Journey to the West: Black Six Ears

Sun Wukong turned around.

In the distance, a young man carrying a steel knife was seen cutting through the thorns and brambles in the woods.

In Wukong's eyes, this appearance clearly resembled that of a corpse demon.

"Mountain Goddess".

An elderly man from the village quickly stepped forward and bowed in respect.

The corpse demon simply nodded, its gaze sweeping over the pilgrims on their journey to the West:

"Who is this person, and what are they doing here at White Tiger Ridge?"

The old man quickly recounted the origins of Xuanzang and his entourage.

The Corpse Demon merely frowned, as if he didn't recognize the pilgrims at all.

Xuanzang quickly stepped forward and bowed to the corpse demon with his hands clasped together:

"This humble monk, Tang Xuanzang, pays respects to the mountain god of Baihu Ridge."

Even though Xuanzang couldn't understand what was going on with the burly man who had suddenly appeared before him, he still respected him greatly.

All the villagers now recognize the old man as the mountain god of Baihu Ridge, and he hasn't denied it, so it's highly likely that he is.

However, Sun Wukong showed no respect whatsoever, merely letting out a cold laugh:

"Master, this fellow isn't some mountain god at all, he's clearly a demon!"

He wanted to take the iron bar and smash the corpse demon to death with one blow.

However, Xuanzang's headband was too powerful, so he decided to temporarily stop.

Wait for the opportunity to kill this demon with one blow.

The Corpse Demon ignored Sun Wukong and instead asked the old man:

"Hmm? I was in the mountains today and witnessed someone killing my people. Is anyone from your village missing?"

Hearing the corpse demon ask this question, the old man was startled and quickly turned to look at the village.

The village has a large population, roughly a hundred people now.

The old man dared not delay and quickly gathered everyone in the village together.

This village is formed by a group of people coming together.

Therefore, the old man who was temporarily acting as the village chief did not know all the people in the village.

"Are there a few people?"

He asked that question.

The answer came out quickly.

"Village chief, we're not short any people."

The villagers looked at each other, seemingly unable to find the missing person.

The old man nodded, turned to look at the corpse demon, and was about to say something when he heard someone speak from behind him:

"Village chief, the family that came to the village seven days ago hasn't come."

Seven days ago?

The village chief thought about it carefully and seemed to remember something.

"It's a family of three, all believers of the Mountain Goddess."

"oh!"

The village chief immediately understood.

He was fairly familiar with this family; they were said to have been saved by the Mountain Goddess, which was why they wanted to live here.

"What you're describing, old man, isn't it a young woman delivering meals and an old woman with a cane?"

Xuanzang was taken aback, and his expression suddenly changed.

If it really is these two people, then they have truly done evil.

The village chief's words were very clear: that family were indeed human, not some kind of demon.

Sun Wukong killed someone; this is a very bad situation.

"How did the elders know this?"

The old man's expression changed slightly.

He also realized something.

The corpse demon on the other side frowned, its expression grim.

She stared at the pilgrimage group and slowly began to speak:

"If it were an ordinary wild beast or a villain harming people, I could immediately detect it and stop it. But when a sorcerer kills, I cannot stop him in time."

Once the Corpse Demon uttered those words, the rest became clear.

There are no people here who know magic. If someone really knew magic, they wouldn't be staying in a place like this.

The only possibility is that they are outsiders.

All eyes turned to the pilgrim and his disciples on their journey to the West.

"Even if it was done by my master and me, so what? What can mere mortals do?"

Pigsy, carrying his nine-toothed rake, sneered inwardly.

However, seeing his master's increasingly grim expression, Pigsy immediately spoke up:

"It's all the monkey's fault. If he hadn't deliberately hurt people, things wouldn't have escalated to this point."

With over a hundred people around, even though it's just a matter of Wukong rolling his staff, it's no small matter.

Xuanzang's heart skipped a beat:

"It's all because of this monkey that I'm in this mess!"

"Elder, please stay with us for a while longer."

The village chief's expression also turned displeased.

