Chapter 50 is not a fake, it's the real thing. ...Sanzang, unaware of the monkey's impetuous nature, retorted, "Go away, I won't drink your water."

Suddenly enraged, the pilgrim threw down his porcelain cup, raised his iron cudgel, and shouted, "You bald rascal! I, Old Sun, have been watching over you all the way, doing my utmost, yet you treat me like I'm nothing! Take this cudgel!"

When Sanzang saw him raise his staff, his face changed drastically, and he trembled as he tried to hide.

But he couldn't dodge in time and the traveler still managed to land a blow on his back.

This single strike, though seemingly insignificant, knocked Sanzang unconscious, rendering him speechless.

The pilgrim saw him lying unconscious on the ground, sneered, picked up his two blue felt bundles, and rode away on his somersault cloud.

Meanwhile, Bao'e went to find Sha Wujing, but couldn't find him. Instead, she stumbled upon a thatched hut.

She excitedly stepped forward, ready to beg for alms.

The man of the house was not there; there were only two women.

Seeing that she was dressed in old clothes and had messy hair, the two men found her quite adorable and pitiful, so they asked her to sit down and offered to cook for her.

This simpleton, having cultivated along the way, was different from before. She said, "Old woman, thank you very much. But my master and junior brother are still hungry, so it's not good for me to eat alone."

She spoke kindly with a blank expression, which pleased the two men even more. They filled the bowl with rice and crispy rice crust, pressing it tightly against her, and told her to walk carefully.

Bao'e agreed, thanked her, and left.

When she returned, she bumped into Sha Wujing, who was fetching water. The two happily went back together.

Bao'e saw Sanzang lying on the ground from afar and said, "This monk is so lazy. I went with you to beg for alms, but he fell asleep."

Sha Wujing sensed something was wrong: "Senior sister, even when sleeping, one shouldn't be lying face down like this."

“He must have fainted from hunger. Don’t worry, just stuff a couple of mouthfuls of food into his mouth and he’ll be cured.” Bao’e Hu hurriedly stepped forward to stuff food into Sanzang’s mouth.

The white horse broke free of its reins and cried out pitifully, "Senior Sister, he didn't faint from hunger; he was beaten to death by Senior Brother!"

Bao'e and Sha Wujing were shocked to hear this and hurriedly asked him for details.

Sha Wujing couldn't help but burst into tears, muttering "My poor master," as he tried to turn over Tang Sanzang's body, only to find that Tang Sanzang had exhaled a breath of warm air and was not dead.

The two men quickly helped Tang Sanzang up. After a while, the elder gradually regained consciousness, muttering incessantly, cursing the monkey.

Bao'e said, "Master, you are so pitiful. But your senior brother beat you because you scolded him repeatedly."

Sanzang sighed repeatedly.

Bao'e said, "Wujing, you should serve your master to a family in the mountains so he can have a hot meal. Even though the monk has been beaten, he still needs to bring back his luggage. I went to Flower Fruit Mountain two years ago when Master chased away that monkey. I know the way well, so I might as well go again."

Sha Wujing asked, "Senior Sister, what if he hits you?"

Bao'e laughed and said, "I didn't scold him or chase him away, so why did he hit me?"

Hearing this, Sanzang was filled with shame and said, "Wumiao, I'm sorry to have troubled you to make this trip. Please be very careful."

"Don't worry, don't worry." Bao'e first helped the elder to rest at the mountain village with Sha Wujing, and then dragged her rake to Flower Fruit Mountain.

She went to Flower Fruit Mountain and heard a group of monkeys making a fuss. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the traveler had transformed into a human with golden eyes and red hair, sitting high on a stone platform, holding a travel permit in his hands and reciting it incessantly.

Bao'e asked blankly, "Brother, why are you thinking about Master's official document? Do you miss him?"

The pilgrim looked up quickly, recognized her, and laughed, "Wumiao, come here, come here! Play with me for a while."

The monkeys jumped and leaped, crowding around Bao'e as she stepped forward.

The traveler pulled her up onto the high platform and took her hand in hand.

Bao'e said, "Senior brother, if you're angry with that old monk, why not just curse him a few times and hit him? He's so delicate, how can he withstand your blow? What if you kill him?"

The pilgrim said, "My dear sister, I'm not afraid of death. I, Old Sun, will go on the journey to the West alone; I don't need him as a burden."

Bao'e laughed at him: "You can somersault all the way to Mount Ling without suffering, but instead of going to fetch the scriptures, you're stealing them."

The traveler also laughed.

He pinched her arm, nibbled her ear, and coaxed her, saying, "My dear sister, I have now thoroughly studied the scriptures. You and I, Old Sun, will go together to seek the scriptures. We don't need those monks. Once we have the scriptures, we'll have the people of Jambudvipa (the southern continent of the sea) establish us two as their ancestors. What do you say?"

"It's good, and it's fun, but we're missing a monk. I'm afraid Buddha won't give us the scriptures."

“No problem, no problem!” the pilgrim said. “I don’t need him. I’ll choose another real monk to go on the pilgrimage.”

After saying this, he ordered the monkey spirits to invite their master out.

Bao'e indeed saw another Tang Sanzang emerge, riding a white horse, followed by a Sha Wujing carrying a load.

"Oh dear!" She stared blankly. "When did Master come here? He didn't even tell me, and instead told me to come here all by myself."

The traveler chuckled.

The two of them sat on the stone platform, and he held her in his lap. For no reason, he let her hair down, made a comb with his hand, and gently stroked it. He would occasionally nibble on her ear and say, "Wumiao, this master is good. He is obedient and doesn't need any vegetarian food. When he is hungry, he will find fruit on his own. If we send him to fetch the scriptures, we can play in the trees together when he is tired."

