Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 170 A Perilous Crossing of the Tongtian River (Part 10)
But when they saw the monster was about to leave, the family panicked.

In her desperation, the woman didn't think twice and shouted, "Elder Sun, the monster has been lured out! Hurry up and do it!"

Upon hearing this, all the villagers looked over.

Tiger Vanguard was also startled in the air.

Wukong looked at the woman. He had never agreed to let this family set fire to lure out the monster, but this family had acted on their own initiative, which made him extremely dissatisfied.

However, Bajie, unaware of the situation, assumed that Wukong had made arrangements with the other party upon hearing this. Seeing that the demon was about to leave, he didn't have time to ask any questions. He picked up his rake, leaped up, blocked Tiger Vanguard's path, and raised his rake to strike.

Seeing this, Sha Wujing followed closely behind, took his staff, and leaped to block Tiger Vanguard's path.

Tiger Vanguard took out his lotus hammer and clashed with Pigsy's rake, but Sandy came from behind with his staff. Tiger Vanguard had nowhere to advance or retreat, and his two fists were no match for four hands, putting him in a dangerous situation.

Faced with this predicament, Tiger Vanguard was both anxious and angry. Looking at the woman on the ground, Tiger Vanguard recognized her and the man beside her as the family that the King had once asked him to save. He never expected that this family would repay kindness with enmity and use such a method to lure him out. It was truly despicable.

Enraged, Tiger Vanguard roared and, ignoring Pigsy and Sandy, charged towards the house, enduring their attacks.

Seeing this, the man of the family was so frightened that he stood there dumbfounded, truly a useless and incompetent fellow. Although the woman was not very kind-hearted, she was stronger than the man. She pulled the man and hid behind Tang Sanzang, saying, "Holy Monk, the monster is killing people, quickly eliminate the monster."

Tang Sanzang, unaware of the details, was naturally frightened by the ferocity of Tiger Vanguard and hurriedly cried out, "Wukong! Wukong! Quickly save your master!"

Wukong looked at that family, his anger no less than that of Tiger Vanguard. If he weren't wearing the golden headband, he would have already struck them with his staff, forcing them to be reincarnated and learn the virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness in their next life.

However, at this moment, fearing that the monster might harm his master, Wukong had no choice but to take action.

Wukong leaped in front of Tang Sanzang, using his golden cudgel to block the tiger vanguard's sharp teeth and fangs.

Wukong had already held back with this move; if he had gone all out, the golden cudgel would have struck Tiger Vanguard squarely on the head.

Wukong also had his pride. He was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Even when he subdued demons, he relied on his supernatural powers and magic to win, not on such methods. If word got out, it would be even more shameful than raising horses for the Jade Emperor.

Pigsy and Sandy attacked from behind, their rakes and staffs aimed at Tiger Vanguard.

Upon seeing this, Tiger Vanguard transformed back into his original form.

A strange beast appeared, its body entirely red, resembling both a tiger and a leopard, with a long horn on its head and five long tails behind it.

Tiger Vanguard in his original form is stronger than in his human form, but there is still a significant difference in strength and numbers. Even in his original form, he is still no match for Goku and his two companions working together.

Wukong secretly held back, trying not to kill Tiger Vanguard, but Bajie and Sha Wujing were unaware of the inside story and attacked with all their might.

Tiger Vanguard was no match for the three of them. He was overwhelmed and didn't even have a chance to use his innate supernatural abilities.

After about twenty rounds, Tiger Vanguard was in increasing difficulty, covered in wounds. He was accidentally hit on the leg by Pigsy's rake, which immediately created nine bloody holes. Seeing this, Sandy took the opportunity to use his crescent shovel to shovel off a long tail.

Seeing the fierce fighting, most of the villagers below scattered and hid, leaving only a few people in the same place.

Chen Cheng and Chen Qing were anxious upon seeing this.

Seeing that the "King of Pingyou" was about to be captured, Chen Qing gritted his teeth, looked into the distance, and suddenly cried out in terror:

"Oh no! There's a monster! Holy Monk, run!"

Chen Qing's portrayal of terror was so convincing that Tang Seng was startled when he saw it.

Upon hearing this, Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Wujing quickly turned around, disregarding Tiger Vanguard, and rushed to protect Tang Sanzang.

Seeing this, Tiger Vanguard limped away, riding the wind.

Ao Tu was hiding in the shadows, originally intending to save Tiger Vanguard, but he didn't expect Chen Qing to use such a move, saving him the trouble of taking action.

Ao Tu couldn't help but smile. This Chen Qing was quite good; it wasn't in vain that he had specially resurrected his son, allowing them to reunite first. Tiger Vanguard escaped.

Wukong and the others surrounded Tang Sanzang, looking around, but they could not see any demons.

Sha Wujing asked, "Benefactor, where is the demon?"

Chen Qing said, "There was a monster just now, but it's gone now."

Sha Wujing said, "This monster just disappeared like that?"

Chen Qing was just making up a lie; in fact, there were no monsters at all. When Sha Wujing pressed him for an answer, his eyes darted around, and he couldn't say anything.

Wukong came to his rescue, saying, "It's probably just a passing monster."

Pigsy laughed and said, "Does this monster have people passing by or staying here permanently?"

Wukong laughed and said, "Even monsters have relatives and friends. It's not surprising that they visit relatives when they pass by."

Chen Qing said, "Yes! Yes! It's a passing monster!"

Seeing this, Sha Wujing said nothing more, and said:
"Senior Brother, that monster escaped while we were protecting Master. Now that we're safe here, I'll go after it and eliminate it completely!"

Along the way, the four of them encountered many demons, and Sha Wujing had not accomplished anything along the way. Now that he finally had a chance to make a contribution, he naturally did not want to let it go.

Wukong said, "Brother Sha, it's more important to keep an eye on Master. That monster was severely injured by us and is now like a broken-backed dog. I don't think he'll dare to come back. There's no need to chase after him."

Sha Wujing said, "This..."

Pigsy said, "Brother Sandy, that monster ate my rake and had its tail cut off by your shovel. How dare it come back? Why are you bothering with it? It's pitch black, what's the point of chasing it? We should go back to sleep. I'm still sleepy!"

Seeing that his senior and second senior brothers had both said so, Sha Wujing said no more.

Chen Qing said, "Holy Monk, you must be tired after a long night. Please go back and rest!"

Tang Sanzang bowed and said, "Old benefactor, you should also get some rest."

Chen Qing said, "I still have some matters to attend to at the ancestral hall. Holy Monk, please go ahead."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang left first.

After Tang Sanzang left, Chen Qing's kind gaze turned angry. Looking back at the charred ancestral hall, he realized that if King Pingyou hadn't extinguished the fire in time, the hall would have been destroyed.

The ancestral hall enshrines ancestral tablets and represents the lineage of the clan, which is extremely important to all the villagers of Chenjiazhuang who share the same ancestry.

Chen Qing gathered the villagers.

The villagers who had just hidden themselves away because of the fight with Wukong and the others came out one after another when the fight ended and the manor lord summoned them.

The house that set the fire was nowhere to be seen.

Although the family did not directly admit to arson, the woman from the previous household had inadvertently let slip some details in the heat of the moment, leading most of the villagers to guess that they were the ones who set the fire.

When Chen Qing noticed that the family was not there, he asked the villagers if they had seen any trace of them.

Some villagers saw them and said, "They went home!"

Chen Qing said, "Follow me and let's chase them! We can't let them escape!"

(End of this chapter)