I am a fairy in Journey to the West

Tang Sanzang and his disciples stayed at the Zhao residence. Although they were indeed treated very well, the atmosphere inside the Zhao residence still puzzled Tang Sanzang.

"Wukong, there seems to be a sense of desolation and sorrow permeating this mansion. What could be the reason?" Tang Sanzang asked Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Master, I am not a person of this mansion, how would I know about the affairs of this mansion?"

Pigsy said, "I think that young lady Zhao Shu has a good impression of Second Brother. Why don't we just have Second Brother go and ask her about it?"

Little White Dragon said, "Third Junior Brother, you're talking nonsense again."

"Hey!" Pigsy shouted, "What do you mean by talking nonsense? I, Old Pig, am sure to see things clearly. Master, you don't know, the way that young lady Zhao Shu looks at Second Brother is full of affection."

"Bajie!" Tang Sanzang shouted, "Don't talk nonsense and ruin that girl's reputation."

After Tang Sanzang spoke, Zhu Bajie stopped talking and just muttered, "If you don't listen to good advice, it will be too late to regret it when something really happens."

At this moment, Tang Sanzang said to Sun Wukong, "Wukong, can't you transform? Why don't you transform into something and go out to scout things out?"

Sun Wukong nodded and said, "Sure, Master, I'll go and find out right away."

Just as Sun Wukong was about to use his transformation technique, he heard footsteps outside and immediately stopped.

Then, the steward of the Zhao family, accompanied by several servants, quickly arrived at the room where the master and his disciples were. He glanced at Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and the others with some fear, and then bowed before Tang Sanzang, saying, "Holy Monk."

Tang Sanzang quickly returned the greeting and asked, "Steward, is there anything I can help you with?"

The steward said, "Holy Monk, as instructed by the Madam, I invited the town's horse doctor to treat your horse, but... uh..." The steward hesitated before continuing.

Tang Sanzang said, "Steward, please speak freely."

The steward looked troubled and said, "After the veterinarians diagnosed the horse, they all said that it had been poisoned and there was no cure. I'm afraid it won't live for more than a few days."

"Ah, this..." Tang Sanzang exclaimed in surprise, "How could this be? My mount has never ingested anything poisonous!"

Sun Wukong, who was standing to the side, said with a smile, "Steward, tell that horse doctor to treat it properly. Although we are monks, we will not charge him less for his services."

"Oh dear!" The steward hurriedly waved his hand upon hearing this and said, "Absolutely not, absolutely not. How could the consultation fee be paid by you masters? It will naturally be paid from my Zhao family. Everyone in my Zhao family respects monks and worships Buddha. It is an honor for my Zhao family that you masters can stay at my Zhao family."

Tang Sanzang knew that Sun Wukong was being sarcastic and said, "Wukong, don't judge a gentleman by your own petty standards."

Sun Wukong said, "Master, please sit here and let me go check on the Purple Dragon Horse."

After saying this, Sun Wukong said to the steward, "Please take me to the stables."

The steward nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, then bid farewell to Tang Sanzang and took Sun Wukong to the stable.

Soon after, Sun Wukong returned alone. Tang Sanzang quickly got up and asked, "Wukong, how was your assessment?"

Sun Wukong rolled up his sleeves and said, "Master, the horse doctor was not lying. The Purple Dragon Horse was indeed poisoned. I had the horse doctor give the Purple Dragon Horse some antidote, but it was ineffective."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang shook his head and sighed, "Alas, what should we do? If we lose the Purple Dragon Horse, when will we be able to reach the Western Paradise?"

Pigsy complained, "There are all sorts of strange things in this world. We already have a stable boy, so how come the horses still suffer?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Pigsy's ears flew into the air, and he hurriedly bared his teeth and begged for mercy.

Sun Wukong grabbed Zhu Bajie by the ear with one hand and by the nose with the other, saying, "When will your pig mouth ever say something nice?"

Pigsy was in so much pain that he quickly begged Tang Sanzang for help, but Tang Sanzang ignored him and said directly, "You have no sense of what you're doing with your mouth, you deserve to be taught a lesson."

