Chapter 386: Chapter 386
A stream of light shot from the distance, revealing the figure of Zhu Bajie.
Hovering in midair, Zhu Bajie looked down at the lone Sand Monk with a hint of surprise, "Junior Brother Sand, where is Master?"
"Second Senior Brother, a deep hole suddenly appeared on the ground and swallowed up Master," the Sand Monk called out anxiously as if he had seen a savior.
"This is bad! We’ve been fooled by that monster!"
Upon hearing Sand Monk’s words, Zhu Bajie’s face slightly changed as he realized he had been deceived by the monster.
The Sand Monk spoke with urgency, "Senior Brother, what should we do now?"
"What a cunning demon. Just now, while I was dealing with it, it created a large hole and tried to capture me as well," Zhu Bajie said.
"Luckily, I reacted quickly, otherwise, you wouldn’t be seeing me now, Junior Brother Sand!"
"Second Senior Brother, what do we do now?"
At this moment, the Sand Monk couldn’t help but worry.
"Now that Master has disappeared, and we have no idea where to look, let’s just split the luggage and part ways. You go back to your Liusha River, and I’ll return to Gao Laozhuang!"
"Second Senior Brother!"
The Sand Monk frowned at the sight of Zhu Bajie, who once again started talking nonsense, feeling somewhat helpless.
"Alright, Junior Brother Sand, this monster must be a giant rat. As the saying goes, ’Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, a rat’s offspring will dig holes.’ That monster escaped by burrowing and also used a hole to snatch away our Master, it must definitely be a rat," said Zhu Bajie with resignation.
How were they supposed to find a rat that digs holes?
By this time, Sun Wukong had already returned as well.
From afar, he saw a billow of dark energy rising within the Black Pine Forest. The auspicious clouds and mists that were there before were now enveloped by the dark energy.
Unable to contain his concern, Sun Wukong thought, "This isn’t good! That dark energy must be coming from the demon. With the auspicious clouds shrouded in darkness, if the Master has been taken by the demon, we’re in big trouble."
With these thoughts, Sun Wukong dared not delay any longer; he transformed into a streak of golden light and sped towards the Black Pine Forest. In the blink of an eye, he had returned to the forest.
Sun Wukong leaped down from the sky to find only Zhu Bajie and Sand Monk below.
Not seeing his Master, he asked urgently, "Where’s Master?"
Zhu Bajie, somewhat at a loss, just buried his elongated snout into his chest, staying silent.
Sand Monk too hung his head, shaking it in sighs of regret, a hint of annoyance on his face.
Sun Wukong was getting angry.
Zhu Bajie sighed and said, "Junior Brother Sand, you tell him!"
Sand Monk glanced at Zhu Bajie and then spoke, "Second Senior Brother, you better say it!"
"Alright, Brother Monkey, a female demon has set a trap and captured Master," Zhu Bajie explained.
Sun Wukong’s face showed a flash of anger as he exclaimed loudly, "Which audacious demon dare captures Old Sun’s Master?"
"Moreover, how could Master, who was perfectly fine here, be abducted by a demon?"
Zhu Bajie had no choice but to repeat the incident in detail to Sun Wukong.
After hearing the account, the anger on Sun Wukong’s face grew even more palpable. He turned and scolded Zhu Bajie and Sand Monk, "What have you done? How could you let Master be captured ?"
With his head lowered, the Sand Monk said, "Don’t be angry, Senior Brother. We indeed were careless this time, but the urgent matter at hand is not to assign blame, but to think of a way to rescue Master quickly!"
"If we’re too late, it might be all over. Please, Eldest Senior Brother, hold back your thunderous anger and give us a chance to atone for our mistake!"
Zhu Bajie also feigned a serious face and added, "Junior Brother Sand is right, the pressing issue is to figure out how to save Master. If we’re too late, I fear Master will suffer."
Sun Wukong sighed and turned to Zhu Bajie and Sand Monk, "Do any of you know anything about this demon’s background?"
Zhu Bajie furrowed his brow and spoke with gravity, "That demon chose not to appear earlier or later, but precisely when you had left. Furthermore, it disguised itself as a woman being robbed by bandits, luring me to attempt a rescue."
"From this, it is evident that the monster was well-prepared and very familiar with our situation. As the saying goes, I’m not afraid of thieves stealing, but rather of them coveting."
"Brother Monkey, with your cultivation level, can you not deduce the origins of this White-Furred Mouse Spirit?"
Zhu Bajie asked, somewhat puzzled.
Sun Wukong fell silent for a moment, closing his eyes.
In the Water Curtain Cave, the true body of Sun Wukong opened his eyes.
By his side was Wang Yang.
Wang Yang seemed to feel Sun Wukong’s gaze.
"It seems you’ve encountered some trouble!"
Wang Yang said calmly.
