Journey to the West: Please Call Me the White Bone Demon

Wave Moon Cave, Back Cave.

When Tang Sanzang woke up, he felt a splitting headache and his limbs were tightly bound with thick ropes, making it impossible for him to move.

The cave was damp and cold, and the air was filled with a foul, fishy smell.

He barely opened his eyes and looked around. He saw that the stone walls were rough and a few oil lamps flickered in the corner, casting swaying shadows.

His heart sank, and he immediately recalled what had happened before—the golden pagoda, the demonic wind, and the yellow-robed monster…

"Amitabha... This humble monk... has he been captured by a demon again?"

Tang Sanzang's voice trembled slightly, and for the first time, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Since leaving Chang'an, he has encountered countless demons, but Wukong has always been by his side.

Although the monkey was mischievous, it possessed great supernatural powers. With its fiery eyes, it could identify demons and monsters. With a wave of its golden cudgel, any demon would be driven away. If it were before, it would probably have turned into a small insect to comfort itself in the cave and then tried to rescue it.

Without Wukong, only Bajie and Wujing remained. What was the result? They were easily captured by the demons.

He had been hoping that Bajie and Wujing would come to his rescue since they couldn't find him.

But then they heard the little demons inside the cave talking about how they were going to cook the fat pig and the other monk they were imprisoning, whether by steaming, frying, or stewing.

Tang Sanzang's anxiety finally died.

He closed his eyes, and two lines of clear tears silently slid down his cheeks.

"Wukong... I was wrong."

He muttered to himself, his voice so low that only he could hear it.

Previously at White Tiger Ridge, he insisted that Wukong was indiscriminately killing innocent people, and in a fit of anger, he recited the Tightening-Headband Mantra to drive him away.

At that time, he only felt that he had upheld the Buddhist precepts and punished his disciple for his violence.

But now that they are trapped in the demon's lair, with Pigsy sleeping in and not returning, and Sandy feeling powerless, he truly understands that without Monkey King, they cannot even protect themselves in the most basic way.

"If Wukong were here, how could he have allowed this monster to set up the illusionary tower? He saw through it at a glance..."

"If Wukong were here, would Bajie dare to be lazy and sleep all day?"

"If Wukong were here... how could this humble monk have fallen into such a state?"

Regret surged into my heart like a tide.

Tang Sanzang clasped his hands together and began to recite the Heart Sutra in a low voice, but the more he recited, the more confused he became, and he choked up and had to stop several times.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the cave, and a woman dressed in a light pink palace dress entered carrying a tray.

She was stunningly beautiful, yet her eyes held a deep sorrow. She was none other than Princess Baihuaxiu, the third princess of Baoxiang Kingdom, who had been imprisoned in the back cave by the Yellow-Robed Monster for thirteen years.

Baihua Xiu placed the tray on the stone table and said softly, "Holy Monk, you're awake? Please eat something."

Tang Sanzang looked up and saw that although she was a woman from a demon cave, she possessed no demonic aura and her demeanor was dignified. He then clasped his hands together and said, "Female Bodhisattva, this humble monk thanks you. But...may I ask where this place is? And why are you in this demon cave?"

Baihua Xiu sighed and lowered her voice: "Holy monk, you may not know this place, but this is the Wave Moon Cave of Wanzishan Mountain. The cave master is called the Yellow Robe Monster. I am a princess of Baoxiang Kingdom, named Baihua Xiu. Thirteen years ago, the monster kidnapped me from Baoxiang Kingdom and forcibly took me as his wife."

I thought I had no hope of leaving in this lifetime, but a few days ago a divine being appeared to me in a dream, saying that a holy monk from the Tang Dynasty had arrived and that if I simply helped him leave, he would surely save me from my predicament and allow me to return to the old capital.

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang was greatly surprised: "Such a past exists!"

Baihua paused, her eyes slightly red: "Now, taking advantage of the demon sleeping in the cave, I have come specifically to rescue the holy monk. If I can escape from this cave and return to Baoxiang Kingdom to inform my father, the king, and ask him to send troops to rescue me, then... I will have hope of survival!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang felt a pang of pity: "Princess Bodhisattva, please rest assured. Although I am but a mortal, I am willing to do my utmost. If we can escape this predicament, I will return to Baoxiang Kingdom and ask the king to send troops to rescue you from this sea of ​​suffering."

