Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 5, Reward Settlement

That very evening, the magistrate, filled with trepidation, escorted Tang Sanzang and his disciples out of the prison. He respectfully apologized to Tang Sanzang, saying that he had misunderstood the holy monk from the Heavenly Dynasty. He then ordered his men to serve the finest vegetarian food and fruits, and to prepare superior guest rooms for Tang Sanzang and his disciples to enjoy.

Upon seeing this scene, Tang Sanzang couldn't help but chant Amitabha Buddha's name, expressing his gratitude for the Buddha's protection.

The next day, the magistrate, citing the false accusation, ordered the execution of Guangzhi and Guangmou, thus clearing the name of Tang Sanzang and his disciples.

Guangzhi and Guangmou naturally protested their innocence, claiming that Venerable Ananda had instructed them to report to the authorities. However, words are not enough, as Venerable Ananda never appeared, and therefore no one believed their story.

Only Sun Wukong paid a second glance.

After the two monks were beheaded, the matter was settled; Tang Sanzang summoned Sun Wukong and prepared to set off on their journey to retrieve the scriptures.

The county magistrate, however, led all the officials of the prefecture to block Tang Sanzang's path and pleaded:

"Holy Monk of the Great Tang Dynasty, the people of this city have suffered greatly from disasters and hardships. We beg you, Holy Monk, to have mercy on the people and perform a few days of water and land rituals, recite the scriptures, and pray for blessings. The people of the city will be eternally grateful."

Unable to resist the magistrate's sincere plea, Tang Sanzang asked, "How many days of rituals are required?"

The magistrate said, "I beg the holy monk to complete the thirty-three days and relieve the people of their suffering."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang repeatedly said no, saying:

"This humble monk has been ordered by the Tang Emperor to travel west to obtain Buddhist scriptures; now that the journey is uncertain and the scriptures are not yet complete, how can I remain in a foreign land for so long? This is absolutely not advisable."

The county magistrate earnestly advised him.

However, Tang Sanzang said that thirty-three days was too long, and no matter how the county magistrate tried to persuade him, he refused to agree.

Seeing this, the magistrate dared not reveal the truth and had no choice but to compromise and agree to perform the ritual for only seven days.

Tang Sanzang thought about it and decided that seven days was not too long, so he agreed.

For the next seven days, the magistrate hosted a grand banquet with a thousand tables, inviting the Tang Dynasty monk Tang Sanzang to perform a water and land ritual. People from all over the city came to eat and drink, and the whole city was filled with joy.

Sun Wukong was somewhat surprised. He had thought the magistrate was a greedy man that day, so how could he have become so generous? However, since the magistrate did not seem to intend to harm Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong did not investigate further.

Soon, seven days passed, and Tang Sanzang was about to leave again.

As soon as he reached the city gate, he saw the entire city's population kneeling and begging the holy monk to stay a few more days.

The people's plea moved Heaven; every family tried to persuade them to stay, and everyone was reluctant to part with them.

Tang Sanzang had no choice but to agree to stay for another seven days.

So the next seven days were filled with sermons and lavish banquets.

On the fourteenth night, Tang Sanzang said to Sun Wukong:

“My disciple, if things continue like this, I’m afraid the people will try to stop us again tomorrow. I think you should pack your bags and horses now, and we should leave tonight.”

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Master, the people love and respect you, so why not stay a few more days?"

Tang Sanzang said, "You monkey, when we set out I promised His Majesty I would return in three to five years. Now we have just left the country and do not even know if we have obtained the scriptures. How dare you stay here for so long? If this continues, when will we be able to obtain the true scriptures?"

Sun Wukong said, "Alright, alright, I'll go get the horse, we'll leave tonight."

Sun Wukong went out the door to fetch his horse. As he passed the side room, he overheard the servants of the mansion talking in the night:

"Are you all ready? Tomorrow we'll arrange for the people to stop that Tang Dynasty monk."

Another person said, "Of course, of course, everything is ready. Hey, it's strange! Our county magistrate is usually such a stingy person, what's wrong with him lately? He insists on keeping that monk to perform the rituals and holding such a long banquet, just to give those peasants a free ride."

