Chapter 64: Encountering Demons In Black Pine Forest
However, Ao Tu and the Little White Dragon were fiercely battling in the air.
In this dark night, all was silent, the wilderness empty, as the two tumbled and fought in the air, stirring the winds and clouds into turmoil.
Ao Tu was covered in Golden Scales that gleamed in the moonlight, his dragon eyes like lightning, dragon horns like halberds, and with his dragon claws waving, golden light filled the sky, illuminating it as bright as day.
That Little White Dragon had silvery scales shining pure, eyes like stars, claws like cold hooks, and spat white mist that condensed into clouds and fog.
The two fought eight or nine rounds, neither gaining the upper hand.
How exactly was it neither gaining the upper hand?
The Little White Dragon spat a breath of cold mist that struck Ao Tu’s body. This cold mist was an innate breath of Kan energy from the Little White Dragon, capable of freezing even a volcano! Yet it failed to form even a trace of frost on the Golden Scales.
The Little White Dragon’s dragon tail swept out, striking Ao Tu’s body. This dragon tail, with its silvery scales gleaming, was like ten thousand knife blades; even a great mountain could be crushed to powder! Yet it failed to leave a single mark on the Golden Scales.
The Little White Dragon’s dragon claw reached out, grabbing Ao Tu’s body. This dragon claw, with its cold hooks gleaming fiercely, could reach the ninth heaven to pluck stars or plunge into the ninth abyss to catch monsters; grabbing a person would shatter even a heavenly immortal forged through a thousand kalpas! Yet it failed to harm the Golden Scales in the slightest.
The Little White Dragon’s dragon horns charged forward, colliding with Ao Tu’s body. This pair of dragon horns was hard as kun steel; no divine weapon’s blade or axe could harm them, and striking a person would immediately split them in two! Yet it failed to budge Ao Tu even half a step.
The Little White Dragon opened its giant maw, revealing dragon teeth—a row of teeth that could crush anything indestructible; even the hardest ninth-heaven stone or immovable diamond would be bitten to pieces in one chomp. Yet it failed to bite even half a piece of the Golden Scales.
Thus, they fought eight or nine rounds, neither gaining the upper hand.
Seeing the Little White Dragon’s moves exhausted, Ao Tu spat out a golden pearl the size of a goose egg, radiant with golden light—it was the Dragon Pearl.
Seeing this, the Little White Dragon turned to flee.
Ao Tu urged the Dragon Pearl, from which a beam of golden light shot out, striking the Little White Dragon’s leg, immediately knocking it from the clouds. It hurriedly transformed into a white carp and hid in the moat.
Ao Tu did not pursue, instead withdrawing his forces back to the palace.
The Little White Dragon lurked at the river bottom; after half a watch with no sound, it gritted its teeth, endured the leg pain, leaped up, and headed straight to the post station, transforming back into a horse and lying in the manger.
Leaving aside Tang Sanzang meeting disaster and the White Dragon’s defeat, now speak of Ba Jie.
After Sha Seng was captured, Ba Jie hid in that deep forest among the thorns and grasses, holding his breath and concentrating, not daring to make the slightest sound, fearing capture by the Yellow Robe Monster.
Until deep into the night, when the stars shifted and it was about the third watch, he dared to emerge, thinking to himself: “If I go back to rescue Sha Seng, it’s truly ‘a single thread cannot make a line, a lone palm cannot clap.’ …Forget it! Forget it! Forget it! I’ll go into the city to see Master first, then plan accordingly.”
Ba Jie hastily rode his cloud straight back to the city, arriving at the post station.
At this time, all was quiet under the bright moon. No human shadows were seen, only the White Horse sleeping there, its whole body wet, hind leg broken and unable to touch the ground, propped up while standing on the other three legs.
Ba Jie exclaimed in shock: “Double bad luck! Not only was Sha Seng captured, the horse is also injured. It must be that villains robbed Master at night and injured the horse.”
Seeing Ba Jie, the Little White Dragon spoke human words: “Senior Brother!”
Ba Jie was startled and said: “Brother, why are you speaking today? If you speak, there must be big trouble.”
The Little White Dragon said: “Do you know Master is in trouble?”
Ba Jie said: “I don’t know.”
The Little White Dragon said: “You don’t know! That demon has great power, deceived Master into dismissing Senior Brother with a letter of dismissal, and took the Bao Xiang Kingdom throne.
