Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 119 Encountering the Blackwater River (Part 5)
However, Ao Tu's words left Tang Sanzang speechless.

After a long while, Tang Sanzang finally said, "River God, if you want to build a bridge, with your divine power, I wonder when you will be able to finish it?"

Ao Tu said, "With my divine power, it can be repaired in two or three months."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang didn't find it too slow and replied:

"Wukong, let's stay here and help them build the bridge."

Wukong said, "If Master wants us to stay, we disciples will naturally follow."

The imperial envoy was overjoyed upon hearing this and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Holy Monk! Thank you, Dragon God! This is truly a blessing for the millions of people of my Kingdom of Huoluo!"

Ao Tu said, "Wait a minute. There are three things to do before the bridge can be built."

The imperial envoy hurriedly asked, "Your Excellency Dragon God, what are these three matters?"

Ao Tu stood with his hands behind his back and said, "The construction of the bridge is a blessing for your Huoluo Kingdom, but not necessarily for the people. I wish to receive offerings from the people, but the people are not blessed, so how can I expect to receive offerings from them?"

The imperial envoy hurriedly replied, "Why do you say such things, Lord Dragon God? If the country benefits from bridges, it will surely bestow those benefits upon the people, repair official roads, control floods, and reduce taxes. How could the people not be blessed?"

Ao Tu said, “I don’t believe empty words. The words of immortals and gods are recorded by heaven; the words of mortals are recorded on paper. If you want to build a bridge, your king must personally write an imperial edict, affix the national seal, and announce it to the world. On the day the bridge is completed, taxes will be reduced for the whole country. Only then will I believe it.”

After a slight hesitation, the imperial envoy said, "I will definitely report to the emperor and make this happen."

Ao Tu nodded slightly.

Looking at Ao Tu's behavior, Wukong felt a vague sense of familiarity.

These two truly are brothers...

The imperial envoy said, "Lord Dragon God, besides this matter, there are two other things. May I ask what they are?"

Ao Tu said, "There are two remaining matters. First, we need 200,000 taels of silver to fund the bridge construction. Second, we need to conscript 20,000 laborers to cut timber and transport soil."

The imperial envoy said happily, "Of course, of course. Is 200,000 taels of silver too little? We can add more. We can also recruit more laborers."

Ao Tu said, "No need, this is enough."

Seeing this, Tang Sanzang asked in confusion, "River God, if you have divine power, why do you still need to conscript laborers? If you want to do good deeds, why do you still ask for money?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Holy Monk, this silver is not for my own use. Look at this Blackwater River, it is more than sixty miles wide. Is there any precedent in the world for building a bridge for people to cross it?"

Tang Sanzang shook his head and said, "There is no precedent."

Ao Tu said, "This bridge is so long that even two million or twenty million taels of silver would not be enough to build it, let alone two hundred thousand taels."

Tang Sanzang asked, "Then what is this?"

Ao Tu asked, "Holy Monk, have you heard the story of 'The Man from Zheng Cherishing a Tile'?"

Tang Sanzang pondered for a moment, not knowing the reason, and asked, "Please enlighten me."

Ao Tu said, "There was a man from Zheng who wanted to sweep snow. He was careful with his roof tiles, walking very lightly. But when he was sweeping snow for his neighbor, he stepped on them and they clanged and broke without him even noticing. When people asked him why, he replied, 'My tiles are expensive, but my neighbor's are cheap.'"

If I were to build a bridge out of thin air using divine power, no one would cherish it. You might damage a single piece of wood, someone might steal a single brick, and the bridge would surely crumble in time. But if a bridge is built by human labor, everyone will treasure it, and it will endure for a long time.”

After listening to Ao Tu's words, Tang Sanzang thought about them carefully and concluded that Ao Tu's words made sense.

Ao Tu then said, "For this matter to succeed, we still need the Holy Monk's help."

Tang Sanzang asked, "Are you asking for my help?"

Ao Tu said, "It is not just the Holy Monk alone that is invited, but the Holy Monk, the Great Sage, Marshal Tianpeng, and General Juanlian, to assist together."

