Journey to the West: Starting with the Hunting of the Three Demons of Twin Fork Ridge

Chapter 142 Wuji Kingdom: The Monkey King's Eight Precepts

After Li Fa finished examining the ghost, he put away the spilled water bowl and carefully settled the ghost of the king. Only then did he send Tang Sanzang to summon Wukong.

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Master, that ghost just now claimed to be the King of Wuji Kingdom. Why did you believe him?"

Li Fa laughed and said, "Believe it or not, that ghost is already in my trap. My idea is to teach Sun Wukong to do as the ghost says and retrieve his corpse from the well. If it has a physical body, then it is real."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang suddenly understood and exclaimed, "Excellent! Excellent!"

So he returned to the meditation room and woke up the traveler.

Sun Wukong was asleep when Tang Sanzang woke him up, saying, "Master, it's not even dawn yet, why did you wake me?"

Tang Sanzang recounted what had just happened.

Upon hearing this, Wukong sat up abruptly and cursed, "That wicked Taoist priest! How dare he take lives and seize someone's kingdom! I, Sun Wukong, will go and drag him out and kill him with my staff!"

Li Fa stopped him, saying, "Great Sage, wait a moment. As the saying goes, to catch a thief, catch him red-handed. That monster has been emperor for three years without slipping up or letting any word slip. He sleeps with the three empresses and enjoys himself with the civil and military officials. Even if you have the ability to catch him, it's hard to convict him."

The pilgrim asked, "Why can't I be convicted?"

Li Fa said, "He's just a mouthless gourd, but he'll roll around with you a few times. Does he dare say, 'I am the King of Wuji, what heaven-defying deeds have I committed that you dare arrest me? What license do you have to argue with him?'"

The traveler asked, "What is your opinion?"

Li Fa said, "Now that things have come to this, we might as well be bolder. Let the Great Sage take this opportunity to enter the city of Wuji Kingdom, find the Imperial Garden, open the Glazed Well, and retrieve the emperor's corpse, wrap it in a bundle. Tomorrow, when we enter the city, we don't care about exchanging documents; we just need to fight the monster when we see it."

If he uttered a word, they would show him the coffin and say, "You killed this man!" Then they would have the Crown Prince come forward to weep for his father, the Empress come out to acknowledge her husband, and all the civil and military officials see the ruler before taking action. This is how official matters are easier to handle when there are adversaries involved.

Upon hearing this, the pilgrim said happily, "What you say makes sense, Taoist priest. However, the water in that well is deep, and although I can swim, I am impatient. Why don't I ask Pigsy to come with me?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang said, "I'm afraid Pigsy won't be willing to go."

The pilgrim laughed and said, "Master, you're too protective of your own. How do you know he won't go? You only don't respond when I call you, and that's it! But when I go, I'll use my silver tongue to get even Pigsy, let alone Pigsy, to come with me."

Tang Sanzang said, "Alright, go and call him."

The pilgrim left his master and went straight to Pigsy's bedside, calling, "Pigsy! Pigsy!"

That idiot was lying in bed, snoring loudly, and you couldn't wake him up.

The pilgrim grabbed his ear and mane, pulled him up, and called out, "Bajie!"

The fool was still struggling, so the traveler called out again. The fool said, "Go to sleep, stop playing! We have to travel tomorrow!"

The traveler said, "I'm not kidding, there's a business deal I'd like to do with you."

Pigsy asked, "What kind of business?"

The pilgrim then told him about the king's affairs, but to his surprise, Pigsy was indeed unwilling, saying, "If Master tells you to go, then go. Why are you dragging me into this?"

The traveler laughed and said, "Are you really not going? There's a great fortune at the bottom of that well. If you don't go, I'll call Old Sha. Don't regret it later."

Upon hearing the word "wealth and honor," the simpleton perked up and hurriedly asked, "Brother, what kind of wealth and honor?"

