Chapter 11 "Today we know the surname, tomorrow we'll know..."

Bao'e, who had been craving food for over a month, was made even more eager by this sound.

She nodded and said, "That's right, that's right!"

Swordsman: "I know the surname, but I still don't know the given name."

Bao'e was about to write again, but before she could put pen to paper, she suddenly heard a faint buzzing sound of bees coming from afar.

Afraid of being stung, she let go of his hand and backed away, looking dazed, muttering, "Yes, there's important business, important business."

"Miss Zhu?"

"Go on," she said. "You'll know your surname today, but you'll only know your given name tomorrow."

The swordsman, puzzled, asked, "Why do you need to explain a name over two days?"

The buzzing sound grew louder, and Zhu Bao'e hurriedly turned to leave, saying, "Brother, it was really rushed. I didn't have time to write the characters carefully, and I was afraid that you would make a mess of them, which would delay the important matter and cause delays on both sides. Let's talk about it another day!"

The swordsman was left standing there, watching her walk away.

He pinched the remaining warmth on his fingertips, then twirled the rather strange-looking bone carving, before finally tucking it into his sleeve.

As soon as Bao'e stepped out the door, she bumped into a bee that was rushing towards her.

The bee transformed into a traveler and asked, "Wumiao, where is that evil spirit? Have you found out which direction it came from?"

She stared blankly: "It's a precognitive monster."

The traveler laughed and said, "Good sister, according to you, that monster must have foreseen that we would come looking for him and has been hiding quietly?"

“Senior brother, don’t joke around. I didn’t even see the ghost’s face before I was expelled.” Bao’e pointed to the dark door behind her. “The ghost is in the mural in that room.”

Upon hearing this, the Great Sage laughed and said, "If you're going to be a cowardly turtle hiding in the ground, let me, Old Sun, test your strength with this staff!"

He took the treasure out of his ear, shook it, and the golden needle turned into a stick as thick as a bowl.

He entered the room, with Bao'e following closely behind, only to find that the swordsman had vanished and the room was empty.

The Great Sage struck the wall with his staff, but the wall was harder than copper and iron, and it didn't damage him in the slightest.

He struck several more times, but still saw no damage.

He said, "Strange, strange! This wall looks as thin as paper, how can it withstand such a beating?"

Bao'e: "Senior brother, since we can't fight, why don't we take advantage of the quiet of the night, wake up Master, and leave directly?"

"No need to say more, no need to say more. Old Sun just tried it. That monster used some kind of magic to prevent people from leaving this temple."

“What should we do? We can’t easily enter these murals. If that Ghost King takes Master away, we’ll be completely helpless,” Bao’e said. “Then we’ll have to divide our belongings. Senior brother, you go back to Flower Fruit Mountain, and I’ll go to my Gao Family Village. Young Master Gao is waiting for me. We’ll take the horse home. It can’t be the Dragon Prince anyway, so I might as well keep it. After a few days of training, it will be obedient. When Young Master Gao and I go out in the future, it won’t take much effort.”

"You fool, stop shouting!" said the Monkey King. "Let me call the local earth god and find out the truth about this monster."

He made a hand gesture, chanted the mantra "Om," and summoned the local earth god.

The local deity appeared trembling with fear and bowed, saying, "Lord deity, please forgive my disrespect, Great Sage."

Good Bao'e jumped behind the old man, grabbed his hair and pulled his beard, and said angrily, "You old fool, why do you only worship him and not me? Did he pull your beard when I did?"

The local deity cried out in pain and begged for forgiveness: "The sky was dark and there was no light, so I, a humble god, could not see the immortal. Please forgive me, please forgive me!"

This was the truth, and Bao'e was satisfied, so she let go.

The Great Sage, however, drew his staff and sneered: "Old man, my junior sister is kind-hearted. She'll let you off the hook after a few words of sophistry, but I, Old Sun, will not! Quickly stick your head out and let me hit you a couple of times to relieve my pent-up frustration."

The local deity said fearfully, "Great Sage's golden cudgel can break tendons with just one blow. This humble god is of meager fortune and cannot withstand even one strike. I hope Great Sage or a celestial being can offer some guidance so that this humble god may know where he went wrong."

"When I came here, you didn't greet me. You only showed yourself when I urged you with a stick. But let's leave that aside for now. There's another matter," the pilgrim said. "Lord, you're on duty here. How could you allow those evil spirits to use magic to trap my master and me in this deserted temple? How can we go on our journey to retrieve the scriptures if we can't leave the temple!"

“Great Sage, your forgiveness is not due to my indulgence, but because that demon’s power is considerable and I am truly no match for him. To be honest, Great Sage, I do not know what kind of magic he used to turn this Buddhist temple into a prison and detain you.”

Bao'e said, "Old local deity, being a ghost immortal isn't enough, you also want to be a prison official in this Buddhist temple. No local deity in the world has a higher ambition than you, old man."

Upon hearing this, the landowner blushed deeply with embarrassment and stammered in response.

"Wumiao, stop shouting." Wukong asked the local earth god again, "Quickly tell me, what is the origin of this ghost? Tell the truth and you will be spared a beating."

