Chapter 18 "I am living flesh, but you are dead..."
The swordsman was still fighting the monster with his short blade when he suddenly laughed and said, "Little Elder, if I fight him to the death, and you become the servant, wouldn't that be unfair?"
"Very well, very well! Two against one demon would make me look like I'm bullying him, which would tarnish my reputation as Old Sun." The Monkey King chuckled, but said, "Brother, you're tired of fighting too. This demon has made an enemy of mine. Let Old Sun give him a couple of whacks first, how about that?"
Seeing his unpredictable nature, the swordsman said, "We don't care about who's first or last; we only care about the depth of the grudge. If you want revenge, then go."
He then took up a short knife and fought with the bandits.
His movements were incredibly swift and clean; in the blink of an eye, he took the lives of the bandits.
The pilgrim drew his Ruyi Jingu Bang and smashed it in front of him, abandoning his attack and shouting, "You brat, take a few blows from your grandpa's grandson!"
This brutal killing was truly shocking.
The Great Sage wielded a magic staff called the Golden Cudgel, while Young Master Nie held a soul-snatching rope from the underworld.
One wielded a stick and struck out with a blinding golden light; the other wielded a long rope and wrapped it around the head, like a golden dragon coiling around a pillar, making it truly difficult to untangle.
The pilgrim shouted, "You vicious beast, you deceitful ghost! How dare you play tricks and do such harmful things in front of me, Old Sun!"
Nie Guiyu also cursed, "You little monkey, how arrogant you are! That monk doesn't know his own mortality, and you don't know the limits either. After I kill you, I'll steam you and your two disciples in a steamer, so instead of going to the Western Paradise to retrieve the true scriptures, you'll go to the underworld to retrieve the scriptures of death!"
The traveler laughed and said, "Even Yama, the King of Hell, only considers me his grandson. You just happen to be a great-grandson. How dare you lead me to that underworld?"
Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, Young Master Nie swung his sword and slashed at the traveler's head.
The traveler neither avoided nor avoided the attack, letting the attacker chop him down.
Several swords landed on his head, but the blades only made a buzzing sound. There was no damage to his head, not even a scratch on his scalp.
The traveler laughed and said, "Too light, too light! My good great-grandson, when you're tickling your ancestor's head, why don't you use more force?"
Seeing that he was as tough as bronze and as strong as iron, Nie Guiyu quickly sheathed his sword and took out a pen from his sleeve.
The Great Sage saw that the treasure looked familiar, but did not recognize it. He just mocked him, "What treasure did my great-grandson bring to show respect to your ancestor?"
In an instant, the surrounding scenery began to distort and deform again.
Before the traveler could even see what he had drawn, he was pushed out of the painting with a palm strike and disappeared.
This task drained him of a lot of energy, and Nie Guiyu was covered in sweat.
He gasped for breath, and listening to the sounds of fighting, he glanced to the side and saw the swordsman battling a group of bandits.
His face turned cold, and he threw out a long rope, which bound the swordsman.
"Take him away!" he ordered.
The group of little devils obediently complied and dragged the swordsman away.
Meanwhile, Zhu Bao'e was taken to the Buddhist hall by a group of little devils.
For a day and two nights, the monk Sanzang was still sitting upright on the lotus platform, with his palms together and his head bowed, chanting sutras.
The monk, with furrowed brows and a soggy robe hanging on his body, looked as if he had been washed.
Bao'e was tied to a pillar and watched closely, thinking to herself: This monk has no shame, taking a bath in front of a group of monks.
Just then, the swordsman was brought in bound.
She said, "Brother Qiao, why are you keeping me company? Could it be that the monster is always hungry and wants you to cook for him?"
The thief who tied him up chuckled and said, "You fool, you don't know your place. What master butcher? He's just like you now, a piece of meat on the chopping board, waiting to be cooked at any moment."
Bao'e cursed, "I am living flesh, but you are a dead person!"
Enraged, the bandits tightened the ropes, twisting the swordsman into a pretzel shape, making it difficult for him to breathe.
The swordsman did not struggle and let the bandits tie him to the pillar.
After the robbers left, Bao'e looked around and asked, "Why were you the only one brought here? Where is my senior brother?"
Swordsman: "That monster had a treasure that drove away your hairy monkey senior brother."
The fool angrily exclaimed, "How hateful! How hateful!"
He thought she was angry about Wukong's defeat and was about to comfort her when he heard her say again, "What kind of skill is it to chase away a mere monkey? What kind of treasure is he? Why don't you chase me out too!"
The swordsman remained silent for a moment before saying, "Perhaps I forgot for a moment."
The swordsman said, “I have been guarding this painting gate for months. If I go out with it, I don’t know how long I will have to wait. But if I want to defeat that monster, I will have to fight for hundreds of rounds. If he takes the opportunity to order his minions to eat you and your master, wouldn’t that be a waste of two innocent lives? It’s better to stay.”
“So that’s the reason. Brother, you’re truly kind-hearted,” Bao’e said. “Don’t worry, my senior brother looks like a skinny, hairy-faced monkey spirit, but he’s actually Sun Wukong, who wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago. None of the gods in Heaven could do anything to him, let alone this little monster. He’s not as docile as I am; he has a fiery temper and won’t let that monster tease him. He told me to wait here and look after Master. So let’s stay here and get some rest and sleep for a while, and then he’ll come.”
The swordsman said, "Now that we've angered that monster, and who knows when your senior brother will arrive, we'd better save ourselves."
"That's right, that's right."
"I haven't inquired about a single matter yet. That ghost is extremely cunning and doesn't easily trust anyone. I just saw that his chest wound was quite severe. How did you manage to get close to him and injure him with that sword sheath?"
Bao'e glanced at Sanzang and thought to herself that although the monk was chanting sutras with his eyes closed, he might be clear-headed and able to hear the sounds.
She dared not reveal her affair with that young master Nie. She looked away, lost in thought, and murmured, "This is difficult, very difficult. That scoundrel is so cunning."
The swordsman found her adorable, seeing her dazed and confused.
“Miss Zhu,” he suddenly said, “is the rope too tight? There are red marks on your neck. Perhaps you could loosen it a little to make it feel more comfortable.”
Upon hearing this, Zhu Bao'e also felt an itch on her neck.
She thought to herself that this wasn't caused by a rope, but rather by that monster surnamed Nie's reckless kissing.
But she didn't need to say that to him. She only asked, "Brother, my hands and feet are tied up, and you've become a dumpling in this cage too. How can we untie the ropes?"
The swordsman laughed and said, "That's alright. Come here and sit closer."
His voice was low and sharp, tickling her ear like a hook. Bao'e felt weak and numb, her round eyes fixed on him.
He was found bound hand and foot, his skin bulging out and his features clearly defined.
She thought to herself: Although this group of bandits is a bunch of scoundrels, they are all really good at tying ropes.
A note from the author:
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My darlings, I've finished posting all the drafts I've saved. I'll stop here for now.
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