while later, a group of officials came with the King’s invitation, asking everyone to attend the banquet at the palace.

The group joyfully followed the officials to the palace, where a feast had already been prepared.

The King himself, surrounded by concubines of the Inner Palace and civil and military officials, welcomed Sun Wukong and the others into the hall. Inside, four or five hundred tables were set on either side, laden with a variety of delicious food.

The King was meticulous and knew that Tang Monk and his three disciples were monks, so he had specially prepared four tables of vegetarian dishes.

The King personally invited Xuanzang and the others to sit down, and the accompanying concubines and officials also took their seats.

Zhu Bajie, who was always a glutton, picked up a plate of snacks and started gobbling them down as soon as he sat down.

Sun Wukong too, holding a plate of fruit, started munching carelessly, albeit with slightly more elegance than Zhu Bajie.

At this moment, the King raised his cup and smilingly said, "Let me first toast to the Divine Monk Elder Sun, along with the other three Holy Monks. This cup is to thank you for ridding my Zhu Zi Country of demonic disturbances and bringing back the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace."

With those words, he downed his cup in one gulp.

Sun Wukong and the others also raised their cups and drank.

After having a cup of wine, Sun Wukong smiled and exclaimed, "Good wine! Good wine!"

Soon after, the King raised his cup again and said, "This second cup is to thank you for curing my longstanding illness. I toast to you once more."

He once again raised his cup and drank it all down.

Laughing, Sun Wukong and the others also raised their cups and drank the second cup, and palace maids standing by refilled their cups with wine.

Then, the King raised his cup once again, smiling as he said, "You have rid Zhu Zi Country of demonic disturbances and saved the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace, as well as cured my affliction. You are benefactors of Zhu Zi Country, and I cannot thank you enough. However, I still have a request to make, and I hope you will be able to help me. I toast to you once more."

The King lifted his cup and drank it all once again.

Sun Wukong and the others also raised their cups and drank the third glass, and after setting their cups down,

Sun Wukong smiled and inquired, "Your Majesty, there’s no need to be so formal. What is it that you ask for? If it’s within our capabilities, we will surely help."

While still eating, Zhu Bajie mumbled unclearly, "You, old fellow of a king, are too verbose. Just speak plainly! There’s nothing Old Pig cannot handle, and that’s no brag."

Zhu Bajie, having said this, took another drink of wine, turned to a palace maid nearby, and smilingly said, "Pretty girl! Pour Brother Pig another cup."

Sun Wukong grabbed Zhu Bajie by the ear with one hand, scolding, "You fool, just eat your food quietly and don’t interrupt."

Zhu Bajie could only agree with his mouth full.

Only then did Sun Wukong let go of Zhu Bajie’s ear and smile at the King, saying, "Your Majesty, don’t worry. Just speak freely of the problem, and Old Sun will certainly not shirk the task."

At that moment, the King finally said, "Elder Sun, you may already be aware, but ever since my Lady of the Golden Holy Palace was abducted by that monster three years ago and was fortunately helped by an Immortal who made her wear a Rainbow Robe. Ever since she donned that garment, her body has been covered with poisonous spines, which prevented the monster from defiling her for the past three years."

"But now I can’t get close to her either. You are all Divine Monks with great Divine Skills, and I beseech you, if you could please think of a way to remove the poisonous spines from the body of the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace!"

Sun Wukong couldn’t help but frown; he had already heard from the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace that it was because of a Five-colored Cloud Robe given by True Man Ziyang that she had grown a body full of poisonous spines.

Otherwise, the Golden Holy Palace Lady would have been defiled by that monster long ago.

Frowning, Sun Wukong said, "This matter is somewhat tricky. We have already tried before, but we truly have no way to remove the poisonous spines from the Golden Holy Palace Lady’s body."

"As the saying goes, the one who ties the bell must untie it. To rid her of these spines, we would need to find the very Immortal who gave the Golden Holy Palace Lady the Five-colored Cloud Robes."

"However, Your Majesty need not worry. After the banquet is over, Old Sun will personally make a trip to the celestial Court and ask the Jade Emperor to help us find the owner of the Five-colored Cloud Robes," Sun Wukong continued.

"The Great Saint need not trouble himself with a journey to the celestial Court, for this Taoist is already here!" Just then, a voice rang out from outside the hall, and a beam of rainbow light flashed into the grand hall, unveiling an old Taoist.

This sudden arrival shocked the King of Zhu Zi Country and the concubines of the Inner Palace, as well as all the civil and military officials who were filled with fear and unease. However, Sun Wukong loudly reassured them, "There is no need to panic, it is not a monster, it is a celestial Deity descending to earth!"

Upon hearing these words, the mortals felt somewhat relieved.

Sun Wukong leaped in front of the old Taoist, smiling as he asked, "Zhang Ziyang, what brings you here?"

The old Taoist was none other than True Man Ziyang, and with a smile, he responded, "Great Saint, little immortal Zhang Baoduan at your service."

Sun Wukong hurriedly returned the gesture.

Only then did True Man Ziyang begin to speak, "Three years ago, I attended a Buddhist assembly, and on my way passing through here, I saw that the King of the Zhu Zi Country was facing the peril of his phoenix halls being demolished. I feared that the Demon Generals would defile the Empress, thereby corrupting human relations, making it near impossible for a future reunification with the king."

"Therefore, I transformed an old palm robe into a garment of new rainbow robe, resplendent with five colors, and presented it to the Demon King, instructing the Empress to dress in this new attire."

