Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

"Holy Monk, take care on your Journey to the West. I, I will pray for your well-being day and night in Yunzhai Cave…"

Outside Yunzhai Cave, Second Sister Luan's face was filled with reluctance as she spoke to Jiang Liu.

Although spending several days in Yunzhai Cave was an extraordinary fortune, if possible, Second Sister Luan still wished to keep him there for as many days as she could.

Of course, if it were possible for him to stay forever, that would be even better.

"Thank you, Second Sister. I too wish for you to be blessed with longevity and good health!" Sitting on the back of the White Dragon Horse, Jiang Liu turned his body and said the same to Second Sister Luan.

"Master, are we leaving just like that? Aren't we going to stay a few more days?" Zhu Bajie beside him, however, had a face full of reluctance.

"I would also like to stay a few more days, but, Guanyin has already visited Yunzhai Cave once. If there is nothing for me to do here, yet I deliberately dawdle and refuse to set out, how can I justify that? If we must dawdle, we ought to have an excuse, right?" Zhu Bajie's words made Jiang Liu silently sigh with resignation in his heart.

"Let's go!" Without saying much, Jiang Liu spoke up.

As his words fell, the White Dragon Horse intuitively understood Jiang Liu's intention, turned, and trotted off into the distance, with Sun Wukong following silently behind without uttering a word.

After turning his head back to look at Second Sister Luan, Zhu Bajie hesitated for a moment and said, "Second Sister, I am leaving. If it's fated, I hope we get the chance to meet again." Continue your journey at empire

Having pursued Second Sister Luan for a considerable time now, Zhu Bajie truly felt reluctant to leave her so suddenly.

"You go. I hope you can ensure the Holy Monk's safety throughout your journey!" She nodded her head, much colder towards Zhu Bajie than towards Jiang Liu, but with their impending departure, she wasn't as cold as before.

However, while speaking with Zhu Bajie, Second Sister Luan's gaze still lingered on the figure mounted on the white horse.

"Sigh…"

Sensing that Second Sister Luan's heart was entirely fixated on Jiang Liu, Zhu Bajie sighed with a sense of helplessness and then turned to quickly catch up to Jiang Liu.

...

"Master, I, Old Pig, am tired. We should stop and rest a bit, right? Look, it's been a month since we left Yunzhai Cave, and we've traveled seven or eight hundred li. I, Old Pig, am so tired I've lost weight," Zhu Bajie, carrying the Nine-Toothed Rake, suddenly called out loudly to Jiang Liu.

The disciples were strolling along leisurely, looking more like they were out for a spring outing than hurrying on a journey.

"Oh dear, you lazy pig, which day do you not complain about being tired seven or eight times? At your pace, when will we ever reach the Western Heaven?"

Sitting atop the White Dragon Horse, Jiang Liu heard Zhu Bajie complain of tiredness again and turned his head to scold him in a stern voice.

Yet, as soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Liu shook his head helplessly and said, "There's no helping it, who asked you to be my disciple? I can't be cruel to you, can I? Since you say you're tired, let's rest for a Chinese Hour."

Despite his reluctant expression, Jiang Liu dismounted quickly and cleanly.

"Master, actually, there's no need to rest that long. Just half an hour will be enough for me, Old Pig!" said Zhu Bajie, feeling touched yet guilty as Jiang Liu dismounted, and after hesitating, he added.

"No! When I say a Chinese Hour, it's a Chinese Hour!" Jiang Liu's expression, however, was very serious, and he left no chance for Zhu Bajie to argue.

While talking, Jiang Liu sat down cross-legged on the grass nearby and began to practice the Heavenly Dragon Zen Sound cultivation technique.

"Master…"

Seeing Jiang Liu resting on the grass, Zhu Bajie felt deeply moved, and at the same time, he became confident about his own future.

Although at the beginning, he had begged and cried to become the disciple of the Master who seemed completely reluctant to accept him, it almost seemed as if he didn't like Zhu Bajie at all; however, observing him over the days, Zhu Bajie realized the Master was a man with a mouth as sharp as a knife but a heart as soft as tofu.

Although he appeared to dislike him on the surface, his actions showed great care and concern.

For example, when he claimed to be tired and wanted to rest, no matter how many times he said it, the Master tolerated him.

In a month's time, they had only traveled seven or eight hundred li, and the Master showed no intention of blaming him, which moved Zhu Bajie's heart tremendously.

Moreover, to take care of him, even when they set out, the Master specifically instructed the White Dragon Horse to slow down!

"It's great, if the Master really likes me this much, then he will surely pass down a few tricks to me, right? Just think, beautiful fairies and female demons throwing themselves at me, what a life that would be…"

Thinking of how much the Master liked him, Zhu Bajie's mind was filled with visions of the future when he'd received the Master's teachings. Like Second Sister Luan, all sorts of fairies and female demons would flock to him, and he felt as if he was floating on clouds.

"What are you daydreaming about, you fool?" Sun Wukong, who happened to see Zhu Bajie's unbearable lascivious (silly) expression, was annoyed and scolded as he grabbed Zhu Bajie's ear.

