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

Chapter 159 Fire Cloud Cave - Eight Precepts Captured

Meanwhile, Wukong was awakened by Bajie. After catching his breath for a long time, he finally calmed down. He struggled to sit up and said angrily, "When I made a ruckus in the Heavenly Palace, none of those divine soldiers could stop me."

This demon is quite powerful; only someone with greater abilities than Old Sun could subdue him.

Pigsy asked, "Brother, who should we invite?"

The pilgrim said, "The heavenly gods are powerless, and the earthly demons are incapable. If we want to capture this demon, we must ask Guanyin Bodhisattva for help. But alas, my skin and flesh are sore and numb, and my waist and knees ache. I cannot ride my somersault cloud. How can I ask her for help?"

Bajie said, "If you have any instructions, please let me go and fetch them."

The traveler laughed and said, "Very well, you can go. If you see the Bodhisattva, do not look up at him, but only bow your head in worship."

When he asks, tell him the name of the place and the name of the monster, then ask about the master. If he comes, he will surely capture the monster.

Upon hearing this, Pigsy immediately rode on a cloud and headed straight for the South Sea.

Meanwhile, Red Boy was sitting in the cave, feeling quite pleased with himself, when suddenly an idea struck him. He said to the little demon beside him, "Of Tang Sanzang's disciples, one was injured by my fire and smoke. The remaining two, one a pig demon and the other an unlucky-faced one, are probably incompetent as well."

However, Sun Wukong is adept at calling for reinforcements; if he were to summon powerful deities, things might turn out badly.

He immediately called out to the servant, "Open the door quickly, let me see who he invited."

The demons opened the door, and he jumped into the air to watch. He saw that Pigsy was heading south.

Red Boy thought to himself: There's nowhere else to go in the south, so I must ask Guanyin Bodhisattva. If he really manages to bring the Bodhisattva, I'm afraid I'll be in big trouble.

So he hurriedly descended from the clouds, ordered his little demons to fetch a leather bag, replace the gaiter with a tight rope, and hide it under the second gate, intending to lure and capture Pigsy.

Then, with a flick of his body, he transformed into the appearance of Guanyin Bodhisattva, and took the shortcut, riding a cloud to catch up with Bajie. He sat upright on the cliff, waiting for Bajie.

As the fool was riding the clouds, he suddenly saw the Bodhisattva. How could he tell the difference between the real and the fake?

He immediately stopped his cloud and bowed, explaining in detail that Red Boy had kidnapped his master from the Fire Cloud Cave on Mount Hao, that Wukong had been injured by fire, and that he had come to ask the Bodhisattva for help.

Red Boy said, "The master of Fire Cloud Cave is not one to harm life. Get up and come with me into that cave to see the master. I'll do you a favor, you'll offer a gift, and we'll get your master out."

Bajie was overjoyed upon hearing this and readily agreed, then followed him straight into the Fire Cloud Cave.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they entered, they were captured by the demons, stuffed into a leather bag, and hung high on the beam.

Red Boy revealed his true form and laughed, "Pigsy, what means do you have that you dare to protect Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West and dare to ask the Bodhisattva to subdue me?"

Now I'll capture you, hang you for three to five days, steam you, and reward you to the little demons as a token of my appreciation!"

Upon hearing this, Pigsy cursed from inside: "You wicked monster! Utterly rude! If you had used every trick in the book to trick me into eating you, I'd make sure you all suffered from swollen heads and a terrible plague!"

The idiot cursed and shouted, but that's another story.

Meanwhile, Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing were sitting when a foul-smelling wind swept past their faces. Sun Wukong sneezed and exclaimed, "Oh no! Oh no! This wind is ominous. It seems Pigsy has fallen victim to a demon's evil deeds!"

Sha Wujing asked, "If he encounters a demon, won't he run away?"

The traveler said, "That fool is too stubborn. Let me go and find out more about him."

Sha Wujing said, "Brother, your back hurts. Let me go first."

The traveler said, "You're useless, so you're making me go."

Good Traveler, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain, twirled his iron rod and came to the front of Fire Cloud Cave to challenge them.

Hearing the commotion, the demons rushed out to capture him, but Wukong, exhausted and unable to fight back, transformed into a gold-plated bundle on the spot.