You all were lured away by his ‘tune the tiger from the mountain’ trick. After you left, he turned Master into a Striped Fierce Tiger, calling it a Tiger Demon, and took the luggage.
Seeing you gone, fearing something happened to Master, I transformed into dragon form to rescue him. Unexpectedly, after exhausting every means, I couldn’t touch that demon at all, and instead he broke my bones, leaving me in this state.”
Hearing this, Ba Jie said: “Is this really true?”
The Little White Dragon said: “Or did I deceive you?”
Ba Jie said: “This is bad! This is bad! The bundle was also taken!”
The Little White Dragon said: “What do you care about the bundle?”
Ba Jie said: “You’re an unrecorded disciple, not entitled to family property; tell you and you wouldn’t understand my woes. You’ve got a leg injury—can you still move?”
The Little White Dragon said: “If I can move, then what?”
Ba Jie said: “If you can move, go back to the sea. This saddle and bridle are still worth some money; old pig will find someone to sell them and go back to Gao Lao Village to be son-in-law.”
Hearing this, the Little White Dragon bit Ba Jie’s clothes and wouldn’t let go, saying: “Senior Brother! You must not be lazy!”
Ba Jie said: “Not lazy—then what? Junior Brother Sha has been captured by the demon, I can’t beat him, and Master was turned into a Tiger Demon. If not disbanding now, what are we waiting for?”
Tears falling, the Little White Dragon said: “Senior Brother, don’t talk of disbanding. To rescue Master, you just need to fetch one person.”
Ba Jie said: “Who should I fetch?”
The Little White Dragon said: “Ride your cloud to Flower Fruit Mountain and invite Senior Brother Sun Wukong. His supernatural power is vast; he can surely subdue the demon and avenge us.”
Ba Jie said: “Brother, invite someone else. That day on White Bone Ridge, the old monk dismissed him three times, wrote the letter of dismissal, said never to meet again, and drove him away. How could I invite him?”
The Little White Dragon said: “Senior Brother would never hold a grudge. He’s a righteous monkey king. Master dismissed him because that demon deceived him.
Today I saw Master, and Master himself admitted his mistake, telling me to invite Senior Brother. But I was arrogant and competitive, ignored Master’s advice, and insisted on fighting that demon, resulting in heavy injury and defeat, ending up like this.”
Ba Jie said: “You’re the devoted one, even making up such words to fool me—the old monk would never admit fault? Fine, fine. If I don’t go, it looks like I’m not devoted.
On this trip, if Senior Brother agrees to come, I’ll bring him; if not, don’t wait for me—I’ll go back to Gao Lao Village.”
The Little Dragon said: “Who fooled you? Master really said it! Go, go—Senior Brother will surely come.”
Ba Jie gathered his Plum Blossom Pitchfork, changed into a straight robe, leaped up, stepped on his cloud, and headed east.
Ba Jie’s cloud was slow; normally it would take ten days or so to reach Flower Fruit Mountain.
This time, however, a deity secretly helped, sending a tailwind that billowed Ba Jie’s two ears like sails, quickly crossing the Eastern Ocean Sea, alighting from the cloud, and arriving at Flower Fruit Mountain.
Ba Jie searched the mountain paths; while walking, he heard some noise ahead.
Looking carefully, Ba Jie saw a group of monsters gathered in a mountain hollow, with a Monkey Marshal standing high up calling roll.
Unable to find Wukong, Ba Jie mingled among those demons, also joining the roll call.
It turned out that after Wukong returned to Flower Fruit Mountain from Flowing Sand River last time,
he rebuilt Flower Fruit Mountain and restored Water Curtain Cave.
By today, many demons had come to join—deer, foxes, striped tigers, flower-leopards, and so on.
Ba Jie stood among them, pretending along, but was yanked out by that Monkey Marshal, who said:
“You’re a spy from where, sneaking into our Flower Fruit Mountain?”
Ba Jie said: “Not a spy—family.”
The Monkey Marshal said: “Wrong, we’ve never had a pig demon in Flower Fruit Mountain; you must be a spy from elsewhere. Little ones, seize him quickly!”
Those little monkeys came up and pinned Ba Jie; he didn’t dare resist and could only say: “Don’t fight, don’t fight—I’m here to find your Great King.”
