Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 92 Exorcising Demons in Wuji Kingdom (Part 5)
Meanwhile, Wukong heard Ao Tu say something about how the Great Sage Equal to Heaven hated evil and could distinguish right from wrong.

Isn't this a provocation tactic?

This demonic dragon deliberately flattered him, luring him into a trap!
He wouldn't have fallen for it if he hadn't already promised his master to save those Taoists!
After thinking it over, Wukong said, "Alright, I'll take on this case!"

Ao Tu smiled.

Wukong walked up to the green-haired lion demon and asked, "Is this the evil Taoist?"

Ao Tu said, "That's right."

Wukong raised his iron cudgel and said, "Let me hit him three times first to vent my anger!"

Ao Tu said, "If you hit him three times, he'll die. I'm fine with it, but I'm afraid you might search for ten years and still not find the person behind it all."

Upon hearing this, Wukong thought it made sense, so he put away his golden cudgel, kicked the green-haired lion demon, and said:
"Monster, tell me honestly, where did you come from?"

The green-haired lion demon remained silent.

Seeing this, Wukong used magic to conjure a swarm of wasps and stung the monster.

Tang Sanzang couldn't bear to see such cruel methods, so he went to the ninety-eighth floor to chant sutras.

The blue-haired lion demon was in excruciating pain, and its head couldn't help but reveal its true form.

Wukong laughed and said, "So it's a green-haired lion demon."

Ao Tu said, "That's right."

Wukong said, "Knowing what it is makes it much easier to find. I'll use my tricks to make him reveal all his secrets."

Wukong plucked a hair from his body, which transformed into a swarm of locusts that went to gnaw on the green-haired lion demon.

The blue-haired lion demon endured the pain and refused to confess.

Wukong conjured up ten thousand needles and used them to prick the green-haired lion demon.

The blue-haired lion demon endured the pain and refused to confess.

Wukong conjured up a swarm of ants to bite the green-haired lion demon.

The blue-haired lion demon endured the pain and refused to confess.

Despite Wukong's many transformations, the green-haired lion demon refused to confess.

Wukong was at his wit's end and said angrily, "Why don't we castrate him and see if he confesses?"

Ao Tu said, "He was originally a castrated demon."

Upon hearing this, the green-haired lion spirit shed tears from the corners of his eyes.

Wukong exclaimed in surprise, "So that's how it is! He's a castrated demon. No wonder he could withstand such severe punishment. It seems he really does have a master."

Ao Tu said, "Of course, his background is extremely powerful."

Wukong said, "That's easy. Since it's connected to the heavens, I, Old Sun, will go up there to investigate!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Then I will wait for you here."

Upon hearing this, Wukong's eyes darted around, and he said:

"No, Lao Sun always gets so much trouble because of you. You have to come with me this time!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "I don't know any of the gods in heaven, what use would it be to send me?"

Wukong said, "Even if you're just a door panel, you can still block the wind when you stand at the door. How can you be useless? If you're not coming with me, I'm not going either."

Ao Tu laughed helplessly, "You monkey, alright."

At that moment, Wukong escorted Tang Sanzang back to the inn and settled him in, and then went to the Heavenly Realm with Ao Tu.

Upon arriving in the Heavenly Realm, Ao Tu asked, "Who should we go find first?"

Wukong laughed and said, "Let's go to the Cloud Tower Palace first and find Nezha, the Third Prince!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Why don't we go find him first?"

Wukong said, "You don't know, he knows a lot of people and has a wide network of connections. If you ask him for help, you can't go wrong. Just make sure you hide your disguise well and don't let him recognize you, or he'll definitely fight you to the death."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Don't worry, he won't recognize you."

When the two arrived at the Cloud Tower Palace, Wukong transformed into a mosquito and slipped inside. He was intentionally testing Ao Tu.

Ao Tu also transformed himself into an identical mosquito and flew inside.

