Chapter 388: Chapter 388

"I’m going over to scout for information now. Even if they do start a fight, ol’ Piggy here can just not lift a finger!"

Hearing what Zhu Bajie said, Sun Wukong nodded in agreement.

Zhu Bajie quietly descended from the clouds, hiding in a thicket, and after peering around, he breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the two Female Demons hadn’t noticed him.

He was about to walk out, but after thinking it over, Zhu Bajie decided to straighten out his clothes a bit.

"Big brother, look at Second Senior Brother. He’s quite vain!"

Sand Monk couldn’t help but laugh as he saw Zhu Bajie fussing over his attire.

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Indeed, watch how Old Sun fools him!"

At these words, Sand Monk was taken aback, only to see Sun Wukong open his mouth, but no sound came out.

Meanwhile, Zhu Bajie strode forward confidently.

That voice reached the ears of the two demons.

Upon hearing this shout, the two demons’ expressions changed, and they hurriedly turned their heads to look.

They saw a foolish figure with a long snout and big ears standing behind them, gawking at them intently.

The two demons exchanged glances, somewhat astonished. Where did this pig-faced monk come from, calling them monsters out of the blue?

Though they indeed were monsters and had transformed into human forms, they absolutely detested being called monsters.

Enraged, the two demons exchanged a glance and then, picking up their water-carrying poles, they swung at Zhu Bajie furiously.

Zhu Bajie was caught off guard and puzzled. "I haven’t said a word; how come these demons have started attacking? Could they have seen through my disguise?" he wondered.

While Zhu Bajie was still in a daze, a pole as thick as the mouth of a bowl came smashing down. He dodged to the side in a hurry and fled.

After missing with the first swing, the demon jabbed forward, charging right into Zhu Bajie’s rear.

Caught by surprise, Zhu Bajie yelped in pain and nearly fell face-first to the ground. The two demons were exceedingly fierce and immediately gave chase, raising their poles to bash Zhu Bajie once again.

Zhu Bajie, unable to dodge in time, took two hits and howled in agony. He plunged headfirst into the nearby woods, escaping in a most pitiful state.

"Dammit, if Brother Monkey hadn’t told me not to harm your lives, ol’ Piggy would’ve whacked you both with his rake and sent you two female monsters straight to the Underworld," Zhu Bajie cursed angrily.

As Zhu Bajie continued to curse the two female monsters, he moved on, only to find Sun Wukong and Sand Monk standing in front of him, waiting.

Zhu Bajie hurriedly approached them, making a bitter face, and complained, "Uncle, Brother Monkey, let’s head back! Those demons are too ferocious. Ol’ Piggy didn’t even get to ask, and they clobbered me with their poles. If I hadn’t run fast, I reckon I would’ve been a goner."

Sun Wukong and Sand Monk glanced at each other, Sand Monk finally understanding what Sun Wukong had done, and he struggled to contain his laughter.

Sun Wukong, however, furrowed his brows in fake concern, asking puzzledly, "We still need to rescue our master; why are you in such a hurry to get back? From what you just said, you didn’t manage to scout any information, did you?"

"You don’t know how formidable those demons are, brother!" Zhu Bajie quickly explained. "Ol’ Piggy went up there, not having spoken a word, and they started whacking with poles. For fear of killing those two demons, ol’ Piggy dared not fight back, and ended up taking two hits for nothing."

"Fool, with that face of yours, you’d get whacked even if you kept silent!"

Sun Wukong said with a laugh.

"Brother Monkey, how can you take pleasure in others’ misfortunes? I got beaten up while trying to save the master, or else I wouldn’t have suffered !"

Zhu Bajie said somewhat irritably.

"Look at these demons, they have such ordinary looks, and you’re so ugly, who else would they hit if not you? You should make yourself look better, or at least hide your long nose!"

"There’s an old saying, ’Don’t slap a smiling face.’ You should be more polite, treat them with respect, and ask nicely. That’s the way to find out the information we’re after!"

"Brother Monkey is right. You should have reminded me earlier. Old Zhu also feels he deserved to be hit!"

