SWDnovel Chapter 5: Even Taking a Detour Isn't an Option? Sun Wukong's Sudden Enlightenment—It'
Chapter 5: Even Taking a Detour Isn't an Option? Sun Wukong's Sudden Enlightenment—It'
Inside the camp.
Tang Sanzang's heart sank as he watched his three disciples, covered in dust and dirt, return.
All three men were injured. None seriously, but all of them were.
Pigsy plopped down on the ground, refusing to even eat the fruit, and just stared blankly at the sky.
Sha Wujing leaned against the tree, silent and pale.
Sun Wukong squatted by the fire, idly poking at the sparks with a twig.
Tang Sanzang did not ask about the outcome of the battle.
No need to ask.
You can tell just by looking at this formation.
But he asked another question.
Did that man harm you?
The three of them were taken aback at the same time.
Pigsy opened his mouth, then froze.
Yes.
They fought all day, and all three of them had injuries.
But none of them were fatal.
Each strike was precisely timed to the point of being "painful but not fatal."
It was as if... the other party had been controlling the situation from beginning to end.
Sha Wujing also realized what was happening, and his expression became complicated.
The three of them went all out, wishing they could beat the other into a pulp.
The other party never used lethal force.
Not even once.
"He didn't intend to kill us," Sha Wujing said in a low voice.
After those three words were spoken, the camp fell silent.
Pigsy hugged his knees and, for the first time ever, didn't say a word.
Tang Sanzang closed his eyes, put his hands together, and softly chanted a Buddhist prayer.
The next two weeks were the most frustrating two weeks of Sun Wukong's life.
none of them.
On the first day, Sun Wukong fought one-on-one. It was a 50/50 match.
On the third day, Pigsy and Sandy fought as a team. The result was evenly matched.
On the fifth day, all three went together. It was a 50/50 split.
On the seventh day, Sun Wukong used his clone technique, creating six monkeys at once. Opposite them—six wooden clubs. A 50/50 chance.
On the ninth day, Pigsy initiated the attack to wear down the opponent, then Monkey King suddenly joined in. As a result, the opposing wooden staff split in two; one was just at Pigsy's level, and the other was just at Monkey King's level. A 50/50 match.
On the eleventh day, the three devised a coordinated formation: Sha Wujing for defense, Zhu Bajie for close combat, and Sun Wukong for surprise attacks. They fought for two hours, their teamwork flawless and impeccable. The result—a 50/50 split.
On the thirteenth day, Sun Wukong didn't go to fight. He sat in the camp all day, ignoring everyone.
On the fourteenth day, Pigsy volunteered to go and talk to the other party, saying he might be able to "convince them with reason." He returned after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, looking dejected.
"Did you chat?" Sha Wujing asked.
"We chatted."
"How so?"
"He said I look much more energetic now than when I was a marshal in Heaven."
"..."
"Then a fight broke out."
"And the result?"
"Fifty-fifty."
Day 15.
Sun Wukong convened a meeting.
To be precise, it was the first "tactical seminar" ever held on the journey to the West.
The four people sat around the campfire.
Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing were present. The White Dragon Horse snorted beside them, acknowledging their presence.
Sun Wukong spoke up: "We can't beat them."
Three words, crisp and concise.
This was the first time he had officially acknowledged the matter.
There was no "I know what I'm doing," no "Give me two more days," and no excuses whatsoever.
We just can't beat them.
Pigsy breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother Monkey, you finally told the truth."
"Shut up."
"oh."
Sha Wujing thought for a moment and said the key point: "Brother, if we can't beat them, we should take a detour. There's more than one way to get to the pilgrimage. If we go west for half a day, we'll find another official road that will get us to the next stop just the same."
Pigsy's eyes lit up: "That's right! Let's take a detour! It's not like we have to go right past him!"
Sun Wukong frowned.
He instinctively wanted to refuse.
Taking a detour? When did Old Sun ever take a detour?
Even the mighty Monkey King couldn't get past him, so why should some nobody make me, Old Sun, take a detour?
But he looked at the wound on his arm that hadn't fully healed yet.
He glanced again at the unconcealed exhaustion on Pigsy and Sandy's faces.
Then I looked at Tang Sanzang's increasingly gaunt face.
It's been more than two months.
For more than two months, they didn't make a single step forward.
"...Go around."
Sun Wukong closed his eyes and squeezed out the word through his teeth.
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The team set off early the next morning.
Direction: Due west and slightly south, avoid the valley, cross two mountains, and take a secluded path.
Sun Wukong personally scouted the way, flying at the very front. His fiery eyes scanned the surrounding area for miles, confirming that the damned young man was not ahead.
"Walk."
Tang Sanzang rode the white dragon horse, Zhu Bajie carried the luggage, and Sha Wujing carried the load. The group traveled in a southerly direction.
