Roll to Dodge IX: Monkey King's Misfits

The White Bull Spirit scoffs. This is why he doesn't do business with humans... Or gods.

"Leave us be," he demands of the Earth and City gods. "I have no quarrel with you. I simply underestimated my own strength."

With this, he turns to Huang Shouling.

"How typical of you humans, to assume that because I am here and the farmer is missing, that I must have eaten him. This farm has been abandoned by the farmer; burned and ransacked by bandits, he wasted no time in leaving his animals behind to fend for themselves against the demons.

"I care not for the fate of you humans, but when your actions put your cattle - my people - in danger, I must step up to protect them, from whatever the threat."

Edited by Afterwards on Oct 15th 2020 at 1:02:33 AM

After running several miles away from the battle site, Yanzi laments at being a coward. She is angry, confused and hardened. She was supposed to be a pious, brave scribe - not a coward.

"Skyfather, why are you so weak?!" she exclaims. She glances at the umbrella, its eye gazing at her. "What are you looking at?"

> Go outside and look for anything interesting.

Edited by AdeptGaderius on Oct 15th 2020 at 9:43:22 AM

>小的有眼不识泰山，娘子美貌，俊叶发而救命，不应听小人而怒

The Monkey King's Misfits: Chapter 9

The story tells of how after the crow had been hit by the plantain fan, she stood up wincing, saying to the Daoist: "Thank you. I am alive, at least, which is what matters."

She then turned to the plantain-demon, and said: "No thanks to you. I apologize, but I was trying to help this man here after he was injured in the fight. We cannot let this city be burnt to the ground. You, too, would be burnt."

The demoness got angrier when she heard that and held up her fan, and at the same time the Daoist held his water sword. They were both going to jump and fight, but then a voice came from the back.

"The little one has eyes but does not know Mount Tai, lady, you are beautiful, and the handsome hair leaves saved lives, you should not be angry with us little people."

Who was the one who said that? It was the demon-concealer, struggling to sit due to the wounds, with a three-cun unrottable tongue.

The demoness smiled. "Well, you are much better. You talk good, and are right. Why should I bother with this?"

She walked forwards, and while the entire group stared at her, ready to attack at any point, she said: "As nobody came to the garden to talk around these days, I'm not too well versed on what has happened outside. Why were you fighting those filthy demons at the streets, and where did they come from?"

We will say no more of the crow, demon-concealer and company as we go and check on the eldery monk and the White Bull Spirit.

The eldery monk looked at the White Bull Spirit. "What is this, evil spirit? I come across this city to find a horde of demons descending upon it. And you are here, standing in the ruins of what was once a farm. Where is the diligent farmer? Have you consumed them, and have you shattered the earth to consume this city along with them?"

Then, he had a realization. "But if you did all that, why did you fight by my side against those demons?" He stood guard against him, ready to attack at any time.

The White Bull Spirit scoffed. This was why he didn't do business with humans... Or gods.

"Leave us be," he demanded of the Earth and City gods. "I have no quarrel with you. I simply underestimated my own strength."

With this, he turned to the eldery monk.

"How typical of you humans, to assume that because I am here and the farmer is missing, that I must have eaten him. This farm has been abandoned by the farmer; burned and ransacked by bandits, he wasted no time in leaving his animals behind to fend for themselves against the demons." He said.

"I care not for the fate of you humans, but when your actions put your cattle - my people - in danger, I must step up to protect them, from whatever the threat."

The Earth and City gods slowly stood up trembling while the White Bull Spirit was talking. When he finished, the Earth God bowed to the eldery monk and said: "Venerable elder, when you were fighting your staff broke. This little god has a Staff Repairing Spell, would the venerable elder want this little god to repair your staff?"

We will say no more of the eldery monk and the White Bull Spirit as we go and check on the travellers in the streets.

After running less than a li, the scribe laments, angry, confused and hardened. She exclaims and continues to lament, then, when the umbrella mentioned Mister Sun saying something, she looked back.

The farmer, meanwhile, had been looking around the demons for any important stuff he could find, and near a demon's waist, he found a simple smooth stone tablet with no embellisments there. In Sanskrit it was written: "Spread Gold Monastery, Country of Shravasti".

The young foreign monk was well-versed in earthquakes, so when the small temblor had reached the street he was walking upon, he stood still and stayed put.

Mister Sun pulled the farmer with him, and then ran towards the scribe. Then, he said: "I told you, my child, that the demons were all dead. Why did you run then?"

He turned around, looked at the young foreign monk who was not too far away, and said: "Everyone, before going to the tavern, let's discuss. The demon king will probably send another group by tomorrow at the same time. I have a stratagem which I dubbed "Hundred bees in the plum petals" that could work against the demon army, but I would require several people for it. Would you people help me with it?"

"And now that I remember," he remarked, spinning around. "Where did that crow girl go?"

We will say no more of the group at the streets as we go and check on the spirit-protected woman and the kid.

The spirit-protected woman slowly got up from the ground to see the demon's remains and blood strewn across the area and all over her dress.

"How sad it is, I thought you could fight." She muttered in her native language.

The spirit-protected woman turned around and saw the boy she was defending cowering, mostly clean of the blood and entrails of the demon she had murdered. He was frightened and bestricken with a stare stretched to a thousand zhang.

Before she had said any word, the kid started crying loudly. She attempted to comfort him, but suddenly a voice was heard from behind.

"Where did you come from, demoness, and why are you here to take Little Loach away? Wicked woman, eat Old Liu's paddle!"