"Once the Empress was dressed, her body immediately grew poisonous spines, which were, in fact, from the palm fibers. Today, knowing of the Great Saint’s success, I especially came to dispel the nightmare."

Laughing, Sun Wukong said, "So it was your trickery, Old Daoist. Thank you for coming from afar. Since it’s like this, quickly remove your five-colored cloud robe and allow the royal couple to reunite."

True Man Ziyang smiled and nodded, then walked over to the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace. With a flick of his hand and a muttered incantation, a palm robe flew from the Lady’s body and into True Man Ziyang’s hand, and the Golden Holy Palace was restored to her former self.

True Man Ziyang shook out the palm robe and prepared to drape it over himself.

Then, in the blink of an eye, he departed.

The banquet carried on as usual.

Afterward, the King of the Zhu Zi Country continued to entertain Sun Wukong and his companions. Although an immortal had appeared, with the removal of the poisonous spines from the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace, the king was exceedingly pleased.

Once local matters had been temporarily dealt with, the travelers relaxed, thoroughly enjoying this rare leisurely respite.

"Since I, as a sovereign, have already made a promise, and now you holy monks have truly rescued the Golden Holy Palace for me, I am willing to become a common man and grant this country to you!"

The King of the Zhu Zi Country was a man who kept his word, and now that his illness was cured and the Golden Holy Palace was returned, he was even willing to hand over his country to Sun Wukong and his companions.

Xuanzang waved his hand saying, "There’s no need for such drastic measures, Your Majesty. These are the obligations we should fulfill. Passing along our travel documents will suffice."

"That’s easily done, but this..."

The King of the Zhu Zi Country seemed embarrassed; he had already made it clear on the announcement that whoever could heal him, he would give half his kingdom to as a Divine Doctor.

He’d later stated that if anyone could rescue the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace, he’d be willing to surrender his kingdom and become a commoner.

Now that Sun Wukong and his companions had not only cured his disease but also brought back the Golden Holy Palace, how could he go back on his word.

"Your Majesty, we have no need for your kingdom. If you insist on giving something, perhaps you could build a temple for my master and fashion a Golden Body for worship—that would suffice," Sun Wukong said with a smile.

Hearing this, the King of the Zhu Zi Country replied, "Such matters are trivial, yet I feel it’s insufficient to show my appreciation. If you do not wish to accept the Zhu Zi Country, then I must ensure that incense is offered daily, and I will decree that the citizens do not neglect this duty!"

"That would be most satisfactory!"

Xuanzang nodded, declining further polite refusal.

The King of the Zhu Zi Country then expressed his hope that Xuanzang and his disciples would stay in the Zhu Zi Country for a few more days, but the Tang Monk insisted on continuing their journey. Despite his wishes to keep them longer, the king had to let them go.

To express his gratitude for having his life saved, the King of the Zhu Zi Country indeed established a holy temple within his country, venerating Xuanzang as the Buddha.

The banquet lasted from morning until evening before finally concluding.

Only then did Xuanzang and his disciples bid farewell to the king, returning to the Huitong Inn to rest. The next day, the king arranged another farewell banquet and then led the Three Palaces and Nine Concubines together with civil and military officials to escort them many miles outside the city.

Xuanzang and his disciples then left the Zhu Zi Country and continued their Journey to the West. For a time, their journey was peaceful. One day, the group entered another mountainous region.

As they traveled, they admired the scenery along the way, finding it very relaxing and pleasant.

Suddenly, Xuanzang reined in his horse, dismounted, and stood by the roadside, adjusting his robe.

Laughing, Sun Wukong asked, "Master, the road is smooth; why stop and not continue?"

Zhu Bajie laughed and said, "Brother Monkey, you are too insensitive. Master must be tired of sitting on the horse and wants to enjoy the scenery."

Xuanzang chuckled and replied, "It’s not to enjoy the scenery. I see a household in the valley to the south, and I wish to go and beg for some vegetarian food."

Laughing, Sun Wukong said, "Let Old Sun take care of begging for the meal. No need for Master to worry, I will go beg for the food."

Xuanzang chuckled and replied, "Normally when we are in desolate mountains and remote paths, not seeing any household, I let you ride the clouds to go far and beg for food. As this household is very near, let me go and beg for a meal just this once!"

Zhu Bajie hurriedly said, "The ancient proverb goes, ’Disciples shall bear labors when tasks arise.’ How could we allow Master to beg for food in person? Let me go instead!"

Xuanzang quickly replied, "Thanks to your attendance on this journey, this monk has been able to travel so far. However, today the weather is clear and the household is close. Let me go and beg for this meal to show gratitude for your continual protection and support."

Then, Sand Monk laughed and spoke, "There’s no need for further words, elder brothers. Master is just like that—let’s just agree to his wishes. If we upset Master, even if we do get the vegetarian food, he won’t eat it."

Sun Wukong nodded and said, "If that’s the case, let Master go. We’ll await him here for a while. Master, if you can successfully beg for the meal, that would be best, but if not, do not force it. Just come back early, and Old Sun will go elsewhere to beg for food to eat."

"Alright!" Xuanzang agreed wholeheartedly, took the alms bowl from Zhu Bajie’s hand, and turned toward the household in the southern valley.

"Brother Monkey, do you see if there’s a demon over there?" asked Zhu Bajie, suddenly thinking of something and turning to speak to Sun Wukong.