Chapter 458: Chapter 458

Sun Wukong heard the words and laughed, "I was wondering who it was, turns out it’s a gang of petty thieves."

The bandits, hearing this, were instantly furious and yelled, "Kill him! Kill this ignorant monk!"

Sun Wukong quickly put on a smiling face and said, "Great King, calm your anger! Great King, calm your anger! I’m just a monk from the countryside, I don’t speak well, please excuse any offense."

"If you’re looking for a toll, just ask me for it. I’m in charge of the accounts, all the money is with me. These three are penniless, they don’t have a single coin on them."

"That one on horseback, although he is my master, he only knows how to chant scriptures and stays out of mundane affairs, having forgotten both wealth and desire, possessing not a penny."

"That one with a dark face, I picked up along the way as a young lad, he only knows how to look after horses."

"That one with the long snout, I hired as a laborer, he only knows how to carry loads. You let us three pass, and I will gladly give you our travel expenses and alms bowl."

Sun Wukong kept on talking, but this was also because after he had let the Nine Spirits Holy Yuan watch the temple construction and rejoin them later, these bandits wouldn’t have been enough for him to defeat one by one.

The bandits listened to Sun Wukong’s words and thought the monk was quite sensible, which calmed them down and kept them from chopping Sun Wukong into pieces right away.

One of the leaders, smiling, said, "This monk seems honest enough, quite sensible. Since that’s the case, we’ll spare your lives. Those three monks, put down your luggage and pass."

Sun Wukong signaled to Xuanzang and the others with a look in his eyes, telling them to hurry on.

Sand Monk, frowning, said, "Big Brother! The luggage!"

"Leave it! When they tell you to go, just go. What’s with all the nonsense? It’s good enough to keep your lives, who cares about the luggage!"

Sun Wukong said to Sand Monk and the others, winking and gesticulating.

Zhu Bajie and Sand Monk had no choice but to put down all their luggage, protecting Xuanzang as they hurried away.

Afterward, the bandits clamored, "You hairy monk, we’ve let those three go, hurry up and hand over the gold and silver!"

Sun Wukong, laughing, said, "Gentlemen, no rush, no rush! I’ll fetch the gold and silver for you. Truth be told, you are quite lucky to have run into us this time. Our luggage contains nothing but gold, silver, gems, and several treasures of inestimable value, any of which could keep you set for life."

The bandits, hearing these words, were overjoyed. But then, Sun Wukong suddenly performed an immobilization spell, freezing the bandits in place so that they could not move at all.

Sun Wukong, chuckling with a smirk, said, "What a bold gang of thieves, to think of robbing your Grandpa Sun. It’s as good as a death wish."

If Sun Wukong had run into bandits before, he would have beaten them with his rod and sent them to the afterlife.

However, on this journey, Sun Wukong had tempered his temper somewhat and didn’t want to cause a conflict with Xuanzang over such trifles, especially since they were about to reach Mount Meru. Sun Wukong didn’t want to create any trouble.

After immobilizing the bandits, Sun Wukong then loudly called for Xuanzang and the others to come back.

Zhu Bajie, hearing Sun Wukong’s call, couldn’t help but say, "Damn it, Brother Monkey must have sold us out. He doesn’t have a dime on him, and his package contains no gold or silver. Those bandits won’t just let it go; they’re surely calling us back to demand our horses!"

Sand Monk laughed and said, "Second Senior Brother, you’re talking nonsense again. Think about all the fierce demons and ghosts we have subdued along the way. With Big Brother’s Divine Skills, how could he fail to deal with a few petty thieves? He must have something important to tell us; let’s go back and see."

Xuanzang also said, "Sha Wujing is right. Let’s go back and see."

So the three turned back, and upon approaching, they discovered that the bandits were all standing motionless. Zhu Bajie grinned, stepped forward, gently nudged one of the bandits, and laughed heartily, "You bandit, weren’t you very arrogant a moment ago? Why aren’t you moving now?"

Sun Wukong smiled and said, "I have immobilized these thieves with an immobilization spell."

Sun Wukong approached the White Horse, helped Xuanzang down, and said, "Master, dismount first. There’s a saying that goes, it’s always better to release the wrong person than to arrest the wrong one. Let’s interrogate these bandits to see whether they are repeat offenders or novices, and then decide what to do with them."

Xuanzang got off the horse, nodded, and said, "Wukong makes sense. We should first interrogate them to see what other crimes they have committed."

Sun Wukong helped Xuanzang sit on a stone by the roadside, then pulled out one of the bandits, released the immobilization spell, and asked sternly, "You thief, I’m going to ask you questions, and you’d better answer truthfully, or else don’t blame your Old Sun for being merciless with his rod."

Seeing Sun Wukong holding an iron rod as thick as the mouth of a bowl, the bandit knew he would have no life left after a single blow and was so scared that he knelt down and kowtowed, begging for mercy.

Sun Wukong asked, "You thief, how many people are in your gang? How many years have you been in this business? How much have you robbed? Have you ever killed anyone? Are you new to this or a repeat offender? Spit it out."

"Yes! Confess quickly, or I’ll beat you with my rake, and you’ll have nine bloody holes,"

Zhu Bajie also shouted from the side.

The bandit was almost scared to pee, hurriedly kowtowing and begging, "Please spare my life, grandfathers! We’re not repeat offenders; we’re first-timers! We used to be good sons of respectable families. It’s just that we were idle, gluttonous, and lazy, squandered our fortunes on eating, drinking, and gambling, and had no choice but to come out and make some money."