Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

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A platter lay before him, adorned with meats, vegetables, and fruits, which the White Dragon Horse ate with measured grace.

Though he had taken the form of a white horse, he was in essence the third prince of the Western Sea Dragon King, and he ate with an elegance that far surpassed Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie's manners.

However, upon hearing Jiang Liu's words, the White Dragon Horse momentarily paused mid-chew and turned around, "Master, did you say? You have met my uncle before?"

"Indeed, it was the day before he was killed when I was in Chang'an City..."

Jiang Liu nodded slightly, his mind seemingly transported back to that day before Yuan Shoucheng's fortune-telling stand, where the middle-aged scholar incarnation of the Dragon King of Jing River made a bet with Yuan Shoucheng after having received a quiet hint from Jiang Liu himself. Sensing something, the Dragon King of Jing River had then taken his leave.

Afterward, Jiang Liu entered the Imperial Palace where he happened to meet Yuan Tiangang, who shamefully admitted that his uncle Yuan Shoucheng was nothing but a trickster exploiting his fame.

"Master, what exactly happened at that time?" Hearing Jiang Liu's words, the White Dragon Horse's gaze turned serious and tense, and he stopped eating.

For the White Dragon Horse, the purpose of his journey westward was to investigate the mysterious circumstances of his uncle's death. Now, it seemed he might be able to glean some clues?

"The situation at the time had its mysteries..."

Since Jiang Liu had decided to chat with the White Dragon Horse, he naturally didn't hold back, recounting everything he witnessed and heard that day without omitting a single detail.

Of course, because he knew the original story, he understood what happened, but Jiang Liu chose not to reveal the truth outright.

After all, it would mean something entirely different for the White Dragon Horse to discover the peculiarities of the case and deduce the truth himself than if Jiang Liu simply told him.

"Originally, I thought your uncle, with his thoughtful expression, might come to understand something, but unexpectedly, the very next day, he was murdered. His huge dragon head even fell from the clouds, causing a sensation among the citizens of Chang'an!" At the end of his recount, Jiang Liu sighed softly.

"As I suspected, there is indeed something very mysterious behind this incident!"

Although Jiang Liu didn't tell the White Dragon Horse the complete truth, just knowing the events that transpired allowed the White Dragon Horse to infer that his uncle's death was indeed fraught with oddities. This further solidified the suspicions he originally had.

"Yuan Shoucheng? Is he the root of all this?" The White Dragon Horse murmured softly to himself before shaking his head. No, that's not right, his master had said that Yuan Shoucheng was but a charlatan.

How could such a mere mortal possibly have foreknowledge of the Jade Emperor's decree?

The implications behind this were far more terrifying than he had imagined.

If his uncle's death had been odd, investigating the truth behind it would be the next step.

But the implications suggested by the incident made the White Dragon Horse feel like it was anything but ordinary.

After all, could a mere mortal have advance knowledge of the Jade Emperor's decree? The premature disclosure of the Jade Emperor's will was no trivial matter!

The White Dragon Horse fell into silence, clearly digesting the shocking news. The mere fact of the Jade Emperor's intent being leaked in advance was enough to make anyone aware of a great unseen force driving the course of events behind the scenes.

Unbelievable – even though his uncle, the Dragon King of Jing River, held a distinguished status, he was merely an Earth Immortal. Who could it be that would go to such lengths to kill him?

No matter who was behind it, the ability to foreknow the Jade Emperor's decree indicated an extraordinary status. To uncover the truth and face the reality seemed even more difficult than he had imagined.

Jiang Liu sat quietly to one side, not disturbing the White Dragon Horse's contemplation.

The White Dragon Horse naturally had no knowledge of the grand scheme of their Journey to the West, but through this event, he had begun to vaguely perceive the tip of the iceberg.

"Master, do you, do you know more about what's behind all this?" After a long silence, the White Dragon Horse suddenly spoke up and asked Jiang Liu.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"What makes you think so?" Jiang Liu questioned in return.

"If you hadn't noticed the essence of it all early on, why then did you pretend to be indifferent while subtly hinting something to my uncle?" the White Dragon Horse responded, his voice deep.

This statement caused Jiang Liu to fall silent for a moment, offering no denial, but instead nodding slightly and saying, "Indeed, I know. And not just a little but a great deal – much more than you can imagine!"

"Then, Master, can you tell me?" The response from Jiang Liu excited the White Dragon Horse.

His goal in going to the Western Heaven to be officially recognized wasn't just for the status and position; more importantly, he wanted to uncover the truth behind his uncle's death. With the truth seemingly within reach, he naturally desired to get to the bottom of it.

"No, the truth of this matter is something you must discover on your own!" However, instead of complying with the White Dragon Horse's request, Jiang Liu shook his head, denying him an answer.

