Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 64, Encountering the Demon in the Black Pine Forest (Part 8)
Meanwhile, Ao Tu and the White Dragon were fighting in the air.

In the dead of night, when all was quiet and no one was around, the two men tumbled and fought in the air, stirring up the wind and clouds.

Ao Tu was covered in golden scales that shone brightly in the moonlight. Its dragon eyes were like lightning, its dragon horns were like halberds, and when its dragon claws were swung, golden light filled the sky, making the sky as bright as day.

The little white dragon had silvery scales, eyes like stars, claws like cold hooks, and breathed out white mist that condensed into clouds.

The two fought for eight or nine rounds without a clear winner.

How can it be a draw?
The little white dragon exhaled a breath of icy mist, which struck Ao Tu. That icy mist was a breath of primordial energy that the little white dragon possessed, capable of condensing even volcanoes! Yet, it did not cause any frost to form on its golden scales.

The white dragon's tail swept out, striking Ao Tu. This dragon tail, with its shimmering silver scales, was like a thousand blades of light; it could crush even a mountain into dust! Yet it didn't leave a single mark on the golden scales.

The little white dragon's claws shot out and grabbed Ao Tu. This dragon claw, cold and sharp, could reach the heavens to pluck stars and descend into the netherworld to capture monsters. If it grabbed a person, even a celestial being who had cultivated for a thousand tribulations would be crushed to dust! Yet it did not harm the golden scales in the slightest.

The little white dragon's horns shot out and struck Ao Tu. These horns were as hard as steel, impervious to the attacks of countless divine weapons, yet upon impact, they instantly shattered into two pieces! They did not budge Ao Tu an inch.

The little white dragon opened its enormous mouth, revealing its dragon teeth. Those teeth were indestructible; no matter how stubborn or unyielding you were, a single bite would crush you. Yet, it couldn't even budge a single golden scale.

They fought for eight or nine rounds without a clear winner.

Ao Tu saw that the White Dragon had exhausted its moves and spat out a golden pearl, the size of a goose egg, shining brightly with golden light—it was the Dragon Pearl.

Seeing this, the little white dragon turned to leave.

Ao Tu activated the Dragon Pearl, which emitted a golden light that struck the little white dragon's leg, knocking it off the cloud. The dragon quickly transformed into a white carp and hid in the moat.

Ao Tu did not pursue them, and withdrew his troops back to the palace.

The little white dragon lay submerged in the water for half an hour without making a sound. Then, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain in his legs, he jumped up, went straight to the inn, transformed back into a horse, and lay down under the trough.

Leaving aside the calamity that befell Sanzang and the defeat of the White Dragon, let us now speak of Bajie.

After Sha Wujing was captured, Zhu Bajie hid in the deep forest, among the thorny bushes, holding his breath and concentrating, not daring to make the slightest sound, for fear of being captured by the Yellow Robe Monster.

It wasn't until late at night, when the stars had shifted and the constellations had moved, that he dared to come out. He thought to himself, "If I want to go back and rescue Sha Wujing, it's truly a case of 'a single thread cannot make a line, and one hand cannot clap.'... Enough! Enough! Enough! I'll go into the city to see my master and then we can discuss it further."

Pigsy quickly rode his cloud back to the city and arrived at the inn.

It was quiet and the moon was bright. There was no one in sight, only a white horse lying there, soaking wet, its hind leg broken, unable to put the ground down, so it stood on its other three legs.

Bajie exclaimed in alarm, "Double bad luck! Not only has Sha Wujing been captured, but the horse is also broken. It seems that some villains robbed Master at night and damaged the horse."

When the White Dragon saw Pigsy, he spoke in human language, "Senior Brother!"

Pigsy was startled and said, "Brother, why are you talking today? If you speak, it must be something important."

The white dragon asked, "Do you know that Master is in trouble?"

Pigsy said, "I don't know."

The White Dragon said, "You don't know! That demon is very powerful. He tricked Master into banishing the eldest brother and then seized the throne of Baoxiang Kingdom."

