Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 149 The Battle of Wits in Chechi Kingdom (19)
Meanwhile, Ao Tu put his words to test the three of them, including Tiger Power Immortal.

These three were genuinely devoted to the path of enlightenment, unlike other demons who wanted to eat Tang Sanzang's flesh.

This alone puts them ahead of most of the monsters encountered on the journey to the West.

Moreover, he even brought a bottle for himself after asking for holy water, which shows some filial piety.

They were truly foolish, causing a great disturbance at the Sanqing Hall without realizing the gravity of the situation.

Ao Tu had no choice but to speak up and remind them: "Three Imperial Preceptors, the Sanqing Hall has been disturbed beyond recognition, which is truly disrespectful. We should repair it immediately and not treat it lightly!"

Upon hearing this, the three Tiger Power Immortals suddenly realized what was happening.

The Great Immortal Lu Li said, "Oh no! Those three monks have transformed into statues of the Three Pure Ones. Where are the real statues now?"

The Great Immortal Yangli said, "Could it be that they stole it!"

Tiger Power Immortal said, "Go and check quickly!"

The three of them hurriedly rushed back.

Ao Tu said, "I'll give you a ride!"

Ao Tu stretched out his hand and grabbed the three of them, arriving at the Sanqing Hall in a short while.

When the Taoist priests saw the four, they first called them "Master" and then bowed to them as "True Man".

Tiger Power Immortal asked, "Has any of you seen the statues of the Three Pure Ones?"

The Taoist priests replied, "No."

Deer Power Immortal said, "Quickly spread out and search. If it's not around, it must have been stolen by those three monks. Those three audacious monks!"

The Taoist priests dispersed and searched all around the corridors and halls, but found no trace of the statues.

One of the Taoist priests, while searching, needed to urinate at night, so he went to the east latrine to relieve himself.

Pushing open the small door, the Taoist priest was terrified to see the statues of the Three Pure Ones inside. He panicked and ran back, stammering, "Master, the statues of the Three Pure Ones are in the east latrine!"

Tiger Power Immortal said, "East side? Where on the east side? Don't rush, tell me slowly."

Upon hearing this, the Taoist priest swallowed hard, steadied himself, and said, "It's the outhouse on the east side."

Upon hearing this, Tiger Power Immortal's hair stood on end, his eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "What! The outhouse! Those three damned monks!"

The Great Immortal Deer Power cried out in a panic, “This is utter disrespect! Utter disrespect! Quick! Quick! Go and move the statue!”

The Great Immortal Yangli cried out in a panic, "Quickly! Quickly!"

The three were both flustered and angry, and hurried to the east toilet, where they found the statues of the Three Pure Ones inside!

The three were so frightened that they hurriedly prostrated themselves on the ground, kowtowing and begging for forgiveness, saying, "We deserve to die! To have caused such desecration of the statues of the Three Pure Ones is truly the height of disrespect!" They quickly ordered their disciple to bring out the statues of the Three Pure Ones.

Ao Tu stopped him from behind, saying, "Wait a minute, we need to cleanse ourselves of the filth before we can bring out the statue."

Upon hearing this, the three asked, "Master, how should we clean it?"

Ao Tu said, "Ordinary methods might not be appropriate. Do you have any lotus seeds here?"

Tiger Power Immortal said, "Yes, someone come quickly and fetch the lotus seeds."

Soon, the Taoist priest brought out the lotus seeds.

Ao Tu took it, sprinkled it in, made hand seals, and channeled his magic power. First, he used the "Five Elements Revolving, Yin and Yang Technique" to purify the filth, and then he used the "Art of the Growth of All Things" to urge the lotus seeds to sprout.

In an instant, tender buds sprouted, as if carved from green jade. The stems stretched upwards, unfurling a green cup, and flower buds bloomed between the leaves. Layer upon layer of lotus flowers unfolded, supporting the statues of the Three Pure Ones, as if they were immortals and saints, without a trace of filth.
Ao Tu said, "The lotus emerges from the mud yet remains unstained, thus it can cleanse the dust and remove filth, sweeping away impurities."

Tiger Power Immortal and the other two breathed a sigh of relief and exclaimed, "What wonderful magic! What wonderful magic!"

Ao Tu said, "It's just a minor trick."

The three immortals, Tiger Power, said, "Without a true immortal performing magic, we would have no face to meet the Three Pure Ones again!"