"What are you doing, you monkey? You're just jealous of me, Old Pig!" Zhu Bajie, having his daydream abruptly ended by Sun Wukong pulling his ear, retorted bluntly.

"Jealous of me? What is there to be jealous about!?" Zhu Bajie's words were met with a moment of stunned surprise from Sun Wukong.

"You're just jealous because Master likes me a lot, and that's why you can't stand me, right!?" An irritated Zhu Bajie, with his ear being tugged, retorted.

"Master likes me a lot? Where did that come from!?" Sun Wukong looked utterly baffled, having no idea where Zhu Bajie's confidence stemmed from.

"Isn't it obvious? Along our journey, Master has taken very good care of me, Old Pig. Whenever I said I was tired, Master would reluctantly stop for me to rest, even if he didn't really want to. Isn't that liking me? You're jealous, that's why you can't stand the sight of me, Old Pig!" Zhu Bajie declared with a self-assured expression to Sun Wukong.

"Hmm, Second Brother is right," the White Dragon Horse, who was lying on the grass resting, overheard Zhu Bajie's words and silently nodded in agreement.

Contrary to the White Dragon Horse, Sun Wukong and Jiang Liu were on the same page, and thus Sun Wukong clearly understood the real reason why Jiang Liu was dragging his feet on their westward journey.

Watching Zhu Bajie swelling with overconfidence, the corner of Sun Wukong's mouth twitched slightly.

All of a sudden, Sun Wukong remembered something Jiang Liu often liked to say to him and couldn't help but retort, "You blockhead, a brain is a good thing to have, and I hope someday you'll actually use yours!"

Pfft…

Jiang Liu, who was nearby meditating, hadn't fully entered into meditation and naturally overheard the conversation between Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie. At this point, he almost couldn't help but laugh out loud.

This monkey sure is quick to apply what he learns.

Shaking his head silently and paying no mind to the bickering between his fellow disciples, Jiang Liu became fully immersed in his own cultivation as time ticked by, second by second.

Experience Points +3.

Experience Points +3.

Experience Points +3.

…

As Jiang Liu cultivated, the True Yuan within him circulated continually, completing eighty-one complete cycles, and then settling down. After one more round of cultivation, he vaguely felt his cultivation level had grown a bit stronger.

"Alright, it's about time. Let's continue our journey!" After gaining roughly another 2000 Experience Points from his cultivation session, a refreshed Jiang Liu stood up and announced.

Next to him, Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie were both resting, clearly, their argument wouldn't have lasted a full Chinese Hour.

Thus, after another hour or so, a tall and majestic mountain appeared in front of Jiang Liu and the others.

The closer they got to the mountain, the more Jiang Liu felt the temperature rise. This was odd considering the time of year it was.

By the calendar, it was now January. Just a month ago when they had first arrived at Gao Family Village, they had witnessed the first snowfall. With a month passed, the weather should be getting colder.

However, in these recent days, Jiang Liu felt that the temperature was strangely high, as if it was almost summer again.

"Wukong, have you noticed that it hasn't rained at all in the last half month? The weather has been unnaturally dry. How about we summon a refreshing rain shower?"

After removing his Golden Cicada Buddha Robe and using his hand to fan himself, Jiang Liu suggested.

The Dragon Soul Bracelet's passive effect was to call forth rain, and he had yet to try it out.

"Master, don't!"

But as soon as Jiang Liu finished speaking, Zhu Bajie suddenly interrupted, advising, "Ahead lies Foutu Mountain, which is perpetually like a scorching summer all year round. It is home to Zen Master Wuchao, who seems to dislike rain intensely. Since we are just passing through, it might be best not to cause any trouble."

"Foutu Mountain!? There's one here too?" Hearing Zhu Bajie's words, Jiang Liu immediately thought of the Foutu Mountain within the Great Tang's borders, though of course, these two mountains merely share the same name.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Zen Master Wuchao!? I don't seem to recall such a character, at least not in the most popular television adaptation of 'Journey to the West' from my previous life," Jiang Liu pondered quietly.

"Pfft, what Zen Master Wuchao? Isn't he just a Demon Kind? If he dares to cause trouble, it will be a good chance for I, Old Sun, who's itching for action!" Sun Wukong, on the other hand, was fearless and shook his head defiantly.

"Don't talk nonsense, you monkey. Despite being a Loose Cultivator, Zen Master Wuchao possesses vast Divine Skills…"

"Vast Divine Skills? Well, that's perfect; I, Old Sun, have been itching to fight a deity with vast divine skills!"

Sun Wukong was eager for a fight, laughing out loud with the posture of someone looking to stir up trouble.

"A Zen Master Wuchao with vast Divine Skills, huh? Could he possibly be stronger than Sun Wukong? Besides, isn't Zhu Bajie right there as well? It might not be so bad to stir things up; the more powerful the divine skills, the better the loot he might drop!"

Not only was Sun Wukong full of Fighting Spirit, even Jiang Liu was itching to give it a try.

(PS: I haven't been begging for monthly tickets at the end of the chapters for two days, and I've noticed a sharp decline in monthly tickets. It brings me to tears. I'm begging for monthly tickets, so many monthly tickets, whimper…)