Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 168 A Perilous Crossing of the Tongtian River (Part 8)
Meanwhile, Wukong and Bajie returned victorious.

The two rode on the clouds and landed at Chen Si's house. They found that Tang Seng was missing. After asking, they learned that Tang Seng had been taken to Chen Qing's house. The two then went to Chen Qing's house.

Wukong jumped through the door and shouted:
"Master! Master! That monster was so frightened by my staff that it doesn't dare to come out anymore!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing, Chen Cheng, Tang Seng, and the others all came out to investigate.

Pigsy eagerly stepped forward to show off, saying, "Master, look, these are the monster's hairs!"

Tang Sanzang took the few red hairs and exclaimed in surprise, "Such long hairs, I wonder what kind of monster they are?"

Bajie said, "That monster looks quite strange. It has a single horn on its forehead and five tails behind it. I don't know what kind of monster it is."

Wukong said, "Judging from that monster, it has a strong demonic aura and a vicious nature, no less than a tiger or leopard. It is definitely not a kind creature!"

Pigsy said, "Yes, that monster is very fierce!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing and Chen Cheng's expressions turned somewhat sour.

In their eyes, King Pingyou, though a demon, was their benefactor who avenged them; even if he was a demon, he was a good one.

Chen Cheng, Chen Qing's elder brother, was more straightforward. He snorted coldly and turned to leave. If it were up to Chen Cheng, he would have preferred to kick the monks out directly.

In contrast, Chen Qing was more diplomatic; although he was also dissatisfied, he still invited Tang Sanzang and his disciples to come in and take their seats.

Chen Qing knew that even if he drove away Tang Sanzang and his companions, it would be pointless. It would be better to keep them around so that he could find out what they were up to next.

Once inside, Chen Qing had tea and fruit served.

Bajie had been fighting with Tiger Vanguard for a long time, and his stomach was already growling with hunger. When he saw the tea and fruit, he didn't think about anything else and just kept eating.

Tang Sanzang felt he had acted somewhat improperly, but considering how hard Pigsy had worked to subdue the demon, he didn't say anything, only offering Chen Qingdao some advice:
“Benefactor, I know the pain in your heart, but the dead cannot be brought back to life. You must not believe the words of that demon. My eldest disciple is the most skilled at exorcising demons. He has seen it with his own eyes, and there is no mistake!”

Chen Qing listened in silence.

Wukong said, "Old man, why can't you distinguish between good and bad? I'm only advising you because I see you've done good deeds and accumulated virtue, and I'm doing this for your own good. You can't trust that monster's words; he's using demonic talk to trick you into catching young boys and girls for him to eat."

Chen Qing shook his head and said, “Elders, you have come from afar. If you have nothing else to do today, please rest at my humble abode. I heard that you elders need to cross the river. The Tongtian River is eight hundred miles wide, and small boats cannot cross it; large boats are required. In previous years, merchant ships would travel on the river at the end of the year, because the Western Liang Women's Kingdom is located on the west bank of the river, where rare and precious goods are found, making it a highly profitable venture. Elders, please wait a few more days, and I will send someone to find a boat and arrange this matter.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang felt a mix of emotions when he saw that Chen Qing was still willing to find a boat to help them cross the river.

Tang Sanzang finally couldn't help but advise, "Benefactor, put it down."

Chen Qing did not respond, but stood up and said, "Please, elders, go and rest first. I will go and prepare a meal for you."

After Chen Qing left, Tang Sanzang sighed, "Old benefactor, your obsession is hard to let go!"

As he ate, Pigsy said, "He's already childless, how can he let go so easily?"

Tang Sanzang looked at Wukong and said, "Wukong, do you think you can do it?"

Wukong naturally knew what his master wanted to say, and shook his head, saying, "It's been too long. I estimate that those children have already been reincarnated. Even I, Old Sun, would find it difficult to save them."

Tang Sanzang said, "Amitabha."

Wukong said, "Master, let's not talk about that now. That monster is hiding in the river. If we don't get rid of it, I'm afraid it will come out again to deceive the villagers and eat and harm people after we leave."

Tang Sanzang asked, "Wukong, what do you want?"

Wukong said, "Let's find someone to ask around and find out what this monster is all about, and see if there's any way to lure it out so that Bajie and I can get rid of it."

Tang Sanzang nodded.

Next, Chen Qing ordered a vegetarian meal to be prepared for Tang Sanzang and his disciples.

The steward led Tang Sanzang and his disciples to have a vegetarian meal.

Upon arriving at their destination, the steward was about to leave when Tang Sanzang called him back.

Tang Sanzang asked, "Steward, do you know when King Pingyou in the river comes ashore?" The steward replied, "Yes, it's when..."

Before the butler could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a cough.

Chen Qing walked over, glanced at the butler, and the butler quickly went downstairs upon seeing this.

Chen Qing said, "Elders, please have a vegetarian meal. As for the question from earlier, please forgive me for not being able to answer it."

After saying this, Chen Qing glanced at everyone silently and left.

Tang Sanzang watched Chen Qing's retreating figure, unsure of what to say.

Wukong said, "Master, don't worry. It's alright if he doesn't say anything. After we finish eating, I'll go outside and ask him."

Tang Sanzang said, "Old benefactor, your obsession is too deep. You are unwilling to tell us. It would be better to go outside and ask."

Sha Wujing said, "I think he's gotten himself into a rut. He's already believing that monster's words. No matter what we say, he won't believe us."

Wukong said, "That's right. I'm afraid that if we don't get rid of that monster, he'll be tricked by the monster again and use the child as a sacrifice after we leave."

Several people nodded, but Pigsy was the only one missing.

Wukong looked at Bajie and saw that Bajie was holding chopsticks with four steamed buns stuck on the left and five on the right, and was just eating them.

When Wukong and Sha Wujing looked into their bowls, they saw that Bajie had taken all the steamed buns they had put there.

"This idiot..."

After finishing his meal, Wukong left Chen Qing's house and went to Chen Family Village to ask people about King Pingyou.

The people of Chenjiazhuang reacted in various ways.

Those who react poorly are generally supporters of the sacrificial rites.

Some people reacted indifferently; these are basically people who are indifferent to the matter.

Those who react enthusiastically are generally opposed to the ritual of sacrifice.

After asking around, Wukong gathered a lot of information, but he still had no clue how to lure King Pingyou out.

Wukong continued asking around, and this time he found a family.

This family has children of school age, so they oppose the sacrificial ceremony and are very enthusiastic about Wukong.

When Wukong explained his purpose, the woman in the house beamed with joy and said, "I have a way!"

Wukong hurriedly asked, "What method is it?"

The woman was about to speak when, for some reason, the man stopped her.

The man said somewhat reluctantly, "We can't say."

The woman said, "Why can't we say so that the elder can exorcise the monster? Then my son won't have to draw lots! Do you want to see your family line die out?"

The man said, "But..."

The woman said, "You just think that monster did you a favor, so you're making your son repay it for you. You heartless thing! If you won't say it, I will!"

In the end, the man could no longer bring himself to lower his head.

Wukong asked, "What exactly is the method?"

The woman said, "Two months ago, our house caught fire. It looked like it couldn't be saved and the house was about to burn down when suddenly a black wind blew out of nowhere and extinguished the fire. Although I didn't see any monsters, I'm sure that black wind was blown by a monster, otherwise how could a gust of wind suddenly extinguish the fire?"

[PS: Not feeling well, no update tonight.]

(End of this chapter)