The Monkey King

In the early morning, most of the Wuzhuang Temple and Wanshou City, which had been restored, were bathed in the warm sunshine. The monks who had been forced to wander all night had gradually returned to their residences.

Several senior monks moved tables and chairs and sat on the main road, registering the losses of the night in preparation for asking for some assistance from Wuzhuang Temple.

In Wuzhuang Temple, several Taoist disciples were walking on the long stone steps carrying various utensils. A long table covered with golden cloth was placed on the square in front, with a few simple things placed on the table. Sacrifice, take a bronze incense burner.

A few wisps of green smoke rose slowly.

Monkey and Zhen Yuanzi stood silently in front of the long table. Standing beside them were more than ten Taoist disciples from Wuzhuang Temple and Xuanzang and others, including Lu Liuguai who came over. As for the high in the sky, in the distance On the mountains, spies from all sides are lurking.

The monitoring of Wuzhuangguan is far from over.

After a while, a boy brought a bowl of water to the table.

The monkey looked at the clear water rippling in the bowl, then looked at Zhen Yuanzi, his brows furrowed.

Zhen Yuanzi walked to the long table step by step, lit three sticks of incense, bowed symbolically to the east, and inserted them into the incense burner. Then, he scratched his finger lightly with his nail and dropped two drops of blood into the bowl.

The bright red blood spread quickly when it met the clear water.

Turning around, Zhen Yuanzi handed the other three incense sticks placed on the table to the monkey: "It's your turn."

However, the monkey did not reach out to pick it up.

After being silent for a long time, Zhen Yuanzi stroked his long beard and chuckled: "What? You don't like me?"

The monkey blinked his eyes and said: "It's not like I don't like him. He is still a powerful person."

"You can't believe it?"

"Does it matter whether I can trust you or not?" Monkey rolled his eyes, winked at the clouds above his head and said, "What matters is whether they can trust you or not."

"Then why are you hesitating?"

Looking at the blood in the bowl, the monkey sighed: "I wonder if the spider's blood is poisonous."

Say this. Zhen Yuanzi couldn't help laughing and said: "The older generation called Pindao the six-legged spider Zhen Yuanzi, but in fact, Pindao's true appearance is just similar to a spider, not a spider. The Great Sage can do that rest assured."

The monkey sighed and said: "But thinking about it, I am too worried. Even if it is poisonous, it cannot kill me. If it is so easy to be poisoned, it is better to just die."

Said. He reached out and took the three sticks of incense from Zhen Yuanzi's hand, lit them, bowed symbolically towards the east, and sighed casually: "I haven't worshiped much in my life, even to heaven and earth, this is only the second time. So, this is enough to give you face."

"When was the last time?"

"The last time was when we got married."

"Oh..." Zhen Yuanzi nodded slightly. Said: "It seems that I have to take time to visit my sister-in-law in Huashan."

"Did you ever say you were a brother?"

"Pindao is tens of thousands of years older than you. If Pindao isn't my brother, why don't you come?"

Putting the three sticks of incense into the incense burner, the monkey slowly turned around and said with a smile: "How about we only treat each other as brothers, no matter how old or young we are?"

Zhen Yuanzi smiled helplessly, spread his hands and said, "Okay, it's up to you."

After hearing this, the monkey stretched out his hand and cut his finger. Drop the blood into the bowl.

The black bear spirit on the side quietly leaned towards the little white dragon and asked in a low voice: "Is this some kind of spell?"

"It's not a spell."

"No? Then why do you suddenly want to become sworn friends? Why do you want to imitate ordinary people?"

"Don't you understand this?" Xiao Bailong raised his head slightly and said proudly: "This is for others to see. Sanqing did not say anything, Patriarch Subhuti did not show his face, Zhen Yuanzi and the Great Sage did not By forming a sworn brotherhood, we have shown our attitude toward heading westward. We will save ourselves a lot of trouble in the future."

After hesitating for a while, the black bear spirit shook his head and said: "I still don't understand. Doesn't this Zhen Yuanzi hate Xi Xing so much that he even risked his life? Why did he suddenly become so supportive? He actually offered to form a sworn brotherhood."

"Perhaps he is afraid that other monks will bump into him like him." Looking back at Tianpeng with a calm expression, Xiao Bailong said softly: "I'm afraid the pig will know the real reason later. But he is also the same as us. On the ship, he thinks it’s good, so it should really be okay.”

…

At this time, hundreds of monks with different appearances had already gathered in front of the Golden Light Cave in Kunlun Mountain.