But Sha Wujing suddenly stepped forward and said to Sun Wukong, "Eldest brother, what third brother said makes sense."

Sun Wukong's eyes widened, "Junior Brother Sha, you..."

Seeing that Sun Wukong was about to get angry, Sha Wujing quickly added, "I mean, what Third Brother said was helpful."

"Oh?" Sun Wukong asked, "What kind of advice?"

Sha Wujing said, "Brother, since earthly medicines are useless, why not go to the heavenly horses to oversee the treatment?"

"Huh?" Sun Wukong's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands, saying, "Good, good, Brother Sha is the best."

Pigsy said, "If I hadn't pointed this out, how would you have thought of these things?"

Sun Wukong pushed Zhu Bajie away and said to Tang Sanzang, "Master, I will take the Purple Dragon Horse to Heaven for treatment. I will have to trouble you to stay here for a few more days."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang said, "Alright, Wukong, you must hurry back. Staying at someone else's place for too long is not a good idea."

Sun Wukong nodded and said, "Master, please release me. I will just heal the horse and then return."

After saying this, Sun Wukong instructed the three, including the White Dragon, to take good care of Tang Sanzang. Then he turned and left. After arriving at the stable, seeing that no one was around, he used his magic to take off on a cloud and fly straight up to the heavens.

Not long after Sun Wukong left, the old lady of the Zhao family invited Tang Sanzang and the others to have a vegetarian meal in the front hall.

This was the first time the old lady had met Tang Sanzang. Although the three—the White Dragon Horse, Pigsy, and Sandy—looked strange, the old lady still had some discerning eyes. Upon seeing Tang Sanzang, she knew that he was a rare and virtuous monk.

"Holy Monk, please forgive me. My master is seriously ill, and I have been unable to leave these past few days. Last night, when I heard that you had arrived, I did not come to greet you, but only arranged for the steward to receive you. I was truly impolite. Now that I finally have some free time, I have invited you to have a meal here. I hope you will not find it offensive," the old lady said, bowing to Tang Sanzang.

Tang Sanzang quickly put his palms together in return, and then the old lady invited everyone to sit down.

After they were seated, the old lady invited Tang Sanzang and the others to have a vegetarian meal. Pigsy, of course, did not stand on ceremony. As soon as the old lady spoke, he began to eat with gusto, which made the maids and servants around him cover their mouths and chuckle.

The White Dragon and Sandy quickly tugged at Pigsy, and Tang Sanzang coughed as well, which made Pigsy behave himself a little.

During the meal, Tang Sanzang noticed that the old lady had a worried look on her face and was not touching her chopsticks, so he asked, "Is something troubling you, Madam?"

Upon hearing this, the old lady sighed slightly and said, "It's all because of my husband's illness."

Tang Sanzang quickly inquired further, and the old lady then explained in detail, "My husband suffers from a mental illness, all because he lost the Buddhist treasure that day."

So Madam Zhao told Tang Sanzang the whole story. Tang Sanzang was furious after hearing it and said, "These monsters are too audacious. They even dare to steal the Buddhist scriptures that the monks gave to the good people in the world."

Old Madam Zhao sighed, "My family has invited many sorcerers to exorcise the demon, but unfortunately, they were all incompetent. They either perished in the demon's belly or didn't even get to see the demon's face. Alas."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang smiled and immediately said, "Madam, please do not worry. Since we have been treated so kindly by you, we should do our best to share your burdens."

After saying that, Tang Sanzang pointed to the White Dragon, Pigsy, and Sandy and said, "Madam, although my three disciples are not good-looking, they all have some skills in subduing demons. Let them go into the mountains to subdue demons and retrieve the stolen Buddhist treasures."

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhao immediately remembered something and said, "Holy Monk, I heard you have four disciples, how come there are only three here?"

Tang Sanzang said, "My mount was poisoned, and the medicine here was ineffective, so my eldest disciple Sun Wukong took it away from here to seek medical treatment."

Madam Zhao quickly replied, "Why go to such lengths? If the Holy Monk requires it, my Zhao family can offer him a fine horse."

Pigsy said, "Your thousand-mile horse is no match for my master's purple dragon horse." Tang Sanzang glared at Pigsy again, and Pigsy quickly buried his head in his food.