The three then ordered their disciples to clean the hall and invite the Three Pure Ones to return to their positions.

The following morning, the King of Chechi Kingdom held court and summoned his civil and military officials.

Previously, the King of Chechi Kingdom had been ill and had not held court for a long time. Now that he has recovered, the court was set up in a very grand manner.

Ao Tu, Hu Li Da Xian, and the other two entered the hall together.

Upon seeing this, the King of Chechi Kingdom quickly set up an embroidered stool and invited Ao Tu to sit beside him.

Ao Tu did not accept it.

The three immortals, Tiger Power and his companions, did not sit down, but instead bowed directly in the main hall.

Upon seeing this, the King of Chechi Kingdom hurriedly asked, "Why are the three national teachers performing such a grand ceremony?"

The three monks, including Tiger Power Immortal, said, "Your Majesty, yesterday three monks offended us and desecrated the statues of the Three Pure Ones, which is extremely disrespectful! We implore Your Majesty to issue an order to arrest these three men and avenge us!"

Upon hearing this, the King of Chechi Kingdom angrily said, "How dare these three monks blaspheme against the gods! Their crime is unforgivable! Do the three national teachers have portraits and names of these three men? I will issue an order to arrest them immediately."

Tiger Power Immortal said, “These three are named Sun Wukong, Zhu Wuneng, and Sha Wujing. They also have a master named Tang Sanzang, who comes from the Tang Dynasty in the East. My junior brother is skilled in painting, and he painted portraits of these three overnight. Please take a look, Your Majesty.”

The Great Immortal Deer presented several blueprints.

The King of Chechi Kingdom took the blueprints and examined them, his face showing difficulty. He said, "This...this is what they look like?"

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu couldn't resist going over to take a look.

The first picture shows a scrawled monkey, the second a large pig, and the third a black fish that has come to life.

The Great Immortal Lu Li said, “Your Majesty, it was dark yesterday, so I couldn’t see clearly. I only remember the general appearance, hence the somewhat hasty drawing. However, these three people have unusual appearances. Your Majesty should issue an order to arrest them based on this drawing; you will certainly not make a mistake.”

The King of Chechi Kingdom nodded and said:
"Guards, deliver the drawing to the artist for copying, post it throughout the city, and offer a large reward for the capture of these three individuals."

The subordinate replied, "Yes."

At this moment, a gatekeeper entered the hall and said, "Your Majesty, there are monks from the Great Tang Dynasty who have come to retrieve Buddhist scriptures and are requesting an audience. They say they are here to exchange their travel documents." Upon hearing this, Tiger Power Immortal hurriedly asked, "How many monks have come?"

The messenger said, "Four have arrived."

Tiger Power Immortal said, "Your Majesty, it is them!"

The King of Chechi Kingdom said, "What audacious monks! They have committed a grave crime, yet instead of hiding or fleeing, they come here to seek death! Guards, bring them here!"

To the outside world, Tang Sanzang was completely unaware of this.

Suddenly, a squad of imperial guards rushed out of the palace gate, armed with spears and halberds, and surrounded the four of them, preventing them from escaping.

The Imperial Guard leader said, "His Majesty has decreed that the Tang Dynasty monk be taken away!"

Tang Sanzang was greatly alarmed and at a loss for what to do.

The three of them, Wukong and his companions, seemed to have expected this, showing no surprise whatsoever, and simply protected Tang Sanzang in the middle.

Seeing this, Tang Sanzang said, "This morning I said I was going to exchange the travel documents, but you all said that Chechi Kingdom was promoting Taoism and suppressing Buddhism, which might cause trouble, so you all insisted on coming along. I was wondering why you all came along today, since you usually leave someone to watch the luggage. Now it seems that you have caused trouble again without even informing me. You really deserve to be punished!"

Wukong laughed and said, "Master, don't be angry. Last night, I ran into those three national teachers and realized that they were indeed demons in disguise. So I called on Bajie and Sha Wujing to play a trick on them. Today, when we go to the palace, we can confront them in the court."

Tang Sanzang said, "You should have explained it to me first, so I could be prepared!"

Wukong and the others just laughed.

Tang Sanzang sighed, "Very well, just remember to be careful."

The four of them were escorted to the palace.

Tiger Power Immortal saw Wukong and the other two and said:

"It's them! Your Majesty, please issue an edict to send these monks to the battlefield for execution!"

