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

Wave Moon Cave, deep within the dungeon.

In the cold, damp stone chamber, the iron chains clanged.

Pigsy and Sandy have been bound to the corner of the wall with heavy chains for several months.

At first, the two still held a sliver of hope.

Pigsy grumbled every day, "Master must have escaped! That bald man is a master of lamentation; once the King of Baoxiang Kingdom hears it, he'll surely send troops to rescue him!"

Sha Wujing closed his eyes and chanted Buddhist prayers: "Second brother, don't worry. Master is a lucky man and will surely be able to bring reinforcements."

But as the days went by, apart from the simple meals brought by the little demons, there was no other activity outside the dungeon.

After imprisoning them, the Yellow-Robed Monster vanished without a trace and never showed his face again.

The feast and dance in the cave were lively and bustling, but they seemed to have completely forgotten that there were two prisoners in the dungeon.

After several months, the two were dressed in rags. Although as immortals they did not need to eat and had nothing to do, Pigsy had not completely given up his appetite.

After being locked up for months without food or water, Sha Wujing's once plump body became noticeably thinner, and his curly hair became a mess.

One day, Pigsy leaned against the corner of the wall and sighed, "Brother Sandy, do you think Master... has forgotten about us?"

Sha Wujing opened his eyes, his voice hoarse: "Second Brother, stop talking nonsense. Master is compassionate; how could he forget us?"

Pigsy chuckled bitterly, "Compassion? Heh heh, back in the White Tiger Ridge incident, Master chased Monkey away in a fit of anger. Now we're locked up here, and he's all alone; he's probably in dire need of protection! Besides, why is that Yellow Robe Monster capturing us? He won't kill us, won't release us, and won't eat us either, just leaving us hanging like this... This old Pigsy is getting really scared!"

Sha Wujing was silent for a moment, then also became worried: "Yes... it's been months, and there hasn't been a single word. If Master really brought reinforcements, they should have arrived by now. Could it be... that something happened to Master too?"

Upon hearing this, Pigsy's eyes reddened: "Don't scare me! If something happens to Master, will we both be stuck here for the rest of our lives? Wujing, do you think that monkey will come to save us? He's incredibly skilled; he can somersault 108,000 li in one leap..."

Sha Wujing shook his head: "Eldest brother, Master personally banished him, and he's arrogant by nature, how could he possibly return?"

Pigsy sighed, "That's true... We didn't persuade him enough back then. If we had known it would turn out this way, I would have risked my life to keep Monkey King here!"

The two remained silent, the only sounds in the dungeon being the soft clanging of chains and the occasional laughter of little demons.

Unbeknownst to them, several months had passed in the outside world, and Tang Sanzang was finding it difficult to move an inch in Baoxiang Kingdom. Meanwhile, they had been completely "forgotten" from the Yellow Robe Monster's plans.

On the other side, deep within White Tiger Ridge, lies a hidden stone chamber.

The dozen or so guardian deities—the Six Ding and Six Jia, the Five Directions Jiedi, the Four Duty Officers, and others—had their magical powers sealed by Yun Zhao, leaving them paralyzed on the ground, unable to move.

Yun Zhao did not kill them, but only suppressed their magical powers, leaving their souls as weak as ordinary people, unable to get help from heaven or earth.

Inside the stone chamber, the gods looked ashen-faced.

A clerk sighed, "It's been two months... Shouldn't the Heavenly Court have noticed by now?"

Another Jiedi smiled bitterly: "They must have noticed. So much time has passed, and none of us have gone to heaven to report. Those adults must be investigating. We should just stay put and behave ourselves."

"Wow, I never imagined this job would be so dangerous."

The gods were silent.

They were originally protectors on the pilgrimage, reporting their progress to the Heavenly Court daily. Their absence for two months was an extremely unusual occurrence.

Heavenly Court, South Heavenly Gate.

Venus, holding a whisk, stands on a cloud, his brow furrowed.

