Journey to the West: Starting from Changing Sun Wukong’s fate
Chapter 457 - 419 Kill this ignorant Monk_2

Chapter 457: Chapter 419 Kill this ignorant Monk_2

Xuanzang heard this, and was delighted, agreeing straight away.

Kou Yanwai, curious, then asked, "I read in ’Shilin Guangji’ that there are only the Four Great Continents. Our place is known as Western Cow Hezhou, and there’s also the Dongshen Shenzhou. How many years have you walked to get from Southern Continent Jambudvipa to here?"

Xuanzang replied with a smile, "This poor monk has faced many delays on the way, with less days on the road than in retreat.

Often beset by vicious demons and fierce monsters, I’ve undergone countless hardships, and deeply indebted to the protection of my three disciples. It took fourteen cycles of cold and heat to finally reach the Treasured Place."

Kou Yanwai exclaimed, "Truly, a Divine Monk!" Not long after, Lady Kou and his two sons, upon hearing that a Divine Monk from afar had arrived, also hurried over to meet him. After a group of people chatted idly in the living room for a while, a servant came to report that the vegetarian feast was ready.

Zhu Bajie, upon hearing this, sprang from his chair in an instant, impatiently saying, "The vegetarian feast is ready, what are we waiting for? Let’s hurry up and eat. After we’re full and content, chatting later won’t be too late."

Kou Yanwai replied with a chuckle, "Masters, there’s no need to rush. I will take you to the meal right now."

With that, he led Xuanzang and his disciples to the meal. The Kou family was wealthy and had prepared a very lavish vegetarian feast, much to the delight of Zhu Bajie.

Thus, Xuanzang and his disciples temporarily stayed at the Kou family home, planning to hit the road after completing the perfect ritual for Kou Yanwai.

After staying at Kou Yanwai’s home for a few days, he chose an auspicious day and invited twenty-four high monks from the locality to join Xuanzang in providing a complete ceremonial service for Kou Yanwai. The ceremony lasted three days and nights before ending.

Kou Yanwai again entreated Xuanzang and his disciples to stay a few more days, and with this delay, they had stayed at the Kou house for half a month.

Xuanzang inevitably became a bit anxious, so he insisted on taking his leave. Kou Yanwai, unable to retain him any longer, could only let them go.

Thereupon, Kou Yanwai ordered preparations for a farewell banquet for Xuanzang and the others. He had twenty pairs of colorful flags made in advance, hired a group of musicians and drummers, and also invited a number of monks and Taoists. The send-off was quite spectacular, with a large procession escorting Xuanzang and his disciples out of the city, before ending.

After leaving, Xuanzang and his disciples continued their journey westward along the main road. Owing to the extravagant farewell ceremony prepared by Kou Yanwai, they had traveled only a few dozen miles before night fell, so they could only look for a place to rest nearby.

Sun Wukong scanned the surroundings and saw a house by the side of the road, smilingly said, "Master, we can rest there."

The four of them approached and found a collapsed archway with a faded and dust-covered sign with four large characters, "Huaguang Guest House."

The elder dismounted and said, "Huaguang Bodhisattva was a disciple of the Flame Five-Lights Buddha. He was demoted for defeating the Poison Fire Ghost King, and became the Five-Manifestation Divine Official. There must be a temple priest here."

They all went in, only to see that the corridors had collapsed, the walls were leaning, and there were no traces of any person, just overgrown with wild grasses.

Though the circumstances were rough, by then it was late, so they had no choice but to make do for the night.

As the saying goes, wealth should not be flaunted. Kou Yanwai’s extravagant festivities for sending off Xuanzang and his disciples had caught the attention of a gang of vicious thieves in Tongtai Prefecture. Usually idle, they squandered their fortunes on eating, drinking, and gambling, and were fretting about not having silver to spend. When they saw the grandeur of the send-off for Xuanzang and his disciples by the Kou family, they realized that the Kou family must be wealthy. Thus, over thirty robbers, armed and carrying torches, charged into the Kou home in the dead of night.

The Kou family, young and old, were terrified and scattered to hide. These robbers looted the house thoroughly, taking all the gold, silver, and valuables, packing up everything that could be carried away.

Kou Yanwai hurried to intervene, grabbing one of the robbers, pleading incessantly, "Your Highnesses, just take enough for yourselves, please leave some wealth for this old man to live out his days!"

