Chapter 306 Extra Chapter: When the Journey to the West is Full of Our Own People (Part 2)

"Confess and you'll be treated leniently; resist and you'll be punished severely. Tell me."

"Huff huff—"

Wukong patted the horse's head: "You really think you're a horse? Do you have to get so into character? Speak up! If you don't, I'll have the monk kick you out and replace you with a blue horse or a pink horse!"

"Hmph!"

The white dragon horse looked at Tang Sanzang and howled, as if to say, "Aren't you going to do anything about him?"

Tang Sanzang closed his eyes and began chanting: "Amitabha..."

Wukong nodded in satisfaction, then turned to the White Dragon Horse with a smug look: "Do you understand now? Here, we each follow our own rules. Although I call him Master, I am the boss, so tell me quickly! Which sea and which dragon are you? Why are you here?"

Helpless, the white dragon horse sighed in a human-like manner and spoke in human language: "Wukong, it's me, Uncle Ao Lie from the West Sea."

"Uncle Ao Lie?" Wukong squinted and scrutinized him carefully, resolutely upholding his position as the eldest brother. "Don't try to build connections. The past doesn't matter. Here, I'm the boss! Tell me, why are you here instead of in the West Sea?"

The white dragon horse stamped its hoof on the ground and said helplessly, "In the end, it's all my father's fault. He's so old, yet he buys strange things in the Heavenly Court's live broadcast room every day. Do you think our dragon clan lacks luminous pearls? But he insists on buying them. As soon as he heard the curtain in the live broadcast room say that they were pearls inlaid in the Lingxiao Palace, rare in the world, he insisted on having them."

"The main thing is that the curtain can also talk, saying that because it's rare, it can better prove its noble status. It's even inlaid in the Lingxiao Palace, which can prove its legitimate status. How could this old man resist? So he placed an order in a moment of passion. I even suspect that the four pearls were bought by the Four Seas Dragon Kings..."

Wukong is now certain that this is his Uncle Ao Lie. He's such a chatterbox! It's like he uses his mouth to breathe in the sea, so he has to talk his fill once he's on land.

Tang Sanzang's chanting became softer, but you know what? When Ao Lie talked a lot, his conversation was like a storyteller, with ups and downs and dramatic moments.

Now I understand why he was able to quickly become friends with Nezha and Tianpeng. Two gossipy people meeting a gossipy person is a perfect match!

Wukong shook his head, pulling his wandering thoughts back, and quickly stopped Ao Lie: "Stop, stop! It's getting dark, get to the point!"

“Oh,” Ao Lie paused, seemingly unsatisfied, “The point is that after I bought it, I accidentally broke this precious pearl, a symbol of orthodox status passed down through generations. So, this is what you know about the Heavenly Court and Buddhism… and I was pushed out.”

With Tang Sanzang present, Ao Lie spoke vaguely, but Wukong understood. He nodded but then paused: "Then why are Uncle Ao Bing and Aunt Cunxin getting involved?"

"That Ao Bing guy made a bet with Nezha, betting on whether he would stay. Nezha said he definitely wouldn't, and Ao Bing wasn't convinced. If you ask me, Ao Bing is just bored; he's never won a bet against Nezha..."

"Uncle Ao Bing has always been very confident."

"Right, let me tell you..."

"Stop!" Wukong simply said, showing no intention of listening further. "What about Aunt Cunxin?"

Ao Lie clicked his tongue regretfully. This little monkey really doesn't know how to talk. He hadn't finished speaking yet. However, looking at the golden cudgel that was originally the East Sea's Sea-Stabilizing Needle in his hand, Ao Lie still answered his question obediently: "Cunxin, I don't know. That day, she suddenly rushed over in a panic, saying that her cultivation was not enough, her concentration was insufficient, and that she wanted to go west with him to cultivate."

Wukong frowned in confusion, but didn't think much of it. He looked Ao Lie up and down and asked, "Why don't you change back? Why are you always acting as a horse? Are you that dedicated?"

Ao Lie lowered his head helplessly: "Do you think I wanted this? There's a prohibition against it, isn't there? A worthless pearl. Tsk, Father is too cruel. Aren't I his favorite third prince... umm..."

Wukong calmly reached out and pinched the horse's mouth: "I think the West Sea Dragon King issued this ban because he doesn't want you to talk too much, right? In that case, you should just be a good horse. You'll be the White Dragon Horse from now on, not the Third Prince of the West Sea, Ao Lie. You're not allowed to speak human language. What if you scare your monk master?"