Baihua Xiu was overjoyed and quickly untied the ropes binding him. She then handed him a bag of dry rations and a pot of water: "Holy Monk, hurry! There's a secret passage in the back cave that leads directly to the back of the mountain. I've already dismissed the guards; you only have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. After you leave the cave, head east for thirty li, and you'll reach the main road, which leads straight to the capital of Baoxiang Kingdom!"

Tang Sanzang was extremely grateful, but then he thought of his two disciples. If he could rescue them as well, the journey would be much smoother.

But considering that Princess Baihuaxiu had already taken a great risk to rescue him, how could he possibly ask for anything more?

If they can escape this hellhole, and inform the king to send troops, his two disciples will surely be able to break free.

Thinking this, Tang Sanzang clasped his hands in farewell and hurriedly escaped from Wave Moon Cave through the dark passage.

The night was deep, and the mountain wind howled.

Tang Sanzang, dressed in thin clothes, trudged eastward, his steps uneven. He walked for most of the night before finally managing to leave the territory of Wanzishan.

However, the travel documents, travel permits, and luggage were all left in the cave and not brought out.

He now only has a tattered monk's robe on him, and not a penny to his name.

Three days later, Tang Sanzang finally staggered to the gates of the capital city of Baoxiang Kingdom.

He was dressed in tattered clothes and looked haggard, as if he had fled from disaster.

Soldiers stood guard outside the city gate.

Tang Sanzang stepped forward, about to explain his purpose, but was stopped by a captain.

"Halt! Anyone entering the city needs a pass! Who are you? Where do you come from?"

Tang Sanzang clasped his hands together and said, "This humble monk comes from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East, on a journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures. On the way, I encountered monsters, and my travel documents were lost..."

The captain looked him up and down. He saw that the man was dressed in rags, covered in dust, and had disheveled hair. He looked nothing like a high-ranking monk on a pilgrimage. He looked more like a beggar fleeing famine!

"Nonsense! How could a pilgrim monk be without travel documents? He must be a fugitive or a spy! Guards, seize him!"

Tang Sanzang tried to explain, but several soldiers rushed forward, tied him up, and took him to the city's prison.

The cell was cold and damp, holding dozens of prisoners. Tang Sanzang was thrown in and huddled in a corner, suffering from hunger and cold.

The next day, when he was interrogated, the officials asked him about his background. He answered truthfully, but no one believed him.

"A monk from the East on a pilgrimage? Hmph, probably a lazybones fleeing from somewhere, shirking taxes!"

Tang Sanzang was speechless and could not defend himself. He was sentenced to hard labor for "illegally entering the country without a proper route" and was punished by having to build city walls!

The Kingdom of Baoxiang has recently been undertaking large-scale construction projects to expand its capital, which requires a large number of laborers.

Tang Sanzang, a monk who was too weak to even kill a chicken, was driven to the city wall construction site, where he was forced to carry bricks and soil every day, exposed to the scorching sun and whipped.

After more than ten days, his already thin body became even weaker, his monk's robe was tattered, his face and hands were covered in mud, and even the kindness and gentle demeanor he once had was almost gone.

The heavenly guardians, Garan and the Six Ding and Six Jia, saw this and were anxious.

If we're kept stuck here doing all this hard labor, how are we supposed to get the scriptures?

Disregarding everything else, he hurriedly sent a dream to the county magistrate in the city, saying that there was a true holy monk at the construction site and that he should not be neglected, otherwise he would be sent to the deepest hell after death and never be reborn.

When the magistrate woke up, he was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly summoned people to inquire and found that a while ago, they had arrested a man who claimed to be from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East. Now, the man was being punished by being forced to do hard labor.

He was both angry and annoyed, so he hurriedly had someone take him to the construction site and summoned Tang Sanzang. Although Tang Sanzang was disheveled, he had a clear and upright appearance and a faint Buddhist aura around him.

