Journey to the West: Starting from Changing Sun Wukong’s fate
Chapter 440 - 411: Provoking Zhu Bajie_2

Chapter 440: Chapter 411: Provoking Zhu Bajie_2

Before long, our party entered the city gates and had not gone far when we saw a posthouse by the road. Xuanzang promptly said, "We can stay at this posthouse for now. Once we’ve changed the travel documents at the court, we can continue on our journey."

"Everything is up to Master’s arrangement," Sun Wukong readily agreed.

Xuanzang nodded slightly and turned to Sun Wukong, saying, "Wukong, wait here and look after Bajie and Sha Wujing. Make sure they don’t cause any trouble. I will go in and ask the Posthouse Manager for lodging."

"Mmm! Rest assured, Master," Sun Wukong casually responded.

"Thank you for that."

Xuanzang said politely, then went into the posthouse alone and explained his purpose to the government officer at the gate. The officer asked Xuanzang to wait and hurriedly went to report to the Posthouse Manager.

After a short while, the Posthouse Manager, accompanied by several constables, rushed out and came forward to greet Xuanzang with a hurried bow.

Xuanzang, equally polite, returned the greeting, then said, "This humble monk is an imperial envoy from the Great Tang of the Eastern Land on a mission to Great Thunder Sound on Mount Meru to seek scriptures. I have travel documents for court verification and seek a brief rest at your esteemed residence until my affairs are concluded."

The Posthouse Manager, taken aback, then said, "So you are the Divine Monk from the Great Tang. This government office is indeed a place to receive guests, and since you are the Holy Monk of the Great Tang, you should be received with all due hospitality. Please come in at once."

Xuanzang quickly responded, "Thank you for your kindness, I would not wish to impose. However, I have three disciples waiting outside."

"Invite them in as well," the Posthouse Manager said promptly.

After expressing his thanks once more, Xuanzang turned to beckon Sun Wukong and the others over.

As Sun Wukong and his companions approached, the Posthouse Manager, having seen their appearances, fell to the ground with a plop and exclaimed, "Monsters!"

Xuanzang hastened to help the Posthouse Manager to his feet and consoled him, "Do not be alarmed, sir. They are not monsters, but my three disciples."

"They are your disciples?"

In astonishment, the Posthouse Manager opened his mouth wide and said, "The Holy Monk appears to be a person of great stature, certainly a man of the Celestial Empire, but how did you come to accept such ugly disciples?"

Xuanzang quickly explained, "Although my three disciples are unsightly in appearance, they are kind-hearted. They are also highly skilled and possess boundless mana. If not for their protection, I could not have safely reached this place from the Great Tang, which is a hundred thousand miles away."

The Posthouse Manager then relaxed and, upon hearing that the Tang Dynasty was a hundred thousand miles away, could not help but open his mouth wide in amazement and ask, "Elder says the Tang Dynasty is a hundred thousand miles away; how did the Holy Monk manage to arrive here? How long did it take?"

Xuanzang promptly answered, "I set out in the Thirteenth Year of the Zhenguan Era, and it has been fourteen years since then."

"Indeed a Divine Monk!" The Posthouse Manager gaped even wider in amazement.

Xuanzang smiled and asked, "What era is it now in your esteemed country?"

The Posthouse Manager promptly replied, "This place is Great India. It has been over five hundred years since our founding Emperor Taizong, and now our current emperor, who loves mountains, waters, and flowers, has adopted the Jiajing reign name, and it is already the twenty-eighth year."

Xuanzang quickly said, "I wish to go and change the travel documents; would it be possible to see His Majesty?"

After some thought, the Posthouse Manager said with a smile, "You’ve come at just the right time. You may not know, but recently, because our King’s Princess has reached her twentieth spring, she is at the crossroads in the decorated pavilion, throwing an embroidered ball for a heavenly marriage to select a Prince Consort."

"Today is the climax of the festivities, and I believe the Prince has not yet called it a day. If you wish to change your travel documents, now would be a good time to go."

The Posthouse Manager then hurriedly invited Xuanzang and his companions inside and ordered a vegetarian feast to be prepared.

Xuanzang hastily ate something and then wished to head to the palace to change the travel documents. Zhu Bajie, having heard there was excitement to be seen, was already clamoring, "Old Pig will protect Master on the trip."

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "With a face like yours, you’d scare people if you went out. It’s better for Old Sun to accompany Master!"

Sha Wujing also laughed and added, "Second Senior Brother, with your looks, if you were to go to the palace gate, the guards might just mistake you for a monster and capture you."

Xuanzang said, "Sha Wujing spoke well, Bajie is coarse and Wukong is somewhat more meticulous."