The pilgrim said, "Think about it, that king was at the bottom of the well for three years, and all he wore were treasures from the palace of the Kingdom of Wuji. His golden crown, jade belt, pearls, and precious boots—each piece was priceless. If you were to pull him up, wouldn't you be incredibly wealthy?"

Upon hearing this, the simpleton was overjoyed and quickly got up, saying, "Brother, you should have said you were going to retrieve the treasure!"

The traveler said, "Since you don't want to go, then I'll call you Old Sha."

The simpleton quickly said, "Brother, my good brother! Let Old Pig go. Or, how about I share half of the treasure with you?"

Wukong said, "I only care about fame, I don't care about any treasures. I'll give them to you then."

When the fool heard that it was all his, he was overjoyed. He jumped up, put on his clothes, and went with the traveler.

This is exactly what it means to have one's face flushed with wine and one's heart moved by gold.

The two then parted ways with Li Fa and Tang Seng, and rode on auspicious light straight to the city.

Before long, they arrived, descending from the clouds, and indeed came to the Imperial Garden.

The garden was overgrown with weeds, the trees swayed in the breeze, and the air was eerie.

Pigsy huddled behind Monkey, his voice trembling, "Brother, this place is terrifying! Where is that well?"

Wukong jumped onto the artificial hill and looked around. Sure enough, he saw a well curb vaguely visible under a banana tree.

He jumped down, parted the banana leaves, and revealed an octagonal glazed well, covered by a stone slab.

The simpleton exclaimed joyfully, "Brother! What a stroke of luck! If there wasn't some treasure, why would it be covered by a mere stone slab?"

The traveler said, "Lift it up and take a look."

The fool opened his mouth and looked around, and saw a dazzling glow and bright white mist.

Pigsy laughed, "What a stroke of luck! What a stroke of luck! The treasure is shining brightly!"

Upon closer inspection, ah! It turned out to be the light of the stars and moon reflecting off the water in the well.

Bajie said, "Brother, I thought it was a treasure shining, but it turns out it's just the moon reflected in the well water. But I don't know how to get down there."

The pilgrim laughed and said, "Take off your clothes, and I'll show you a trick."

Upon hearing this, Pigsy took off his robe.

The Great Sage took out his golden cudgel, pulled on both ends, and shouted, "Grow!" It was now seven or eight zhang long. He instructed, "Pigsy, hold onto one end and lower yourself into the well."

Pigsy said, "Brother, just let it go. If it reaches the water, then stop."

The traveler said, "I know."

The fool, who was clinging to the iron rod, was gently lifted up by the traveler and put down.

Before long, it was placed by the water's edge, and Pigsy exclaimed, "We're in the water!"

When the traveler heard him say that, he pressed his staff down.

The fool squatted down with a thud, dropping the iron bar, and then grabbed the water, muttering, "That damned bastard! I told him not to let the water out, but he just pushed me down!"

The traveler raised his staff and laughed, "Brother, the treasure is underwater. Go down and feel for it."

The fool was a true swimmer, but he plunged headfirst into the well. Ah! The bottom of the well was incredibly deep! He plunged again and suddenly opened his eyes to see a memorial archway with the words "Crystal Palace" on it.

Pigsy exclaimed in alarm, "Oh no! Oh no! We've gone the wrong way! We've stumbled into the sea! There's a Crystal Palace in the sea, how could there be one in a well? But since the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses said there's treasure, it must be in this Crystal Palace. Let me explore it."

So he swam to the palace gate and was about to knock when he saw four yakshas carrying two stretchers into the palace from outside.

The stretcher was covered with a white cloth, which was bulging and I didn't know what was inside.

Pigsy's eyes darted around, and he thought to himself, "Could this be the king's treasure? Let me take a look."

He stepped in front of the demon and shouted, "Stop! What are you carrying?"

The four yakshas were startled. Seeing that it was a monster with a long snout and big ears, they quickly said, "Your Majesty, this is an item that my Dragon King ordered to be sent to the palace. Your Majesty, please do not stop it."