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

Chapter 143 Wuji Kingdom: The Fool Retrieving Corpses

Pigsy wouldn't listen. He reached out and lifted a white cloth, peering inside—

All that could be seen was a deathly pale face with closed eyes—it was a female corpse!

Pigsy cried out in fright, and then lifted another white cloth to reveal a young male corpse.

Pigsy spat several times, cursing, "Bad luck! Bad luck! I came looking for treasure, and here I find two dead men!"

Taking advantage of the situation, the four demons carried the stretcher and ran into the palace in a flash.

Pigsy hurriedly gave chase and arrived at the palace gate, where he saw an old Dragon King come out to greet him, shouting sternly, "Did you send the Great Sage Sun?"

Bajie said irritably, "What Great Sage Sun? I'm Pigsy! That monkey told me there's a king down there with several treasures, and he wanted me to come down and retrieve them. But before I even saw the treasures, I ran into two dead men! What bad luck!"

The Dragon King of the Well laughed and said, "So it's Marshal Tianpeng. Marshal, don't be angry. The king's body is in the palace. Marshal, please come with me."

Upon hearing this, Pigsy followed the Dragon King into the palace and indeed saw a corpse in the main hall, dressed in a dragon robe and wearing a golden crown. It was none other than the King of Wuji Kingdom.

Although he had been dead for three years, his face was still lifelike and vivid.

Bajie circled around a few times, reached out and touched the golden crown, then weighed the jade belt in his hand, frowning as he said, "There are indeed treasures on this body, but what about this corpse?"

The Dragon King said, "I dare not hide it from the Marshal; you must carry the corpse up as well."

Upon hearing this, Pigsy waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no! I only agreed to retrieve the treasure, not to carry the dead! That monkey lied to me!"

The Dragon King smiled wryly, "If the Marshal doesn't carry it, there's nothing I can do. This corpse will decompose in three days without the Youth-Preserving Pill. The Marshal should hurry up and go up."

Bajie's eyes darted around, and he asked, "Who were those two corpses just now?"

The Dragon King's expression changed slightly, and he said vaguely, "That was...that was someone who drowned in a well in Wuji Kingdom. I am a kind-hearted person, so I had people bring them back for burial. Marshal, you don't need to worry about it."

Pigsy was still somewhat doubtful, but he didn't press the matter further. He thought to himself, "That monkey is still waiting up there. If I don't carry this corpse up, he definitely won't pull me up. Oh well, I guess I'll just consider myself unlucky!"

He tore off the king's golden crown and jade belt, stuffed them into his bosom, then hoisted the corpse onto his shoulder and swam out of the Crystal Palace, cursing and swearing.

When the Dragon King of the Well saw that he had left, he immediately ordered the Yaksha to close the palace gates tightly and not to make another sound.

Pigsy carried the corpse on his back, gripped the golden cudgel in one hand, and pulled hard.

Wukong sensed it from above and pulled upwards with all his might.

Along the way, Pigsy complained constantly: "You damned stable boy! You tricked me into coming down to carry a dead man! Once I get back up, I'll settle the score with you!"

Wukong, who was listening intently from the well, laughed and said, "Fool, if you keep cursing, I'll let go and let you go down for another bath!"

Pigsy was so frightened that he immediately shut his mouth, only daring to curse in his heart.

Finally reaching the well, Wukong reached out and pulled him up.

Pigsy threw the corpse on the ground, slumped down, panting heavily, and pointed at Monkey King, cursing, "You wretched monkey! What treasure you talked about, you just wanted me to carry a dead man! I'm afraid this back will be tainted with bad luck for the rest of my life!"

Wukong laughed, "Fool, what are you carrying in your arms? Did you steal the Dragon King's treasure?"

Only then did Pigsy remember the golden crown and jade belt in his arms. He quickly clutched them tightly and said, "This is my hard-earned money, don't even think about taking it!"