Bao'e thought to herself: That old monk must be crazy to want to play in the tree.

Just as she finished thinking, she saw Sanzang leap from the white dragon horse onto a tree and swing back and forth on the branches.

"This is terrible, absolutely terrible!" she murmured. "She's really gone mad."

Just then, Bao'e suddenly saw her reflection in the water and realized that he had messed up her hair, turning her original braids into four or five stick-up firecrackers.

She suddenly stood up, clutching her head and exclaiming, "You naughty monkey, you unruly little rascal! Heavens, heavens! If you want to go on your pilgrimage, fine, but why are you messing with my hair like this!"

The traveler scratched his ears and cheeks, unable to stop laughing: "Beautiful, beautiful! Wumiao, don't let it go, someone like him is also handsome."

Bao'e wouldn't listen to reason. With her hair disheveled, she covered her head and rode away on a cloud, her eyes filled with tears the whole way, feeling utterly aggrieved.

Midway through her journey, she suddenly heard the cries of a blue phoenix and a colorful dragon.

The fool looked up and saw Zen Master Wuchao arriving on a cloud.

“Zhu Bao’e,” he laughed, “aren’t you going to the West to fetch the scriptures? Why are you making such a pitiful, weeping face?”

“Zen Master, you don’t know.” Bao’e couldn’t stop the tears from falling as she told the story of the monkey, and didn’t forget to complain about her messy, unruly hair.

The Zen master smiled and said, "Don't cry, don't cry. Even the most intractable knot can be untied with patience and care."

He raised his hand and pointed, and a blue phoenix appeared out of thin air, took hold of her hair, and soon it all came apart, and he braided it into several braids.

Bao'e wiped away her tears with her clothes, smoothed her braids, and was overjoyed.

The Zen master then said, “Your senior brother is mischievous, but not a lawless scoundrel. If he has made a mistake, the Bodhisattva will punish him. Why don’t you go and take a look at the Bodhisattva to see if he has committed any crimes?”

Bao'e nodded: "Zen Master, you are also a compassionate person."

Zen Master Wuchao said, "Go."

Bao'e then rode a cloud straight to Mount Luojia in the South Sea, where she encountered the Moksha pilgrim who was seated under Guanyin.

Moksha asked her why she wasn't going to retrieve the scriptures, but instead came to the South China Sea.

She then said, "I've come to find the Bodhisattva."

Moksha led her inside. Before Bao'e could even pay her respects to the Bodhisattva, she suddenly saw the Great Sage standing nearby and cursed, "You cunning monkey! You're so sly! You knew I was coming to complain to the Bodhisattva, so you waited here. Are you going to pull my hair or something?"

The pilgrim said, "Good sister, I've been here with the Bodhisattva without moving. When did I pull your hair?"

The Bodhisattva said, “Wumiao, Wukong has stayed here for a long time and has never left, nor have I released him. You say he deceived you, but do you have any proof?”

Bao'e: "Bodhisattva, he not only pulled my hair, but he also hit my master."

She then told her everything the traveler had done.

Upon hearing this, the pilgrim said, "Wumiao, don't blame others! If I, Old Sun, have a grudge against my master, I'll just leave. I won't bully a defenseless monk like him."

Bao'e said, "I didn't see this with my own eyes, so I can't blame you. But you did pull my hair, right here on Flower Fruit Mountain, and you even tried to bite my ear. Oh, how miserable I am!"

The Bodhisattva said, "Wumiao, stop crying. Since that's the case, let Wukong go with you to Flower Fruit Mountain to see for himself and then we'll know the truth. Is that alright?"

Bao'e nodded: "That's one way."

The traveler then went with her directly to Flower Fruit Mountain.

Upon arriving at Flower Fruit Mountain, he descended from the clouds and indeed saw another traveler, who looked exactly like him, making merry with the monkeys on a high platform.

He was filled with anger and was about to step forward, but Bao'e grabbed him.

“Brother,” she said, “don’t move. Let me talk to that ‘you’ for a bit first to see if he’s real or not, so that you won’t try to fool me with some hair that’s turned into a magic hair.”

The traveler then put up with it and let her go.

Just as Bao'e took a few steps forward, the traveler on the high platform saw her.

He laughed and said, "Wumiao, you're finally back! We've been waiting for you to go on the journey to the West together. Come here, come here! There are endless grapes, pears, and dates to eat, and countless fine wines to drink."

Bao'e remembered what had happened before and asked him, "What kind of wine was it?"

"A simple wine made from grapes and coconuts." The traveler longed for her, even saving a spot for her right beside him. "Don't be a fool, come here, come here!"

Bao'e was suspicious: This monkey didn't seem to be a creature transformed from a hair.

A group of monkeys happened to arrive and pushed her forward.

She moved closer to the traveler and said, "Brother, since we parted, I don't know if you've become lighter or heavier. Let me weigh you."

The traveler just laughed: "It's only been a few hours, how can it be light or heavy?"

Despite saying this, he let her hug him tightly and lift him up.

He transformed into a human form, and it was just as heavy as a human being.

Bao'e picked her up and then gently put her down.

She thought to herself: When that pilgrim used his hair to create a false body, it was as light as a feather, not this weight.

She then knew that this was not a fake, but the real one.

The traveler, unaware of her thoughts, simply pinched her cheek, stuffed a grape into her mouth, then put his arm around her and headed straight up the tree, chuckling, "Wumiao, nothing to do? Let's go have some fun."

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Author's note: I finished writing it ahead of schedule and am posting it ahead of time.

Some say that the Six-Eared Macaque is Wukong's second mind (inner demon), and this setting is adopted here. Wukong and Bao'e have a romantic storyline, but there are no intimate scenes; it's rather subtle.