Journey to the West: Break the entire Western Heaven!

The old man looked at the monk in front of him, whose face was fair but who seemed a bit slow-witted, and nodded slightly, "Makes sense..."

Tang Sanzang was about to speak when Sun Wukong quickly interjected, "I'm not sure what your son did to make you dislike him so much."

The old man sighed, "Ah, that beast is no good, forever shirking his proper duties, and on top of that, always robbing homes, ambushing travelers, murdering, and setting fires—he's done all sorts of evil. And the company he keeps is nothing but a bunch of rascals... It's been five days since he left, and he hasn't come back yet."

Hearing this, Sun Wukong and the others exchanged glances subconsciously, and transmitted to each other in secret, "Damn... It couldn't have been those guys we killed today, could it?"

Zhu Ganglie said, "Brother Monkey, I told you to show some mercy, but your hands are always too heavy. Look... How are we supposed to explain this to the old man?"

Sun Wukong also wore a troubled expression...

Then they heard Tang Sanzang say, "I'm afraid they won't be coming back."

The old man was taken aback and asked, "High monk, have you seen my son?"

Tang Sanzang pointed outside and said, "We saw them, and it was us who personally killed and buried them. You don't need to be agitated, nor do you need to thank us. Being compassionate is inherent for monks like us, and alleviating your worries is only natural!"

Bang!
Continue your saga on empire

The door closed.

Tang Sanzang looked around at his disciples, who were all giving him reproachful looks.

Sun Wukong said, "Master, couldn't you have said less?"

Zhu Ganglie also said, "Right, we were about to eat. Why say those things?"

Tang Sanzang, however, was completely unabashed, "You killed his son. Could you really stomach his food?"

The two were dumbfounded.

Tang Sanzang continued, "That was a villain, and he's dead now. But the old man is not a bad person. Now that his child is dead, don't you at least have to tell him, and maybe burn some incense during the holidays?"

Again, the two were dumbfounded, thinking to themselves with a wry smile, "So our master isn't actually foolish... He's just doing the right things in his own way."

Just as they were admiring Tang Sanzang's intelligence, Tang Sanzang suddenly looked at Sun Wukong and swung his arm for a heavy knock on the head, "You kill without even asking for details. If you kill one less, do you think you'll get away with food? You worthless monkey, you can't even handle this simple task!"

The force of Tang Sanzang's strike was enormous. With the blow to their heads, Sun Wukong saw stars and was in tears, "Master, wasn't it you who told me to do it?"

Tang Sanzang continued to flick his forehead and said, "I told you to strike, but I didn't tell you to bury them! What are you dazing off for? Aren't you going to dig them up for their family to claim the bodies?"

Sun Wukong obediently ran off to dig up the bandits' corpses.

After sending Sun Wukong away, Tang Sanzang glared at Zhu Ganglie, "What are you standing around for? Go find a place for us to stay, quickly! Do you expect me to help you with your vegetarian meal offerings?"

Zhu Ganglie immediately ran off to ask someone for lodging.

Tang Sanzang rubbed his temples, muttering, "Ah, they really don't let anyone have peace of mind..."

Mounting the white horse, Tang Sanzang rode the White Dragon Horse around the village.

As he was walking along, suddenly a figure landed beside him: "Master, I'm back!"

Sun Wukong called out cheerfully.

Tang Sanzang frowned and crooked his finger, "Come here."

Sun Wukong moved closer, and Tang Sanzang raised his hand for another heavy knock!

Clang!

"Ow…" Sun Wukong clutched his aching head, tears nearly spilling out: "Master, what are you doing?"

Tang Sanzang replied, "It's nothing, just happy to give you a couple of hits."

Sun Wukong: "@#￥..."

Just then, Zhu Ganglie came running: "Master, I've asked around, and nobody in the village will offer alms to monks. The only place we can stay is an inn, but... it seems we don't have any money."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang's face turned a bit ugly.

They had passed through many countries, big and small, on their way, and he believed he had helped quite a few of them by dealing with their demon problems, but it seemed... no money had come in.

"Money, huh…" Tang Sanzang muttered, turning his gaze to Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong was astonished: "What are you looking at me for?"

Zhu Ganglie said, "Master, are you sure about doing something at this late hour?"

Tang Sanzang replied, "What's wrong with the middle of the night? Don't the villagers need some entertainment? Wujing, bring out the props!"

Sha Wujing responded enthusiastically: "Alright!"

Of all people, only Sun Wukong was clueless, not understanding what was going on.

Because he wasn't really Sun Wukong, but the Six-Eared Macaque, who had found a fissure and taken the chance to transform into Sun Wukong.

The Six-Eared Macaque's hearing could detect everything within ten thousand miles in its extreme, and ordinarily within a thousand miles. And when he eavesdropped, no one could sense it, making it totally unforeseeable. Therefore, his actual knowledge about Sun Wukong and Tang Sanzang wasn't much, relying solely on first-hand reports and his unique Divine Skill—the Heart-Listening Technique.

This Divine Skill was incredibly powerful; as long as he was nearby, he could directly hear what others were thinking. This was the foundation of his confidence in impersonation; he might not know in advance, but once he stood beside you, you had no secrets to keep.

Thus, the Six-Eared Macaque's ears quivered as he focused his attention to listen to Tang Sanzang.

Just at that moment...

"Dang!"

A gong sounded abruptly, its noise already extremely loud, and the Six-Eared Macaque tilted his ear towards it. Suddenly his head buzzed, his eyes rolled back, and he uncontrollably staggered on the spot...

Zhu Ganglie, puzzled, asked, "What's wrong with Brother Monkey? Did he drink too much?"

Sha Wujing remarked, "Not sure, could this be some new monkey-taming trick by the master? Doesn't seem like it, though... Never seen this before."

The Six-Eared Macaque's head was buzzing...

His Divine Skill was supposed to block out external noises when focusing on a specific direction, an error he would not normally make. Alas, the bald monk had struck the gong with his bare hands. The sound reverberated, directly entering his body...

And it happened just as the Six-Eared Macaque was listening, leaving him almost knocked out.

By the time the Six-Eared Macaque finally came to his senses, he found that many people had gathered around, all frowning and cursing, "Monk, what are you doing banging a gong this late at night?"

Tang Sanzang brought his palms together and said, "Amitabha, I have disturbed you all. This humble Monk comes from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands, planning to travel to the West to seek the True Scriptures. I intended to ask for lodging as I passed through this precious place for one night. Regrettably, no one offered alms to monks, so I have to perform the monkey act to earn some money for staying at the inn. Since everyone is now awake, why not watch this monkey play from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands?"

Originally everyone was quite unhappy, but as the saying goes, 'a monk from afar can chant the scriptures well'. They hadn't seen a monk from as far away as theirs in the last hundred years.

Suddenly, they all became curious.

"I've heard that the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands is tens of thousands of miles from here."

"Indeed... It's very far."

"We definitely have to see this."