Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 16, The Wind Rises at Dusk (Part 3)
Meanwhile, Wukong and Bajie followed the evil wind that Tiger Vanguard had transformed into and found him lying in front of a cliff.

Pigsy raised his rake and struck with all his might, but it turned out to be a tiger skin stuck to a reclining tiger rock.

The two realized they had been tricked and hurriedly returned, but Tang Sanzang was nowhere to be seen; only the white horse and their luggage remained.

Pigsy, leading the horse, exclaimed, "Oh no! Master has been kidnapped by that scoundrel!"

Wukong said, "Don't rush! Don't rush! We'll search carefully, no matter what, we won't leave this mountain."

Wukong and Bajie ventured into the mountains, parting the grass to find a path, crossing mountains and streams. After traveling for a long time, they suddenly saw a cave appear below a steep cliff.

As the two approached, they saw six large characters on the door: "Huangfeng Ridge Huangfeng Cave".

Wukong said, "Bajie, there's a secluded valley in the back of the mountain. You take the luggage and horses and wait there until I, Old Sun, knock on the door. Let's test the demon's strength first."

Bajie agreed and hid in the Hidden Wind Mountain hollow behind the mountain with his luggage and horses.

Wukong stood outside the Yellow Wind Cave, staff in hand, and shouted, "Monster! Return my master to me while you still can, or I'll flatten your cave and overturn your lair!"

At that time, inside Huangfeng Cave.

Ao Tu and King Huang Feng were celebrating Tiger Vanguard's victory.

This Tiger Vanguard was indeed quite capable; he used a tiger skin to deceive Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, and captured Tang Sanzang, saving Ao Tu and the Yellow Wind Great Sage a lot of trouble.

The little demons in the cave were eager, shouting that they wanted to eat Tang Sanzang's flesh.

The Great Sage Huangfeng stopped everyone, saying that they had not yet captured Sun Wukong and were afraid that Sun Wukong would retaliate if they ate Tang Sanzang. So they simply tied Tang Sanzang to the wind-fixing stake in the back garden and would eat Tang Sanzang after capturing Sun Wukong.

Tang Sanzang, bound in the back garden, wept incessantly, saying:

"My disciple! Where are you subduing demons? Where are you taming monsters? Your master is now trapped in a demon's lair, suffering this great calamity, and I do not know when I will see the light of day again! It is so bitter! If you come to my rescue soon, I can still save my life; if you are even half a step late, I fear I will return to the underworld!"

Tears streamed down her face, and she choked with sobs, unable to speak.

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu ordered his little demon to fetch a rag and gag Tang Sanzang, thus giving him some peace and quiet.

Just then, a little demon rushed in from outside the door to report: "Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! A monk with a hairy face and a thunder god's mouth has come to the cave entrance. He is wielding an iron rod as thick as a bowl and is shouting and demanding his master!"

Upon hearing this, the Great Sage Yellow Wind said:

"No doubt, it must be Sun Wukong. Brother, you stay here and guard the cave while I lead the troops out to fight him!"

Ao Tu instructed, "My dear brother, please remember to act carefully. Your foolish brother will be here to await your triumphant return."

The lesser demons carried out their armor, and the Great Sage Yellow Wind, fully dressed and carrying a three-pronged steel fork, led the demons out of the cave.

The Great Sage Huang Feng stepped out of the door and shouted loudly:
Which one is Sun Wukong?

Sun Wukong, standing on the tiger skin of Tiger Vanguard and holding the Ruyi Jingu Bang, replied, "Your maternal grandfather is here! Quickly send my master out, lest I destroy your cave."

The Great Sage Yellow Wind looked closely and saw that Wukong was thin and small, less than four feet tall. He couldn't help but sneer, "Pitiful! Pitiful! He's just a sickly skin and bones!"

Wukong laughed and said, "My son, you have no sense of right from wrong! Although your grandfather is short, if you dare to hit me on the head with a steel fork, I will grow three feet taller to show you."

The Great Sage Yellow Wind said, "Do you dare to be stubborn and take a bite from my fork?"

Wukong was not afraid at all and stuck his head up.

The Great Sage Huang Feng struck hard, the recoil causing his hand to ache. Taking advantage of the moment, Wukong straightened up, and his body indeed grew three feet longer.