But the robbers had no mind to reason. Annoyed by the old man’s persistence, one delivered a savage kick that knocked Kou Yanwai to the ground. Sadly, frail with age, he was kicked to death and his soul departed for the Underworld. The robbers, after looting the gold and silver, fled the city in the dead of night to avoid the pursuit of the authorities, heading westward in their escape.

After the robbers left, the remaining members of the Kou family, who had been hiding, dared to come out. They saw Kou Yan lying motionless on the ground and hurried over to check on him. They found his body already cold; there was no breath left in him, and they could not help but burst into loud, uncontrollable weeping.

Speaking of Kou Yan’s wife, she had a knack for stirring up trouble. Before Xuanzang was going to leave, she kindly insisted on him staying, but Xuanzang, failing to appreciate the gesture, had upset her greatly.

Still furious, she said to her two sons, "My children, stop your crying. Your father was hosting monks today, and had been hosting monks yesterday too, but little did we know that today would mark the completion of his life as he hosted a group of monks that brought death upon him!"

Kou Hong’s two sons asked, "Mother, what do you mean by ’monks that brought death’?"

Lady Kou said, "The thieves were fierce and bold; they killed their way into the house. I hid under the bed, trembling with fear but watching closely towards where the light shone and I saw everything clearly. Guess who I saw? It was Xuanzang who lit the fire, Zhu Bajie who wielded the knife, Sand Monk who carried the gold and silver, and it was Sun Walker who killed your father."

Upon hearing this, Kou Hong’s two sons said, "Mother, since you saw everything clearly, it must be true. They stayed in our house for half a month and became familiar with the layout of our property, doors, walls, windows, and alleys. Greed moves the heart, so they took advantage of the night rain to return to our house, robbing our wealth and harming our father. Such poison in their intent! When day breaks, we’ll file a complaint at the Government Office to have them arrested."

As soon as day broke, Kou Hong’s two sons indeed wrote a petition, and they filed a lawsuit against Xuanzang and his three disciples at the Tongtai Prefectural Yamen.

The Prefectural Emissary, after receiving the petition and learning the details of the incident, promptly summoned over a hundred constables from within the yamen. Armed with knives, spears, clubs, and staves, the Prefect himself rode on horseback, leading the team out of the west gate and along the Great Road, pursuing Xuanzang and his disciples to the west.

The gang of robbers, after seizing the gold and silver treasures, fled westward and hid in a mountain hollow where they buried all the looted treasures, planning to retrieve them later once the coast was clear.

Once the robbers had concealed the stolen gold and silver treasures and daylight had come, seeing no pursuit from the government officers, they prepared to return to the city to hide, waiting for the commotion to die down before dividing the spoils.

Just as the robbers emerged from the mountains, they happened to see four monks walking towards them on the Great Road. One of them recognized the group and hastily said, "Aren’t those four monks the ones who saw off Kou Yan?"

"Kou Yan made quite a show for their departure; he must have bestowed upon them plenty of wealth. Look at all the luggage they’re carrying; it surely contains gold and silver treasures. Since we’ve stumbled upon them, let’s not stop at half measures and rob them once more for their gold and silver treasures," one of the robbers proposed.

"But those three other fellows are so ugly, they look tough to deal with."

"What’s there to fear? There are only four of them, and we are so many. Can’t we deal with four monks?"

After deliberating, the robbers decided to go all out and rob Xuanzang and his disciples—a testament to their boundless audacity!

Having made their decision, they aggressively charged forward, stopping Xuanzang and his disciples in their tracks.

The robbers shouted, "Monks, don’t bother trying to escape! Pay the toll if you value your lives! If you mutter as much as a single word of dissent, you’ll each get a slice of the knife—no survivors!"

Hearing the commotion outside, Xuanzang turned to his three disciples and said, "What should we do now? After enduring a night of wind and rain, we’ve encountered robbers trying to steal our wealth this morning. Misfortunes never come singly, do they!"

Sun Wukong smiled and said, "Master, don’t worry, let Old Sun ask them a question."

Sun Wukong stepped forward, hands on his hips, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

The lead robber sneered back, "What a fool, daring to question me! Are you blind? Can’t you see it’s Prince He? Hand over the toll money quickly, and you can pass."

Sun Wukong laughed in response, "I thought it was someone important, but it turns out to be a mere pack of thieving highwaymen."

Hearing this, the robbers became enraged, shouting in unison, "Kill him! Kill this reckless monk!"