Tang Sanzang continued, "Madam, where is that monster hiding?"

Just as Madam Zhao was about to speak, she saw Tang Seng's clean bowl and chopsticks and immediately changed her mind, saying, "Holy Monk, this matter is not urgent. Let's have our vegetarian meal first."

Tang Sanzang was also a little hungry at this moment, so he nodded and said, "Please, Madam."

In the dry mountain, the White Dragon, Pigsy, and Sandy are searching for the monster's cave.

The sun was shining brightly, and Pigsy, panting heavily, plopped down in the shade of a tree and said, "They say that if you eat someone's food, you're obligated to pay; if you take someone's money, you're obligated to pay. But Master is having a good time, sitting at home drinking tea, while he makes us come out and do these hard jobs."

Sha Wujing, carrying the Demon-Subduing Staff, looked up at Zhu Bajie and said, "Third Brother, you should complain less. I think you've complained just as much as you have about the Tripitaka Sutra."

Pigsy said, “Brother Sandy, you don’t understand those principles. Our eldest brother took the Purple Dragon Horse to heaven, and Master is here making random promises to people. If it’s just a small demon, that’s fine, but if it’s a big demon, do you think the three of us can defeat it?”

“Master just doesn’t understand. Exorcising demons is a life-threatening job. He only cares about currying favors, while we are risking our lives.”

"Sigh, we've been on our pilgrimage to the West, and we're exhausted before we've even seen the scriptures."

After venting his frustrations, Pigsy prepared to lean against a tree and take a nap.

Sha Wujing looked at the White Dragon with a helpless expression and said, "Second Brother, say something to him. Look, Third Brother is being lazy again."

The White Dragon was never one for words. Upon hearing this, he simply glanced at Pigsy and said, "Third Brother, you stay here and guard this place. Sandy and I will venture deeper into the mountains. If any powerful demons or monsters pass by, you must stop them and not let them escape."

After saying that, the White Dragon turned around and walked up the mountain. Seeing this, Sha Wujing had no choice but to follow.

But Pigsy suddenly opened his eyes and quickly got up to follow, complaining, "What's wrong with you guys taking a break?"

The three brothers traveled deep into the mountains and forests, first finding the leopard demon's cave, and then passing by the jackal demon's cave.

The three were secretly shocked to see the two cave dwellings filled with white bones and exuding a menacing aura.

But after a closer look, it was discovered that the two caves had long been deserted and overgrown with weeds, appearing quite desolate.

"The monsters in these two caves have disappeared; they must have left this mountain," said the little white dragon.

Pigsy breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's right! Who would grab the treasure and not run away? Why stay here and wait for someone to come looking for them?"

"It might not be the monster that stole the treasure," said the White Dragon. "If it was one monster that stole the treasure, how come both of their caves were completely empty?"

Sha Wujing was the first to react, saying, "Could there really be a powerful demon in these mountains? Has it driven away the monsters from these two caves?"

The little white dragon nodded and said, "It's probably the monster that stole the treasure."

Pigsy shivered and, carrying his rake in both hands, moved closer to the White Dragon and Sandy.

The three walked on and unknowingly arrived outside the cave where the Golden Cicada King was. However, the cave door was tightly closed, indicating that the Golden Cicada King was not at home.

Seeing that the road outside the cave was also overgrown with weeds, Sha Wujing said, "Another cave where a monster has escaped."

Pigsy said, "The monster in this cave is moving so leisurely, and it even remembers to close the door. I guess it has some wealth inside that it can't take with it?"

Thinking of this, Pigsy suddenly stepped forward carrying his rake, and the White Dragon hurriedly asked, "Third Brother, what are you doing?"

Pigsy laughed and said, "This cave probably contains valuables that were stolen from the people down the mountain. Today, I, Old Pig, will do a great good deed and take these valuables back to the people down the mountain."

After saying that, Pigsy picked up his rake and struck the cave entrance with it. With a loud 'boom,' the stone door of the cave shattered.

Amidst the flying pebbles, a deep, dark cave appeared before Pigsy's eyes.

