Chapter 339: Chapter 339

Zhu Bajie and Sand Monk exchanged glances.

They had not expected that the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace would be such a good actress, drinking and laughing with Sai Taisui, continuously toasting to him until he was completely bewildered and almost lost his bearings.

After a few drinks, Sai Taisui became even happier and couldn’t help himself, he stretched out a furry paw towards the Lady’s delicate hand, but no sooner had he touched her than he suddenly screamed in pain and darted to one side.

The Lady of the Golden Holy Palace was startled and quickly stood up, feigning concern, she asked, "Great King, are you all right?"

Sai Taisui hurriedly replied, "I’m fine, I’m fine! It’s my fault for being disrespectful; please don’t blame me, my lady."

The Lady of the Golden Holy Palace quickly said, "It is not your fault, Great King. It is my fault for wearing these old clothes, which caused you such suffering."

Sai Taisui sat down sulkily and chuckled, "It’s not the Lady’s fault. We should blame that meddlesome True Man Ziyang."

"At first, I did not recognize him and fell for his trick. He put this Five-colored Cloud Robe on the Lady; little did I know it’s easy to put on but extremely difficult to take off. Let me not see that charlatan, or I swear I’ll skin him alive."

"Please, Great King, calm down. Let me toast to you again," the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace said as she once again raised her glass to Sai Taisui.

Sai Taisui quickly raised his glass and drained it in one go.

Afterward, the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace continued to toast him several times, which eventually eased the previous awkward atmosphere.

Just then, the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace suddenly looked sorrowful and sighed softly. Seeing her expression change so abruptly, Sai Taisui quickly asked, "My lady, why do you look so troubled?"

The Lady of the Golden Holy Palace sighed again and said, "Before, I was unwilling to be with you, Great King, because I still had feelings for the King of Zhu Zi Country. Please don’t be angry, Great King. When I was the queen in Zhu Zi Country, the king treated me very well. Whenever tributes from foreign lands were presented, he made sure I received them after his inspection."

Continuing, the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace sighed again and added, "Now I have heard that the King of Zhu Zi Country is gravely ill and not long for this world, so I have given up my feelings for him. I thought of spending the rest of my life with you, Great King, yet you still treat me as an outsider."

"Why would you say that, my lady?" asked a concerned Sai Taisui.

To his surprise, the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace began to quietly wipe away her tears, looking all the more pitiful with her tear-stained face.

Sai Taisui, who was already fond of the Lady, became anxious and reassured her, "Why would you think so, my lady? Tell me what you desire, and I shall grant it."

The Lady of the Golden Holy Palace sobbed and said, "Although you treat me well, Great King, you do not treat me as the King of Zhu Zi Country did. You really treat me as an outsider!"

Hearing this, Sai Taisui became even more flustered. After carefully considering the Lady’s words, he earnestly promised, "How could I be lesser than the King of Zhu Zi Country? I too can treat you as he did, but I don’t have foreign tributes here!"

"Hmph!" The Lady of the Golden Holy Palace scoffed, "If there are no foreign tributes, don’t you have treasures of your own, Great King?"

Sai Taisui scratched his head and replied with a smile, "My lady, you know as well as I do, I really don’t have any treasures! I always wear fur coats and eat game from the mountains; I’ve never seen brocade or gold pearls, let alone any treasures."

Crying, the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace said, "Even if you had a treasure, you wouldn’t tell me since you treat me as an outsider. I’ve heard that you carry a treasure with you day and night."

"Are you referring to this Golden Bell?" said Sai Taisui, suddenly enlightened.

"Exactly," nodded the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace.

"This Golden Bell is my Protective Dharma Treasure, worthless to you," Sai Taisui explained hastily.

Hearing this, the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace cried even harder. "You won’t even let me look at it once; what kind of spouse are we then?"

Upon hearing her words, Sai Taisui quickly explained, "You are my treasured love, and I love and cherish you deeply; how could I ever think of you as an outsider!"

Then, Sai Taisui had an idea and said, "If my lady is truly interested in this Golden Bell, I might as well show it to you."

Saying this, Sai Taisui actually untied the Golden Bell and handed it to the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace.

The Lady of the Golden Holy Palace took a detailed look at the Golden Bell, which appeared to be just a regular strand of bells.

Then, the tears halted, and she smiled, "Forgive me, Great King. You truly don’t understand a woman’s heart; it’s not the treasure itself that matters to me."

"As you said, this object is of little value to me, but it is very important to you, Great King. If you entrust such an important item to me, it shows that I am in your heart, that you see me as a confidant. Only then can I understand your feelings and serve you wholeheartedly."

"The lady is right; I was too careless. From now on, this object will be under your care, my lady. Although it is a minor item, you must take care with it and not shake it lightly," Sai Taisui said eagerly, relieved to see the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace smiling again.

