Chapter 168: Even the Fire Spirit is helpless

After leaving the Tiger Cave, Sun Wukong went back to find Xiao Bailong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Seng.

Xiaobailong had been hit on the back by the Tiannie Sword before, but now he has recovered with the help of Zhu Bajie and Sha Seng. Seeing Sun Wukong returning, the three brothers hurried to meet him.

“Big Brother.” Little White Dragon asked, “How is Master?”

Sun Wukong sighed and said, “Hey, that monster turned out to be an acquaintance of mine. He was defeated by me, Sun Wukong, and hid in his cave and won’t come out. Master hasn’t rescued him yet.”

Xiao Bailong was surprised and asked, “An acquaintance? Senior Brother, who is it?”

Sun Wukong said helplessly: “That monster is a vanguard of my uncle’s mansion. I don’t know why he came to the mortal world as a demon. Although he captured Master today, I don’t think he will harm us. But the journey to obtain the scriptures will be delayed again.”

“Oh?” Zhu Bajie was surprised when he heard it, “Is it the vanguard in Lingtai Zhenjun’s mansion? I remember there were two vanguards in Lingtai Zhenjun’s mansion, a tiger vanguard and a snake vanguard. Which one is this one?”

Sun Wukong said: “It’s the Tiger Vanguard.”

Hearing this, Xiao Bailong on the side suddenly said: “No wonder his sword seems familiar to me, isn’t that the Heavenly Sin Sword?”

When the big black demon caused trouble in the West Sea, he was holding the Tiannie Sword in his hand. Little White Dragon, as the Dragon Prince of the West Sea, also suffered a great loss at the hands of the Tiannie Sword.

He felt somewhat familiar with it just now, and now after hearing what Sun Wukong said, Xiao Bailong immediately remembered it.

“When Master Lingtai took this sword away, he should have given it to this Tiger Vanguard.” said the little white dragon.

Zhu Bajie rolled his eyes and said, “Brother Monkey, since the crime was committed by an acquaintance and he is your uncle’s subordinate, then this matter has a mastermind, right?”

Sun Wukong said, “I came back just to tell you about this. I’m going to find my uncle and tell him what happened. You three brothers can find a place to settle down first.”

Sha Monk said: “In this desolate wilderness, we can only find a cave to stay temporarily.”

Sun Wukong smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Junior Brother Sha. There is a manor a few hills ahead. There are two old ladies in the manor. You can stay with them for the night.”

After saying that, Sun Wukong said to the three of them, “Three junior brothers, please follow me.”

After Tang Seng’s death, the four brothers were no longer restrained and flew into the sky. Soon they arrived in front of the manor house.

“What a luxurious mansion! This must not be an ordinary home.” Sha Seng said as he looked at the mansion in front of him.

Sun Wukong smiled and did not tell the three of them what he had discovered. He just said, “It seems that there are only two old ladies in the mansion. Don’t offend them when you meet them later.”

Zhu Bajie said: “Monkeys are just talkative, what’s wrong with us being ignorant barbarians?”

Xiao Bailong said: “Third Junior Brother, you must not be rude to the eldest senior brother.”

Zhu Bajie said, “Second Brother, you are a modest gentleman. When you have completed your quest for the sutra and returned to the Tang Dynasty, I will ask Master to ask the King of Tang to find you a princess as your wife.”

Xiao Bailong’s face darkened, and he said, “Third Junior Brother, I have converted to Buddhism. I am sincere, so why would I want a wife?”

Zhu Bajie said: “If you don’t get a wife, it would be a pity for your white jade face.”

Little White Dragon sighed helplessly, and Sha Seng said from behind: “Third Brother, I think you want to get a wife? Why, you still can’t forget the girl in Gao Village?”

Little White Dragon laughed and said, “There are many people he can’t forget, otherwise why would he look up at the moon every night?”

After being poked in the heart twice by Sha Seng and Xiao Bailong, Zhu Bajie immediately stopped and kept silent.

By this time, Sun Wukong had already called for the door to be opened, and when the door opened, two old ladies walked out one after the other.

The old woman in front saw Sun Wukong and immediately laughed, “It’s you? Did you invite your master here?”

Sun Wukong bowed his hands, then smiled and said, “Master, I haven’t come yet. I was in a hurry when I visited you last time, so I was rude not to ask you. What are your names?”

“Humph, you monkey, you are so polite today, I guess you have something to ask of you, right? Ah?” The old woman said with a smile, and then introduced: “My last name is Guan, you can just call me Granny Guan.”