The man said, "Who knows? But I heard the county magistrate say that even if he had to take off his official robes, he would still keep that monk for thirty-three days."

Another person said, "That's really strange!"

Sun Wukong, who was outside, rolled his eyes as he heard this.

Even if it means giving up my official robes, I'd rather keep my master for thirty-three days.
Sun Wukong realized something was wrong.

He quickly transformed into a small insect and flew to the magistrate's house to investigate the situation.

At this moment, the magistrate's wife was making a huge scene. "I'm done! I'm done living like this! Why are you taking all our family's possessions to feed and drink those peasants?! It's one thing to hold a prayer ceremony for one day, but you've been doing it for half a month now. If this continues, we'll run out of money. If you don't give me an explanation today, I'm taking my son and going back to my parents' home!"

The magistrate said with a bitter face, "Alas! I, I am also heartbroken, but what can I do! Don't ask anymore, I can't say."

Seeing this, Sun Wukong knew that the magistrate must be hiding something from him; he immediately revealed his true form, grabbed the magistrate, and asked:
"Tell me, why are you holding my master back? Are you colluding with a demon?"

The magistrate's wife was terrified when she saw this.

The magistrate stammered:

"Elder Sun, what did you say? What monster?"

Sun Wukong said, "I think you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin; you're asking for a beating!"

As he spoke, he pulled the golden cudgel from his ear, shouted "Big!" and stabbed it into the roof, blowing half of the roof off.

At that time, Ao Tu was hiding in the clouds, watching the situation below.

His system progress has reached 24 days, which is enough to obtain the True Dragon Ball reward. He is also not far from obtaining the next stage's acquired spiritual treasure, the Five Fire Divine Flame Fan.

Unfortunately, Sun Wukong noticed something amiss at that moment.

Ao Tu felt regretful, but he didn't hesitate for a moment and fled into the distance.

The reward of the True Dragon Pearl is already very good; it can help him quickly advance to the Golden Immortal realm and transform into a True Dragon. Once successful, he will be a formidable force on his journey to the West.

At this moment, the county magistrate below was terrified. Under the threat of Sun Wukong's strength, he spilled the beans and confessed the whole story.

Sun Wukong frowned upon hearing this: "Is it Venerable Ananda again?"

Recalling what Guangmou and Guangzhi had said before their deaths, Sun Wukong thought to himself, "This Venerable Ananda must be a demon in disguise, plotting to harm my master!"

Thinking this, Sun Wukong jumped out of the room and looked around with his Fiery Eyes of Truth, discovering something unusual in the air.

"Don't leave, you monster!"

Sun Wukong jumped up and flew into the air.

Ao Tu had already fled, leaving only some clouds in the sky.

As the saying goes: those of the same voice respond to each other, and those of the same spirit seek each other out. Clouds follow the dragon, wind follows the tiger, and when a sage arises, all things are revealed.

Looking at the remaining clouds, Sun Wukong guessed that they were left by a dragon, and so he shouted and cursed in the air:

"Dragon demon, have the guts to come out and meet your grandpa Sun!"

Ao Tu has already left, so naturally he can't come back.

Sun Wukong cursed and shouted for a long time, but to no avail, and had to return empty-handed.

For the rest of the time, Ao Tu remained hidden in the shadows and did not come out.

To his surprise, the system's progress did not stop, but continued to grow.

The reason is that although his plan was exposed, Tang Sanzang still needed to travel normally to leave the Guanyin Temple area, and the time spent traveling would be counted in the system's progress.

Three more days passed, and when the system's progress reached twenty-seven days, Tang Sanzang and his disciples finally left the Guanyin Temple area.

The system task has begun to be settled.

[Ding, reward settlement in progress, total interception time: 27 days.]

[Ding! You have been awarded the Mountain Moving Technique.]

[Ding! You have received a reward: a Six-Turn Golden Elixir.]

[Ding! You have received the True Dragon Ball as a reward.]

[Ding! Twelve extra days have been added and will automatically be transferred to the next side quest; the next side quest is: Exorcising the Demon at Gao Village.]

(End of this chapter)