Journey to the West: Starting with the Hunting of the Three Demons of Twin Fork Ridge

Upon hearing this, Li Fa transformed back into his Taoist form and said, "You flatter me! It seems this matter is my prerogative to take charge."

Before he could finish speaking, Wukong grabbed him and chuckled, "Wait, wait! As the saying goes, 'An old tree has many roots, and an old person has many experiences.' Don't let your old appearance fool you; I, Old Sun, am older than you and more skilled in martial arts. How about I reluctantly become your helper? It'll give me a chance to show off."

Li Fa was speechless. That was just Sun Wukong's personality; he always had to get involved in things. Helpless, he could only look at Tang Sanzang.

Upon seeing Li Fa looking at him, the monk immediately said, "Wukong, since the Daoist Master has accepted this task, we don't need to get involved. Let's stay the night and set off westward early tomorrow!"

The monkey, being a man of his own mind, refused to listen and said, "Master, as the saying goes, 'When you see injustice on the road, you should draw your sword to help.' Old Master Gao is in trouble, and we monks have encountered this situation. How can we not help him?"

Then he turned to Old Master Gao and said, "Old Gao, do you think what I said is right?"

Grandfather had long intended for the two of them to work together to eliminate the demon. When Sun Wukong spoke up, he quickly nodded and said, "Absolutely! I've often heard people say, 'Two heads are better than one.' If the Daoist and the Junior Elder can work together, that would be wonderful."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong leaped over, tugged at the tip of Li Fa's beard, and laughed, "Since the master has agreed, what do you say, Daoist?"

Li Fa had no choice but to proceed, but since things had come to this point, he could only grit his teeth and continue. So he nodded and replied, "Alright, but there's one thing. If we capture that monster, I will be the one to tie the rope and escort him."

Wukong was overjoyed and exclaimed, "No need to say more. If we capture this monster, all the effort I put in will be for nothing, and the credit will be yours. Just make sure that Gao takes good care of my master, provides him with vegetarian meals, and keeps the white horse well-fed."

"Find two more venerable old men to keep my master company for a quiet chat, so I can leave him behind. Once the old Taoist and I bring that demon here and demand its confession from the public, we'll rid you of its roots."

Upon hearing this, Old Master Gao was delighted and eager to learn. He immediately sent Gao Hua and Gao Cai to invite several old friends to have a chat there.

Sun Wukong, however, went to the inner quarters with Li Fa.

Once inside, Li Fa indeed transformed into Miss Gao and said to the traveler, "Elder Sun, what are you transforming into?"

Wukong looked around and saw that there were not many tables and chairs inside, and the bed and cabinets were rather large. There was only a toilet standing there.

Good traveler! He hid the bucket, and then transformed himself into a bucket, remaining in the same spot.

Seeing this, Li Fa chuckled inwardly; this monkey was quite adept at changing its appearance.

So he asked, "Elder Sun, why did you conjure up this thing?"

Wukong said, "After thinking it over, I think this is the only suitable thing. I'll just have to make do for now. When that monster comes, if he kisses you, you should leave him and run to me; if he hugs you, you should say you need to relieve yourself."

Li Fa laughed and said, "Alright, alright, I'll do whatever you say."

The two then stopped talking about it.

As dusk fell, a sudden gust of wind blew in, carrying stones and sand.

As the wind blew, a demon appeared in mid-air, and it was indeed ugly: black face, short hair, long beak, and big ears; it wore a brocade robe that was neither green nor blue, and tied a flowery handkerchief.

It was Zhu Bajie.

Although the traveler had transformed into a washing bucket, he still saw the man's appearance and thought to himself, "So this is the kind of business it is!"

Then look at Li Fa, he is indeed lying in bed pretending to be sick, humming and twitching.

The traveler thought to himself, "This old man's acting is quite convincing!"

Pigsy, unable to distinguish between truth and falsehood, entered the room and immediately tried to kiss Li Fa.

The traveler chuckled to himself, "This simpleton doesn't realize he's married to a decrepit old man!"

