Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 747 - 746: Encountering a Demon

If it were just me, I could consider it, since it’s for my own safety, but now I’m not alone—I have my disciples.

So, if we were to travel with others, I’m afraid it wouldn’t be convenient, for this disciple of mine is no ordinary person, and cannot be treated as such in the face of adversity.

Chen Nuo interrupted Xuanzang before he could finish speaking, "I know you are on a journey to seek scriptures, and I’m heading in that direction for business. It’s just that I thought, why not travel together for a while? We can go our separate ways once we reach Wusizang Country."

"I’m quite interested in your past experiences, Master, but as for me, I won’t be renouncing worldly life to embrace Buddhism, so I would like to hear your insights."

To enter Buddhism, it means to sever all ties with the mundane world, unless one truly sees through the illusions of life or, like him, was born and raised in a Buddhist environment.

For ordinary people from the secular world to join Buddhism, it’s not an easy task at all. The hardest part is to overcome the barrier within their hearts. Most people, like this Donor here, are highly interested in Buddhism, but they will not cut ties with the material world.

But even if you don’t let him join Buddhism, just sharing Buddhist scriptures with him could still be considered preaching.

After all, this was part of Xuanzang’s mission on his western journey, so hearing Chen Nuo’s suggestion, he agreed.

"Since the Donor is interested in the matters of Buddhism, then I will travel with the Donor. If there is anything you wish to understand along the way, I will tell you," Xuanzang said.

"In that case, I truly appreciate it, Master," Chen Nuo said happily.

The Six-Eared Macaque was indeed displeased, but since his master had already agreed to the others, there was no other choice.

In the past few days, Xuanzang had been reciting scriptures in his room. The Six-Eared Macaque still had many doubts in his mind, so he was by no means idle, always observing everyone here in secret.

But indeed, just as Chen Nuo said, they were preparing to sell pastries. These few days, they had been busy in the house preparing the pastries, leaving no stone unturned, whether in their preparations or otherwise, indeed looking like they were about to embark on a trip to sell pastries.

After a few days, once everything was ready, they began to set off toward Wusizang Country to sell the pastries.

They had a carriage ready, with goods pulled by horses; Chen Nuo sat inside the carriage, while Sha Wujing led the horses at the front.

The Six-Eared Macaque looked at this setup and felt something was off. Although the amount of goods wasn’t huge, they were all from wealthy families, so why didn’t they even have a coachman?

The two brothers were always just the two of them, driving a carriage with goods in tow, still the same two brothers.

"No offense, Donor, but with all this merchandise, wouldn’t it be wiser to hire some armed escort? Just the two of you traveling together, isn’t that dangerous?" the Six-Eared Macaque looked at their setup and asked.

"Why hire an armed escort?" Chen Nuo countered. "Isn’t this fine? Look at my brother’s stature. Could an armed escort be more reliable than him?"

The Six-Eared Macaque looked at Sha Wujing’s large and imposing figure; Chen Nuo wasn’t wrong—indeed, there was no one quite like him.

The Six-Eared Macaque looked at Chen Nuo, feeling that something was a little too strange. This person was too flawless in his performance, no matter how he probed from different angles, he couldn’t find anything amiss.

Xuanzang was naive, having already decided that Chen Nuo was not a bad person. Additionally, after spending a couple of days together with Chen Nuo maintaining the same demeanor, Xuanzang had firmly concluded that the other party came from a well-off and well-educated family.

From Gao Laozhuang to Wusizang Country was quite a short distance, merely a hundred miles, which could be traversed in two or three days.

Throughout the journey, Chen Nuo would invite Xuanzang into the carriage to teach him Scripture Studies.

He listened very carefully, and even when he didn’t understand something, he would ask about it once or twice more, which made the nature of Xuanzang’s teachings especially profound. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

It wasn’t just Scripture Studies; Chen Nuo could also respond fluently to other topics. The two conversed cheerfully, and in just two or three days, they swiftly arrived at Wusizang Country.

Here, Chen Nuo separated from Xuanzang, one heading west and the other north, in different directions, thus parting ways at this location.

Watching Chen Nuo’s carriage slowly disappear into the distance, Xuanzang silently recited scriptures for Chen Nuo, praying for his safety along the way.

"Master, it seems you quite enjoyed talking to that mortal," Six-Eared Macaque said coolly. "But it’s also fortunate that he separated from us here; otherwise, I would have really mistaken him for a demon."

"You monkey, I know you are always on guard, but isn’t your vigilance a bit too high sometimes? How can you always suspect that this one’s a demon, that one’s a demon?"

Xuanzang couldn’t help but retort to Six-Eared Macaque, mainly because he truly enjoyed his conversations with Chen Nuo, even feeling a sense of camaraderie. To hear Six-Eared Macaque talk about others like that, Xuanzang was indeed a bit displeased.

"Master, it’s a good thing to be vigilant. I’d rather misjudge ten than to overlook one," said Six-Eared Macaque.

This statement was indeed correct, so Xuanzang simply shook his head in resignation, but he didn’t persist in arguing with Six-Eared Macaque over this matter.

As they continued on their way, they suddenly felt a gust of wind ahead, carrying sand and soil that turned the sky a dull yellow.

"Wukong, what... what on earth is going on?" Xuanzang could barely open his eyes, the sandstorm was so severe. Why was the soil here blowing up into the air like this?

Even Six-Eared Macaque nearly had his eyes blinded by the wind. Although he had excellent hearing, the roaring wind drowned out other sounds, making it difficult for him to detect what was happening outside.

"Master, I don’t know why the sandstorm here is so fierce; perhaps it’s just today’s weather. Since that’s the case, Master, I suggest you keep your head down and refrain from looking up, as you don’t need to watch the road while riding the horse," Six-Eared Macaque advised.

Xuanzang thought Six-Eared Macaque’s advice sounded reasonable, so he bowed his head and moved forward without looking up, allowing the white horse to lead the way.

The white horse’s thick eyelashes shielded it from the sand, and even amidst such a storm, it still managed to lead Xuanzang forward.

But Six-Eared Macaque wasn’t so lucky. His eyes were no better than a normal human’s, and the only extraordinary sense he had, his hearing, was useless in this situation, causing him great anxiety.

And with no other choice, he could only lead the horse forward, hoping to get past this storm.

Later on, Six-Eared Macaque finally realized something was amiss. He extended his Spiritual Sense to check the surroundings and discovered something unusual.

It seemed they had encountered a demon.

"Do not be afraid, Master; it appears we have encountered a demon now. Do not worry," said Six-Eared Macaque, attempting to comfort his master, not realizing that his comforts were more unsettling than reassuring. Without them, Tang Monk might not have been scared at all, thinking it was just the foul weather.

"Ah? A demon, Wukong, what do we do, Wukong?" Xuanzang was slightly afraid, wondering what the demon was up to.