The magistrate knew perfectly well that the person the deity in his dream had spoken of was this very person.

Tang Sanzang was finally released, given a bath and changed clothes, and then taken to an inn to rest.

But by this time, he was in a terrible state. After more than ten days of hard labor, his old wounds had not healed and new ones had been added. His voice was hoarse.

He was preoccupied with the journey to the West, and he also didn't know what kind of suffering Pigsy and Monkey were enduring in that monster's cave.

We dared not delay for even a moment.

After a short rest, they asked for directions to the capital and then hurried off.

He left in a hurry, and the magistrate had intended to treat him well and present him with a clean monk's robe.

When he arrived at the inn with his men, they were dumbfounded; Tang Sanzang was nowhere to be seen.

As for Tang Sanzang, he was so anxious that he neglected his appearance.

That day, he came to the outskirts of the city again. He was not harassed when he entered, but after taking only a few steps into the city, he heard shouts from behind.

"Stop! You there, stop looking, I'm talking to you, come here!"

The head constable shouted, "There have been many runaway slaves in the city lately. Judging from your appearance, you must be one of them! Come with us to the government office for questioning!"

Tang Sanzang quickly explained, "This humble monk is a pilgrim from the East on a journey to retrieve Buddhist scriptures, not a runaway slave..."

But the constables wouldn't listen. Seeing that he was all alone, with no one to testify, dark-skinned and thin, dressed in tattered clothes that couldn't hide his hard labor, they immediately tied him up and took him to the slave registration office for questioning.

The slave registration office held dozens of "suspected escaped slaves" who had been captured. Tang Sanzang was thrown in there to await inspection.

This stage will last for seven days.

For seven days, he shared a large dormitory room with a group of real slaves and escaped convicts, where he was bitten by mosquitoes, stank in the stench, ate moldy buns, and drank muddy water.

Tang Sanzang had never suffered such humiliation. He curled up in a corner at night and thought of Sun Wukong again.

"Wukong... if you were here, how could I have suffered this humiliation?"

He murmured to himself, "In his entire life, apart from being thrown into a wooden basin and suffering for a few days, Tang Sanzang had always had smooth sailing and was treated with great courtesy wherever he went. When had he ever had such an experience?"

As he thought about it, tears soaked his monk's robe.

The heavenly guardians, Garan and the Six Ding and Six Jia, saw that Tang Sanzang had been captured by mortals again.

He sighed, "Without that monkey, how difficult is this journey to the West?"

Although unwilling, he had no choice but to repeat the same trick.

Tang Sanzang was released.

The magistrate respectfully escorted him back to the inn, had a doctor treat him, and maids attend to him, but the humiliation in Tang Seng's heart could not be washed away no matter what.

He sat on the couch, gazing at the myriad lights outside the window, and for the first time felt that his journey westward was hopeless.

"Did I... do something wrong?"

"Without Wukong, could this journey to the West... really continue?"

At this moment, inside the Palace of Myriad Phenomena.

Yun Zhao felt pleased as he listened to the scout's report.

"very good."

"Tang Sanzang was released, but Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing remained in the Wave Moon Cave."

"Baihua Xiu cried for help, but he was unable to move an inch after returning to the country... This period of time is enough to drag on for a long time."

He picked up the wine cup and took a sip.

"As for Tang Sanzang... let him experience more of the hardships of life in Baoxiang Kingdom."

……

Deep within the dungeon of Wave Moon Cave, Pigsy and Sandy were chained together, speechless.

Since they were imprisoned here, the Yellow Robe Monster hasn't come to see them for a single day. He doesn't care at all. Anyway, Yun Zhao said that as long as he keeps Pigsy and Sandy locked up and doesn't let them leave, that's fine.

Pigsy sighed, "Master must have escaped... but the two of us are probably going to rot here."

Sha Wujing whispered, "Brother, don't worry. If Master can bring reinforcements..."

Pigsy smiled bitterly: "Reinforcements? Master is all alone now, he doesn't even know where we are. Alas, if we had known this would happen, we should have pleaded for that monkey more earnestly when he was driven away!"

The two remained silent, the only sound in the dungeon being the soft clanging of the chains.