The two avoided the palace attendants and fairies and flew straight in, only to see Nezha sleeping with his head down in the western palace, but his sleeping posture was different from others.

Do you know how Nezha, the Third Prince, sleeps?

When ordinary people sleep, they lie on a bed with their face up and their back down.

Nezha, however, buried his face in the bed, with his hands and feet stretched out and his butt sticking out, sleeping like that.

While sleeping, Nezha was still talking in his sleep. Wukong and Aotu leaned closer to listen, and they heard him muttering, "Monkey, don't wake me, don't wake me..."

Wukong and Aotu exchanged a smile, then landed on Nezha's arms, one on the left and one on the right. Wukong landed on the left arm and Aotu on the right arm, both of them perched on it.

Ao Tu didn't actually inhale it, but he sensed a lotus aura and thought: Now I know how Mosquito Taoist inhaled the lotus platform back then.

Nezha, startled awake by the pain, saw Wukong and Ao Tu and said:
"Great, two big mosquitoes!"

With a clap of his hand, Ao Tu and Wukong were hit, floated to the ground, and returned to their original forms.

When Nezha saw Wukong, he exclaimed in surprise, "Monkey, it's you again?"

Then he saw Ao Tu beside him and asked, "Who are you?"

Wukong said, "He is a monk from Mount Ling. He came with me to ask you to investigate the case."

Nezha asked in confusion, "What case are you investigating?"

Wukong said, "You don't know yet, but a traitor has emerged from the Taoist sect!"

Then, Wukong told Nezha about the affairs of Wuji Kingdom.

Nezha, who also hated evil, slammed his fist on the bed and exclaimed angrily after hearing the story: "Outrageous! How could such a thing happen!"

Wukong said, "Let's go, now all we need is you, the Great God of the Three Altars and Seas, to join us in investigating the case!"

Nezha stood barefoot on the bed and said:

"No, I'm not going. You just tricked me into going to Pingdingshan, and I ended up being tied up there and suffering. I've only had less than a day to rest, and you're calling me again. I'm not going." Upon hearing this, Wukong lowered his body and tried to coax him.

At this moment, Nezha was standing on the bed, but because he was a child, he was still very short. Wukong was also short, which made him appear even shorter, so that it would be easier for him to persuade Nezha.

Wukong said, "Let's go. Don't you want to see who's behind that monster?"

Nezha turned his head, raised his chin, and said:
"Hmph, I don't want to."

Wukong followed and said:
"Let's go. Can you really bear to let this evil Taoist priest go unpunished and tarnish the reputation of the Taoist sect?"

Nezha turned his head again, raised his chin, and said:
"What does it have to do with me?"

Wukong turned and looked at Ao Tu. Ao Tu understood immediately and said:

"Great God of the Three Altars and Seas, I have admired you most since childhood. I know that you are the most righteous in your hatred of evil, the most discerning in your judgment of right and wrong, and the most powerful in your magic!"
This humble monk urged the Great Sage to come and seek your help. Only with your assistance can the truth be uncovered, and justice restored to the entire Kingdom of Wuji!

Upon hearing this, Nezha couldn't help but smile slightly, praising him, and said:
"Alright, you monk know how to talk. Since that's the case, I, the deity, will reluctantly lend you a hand!"

Wukong and Ao Tu exchanged a glance and both said, "Thank you!"

Nezha, hands on his hips, said, "Why aren't you helping this god change his clothes yet!"

Wukong asked in confusion, "What clothes?"

Nezha's clothes were not changed at all, not even the two topknots on his head. What clothes could he possibly have changed?

Ao Tu even suspected that Nezha slept with his head down and buttocks sticking out so as not to mess up his hair and have to use magic to fix it later.

Nezha reached out and said, "The Universe Ring!"

Wukong then understood.

The Hun Tian Ling was right next to Ao Tu, who picked it up and draped it over Nezha's shoulders.

Nezha couldn't help but look at Ao Tu and say, "Why do you seem so familiar?"