"Mmm..."

Ao Lie's eyes widened. It wasn't even dark yet, what nonsense were you spouting! You even scared the monk! Why don't you turn around and look? That monk was having a great time watching the show! He'd been chanting the same thing over and over again, a complete bystander. Ao Lie's sharp eyes saw right through him!

Turn around! Let go of my mouth!

"Tsk, there's no need for so much talk. I'll mute you for now."

Wukong cast a spell to make sure Ao Lie couldn't speak for the time being before letting go of his hand, turning around and walking to Tang Sanzang's side: "Master, it's alright, the horse is fine, let's go."

"OK."

Tang Sanzang stood up with a smile, though there was still a hint of regret in his eyes. Actually, it would have been nice to have someone—no, a dragon—to talk to along the way.

...

At Guanyin Temple, the old abbot, wanting to seize Tang Sanzang's cassock, planned to set fire to the temple and burn them to death. Wukong protected Tang Sanzang with his fire-repelling shield. However, the Black Bear Demon from Black Wind Mountain took advantage of the chaos and stole the cassock.

Wukong, cursing and swearing, went to fight the bear.

"You stole the cassock!"

"Aww!"

"You think you can just mimic scriptures?!"

"Aww!"

"You dare to touch my people? Taking advantage of my misfortune, you're quite clever!"

"Aww!"

"Well, you're quite proud of yourself, and you even admitted it?"

"Aww!"

"Do you admit your mistake?"

"Aww!"

"Do you admit it or not?"

"Aww!"

"You refuse to admit your mistake, huh?"

"Wukong, Wukong..."

Tang Sanzang, who had rushed over aggressively, put down his staff and, somewhat reluctantly, took Wukong's hand. "Why don't you stop and let him say something else?"

Wukong looked down at the Black Bear Spirit, who was bound hand and foot and had bandages all over his head. He was silent for a while, then chuckled dryly and put away the golden cudgel that had been hitting him on the head. "Haha... Why don't you say anything? If you had just told me, I would have known."

"You didn't give me any either..."

"Um?"

Wukong gave a soft snort, and the Black Bear Spirit quickly changed his tune: "It was my fault, it was indeed my fault. I admit my mistake and beg you, young master, to spare my life."

"Hmm?" Wukong was a little surprised. He had been wandering the Three Realms for so many years and had earned the title of "Great Sage Equal to Heaven," which was known to everyone. However, the title "Young Master" was something that his close friends used to tease him when he was a child. Now that he was an adult, not many people would call him that anymore. How did this Black Bear Spirit know?

Seeing that he had calmed down, the black bear spirit quickly explained, "I am a little bear, and I once cultivated with Ancestor Fei Bai for a period of time. I even saw the young master at the Yang residence before."

"A bear?" Wukong looked the burly black bear spirit up and down, finding it hard to connect him with the small, round black bear.

"Yes, yes, yes, it is indeed I, the villain."

"Didn't you used to steal honey? Now you've switched to stealing monk's robes?"

Startled by Wukong's words, the old bear blushed slightly. Though it wasn't obvious, he still explained sheepishly, "When I was young, I was greedy; I couldn't shake my nature. Now that I've learned some Buddhist teachings and am devoted to Buddhism, I couldn't help but be tempted by this robe..."

Wukong slapped him on the big head: "You're devoted to Buddhism, yet you steal? What kind of Buddhism are you devoted to?"

"I was wrong, I really know I was wrong."

The bear begged for mercy pitifully; it was a bear he recognized after all. Although bears can transform in eighteen ways, Wukong couldn't bring himself to kill it and turned to look at Tang Sanzang instead.

Tang Sanzang smiled and shook his head: "It's alright. It's good to admit one's mistakes and correct them. This humble monk sees that this bear benefactor has sincerely admitted his mistake. Wukong, you may release him."

"Thank you, Master. Thank you, Master."

"Fine, I'll do it for your sake."

Tang Sanzang didn't mind Wukong's awkward words; it wasn't a big deal, and once he'd been punished, that was it. After all, it was a bear Wukong knew, so there was no need to make things difficult for him.

Tang Sanzang was full of confidence. After all, he would be spending the entire journey with Wukong, and wouldn't it be better to strengthen their bond as master and disciple? Besides, he simply didn't believe that everyone along the way would be there because of connections.