Chapter 42

For Bajie and Shaseng to deal with these mortals was truly like using a telephone pole as a pair of chopsticks—a massive overkill; in no time at all, the mortals were all knocked down by the two, and Wukong, watching from the side as they dealt with the mortals with such imposing force, could not help but find it somewhat amusing—was such a grand display really necessary to deal with mortals? A single spell would have sufficed to knock them all down.

Wukong did not know that the two had not moved their hands in hundreds of years, and today they finally had a chance to join forces, so they did not care who it was, nor did they use magic, simply using their physical strength to bully the servants of Gao Fu.

Looking at the servants knocked down all over the ground, Master Gao could not help but feel some regret; why had he let those three master and disciples enter his manor to rest? Otherwise, this would never have happened, and now the matter had become a big deal.

Bajie looked at the pale-faced Master Gao, walked over, and said, "Old Master Gao, you treated me well in the past, but it was only because I would not agree to the marriage with Miss Gao that you became angry out of shame and plotted to capture me, so I blamed you; I listened to the guidance of the Bodhisattva Guanyin and waited at Gao Laozhuang for the arrival of the scripture seeker to escort him to the Western Heaven to obtain the scriptures, and now that the scripture seeker has arrived, I must follow him to the Western Heaven, so I hope everyone can let go of past unhappiness and let these things pass."

Master Gao felt somewhat ashamed after hearing Bajie's words; when he first came to Gao Laozhuang, he had seen that he was diligent and hardworking with great strength, and although he ate several times more than others, his work speed was over ten times faster, so he had given him special care, and with his daughter taking a liking to this person, he had treated him even better, but when he announced in front of everyone that he would marry Miss Gao to him, he had actually said he had someone he liked and would not marry Miss Gao, which made the face-conscious Master Gao lose face, so Master Gao plotted to have people drug Bajie's food, leading to the scene Sun Wukong and the others had witnessed.

As soon as Miss Gao heard that Bajie was going to the Western Heaven to obtain scriptures, she hurriedly asked, "Are you really going to the Western Heaven to obtain scriptures? The journey is long and will be very tiring; why don't you just not go? I won't force you to marry me either."

Bajie looked at Miss Gao before him and said, "This is not a matter of whether I marry you or not; I am a sinner from the Heavenly Court, and it was only because the Bodhisattva Guanyin specially pleaded for me that I have the chance to protect the scripture seeker and obtain the scriptures to atone for my crimes and be restored to my original position, so I must go; Miss Gao, you are so beautiful, there must be many people who like you, why must you pine for me alone?"

Miss Gao said nothing after hearing Bajie's words and ran away.

Bajie looked at the departing Miss Gao, sighed helplessly, and said to Shaseng, "Take me to see the Master quickly; I want to see the Master and prepare to protect the old gentleman as he obtains the scriptures."

Shaseng brought Bajie to the courtyard where Tang Seng was staying and pointed at Tang Seng, saying, "This is our Master, Dharma Master Xuanzang."

Bajie hurried forward and knelt down, saying, "The sinner Bajie pays respects to the Master; I too have received the guidance of the Bodhisattva Guanyin and have come to Gao Laozhuang to respectfully await the Master's arrival and protect the Master as he goes to the Western Heaven to obtain the scriptures."

Tang Seng had not yet figured out what was going on when he saw a large man kneeling before him and hurriedly went to help him up, but when he heard that Bajie had also been assigned by the Bodhisattva Guanyin to protect him on his journey to the Western Heaven, he sat back down and said to Bajie, "Very well, since you know you have committed a wrong, you must do your utmost on the road to the Western Heaven, and my Buddha will certainly not treat you unfairly; alright, get up, from now on you will be in charge of leading the horse, taking over for Wukong." The reason his attitude toward Wukong was not too difficult was because the Bodhisattva Guanyin had specifically instructed him that Sun Wukong's Grandmaster had an unknown background and might be some great figure, so he feared pushing Wukong too far and having him bring out his Grandmaster, while the others did not need to be worried about as they had no background and were all on their own.

Sun Wukong watched Tang Seng's changing attitude from the side and despised him even more; he was not only a shameless person but also a shameless petty man, and he had truly underestimated him before.

Bajie's brow also furrowed upon hearing Tang Seng's words, clearly harboring some resentment toward what Tang Seng had just said, but he said nothing, as his power was inferior to others after all and he had nothing to say, though he slowly began to hold a grudge against Tang Seng in his heart.

Sha Wujing was also very dissatisfied with Tang Seng's words, but having spent so many years in the Heavenly Court, he was already accustomed to intrigue and said to Tang Seng, "Master, when I was in the Heavenly Court, I was good brothers with my elder brother Bajie, but since I became your disciple a few days earlier than him, I should be the second senior disciple, but Bajie is my sworn brother after all, so I hope he can be the second senior disciple in the future and I can be the junior disciple, is that alright?" Sha Wujing asked cautiously.

"Oh, these are all small matters; since you are unwilling to be his senior disciple, then you shall be his junior disciple; Sun Wukong is the first senior disciple, Bajie will be the second junior disciple, and you will be the third junior disciple, that is all," Tang Seng said dismissively after hearing Sha Wujing's words.

After the four master and disciples stayed at Gao Fu for one night, they left Gao Laozhuang early the next morning amidst the farewells of the crowd; before leaving, Miss Gao even said to Bajie, "If you stop seeking the scriptures, Gao Laozhuang will always be your home."

Bajie looked at Miss Gao with emotion but said nothing, resolutely turning his head to follow Tang Seng and the others as they officially stepped onto the path of seeking the scriptures.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————Shamelessly begging for votes, dying for votes, I hope everyone supports me; there will be at least two chapters every day from now on, and there might be a huge explosion tomorrow, I hope everyone will continue to support me.