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

Ah Niu's question echoed in the night, like a dull knife, slowly grinding into Tang Seng's heart.

His head felt like it was about to explode.

Yes... At first, the woman simply carried a basket of flowers and walked gracefully towards us, her smile as pure as the morning dew in the mountains.

She said she wanted to express her feelings, saying that she saw they were weary from their journey.

She didn't even make any extra moves; she just smiled and handed over the flower basket, and then she was beaten to death with a stick.

What crime have they committed?

How innocent!

Even if... even if she really is a monster, the first thing I saw in her was clearly kindness!

Tang Sanzang suddenly remembered the Buddhist verse he had been reciting all these years: "All sentient beings possess Buddha-nature."

I am reminded of Zen Master Wuchao's profound verse: "When the mind arises, all phenomena arise; when the mind ceases, all phenomena cease."

What exactly happened in my heart?

Is it compassion or the karma of killing?

Is it salvation or slaughter?

He suddenly felt as if a huge rock was blocking his chest, making it hard to breathe.

His fingers unconsciously clenched the monk's robe, his knuckles turning white.

"Master..." Pigsy called out softly, but Tang Sanzang glared at him so hard that he swallowed the rest of his words.

The noise had already alerted the entire village.

The starlight was dim, and torches were lit one after another, their orange glow flickering in the night, illuminating the confused and angry faces in a dim light.

More and more villagers gathered, some wearing clothes, some even barefoot, with messy hair.

They followed Ah Niu's cries and first saw him kneeling in the courtyard, covered in blood, then heard his heart-wrenching accusations—

"Ah Ling is dead! Uncle Bai is dead! Aunt Bai is dead too! The whole family is dead!"

These words struck like a thunderbolt, exploding in the crowd.

"What? Ah Ling is dead?"

"Impossible! I saw her carrying a basket past the village entrance yesterday!"

"Old Bai borrowed a hoe from me the day before yesterday, saying he wanted to loosen the soil in the field, how could this be..."

The crowd looked at each other, their faces filled with disbelief.

In their "memory," Bai Ling's family were real neighbors.

Old Man Bai was a gentle man who would help anyone who needed help during holidays or festivals.

Aunt Bai is skillful with her hands. Whenever someone in the village has a baby, she goes to help deliver the baby and make soup. Bai Ling is even more so. She is pretty and kind-hearted. She loves to make flower crowns for children. Which little girl in the village hasn't worn a flower crown she made?

How could someone just die like that?

Old Man Li, the most respected elder in the village, coughed twice, leaned on his cane, and stepped forward. His voice was aged, yet carried an undeniable authority:

"Ah Niu! Explain yourself! Where did you see the body? What makes you so sure it was these monks who did it?"

His words no longer contained the respect he had shown for Tang Sanzang at the beginning.

It carries a sense of alienation and indifference.

Ah Niu suddenly looked up, tears mixed with blood streaming down his face, leaving two muddy streaks. He pointed at Tang Sanzang and his disciples, his voice hoarse, each word like a knife:

"There's only one main road from east to west! Anyone who wants to go west has to pass through our village! No one had come before today, but they did! And then Bai Ling's whole family died. If it wasn't them, then who was it?!"

He practically roared it out by the end, his voice trembling in the night air.

The crowd erupted in uproar.

Some people started whispering among themselves, while others had already teared up.

"That makes sense. Does that mean those monks really are the murderers?"

"How could you do this to such a good girl like Ah Ling!"

……

Seeing that things were going wrong, Pigsy immediately stuck out his neck and shouted:

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't talk nonsense! Who knows who this Bai Ling and Hei Ling he's talking about are? What evidence do you have to prove we killed them?"

Sha Wujing chimed in, "Second Brother is right."

But saying that was like adding fuel to the fire.

Ah Niu suddenly rushed forward, almost getting grabbed by Sun Wukong again, but he kept his eyes fixed on Zhu Bajie:

"No evidence? Fine! Then I'll take you to see it! To see that charred house, that pile of flesh, to see Ah Ling's corpse lying there! If you didn't do it, I, Ah Niu, will kneel down and kowtow to you to apologize! If you dare to do it but don't dare to admit it..."