"Immortal, Great Sage, that ghost was once a nobleman. A hundred years ago, because of his weak health, he prayed and cultivated in this temple. Unexpectedly, bandits committed atrocities, not only stealing his money but also taking his life," the local deity said. "After the temple was sealed off, that wandering spirit initially only drifted in front of the Buddhist gate, not harming anyone. Later, he somehow obtained a treasure, cultivated a human body, learned some magic, killed the bandits who caused the disturbance, and finally occupied the temple, specifically harming passersby; he is extremely vicious and strange."

"What kind of treasure is it?"

The Great Sage then asked him how he entered the mural and how he lured the ghost out, but he knew nothing about it.

The traveler then said, "Go ahead."

The land bids farewell and departs.

Seeing that they couldn't get a picture, the two of them simply went back.

On the way, Bao'e told the traveler all the scenes she had seen in the painting. When they returned to the house, they happened to be talking about the old monk preaching.

The monk Sanzang had already woken up. Hearing someone giving a sermon, he asked, "Wumiao, who is giving a sermon and where?"

Bao'e said, "An old monk with a dark face and furrowed brows."

Tripitaka became interested: "What sutra was expounded?"

Bao'e didn't try to hide anything and said bluntly, "What kind of spiritual path are you talking about? What kind of greed and anger are you talking about? And what about sculpting your bones?"

“Wumiao,” Sanzang frowned, “Don’t listen to this heretical scripture. As the saying goes, ‘There are three kinds of diseases among ordinary people: first, greed; second, anger; and third, ignorance.’ Greed, anger, and ignorance are the diseases of ordinary people. How can they be used for cultivation?”

He then read the scriptures to her, until she closed her eyes and began to doze off.

The pilgrim laughed and said, "Master, there's no need to talk anymore. Instead of nagging her with scriptures, it's better to let me give her a whack with my stick; she'll fall asleep faster that way."

Bao'e was half-awake and mumbled, "Master, your chanting is even more powerful than that old monk's."

"I can't leave, I can't leave!" the traveler said, and told him all about the strange things about the temple.

Upon hearing this, the elder turned pale and exclaimed in panic, "Amitabha! How can there be ghosts in Buddhism? Wukong, what should we do!"

Bao'e said, "Master, why don't you ask me?"

Sanzang then asked, "Wumiao, what's your idea?"

The simpleton blurted out, "If that evil spirit wants to capture Master, why don't you leave Master here so that my senior brother and I can escape and then we can figure out a way to escape?"

Sanzang was so panicked that he broke out in a cold sweat, his bones felt weak and his muscles went numb. He said urgently, "No, no! If I can't think of a way, won't I lose my life?"

The pilgrim laughed so hard he almost fell over, saying, "Master, she's just playing a trick on you. Don't worry, let me, Old Sun, go and find out what's really going on."

He then said to Bao'e, "Wumiao, you just went to the demon's cave and risked your life, which should be considered a great achievement. You rest here and carefully protect Master, guard the luggage and horses. I'll go and find out about that monster."

“Okay, okay!” Bao’e said, “Brother, you should go quickly. With me watching over Master, nothing will go wrong.”

The pilgrim then instructed the monk to stay close by and wait there patiently, before pulling his staff and hurrying away.

Bao'e, roused to her senses, stood guard at the door with her rake in hand.

The elder then began reading the scriptures.

Before long, Bao'e became drowsy and vaguely heard soft footsteps.

She looked up, propped up by her rake, and saw a young man in white slowly approaching.

"Oh my! Young Master Nie?" She dragged her rake and stepped forward happily. "How did you get out? I thought you died in the Ghost King's cave. Could it be that my senior brother has already broken in and rescued you?"

Nie Guiyu truly resembled a Bodhisattva, his face possessing an elegant and aloof beauty, like the bright moon and clear dew.

“Miss Bao’e,” he said, “I left the mural with you then, but seeing a strange-looking stranger next to you, I left without saying goodbye.”

Bao'e asked anxiously, "Did you hear what I said to him?"

"I was in such a hurry that I didn't hear it."

“Good, good,” Bao’e said happily. “He is my friend, but we are not very close. He told me some family matters that day, which I didn’t want others to hear.”

“Originally, he was someone I didn’t know well.” Nie Guiyu paused for a moment. “Miss Bao’e is also a kind and gentle person. Even though we didn’t know each other well, she was still patient enough to listen to him chat about everyday things.”

"Wumiao," Tang Sanzang asked her from inside the gate, "why are you babbling on and on outside? Has your senior brother returned?"

Before Bao'e could reply, Nie Guiyu had already gone to the door and bowed, saying, "Elder, it's me."

“Benefactor Nie,” Sanzang said, closing his scroll and standing up. Not recognizing the demon, he even reminded him, “My disciple said that there are ghosts haunting this temple. It is not advisable for you to wander around outside.”

“Elder, you are worried. That ghost is a spirit of the underworld. How dare it show itself in broad daylight?” Nie Guiyu said. “Yesterday I was going to bring a vegetarian meal to express my gratitude, but I forgot to bring chopsticks. Last night, Miss Bao’e saved me again, so I instructed my servants to prepare a vegetarian meal so I could come and express my gratitude again.”

Tripitaka clasped his hands and said, “Excellent, excellent. My disciple follows me in my practice and should help those in distress. There is no need for this.”

Bao'e looked Nie Gongzi up and down: "Where is the vegetarian meal? I can't see it."

“They are in the main hall,” Nie Guiyu said. “Please, Elder and Miss Bao’e, come and sit in the main hall.”

A note from the author:

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