Xuanzang saw this scene and couldn’t help but feel surprised, not only him, but Zhu Bajie and Sand Monk were also perplexed.
Not long ago, the Prefect had wanted to kill them, and now he was actually coming forward to admit his mistake.
Then, after glancing at Sun Wukong, he concluded that it must have been Sun Wukong’s doing.
Zhu Bajie asked Sun Wukong curiously, "Brother Monkey, what’s going on here?"
Sun Wukong replied with a chuckle, "Didn’t you hear what the Prefect said? We were wronged. Now the truth has been revealed, and all is clear. The Prefect himself has come to escort us out! Isn’t that right, Mr. Prefect?"
As he spoke, Sun Wukong turned towards the Prefect.
The Prefect hastily answered, "Yes! Yes! Yes! It was all my ignorance, arresting the Holy Monks mistakenly. Therefore, I have come especially to apologize and beg for your forgiveness!"
Between his words, the Prefect kept bowing respectfully, repeatedly kowtowing.
Upon hearing this, Xuanzang was overjoyed and quickly helped the Prefect to his feet, saying with a smile, "Mr. Prefect, please rise. Since it was a misunderstanding, you need not blame yourself."
The Prefect hurriedly said, "The Elder is truly magnanimous, truly a Holy Monk! This place is filthy, and we have put you through suffering. Please, Holy Monks, follow me out; I have prepared a banquet at the Government Office to treat the shock and hope you will honor us with your presence."
"So we can leave now? In that case, what are we waiting for? Let’s get out quickly! I don’t want to stay in this ghostly place for another moment – it’s dirty and stinks."
This was Zhu Bajie speaking through his big mouth.
Sun Wukong laughed slyly, saying, "Although this place is a little rough, it’s not much different from that pigsty you lived in for hundreds of years, and I never heard you complain back then."
Zhu Bajie retorted, unconvinced, "Come on! My old pigsty was a hundred times better than this."
The Prefect quickly apologized again, "I have made the Holy Monks suffer. It’s truly my fault."
And with that, he promptly escorted Xuanzang and the others out.
Xuanzang and his three disciples followed the Prefect to the Government Office when a constable approached to report, "Reporting to the Lord, Lady Kou and the Kou family’s two sons have all been apprehended and are waiting in the hall for your judgment."
The Prefect waved his hand dismissively, then stood up and respectfully said to Xuanzang, "Holy Monk, please forgive me. The arrest of the Holy Monks was due to the Kou family’s false accusation."
"Lady Kou and her two sons insisted that they saw the Holy Monks committing robbery and assault, which prompted me to arrest you, only to realize later that it was a misunderstanding."
"I have now ordered people to arrest these slanderers, so please, Holy Monk, pass your judgment."
Frowning, Xuanzang said, "I really don’t understand why Lady Kou would falsely accuse us."
Sun Wukong chuckled, "Why else? Old Sun has already found out. Lady Kou is narrow-minded and likes to stir trouble, a genuine villain through and through."
"Previously, she persuaded us to stay at her house, but Master didn’t appreciate it and insisted on leaving. Annoyed by this, the woman harbored some resentment towards Master."
"After we left, the Kou family was robbed that very night. Kou Yuanwai was killed by the bandits. With her heart filled with grief and resentment, and not knowing who the murderer was, she had nowhere to vent. That’s why she accused us, taking her anger out on us. It was Master’s fate to face this obstacle. Moreover, the Prefect was a confused official, who, upon receiving the complaint, arrested us directly without proper investigation."
"Yes! Yes! Yes! I was confused," the Prefect hurriedly apologized.
After thinking for a moment and sighing lightly, Xuanzang said, "Although it’s detestable that Lady Kou falsely accused us, we are unharmed now, and the misunderstanding has been cleared. The stolen property has also been recovered. Out of respect for Kou Yuanwai, let’s not pursue the matter further. Please release them, Mr. Prefect. It’s just a shame about Kou Yuanwai. He was charitable and a truly good man; I didn’t expect him to meet such a tragic fate."
Hearing this, the Prefect quickly praised, "The Holy Monk is magnanimous, I admire it. I will immediately order the release of Lady Kou and her two sons."
As he said this, the Prefect hurriedly instructed his men to free Lady Kou and her two sons.
"Thank you, Sir," Xuanzang immediately expressed his gratitude, then turned to Sun Wukong and said, "Wukong, Kou Yuanwai was kind to us; I didn’t expect him to fall victim to thieves. We should pay our respects to repay Kou Yuanwai’s kindness."
Sun Wukong nodded and replied, "Master is absolutely right; we should do so."
Suddenly, Zhu Bajie spoke up, "Didn’t the Prefect prepare a banquet? Why not eat first and then go later?"
"You fool, all you think about is eating. We can eat when we come back; won’t that be in time? Whether we’re in the Government Office or at the Kou family’s, do you really think you’ll miss out on a meal?"
Sun Wukong said irritably, startling Zhu Bajie into closing his mouth quickly.
By this time, Lady Kou and her two sons had been released. Seeing Xuanzang and the others, they quickly kowtowed and apologized. Xuanzang spoke words of comfort, and then they went back to the Kou family home together.
After arriving at the Kou family home to pay their respects, they thought of how good a man Kou Yuanwai had been, now lying in a cold coffin, separated eternally from the living. Celestial Beings and mortals forever parted.
Unable to contain his sorrow, Xuanzang shed tears and lamented, "Alas! Alas! Poor Kou Yuanwai was such a good man, to have met such an untimely death."
Seeing his master crying so sadly, Sun Wukong smiled and said, "Master, don’t be sad. Old Sun will go to the Underworld and bring Kou Yuanwai back, and it’ll also allow us to verify with Lady Kou who really killed Kou Yuanwai. This will save us the trouble of being wrongly accused as thieves again."