Zhu Bajie retorted disdainfully, "Hmph! Other than Master being the handsome one, the three of us are all much of a muchness, so none of us has any right to laugh at the others. Brother Monkey is clamoring to go, but isn’t it just because the Princess is seeking a Prince Consort?"

Sun Wukong grabbed Zhu Bajie’s ear and said irritably, "You blockhead, there you go spouting nonsense again. Now I get it, no wonder you’re so eager to go, you just want to see the grand wedding assembly for choosing a Prince Consort."

After hearing Zhu Bajie’s words, Xuanzang couldn’t help but furrow his brows and turned to ask Sun Wukong, "Wukong, if the Princess in this temple is real, then the Princess in the palace must be a fake, impersonated by evil spirits. Could it be that the Princess seeking a Prince Consort is the one?"

Sitting nearby, Sun Wukong promptly put down his wine cup and said smiling, "Old Sun felt the presence of Monster Energy as soon as I entered the city. I’m afraid the Princess in the temple is indeed the true Princess, and it’s the other Princess who has been replaced by a demon."

"That means the Princess is truly a monster," Xuanzang said, his face changing color involuntarily.

Zhu Bajie said with a laugh, "Master, you’re worrying too much. Whether that Princess is a monster or not, what does that have to do with you?"

Xuanzang sternly replied with a frown, "Bajie, you can’t say things like that. If this Fake Princess is indeed a monster, she will surely harm people. Having encountered such a situation, how can we stand by and do nothing?"

Sun Wukong said with a smile, "Master, as the saying goes, ’Everything has its destiny.’ Let’s first change our travel permits, and then we’ll play it by ear. If we meet the Princess and she is a monster, I, Old Sun, will simply take care of her and rescue the real Princess, thus eliminating a harm to the people."

Xuanzang nodded slightly and said, "That would be very well."

At this moment, Zhu Bajie’s eyes gleamed and he chirped in cheerfully, "Old Pig has a plan that can eradicate this evil spirit."

"Oh?" Sun Wukong couldn’t help but gasp in surprise, asking curiously, "You blockhead, you’re always greedy and lazy, and I’ve never seen you come up with any clever plans. Has the sun risen from the west today? Since you’ve thought of a plan, let’s hear it."

Zhu Bajie said with a smile, "Old Pig is a hidden genius; my belly’s full of good ideas, cunning plans come to me as easily as picking things up."

"Stop bragging here, if you have any ideas, just spill them. I’d like to see what schemes you, blockhead, can come up with," Sun Wukong said with impatience.

Zhu Bajie spoke cheerfully, "My plan is very simple. Since the Princess is a monster and she’s going to throw the Embroidered Ball to find a husband, if someone else ends up as the Prince Consort, they will surely be harmed by the demon. Buddha says, ’If I don’t go to Hell, who will?’ So, let Master be the one to jump into this pit of fire! Since Master wants to meddle in this affair, shouldn’t he be the one to catch the Embroidered Ball?"

"Pah!" Sun Wukong scolded indignantly, "You blockhead, you talk as if you’re so righteous, I thought you had some good plan, but is that it?"

Sun Wukong was speaking seriously as he showed his Jingu Bang, ready to hit Zhu Bajie.

"Wukong!" Xuanzang quickly stopped Sun Wukong.

"Master, save me! You have to control this monkey! This impudent monkey is getting more and more unruly."

Zhu Bajie, as if he had seen a savior, quickly hid behind Xuanzang.

Xuanzang ignored Zhu Bajie, "Forget it, it’s not worth arguing with him!"

Sand Monk, who had been quiet until now, said with a smile to Sun Wukong, "Big Brother, beating him won’t resolve his thoughts. I have a way that will ensure he never makes the same mistake again."

"Oh? Junior Brother Sand, what’s your good plan?" Sun Wukong asked Sand Monk in surprise.

Sand Monk smiled and said, "Big Brother, do you remember Black Chicken Country?"

"I do, of course I do," Sun Wukong quickly nodded.

Sand Monk said with a grin, "Manjushri Bodhisattva’s mount, the Green Lion, went to the lower realm to become a demon, transformed into the King of Black Chicken Country, and pretended to be the king for three years, yet he didn’t touch anything in the Three Palaces and Six Courts. Wukong, do you know why?"

"Old Sun knows, that’s because the lion’s... was fanned away. Even if he had the idea, he had no ability anymore," Sun Wukong laughed heartily, then understood Sand Monk’s implication and laughed even harder, saying, "Old Sun gets it now, Junior Brother Sand wants me to fan him away!"

"I just wanted to take a look, and you’re going to fan me away?"