Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 711 - 710: Jinchi Elder Dies Suddenly

Xuanzang didn’t quite understand; this disciple spoke in such a fragmented way that he couldn’t grasp what he was actually talking about. One moment it was one thing, the next something else, leaving Xuanzang utterly confused.

He asked, "Wukong, you might as well make yourself clear. Don’t beat around the bush; I can’t understand you."

"These monks, coveting our kasaya, wanted to have it all to themselves and then planned to burn us alive," the Six-Eared Macaque said. "Knowing they intended to set fire to kill us, I borrowed a magic artifact from above to cover you when they lit the fire, then I let the flames grow even bigger."

"They want the kasaya?" Xuanzang was shocked but remembered the way the monk from the night before had eyed the kasaya with gleaming eyes, and he felt a vague suspicion.

However, ascetics should first look for faults within themselves when faced with issues, so he said, "Even so, you shouldn’t have aided the fire."

"He is unkind; I am unjust," the Six-Eared Macaque snorted coldly. "Besides, didn’t you always tell me, Master, that ascetics emphasize karma? The cause rests with them. If they hadn’t coveted the kasaya, I wouldn’t have done this."

Xuanzang felt the words of the Six-Eared Macaque were fallacious, but the Zen monastery had already burned, and whatever he said was useless. He could only blame himself for sleeping too soundly at night and failing to stop his disciple in time.

"Since it’s already burned, that’s that," Xuanzang sighed. "What about the kasaya? Since you’ve started the fire, you should at least produce the kasaya, right?"

The Six-Eared Macaque slapped his forehead. "How could I have forgotten that?"

Xuanzang looked deeply at his disciple, then sighed again, "Well, let’s go retrieve the kasaya now."

The Six-Eared Macaque led Xuanzang out of the Zen room. The monks outside were resting, tired and hungry after a whole night of turmoil. Unfortunately, the dining hall was also burned, making it a problem to even have breakfast.

It was in this tired and hungry state that they suddenly saw the two people who should have been burned to death the night before appearing before them, sending a chill through everyone.

"Ghosts, vengeful spirits are here for revenge!"

The first monk to see them shouted, and as the others followed his gaze to Xuanzang and his disciple, they too were scared and retreated.

"The ghost has a cause; the debt has a debtor; this has nothing to do with us. If you’re looking for someone, go find Elder Jinchi. We didn’t do anything, nothing at all!"

"Enough of that," the Six-Eared Macaque said, finding their scared state somewhat amusing.

Although it seemed unrelated to them on the surface, in reality, if it were not for their actions, things would not have turned out this way. Ultimately, they were to blame.

"Please, we truly didn’t do anything; spare us, please spare us!" the group of monks didn’t know what was happening and simply kept begging for mercy.

Xuanzang couldn’t bear to watch this. He brought his hands together and said, "Amitabha, do not be afraid, fellows. I am not a vengeful spirit. The fire last night didn’t reach my disciple and me, so we are still among the living."

"Did you hear that? Early in the morning, how could you see a ghost!" the Six-Eared Macaque snorted again and said to them, "Instead of wasting your breath pleading for mercy, you might as well confess your sins to Bodhisattva Guanyin; that would be easier."

Hearing the Six-Eared Macaque’s words, the group of monks looked at each other. After whispering among themselves for a while, once assured that the figures before them were not vengeful spirits come to claim lives, they knelt down before the two of them.

"Bodhisattva, spare us; we didn’t mean to harm you—it’s just that we had no choice but to listen to the Elder," they said.

The Six-Eared Macaque looked at these monks whose names he couldn’t recall. The Elder’s word was law to them, and their involvement in the matter was understandable within that context.

After all, every debt has its debtor and every murder its culprit, as they say. Even if there were accounts to be settled, it certainly wouldn’t fall to them.

"Elder monks, having taken our kasaya, shouldn’t you return it to my master?" the Six-Eared Macaque said.

"Yes, yes, it should be returned to this master. Our elder should be in the back house now; let me take the two masters there," a monk said.

Xuanzang nodded. Right now, everything else was secondary; only the kasaya mattered. They just needed to bring it back.

Xuanzang and the Six-Eared Macaque followed the monk to the living quarters of Jinchi Elder. The monk knocked on the door and announced, "Jinchi Elder, the two masters are ready to set off, and they have come to retrieve the kasaya."

No one answered from inside. Thinking that Jinchi Elder was still asleep, the monk repeated his words louder than before, assuming the elder must hear him now.

To his surprise, there was still no response after his call.

The monk called out again, now drenched in sweat from urgency, waiting for Jinchi Elder to respond. But no matter how loudly he called, there was no answer.

The Six-Eared Macaque became restless. Standing up, he said, "Could it be that your elder has fled with our treasured kasaya? Why has there been no answer despite all this calling?"

The monk was beside himself with anxiety, but there was still no answer from inside, and he felt helpless.

"Master, I...I really don’t know. I saw the elder enter the room before dawn, but I’m aware that nobody is answering," he said.

"Since there’s no answer to our knocking, why don’t we go in and check?" suggested the Six-Eared Macaque.

The monk was initially hesitant, but with no one responding from inside regardless of how much he shouted, he had no choice but to follow the Six-Eared Macaque’s suggestion and open the door to enter.

Upon entering, he shouted for the elder before rushing into the room.

People had already gathered outside, and hearing his frenzied shouting, each one of them went inside to look.

They saw Jinchi Elder lying supine on the floor, pale and stiff, evidently devoid of life.

"What happened?" Xuanzang was shocked. With his hands together, chanting "Amitabha Buddha," he asked, "Wukong, what happened to Jinchi Elder? How could he have died so suddenly?"

The Six-Eared Macaque also did not know the circumstances, but seeing the elder’s serene expression, and the surroundings undisturbed, it was clear it wasn’t murder.

"He probably died suddenly," the Six-Eared Macaque said. "At his age, it’s possible to die like this if there’s too much emotional upheaval. It isn’t that unusual, or perhaps he was exhausted from putting out fires all night, or it could be something else."

Xuanzang had initially wondered if his disciple had killed Jinchi Elder, but now, hearing the explanation, it seemed the elder had indeed died suddenly.

Xuanzang felt somewhat guilty; this disciple, despite his martial skills, had never done a bad deed while following him.

"Amitabha Buddha," Xuanzang said. "Since it’s a sudden death, then we should bury him as soon as possible. But the kasaya, where exactly is it?"

Monk Guangzhi, who was behind them, stepped forward. After looking around inside the room, he didn’t see the kasaya. He said, "It’s really strange. Jinchi Elder should have placed the kasaya here after taking it. How could it just vanish?"