He lured you away from the mountain, and after you left, he transformed your master into a striped tiger, claiming it was a tiger demon, and took away your luggage.

Seeing that you were not there, I feared for my master's safety, so I transformed into a dragon to rescue him. Unexpectedly, despite using every means at my disposal, I was no match for that demon, and instead had my bones broken, leaving me in this state.

Upon hearing this, Pigsy asked, "Is that really true?"

The White Dragon said, "Could it be that I was just teasing you?" Pigsy exclaimed, "What's going on! What's going on! The package has been taken too!"

The white dragon asked, "Why do you care about the package?"

Bajie said, "You are an unregistered disciple, and you don't inherit any of the family property. Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand my troubles. With your leg injury, can you still move?"

The white dragon asked, "So what if it can move?"

Pigsy said, "If you can move, then go back to the sea. This saddle and bridle are still worth some money. I'll find someone to sell them and go back to Gao Village to be a son-in-law."

Upon hearing this, the White Dragon grabbed Pigsy's clothes and wouldn't let go, saying, "Brother! You must never be lazy!"

Bajie said, "What's wrong with not being lazy? Brother Sha has been captured by the demons, and I can't defeat him. Master has also been turned into a tiger demon. If we don't take this opportunity to disband, what are we waiting for?"

The White Dragon shed tears and said, "Senior brother, don't talk about breaking up the group. If you want to save Master, you only need to go and ask someone to come."

Pigsy asked, "Whom should I invite?"

The White Dragon said, "Go to Flower Fruit Mountain on a cloud and invite our eldest brother, Sun Wukong. He is incredibly powerful and will surely be able to subdue the demons and avenge us."

Pigsy said, “Brother, let’s ask someone else. That day on White Bone Ridge, the old monk banished him three times, wrote a letter of banishment, and vowed never to see him again, banishing him back. How can I possibly invite him?”

The White Dragon said, "My eldest brother will not hold it against him. He is a benevolent and righteous monkey king. Master demoted him because that demon deceived him."

Today I saw my master, who personally admitted his mistake and told me to invite my eldest brother over. However, I was too proud and competitive, and ignored my master's advice, insisting on fighting that demon, which resulted in my severe injury and defeat, leading to this predicament.

Bajie said, "You're so dedicated, yet you still make up such stories to fool me. Do you think that old monk will admit his mistake? Fine, fine. If I don't go, it will seem like I'm not doing my job."

If my eldest brother is willing to come, I will come with him; if he doesn't, don't wait for me, I will go back to Gao Village.

Xiao Long said, "Who's lying to you? It really is what Master said! Go, go, Senior Brother will definitely come."

Pigsy put away his rake, changed into a straight robe, leaped up, and rode on a cloud, heading straight east.

Bajie said slowly, "Normally, it would take about ten days to reach Flower Fruit Mountain."

This time, however, the gods secretly helped them, giving them a smooth journey. Their ears were spread out like awnings, allowing them to cross the Eastern Ocean, descend from the clouds, and arrive at Flower Fruit Mountain.

As Pigsy was searching for a path through the mountains, he heard some noises ahead.

Bajie looked closely and saw that there was a group of demons gathered in a mountain hollow, and a monkey was standing on a high place to take attendance.

Unable to find Wukong, Bajie mingled among the demons and also went to report for duty.

It turns out that after Wukong returned to Flower Fruit Mountain from the Flowing Sand River last time,
Rebuild Flower and Fruit Mountain and restore Water Curtain Cave.

Even today, many spirits have come to join them, including deer, foxes, tigers, leopards, and so on.

Pigsy stood among them, pretending to be something he'd never seen, but the monkey marshal grabbed him and said:
"Where did you come from, you spy? How did you infiltrate our Flower Fruit Mountain?"

Bajie said, "They're not spies, they're family."

Marshal Monkey said, "No, there have never been any pig demons in our Flower Fruit Mountain. You must be a spy from somewhere else. Men, seize him quickly!"

A group of little monkeys came up and pinned Bajie down. Bajie didn't dare to fight back and could only say, "Don't do it, don't do it. I'm here to see your king."

(End of this chapter)