Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

Jiang Liu might not be smart, but he certainly wasn't stupid. Within the vast expanse of the Liusha River, which was eight hundred li wide, finding a person was like searching for a needle in the ocean. Plus, taking Zhu Bajie's laziness into account, Jiang Liu found nothing strange about him not encountering any demons.

Though crossing the Liusha River was indeed perilous, with the protection of Monk Sha, the White Dragon Horse, and Zhu Bajie, was it possible for them to kill him?

That was impossible!

Not to mention, he still held the Brocade Kasaya and the Nine-Ring Staff in his possession.

Just after venturing out two or three li into the Liusha River, demons began to stir up the winds and waves, forcing him to retreat. Jiang Liu understood that this was certainly Monk Sha causing trouble from the river's depths and was surely waiting for him at the bottom.

Therefore, Jiang Liu played along with the plot, stating he couldn't cross the Liusha River, so he decided to take a detour.

The Liusha River was ten thousand li long! If they were to detour, how far would they have to go?

Just the thought of it brought joy to the heart.

"Ah!? Master!? Detour!?"

When Zhu Bajie heard Jiang Liu's words, he was somewhat dumbfounded and said, "Master, we don't even know the full length of this river. If we detour, who knows how long it will take to get around it? It could easily be a year or two. How about I, Old Pig, go down and capture that demon instead!?"

Although Zhu Bajie did not care much for the merit of the Journey to the West, and therefore had no intention to show off his abilities while accompanying Jiang Liu, he still had a sense of responsibility when necessary.

As his own laziness had resulted in Jiang Liu falling into the water, Zhu Bajie felt somewhat guilty. If they took a detour, he would feel even more remorseful.

"No! Absolutely not!" Hearing that it would take at least a year or two to detour, Jiang Liu's eyes lit up. Seeing Zhu Bajie shaking his Nine-Toothed Rake and preparing to go into the river to catch the demon, Jiang Liu urgently spoke out to stop him.

Seeing Zhu Bajie's puzzled expression, Jiang Liu cleared his throat and said, "Bajie, rest assured, I am not blaming you. This place is, after all, the demon's turf. Who knows if there's another powerful being like Zen Master Wuchao hidden inside? We better take a detour!"

In the meantime, without giving Zhu Bajie another chance to speak, Jiang Liu promptly mounted the White Dragon Horse. Read new chapters at empire

Perceiving his master's intention, the White Dragon Horse moved forward along the bank of the Liusha River.

"Master!" Watching Jiang Liu's retreating figure on horseback, Zhu Bajie appeared deeply moved.

Indeed, his intuition had not been wrong; his master favored him. He had caused trouble for his master, who hadn't blamed him in the slightest. To think that his master would rather detour for a year or two than let him risk himself in the river!

...

At the bottom of the Liusha River, General Juanlian waited quietly, holding the Demon-Subduing Treasure Staff in his hand.

He knew well that by stirring up waves and forcing the Scripture Seeker to retreat, someone would soon come looking for trouble, inevitably leading to a great battle.

"Envoy Muzha said that the two main disciples of the Scripture Seeker are the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who caused Havoc in Heaven five hundred years ago, and the other is Marshal Tianpeng, who once commanded the eighty thousand-strong Heavenly River Army.

Both are very strong, so it's unlikely they suffered this setback for no reason!" As General Juanlian silently contemplated at the bottom of the Liusha River, his heart calculated quietly.

If a fight really broke out, he probably couldn't win.

However, he was fortunate to be there on the orders of Bodhisattva Guanyin to wait for the Scripture Seeker. If he couldn't win the fight, he would just reveal his identity.

"But what exactly is Bodhisattva's intention? He clearly told me to wait here for the Scripture Seeker, but when they arrived, he asked me to pretend not to recognize them and deliberately create obstacles. Why make things difficult for them?"

Recalling the previous mission from Envoy Muzha bearing Bodhisattva Guanyin's decree, General Juanlian shook his head inwardly.

Forget it, the intentions of these great figures are incomprehensible. It's best not to think about it and simply follow Bodhisattva's decree with peace of mind.

"Eh? What's going on? I've waited so long, why is there no movement at all?" After waiting for a long while amid the river's bottom and busying his thoughts with various matters, General Juanlian suddenly felt puzzled when he snapped back to reality.

"Could it be!? Are they plotting how to deal with me? I'll wait a bit longer and see!" With this in mind, General Juanlian patiently waited at the bottom of the river for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, but still, all was calm.

Unable to wait any longer, General Juanlian stealthily peeked his head out from the water, looking towards the riverbank.

However, the riverbank next to the Liusha River was deserted—the Scripture Seeker had long since vanished.

"Wha... what's happening... what's going on!?"

Looking from side to side and finding no trace of the Scripture Seeker, General Juanlian was flabbergasted, filled with question marks, completely baffled. Where did they run off to?

Surprised and perplexed, it took a while before General Juanlian came to his senses, then he lifted his Demon-Subduing Treasure Staff, which shone brightly.

In a moment, many little demons from the Liusha River approached him.

"Have any of you seen where the Scripture Seeker who was just on the riverbank went off to?" After calling over many of the small demons like fish and shrimp from the Liusha River, General Juanlian asked.