Wukong asked, "What do you want us to do?" Bajie replied, "Is there some uneaten food that you want us to clean up?"

Ao Tu said, "No. It is the 200,000 taels of silver needed to build the bridge. Xiao Long wants to ask the four disciples of the Holy Monk to transport the silver back."

Wukong laughed and said, "I thought it was something important, just transporting some gold and silver. Is it really worth calling on me, Old Sun? Just have the king send more soldiers."

Ao Tu shook his head and said, "Great Sage, you may not know this, but there is a strange rat in this place that is good at stealing gold and silver. It comes and goes without a trace, and mortals cannot track it. It would be better if Great Sage and his disciples went there."

Wukong scratched his cheek and said, "There are such strange rats. I have traveled all over the four continents, but I have never seen them before. I would like to see them today."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Then thank you very much, Great Sage."

Afterwards, Tang Sanzang and his disciples rode in a carriage and headed towards the capital of the Kingdom of Huoluo.

After some time, the four of them returned to the capital of the Kingdom of Huoluo.

Tang Sanzang paid his respects to the king, explained his purpose, and attached a letter from the imperial envoy.

After inspecting the bridge, the King of Huoluo immediately ordered 200,000 taels of silver to be taken from the national treasury and transported to the Blackwater River by officials and soldiers. He also promised to issue an edict that on the day the bridge was completed, taxes throughout the country would be reduced by 10%.

The people all danced with joy.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples were very happy to see that things were going smoothly.

A few days later, 200,000 taels of silver were loaded onto carts and prepared. Officials and soldiers of the Kingdom of Huoluo escorted them all the way, with Tang Sanzang and his disciples following closely behind.

Seeing this formidable force, the bandits and robbers on the road dared not approach and all kept their distance.

Wukong sat on the carriage carrying the silver, waiting for the strange rat that stole the silver to come. However, from leaving the capital city all the way to the Blackwater River, he did not see a trace of the strange rat.

Wukong thought to himself, "That alligator dragon must be lying to me. I'll go back and settle the score with him."

Soon, the silver-carrying carriages entered the city on the banks of the Blackwater River. The silver-carrying officials handed the carriages over to the imperial envoy, who then ordered the silver to be stored in the treasury.

Just then, a dragon's roar came from the sky, and a huge alligator dragon's body swam in the air. When the people and officials saw it, they all bowed down.

Wukong, wielding his staff, shouted, "You wicked dragon, how dare you play tricks on me? Hurry up and come down so I can give you three whacks to vent my anger!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu descended from the sky, reverting to his human form, and said to Wukong with a smile, "Great Sage, what makes you say such a thing?"

Wukong said, "I believed your words and escorted the silver cart all the way without the slightest negligence, yet I haven't seen a trace of the strange rat you mentioned. What else do you have to say? Quickly stretch out your leg to receive your punishment!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Great Sage, I'm afraid that strange rat has already stolen the silver, and you don't even know it."

Upon hearing this, the imperial envoy immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Even though he hadn't participated in transporting the silver, he knew that the silver in the cart couldn't possibly be the full amount. After all, transporting silver by hand would inevitably result in some losses along the way…

Wukong, unaware of the reason, said:
"Nonsense! I never leave your side, day or night. Don't even mention some strange rat. Even if Erlang Shen himself turned into a rat and came in, he wouldn't escape my fiery eyes! You scoundrel, are you just making up this lie because you're afraid of my golden cudgel?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Since the Great Sage doesn't believe me, would you dare to make a bet with me?"

Wukong asked, "What kind of bet?"

Ao Tu said, "If there is not a shortage of silver, I will stretch out my leg and let the Great Sage hit me three times; if there is a shortage of silver, the Great Sage will still stand still and let me hit him three times."

Wukong said, "Alright, I'll bet with you! But if I lose and end up with a limp, don't come crying to me!"

Ao Tu said, "Great Sage, you mustn't go back on your word."

Wukong said, "I won't go back on my word."

(End of this chapter)