2: Chapter 2 State Your Name

It is said that after Tang Seng departed from the Eastern Land Great Tang and escaped death at Shuangcha Ridge, he rescued his eldest disciple, the Monkey King, at Liangjie Mountain.

Subsequently, the master and disciple hurried toward Yingjian Cave on Shepan Mountain, estimated to arrive in no more than three days.

By this time, several weeks had already passed since Ao Lie's Awakening of the Shadow Monarch's power, and he had completely mastered this ability.

He was also secretly spying on the master and disciple through the Shadow Falcons.

...

Within a radius of ten miles around Shepan Mountain, on a winding mountain road, a man, a monkey, and a horse were strolling leisurely.

A dozen falcons circled above their heads; although it surprised them slightly, they did not pay much attention.

Except for that monkey head, who barely reached Tang Seng's waist, whose gaze became a bit fiercer, everything else was as usual.

"Wukong! The next region is Shepan Mountain. How shall we find food and shelter? In these desolate mountains and wild ridges, with snakes, insects, rats, and ants, I truly don't know what to do!"

The Monkey King scratched his monkey head, blinking his bright eyes as he spoke to Tang Seng.

"Master, I, Old Sun, will go up into the sky to take a look. Perhaps I can find a household to beg for some vegetarian food."

Tang Seng nodded and waved his hand.

"Go then, and come back quickly. I will wait for you in the forest."

The Monkey King then let go of the horse's reins, tucked his legs, and soared into the air, charging straight into the clouds.

Tang Seng watched this and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"I didn't expect my disciple to have such a skill for riding the clouds and mist."

It was now early evening, and a few stars peeked through the clouds. The Monkey King blinked his Fiery Eyes, glancing toward the mountainside and the foot of the mountain, searching for any scattered households in this desolate area.

Before long, he found one. That household happened to have two people, an old man and a child, living happily and contentedly.

"It's time to go back and lead Master here!"

The Monkey King controlled the clouds beneath his feet and turned to fly back to the forest where Tang Seng was.

Those falcons were still circling, and through their eyes, one could seemingly see the mastermind...

And all of this naturally fell into Ao Lie's eyes.

Ao Lie sat cross-legged on a stone bed, a faint black light emanating from his eyes, as if black flames were burning within.

He was sharing vision with the flock of falcons; one part saw the Monkey King riding the clouds back, while the other saw Tang Seng hiding behind a tree, holding his breath and staring at a Tiger.

"Have this master and disciple already reached the vicinity of Shepan Mountain? It seems I must pay close attention.

In short, for the implementation of my future plans, the pearl under my neck must never be taken. Otherwise, I will lose a great deal of magic power and won't even be able to maintain my human form."

A coldness flickered in Ao Lie's eyes, and his face twisted slightly at this moment.

"I must find a way to prevent Guanyin from taking the pearl under my neck. Once this Inner Core is removed, I will only be able to serve as a beast of burden for the time to come."

After thinking, Ao Lie exited the vision sharing and calculated his next plan in his mind.

...

Leaves rustled, making a soughing sound. Not far behind the tree where Tang Seng was hiding, a large Tiger with bulging eyes was tearing into its prey with its bloody maw.

The sound Tang Seng accidentally made caught the Tiger's attention. It began to pace slowly, approaching Tang Seng.

At this critical moment, the Monkey King gave a loud shout and rushed over with his staff.

"Halt! You beast, do not harm my master!"

Seeing this, the Tiger actually staggered away, not daring to look back.

Tang Seng crawled toward the Monkey King, his eyes still filled with terror as he asked his disciple.

"That Tiger was scared away? How did you do it? Could it be just with a single roar?"

The Monkey King bared his yellow teeth and scratched his head as he explained to Tang Seng.

"Master, do not fear! Your disciple is the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven who caused Havoc in Heaven five hundred years ago! Never mind a mere Tiger, I would strike even a flying Dragon without hesitation!"

Tang Seng gradually regained his composure, packed his luggage, and followed the Monkey King, attempting to reach that household before dark.

Meanwhile, not far from them, Ao Lie couldn't help but sneeze, thinking to himself that some bastard must be speaking ill of him behind his back.