Just as Pigsy was about to enter the cave, a gust of demonic wind suddenly blew by. The White Dragon immediately turned around and saw a Taoist priest in a feathered robe flying in front of him.

As soon as the Taoist priest landed, he saw that Pigsy had smashed up the entrance to his cave. He was first taken aback, then roared in anger, "Where did this monster come from, daring to smash my cave?"

Pigsy turned around and laughed, "So it's the main character who's back. Perfect, your grandpa Pig has something to ask you."

After saying that, Pigsy stepped forward, pointed at the Golden Cicada King, and asked, "At the treasure presentation party at the Zhao Mansion, was it you who stole the Buddhist treasure from Master Zhao?"

Upon hearing this, the Golden Cicada King's eyes darted around, a hint of suspicion appearing on his face. He asked, "Where did you monsters come from? Why are you asking this?"

Upon seeing the Golden Cicada King's reaction, the three brothers immediately concluded that he was undoubtedly the one who stole the Buddhist treasure. So, the White Dragon summoned the Flaming Sword, and Sandy raised the Demon-Subduing Staff.

Seeing that things were not going well, the Golden Cicada King immediately summoned the Eight Treasures Glazed Bottle and said, "You've come to steal my treasure?"

"So it was you who stole it! Hand over that Buddhist treasure now, and I, Pigsy, will spare your life!" Pigsy shouted fiercely.

King Golden Cicada laughed heartily and said, "You fat pig, how dare you boast! Let me show you the power of my Three Lights Divine Water!"

Having said that, the Golden Cicada King gently tapped the glass bottle, and the Three Lights Divine Water instantly flew out.

"Don't be so arrogant, you monster! Take this from your grandpa Pig!" Pigsy roared and charged out with his rake in hand.

Seeing this, the White Dragon and Sandy each followed their assigned positions and, together with Pigsy, charged towards King Golden Cicada.

With a mere flick of his finger, the Sunlight Divine Water instantly flew up, radiating divine light that shone upon Pigsy, the White Dragon, and Sandy.

In that instant, Sha Wujing screamed, and then his blood, essence, bones and flesh were instantly destroyed, turning into a puddle of pus that spilled onto the ground.

The scales on the White Dragon's body also fell off one by one, and just a dozen breaths after Sha Wujing, it turned into a pus-filled pus.

Pigsy endured the longest because he was the thickest-skinned and toughest, and even managed to strike the Golden Cicada King with his rake.

But as soon as he got close, the Eight Treasures Glazed Bottle emitted a beam of divine light that repelled him, and then turned into pus under the illumination of the Sunlight Divine Water.

King Golden Cicada was somewhat surprised and said, "I never imagined that the Eight Treasures Glazed Bottle itself possessed such power?!"

But then he noticed that the Moonlight Divine Water and the Starlight Divine Water were still unresponsive. Looking at the three puddles of thick water on the ground, he thought carefully, "Could it be that these three people do not have any spiritual consciousness?"

However, King Jin Chan quickly put the matter aside, put away the Three Lights Divine Water and the Eight Treasures Glazed Bottle, then used his magic to repair the cave entrance before returning to his cave.

At the same time, three divine lights flashed past the Gate of Hell in the underworld, and the souls of the White Dragon, Pigsy, and Sandy appeared outside the Gate of Hell.

The three brothers, who had been stunned, came to their senses and saw the ghosts passing by and the three large characters "Gate of Hell". Before the White Dragon and Sandy could react, Pigsy sat down on the ground and shouted, "You said I, Old Pig, was just complaining? If you had listened to me earlier, you wouldn't be in this situation. Now look what happened, we haven't even obtained the scriptures, and our souls have already gone to the underworld. If we had known this would happen, we would have been better off going back to my Cloud Stack Cave!"

Hearing Pigsy's howls, Sandy, somewhat at a loss, asked the White Dragon, "Second Brother, what should we do?"

The White Dragon seemed more composed. After calming down and thinking for a moment, he said, "First, I'll send a dream to Master to explain the situation, and then I'll try to contact my eldest brother."

Upon hearing this, Sha Wujing's eyes lit up, and he said, "Alright, let's do as you say, Second Brother!" (End of Chapter)