Some have gray hair and look like old people, some look like middle-aged people, some have delicate faces and still look youthful, and some even look like children. But without exception, everyone is well-dressed and looks to be of extraordinary status.

These are actually the leaders of various factions who are not currently serving in Heavenly Court.

As soon as the war broke out at Wanshou Mountain, they learned about it through various channels. After knowing through the Taoist disciples inside Wuzhuang Temple that the war started because of Xuanzang, everyone rushed to Jinguang Cave overnight to see the real Taiyi.

It is a pity that Master Taiyi is not in the temple, and the Taoist disciple guarding the door does not allow them to enter, so that many Taoist figures who have gained the stage can only gather at the gate and wait till now.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted loudly: "Uncle Taiyi is back!"

Suddenly, everyone looked towards the west.

From a distance, Master Taiyi came up in the clouds holding a fly whisk in his hand, his face looking very ugly.

"See Uncle Taiyi!"

"See Uncle Taiyi!"

"Meet Uncle Taiyi!"

Before Master Taiyi landed, the monks had already bowed and saluted one by one. However, Master Taiyi did not even return the slightest salute, not even intending to exempt them from the gift.

As soon as he landed, Master Taiyi strode toward the door with a livid face, as if the juniors around him didn't exist.

After regaining their composure, the monks quickly surrounded Master Taiyi and started asking questions.

"Uncle Taiyi, how should we deal with the matter at Wuzhuang Temple?"

"Uncle Taiyi, the demon monkey has come out of the mountain. We must not ignore it."

"Jin Chanzi's journey to the west was originally a matter of his Buddhist sect, but it endangered my Taoist sect. I'm afraid it would be better to make plans for this matter in advance..."

After all, this place is bustling with people. But they are all people with some qualifications, so they naturally understand etiquette, and no one dares to stand directly in front of Master Taiyi.

As for Master Taiyi, he still acted as if they didn't exist and walked towards the door step by step with a stern face. The monks had no choice but to follow closely.

In the blink of an eye, Master Taiyi had already crossed the threshold surrounded by the monks.

A Taoist disciple hurriedly came to Master Taiyi, bowed and cupped his hands and said: "Disciple welcomes Master."

Only then did Master Taiyi stop.

At this pause, everyone around became quiet. Everyone looked at Master Taiyi blankly. Waiting for the interim head coach's statement. But Master Taiyi just stood quietly.

A breeze blew by, swaying the grass and trees in the Golden Light Cave courtyard.

After a long time, Master Taiyi whispered: "Drive them all out."

"Huh? Kick him out?"

For a moment, the monks present were a little confused, and they all looked at each other.

They were confused, but the Taoist disciple was not.

Got the order from my master. Several Taoist disciples around him immediately gathered around, made a gesture of invitation, and said: "Everyone, please go back first."

The leaders were hesitant to speak, but seeing Master Taiyi's resolute look of ignoring him, they couldn't do anything.

In desperation, they had no choice but to bow and bow their hands in greeting, then turned and left.

Not long after, the door slammed shut, and the outside monks were driven out one by one.

Master Taiyi took a deep breath. He walked towards the temple and said softly: "From now on, if anyone comes to find me, they will say that they are in seclusion for the master. They don't care about anything and can't control anything. If there is any capable person who accuses them, they will say that they are in seclusion for the master." Give him the token from the headmaster of Chanjiao."

"Give him..." The Taoist disciple was suddenly startled.

"Yes. Give it to him. Whoever can take care of it should take care of it. There is nothing I can do as a teacher."

The Taoist disciple was completely stunned. After a while, until Master Taiyi walked a few feet away, he regained his composure and hurriedly chased after him, saying in a low voice: "Master, what if some of my uncles and uncles came to ask?"

"Are they coming?"

"A few people came here, but most of them didn't say anything. They just asked about the situation and then left."

Master Taiyi snorted coldly, blinked his eyes blankly and sighed: "It's okay to ignore it..."

…

In Wuzhuang Temple, the simple ceremony has been completed. Some of the spies around have left, and some are still staying in place to try to find out some new information.

After having lunch at Zhen Yuanzi's reception, the group said goodbye to Zhen Yuanzi. No matter how Zhen Yuanzi tried to persuade him to stay, even if it was just to make a gesture to the outside world, the monkeys would not want to spend more time in the Wuzhuang Temple. Living.

After a while of persuasion, and Tianpeng's final statement that he should stay another night, the monkey reluctantly accepted.

Taking this opportunity, Zhen Yuanzi once again proposed to Xuanzang that he wanted to discuss the way to universal salvation with him.

Regarding this, Xuanzang had lingering fears.