"I understand; thank you for your trust, Great King," the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace said with a smile, then handed the Golden Bell to Zhu Bajie, instructing, "You take this treasure and put it in the red box inside for now. After I finish drinking with the Great King, we will hide it somewhere even more secure."

"Yes!" Zhu Bajie’s face lit up with joy as he hastily agreed, taking the Purple Gold Bell to the inner room. Once inside, Zhu Bajie quickly stashed the bell away, then, with a flick of his palm, produced another bell that looked just like it.

He then placed it inside the red box on the vanity.

"Junior Brother Sand, I’ll leave this to you. I’m going to give this to Brother Monkey!" Zhu Bajie conveyed through telepathy.

Then, his form shimmered, and he transformed into a mosquito, swiftly flying out of the inner palace.

Zhu Bajie quickly reached the residence of the vanguard.

Since Sun Wukong was here, and now that the treasure was secured, Zhu Bajie came to inform Sun Wukong to see what to do next.

Sun Wukong sat in the room with a pot of wine beside him.

He was also constantly waiting for news from Zhu Bajie.

This time, it was rare for Zhu Bajie to be so thoughtful.

"Idiot, how did it go?"

Just as Zhu Bajie reached the vicinity, Sun Wukong had already sensed it.

Zhu Bajie’s figure flickered, returning to his original form, then he took out the Golden Bell and handed it to Sun Wukong, saying, "Brother Monkey, I’ve tricked Sai Taisui’s treasure away. Although Sai Taisui hasn’t noticed it yet, I don’t know how long we can delay!"

"Good, now that this demon no longer has the treasure, let’s subdue him while he is unprepared!"

Sun Wukong took the treasure and nodded.

"Brother Monkey, why are you taking this so seriously this time? Is it to gain the King’s favor and get us some fine vegetarian meals?"

Zhu Bajie couldn’t help but be curious.

Normally, his Brother Monkey wouldn’t care, but this time, he really did.

"Idiot, who do you think our opponent is? Who arranged this Journey to the West?"

Sun Wukong looked at Zhu Bajie and slowly spoke.

Upon hearing Sun Wukong’s words, Zhu Bajie was stunned. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Celestial Immortals and Buddhas, what do you mean, Brother Monkey?"

"The four of us are tied to the same string, and if our master is powerful, it would be better for us too!"

Sun Wukong said with a smile.

"Brother Monkey, you really are a clever little devil. I was wondering why you took this to heart this time!"

"You should go back now, just to avoid any trouble!"

Sun Wukong instructed.

Zhu Bajie quickly transformed and hurried back toward the Inner Palace.

Meanwhile, Sun Wukong went to the eastern entrance and raised his staff, smashing it down on the cave door. With a ’boom’, the door shattered into pieces, scaring the little demons within to flee in all directions.

Sun Wukong’s voice, filled with powerful force, boomed, "Go tell that Sai Taisui to quickly bring out the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace! If he delays, I’ll crush him to dust, never to return!"

A quick-footed little demon hurried to the Inner Palace and reported to Sai Taisui, "Great King, it’s bad. A monk with a thunderous face has broken the cave door and is shouting outside, demanding the Great King to release the Lady of the Golden Holy Palace!"

"A monk with a face like Thunder Duke?" Sai Taisui couldn’t help frowning and scoffed, "Could it be that Monkey Sun is here? This meddling Macaque, he always sticks his nose into others’ business. Immediately rouse the troops, follow me to confront the enemy."

"Yes!" The little demon promptly responded and turned to carry out the orders.

Then, Sai Taisui turned to the Golden Holy Palace and said, "My Lady, wait here for a while. I’ll go deal with Monkey Sun and then come back to drink with you." Saying this, he quickly left.

After Sai Taisui left the Inner Palace, the Golden Holy Palace immediately turned to the two palace maids behind her; only Sand Monk was left.

Shortly after, Zhu Bajie returned.

Zhu Bajie said with a smile, "Your grace, just let it be, I’ve already delivered the treasure to Brother Monkey. He will surely deal with that demon, and then take you out of here."

The Golden Holy Palace, hearing this, felt somewhat relieved.

After leaving the Inner Palace, Sai Taisui didn’t rush to confront the enemy outside but went to the living quarters of the Front Back Vanguard with a few of his trusted little demons. It turned out that no one was there anymore.

"Great King, why have we come here?"

One little demon, puzzled, spoke up.

Sai Taisui shook his head with a smile, "Didn’t you see? The Vanguard is gone."

"Indeed, where’s the Vanguard?"

Upon hearing Sai Taisui’s words, the little demon finally realized and was somewhat astonished.

"Maybe he’s just nearby. There’s nothing surprising about that!"

Sai Taisui shook his head and said, "He’s not the Vanguard at all, but one of the Journey to the West group!"