Then Granny Guan pointed to the old woman behind her and said, “This is my sister, her last name is Li, you can just call her Granny Li.”

Sun Wukong first called Grandma Guan, then Grandma Li, and then he called Little White Dragon, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Seng over and introduced them one by one.

Granny Li looked at the three people and said, “Only the one with horns on its head looks handsome. This pig is the ugliest.”

Zhu Bajie was dissatisfied when he heard this: “As the saying goes, ‘A coarse willow winnowing basket and a fine willow bucket, who in the world would think a man is ugly?’ Besides, I am ugly, but I am quite capable.”

Granny Li snorted and then asked Sun Wukong, “Are you looking for a place to stay?”

Sun Wukong said: “Please give me some convenience, both of you ladies.”

Granny Li and Granny Guan looked at each other, and Granny Li said, “It’s not difficult to ask you to stay overnight, but we two old ladies are old, and we can’t handle some of the things in the farm. I don’t care how long you stay, but you have to help us with the work in the farm.”

When Sun Wukong heard this, he immediately laughed and said, “That’s fine, isn’t it just work? We have plenty of strength, plenty of strength!”

Granny Li nodded and said, “Well, in that case, you can come in.”

After saying this, Granny Li and Granny Guan called Sun Wukong and the other three in, arranged housing and meals for them, and instructed them on various chores in the farm.

It only took Sun Wukong, Xiao Bailong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Seng half a day to complete all the big and small tasks in the village.

After explaining things to Granny Li and Granny Guan, Sun Wukong flew out of the manor and went straight to heaven.

Sun Wukong first came to the residence of Jade Extreme Lord of the First Heaven, where he met the Demon Subduing Assistant Liu Yan and the Great Sage Huang Feng. When he learned that Zhuang Yan had not returned, he bid farewell and left, then descended to the mortal world and headed towards Lingtai Mountain.

When we arrived at Danchi Ridge of Lingtai Mountain, the True Immortal Huo Ling was bringing Hu Lailai and Hu Ququ to prune peach trees.

When Sun Wukong saw this, he immediately raised a gust of wind and captured Hu Lailai and Hu Ququ. Then he used his magic power to tie them to a tree, picked up a cut peach branch and started spanking them.

The two brothers screamed in pain as they were beaten, and Sun Wukong cursed Tiger Vanguard as he beat them, and the more he cursed, the more he beat them.

Hu Lailai shouted loudly: “Bima Wen, you beat us for no reason, why did you scold our father?”

Sun Wukong said: “Not only will I scold you, I will also beat you. Unfortunately, I can’t beat your unlucky father now, so I can only take it out on his two sons.”

“Sooner or later, I will pluck out all your monkey hair, you damned monkey.” Hu Ququ also cursed back.

As Sun Wukong was fighting, Fire Spirit Immortal came over and said, “Wukong, what’s wrong with you? You always come over to fight.”

When Sun Wukong heard what the Fire Spirit said, he immediately complained. He threw away the peach branch in his hand, bowed, and then said, “Sister Fire Spirit, I was wondering why these two little guys wanted to become monsters. Now I understand. It turns out that the upper beam is not straight, and the lower beam is crooked.”

The Fire Spirit Immortal looked serious and asked, “Wukong, what are you talking about?”

Sun Wukong was stunned for a moment, then quickly waved his hand and said, “Don’t misunderstand, Sister Huo Ling, I’m not talking about my uncle, nor you, I’m talking about their father, Tiger.”

“Tiger Vanguard?” Fire Spirit Immortal asked in surprise, “How did he offend you?”

“Hey.” Sun Wukong said immediately, “This bastard went down to the mortal world to make trouble and captured my master. I tried to talk to him out of kindness, but he not only didn’t listen, he also used his cave to mess with me. I came to my uncle to complain.”

At this point, Sun Wukong asked, “Sister Huo Ling, is my uncle in the mansion?”

Fire Spirit True Immortal nodded and said, “The True Lord is in the mansion.”

Sun Wukong’s face lit up with joy, and he hurried to find Zhuang Yan, but the Fire Spirit Immortal stopped him and said, “Hey, wait.” Sun Wukong turned around and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Fire Spirit Immortal smiled and said, “Although the True Lord is in the mansion, he is currently in seclusion and should not be disturbed.”

“Retreat.” Sun Wukong was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head and said, “What should I do? When will my uncle come out of retreat?”

Fire Spirit Immortal smiled and said, “I don’t know about that. Judging from the time that the Immortal Lord had been in seclusion in the past, it should be at least a hundred or eighty years, right?”