He was so polite before, and even the discussion process was quite pleasant, but as soon as the discussion was over, Zhen Yuanzi's face changed... This made everyone a little worried.

Under Tianpeng's persuasion, Xuanzang finally agreed to Zhen Yuanzi's request.

Of course, it certainly can't be immediately. After a sleepless night, others could say that Xuanzang was just an ordinary person after all, so he naturally had to rest first.

So, everyone returned to the attic that had just been restored.

As soon as he entered the door, Lu Liuguai began to chatter in the monkey's ear about the reactions of all parties in this incident, focusing on condemning the Peng Demon King and the Lion and Camel King, and the Bull Demon King and the Nine-Headed Insect who had reacted. I briefly walked through it and kept repeating it all the way, which made the monkey a little annoyed. I forced myself to find several reasons to drive him and the accompanying demon generals back, and I suddenly felt that my ears were much cleaner.

After this moment of leisure, the monkey remembered the whisper between Tianpeng and Zhen Yuanzi again, but with this perception, he suddenly realized that Tianpeng was missing!

…

At this time, twenty miles away from Wuzhuang Temple, the canopy, which had transformed into a human body, slowly landed on the edge of the tree-lined creek and looked around.

Not long after, a silver figure slowly stood up from the knee-high stream.

"Is the person coming here Marshal Tianpeng?"

Hearing this, Tianpeng slowly turned around.

The person standing in the stream was a bearded general wearing silver Heavenly Army armor. Looking at the armband, it should belong to Xantian Mansion.

Canopy slowly stretched out a hand towards him, holding a piece of white silk in his hand.

"Is this what you left behind?"

"Marshal Qi, this is really what the last general left behind."

As he said that, he walked ashore step by step from the hidden stream, knelt down on one knee, and gave a military salute to the canopy.

Looking at the standard posture of the other party, Tianpeng suddenly burst into laughter, took a deep breath and said: "Get up, I am no longer a marshal. My name is Zhu Ganghye now, and I can't bear your courtesy. Tell me. , who asked you to come to me?"

That day the general smiled lightly, stood up slowly, cupped his hands and said, "This is His Majesty's will."

Looking in the direction of Wuzhuang Temple, the general took two steps toward the canopy and whispered: "Because it is a secret decree, there is no text, and it is also to avoid leaving any traces. However, the general has His Majesty in his hands. A token of the Lingxiao Palace."

Saying that, he took out a small gold-embedded jade plaque from his waist that day and handed it towards the canopy.

Tianpeng took the jade token and glanced at it casually before throwing it back and saying in a cold voice: "Tell me what's going on."

General Tian put away the important jade tablet and said in his hand: "Your Majesty has decreed that you, Marshal, should be lurking in the westbound team. If there is any change, report the news to Your Majesty at any time through Xantian Mansion."

After saying this, Tianpeng's expression suddenly froze, and he stared at the general motionless.

What followed was a long silence, so long that even the general felt uncomfortable.

"Marshal, what's going on?"

Tianpeng snorted coldly and chuckled, "What organization do I belong to now?"

"Your Majesty does not have a marshal's establishment..."

"Let me ask one more question." Interrupting the general's words, Tianpeng said slowly: "Am I still the marshal? If not, what do you mean by calling me marshal all the time? If so, what about my marshal seal? I Where are the soldiers and horses?"

After saying that, Tianpeng stared at the general with a smile. That smile looked more like a sneer.

At this time, the general was speechless by the question. After holding it for a long time, he stammered: "The marshal is worrying too much. Your Majesty also mentioned the matter that happened six hundred years ago. It is indeed an unjust case. undoubtedly."

"Unjust case? Then why not redress it?"

That day the general calmed down slightly and said in a low voice: "After all, it was a crime committed by the previous Jade Emperor. It was a big war. Many people and physical evidence are gone now. It is really difficult to vindicate him now."

For a moment, Tianpeng almost laughed.

Let’s not mention what kind of personal and material evidence there will be for the trumped-up crime. Even if these “personal and material evidences” are gone, the current Jade Emperor can still conclude that Tianpeng is innocent out of thin air. This method is no longer as good as the original one. The first Jade Emperor passed away.

Suddenly, the look Tianpeng looked at the general became more meaningful.

Sensing the change in the canopy, the general that day continued to say, "However, it was the marshal who took action to resolve what happened yesterday. This credit alone is not insignificant. Your Majesty will definitely find an opportunity. To vindicate the Marshal and allow the Marshal to return to heaven. Before that, I ask the Marshal... to continue to fulfill his duties." (To be continued~^~)