Chapter 19

Xuanzang opened his eyes. The sky was already bright, and he was the only one left in the room. The quilt beside him was still warm, and it seemed that he had just left.

It was noisy outside, and he did not know what had happened. Xuanzang hurriedly got out of bed and put on his clothes. When he opened the door, he saw a group of palace servants hurriedly passing by with sad expressions. Some of them were even crying miserably.

Xuanzang grabbed one and asked, "What happened?"

The palace servant said sorrowfully, "Holy Monk, you may not know, but His Majesty suddenly became critically ill this morning. He has already made arrangements for his funeral!"

Then he wiped his tears, "His Majesty was diligent and loved the people. Since he took office, the country was prosperous and the people were at peace. Why would such a wise emperor suffer at such a young age?"

Xuanzang was stunned.

Ill, critically ill?!

Wasn't he still alive and kicking last night?

Moreover, the king was not an ordinary person. How could he be critically ill?

Xuanzang went next door to knock on his disciples' door. Bajie Wujing had just woken up, but Wukong was nowhere to be seen.

The three of them went to visit the king together. Xuanzang was still worried, "How could he be critically ill?

Where did Wukong go?

Did Wukong hit him? "

Ba Jie laughed, "Master, don't forget how he treated you last night. Why worry about him?"

Xuanzang said, "But he didn't do anything."

When they arrived at the king's bedroom, they were surrounded by palace servants who were crying. A thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy knelt alone in front of him. The king was weakly making arrangements for his funeral. He should be the heir.

Han Yu was invisible and sat beside his bed. She lowered her head and seemed to be thinking about something.

When he heard that Xuanzang and the others were coming, the king suddenly regained his senses and sat up from his bed, scaring the others.

He waved his hand and dismissed them. When he saw Xuanzang, he grabbed his hand and cried, "Holy Monk, I'm sorry. I won't dare to do it again …"

But when he saw that only Wujing and Ba Jie were following behind Xuanzang, the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.

Xuanzang was frightened by him and forgot to withdraw his hand. He only asked, "What's going on?"

The King bitterly complained to him about Wukong's bad behavior.

It turned out that he was a green lion under the Manjushri Bodhisattva. Many years ago, the Bodhisattva brought him down to the mortal world to save people. He saved the life of the former king of Wuji Kingdom. The king was very grateful and said that he would give him the throne. Three years ago, the former king died of illness. The Bodhisattva allowed him to come down to the mortal world to fulfill the old king's promise. He got 40 years as the king.

However, last night, Monkey King somehow found out about his master's family and told Manjushri Bodhisattva that he tried to eat Tang Seng. When Bodhisattva heard that he made a mistake, he ordered him to use the forty years of freedom as a substitute and gave him three days to settle his affairs and go back.

The green lion felt bitter. He was just blinded by love and didn't really do it. He didn't need to be so cruel. It must be Monkey King who instigated him.

"Holy Monk."

The green lion bitterly held his hand and didn't let go. "My master will come to pick me up in three days. You have to beg him for 20 years for me!

Your words must be useful! "

He was still young and hadn't fallen in love. He couldn't be so arrogant!

Xuanzang hesitated and said, "Okay, but if it doesn't work, I can't help …"

The green lion was overjoyed. When he was about to thank him, his wrist was knocked twice by something. The pain was unbearable and his bones were about to break. He looked carefully and found that Wukong had appeared beside Xuanzang. He pulled Xuanzang two steps back and said to him leisurely, "Master, it's important to get the scriptures. We can't delay it. How can we waste three days here with him? We'll leave right away."

"You're right. It's more important to get the scriptures …" Xuanzang was a soft-hearted person. What he said made sense. He hesitated and asked, "Where did you go just now?"

The green lion said angrily, "Holy Monk, don't be fooled by the fact that this monkey is pretending to be well-behaved now. You don't know how sly and cunning he used to be!

You have to be careful of him. Maybe he has his own ideas about you. Be careful that he's fattening you. In the end, he'll eat you up! "

Wukong looked at him with a faint smile and said, "Talk more and you won't even have three days left."

Xuanzang silently pinched his face. It was a long journey to get the scriptures. He was obviously less fat than when he was in Chang 'an. He said, "I'm not fattening up. In fact, I'm less fat."

Wukong also pinched his face and said, "You'll get it back in the future."

After that, he pulled Xuanzang and was about to leave. Xuanzang hesitated and said, "Are you sure you don't want to stay?

You'd better ask Bodhisattva for mercy … "

"He's just coaxing you. Even if Bodhisattva comes, you won't be able to see him." Wukong said, "Let's go."

Xuanzang was puzzled and asked, "Why is he coaxing me?"

"He wants to cut you."

Xuanzang didn't say anything. He would rather meet a monster that ate meat.

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After coming out of Wuji, they walked westward for a long time and gradually fell into the desolate mountains. Monsters were most likely to appear in this kind of place. All the disciples were on high alert. Wukong led the way in front as usual. Ba Jie and Wujing followed closely behind Xuanzang, arguing over who should pick the luggage.