...

The master and disciple traveled over mountains and across waters for over ten minutes, finally arriving at the door of the household before dark.

Tang Seng dismounted his horse, stepped forward, and called out softly.

Soon, an old man responded to his call.

"A monk? Oh, where does the Holy Monk come from?"

Tang Seng pressed his palms together before his chest and bowed.

"This poor monk comes from the Eastern Land Great Tang. Entrusted by the Bodhisattva Guanyin of the Buddhist sect, I am traveling to the Great Thunderclap Temple in the West to seek scriptures. As it is getting late, I would like to ask you, elder, for some vegetarian food."

The old man warmly invited Tang Seng in, but as he opened the door, he saw a short, ugly Furry Monkey behind Tang Seng, staring at him with a grin.

"This... this!"

Seeing the old man's reaction, Tang Seng quickly explained.

"Elder, do not fear. This is my disciple, named Sun the Pilgrim, also known as the Monkey King."

Only then did the old man feel at ease.

"Holy Monk, it's not that my old eyes are failing me, but you! You certainly look like a man of Tang, but this disciple of yours, isn't he just a Furry Monkey?"

With his keen ears, the Monkey King heard the old man's evaluation of him and immediately scolded.

"You old fool! Decades ago, when you were still a child running around naked, I saw you. I am the Monkey Grandpa who was crushed under the Five Fingers Mountain!"

Only then did the old man remember.

"Oh, oh, oh! Right, right, right! I heard my great-grandfather say that a hundred years ago, a divine mountain truly fell from the sky, and a divine monkey was pinned beneath it!"

"Please come in, please come in!"

After the group enjoyed a vegetarian meal inside, they retired to their rooms to rest. Tang Seng and his disciple were arranged to sleep in the woodshed, and they soon fell fast asleep.

During that time, there was a bandit raid, but it was settled by the Monkey King.

In the night, besides the sound of the wind outside and the neighing of the horse, only a few snores remained.

The Furry Monkey, Sun Wukong, who was in the middle of a dream, suddenly opened his eyes, a hint of ferocity showing in his gaze.

The Monkey King climbed up, went to Tang Seng's side, and checked how deeply he was sleeping. After confirming he was dead to the world, he pushed open the door, kicked off, and flew into the pitch-black sky.

In the sky, a large bird was circling; it was Ao Lie's shadow—the falcon.

This falcon had been stationed by Ao Lie above the old man's house, specifically to watch Tang Seng and his disciple inside.

Just now, Ao Lie noticed the door of the woodshed being pushed open, and then something seemed to fly out, though he couldn't tell what it was.

Alarm bells immediately rang in Ao Lie's heart; he had already guessed who it was.

Just as he wanted to control the falcon to fly down and take a look, a sharp voice suddenly came from behind the falcon.

"Your Excellency, may I have your honorable name?"

Ao Lie instantly broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly controlled the falcon to turn around, only to be suddenly grabbed by the neck by a large hand.

The falcon flapped its wings, and the shadow effects hidden on its body could no longer be concealed, immediately leaking out.

"A large black eagle?"

"I, Old Sun, felt something was wrong the moment I saw you. I didn't expect to actually find you, you little thing!"

"I don't care what kind of demon or ghost you are, I advise you to stop. This is not something you can get involved in!"

Ao Lie was startled. Through the falcon's eyes, he seemed to see the Monkey King's Fiery Eyes staring straight at him.

Ao Lie calmed the fear in his heart and, through the shadow, sent out Divine Sense fluctuations, speaking to the Monkey King.

"Great Sage, I am the master of Yingjian Cave on Shepan Mountain, the Jade Dragon Ao Lie!"

The Monkey King's gaze was cold, and he gave a light snort.

"I thought it was some expert, but I didn't expect it to be a little earthworm. What? Do you want Grandpa to give you a whack on the head with my staff?"

Ao Lie was speechless. This monkey head only knew how to hit people with a big iron staff whenever he met an enemy.

"Not at all! In short, I have much to say to the Great Sage. If the Great Sage's courage is as astounding as they say, why not come to my place for a talk?"

"Hmph! Fine, I'll go! I want to see what kind of thing you have to say!"