“One hundred and eighty years?!” Sun Wukong exclaimed, and then said: “If my uncle really comes out of retreat at that time, let alone obtaining the scriptures, he can even attend my master’s funeral.”

The True Immortal Huo Ling said: “Since you are so anxious, I will go and wake up the True Lord.” After saying that, the True Immortal Huo Ling prepared to enter the mansion.

Sun Wukong quickly grabbed the Fire Spirit Immortal and said, “No, no, no, no, this is not a human way. My uncle is in seclusion, how can I, as his nephew, disturb him? No wonder that bastard dared to capture my master. It turns out that he saw that my uncle was in seclusion and no one could deal with him.”

At this point, Sun Wukong suddenly looked at the Fire Spirit Immortal and said, “Sister Fire Spirit, he has descended to the mortal world as a demon, you must know that, right?”

The Fire Spirit Immortal smiled and said, “I knew he went to Ziluo Mountain. I asked him to teach the monsters there to do good deeds. I didn’t expect that he would capture your master.”

Sun Wukong said: “Well, go and call him back quickly, and don’t delay our journey.”

Fire Spirit True Immortal nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll go with you then.”

Then, the Fire Spirit Immortal continued, “As the old saying goes, ‘Misfortunes should not affect the wife and children.’ Tiger Vanguard offended you, but you came to beat his son. This is unacceptable.”

When Sun Wukong heard this, he immediately turned around and put Hu Lailai and Hu Ququ down, then apologized to them with a smile and said, “My two little nephews, I was a little impulsive just now, don’t take it to heart.”

Hu Lailai and Hu Ququ rubbed their buttocks and looked at each other, then muttered “Damn Bi Ma Wen” and walked away.

Sun Wukong turned to the Fire Spirit Immortal and said, “Good sister, do you want to prepare anything?”

Fire Spirit Immortal shook his head and said, “No need, let’s go.”

After saying that, the Fire Spirit Immortal and Sun Wukong rode on a cloud and flew straight to the outside of the Tiger Spirit Cave on Ziluo Mountain.

Sun Wukong said, “Sister, wait a moment. I will go and call him out.”

The Fire Spirit Immortal nodded slightly, and then he saw Sun Wukong quickly step forward and shout outside the Tiger Spirit Cave.

Soon, the door of the Tiger Spirit Cave slowly opened, and Tiger Vanguard strode out. “I say, you monkey, why are you pestering me? I will not let Tang Monk go.”

Sun Wukong stepped aside, pointed behind him and said, “Look who’s coming.”

When Tiger Vanguard heard this, he immediately looked up behind Sun Wukong. His expression changed slightly, and he immediately bowed and said, “Prime Minister, why are you here?”

The Fire Spirit Immortal stepped forward and asked, “Tiger Vanguard, I asked you to teach the monsters here, why did you capture the pilgrim?”

Upon hearing this, Tiger Vanguard said quickly, “You may not know, but the man who sought the scriptures is a great monk from the Tang Dynasty, who is well versed in Buddhism. I invited him to come to the cave to preach the scriptures to the monsters and convert them to good deeds.”

Fire Spirit Immortal said: “Oh? Is that so?”

Tiger Vanguard said seriously, “It’s absolutely true.”

Fire Spirit Immortal nodded, and then said to Sun Wukong: “Wukong, if that’s the case, then what Tiger Vanguard did was also a good thing.”

“What good news? He captured my master and imprisoned him in a cave. Is this a good thing? My master is going to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures. How can being trapped here be a good thing? Sister, don’t listen to his nonsense.” Sun Wukong said hurriedly.

Upon hearing this, Fire Spirit Immortal immediately turned to Tiger Vanguard and said, “What Wukong said makes sense. Tiger Vanguard, then you should let Tang Monk go.”

“Please forgive me, Prime Minister!” Tiger Vanguard shook his head and said, “I cannot let him go until Tang Seng has finished explaining the Dharma to the monsters in the cave.”

Sun Wukong said: “My dear sister, he doesn’t even listen to you, how can this be tolerated?”

The Fire Spirit Immortal’s face darkened at this moment, and he shouted at Tiger Vanguard: “Tiger! Do you still have eyes for me, the chancellor?!”

When Tiger Vanguard heard this, he immediately complained, “Minister, it was you who asked me to persuade the demons to be good. Now that I finally got a great monk to preach Buddhism, it’s you who asked me to release them. How can I obey you?”

“I don’t care how you obey, just listen to my orders and release Tang Seng.” Fire Spirit Immortal.

Tiger Vanguard said, “No, I won’t let him go! If I have to let him go, I have to wait until Tang Seng has finished preaching the Dharma and completed this merit for me.”

