Sun Wukong’s commotion naturally alerted Zhu Bajie and Sand Monk, who chased for half a day but still failed to catch the monster. Only after hearing the noises here did they realize they had been lured away from their original location.
Zhu Bajie still looked confused and asked, "What happened?"
Zhu Bajie saw some mud on the monk’s clothes, making him look rather disheveled, and hurriedly rushed over to help Xuanzang up, complaining discontentedly, "What have you all been doing? While I, Old Pig, was facing the monster upfront, you guys couldn’t even keep an eye on one monk."
Previously it was almost always Sun Wukong who complained about Sand Monk and Zhu Bajie. Now that Zhu Bajie finally caught such an opportunity, he naturally didn’t want to miss it.
Sun Wukong hurriedly explained, "Bajie, your eyes deceived you and you let the monster get away. We saw the monster trying to catch Master, so we all went after that monster."
Sand Monk added, "Both elder brothers’ eyes deceived you. Just after you left, that monster sprang out again trying to grab Master. How could I, Old Sand, just stand by? I swung my Demon-Subduing Staff and chased after it, and the monster could not withstand a fight, so I killed it in just two or three hits."
Zhu Bajie was startled and exclaimed, "Old Pig chased it for half a day and didn’t catch up."
He immediately understood and swore through gritted teeth, "What a sly and cunning monster, actually deploying the Blossom-Dividing Plan to draw us away first before capturing Xuanzang."
"Luckily Brother Monkey was prepared early on, otherwise, this monster would have really succeeded."
Sun Wukong smiled and said, "Just a little demon, priding itself on nothing. It’s simply seeking its own death. Little does it know that in the face of absolute power, any scheme or trick is just bringing disgrace on itself."
However, Sand Monk’s anger had not subsided yet. He was always hoping to see Xuanzang obtain the True Scriptures so he could return to celestial Court, so being tricked by a little demon today, how could he not be furious?
Sun Wukong turned to Zhu Bajie and said, "Fool, follow me to the demon’s cave!"
Zhu Bajie asked, puzzled, "Brother Monkey, you already killed that monster, why go to its lair?"
Sun Wukong said angrily, "This foolish demon dared to provoke us, Old Sun cannot tolerate him. Although the Demon King is dead, there are still a cave full of little demons. These creatures all deserve to die. Follow me, and let’s kill all these little demons to eliminate future troubles forever."
Hearing this, Zhu Bajie immediately flushed with anger, brandishing his rake and shouting loudly, "Brother Monkey is right! Just now these little demons ganged up and bullied Old Pig! Now is the perfect time to seek revenge."
"We’ll leave the monk in the hands of Uncle Teacher and Junior Brother Sand while we two will go and return shortly."
Sun Wukong said a word to select, then took Zhu Bajie up the mountain. They found the demon cave and killed all the demons inside, young and old alike, then set fire to the cave to completely obliterate it and prevent any further problems.
Only then did Sun Wukong’s anger subside. He returned with Zhu Bajie and Xuanzang and the others, and the group crossed Hidden Mist Mountain, continuing their journey westward.
After descending from Hidden Mist Mountain and following the main road for several days, Xuanzang, riding on a horse, saw a city from afar and excitedly asked, "Disciple, is that city ahead Tianzhu Country?"
Sun Wukong laughed and replied, "No, no! Although Tathagata’s place is called Ultimate Bliss, it doesn’t have city walls. It is actually a mountain with many pavilions and palaces called the Great Thunderclap Monastery on Mount Meru."
"Even if we reach Tianzhu Country, it’s not where Tathagata resides. We still don’t know how far Mount Meru is from Tianzhu Country. That city must be outside the territories of Tianzhu Country. Let’s go there and find out."
Hearing this, Xuanzang couldn’t help but feel disappointed, but considering all the hardships they had already overcome, now that they had reached Tianzhu Country, how far could Mount Meru be?
The group continued on their way, and soon they arrived at the city gates, entered the city, and saw that the streets were sparsely populated, presenting a desolate scene.
The group could not help but be puzzled.
While walking, they saw a crowd gathered ahead. Xuanzang hurriedly said, "There are people there, we should go and ask for directions."
Zhu Bajie, always enjoying lively places, immediately squeezed through, shouting, "Make way, make way!"
Seeing Zhu Bajie’s appearance, the people were so frightened that they scattered in all directions, screaming, "A monster is coming!"
In the crowd were two government officers who were under a canopy posting a notice document, and being encircled in the middle, they couldn’t escape in time. Seeing Zhu Bajie approaching, they were so scared that they collapsed on the ground, screaming, "Monster, grandpa, please spare our lives!"
Wary of causing trouble, Xuanzang quickly said, "Everyone, please do not panic. We are not monsters. I am a monk sent by Great Tang of the Eastern Land on a journey to the Western Heaven to seek the Scriptures. We passed through this Treasured Place unintentionally without knowing its name and without formal introductions, which was indeed very presumptive of us. Please forgive us."
As Xuanzang spoke, he glared at Zhu Bajie, frightening the fool, who quickly hid to the side.
The two officers, seeing that Xuanzang looked distinguished and spoke politely, gradually eased their fears. They quickly stood up and returned the greeting, "So you are a Mage on a quest for the Scriptures. We apologize for our rudeness. This place is Fengxian County of Tianzhu Country. Due to consecutive years of drought, the Marquis has assigned us to post this notice to invite mages to pray for rain and save the people."
"Oh?" Sun Wukong’s eyebrows raised, and he stepped forward, smiling, "Where is that notice? Show it to me."