Zhu Bajie said somewhat irritably, "How should old Zhu address them?"

At this time, Sand Monk also came over, smiling and saying, "Second Senior Brother, you should look at their age. If they are older, call them ’grandma’; if they are younger, call them ’miss’!"

Zhu Bajie, somewhat reluctantly, said, "Did I travel all this way just to recognize relatives? Grandma, indeed—I’d be taken advantage of by these demons!"

Sun Wukong, smiling, explained, "Isn’t it to coax information out of them? To see if your master has really been captured by them, so that if he is, we can take the opportunity to act."

"And if not, we can also look elsewhere to avoid wasting more time here in vain. To get useful intelligence, it’s worth taking some losses."

"There’s some logic to what you’re saying!" Zhu Bajie nodded and then stood up, saying, "Then old Zhu will go ask again."

Zhu Bajie said and was about to go back. He had just taken two steps when he suddenly turned back and said, "Brother Monkey, Junior Brother Sand, what do you think I should transform into?"

"Second Senior Brother, you should make yourself look a bit better, or they might capture you and throw you in the cave too!"

Sand Monk said with laughter.

"Then I might as well transform into a monk!"

Zhu Bajie knew all too well the trouble caused by romantic affairs; he didn’t even care for Chang’e, let alone a Female Demon!

"This time old Zhu will definitely uncover some useful information."

Zhu Bajie quickly agreed, and ran back excitedly.

Zhu Bajie observed from a hidden spot and saw the two female demons had fetched water and were carrying it back.

Zhu Bajie’s eyes rolled, and he instantly transformed into a plump, white monk. Then he stealthily made his way in front of the two Female Demons. As they passed by, Zhu Bajie suddenly popped out from the side of the road, with his hands put together respectfully, he said, "Amitabha, two... two grandmas! Two grandmas! This poor monk greets you."

The two female demons looked at each other, thinking this monk seemed not bad and spoke politely, so one of them asked, "Elder, where are you from?"

Zhu Bajie’s eyes rolled again, and he pointed in a random direction, saying, "This poor monk came from over there."

"Where are you going?" the female demon asked next.

"Over there!" Zhu Bajie pointed in the opposite direction and said, "This poor monk was passing through your honorable place and has lost his way. May I ask the two grandmas what this place is?"

"Oh, is that the case!" The female demon nodded and said, "This place is called Trap Empty Mountain."

"Trap Empty Mountain, what a nice place." Zhu Bajie said foolishly, "What are the two grandmas fetching water for?"

That female demon said with a chuckle, "Today we have a joyous occasion in our cave, fetching water to prepare the feast."

"A joyous occasion? May I ask what joyous event your house is hosting?" Zhu Bajie continued to ask.

At this point, the other female demon interjected, "Monk, you don’t know. Our mistress has captured a Xuanzang in the cave today, planning to host him. Our cave’s water is unclean, so we were sent to fetch clean water here, to prepare a feast of fruit and vegetarian dishes, to dine with Xuanzang. Tonight, they’re to be wed."

Zhu Bajie’s face changed upon hearing the female demon’s words, and he hurried off while the two female demons, watching Zhu Bajie’s retreating back, couldn’t help but mutter, "What a foolish monk!"

Having said that, the two demons carried the water back into their cave.

Zhu Bajie ran back in a rush, resuming his original form, and shouted loudly, "Junior Brother Sand, hurry and take out our luggage and let’s divide it. Let’s all disband!"

Hearing this, Sun Wukong couldn’t help but get annoyed, raising his voice to scold, "You fool, I sent you to gather some intelligence, so why are you coming back shouting about dividing up our luggage and disbanding? I bet this lazy pig is itching for a beating again!"

Zhu Bajie said righteously, "The master is about to wed the Female Demon. What’s the point of fetching scriptures anymore? Let’s divide our luggage early. You can go back to Mount Huaguo and continue being the Monkey King, and I’ll go back to Gao Laozhuang to visit relatives. Junior Brother Sand can return to his Liusha River!"