The King of Chechi looked at Wukong and the others, and thought to himself that they really did resemble the picture. So he said, "Guards, execute the Tang Dynasty monk!"

Wukong said, "Wait a moment, Your Majesty. May I ask what crimes we have committed?"

The King of Chechi Kingdom said, "The three of you have offended the Imperial Preceptor and insulted the gods. Do you still dare to say you are innocent?"

Wukong said, "Even if we are convicted, there must be a reason for everything. How did we offend the Imperial Preceptor and insult the gods? Why not explain it clearly?"

The King of Chechi Kingdom said, "This..."

Seeing this, Tiger Power Immortal stepped forward and, in front of all the civil and military officials, recounted in detail the actions of Wukong and his two companions in causing havoc in the Sanqing Hall the previous day.

Wukong laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight.

The Great Immortal Yang Li buried his face, feeling utterly ashamed.

The King of Chechi Kingdom said, "How dare you monks make fun of us here! Guards, take them out and behead them immediately!"

Upon hearing this, several guards stepped forward to arrest Wukong and the others.

Bajie bulged his belly and knocked the guards down.

Wukong said, "Your Majesty, your Chechi Kingdom is utterly lawless. How can you frame us out of thin air?"

The King of Chechi asked, "How did I frame you?"

Wukong said, "The saying goes, 'To catch a thief, catch him red-handed; to catch an adulterer, catch them in the act.' He said we offended them and desecrated the statues of the Three Pure Ones, so why didn't he arrest us on the spot? Now he's making baseless accusations; how can that convince anyone?"

Bajie said, "That's right, there are many people using false names, how come it's us?"

The King of Chechi Kingdom said, "There is a portrait as proof."

The King of Chechi Kingdom ordered portraits to be brought to him, saying, "This is Sun Wukong, this is Zhu Wuneng, and this is Sha Wujing."

Wukong laughed and said, "Wrong! Wrong! This portrait only resembles us by three points. How can it be used as evidence? My name is Sun Xingzhe, not Sun Wukong; the one next to me is called Zhu Bajie; and the other one is called Sha Wujing."

Tiger Power Immortal said, "We saw it with our own eyes; it was you few!"

Deer Power Immortal and Sheep Power Immortal also chimed in.

Wukong and his two companions vehemently denied it.

The crowd became extremely noisy.

Upon seeing this, Ao Tu laughed and said, "Your Majesty, I have a way to tell the difference."

Upon hearing this, the King of Chechi Kingdom hurriedly asked, "What solution do you have, Master?"

Ao Tu walked to the king's side and whispered a few words to him. The king exclaimed with delight, "Wonderful!" He then ordered the palace servants to bring over a jade bottle that was exactly the same as the one from yesterday.

The King of Chechi Kingdom said, "Tang Sanzang, this is our country's sweet spring, which can distinguish right from wrong. If you drink it and it is sweet, you will be without sin; if it is bitter, you will be sinful. Do you dare to drink it?"

Tang Sanzang said, "This humble monk dares to drink." He stepped forward, took the jade bottle, and was about to open it and drink.

Seeing this, Wukong hurriedly said, "Master, don't drink!"

The king was furious and said, "You audacious monk, how dare you try to deny it? It was you three who did it."

Seeing that he couldn't hide it any longer, Wukong said, "So what if it is?"

Ao Tu laughed, "This monkey has quite a strong skin!"

Wukong laughed and said, "You monster, you have some discernment. Your maternal grandfather is made of steel and has an indestructible body!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "It's not that I have good eyesight, but ordinary people feel ashamed and embarrassed when they break the law; you monkey, you stole the offerings, offended the national teacher, and insulted the gods, yet you are arrogant and thick-skinned like a city wall. You are truly the most shameless person in the world!"

Wukong angrily said, "You monster, you deceive my monks, commit heinous crimes, and bewitch the king with the method of immortality. How dare you speak like this here?"

Ao Tu said, "The saying goes, 'To catch a thief, you must seize the stolen goods; to catch an adulterer, you must catch them in the act.' You accuse me of deceiving your monks, committing heinous crimes, and bewitching the king with the method of immortality. What evidence do you have to convince people?"

P.S.: I'm currently working on the follow-up plot, so there will be no update tonight. I'll make up for it tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)