After a day's walk, we crossed the first mountain.
nobody.
After walking for two days, we crossed the second mountain.
nobody.
After traveling for three days, a wide official road appeared ahead.
Nobody's here!
Pigsy breathed a sigh of relief: "Done! We got around it!"
Sha Wujing also breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Sun Wukong landed on the ground without saying a word, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly in a smile.
It seems that kid isn't omnipotent after all.
Taking a detour is useful.
"Let's go, speed up, before he can react—"
"Oh, you've arrived?"
Sun Wukong's words got stuck in his throat.
Ahead on the official road, next to a large rock.
A campfire, an iron pot, and three sweet potatoes.
Lu Chen sat cross-legged on a rock, holding a golden-brown roasted sweet potato in his hand, and waved to them.
"I arrived yesterday and waited all night. Would you like a sweet potato? It's freshly baked."
Pigsy's legs went weak on the spot.
Sha Wujing gripped his staff tightly.
They traveled for three days, crossing two mountains. But the man was already ahead of them.
Is this... a deliberate attempt to ambush them?
Sun Wukong stared at Lu Chen for three seconds, then turned away without saying a word.
"Let's go. Let's change routes."
-
This time they took a different route.
Direction: Due west, slightly north, take a sharp detour, and follow a mountain trail usually used by hunters.
This time, Sun Wukong was even more cautious. Every half hour, he would fly up into the sky to scout ahead and confirm that there was no trace of that person.
We traveled for two days.
On the evening of the third day, at the fork in the road ahead—
A man sat by the stream, holding a tree branch, fishing.
There were three roasted fish and two sweet potatoes next to the campfire.
Lu Chen didn't even look up.
"Great Sage, the fish here are quite good, much fatter than the ones from the last place."
Pigsy put his hands behind his head and squatted down on the spot.
"I quit!!!"
He yelled, "I'm quitting! What kind of pilgrimage is this?! We can't even beat the monsters, let alone avoid them! What kind of pilgrimage is this?!"
"Second Brother..." Sha Wujing wanted to say a few words of comfort, but when he opened his mouth, he found that he couldn't say anything.
Because he panicked too.
This is not reasonable.
They took such a long detour, changed directions twice, and even deliberately walked through a section of wilderness without a path.
How come this person always arrives before them?
How did he know which way they were going?
Tang Sanzang sat on his white dragon horse, looking at the young man fishing leisurely in the distance, his expression complex.
He suddenly said something.
"Wukong, the journey to the West was ordained by Mahayana Buddhism, and we must spread Buddhist teachings and cultivate good karma along the way. We can only go west."
Sun Wukong was taken aback.
Yup!
The journey to the West is not a random one. It is a carefully designed route by the Buddhist community, with specific towns along the way where the Dharma will be spread and which mountains hold calamities.
They can take a detour, but the general direction cannot change; they must head west.
There are only a few roads to the west.
This person only needs to accurately predict their general direction and wait for them on their inevitable route.
He doesn't need to follow them.
He just needs to get there before them.
There's no way around this road.
We can't beat them, and we can't get around them.
Sun Wukong stood still, staring at the figure fishing by the stream for a long time.
Then he suddenly spoke.
The voice wasn't loud, but every word was very clear.
"What exactly are you after?"
Lu Chen paused slightly on the fishing rod in his hand.
He turned his head and looked at Sun Wukong.
Laughed.
But there was no reply.
He turned back and continued fishing.
The stream babbles, and the campfire crackles.
Sun Wukong stared at that figure's back, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
that's it.
The stalemate lasted for another three days.
Sun Wukong sat motionless in the camp every day, no longer fighting or circling around, just staring blankly in the direction of the distant valley.
Pigsy didn't even mention breaking up the group anymore.
He realized that breaking up the group was pointless. Even if he ran back to Gao Lao Zhuang, that person would probably be sitting at the entrance of Gao Lao Zhuang waiting for him.
Sha Wujing silently wiped his monk's staff, wiping it eight times a day until it was almost worn bare.
Tang Sanzang chants sutras.
On the fourth day, Sun Wukong figured something out.
Someone who can go toe-to-toe with the Monkey King cannot be some ordinary person with no background.
Or he's the embodiment of some big shot.
Either some powerful figure gave him some incredible magic weapon.
Regardless of the reason, this is not something he, as an employee, should be dealing with.
The pilgrimage was arranged by the Buddhist community.
The eighty-one tribulations were designed by Buddhism.
Now there's an unexpected problem: the Buddhist community itself isn't taking responsibility, leaving him, a mere laborer, to shoulder it?
On what grounds?
Sun Wukong stood up.
"Master, I'll be right back."
Tang Sanzang looked up: "Wukong, where are you going?"
"Looking for someone."
Sun Wukong somersaulted on his cloud and disappeared into the horizon.
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