Yellow Wind Great Sage put away his steel fork and shouted:
"Good monkey, good leader! Stop showing off these tricks and come forward to show me the real deal!"

Wukong laughed and said, "My son! As the saying goes, 'Show mercy but don't raise your hand, raise your hand but show no mercy.' Your grandfather's golden cudgel is incredibly powerful; I'm afraid you can't withstand a single blow!"

As they spoke, the two raised their weapons, parrying with spears and clubs, and meeting spears with spears in a fierce battle.

The Great Sage Huangfeng fought Sun Wukong for thirty rounds without a clear winner.

Seeing this, Wukong used a technique called "body outside body": he plucked a handful of hairs, chewed them in his mouth, spat them upwards, and shouted "Transform!" Instantly, he created a hundred or so clones, each dressed like him and wielding an iron cudgel, surrounding the Yellow Wind Great Sage in mid-air.

Seeing this, the Great Sage Yellow Wind also used his supernatural powers; he turned around and took a deep breath in the Xun position and exhaled it, and suddenly a yellow wind blew up.

What a great wind! That's really something.

Dark and gloomy, cold and chilly, the world changes, invisible and formless yellow sand swirls; it cuts through forests and breaks ridges, uprooting trees and seas of trees, spreading soil and raising dust, collapsing mountain barriers; the red sun loses its light, and all the stars in the sky are dim and chaotic.

The gust of wind from the Great Sage Yellow Wind blew all of Wukong's hair-based clones into the air, making them spin wildly like windmills.

Wukong put away his hairs and braved the fierce wind alone. He raised his golden cudgel to go forward, but was met with a blast of yellow wind from the Great Sage Yellow Wind. His fiery eyes immediately closed and he could no longer open them, so he had no choice but to give up.

Not far away, Pigsy saw the sky darken in the hollow of Hidden Wind Mountain. Terrified, he clutched his luggage tightly, led his white horse, and chanted Buddhist prayers, hoping for Monkey's victory.

When the wind subsided and the sky cleared, amidst his worries, he saw Sun Wukong staggering in from the west. Pigsy hurriedly stepped forward to greet him, saying, "Brother, what a strong wind! How did you fare?"

Wukong waved his hand and said:
"Amazing! Amazing! I, Old Sun, have never seen such a fierce wind since I was born! That monster used a three-pronged steel fork to fight me; after thirty rounds, he created this wind, which was so fierce that I could not stand up and could not open my eyes. I had no choice but to flee in the wind."

Pigsy asked, "Brother, how skilled is that demon in martial arts?"

Wukong said, "It's passable. His fork technique is quite neat. He fought to a draw with me. It's just that the wind is strong, making it difficult to defeat him."

Pigsy asked, "How can we save Master in this situation?"

Wukong said, "Let's put saving Master aside for now and find a doctor who can treat my eyes first."

Pigsy asked, "What's wrong with your eyes?"

Wukong said, "I was hit by a gust of wind from that monster. My eyes are sore and water is streaming down my face. I can hardly see the light."

Bajie said, "Brother, it's getting late halfway up the mountain, where could there be any teachers?"

Wukong said, “Bajie, you don’t know this. Long ago, Guanyin Bodhisattva promised me at Eagle’s Sorrow Gorge that there would be many disasters on the journey to the West. If I reached a place where I would suffer greatly, I was allowed to call out to Heaven and Earth and receive their prayers. If I were to reach a point where I could not escape, she would personally come to save me.”

Upon hearing this, Bajie led the white horse, picked up the luggage, and led Wukong out of the mountain valley to the crossroads.

As dusk approached, the sound of dogs barking could be heard coming from the hillside south of the road. Pigsy stopped and looked closely, and saw a manor with lights faintly shining through.

Bajie stepped forward and knocked on the door.

An old man came out and asked, "Who goes there? Who goes there?"

Wukong bowed and said, "We are disciples of the Great Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang from the East. We were on our way to the West to worship Buddha and seek scriptures when our master was captured by the Yellow Wind King and has not yet been rescued. It is getting late today, so we have come to your residence to ask for your permission to stay for the night. We hope you will be so kind as to grant us this request."

The old man returned the greeting and said, "I was not accustomed to welcoming you. I did not know you were two elders. Please come in."

(End of this chapter)