"Strange... The guardian deities who protect the pilgrimage always come to the Lingxiao Palace every day to report on Tang Sanzang's progress on his journey to the West. Why are none of them here today?"

He quickly calculated with his fingers, then his expression changed drastically: "Something's not right! There's been no news from the mortal realm for two months!"

Venus is a senior official of the Heavenly Court, a Great Luo Golden Immortal, and in charge of documents. He is most knowledgeable about the journey to the West.

Knowing that this matter was of utmost importance, he hurriedly went to the Lingxiao Palace to pay homage to the Jade Emperor.

"Your Majesty, the guardian deities of the pilgrimage have not reported back for two months. I fear there may be trouble in the mortal realm!"

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor also found it strange: "I grant you permission to descend to the mortal realm to investigate."

Venus received the decree, transformed into golden light, and headed straight for Baoxiang Kingdom in Xiniu Hezhou.

Unless it is a time of great calamity, a simple divination will reveal the outcome.

Now that the heavens are shrouded in darkness, he has no choice but to investigate personally.

Fortunately, I could sense the presence of a group of divine generals here, though they had barely moved for a long time.

He first secretly infiltrated the capital of Baoxiang Kingdom to find out what was going on.

The city was as usual, with Regent Yun Zhao in disguise reviewing memorials, and the court in perfect order.

But when Venus scanned the area with his divine sense, he immediately sensed something was wrong—Tang Sanzang was being held under house arrest in a high-walled, deep courtyard with strict guards, but was not allowed to go out under the pretext of "recuperating from illness."

"The Regent...at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm?"

Venus was startled.

What exactly happened?!

He immediately summoned the local mountain and land gods from a thousand miles away to inquire.

The more I listened, the heavier my heart became.

The journey to the West is a Buddhist affair, and although they may offer assistance, they should not interfere excessively.

Therefore, the only way to know where the pilgrimage team was was through the reports of the gods who went to heaven to report on their duties.

As for the various details, Venus paid no attention to them.

Today, however, I secretly regret it.

The monkey was chased away.

Pigsy and Sandy were captured.

Even Tang Sanzang was placed under house arrest.

The journey to the West almost ended here.

This was a matter of great calamity for heaven and earth, and even Venus was terrified.

"This is terrible! Although I have the ability to intervene, I am not the one destined to face this calamity. Now, I'm afraid I'll have to go find that impudent monkey to save the day!"

Fortunately, he had dealt with monkeys quite a bit and knew their nature.

Venus dared not delay. With a thought, he fled straight to Flower Fruit Mountain in Dongsheng Divine Continent.

Flower and Fruit Mountain, Water Curtain Cave.

Sun Wukong had been in the mountains for several months since he was banished.

He drank wine every day while holding a staff, surrounded by monkeys and their offspring, yet he always felt empty.

On this day, he was teaching the little monkeys to play with sticks when he suddenly saw a flash of golden light on the horizon, and an old man with a white beard appeared.

"Venus?"

Sun Wukong scratched his head: "Old man, what are you doing here?"

Venus bowed and said urgently, "Great Sage, quickly come with this old minister to rescue your master!"

Sun Wukong was startled: "Master, what's wrong?!"

Venus recounted the events of Baoxiang Kingdom in detail: Tang Sanzang was placed under house arrest, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing were imprisoned, and the guardian deities had disappeared—all the work of Regent Yun Zhao. This man was a peak Golden Immortal, ruthless in his methods, and had obstructed the journey to the West.

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong chuckled and said, "This old monk didn't listen to good advice back then, so it's good that he's suffering now."

"Great Sage, now is not the time to talk about these things. If we delay any longer, who knows what kind of accident might happen? Let's hurry up and save them." Taibai Jinxing smiled wryly.

The monkey said, "Alright, alright, let's save them! Old man, you should go back first. He's just a mere Golden Immortal; I'll go and see what he's capable of!"

Upon hearing this, Venus breathed a sigh of relief.

"In that case, I shall take my leave."