Ao Tu said without changing his expression, "Before I attained enlightenment, the person I revered most was the Great God of the Three Altars and Seas, so I am familiar with him."

Upon hearing this, Nezha smiled and said:

"You monk, you certainly know how to talk!"

They jumped down lightly, landing on the Wind and Fire Wheels, and the three of them left the Cloud Tower Palace.

Nezha said, "Take me to see that monster first, and see if I recognize it."

Wukong said, "Alright, let's go!"

Having said that, he somersaulted away.

Nezha couldn't help but say, "This monkey, I don't know when he started to ride the clouds so fast. Hey, monk, can your cloud keep up? Do you need me to give you a ride?"

Ao Tu said, "This humble monk is not skilled in the art of cloud manipulation, and I beg the great deity of the Three Altars and Seas for assistance."

Nezha reached out and said, "Hold on tight!"

Nezha took Ao Tu with him, letting Ao Tu experience the speed of the Wind Fire Wheels covering a thousand miles in an instant.

The two arrived in Wuji Kingdom and landed directly on top of the tower from the sky.

Wukong revealed the true form of the green-haired lion demon and showed it to Nezha.

Nezha observed, "Lion spirits... In our Taoist sect, there are very few who use lion spirits as mounts."

Wukong said, "It would be even better if there were fewer people. Let's find out who they are one by one."

Nezha said, "The mount of Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun is a lion, but it's different from this one."

Wukong asked, "What's the difference?"

Nezha said, "The Taiyi Savior of Suffering Heaven is a nine-headed lion."

Wukong said, "I suppose this lion is his lion son or lion grandson. Anyway, let's go find him first."

The three of them rode the clouds to the Heavenly Realm, passed through the Eastern Heavenly Gate, and went to the Eastern Extreme Mystic Words Palace.

After about an hour and a half, they arrived at the Palace of Wonderful Words, only to find that the palace was:
Golden waves ripple on the tiles, and jade beasts stand guard at the gate.

Twin towers are surrounded by rosy clouds, and the Qianlin Forest is shrouded in emerald mist.

The auspicious light of the Azure Dragon shines brightly, and the auspicious energy of the Yellow Path is abundant.

Qinghua Changle Realm, Dongji Miaoyan Palace.

The celestial children from the palace came out to greet them. Although they did not recognize Ao Tu, they did not dare to be negligent and invited the three of them into the palace to offer them celestial tea.

Wukong asked, "Immortal Child, is the Great Savior of Suffering, Taiyi, in the palace?"

The fairy boy said, "My master is not here."

Wukong asked, "Where did he go?"

The fairy boy said, "I have gone to the Jade Pool to admire the flowers at the invitation of the Queen Mother of the West."

Wukong rubbed his hands together, unable to resist asking, "Why go admire flowers at this time? When will you be back?"

The fairy boy said, "If the Queen Mother doesn't stay any longer, she will return in a day or two."

Wukong said, "It's alright."

Nezha said, "Monkey, this is the Heavenly Realm. One or two days here is equivalent to one or two years in the mortal world. Are you still going to retrieve the scriptures?"

The monkey exclaimed in surprise, "That's right! You little brat, you almost ruined my grand plan!"

The celestial boy asked, "Great Sage, what brings you to my ancestor's court?"

Wukong said, "We're here to investigate a case, to see if any of the mounts or such that your ancestor raised have descended to the mortal realm to become demons."

The fairy boy said, "No, no, Great Sage, you've come to the wrong place. We don't have any demons descending to the mortal realm here."

Wukong said, "Your word doesn't count. Let me go in and check."

The fairy boy said, "No, you cannot go in without the patriarch's permission."

Wukong insisted on going in, and the fairy boy tried to stop him, but he couldn't be stopped.

Wukong slipped inside and found the lion's enclosure, only to find the chains lying on the ground. Had the lion run away?
(End of this chapter)