Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 49, The Three Battles with the White Bone Demon (Part Two)
Meanwhile, Wukong struck the White Bone Demon with his staff.

The White Bone Demon's true form has left, leaving behind her real corpse.

Wukong said that the woman was a demon, how could Tang Sanzang believe him?

Bajie chimed in from the side:

“Master, speaking of this woman, she was a local peasant woman. She was delivering food to the fields when she encountered us and kindly offered us alms. My senior brother accidentally beat her to death and then framed her as a monster. Anyway, this is a desolate mountain wilderness, and no one will know if someone is killed. We're not afraid of being sued. It's just a pity that such a perfectly good meal was wasted.”

As he spoke, Pigsy picked up the basket, retrieved the fallen steamed bun, and blew off the dust. He then scooped out the clean top layer of rice from the broken earthenware pot into a bowl, saying:

“Master, that woman offered it to you just now, but you didn’t eat it. Now look what’s happened, she’s dead. If you had eaten it earlier, perhaps she would still be alive.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang became even angrier, making hand gestures and chanting incantations.

Wukong had a headache and said, "Stop reading! Stop reading! Just say what you have to say."

Tang Sanzang said, "What are you saying! A monk should always have a kind heart. He sweeps the floor for fear of harming an ant, and protects the lamp from moths by covering it with gauze. How can you be so violent! What's the point of going on the pilgrimage if you kill this innocent woman? Go back!"

Wukong asked, "Master, where should I go back to?"

Tang Sanzang said, "I don't want you as my disciple anymore."

Wukong said, "If you don't want me to be your disciple, I'm afraid you won't be able to go to the Western Paradise."

Tang Sanzang said, "My fate is in the hands of Heaven. It's none of your business if that demon is to be steamed or boiled!"

Wukong said, "Master, it's fine if I go back, but I haven't yet repaid your great kindness."

Tang Sanzang asked, "What kindness have I done for you?"

Upon hearing this, Wukong knelt down and kowtowed, saying:

"Old Sun was imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain by Buddha for causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace; fortunately, Guanyin Bodhisattva gave me the precepts and my master rescued me from danger; if I do not go to the Western Paradise with you, wouldn't I be ungrateful?"

Tang Sanzang was a compassionate man. Seeing Wukong's sincere plea and kneeling entreaty, and remembering that it was Guanyin Bodhisattva who had enlightened him, he changed his mind and said:

"Since that's the case, I'll spare you this time. If you hurt someone again, you'll have to recite this spell twenty times!"

Wukong said, "You can do it thirty times, but I will never hit anyone again."

So they helped Tang Sanzang mount his horse and then offered him the peaches they had picked.

Tang Sanzang ate a few, just to satisfy his hunger.

The four travelers continued their journey.

After walking for a while, they saw a burly man emerge from the woods ahead. He looked like a hunter, carrying a wood-chopping knife and a hunting bow on his back. Upon seeing Tang Sanzang and his companions, he greeted them:

"Masters, have you seen my little sister?"

Upon seeing this, Pigsy exclaimed in alarm, "Master, something terrible has happened! They're looking for someone!"

Tang Sanzang asked, "Whom are you looking for?"

Bajie said, "It must be the woman that my senior brother killed. Don't confess, or we'll have to pay with our lives!"

With his fiery eyes, Wukong recognized the man as Tiger Vanguard as soon as he arrived. He said, "Master, don't listen to that fool's nonsense. This is clearly a demon. Let me give him a good whack!"

Tang Sanzang said, "Stop your violence! If you hurt anyone again, I will not forgive you!"

Upon hearing this, Wukong had no choice but to suppress his feelings, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.

He knew that the demon was following Ao Tu, and he thought to himself that trouble was brewing again.

Nao Tu was determined to stop Tang Sanzang from going on his pilgrimage. Although he had some personal ties with Tang Sanzang, his intention to protect Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West was genuine. Now that he saw Tang Sanzang about to suffer again, he couldn't help but feel anxious.

Tiger Vanguard approached Tang Sanzang and his disciples, bowed, and asked:

"Masters, you've come from the mountains, have you seen my little sister?" Tang Sanzang returned the greeting and asked, "Benefactor, where are you from? Why are you here looking for someone?"