If someone in the village were really killed and the Mountain Goddess came knocking on their door, it wouldn't look good for the villagers.

"As the old man said."

Xuanzang let out a long sigh.

He wasn't stupid; the current situation didn't allow them to continue their journey.

Although these villagers are good people, they are all bold and capable individuals. Otherwise, why would anyone dare to run to Baihu Ridge based on a mere rumor?

Several burly men surrounded the pilgrims and led them to sit down in the village.

Several women came forward and offered them fruit and rice, seemingly intending to treat them to a meal.

However, Pigsy leaned close to Xuanzang and whispered:

"Now that my senior brother has killed someone, if we consider the circumstances, even if his father were an official, it wouldn't make sense if we filed a lawsuit."

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

"It's alright, it's alright. I smashed that corpse into a pulp with one blow. Even if we could find it, how would we recognize it? We'll just wait until he falls asleep tonight, then we'll get up and leave."

Upon hearing his plan, Xuanzang uttered the words "Amitabha."

However, Pigsy still spoke:

"Brother, let's not even talk about the hundred or so villagers; how will that mountain goddess escape?"

When the mountain goddess was mentioned, Sun Wukong's expression turned sarcastic again.

With his discerning eyes, he immediately realized that this so-called Mountain Goddess was nothing more than a corpse demon.

According to these villagers, this corpse demon should be the original master of White Tiger Ridge, the White Bone Lady.

Since it's a monster, things become simple.

"Don't worry about it! Don't worry about it! Old Sun has his own way."

Seeing this, Pigsy knew that the monkey must have a way, but he still wanted to stir up trouble.

The resentment from being mocked and beaten by the monkey surged up all at once, and he spoke:

"I'm so worried about you! You can transform into anything, like a leech, and fly out through the cracks. It's just that we who can't transform are stuck here suffering the consequences!"

Xuanzang, reminded by Zhu Bajie, and seeing Sun Wukong's frivolous attitude, immediately said:

"He's doing this kind of thing all the time, without even letting you and me go out. I'm just reciting old stories, how can he possibly accept it!"

Pigsy had seen Xuanzang recite the Tightening-Headband Mantra and knew how powerful it was.

Even the Monkey King, who once wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, was powerless against this thing.

Now he's finding all sorts of ways to make Wukong look bad.

Only the Yellow Wind King stared at the three of them, feeling that there was no hope for the Western Paradise.

Just as Sun Wukong said, led by the Corpse Demon, the villagers quickly found the location of the corpse.

But these corpses were actually just the skin of other people that Lady White Bone had used to create them.

After being struck by Wukong's iron rod, he was turned into mud from head to toe. How could his identity be identified then?

The villagers saw two bodies in total.

However, they still don't know who exactly made the move.

According to the Mountain Goddess, only a monk from elsewhere could have done such a thing.

However, at this moment, the Mountain Goddess suddenly disappeared.

Just as everyone fell silent, unsure of what to do next.

"We've found the old man!"

Soon, a voice came from the forest.

Several young people were seen helping an old man emerge from the woods.

The old man's white hair resembled that of Peng Zu, and his long beard rivaled that of the God of Longevity. Jade chimes rang in his ears, and golden stars shimmered in his eyes. He leaned on a dragon-headed cane and wore a light crane-feather cloak. Prayer beads were held in his hand, and he chanted the Namo sutra.

"The old man came to find his wife and daughter. They said they went up the mountain to fulfill a vow and haven't returned for almost a day."

These words sent a chill down everyone's spine.

Unsurprisingly, the two limp bodies were the old man's wife and daughter.

The monks must have been the ones who killed the two men.

"We must get revenge!"

Although they hadn't lived together for long and many of them didn't even know each other, since someone in the village had been bullied to death, they had to take revenge.

Moreover, this is White Tiger Ridge, where the Mountain Goddess resides, so they fear nothing.

A group of villagers, carrying hoes and sickles, led the elderly towards the village.

It was already night, and the village was pitch black after the candles were turned off.

"It's time."

Sun Wukong suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Xuanzang.