5: Chapter 5 Burning Down the Zen Temple (Part 2)

Seeing the Furry Monkey and the dragon-man suddenly appear behind them as if they had nothing to do, the monks of the monastery all covered their faces in terror.

One bold monk, his lips trembling, asked them.

"What are you patrons doing? We are busy fighting the fire! Tonight is dry and parched, and for some reason, the fire just broke out!"

Hearing this, the other monks all put on strange expressions, their eyes glinting with hidden smiles.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes, we are fighting the fire! You two, hurry and go fetch water! I'm afraid your master hasn't escaped from inside yet!"

The Monkey King's brows instantly shot up. Seeing these monks standing there with nothing in their hands yet daring to spout such nonsense, his eyes filled with a murderous light as he barked.

"Halt!"

"Tell the truth!"

"Careful, or Old Sun will crush you to death with one blow of my staff!"

Ao Lie stopped the Furry Monkey with a light laugh, sheathed his cold, gleaming iron sword, and bowed politely.

"Good, you holy monks are doing a fine job!"

"If my master is unharmed this time, then that cassock of his shall be gifted to your monastery as a token of our gratitude!"

The monks looked awkward upon hearing this, but said nothing.

The Buddhist teachings say that if one puts down the butcher's knife, they can become a Buddha on the spot. They also say the sea of bitterness is boundless, and turning back is the shore.

Thus, Ao Lie waited for a moment. He had originally planned that if someone voluntarily confessed the Karma of the situation and let Tang Seng know, he might show mercy.

But this group of people was simply that stubborn and incorrigible.

"Very well..."

Seeing this, Ao Lie sighed softly and stopped holding back, turning to give the Monkey King a meaningful look.

The Monkey King nodded in understanding. In the next instant, his chest swelled as a surge of Qi rushed from his torso to his throat, which he then spat out.

Suddenly, a demonic wind swept in, spreading the fire from the guest room to the entire monastery.

The wicked monks had no idea what was happening; they were thrown into an immediate panic, scrambling to find buckets, but it was all in vain.

...

In just one night, the great fire burned the entire Guanyin Temple until not a blade of grass remained.

In the morning, the sun hung high in the sky.

The monks stood before the ruins, covering their faces and weeping. Their cries carried for miles, making anyone who heard them feel gloomy.

The Monkey King and Ao Lie flew into the ruins and, with smiles on their faces, brought out Tang Seng, who was shivering in a corner.

"Master, are you alright? Do you know how much Senior Brother and I worried all night?"

Ao Lie knelt on the ground, crying with great emotion as he hugged Tang Sanzang's shins with a very pious attitude.

The Monkey King watched this, finding it hard to look at—not out of pity, but because he was struggling to suppress his laughter.

"Junior Brother, get up! Master will forgive us."

The Furry Monkey put on a miserable face that looked worse than crying; it was like he was laughing and crying at the same time, which, combined with his hairy face, looked even stranger.

Ao Lie let go of Tang Seng's legs, stood up, wiped away non-existent tears, and stood side-by-side with the Monkey King.

Tang Seng's legs were still shaking uncontrollably. Eventually, he couldn't stand any longer and collapsed onto his bottom.

Ao Lie and the Monkey King hurried to support him, but they finally couldn't help but laugh, even squeezing out a few tears of mirth.

Tang Seng was still feeling lingering fear and annoyance. Seeing that his two Disciples were laughing instead of being worried, he couldn't help but bark in anger.

"You two just stand there and laugh at me? You are simply... hmph... simply outrageous and disobedient!"

Tang Seng was so angry he was huffing like an ox.

Ao Lie quickly explained.

"Master, you misunderstand. Senior Brother and I were so worried we couldn't sleep all night. Since it happened so suddenly, we even went to the heavens to find reinforcements.

But they said the Heavenly Court was closed and told us to come back tomorrow. We thought you were going to be sacrificed to the heavens, but who would have thought you'd be so blessed as to survive by hiding in a corner.

Seeing you today, we are crying tears of joy! Master!"

A monk standing nearby heard Ao Lie's words and muttered under his breath.

"Worried and sleepless? Then who were those two snoring and scratching themselves last night?"

The Monkey King heard him, turned his head to glare, and gave the monk a menacing warning.

The monk immediately lowered his head, not daring to say another word.

Tang Seng shook his head and bowed piously to the Bodhisattva.

"It seems the Bodhisattva truly is protecting me!"

