Journey to the West: Black Six Ears

046.3 Fighting the White Bone Demon

"Sir, stop!"

Xuanzang saw that it was a person coming and quickly called out.

Seeing this, the old man not only did not stop, but instead gripped his long knife and slashed heavily at the group.

"You old man, my master told you to stop, yet you still act so aggressively, asking for a beating!"

Pigsy swung his rake, blocking the old man's knife. With a gentle twist, the long knife snapped in two with a crack.

After his weapon was twisted in half, the veteran collapsed to the ground in terror.

He closed his eyes and, trembling, shouted to the crowd:

"Corpse Demon, kill me! I want everyone to see your true face!"

Seeing the old man's fearless attitude, the pilgrims were both amused and exasperated.

Xuanzang immediately stepped forward and grabbed the old man's arm:

"Old man, I am a monk from the Great Tang Dynasty of the East, on my way to the Western Paradise to retrieve Buddhist scriptures. How could I be some kind of corpse demon?"

Hearing Xuanzang say this, the old man finally raised his head, looked at the group, and seemed to wake from a dream:

"Huh, there are five people?"

Upon glancing at him, the old man's expression softened.

However, when he saw Zhu Bajie, the expression on his face immediately twisted.

"Oh dear! What an ugly monster!"

These words made Pigsy so angry that his mouth twisted in disbelief.

He shouted angrily:

"Old man, if you judge people by their appearance, you're mistaken! I may be ugly, but I'm useful."

Upon hearing this, the old man immediately understood that this Pigsy was definitely not a corpse demon.

Furthermore, it's impossible for a corpse demon to multiply into so many people.

"Old man, what brings you out of the mountains? And what are you shouting about, some kind of corpse demon?"

Xuanzang became somewhat flustered as he spoke.

The name "Corpse Demon" alone tells you it's no good.

If there are any monsters in these mountains, he doesn't plan to take this road anymore.

Even with Sun Wukong and the Yellow Wind King protecting them, they still experienced quite a few frights along the way.

"This place is called White Tiger Ridge. It was originally the lair of a corpse demon. This corpse demon devoured countless people, as you can see."

As the old man spoke, he pointed to a spot not far away.

As he moved, everyone looked up and saw that human skins were hanging on the trees on the distant hillside.

"what!"

Xuanzang cried out in surprise.

He didn't want to leave this mountain.

"Can we take a detour?"

A strange look flashed across the face of the Yellow Wind King in response to Xuanzang's question.

On the way to see Buddha in the Western Paradise, is it possible to take a detour?

If I really let you off the hook, wouldn't that mean Buddha is going to let people have their way?

That would be a slap in the face to Buddha and Bodhisattva.

There's no way around it.

King Yellow Wind shook his head.

"There's really no way to bypass it. It would take almost half a month to travel around these hundreds of miles of White Tiger Ridge."

The old man also shook his head.

White Tiger Ridge is the only passage to Baoxiang Kingdom from the east, and no one can bypass it.

When going out to fight, they all had to take this road.

"However, there is an official road over there that you can take."

The old man pointed to the edge of White Tiger Ridge.

Looking over, everyone could see that the path was deserted and barely visible, clearly indicating that few people walked there.

"Let's go there."

Xuanzang immediately gave the order.

He had no intention of going through White Tiger Ridge.

However, the old man grabbed Xuanzang's sleeve and said:

"Elder, I have a request."

Xuanzang smiled wryly and waved his hands repeatedly in response to the old man's words:

"Sir, just say what you need. Why ask me for help like this? If it can be done, we monks will certainly help you."

He didn't make any absolute statements; if the old man asked Xuanzang to lead men to level White Tiger Ridge, he wouldn't agree.

The old man's knees buckled, and he immediately knelt down, saying to Xuanzang:

"Holy monk, please save me."

Upon hearing this, Xuanzang's expression changed slightly.

Since the title "Holy Monk" had been used, Xuanzang could only help him up and listen attentively.

The old man looked at Xuanzang and, with tears streaming down his face, recounted his past experiences.

"Old man, we are just passing by. If we encounter that monster, we will naturally do our duty."

Xuanzang looked helpless.

The matter has already been brought to the forefront; it would be awkward for him to refuse now.

However, there is a compromise: at worst, we can just walk faster and avoid those so-called corpse demons.

"Alright, alright, Holy Monk, come with me."

The old man extended an invitation.

Xuanzang immediately shook his head.

If you follow this old man, you'll know without a doubt that he'll lead you to fight the Corpse Demon.

"Old man, you should rest here. We'll walk the rest of the way ourselves."

After saying this, Xuanzang gave his disciples and attendants a wink, picked up his luggage, and walked away.

The five of them moved quickly; Xuanzang didn't even care about his hungry stomach and was the first to set foot on White Tiger Ridge.

There are many tigers, leopards, wolves and insects in White Tiger Ridge, but King Yellow Wind only waved his hand and a gust of wind swept the wild beasts away.

At this moment, Xuanzang was most pleased with himself after the journey.

With the Yellow Wind King protecting him and able to subdue Sun Wukong with the Tightening Headband, plus Pigsy starting to coax him with kind words recently.