Even though Jiang Liu knew that the White Dragon Horse, upon learning the truth, might very likely side with him and become an ally, he never entertained the idea of revealing the truth to him.

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After all, what one casually declares and what one investigates with countless efforts are decidedly different in significance.

More importantly, it was through his own gradual investigation that he would gain a deeper understanding of the grand scheme of the Journey to the West, and when he finally arrived in Western Heaven, he would have his own clear judgment.

All I could do was to guide him to investigate the truth himself.

Hearing Jiang Liu's refusal, White Dragon Horse naturally felt very disappointed, but anyway, at least the master had already hinted at some clues for him, which, to him, was already a tremendous gain.

After pondering for a moment with his head lowered, White Dragon Horse still sincerely thanked Jiang Liu.

"Right, you should rest early. We might need to set off on our journey tomorrow!" Having said what needed to be said, Jiang Liu didn't rush to mention the matter of the Dragon King of Jing River's soul in his hands and simply patted White Dragon Horse's back lightly, stood up, and returned to Yunzhai Cave.

The dinner banquet could only be described as a joyous affair for both host and guest. Second Sister Luan felt deeply moved at the opportunity to personally taste the dishes cooked by Master Xuanzang, and they were so delicious that if word got out, it would surely make countless female demons and even fairies envious.

In short, this event alone might be enough for her to boast about for the rest of her life.

As for Zhu Bajie and Sun Wukong? The two of them also enjoyed eating very much; it's just that their natural rivalry was on full display at the dinner table, with incessant arguing.

Although this made the banquet a bit chaotic, it also added to the liveliness.

After returning to Yunzhai Cave, Jiang Liu checked the stone chamber and found that Zhu Bajie, having eaten his fill, was already sound asleep, snoring loudly.

And what of Sun Wukong? He lay there, his tail flicking back and forth from behind his butt, which seemed to indicate he was in a very good mood.

Jiang Liu felt very satisfied with today's performance of the True and False Monkey King; the reason being that he had successfully dispelled Guanyin's doubts.

Otherwise, if Guanyin were to discover his interest in the Dragon King of Jing River's soul, wouldn't it reveal to Guanyin that he had at least begun to doubt the entire Journey to the West scheme?

After all, he had always shown that he knew nothing, contently playing his part as a chess piece in this grand plan.

The Golden Hoop that he had demanded, on the other hand, was merely a small, incidental gain!

Thinking of the Golden Hoop, Jiang Liu took it out and examined it closely. Indeed, there was some difference between the Golden Hoop and the Tight Hood.

The Tight Hood, when placed on the head and followed by the chanting of a mantra, would cause excruciating headaches to the wearer, who then couldn't attack the chanter.

This was why in the original story, Sun Wukong rolled on the ground in agony yet could not bring himself to kill the Tang Monk with his staff.

Otherwise, even in severe pain, couldn't Sun Wukong, by enduring the agony, simply kill the Tang Monk with one blow and end it all?

However, the Golden Hoop was entirely different. Chanting the mantra would still cause terrible headaches, but in addition, it had the effect of controlling the target's actions and behavior.

"So, if I chant the Mantra, I could use the other party like a puppet?" Looking at the Golden Hoop's attribute information, Jiang Liu's mind stirred as he recalled how Red Boy in the original story was confined with such a hoop.

Once on the head, the hoop split into five, encircling the head and limbs. Then, it seemed that Guanyin could force Red Boy into a seated position with his legs crossed and hands together, rendered motionless.

It seemed this hoop was the same one that would have been placed on Red Boy's head in the original story.

"And I wonder what effect the final Prohibited Hoop would have?" After pondering for a moment, Jiang Liu's thoughts drifted to the last hoop, the Prohibited Hoop.

Tathagata had passed down three hoops, intending for each of his three disciples to wear one. However, in the original story, Guanyin greedily kept two for herself, placing them on the Black Bear Demon and Red Boy respectively.

From a certain perspective, if these two hoops weren't of great value, they wouldn't have incited Guanyin's greed, right?

Similarly, Sun Wukong also felt satisfied with the day's performance of True and False Monkey King.

Unlike Jiang Liu's matter of gains, Sun Wukong's delight was very straightforward—it was simply because he had followed his master's plan and successfully deceived Guanyin.

Being able to fool Guanyin and make her go round in circles was a truly joyous matter for Sun Wukong.

"Not bad, not bad. This Little Monk's wisdom is indeed remarkable. What did he say his nickname was? Holmes? This doesn't seem like mere bragging. The Journey to the West from now on might just be more interesting..."

Knowing that Jiang Liu's goal was the same as his own—to overturn all the heavenly deities and Buddhas—Sun Wukong's anticipation for the Journey to the West grew even stronger.