Li Fa was also prepared. When he saw Zhu Bajie's long snout coming towards him, he quickly used his superhuman strength to grab his mouth and pull it out.

Sure enough, Bajie was pulled off the bed.

She quickly scrambled to her feet, holding onto the bedside, and said, "Sister, why are you being so irritable with me today? Is it because I'm late?"

Li Fa chuckled inwardly, but said aloud, "No blame! No blame!"

Pigsy said, "If it's not my fault, why did you let me fall like this?"

Li Fa said, "How could you be so petty as to hug and kiss me like that? I was feeling a little uncomfortable today. If I were feeling better, I would have gotten up and opened the door for you. You can take off your clothes and go to sleep."

Pigsy had no idea that the Miss Gao in front of him was an imposter. As he took off his clothes, he said, "Sister, your grip is really strong today!"

Li Fa ignored him and jumped directly onto the tub, essentially riding on Sun Wukong's head to avenge the blow from Black Wind Mountain.

However, the monkey was straightforward and didn't hold a grudge.

Pigsy had taken off his clothes, but when he reached out to touch the bed and didn't find anyone, he called out, "Sister, where did you go? Please take off your clothes and go to sleep."

Li Fa said, "You go to sleep first, I need to relieve myself."

Pigsy then went to bed, and Li Fa suddenly sighed, "His fate is too poor!"

Bajie said, "What are you angry about? How could your fate be so bad? I came to your house and although I ate some tea and rice, I didn't eat your food for nothing."

I also swept the floor and cleared the ditches for your family, carried bricks and tiles, built earthen walls, plowed and harrowed the fields, planted wheat and transplanted rice seedlings, and helped you start your family and business.

Now you wear brocade and gold, enjoy flowers and fruits in all four seasons, and have vegetables to cook for the eight festivals. What could possibly displease you that you sigh and lament, saying you've been unlucky?

Li Fa said, "That's not how it works. Today, my parents were throwing bricks and tiles over the wall, and they were even hitting and scolding me."

Pigsy asked, "So what if he hits or scolds you?"

Li Fa said, "He said that since we became husband and wife, and you are his son-in-law, he has no manners at all."

Such an ugly person, who can't stand his uncle, can't stand his relatives, and doesn't know where he comes from or what his name is.

"I fear it will tarnish his moral character and disgrace his family, hence this beating and scolding, which is why I am troubled."

Bajie said, "Although I am somewhat ugly, it is not difficult for me to become handsome."

When I first arrived, I told him that he would only hire me if he agreed. Why is he bringing this up again today?

My home is in Yunzhan Cave on Fuling Mountain. My surname is Zhu (meaning pig), and my official name is Zhu Ganglie (Pig Ganglie).

If he comes to ask you again, just say the same thing to him.

Li Fa knew, of course, that Zhu Bajie was from Yunzhan Cave in Fuling Mountain. He asked about Bajie's origins for two reasons: first, he was afraid that if he went directly to Yunzhan Cave, he would be exposed; second, he wanted to ask Sun Wukong.

In fact, he already had a plan in mind. On the journey to the West, Sun Wukong would be subduing demons, and he would be killing demons. He could use Sun Wukong to weaken the monsters on the journey to the West, which would make it easier for him to get the rewards.

While Pigsy was speaking, Monkey was secretly delighted. He thought to himself, "This monster is quite honest; he confessed so clearly without any torture. Now that we know his location and name, we'll capture him no matter what."

At this moment, Li Fa spoke up: "He's going to call a sorcerer to come and take you away."

Pigsy laughed, "Sleep! Sleep! Ignore him! I have the transformations of the Heavenly Dipper and my nine-toothed rake, what do I have to fear from sorcerers, monks, or Taoists?"

Li Fa said, "I heard he's a Celestial Master from the East!"

Bajie spat and cursed, "What the hell are these so-called Celestial Masters? Zhang, Ge, Xu, and Sa are all acquaintances of mine."

Even if your father were truly devout, he could still invite the Nine Heavens Demon-Subduing Ancestor to descend to the mortal realm. I've even met him before, and he wouldn't dare do anything to me.