Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 169 A Perilous Crossing of the Tongtian River (Part 9)
However, after learning how to lure out the monster, Wukong showed no smile whatsoever.

How could the mighty Monkey King use such a method?

The family wanted to say something more.

Wukong ignored him completely and simply leaped away.

Back in the guest room, Tang Sanzang saw Wukong return and asked, "Wukong, have you found a solution?"

Upon hearing this, Wukong wanted to tell Tang Sanzang about that family, but after thinking about it, he realized that his master was a good monk, and even if he heard these things, what difference would it make?

It will only cause more trouble.

Wukong said, "Old Sun...didn't ask."

Tang Sanzang was puzzled to see Wukong's dejected state. His disciple had encountered countless demons and monsters along the way, facing all sorts of hardships and tribulations. What was wrong with him today? He had never seen him like this before.

Tang Sanzang advised, "Wukong, if you didn't get the answer, so be it. We can think of another way. It's a pity you've been working so hard on the journey to obtain the scriptures; you must be very tired. Let's rest for now."

Wukong nodded in agreement.

As night fell, Wukong was still thinking about what had happened during the day.

That family is absolutely despicable.

That monster ate people; it was an evil creature, but at least it ate them openly and honestly, without resorting to underhanded tactics.

That family's actions were actually inferior to those of a demon.

Besides the matter of that family, Wukong also had some doubts in his mind.

That monster was no good, there's no doubt about that. After all, the monster clearly intended to eat thirteen children, without any intention of hiding it.

Yet, this same monster also helps people put out fires. Many other villagers have also received help from the monster.

Wukong couldn't understand why such evil beings would go out of their way to do these good deeds.

Pigsy was fast asleep and snoring nearby.

Wukong took a look.

That idiot, he doesn't think about anything all day.

The village of Chenjiazhuang was eerily quiet at night. In the depths of winter, the cold weather meant even the barking of dogs was much less frequent.

Suddenly, a burst of light appeared on the south side of the dark village, and then quickly spread into flames.

In the depths of winter, when the air is dry and the fire starts, it spreads extremely quickly.

"The ancestral hall is on fire! The ancestral hall is on fire!"

The villagers shouted and screamed as they rose from the darkness and rushed outside to investigate, only to find that the ancestral hall behind the village was engulfed in flames.

Most of the villagers in Chenjiazhuang are surnamed Chen, with only a small number having different surnames. The ancestral hall enshrines the ancestors of all the villagers.

Although with the passage of generations and the dispersal of bloodlines, most people are no longer as close to the ancestors enshrined in the ancestral hall, people still attach great importance to the ancestral hall.

The villagers rushed to help put out the fire.

Hearing the commotion outside, Wukong leaped outside and saw the raging fire, his expression changing.

He did not agree to set the fire, and the fire...

Tang Sanzang and the others were also awakened by the noise.

The lineage of Chen Qing and Chen Cheng, who were the owners of the manor, were direct descendants of the ancestors in the ancestral hall. Upon seeing this situation, they were extremely anxious and hurriedly led people to put out the fire.

The group rushed to the ancestral hall.

The fire was strange. If it were a normal fire, it would start in one place and then spread to the surrounding areas. If it was discovered in time, it could be put out in one place. But this fire started from all sides and quickly spread to one area. It was really difficult to put out by manpower alone.

At that time, in the Tongtian River.

Ao Tu is using the power of creation to nurture the child's soul and build a physical body.

His incarnation as the Blood Sea King leans towards combat, and his use of the power of creation is somewhat weaker. However, given his realm and magical power, and having already acquired a true spirit, resurrecting an ordinary mortal is not too difficult for him.

The White Bone Demon stood by, casting a spell to draw upon the power of the moonlight, helping Ao Tu nurture the child's soul. Suddenly, Tiger Vanguard arrived and reported:
"Your Majesty, a fire has broken out in Chenjiazhuang. The fire is very large. Should we help them put out the fire?"

Ao Tu said, "Go, but be careful."

Tiger Vanguard accepted the order and went ahead.

Ao Tu watched his subordinate's retreating figure. Tiger Vanguard was essentially a pure demon, loyal to his fellow demons and quite righteous. Although he wasn't a particularly good demon, he wasn't a great villain either.

For Tiger Vanguard, having him by his side meant he was a good demon; had he initially followed the three demons of Lion Camel Ridge, he would most likely have become a ferocious demon.

Ao Tu was quite satisfied with the current Tiger Vanguard, otherwise he wouldn't have bestowed the essence blood of the Great Demon Zheng.

With Tiger Vanguard's current strength, he's almost capable of handling things on his own. If released, he might even conquer a mountain range and become a demon king.

Outside, the ancestral hall in Chenjiazhuang was burning fiercely, and the fire was growing more and more intense. The villagers tried everything they could, including dousing it with water and burying it with soil, but they could not save it.

Chen Qing and Chen Cheng were extremely anxious, sweating profusely despite it being the dead of winter.

Wukong searched through the crowd and, sure enough, found the house from earlier that day.

Unlike the other villagers, the family seemed to be in a hurry, instead looking around at something.

Although Wukong did not witness the scene firsthand, he was almost certain that they had set the fire.

Seeing that the fire couldn't be extinguished, Tang Sanzang hurriedly said to Wukong:
"Wukong, the fire is too big, and the people are in danger of being saved. Please use your magic to save them!"

Wukong agreed, "Master, please have the villagers disperse, and I will cast the spell now."

Tang Sanzang nodded.

Just then, a black gust of wind swept through the sky.

Tiger Vanguard rode the wind, revealing his body in the darkness. He opened his mouth and exhaled a gust of demonic wind, which extinguished the fire in an instant.

Upon seeing this, the people all knelt down in worship.

Chen Cheng and Chen Qing kowtowed repeatedly to express their gratitude to King Pingyou.

The people had never seen what Ao Tu looked like, so they all mistook Tiger Vanguard for King Pingyou.

Tiger Vanguard didn't say anything, circled in the air for a while, and then prepared to leave.

Wukong did not make a move.

He has plenty of ways to subdue demons, but he won't do something like this now.

Seeing this, the family couldn't sit still any longer.

They set the fire to lure out "King Pingyou".

It was because during the day, Wukong had approached them to ask how to lure out the monster.

It just so happened that this family had been saved by Tiger Vanguard when their house caught fire before, so they came up with this idea: to deliberately set fire to lure Tiger Vanguard out.

Logically speaking, Tiger Vanguard had done them a favor, so they shouldn't have used this method.

But for the sake of their child, they chose to temporarily set aside their gratitude.

However, when they told Wukong about this plan during the day, Wukong seemed very annoyed and left without agreeing to it.

The matter should have ended there.

However, it just so happened that during the day, Chen Qing sent someone to find a boat, saying that he wanted to take Tang Sanzang and his disciples westward.

Upon hearing this, the family feared that the monster had not been eliminated and that they would have to draw lots for sacrifices after Tang Sanzang and his disciples left. After some hesitation, they decided to set fire to the place to lure the monster there.

Instead of setting fire to their own houses, they secretly set fire to the ancestral hall at night.

They were residents from other families and didn't care about the safety of the ancestral hall.

As expected, the monster came to put out the fire after it started.

To their surprise, Wukong did not make a move.

(End of this chapter)