"I saw, I saw! I heard them say they were going to take a detour and head south!" As General Juanlian finished speaking, a Carp Demon leaped up, declaring loudly.

"That's right, that's right, we all heard it. They said they would detour and go south!" Following the Carp Demon, many other little demons also chimed in, shouting in unison.

"Detour... detour...!?"

He would have been better off not knowing the truth, but after learning it, General Juanlian was even more baffled.

"You're kidding, right?" Just because I stirred up some trouble and forced them to retreat a little, they decided to take a detour?

People say, 'You won't turn back until you hit the south wall!' But this Scripture Seeker, just by stumbling over a small rock on the road, turned back immediately?

"Incredible! With such a mentality, how could he ever reach the Western Heaven!?" Obtain the True Scriptures!? Even if the Scripture Seeker is like this, wouldn't the Great Sage Equalling Heaven and Marshal Tianpeng just let him do as he pleases!?"

Mumbling to himself in a low voice, General Juanlian was at a loss for a moment, feeling unable to grasp the Scripture Seeker's way of doing things.

After some thought, General Juanlian waved his hand and dismissed almost all of the little demons, leaving only a few inconspicuous ones. He ordered them to monitor the Scripture Seekers along the bank of the Liusha River and see what they had up their sleeves before making a move.

To take such a detour! General Juanlian even doubted the possibility himself.

He rode southward, while Jiang Liu sat cross-legged on the back of the White Dragon Horse, cultivating. Along the way, he would sit and practice, occasionally stopping to fiddle with some gourmet food. When dusk fell, they would camp out for rest. Jiang Liu was thoroughly enjoying himself.

And so, three days passed by, during which Jiang Liu did not feel the slightest impatience, almost wishing he could keep traveling to the ends of the earth.

However, as he watched Jiang Liu traveling south along the river, not seeming to be in a hurry at all, General Juanlian, who was hiding at the bottom of the Liusha River, became anxious.

What on earth was the Scripture Seeker doing!? Was he really planning to bypass the vast expanse of the Liusha River? Was he truly so ruthless?

If he actually made it around, that would mean the great task of Scripture Seeking would be pointlessly delayed for so long, and I would be to blame, right?

At that time, how would I report to Bodhisattva Guanyin?

"I can't stand it anymore! I need to come up with a plan!" General Juanlian, having little demons watching on the surface and following along at the river bottom, grew anxious and began to ponder his next move.

"Should I just pop out and say I'm one of the designated companions of the Scripture Seeker appointed by Bodhisattva Guanyin, willing to carry them across the river?" Thinking of this, General Juanlian inwardly shook his head.

No, no, at first I didn't recognize them, and now suddenly popping out and saying I do? That just won't hold up, will it?

"No good, it looks like I'll have to trigger a fight after all. It's only when I can't beat them that I should reveal who I am. But since they are not coming to find me, it seems I have to make the first move, sigh..."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Shaking his head, General Juanlian felt drained. What was supposed to be an easy task had somehow developed into this situation.

...

The night was deep.

Jiang Liu sat cross-legged, quietly cultivating, gaining 3 Experience Points every ten seconds. Although not fast, it's like the steady dripping of water wears away stone, and sand accumulates into a pagoda. His Cultivation Level was slowly increasing.

Next to him, Zhu Bajie was fast asleep and snoring loudly.

What about Sun Wukong? He was resting his head on his arms, staring at the starry night sky, lost in thought.

Splash! Splash!

But during this silent night, all of a sudden a wave sounded, and then the water of the Liusha River parted as a fierce, sturdy demon creature emerged from the riverbed.

Looking at this demon creature, its size was simply bigger than Zhu Bajie, with an extraordinary presence, holding a Demon-Subduing Treasure Staff in hand and a string of pearls hanging on its head.

Only, these pearls were actually nine ghastly white skulls strung together, looking wicked and brutal.

"Who are you, Monk? How dare you get close to my Liusha River!? Are you seeking death!?" General Juanlian spoke in a deep, fierce voice, looking menacing.

Hmm, coming out to trouble them myself seemed to make it a given that they wouldn't let it go easily, and fighting would naturally ensue.

Surely, as soon as I spoke, Sun Wukong had a fierce look on his face, and even the sleeping Marshal Tianpeng, Zhu Bajie, awoke, brandishing their weapons.

Are they getting ready to make a move?

"Wukong, Bajie!" However, just when Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie appeared about to fight, Jiang Liu called out to them.

"I'm sorry, Great King, we'll leave right now! We'll leave immediately!" After stopping Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, Jiang Liu hurriedly apologized.

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Liu mounted the White Dragon Horse and signaled it to leave the bank of the Liusha River.

General Juanlian: "..."

"Wait, come back!" After bemusement for quite a while, as he watched Jiang Liu riding away on the white horse, getting farther and farther, General Juanlian shouted loudly.

However, upon his shouting, Jiang Liu rode off even faster, quickly vanishing into the night.

(PS: Happy Birthday to me. Yes, today is my birthday. Unbelievably, I've turned thirty. I really didn't want to celebrate this birthday. I used to say I was in my twenties, but now I can't anymore. Sigh, I'm getting old…)