Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 745 - 744

There were many empty rooms, yet seeing them cleaned daily, one knew this place was indeed inhabited for the long term. The Six-Eared Macaque saw nothing unusual in the front yard and decided to check out the backyard.

In the backyard, he found piles of white cloth, and upon opening them, astonishingly, they were all filled with gleaming white meat—there was no red meat to be seen.

The Six-Eared Macaque felt both shocked and puzzled: what business were they in to have such an abundance of white meat, and for what purpose was it intended?

He was not unfamiliar with the mortal realm; he knew that white meat could be used to render oil, often for cooking and preparing food. Could it be that this family was in the oil business?

Yet if it were simply a matter of selling oil, how could their business grow so large? It was indeed very strange.

As he was contemplating, he suddenly heard footsteps outside. The Six-Eared Macaque quickly concealed his presence, not wanting the people outside to discover him.

The first to speak was a cool voice—the Six-Eared Macaque recognized it as the man who had offered them lodging during the day. The identity of the second voice was indistinguishable to him, but the tone suggested a servant.

"Is this the white meat collected today?" Chen Nuo asked.

"Yes, the two hundred catties of white meat you mentioned are all here," replied the servant.

Chen Nuo walked over and lifted the white cloth to take a look, then nodded, "This white meat is indeed fine. Let’s refine it all tomorrow. Then I will turn it into cakes—our entire business depends on this white meat."

Hearing their conversation, the Six-Eared Macaque felt he had a better understanding.

Even though their doings did not quite align with his own principles, at least they appeared to be conducting legitimate business. As for his previous suspicions, they were probably just due to this man’s personality.

The world was so vast, all kinds of people existed—likely, it was just his own overthinking.

With that, he did not dwell on it further. After Chen Nuo left, he returned to the side room prepared for him and decided to rest.

While it was peaceful here, Buddhism was far from tranquil.

Bodhisattva Guanyin had gone for a round trip, initially to restore Marshal Tian Peng’s memories and brief him, but after searching Fuling Mountain, Guanyin had found no trace of Tian Peng, as if he never existed there.

This was truly bizarre. Guanyin then visited Gao Laozhuang, only to find nothing there as well.

Bodhisattva Guanyin now realized something serious and hurriedly reported the matter to Tathagata Buddha at the seat of Buddhism.

The Buddha Ancestor closed his eyes and began to calculate Marshal Tian Peng’s location, but, as with Bodhisattva Guanyin’s findings, came up with nothing.

"Buddha Ancestor, what should we do? If Marshal Tian Peng is gone, how should we proceed with the Journey to the West?" Bodhisattva Guanyin asked.

Unable to calculate, Tathagata Buddha opened his eyes. Indeed, there wasn’t a single trace left of Tian Peng.

Seeing Tathagata Buddha’s expression, The Bodhisattva Guanyin also felt heavy-hearted. Maitreya Buddha entered from outside with a smile, "It’s not just Tian Peng, is it?"

The Bodhisattva Guanyin remained silent, but the disappearance of Little White Dragon couldn’t entirely be blamed on him.

Having descended to the mortal realm, he couldn’t manage both realms simultaneously. It was Maitreya Buddha who had suggested guarding the Cauldron of Guan Shi. Little White Dragon’s disappearance was also tied to Miqin Buddha.

Tathagata Buddha looked towards Maitreya Buddha and, with a flick of his finger, quickly calculated the situation at Eagle Sorrow Stream.

"Little White Dragon, he has long disappeared; why didn’t you inform me sooner?"

Guanyin originally didn’t want to take responsibility and intended to look for Little White Dragon before informing others, but unexpectedly, she couldn’t find any trace of him at all.

She could have kept it hidden for a while longer, but Maitreya Buddha preemptively brought it up, leaving her no choice but to admit her mistake.

"There are signs of battle at Eagle Sorrow Stream; the exact situation is unknown. It seems likely someone has taken him away. I am still searching for Little White Dragon’s whereabouts, but I could not get the word out to the Dragon Clan, so I kept quiet."

"You know that’s not what I’m talking about," Tathagata Buddha said in a low voice.

"It was my lapse," Bodhisattva Guanyin conceded the fault.

"This matter isn’t entirely Bodhisattva Guanyin’s fault. Initially, I volunteered to watch over the Cauldron of Guan Shi," Maitreya said cheerfully.

"Knowing that Little White Dragon is missing, why didn’t you speak up sooner?" Tathagata Buddha asked. "Doesn’t delaying this matter just waste time?"

Maitreya Buddha glanced at Bodhisattva Guanyin, then smilingly said, "Originally, Little White Dragon’s role in Journey to the West wasn’t significant, and we chose him only because we needed the support of his Dragon Clan."

"The Dragon Clan places great importance on lineage. Little White Dragon has been at Eagle Sorrow Stream for quite some time, and the Dragon Clan has been attentively overseeing him day and night. If he has suddenly disappeared and the signs of struggle are so evident, how could the Dragon Clan not be aware?"

Bodhisattva Guanyin hadn’t considered that aspect and was somewhat surprised to hear Maitreya Buddha say this.

"Are you suggesting that the Dragon Clan is aware of Little White Dragon’s disappearance? And that they might have staged the battle to help Little White Dragon escape? But didn’t they finalize a deal with the Jade Emperor a hundred years ago? Are they reneging now?"

"These are all just speculations and should not be taken as truth," Maitreya Buddha finished but then backtracked.

At this point, Bodhisattva Guanyin was unsure of Maitreya Buddha’s true stance, so he looked towards Tathagata Buddha, waiting for the Tathagata Buddha to speak.

"As Marshal Tian Peng’s whereabouts remain unknown, let us set this matter aside for now. In the coming days, I and the Future Buddha will deliberate Journey to the West. Bodhisattva, you should cultivate your character and rest for now, and once we find a replacement for Marshal Tian Peng, we will discuss this again," Tathagata Buddha stated.

Since the Buddha Ancestor had spoken, Bodhisattva Guanyin could only follow his words. He bowed to the Buddha Ancestor and then left the great hall.

In the mortal world of Gao Laozhuang, Xuanzang emerged from his chamber early in the morning, to find the servants already waiting outside. Upon seeing Xuanzang, they hurried to greet him, "Master, you’re up. Would you like to wash up? We have prepared clean water for you."

Xuanzang was a bit surprised and quickly said, "Thank you, thank you. Don’t trouble yourselves; I can manage on my own." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Alright, then we will carry the water inside for Master," a servant said, gesturing to another servant holding water behind him.

Xuanzang stepped forward to take the water but was blocked by someone ahead, "Master, let him carry it in for you. The basin is shallow; going back and forth is likely to spill water on the floor."

The point was valid, so Xuanzang did not insist. He stepped aside to let the man pass, thanking him profusely.

After freshening up in the morning, another servant guided Xuanzang to have breakfast. Following the servant to the dining table, Chen Nuo and Sha Wujing were already waiting there.

Seeing Xuanzang coming, they stood up and greeted him with a smile, "Master, how did you sleep last night?"

"Thanks to the donor’s kindness, very well," Xuanzang replied.