Chapter 115: Spoiling the Journey to the West All the Way to the End

Taking a sip of tea, Chu Xiaoyu turned his gaze toward the monkey. "You have come in such a rush; is there something the matter?"

As Chu Xiaoyu asked this, he caught Sun Wukong’s monkey eyes darting about restlessly. The Monkey King gave a start and hurriedly replied, "Reporting to the Immortal Master, your disciple has returned this time because... ahem..."

With the group of people sitting around, Sun Wukong suddenly felt a bit embarrassed to speak.

"Ha! Could it be that your Universe Bag is empty once again?" Chu Xiaoyu saw through the monkey's fidgety, bashful demeanor at a glance. "Speak up, how are things going on your journey to the West?"

Sun Wukong scratched his head, glanced at King Zhou and the others, and still spoke with some hesitation. "The situation I encountered on the journey to the West is exactly as the Immortal Master predicted."

"I gave the White Dragon Horse that the Immortal Master bestowed upon me to Xuanzang as his mount. The beast actually gets along quite well with that monk."

"After traveling ten miles westward, we finally arrived at a place called Guanyin Temple."

"Immortal Master, guess what? Hehe, your prophecy was spot on. The monks hiding in that temple were indeed a group of cold-blooded thieves." At this point, Sun Wukong became incredibly excited. "Fortunately, having received the Immortal Master's prophecy beforehand, I was on guard; otherwise, I would have truly suffered a great loss at their hands."

"After entering the temple, they immediately set their sights on the monk’s silk cassock, intending to kill us and steal our belongings. Hehe, but... in the end, I killed them all with a single strike of my staff."

"Ah! Great Sage Sun, does that mean all those monks were killed by your staff?" Bi Gan looked surprised, clearly admiring the monkey's decisive actions.

"Of course! Thieves and villains like that—who knows how many passing merchants or travelers have fallen victim to their cruelty? My killing them was merely upholding justice for the heavens."

Because of this matter, the monk Tang even gave him the cold shoulder for a while. Sun Wukong had always scoffed at the monk’s mercy. If someone is about to kill you, and you don't know how to resist, but instead obediently stretch out your neck for them to swing their blade—that is the behavior of an idiot! Such foolishness was something he, Sun Wukong, could never do.

"Heaven and Earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs; why should I show you mercy?"

"Then we arrived at a place called Gao Village. Everything was just as you predicted, Immortal Master. There really was a pig demon with blue skin and fangs, wreaking havoc on the neighbors."

"Your disciple has strictly followed your instructions, Immortal Master, not daring to be the least bit negligent. After some maneuvering, I finally had the monk Tang take the pig demon as his disciple."

After his long account, Sun Wukong felt his throat go dry. He picked up his teacup and gulped down the tea like a cow drinking water. He continued, "After subduing the pig demon, we continued our journey. One day, we arrived at the foot of a mountain. Everything was as you predicted; there was a cave dwelling inhabited by a yellow wind demon. I did not forget your instructions, Immortal Master, and went directly to invite the Bodhisattva Lingji, thus subduing the ferret."

"Hehe, Immortal Master, what kind of monsters will I encounter next? Please, enlighten me."

*If only I had the same amazing foresight as my Grandmaster,* the monkey thought, *I could plan ahead and beat all the demons and monsters on the road until they wet their pants.*

Chu Xiaoyu sipped his tea slowly, seemingly not hearing the monkey's question. King Zhou, Su Hu, and Bi Gan were also acting as if it were none of their business, sipping their tea languidly.

Sun Wukong waited for a long while, but seeing no reaction from Chu Xiaoyu, he grew anxious. "Immortal Master... please, give your disciple some guidance."

*There is shade under a big tree,* the ancients were right. With the Immortal Master's protection and predictions, he could breeze through the journey like a cheat code. Having tasted the sweetness of this, the monkey had to rely on the Immortal Master to keep the advantage.

"Immortal Master..."

"Don't be so impatient. Haste makes waste. I was just thinking about something." Chu Xiaoyu was deliberately being coy.

The monkey couldn't help but ask, "Then may I ask, Immortal Master, what were you thinking about?"

"I was thinking..." Chu Xiaoyu’s lips curled into a profound arc. "If I spoil everything for you, then the so-called 'Eighty-One Tribulations' of the monk Tang will turn into 'Eighty-One Smooth Passages.' Tell me, what will the Big-Eared Buddha far away in the West think? Will he hold a grudge against me for intervening and disrupting his interesting game?"

"Uh... why would the Immortal Master say that?" Sun Wukong felt conflicted.

Watching the scene quietly, King Zhou could finally no longer restrain himself. "Sir, the Buddha of the West you speak of—compared to the Goddess Nuwa, who is more powerful?"

Recalling his time in the temple, where he had merely praised the statue of Nuwa and subsequently suffered her cruel revenge—the destruction of his Shang Dynasty—he felt a hatred that meant he and Nuwa would always be at odds.

"Uh... I can only tell you this: you are all playing from different scripts, so there is no way to compare."

"Different scripts? This..." King Zhou’s face took on a strange expression. He was utterly confused, as were Su Hu and Bi Gan. Only Su Daji, standing by his side, seemed to grasp the subtext of Chu Xiaoyu's words, her agate-like eyes flickering gently.

"Oh, please don't interrupt! Immortal Master, please tell me, what should your disciple do next?"

*Heh! The Big-Eared Buddha of the West?* Last time he was pinned under the Five Elements Mountain, the Immortal Master had directly pulled out the Universe Bag to break the spell cast by the Buddha. In the end, the Buddha had retreated to the West, and the Immortal Master had rescued him. Comparing the two, the Immortal Master's power must surely be above the Buddha's.

"Forget it. Since I have already spoiled the plot once, there will be a second time, a third, and even... countless times."

"Next, you will arrive at a place called Flowing Sand River. Living in the river is a monster known as the Sand Demon."

"This monster was originally a Curtain-Lifting General in the Heavenly Palace, but he was banished to the mortal realm for violating heavenly law. Every seven days, he suffers the agony of a thousand arrows piercing his heart. Life is worse than death, so he occupies the Flowing Sand River, causing trouble and devouring passersby."