"Elder Brother is still as crafty and calculating as ever!"
Looking at Wang Yang, Sun Wukong continued, "Elder Brother, do you know anything about that White-Furred Mouse Spirit’s background?"
Although he could now divine some information, naturally, he could not compare with his Elder Brother.
Therefore, he instinctively thought of his Elder Brother.
Wang Yang naturally knew the background of the White-Furred Mouse Spirit.
This demon was a Gold-Nosed White-Haired Mouse Spirit, also known as Half-bodied Guanyin, Madame Churning.
Three hundred years ago, she stealthily ate Ancestor Buddha Tathagata’s Fragrant Flower Treasure Candle at Mount Meru, which greatly increased her cultivation level.
Tathagata sent Pagoda-Carrying celestial King Li and his son to capture her, and she was originally to be executed.
However, Ancestor Buddha Tathagata said, "Pools that nurture fish are never fished, mountains that feed deer wish for longevity."
Thus, he spared her life. The Mouse Spirit was grateful and repaid the kindness by acknowledging Pagoda-Carrying celestial King Li as her foster father and the Third Prince Nezha as her brother, setting up a spiritual tablet for them in the lower realm to offer incense.
This was supposed to be a joyous event. From that point on, the Gold-Nosed White-Haired Mouse Spirit, now known as Half-bodied Guanyin, could accompany celestial King Li and Nezha.
Heaven and the Human World would have one less monster and one more talented being for celestial Court to utilize, which was Buddha Ancestor’s true intention.
However, things often do not develop as imagined. When Pagoda-Carrying celestial King Li took the Gold-Nosed White-Haired Mouse Spirit as his goddaughter, it was not his true wish.
At least he was not enthusiastic about it; he reluctantly accepted her, only because of the Buddha Ancestor’s influence.
When the Gold-Nosed White-Haired Mouse Spirit acknowledged Pagoda-Carrying celestial King Li as her foster father, she was also driven by necessity and the desire to reform. Since she was able to steal the Fragrant Flower Treasure Candle at Mount Meru, she must have overheard many of Buddha Ancestor’s sermons.
A seed of goodness had already sprouted in her heart, and she wished to align herself with a respectable family, to be near virtuous gentlemen, in hopes of achieving a virtuous rebirth. Alas, Pagoda-Carrying celestial King Li did not take her seriously at all.
In the heart of celestial King Li was a deep sense of class consciousness. He had once been the commander at Chentang Pass, a leader of both the military and government in the region, so he inherently looked down upon the low-born Gold-Nosed White-Haired Mouse Spirit.
Back then, he could not even tolerate his own son Nezha. After Nezha was driven to repay his parents by sacrificing his flesh and bones, leading to his death, celestial King Li still did everything to prevent Nezha’s revival.
The reason for this was that Li Jing looked down upon this atypical son from the depths of his heart, regarding him as a disgrace that only brought trouble, hence the thousand-year feud with his own flesh and blood.
The Gold-Nosed White-Haired Mouse Spirit was not only low-born but also an oddity, not a human transformed, but a genuine demon. How could celestial King Li’s household tolerate such a creature?
Therefore, after accepting the Gold-Nosed White-Haired Mouse Spirit as his goddaughter, celestial King Li let her go, to fend for herself, forgetting his responsibility to educate her.
The Mouse Spirit was originally an animal; without proper education and guidance, and with newfound powers, it’s easier to fall into vice than virtue.
Thus, she freely wreaked havoc in the lower realm, indulging in her true nature, eating anyone she saw, killing any life she encountered, living carefreely as Madame Churning without worry about restrictions from celestial King Li.
It was unclear how the White-Haired Mouse Spirit learned that Xuanzang was a man of ten lifetimes’ cultivation, whose yang essence had not been dissipated. Hence, finding out that Xuanzang and his disciples would pass by, she set a trap here.
Her intention was to capture Xuanzang to take his yang essence and enhance her own cultivation level.
After capturing Xuanzang, the Mouse Spirit did not eat him but instead forced him to marry her. However, it wasn’t because the demon fancied Xuanzang; if she had truly been lecherous, she could find several handsome young men to keep in her lair.
Why bother to devise a scheme for capturing Monk Xuanzang?
And Xuanzang was protected by companions, so capturing him would be like snatching food from a tiger’s mouth.
After contemplating for a moment, Wang Yang continued, "I have calculated that the evil spirit is none other than a Gold-Nosed White-Haired Mouse Spirit, who became a demon and gained mana three hundred years ago by stealing the Buddha Ancestor’s Fragrant Flower Treasure Candle."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong was overjoyed and immediately asked, "Elder Brother, since you know the monster’s background, you must also know where it resides?"
He had long known about his Elder Brother’s vast divine skills, but upon hearing his Elder Brother outline the demon’s origins, he thought he might also be able to pinpoint her location.