Chapter 587: Night at Flat Top Mountain

"Maybe they came to kill me." Tang Luo said with a smile.

This "I" refers to Tang Sanzang.

"You're already dead." Sun Wukong also laughed.

He seemed to imagine arriving at the Great Thunderclap Temple in the Western Heaven, and the Buddha seeing Tang Sanzang not being Tang Sanzang—what expression would that be?

The sky grew dim, night gradually descending.

The surrounding temperature suddenly dropped, falling to the point where breath turned into white mist; abnormal chill spread up from the ground.

"Rest." Tang Luo said.

Sun Wukong turned his head: "Rest?"

"Yeah, it's getting late." Tang Luo said, "Tired, of course you need to rest."

Sun Wukong opened his mouth, not knowing what to say; the useless monk from before just rested and slept, that was fine.

Not letting that guy rest, in this place he probably wouldn't last three days.

Now you, Tang Xuanzang, can shatter a mountain with one punch, yet you say you're tired and need to rest?

The surrounding darkness and cold—what's that to you?

You could blow this place over with a single exhale.

"Alright." Sun Wukong said reluctantly, "I'll go beg for food now."

Rest naturally means eating; usually it's Sun Wukong's job to beg, while Zhu Wuneng can build a small wooden hut on the spot, and they'd spend the night like that.

Moreover, that monk doesn't allow the three monsters and the White Dragon Horse into the hut, to avoid being frightened in the middle of the night.

There's precedent: when Tang Sanzang slept, Sun Wukong stood nearby watching, woke up in the middle of the night, and nearly got scared to death on the spot.

From then on, during sleep, they weren't allowed inside, just waiting outside.

Even if there were danger, it wouldn't matter a few steps away, and they wouldn't be frightened.

"No need to beg." Tang Luo stopped Sun Wukong's action.

Back when he journeyed to the West, he rarely sent Sun Wukong to beg—could alms from ordinary people taste as good as wild game?

Instead, he often had Sun Wukong pick some fruit, sweet and sour, as dessert after meals.

Everyone ate with great joy.

Zhu Bajie kept sighing that following the master meant having meat to eat, while Sha Wujing wore a bitter expression, torn between respecting the teacher and upholding the precepts.

Sun Wukong then realized, this isn't that monk—enduring wind and dew goes without saying.

At the same time, he secretly resented: when would begging for that monk become his habit?

He is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, not a dog.

"Master, should we build a wooden hut?" Zhu Wuneng asked.

"We brought our own." Zhu Bajie laughed, producing the Cursed Hut and placing it in a clearing in the forest.

"Nice treasure." Zhu Wuneng praised.

"Also another one—I don't know what it'll be, depends on luck." Zhu Bajie then took out the Food Magic Cube, restored it, and produced a dish.

Everyone shared and ate it, just to taste the flavor, to satisfy a craving.

Not for filling the stomach.

Several people entered the Cursed Hut; Sun Wukong narrowed his eyes, emitting a faint murderous aura that made Xiao Qiao and Chuan Shan Ren shiver involuntarily.

Zhu Wuneng subtly tugged at him.

"What are you glaring at in someone else's home? If you're not satisfied, others would have beaten you down already."

"I'll go stand guard outside." Sun Wukong turned and started to walk away.

"No need, just rest properly tonight." Tang Luo said, not taking it seriously.

"I don't need to rest." Sun Wukong stiffened his neck.

Tang Luo looked at Sun Wukong: "Your head's bald like this, and you still don't need rest?"

"……" Sun Wukong almost pulled another handful of hair from his head.

"Don't be stubborn." Zhu Bajie said with a smile, "The master sees you and thinks of our eldest senior brother—really kind of him."

"Kind?"

Sun Wukong doubted this pig's brain had issues, or its wisdom wasn't awakened—how could you think this demon monk is kind?

"You don't understand; the master excels at physical conversion." Zhu Bajie said, "He rarely talks reason—don't believe me? Ask Xiao Bailong."

Ao Yulie glanced at Tang Luo, noticed he had already gone upstairs, and whispered softly: "The master's physical conversion is strong! I took refuge in the Buddha that way back then. Generally, when you just said 'I don't need to rest,' the master would gently pat your dog's head and say: 'No, you do.' Then he'd beat you half to death so you could rest properly."

"Now he merely points out you're tired to the point of balding—really, don't be too kind!"

"You're riding on the eldest senior brother's coattails, monkey!"

As they spoke, Ao Yulie suddenly shuddered with his dragon body, wait—if he wasn't the first to see the master.

But appeared after the master's "seeing objects and thinking of the person," then wouldn't he just not need to train hard and focus on being a salty dragon?

"Don't think that." Zhu Bajie saw through Ao Yulie's thought at a glance, "Maybe the master thinks you'll end up like that white dragon—get thrown out, as long as you don't die."

Just thinking of that possibility, Ao Yulie suddenly became solemn: "Don't worry, Second Senior Brother—I'll catch up to your progress soon!"

He spoke with earth-shaking volume, obviously so Tang Luo could hear.

"You have the intention, very good. Let's check your progress in half a month." Tang Luo's voice came over.

Ao Yulie's eyes widened instantly, staring at Zhu Bajie.

Zhu Bajie mouthed: "No need to thank."

"I... you..." Ao Yulie's fingers trembled, then he simply sat cross-legged, preparing to train all night.

This posture is most advantageous.

This world has abundant heavenly and earthly spiritual energy, so it's also a good place for cultivation.

