Journey to the West: The gods and Buddhas panicked when the monkey was trapped inside him.

Sun Wukong looked at Tang Sanzang sitting upright in the chair, and listened to his gentle yet helpless words, his smile deepened.

He abandoned his nonchalant demeanor, clasped his hands together, and respectfully bowed to Tang Sanzang.

"Master is right, I did not think this through."

"Master, rest assured, if I encounter this situation again in the future, I will definitely tell you immediately and ask you to personally intervene and make decisions for me."

Tang Sanzang shook his head slightly and raised his hand to touch the cold, hard metal ring on his forehead.

Wearing this thing on your head doesn't cause any discomfort, but the fact that you can't take it off clearly demonstrates its malevolence.

Seeing that Tang Sanzang had stopped speaking, Sun Wukong straightened up, his eyes darting around as he glanced at Guanyin, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra standing in the center of the hall, as well as the Old Mother of Lishan sitting in the main seat.

"Master, you saw everything that just happened."

"I didn't want to wear this hat, but these female benefactors wouldn't let me go and forced me to wear it."

"Now that this hat is on your head, it has turned into this strange iron ring, and you can't take it off."

Sun Wukong raised his voice, which echoed throughout the hall.

"This is clearly a vicious scheme set up against me, Old Sun."

"Now, isn't it your turn to seek justice for your disciple?"

Sun Wukong crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at Tang Sanzang.

"Master, it's up to you now."

After saying that, Sun Wukong strode back to Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing, adopting an attitude of watching the show from the sidelines.

With a flick of his wrist, three glistening, juicy fruits appeared in his palm.

Sun Wukong took a bite himself, then stuffed one of the pieces into Zhu Bajie's arms.

"Bajie, this is yours."

Pigsy's eyes lit up, and he grabbed the fairy fruit.

"It's all thanks to Brother Monkey that we have the best stuff. Following Brother Monkey means we're lucky to have good food."

Sun Wukong, holding the last immortal fruit, looked at Sha Wujing standing on the other side.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed the remaining celestial fruit to Sha Wujing.

"Brother Sha, take this and have a taste. You can't just stand there while watching a play."

Sha Wujing caught the celestial fruit steadily, held it in both hands, and bowed his head to thank Sun Wukong.

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

Pigsy took the fairy fruit, wiped it casually with his sleeve, opened his mouth wide and took a big bite, juice overflowing.

He chewed on the fruit while glancing sideways at the women opposite him, muttering in a low voice.

"Brother Monkey, you're really something! We'll just watch this show from the sidelines."

Sun Wukong chewed on the fruit and mumbled a reply.

"Eat your fruit and see how your master handles it."

Tang Sanzang slowly stood up and straightened his monk's robe.

His expression was solemn as his gaze swept across the faces of Guanyin, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra before finally settling on the Old Mother of Lishan.

"Esteemed benefactors, this humble monk has never been disrespectful in our stay here with my four disciples."

"Why would you hide such a vicious thing inside the monks' hats used for performing rituals?"

The hall was deathly silent.

The Old Mother of Lishan sat upright in the main seat, expressionless, without even lifting her eyelids.

She had made up her mind beforehand not to get involved in the cause and effect of this matter.

Now that the truth has been revealed, whatever happens next is none of her business.

She sat there calmly, watching Guanyin and the other two clean up the mess on their own.

Guanyin, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra looked at each other in bewilderment.

Faced with Tang Sanzang's blunt and stern questioning, the three of them were momentarily at a loss for words.

They can't just say directly, "This headband was originally meant to control Sun Wukong, but who knew he would put it on your head instead."

Once the truth is revealed, Buddhism will lose all face.

Moreover, Tang Sanzang detests nothing more than authoritarian control. If he were to find out that the golden headband was a shackle prepared by Buddhism for its disciples, the journey to the West would likely be thrown into chaos on the spot.

Seeing that the three remained silent, Tang Sanzang frowned deeply.

"Gentlemen, why do you remain silent?"

"Who exactly are you?"

"Why would you set such a trap in this desolate place to murder my disciple?"

Tang Sanzang took a step forward, his voice becoming even more stern.

"If you do not tell the truth, don't blame this humble monk and his disciples for being impolite."

"This humble monk can only have his disciples subdue you all, and then slowly inquire about the details of the matter."

Tang Sanzang turned to look at his three disciples behind him, his tone resolute.

"Wukong, Bajie, Wujing."

"These people are of unknown origin and use insidious methods. Take them down first."

"Once we've subdued them, we'll interrogate them slowly and get to the bottom of this!"

That's exactly what Sun Wukong was waiting for.

He still had half of the fairy fruit left in his hand. Sun Wukong casually threw it on the ground, and the fruit rolled a long way on the blue stone tiles.

"Okay, Master!"

Sun Wukong shouted, reached into his ear with his right hand, and instantly pulled out the golden cudgel.

With a flash of golden light, the iron rod grew longer in the wind and was slammed heavily onto the ground, making a dull thud.

"You monsters! You were definitely up to no good!"

Sun Wukong pointed his golden cudgel at Guanyin and the other two, his face full of righteous indignation.

"I, Old Sun, have long felt that your village is shrouded in an eerie atmosphere."

"You went to great lengths to harm me, Old Sun, because you must know that I am now escorting my master to the Western Paradise to retrieve the scriptures."

"You want to get rid of me, Old Sun, so you can cut off Master's journey to the West!"

Sun Wukong turned to look at Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing and called out loudly.

"Pigsy, Sandy, what are you all standing there for?"

"My two junior brothers, hurry up and join me, Old Sun, to capture these fiends!"

"I, Old Sun, want to see just where they come from."

Sun Wukong elevated his words to a completely higher level, firmly attaching the label of righteousness to them.

"They plotted to harm the pilgrims in order to obstruct our journey to the West. Their intentions are despicable and they must not be let off lightly!"

Before he finished speaking, Sun Wukong had already swung his golden cudgel, propelled himself forward, and headed straight for Guanyin.

Pigsy swallowed the remaining half of the fruit in his hand in one gulp, and then picked up the Nine-Toothed Rake.

He knew perfectly well that the people in front of him must be Buddhists.

But since Monkey King took the lead and Master had spoken, he naturally had to pretend that he knew nothing.

"You wicked monster! How dare you scheme against my senior brother!"

Pigsy let out a loud roar and, wielding his rake, circled around from the side.

Sha Wujing remained silent, gripping his demon-subduing staff with both hands, and followed behind Zhu Bajie, blocking the other way out.

The three brothers formed a fan shape and directly surrounded Guanyin and her companions.

Guanyin's face darkened as she watched the golden cudgel hurtling towards her.

Her mind raced.

Explain to Tang Sanzang?

Explain what?!