Wukong ignored him and looked down at the king's corpse. Sure enough, the face looked lifelike, proving the remarkable effectiveness of the Youth Preservation Pill.

Pigsy added, "Brother, there are two more bodies at the bottom of that well. The yakshas carried them out. I took a look; one was a man, and the other a woman. I asked the Dragon King, and he only said they accidentally drowned."

Wukong said, "Why worry about what happened to him? Please go to your troubles and carry this corpse back to the temple."

Pigsy said, "No, no! If I carry him, the filthy, smelly water will pour down on me, soiling my clothes, and no one will wash them for me. They have several patches, and they'll get damp on cloudy days; how can I wear them?"

The pilgrim said, "Just carry it there. When we get to the temple, I'll help you change your clothes."

Pigsy said, "Aren't you ashamed! You don't even have clothes to wear, yet you're changing for me!"

The pilgrim said, "If you're going to make such a fuss, then I won't carry it!"

Pigsy said, "I won't carry it!"

The pilgrim said, "If you won't carry me, then extend your crutch and give me twenty blows!"

Pigsy panicked and said, "Brother, that staff is heavy. If it hits me twenty times, I'll be just like this emperor."

The traveler said, "If you're afraid of being beaten, you'd better carry someone on your back while you're at it!"

Pigsy, as expected, was afraid of being beaten. He grabbed the corpse in a huff, carried it on his back, and strode out of the garden.

The Great Sage, with a hand gesture and a spell, inhaled a breath towards the southeast, and a gust of wind blew it out, carrying Pigsy out of the inner palace and away from the city. Once the wind died down, the two landed and slowly walked towards each other.

The fool was secretly annoyed and plotted revenge against the Monkey King, saying, "This monkey tricked me, so I'll trick him in return when I get to the temple. I'll persuade my master to say that he can revive the monkey; if he can't, I'll instruct him to recite the Tightening-Headband Mantra and squeeze the monkey's brains out. That would satisfy me!"

So, cursing and swearing all the way, they returned to Baolin Temple with Wukong.

Upon entering the mountain gate, Sha Wujing awoke and, startled to see him carrying a corpse, asked, "Second Brother, what... what is this?"

Pigsy threw the corpse on the ground, panting heavily, and said, "What? This is the unfortunate king of the Chicken Kingdom! I went down the well to retrieve treasure, but instead of treasure, I pulled up a dead man! It's all that stable boy's fault!"

The traveler laughed, "Fool, no treasure? Then what's that you're carrying in your bosom? Take it out and let me see!"

Pigsy quickly clutched his clothes, saying, "No! No! This is my hard-earned money, don't even think about taking it!"

Li Fa and Tang Seng also came out of the meditation room at this time.

Upon seeing the corpse lying on the ground, Tang Sanzang was so frightened that he took two steps back and stammered, "This...this is the king?"

Wukong said, "That's right. Master, I and Bajie have already pulled him out of the well."

Tang Sanzang clasped his hands together and chanted a Buddhist prayer, saying, "Excellent, excellent! This king is truly pitiful. But... he's been dead for three years, how come he still looks like this?"

Bajie eagerly interjected, "Master, you don't know, there's a crystal palace at the bottom of that well, inhabited by a well dragon king. The king's body didn't rot because the dragon king used a youth-preserving pill to protect it."

Tang Sanzang nodded and said, "I see. That well dragon king does indeed have a compassionate heart."

Pigsy added, "Master, there wasn't just one body at the bottom of that well. When I went down, I saw four yakshas carrying two stretchers with two people lying on them, a man and a woman, both quite young. I asked the Dragon King, and he only said they had accidentally drowned."

Tang Sanzang sighed, "How pitiful, how pitiful! Who knows how many wronged souls linger in this Wuji Kingdom?"

Li Fa listened from the side, his brows furrowing slightly.

A young man and a young woman were carried into the Crystal Palace by a demon... This doesn't match the original story.

In the original story, there was only the king's body at the bottom of the well. When did two more appear? Could it be a Buddhist arrangement?