The little demon saw this and reported, "Your Majesty, Sun Wukong was frightened. He only said 'take it,' and then hurriedly dropped his bundle and left."

Red Boy laughed and said, "There's nothing of value in that bundle. It's just a monk's tattered shirt and old hat, which we brought in to wash and mend."

A little demon carried the bundle inside and left it behind the door.

The good traveler is deceptive within deception, and illusory within illusion: he plucks a hair, blows a breath of immortal air, and it transforms into a bundle.

His true form, however, transformed into a fly, which perched on the door hinge to eavesdrop. Sure enough, he heard Pigsy cursing inside the leather bag.

Just as the pilgrim was thinking of rescuing them, he suddenly heard Red Boy shout loudly, "Where are the Six Warriors?"

Six little demons knelt down in response. These six were all Red Boy's trusted spirits, and were known as the Six Warriors. Each of them had a name: Cloud in the Mist, Mist in the Cloud, Swift as Fire, Fast as the Wind, Excited and Excited.

Red Boy asked, "Do you recognize the Wang family, the eldest brother's family?"

The six athletes responded in unison, "We recognize them!"

Red Boy said, "Go quickly and fetch the Great King under the cover of night. Tell him I've captured Tang Sanzang here, and we'll steam him and eat him together, thus extending his lifespan by a thousand years!"

The six generals received their orders and, one by one, dragged and pulled each other along as they hurriedly left the cave.

Seeing this, Wukong flew down with a cry and quietly followed the six generals, taking advantage of the chaos to escape from the Fire Cloud Cave.

The six generals then left the cave and headed southwest, following the road.

The pilgrim thought to himself, "He wants to invite the Great King to eat my master, and the Great King must be the Bull Demon King. I, Old Sun, might as well play along, transform into the Bull Demon King, and go and meet that monster."

Great Sage! He rushed to the head of the six generals, and with a transformation, he indeed turned into the Bull Demon King.

He wore a polished silver helmet, a suit of brocade gold armor, pink-soled suede boots with rolled-up toes, and a three-strand lion-head belt with interlocking silk threads around his waist.

His face was ashen, his eyes like bronze bells, his mouth like a blood basin, and his teeth like swords and halberds. He exuded a fierce and ruthless aura.

He plucked a few more hairs and shouted, "Transform!" which turned them into several little demons.

In that mountain hollow, they rode hawks and led hounds, nocking crossbows and drawing bows, pretending to be hunting, waiting for the six valiant generals.

Meanwhile, the group of six demons were dragging and tugging each other along when they suddenly saw the Bull Demon King sitting in the middle. They hurriedly knelt down and said, "Grandpa Bull Demon King is here too."

The traveler asked, "Who are you?"

The six warriors said, "Grandpa! We are here on behalf of the Holy Infant King of Fire Cloud Cave to invite you, Grandpa King, to eat Tang Sanzang's flesh and live a thousand years!"

The traveler said, "Good children, clear the way ahead, I will go with you."

The six monsters, full of energy, rushed ahead, leading Wukong directly towards the Fire Cloud Cave.

Upon arriving at the cave entrance, a little demon guarding the gate announced our arrival.

Upon hearing the news, Red Boy hurriedly went out to greet him. When he saw the Monkey King, he knelt down and said, "Father, you have come from afar. I have not been able to greet you properly. Please forgive me."

Wukong reached out to help him up, laughing heartily, "My son, no need for such formalities. I heard you captured Tang Sanzang; which Tang Sanzang?"

Red Boy said, "They are people who are going to the Western Paradise to retrieve the scriptures."

The pilgrim asked, "My son, are you Master Sun Wukong?"

Red Boy said, "That's right."

The pilgrim waved his hand and shook his head, saying, "Good! Good! My son is indeed capable. What about Sun Wukong? Has he been captured?"

Red Boy said, "That monkey was burned by my Samadhi True Fire and fled in a sorry state. I don't know where he is hiding now. Father, please come into the cave. I have prepared a feast to welcome you."

Wukong followed Red Boy into the cave, and they sat down as host and guest. The lesser demons offered wine and fruit, and Red Boy personally served the wine, earnestly urging them to drink.

Just as they were drinking, a little demon suddenly came to report, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Granny Iron Fan has arrived!"