Xuanzang actually found comfort on his journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

But the issue of hunger is something that can't be avoided in the end.

Glug...

Xuanzang grabbed his baggage from the horse's back, took out a water bottle, drank two mouthfuls, and then said:

"Where did that monkey go? Why hasn't it come back yet?"

Pigsy quickly stepped forward, his eyes darting around:

"Master is right. Although I, Old Pig, am clumsy with words, I still know how to drill through ice to get fire and find food, and how to press snow to get oil to cook rice."

Master, you don't understand that monkey. He sees that many people in the Western Paradise are offering alms to monks, so why would he care about you? He only comes after he's finished eating.

This rambling nonsense actually angered Xuanzang.

"That damned monkey, it really doesn't know what's good for it."

Just as Xuanzang was about to unleash a torrent of curses, a delicious aroma of hot food wafted over.

At first glance, she was a girl with indescribable beauty, with delicate features, white teeth, red lips, and a face as beautiful as the moon and as lovely as a flower.

She was carrying a blue clay jar in her left hand, a green porcelain bottle in her right, and a rattan box slung over her arm, walking from west to east through the mountains and forests.

The holy monk rested his horse on a mountain cliff when he suddenly saw a woman in a dress approaching.

Her emerald sleeves swayed gently, veiling her jade-like feet; her Xiang skirt draped askew, revealing her golden lotus feet. Sweat glistened on her powdered face, like dew on a flower; dust brushed her delicate eyebrows, like willow branches shrouded in mist. She gazed intently, watching as she approached.

Xuanzang was not surprised to see her swaying.

Having met the old man along the way, I knew that people lived here, so it wasn't unexpected that a girl had suddenly appeared.

"Bajie, Your Majesty, Wukong just said this place is deserted, but look, someone's coming out over there!"

The fool put down his rake, straightened his robe, and swayed back and forth, trying to appear cultured, as he greeted them face to face.

It was true that she was not real from afar, but clear up close. The woman had a beautiful, moon-shaped face and a naturally pure character.

When Pigsy saw that she was handsome, the fool was overcome with lust and couldn't help but ramble on, calling out, "Female Bodhisattva, where are you going? What are you carrying?"

When the woman saw him, she simply agreed repeatedly.

"Elder, in this blue jar is fragrant rice, in this green bottle is fried gluten, and in this rattan box is hot soup. I have come here for no other reason than to fulfill my vow to offer alms to the monks."

Upon hearing this, Pigsy was overjoyed and quickly turned and ran off in a whirlwind to report to Xuanzang:

"Master! Good people are always rewarded! Master was hungry, so I sent my brother to beg for alms. That monkey has gone off somewhere to pick peaches and play. He ate too many peaches, so he's feeling a bit nauseous and his stomach is starting to feel heavy. Look, isn't that a monk coming to beg for alms?"

Upon seeing the woman approaching, Tang Sanzang immediately jumped up, clasped his hands together, and said:

"Female Bodhisattva, where do you live? What kind of family do you belong to? What is your purpose in coming here to offer alms to monks?"

When the woman saw Tang Sanzang asking about his origins, he immediately fabricated a story, using sweet words to deceive and coax her:

"Master, this mountain is called White Tiger Ridge, where snakes turn and beasts fear. My home is located directly to the west. My parents are still alive. They are devout Buddhists and provide generous meals to monks from near and far."

Xuanzang was immediately puzzled when he heard her say that.

Although this place is inhabited, according to the old man, White Tiger Ridge is not safe. How could a young woman of good character be traveling alone in such a place?

Could it be that a monster has transformed into a human and is trying to trick me?

Thinking of this, Xuanzang waved his hands repeatedly:

"Female Bodhisattva, your words are flawed. The Bible says: 'While parents are alive, one should not travel far; if one must travel, one should have a fixed destination.' Since your parents are still alive, how come you are wandering in the mountains by yourself without any servants to accompany you? This is not in accordance with filial piety."

Upon hearing this, the woman immediately lowered her head and smiled apologetically.

After a long pause, he replied:

"The elder is right. I was just passing by while delivering food. If the elder does not wish to eat, I will simply leave."

Having said that, he bowed with his hands clasped in greeting and was about to turn and leave.

"Amitabha."

Xuanzang was very satisfied with the woman's attitude.

A female benefactor was moved by his words. Xuanzang not only upheld his Buddhist heart but also protected the believer and may even have saved her from danger in the mountains.

Although Sanzang didn't eat it, Bajie was quite annoyed.

The fool pouted and muttered:

"There are countless monks in the world, but none are as cowardly as this old monk! I won't eat even a third of the ready-made meal; I'll wait for that monkey to come and cook a quarter of it before I eat!"

Without saying a word, he rushed forward and grabbed the rattan box.

"What is the elder doing?"

The woman was startled and grabbed the rattan box, trying to leave.

Pigsy was extremely hungry, so he knocked over a jar with his snout and was about to eat it.

Just then, a loud shout rang out.

"Hey! What kind of demon are you? Take this from me, Old Sun!"