Xuanzang looked around. It was spring. The grass was long and the orioles were flying. Everything was shining. He was in a good mood. When he was happy, he liked to let his imagination run wild. When he thought of his experience out of Chang 'an, he was filled with emotions. He felt that he had experienced more than he had in the past 19 years combined.

However, he found something strange. All the monsters he met along the way were male monsters, and the male monsters were all homosexual. What was more strange was that he didn't even meet a female monster.

People paid attention to the combination of Yin and Yang. Why were monsters different from people? Xuanzang rode on the horse and was puzzled. Was it because there were too few female monsters?

Why were there so few female monsters?

Thinking that Ba Jie used to be a romantic and elegant person, he turned to ask Ba Jie, "Ba Jie, did you have a lot of female monsters in the past?"

Ba Jie thought for a moment and said, "Not many, just one, two, three, four, five, six, seven or eight."

Wujing, "Haha."

Xuanzang, "= 0 = … were they all female monsters?"

Ba Jie jumped. "Master, what are you talking about?

Your disciple used to be an unyielding marshal, but he went astray later on! "

Xuanzang quickly changed the topic, "So you're saying that there's a female demon?"

Ba Jie laughed. "Master, you are so young and confused. There is Yin and Yang in this world. The balance of Yin and Yang is the right way. If a male monster can become a monster, why can't a female monster?"

Xuanzang said, "But we have never met one." Moreover, all male monsters were homosexual, but he was too embarrassed to say it out loud.

Ba Jie said, "Maybe they are shy and don't want to see people. Monsters are often seen."

Xuanzang asked Wujing, "Has Wujing encountered female monsters before?"

"I have never met a female monster." Wujing said, "I have eaten female meat before. It is tender and not bad."

Xuanzang, "…" He weakly educated, "Wujing, it is better to be a vegetarian. Have you eaten meat recently?"

Wujing said, "No, I have always followed Master. I eat whatever Master eats."

Xuanzang asked Wukong again, "Wukong, have you met a lot of female monsters?"

"I guess so." Wukong did not care. "I have never counted."

Xuanzang was suddenly disappointed, "You can't even count."

Wukong turned around to look at him. He only let out a "hmm" from his nose and did not say anything else.

Xuanzang pursed his lips and lowered his head to stroke the White Dragon Horse's fur.

"He used to be the king of that place. The monsters all had to worship him."

Ba Jie was the most sensitive. He smiled and explained for Wukong, "There must be a lot of female monsters. He is probably numb to them.

Why, could it be that Master can't keep his precepts and is thinking of love? "

Xuanzang said "oh" and continued to stroke the horse's fur, "I am not. I am just curious."

Ba Jie found a topic to talk about. He talked about some of the interesting things that happened when he was a marshal in the Heavenly Palace. He talked about the dangers that he had explored with his best friend. Xuanzang's eyebrows were curved.

Wujing felt that the atmosphere was a little strange, but he could not figure out why. He quietly poked Ba Jie, "Is there something wrong between Senior Apprentice-Brother and Master?"

Ba Jie looked at him in surprise and whispered, "What do you think is wrong?"

Wujing said, "I can't tell, that's why I am asking you.

I don't see them quarreling. Why are they so cold? "

Ba Jie smiled, "I don't understand. Don't ask and don't look."

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They did not find a place to stay before nightfall. It seemed that they would have to sleep in the open again. Xuanzang had already gotten used to it. He found a suitable place and skillfully took out a blanket and pillow from his luggage to make himself a bed.

Seeing that he had already packed up, Wukong said, "I am going to beg for alms."

Xuanzang nodded, "Then you should come back early."

Ba Jie stayed behind to keep him company while Wu Jing went to look for wild fruits in the surroundings. At the same time, he also checked to see if there was any danger. Not long after, he returned with a pile of juicy purplish-red mulberries. With a rare smile on his face, he said, "Master, I was just about to wash the fruits when I saw a lake over there." He pointed in a direction.

Ba Jie took the mulberries, "You are so attentive. You even know how to wash them."

"Master likes cleanliness." Wujing said, "Master, I will go and catch some live fish for you to change the taste."

Before Xuanzang could speak, Ba Jie said, "Junior Apprentice-Brother is also confused. What are you going to give Master?"

Wujing changed his words, "I will go and find some aquatic plants for Master to change the taste."

Xuanzang asked, "Can aquatic plants be eaten?"

Wujing said, "I haven't eaten them before, but I can try. Anyway, living ones can be eaten."

Xuanzang, "= 0 = …"

Ba Jie smiled, "Speaking of which, I used to live in the water and found a lot of food. Why don't we sleep there tonight? With seasoning, I can show off my skills to Master."

Xuanzang's eyes widened. He did not expect Ba Jie to know how to cook. He also remembered that he used to be the Canopy Marshal who was in charge of the navy. He was not surprised, so he said, "When Wukong comes back, we will go there."

Hearing that there was a clean lake, he was a little tempted.