Tiger Vanguard said, “Master, I was originally a hunter, but due to a misfortune in my family, I came to White Tiger Ridge to seek refuge with my sworn brother. My brother’s home is on the hillside just west of here. This morning, my brother and sister-in-law went to work in the fields, and at noon, my younger sister went to deliver lunch, but she hasn’t returned yet, so I came out to look for her. I wonder if any of you masters saw her when you passed by?”

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang found himself speechless and stammered, unable to utter a word.

Bajie said, "I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything. We passed through this area and it was all desolate mountains and wilderness, without a single person in sight!"

Tiger Vanguard, upon hearing this, looked at Pigsy and, seeing the basket in his arms, exclaimed in surprise:

"This isn't the food basket my little sister used to deliver meals! Yet you claim you didn't see it! Could it be that it fell into your hands?"

Upon seeing this, Tang Sanzang sighed, "Amitabha, please accept my condolences. It is all my fault for not disciplining you properly, which led to my unworthy disciple causing the deaths of your family members."

Tiger Vanguard roared, "You bunch of wicked monks, pretending to be monks, but in reality you are highway robbers! My poor little sister, so young, has fallen victim to your cruelty!"

Tang Sanzang had no way to defend himself, so he could only keep chanting scriptures.

Wukong said, "Demon, others may not recognize you, but I do. What trick are you trying to use to deceive my master? You deserve a beating!"

As he spoke, the baton came down, but Tiger Vanguard moved aside, stretched out his leg, and took the blow head-on. Instantly, his skin was torn open, revealing the white bone fragments.

Tang Sanzang was so frightened that he dared not open his eyes.

Tiger Vanguard, enduring the pain, dragged his leg and fled backward, saying:

"Help! Help! The monk has killed someone to cover his tracks!"

Wukong was about to give chase.

Without saying a word, Tang Sanzang began reciting the Tightening-Headband Mantra, repeating it twenty times.

The pain was so intense that Wukong's head was squeezed so tightly it resembled a gourd; even with his indestructible body, he could not endure the pain. He flew up and smashed a large mountain to the south, but it did not relieve him in the slightest. He rolled over and cried out in anguish:

"Master, stop chanting! What do you have to say?"

Tang Sanzang said, "What else is there to say! A monk who listens to good advice will not fall into hell. I have been trying to persuade you like this, so why did you still commit violence? Not only did you kill one person, but you also killed another to silence him?"

Wukong said, "He is a demon."

Tang Sanzang said, "Nonsense! There aren't that many demons! You are clearly doing evil intentionally and want to kill people! Go back! I will not tolerate you as my disciple!"

Wukong said, "Master is telling me to go back again? I will go back then, but there is one thing I need Master's permission to do, otherwise I cannot go back."

Tang Sanzang asked, "What is it?"

Bajie said, "Master, he wants to share your luggage. He's been a monk with you for so long, he can't go back empty-handed. Give him two of the old clothes and tattered hat from your bundle."

Upon hearing this, Wukong angrily retorted, "You long-mouthed idiot! I, Sun Wukong, have always upheld the teachings of a Buddhist monk and have never harbored any greed. When did I decide to divide the luggage? I think you're asking for a beating!"

Pigsy hurriedly begged for mercy, saying, "Brother, please don't hit me! I was just joking!"

Tang Sanzang said, "Since you have no desire for it, why don't you go?"

Wukong said, "To be honest, Master, five hundred years ago, I lived in the Water Curtain Cave of Flower Fruit Mountain, and was known as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. I wore a purple-gold crown and an ochre-yellow robe. Now that I'm going back wearing a golden headband, it's really hard to see my old friends."

"If Master truly wants me to return, I beg you to recite the loosening spell to remove this headband. That would be a way for me to repay your kindness."

Tang Sanzang was greatly surprised and said, "Wukong, at that time I was just secretly receiving a Tightening Spell from the Bodhisattva, how could there be a Loosening Spell?"

Wukong said, "If there is no loosening spell, then let me go to the Western Paradise with you."

Tang Sanzang had no choice but to say, "Alright, I'll spare you this time."

At that time, Ao Tu made Tiger Vanguard lie on the bed and instructed him to pretend to be crippled and unable to move at all, so as to extort money from Tang Sanzang.

(End of this chapter)