Sun Wukong was also a little surprised. He truly regarded Tiger Vanguard as his elder brother. Apart from anything else, when he was imprisoned under the Five Finger Mountain, Tiger Vanguard often came to see him.

Seeing that Tiger Vanguard dared to contradict even the Fire Spirit Immortal, he became a little anxious for a moment, “Brother Tiger, why are you doing this? Let my master go, and I will find some monks for you. How about you preach to those little demons in the cave every day?”

Tiger Vanguard laughed and said, “Those monks are no match for this Elder Tang. Brother Sun, don’t bother yourself. I will never let this Tang Monk go.”

The Fire Spirit Immortal said gloomily, “Wukong, don’t say any more to this evil creature. Let me capture him first, and then I’ll go back and deal with him properly.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the Fire Spirit Immortal had already sacrificed the ‘Dingguang Colored Glass Lamp’. She threw the Dingguang Colored Glass Lamp into the sky. Suddenly, an ancient yellow light flashed. In just a moment, Tiger Vanguard did not have time to react before he and the time around him were fixed in place.

The Fire Spirit Immortal immediately said to Sun Wukong, “Wukong, go and capture him quickly.”

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately flew up and pounced, but at this moment, the Tiger Vanguard that was fixed in time suddenly flashed, and then directly broke away from the fixed time and appeared at the entrance of the Tiger Spirit Cave.

“Hahaha, Prime Minister, your magic weapon is powerful, but it can’t trap me now.” After saying this, Tiger Vanguard turned around and jumped back to the cave entrance.

Then Tiger Vanguard said to the shocked Fire Spirit Immortal, “Prime Minister, you’d better go back. I won’t let you go if Tang Seng says so, even if the King of Heaven comes.”

“Okay, okay.” Fire Spirit Immortal raised his hand to take back the Dingguang Glazed Lamp, and then said to Tiger Vanguard: “I was wondering why you, this evil creature, are so bold. It turns out that you have acquired some powerful magical powers. But there are always people who are better than you. If you persist in your mistakes, you will suffer sooner or later.”

Tiger Vanguard said with a smile: “It is I who suffer the loss, why should the chancellor meddle in other people’s business?”

“Okay.” Fire Spirit Immortal said, “I can’t control you, but when the Immortal Lord comes out of seclusion, don’t regret it.”

Tiger Vanguard said with a smile: “It will probably be a hundred years before the True Monk comes out of retreat. I will not eat or harm Tang Monk. I will just wait for him to finish preaching the sutra and then let him go. It will only take seven or eight years at most. By the time the True Monk comes out of retreat, Tang Monk might have already obtained the sutra.”

After saying this, Tiger Vanguard bowed to Fire Spirit Immortal and said, “Please go back, Prime Minister. I won’t see you off any further.” After saying this, Tiger Vanguard turned around and went straight into the cave.

Looking at the closed cave door, Fire Spirit Immortal looked at Sun Wukong helplessly and said, “Wukong, you have seen that even my most powerful magic weapon can’t do anything to him. I have no way to deal with this Tiger Vanguard, but don’t worry, I will wait in the mansion after I go back. As soon as the True Lord comes out of seclusion, I will report this matter to the True Lord immediately.”

Sun Wukong looked at the Tiger Spirit Cave, then at the Fire Spirit Immortal, scratched his head and said, “Good sister, is there really nothing you can do?”

Fire Spirit Immortal sighed and said, “The most powerful magic weapon I have is this Dingguang Glazed Lamp. Look how easily he escaped. I really have no way to stop him.”

“Okay, then I’ll take my sister back.” said Sun Wukong.

The Fire Spirit Immortal waved his hand and said, “No need, no need. I can go back by myself. You should go ask somewhere else first to see if there is anyone who can subdue this stubborn tiger and rescue your master.”

“Yes, I know.” Sun Wukong bowed and said, “Thank you for taking this trip, sister.”

“Well, I didn’t help much, so there’s nothing to thank you for. I’ll take my leave first.” After saying this, the Fire Spirit Immortal shook his head and sighed before riding away on a cloud.

Sun Wukong bowed and watched the Fire Spirit Immortal leave. After the Fire Spirit Immortal’s figure disappeared from his sight, Sun Wukong withdrew his gaze. He stood there in deep thought for a long time and then said, “Strange! Strange! Really strange!”

After saying that, Sun Wukong took another look at the Tiger Spirit Cave, then he used his somersault cloud to go straight up to the Thirty-Sixth Heaven.

(End of this chapter)