He gritted his teeth, forcing out the words through clenched teeth:

"...I'll fight you to the death!"

The villagers also started shouting:

"Yes! Let's go take a look!"

"Ah Ling can't just die like this, without any explanation!"

"They should be laid to rest in peace. No matter what, we should go and bring their bodies back!"

Just as everyone was arguing, Tang Sanzang suddenly raised his head, his voice not loud, but resolute:

"Shut up, all of you!"

The courtyard fell silent instantly.

Tang Sanzang's gaze slowly swept over his three disciples, finally landing on Ah Niu's face. He took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly, yet each word was clear:

"Benefactor Ah Niu... take this humble monk to have a look."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong turned around abruptly: "Master?!"

Pigsy and Sandy were also stunned.

They all knew that these mortals were referring to the family that had been killed by the monkeys during the day.

But at this point, how could they admit it? They had to insist, no matter how hard they tried, that it wasn't them who did it.

What does Master want?

Tang Sanzang no longer looked at them, but simply clasped his hands together wearily, his eyes filled with determination.

Ah Niu chuckled coldly twice and led the way.

The group, carrying torches, marched in a grand procession toward the east end of the village.

Upon reaching the scorched earth, the torchlight illuminated everything in minute detail.

The charred beams and pillars, the collapsed walls, and the lingering, acrid smell of burning in the air.

The villagers gasped and cried out.

A few steps further on, the dark red mass of flesh was a shocking sight.

Finally, they saw her.

Bai Ling—or rather, the body of "Bai Ling" in the villagers' memories.

She lay in the grass, her clothes torn, her features still delicate, but she would never smile again.

The torchlight illuminated her face, casting a deathly pale glow.

Tang Sanzang suddenly stopped.

He stared blankly at that face, his lips trembling, and the last glimmer of hope in his eyes was completely extinguished at that moment.

"...It's her."

"It's...the woman from during the day."

His voice was soft, yet it resounded like thunder in everyone's ears.

Ah Niu suddenly turned around and stared intently at Tang Sanzang:

"It's good to accept it!"

"A life for a life, a debt for a debt—what more can that monk say?"

Tang Sanzang's lips moved, but no sound came out.

Just then, Sun Wukong suddenly stepped forward and shouted sharply:

"Alright!"

"It was all done by me, Old Sun! So what?!"

"This family of three are all demons in disguise! Killing them is doing the people a favor. I don't know what kind of spell you've been cast on to protect them like this!"

These words caused an uproar at the scene.

The villagers were stunned at first, then became agitated.

"A monster?! Ah Ling has grown up with us for decades, and you're calling her a monster?!"

"You saw her harm someone with your own eyes?!"

"Even if she is a demon, who has she ever harmed?! Has she ever stolen a single egg from anyone's house?!"

"You monks, you keep talking about compassion, but then you turn around and kill people and burn down their houses! You're the monsters!"

Old Man Li raised his cane, pointing it at Tang Sanzang and his disciples, his enthusiasm from the afternoon gone, replaced by coldness on his face.

"Out-of-town monks, how could you possibly understand the laws of White Tiger Ridge? Here, what is the difference between humans and demons? Your indiscriminate killing is truly the way of evil!"

Seeing that things were completely turning against him, Pigsy hurriedly shrank back, muttering, "The one who killed him was that guy surnamed Sun, it has nothing to do with me, Pigsy."

"That's enough!"

Seeing what was happening before him, the monkey felt his three corpses raging. He pulled the golden cudgel from his ear and slammed it into the ground.

Boom!

The villagers were all knocked to the ground by the shock.

"Wukong! What are you doing?!"

Tang Sanzang sternly stopped him: "You still want to kill people? How many more do you need to kill? Why not just kill your master too?"

"Master..."

The monkey mumbled, he had never thought of it this way before. He only wanted to intimidate these mortals, but why...?

He was about to explain himself.

My head felt like it was being gnawed on by millions of maggots, and I started to ache intensely.