"You two make yourselves at home. If you need anything, just tell Xiaoqian and Chuan Shang — but don't scare them. They're artifact spirits. If you frighten them into throwing you out, I can't do anything about it." Zhu Bajie said, laughing as he entered the study.

Zhu Wuneng and Sun Wukong sat down in a corner of the living room, not needing anything.

Each sat down to cultivate.

Inside the Cursed House all was quiet; only dim yellow light projected from the windows, and in the night the Cursed House's shadow fell upon the forest clearing.

It gave a certain sense of ghostly shadows layered upon ghostly shadows.

The Flat-Top Mountain Range was clearly no blessed land. After Tang Luo and the others set out again, they had already walked out of his and Sun Wukong's battlefield.

Now this area was a "purely natural, unpolluted" primordial land.

As night deepened, the surrounding temperature dropped again and again; even dewdrops on the low grass condensed into frost.

A sound like weeping drifted from the woods.

True ghostly shadows floated out from between the trees, arriving alongside the frost.

Their number was not small — at least over a hundred — slowly closing in. Trees near the Cursed House were coated in a layer of white frost; some plants had already withered.

Sun Wukong in the living room opened his eyes, revealing a ferocious grin: "Where did these little ghosts come from, daring to act up?"

His temper was violent. Today he had been beaten by Tang Luo, all kinds of thoughts churning in his heart. Now yaomo guiguai delivered themselves to his door — perfect for "beating his teeth on them as a sacrificial offering."

But before Sun Wukong could stand up, the upstairs window seemed to open for a moment, and something was thrown out.

A "pa-ta" landing sound was clearly audible in the black night where insect cries had already vanished.

Sun Wukong stood up, a flash of true radiance in his eyes; through the Cursed House he saw a small black booklet thrown onto the ground.

The aura emanating from that booklet made him feel a bit familiar.

Suddenly, the small black booklet opened on its own, and thick darkness appeared around it, making it impossible to see the booklet's existence.

Crisp sounds rang out like falling rain.

Chains extended from the void, coiling around those approaching fierce ghosts; in the blink of an eye, the chains retracted.

Those fierce ghosts were all swallowed into the small booklet.

"What magic treasure is this?" Zhu Wuneng was already standing by the window.

"I feel it's a bit like the Book of Life and Death..." Sun Wukong said.

"Even if it really is another world's other 'us'," Zhu Wuneng said, "the Book of Life and Death — could they have snatched it from the Underworld, from King Yama's Hall?"

After saying this, Zhu Wuneng himself blinked, his expression somewhat strange.

Recalling these people's methods, it didn't seem impossible!

Having swept clean the souls of the fierce ghosts all around, the darkness around the Book of Life and Death's supplementary volume also vanished without a trace.

"This Flat-Top Mountain Range has quite a lot of wronged souls." Tang Luo's voice came from upstairs.

Zhu Wuneng replied: "I've heard this place was not originally such towering mountains stretching endlessly, rarely visited by humans. Before, quite a few people lived here. Later yaoguai occupied the mountain as kings, and with great magical power moved mountains here, forming the current situation."

"Now within a thousand li radius, not a single human figure is seen, only a few death-defying ones gathering herbs and hunting at the outermost edges."

"These wronged souls and fierce ghosts are mostly former residents."

"You investigated quite clearly." Tang Luo said.

Zhu Wuneng smiled: "One must always prepare more. I'm not like Eldest Senior Brother who can fight."

"I also know this mountain-occupying yaoguai doesn't count as a yaoguai." Sun Wukong said, "But rather Taishang Laojun's two boys!"

"... Wasn't that what Master said?" Zhu Wuneng said.

"Who cares!" Sun Wukong waved a hand impatiently, "If they don't block the way it's fine. When the time comes if they block our path, one staff smash to death! That also counts as repaying the grudge from back then when they locked Lao Sun in a furnace to burn."

"You were locked in a furnace to burn by two boys back then?" Tang Luo asked curiously.

"Taishang Laojun watched over it for a few days at the start, then ran off somewhere unknown." Sun Wukong grinned, "Two boys, wanting to trap Lao Sun? Even the Eight Trigrams Furnace couldn't do it!"

"Here we go again." Zhu Wuneng said.

Just now a batch of fierce ghosts was swept away; now another group popped up around them.

With Tang Luo and the others here, the living's aura was like moths seeing firelight to these fierce ghosts.

True moths flying into the flame.

Under normal circumstances, the unlucky ones would be wild beasts in the woods, even some yaojing who had stepped onto the cultivation path; xiaoyao who had opened their spiritual intelligence could all meet with disaster.

Crisp chain sounds rang out again; fierce ghosts were again swallowed into the Book of Life and Death's supplementary volume.

"Master, this is..." Zhu Wuneng asked.

"Book of Life and Death." Tang Luo said.

"It really is the Book of Life and Death."

"Just a supplementary volume."

"So the Book of Life and Death still has a supplementary volume?" Zhu Wuneng looked at Sun Wukong.

"Don't know. Back when I flipped through it I just saw one book and flipped it directly." Sun Wukong scratched his head, "Never heard of any main volume and supplementary volume distinction."

"Hmm..."

Tang Luo suddenly grew interested: "Wukong, how about taking Master for a tour of the Underworld?"

"Can't go." Sun Wukong was listless.

"Why?"

He pointed at the Golden Headband on his head, Sun Wukong grinned ferociously: "Because of this."