"Very well! Even if you two have great Divine Abilities, you inevitably have shortcomings. I hope you won't be so impatient in the future!"

Tang Seng said, comforting himself.

The monks' wailing continued to echo in their ears, becoming irritating. Even the Old Abbot was sobbing uncontrollably.

Ao Lie had not forgotten the matter at hand and turned to walk toward the Old Abbot.

Even though he had no physical evidence of these monks' crimes and couldn't convince Tang Seng on the surface, he had his ways.

"Abbot, the three of us have witnessed the tragic state of your monastery today. The world is ever-changing, and misfortune can strike anyone at any time; it is unavoidable."

Ao Lie suddenly shifted his tone.

"But then again, the fire is one thing, and the cassock is another. You must return the cassock to us!"

The Old Abbot leaned against a pillar and slowly stood up. He had long suspected that the dragon-man before him was behind this.

Now it seemed that might indeed be the case, but he was powerless. Since things had come to this, he could only swallow his anger, especially since he had lived for nearly three hundred years.

He was a shrewd old fox...

In this situation, the only thing he could do was comply. He couldn't win in a fight, and he was in the wrong...

"That cassock of yours might have been scattered, burned by the fire, and vanished into the world..."

Ao Lie didn't reply. He was waiting—waiting for an impatient Furry Monkey to retort for him.

And indeed, it went exactly as expected.

"Halt! You bald donkey! My master's cassock was bestowed by the Bodhisattva Guanyin. It is impervious to fire and water, and feared by all demons and ghosts. How could it be destroyed by a common fire?"

"You must have hidden it, wanting to keep it for yourself."

The Old Abbot truly had no explanation. He smiled bitterly, then shook his head with a sighing laugh before suddenly charging at a nearby pillar and slamming his head into it.

Seeing this, the monks cried even harder, making a scene and demanding the Monkey King compensate them with his life.

Seeing that communication was impossible, they simply wailed their grievances to Tang Seng.

Tang Seng was furious at the sight and began to chant the Band-Tightening Spell, causing the Monkey King to roll on the ground in agony.

Ao Lie quickly shouted for him to stop and produced evidence!

"Master, stop chanting! Senior Brother and I saw through the conspiracy long ago, so we left behind evidence!"

Hearing this, Tang Seng gradually stopped and listened quietly to Ao Lie.

The monks grew anxious as well. They were terrified that Ao Lie really had some "evidence" that would threaten their claim for compensation.

So, someone immediately jumped out and shouted an accusation.

"How could there be any evidence? You must be making false accusations!"

Ao Lie stared at them with cold eyes, scaring them into immediate silence.

Tang Seng waved his sleeve, walked up to the monks, and said softly.

"Disciples of the Buddha, there is no need to kneel. Please, stand up!"

But no one listened to him. All the monks were staring at Ao Lie in fear, not daring to move.

Tang Seng walked back to Ao Lie and asked what was going on.

Ao Lie didn't waste words; he pulled out a "camera" and handed it to Tang Seng.

"What is this? A mirror?"

Ao Lie explained.

"This is the Demon-Revealing Mirror of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, Li Jing. It can not only reveal a demon's true form but also record images and sounds. Although we didn't find the Wide-Eyed Heavenly King yesterday...

We happened to run into the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King patrolling the Southern Heavenly Gate, so we borrowed this treasure from him."

Tang Seng was struck with a sudden realization.

The monks were horrified upon hearing this. Their psychological defenses completely collapsed, and they all fell to the ground, crying for mercy.

To escape punishment, some began to honestly confess everything.

Naturally, the most curious and confused person was the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, who had recovered by now.

He thought back to the previous night but couldn't recall going to find any immortals; the two of them had been watching from the clouds the whole time.

Sun Wukong sent a voice transmission to Ao Lie. After hearing the explanation, he understood instantly and put on the same expression as Tang Seng, though there was a huge difference between the two.

Tang Seng turned to help Sun Wukong up and began to blame himself, but Sun Wukong didn't take it to heart.

For some reason, he felt a sense of comfort, and at the same time, he was even more satisfied with Ao Lie.

Sun Wukong looked at the monks with a spiteful gaze, spat on the ground, and walked to the entrance to lead the horse.

Ao Lie took the "Demon-Revealing Mirror" and casually smashed it on the ground, leaving the monks dumbfounded.

Of course, there were clever ones who guessed the truth.

"We've been played...!"