It turned out that the Guo family's neighbour, Liu Fan the fisherman, who had gone outside to check on the situation, had seen the spirit-protected woman near the child, blood and guts splattered all over her, and thought she was a demoness, so he striked her with his paddle, sending her several zhang away.

If you want to know what happened next and if the misunderstanding was solved or not, listen to the next chapter to know.

Whoop whoop. The plantain demoness decided not to attack, the Earth God presented the posibility of fixing the staff, the farmer's found a clue, and the spirit-protected woman has been mistaken for a demoness! What shall you do?

Glossary:

• Three-cun unrottable tongue: The Chinese version of "silver tongue". A cun is an unit of measurement that is a tenth of a chi, so that means it is around three centimeters, or 1.2 inches here.

Notes:

• Do you guys remember what a li was? Remember, here, half a kilometer or one third of a mile.
• Translation is hard because while I can freely say stuff like chi and zhang I am not allowed to write the different words for demon in Chinese so I'll be using all variations on "demon", "devil", "spirit", "monster" and "ogre" I can while the classic is still demon.
• Lol what is capitalization consistency. Expect me to change which words are capitalized in Earth and City Gods and all that stuff. A lot.
• The Earth Gods know everything you did and everything that is happening around. They're basically Santa but for every few miles.
• Every time Mister Sun says "Everyone", he's using the version Wukong uses in the book, which got translated to "Gentlemen" in the translation I read, but heck, there are women here and the alternative translation is "All of you". So... just keep that in mind. Same with "You people".
• Liu Fan's dialogue seems long, but it is somewhat shorter in Chinese. Talking is a free action after all, anyways.
• Do plum flowers even get pollinated by bees? I mean they flower in winter. Whatever, Mister Sun's referencing an old stratagem used against him in the past.

Edited by JTTWlover on Oct 29th 2020 at 4:15:37 PM

[Wind-Blown Umbrella looks at Mister Sun. That stratagem he mentioned had an interesting name...]

>"I’d be more than happy to help, if you would like to elaborate on what we would be doing."

Sister Crow tried to moderate her words, and took a calming breath as she bowed. (Which she did carefully, so not as to hurt herself again!)

Sister of the earth,
These demons, we are told, are ravaging the city periodically
And come from Scarlet Mountain, far away
It is our intention to halt their march on the land
And restore Peace, as we may

>"Oh, hey, this guy had a mirror! It's all scratched up, though... Oh, no, it's a rock."

>Pitch it over my shoulder in disappointment and look for money instead.

Edited by dvorak on Oct 19th 2020 at 1:05:47 AM

Jotaro thinks over his options. Those demons would never leave him alone, ever. So, he decided to:

> Tell Mr.Sun that he'll be helping them enact their plan.

Huang Shouling keeps his eyes on the White Bull Spirit. "So you say, this farmer abandoned his home, his animals, his livelihood in the wake of a bandit attack." When Shouling thought about it, it did make sense. Why else would this demon not have attacked him right then and there, in a fit of savagery?

But he knew what these devils were capable of. He recalled his young disciples being dragged back to the temple, one dead and the other by it's door. Him desperately throwing all his qi into saving that one remaining life, all for naught. As he reminisced, he speaks once more to the skeleton. "You say you want to protect these cattle? I will allow you to do so."

"But this is not my trust. This is not my mercy. I have seen firsthand what even your kind's apathy can do to the lives of others. But for now, you do not seem to be malicious towards these people."

He then notices the Earth God offering to fix his staff. "Thank you, Old Immortal Earth. I appreciate it greatly."

>Hand your staff over to be repaired by the Earth God.

After a less than a li and stopped by a man, Yanzi collapses on the ground facing the Mister Sun. "I needed to retreat. I am not a fighter. I am a scribe," she explains. "Where's everybody?"

> Ask Mister Sun to bring her to the group

Edited by AdeptGaderius on Oct 24th 2020 at 3:18:11 AM

After being flung back a block, Alarmelmangai is mildly dazed from the strike from the paddle.

"அருணகிரிநாதர் அருளால் எனக்கு அருள் இருந்தால்..." (If I had the grace of Arunagirinathar....)

> Take a moment to steady yourself

> Try to get back to the man to explain your predicament

The White Bull spirit scoffs, ghostly blue smoke exuding from his nose-hole.

"I ask not for your mercy, or your trust. It is because of people like you that my kind dislikes humans. There are those of us who kill and bring terror upon the human world, so you assume we must all be the same. But are there not humans, too, that kill and steal from others, and bring terror to their victims? Should they, too, not be judged by the same merit?"

Without waiting for a response, White Bull turns, and begins to lead the cattle out to the wild.

>”娘子法力高强，又美不亚于天上神仙，地下王妃，不如与我同行，炫耀天下。” Junpei adds, once Sister Crow explains the situation. Hopefully, with the bait taken, his chance to strike wouldn’t be wasted.

The Monkey King's Misfits: Chapter 10

The story tells of how after the plantain demoness had asked what had happened, the crow took a calming breath as she bowed carefully and said:

The demon-concealer smiled and said: "Lady, your magic is powerful, and your beauty is not inferior that of the immortal fairies in Heaven or the palace beauties on Earth. What about travelling with me, dazzling Under Heaven?"

The plantain demoness, seeing that he was smooth-spoken, smiled and said: "Being stuck in a garden for all my life would be a waste. Provide me with the finest dew by day and the best earth at night, and I shall travel finely."

"Call me Plantain Lady." She said as she made the fan shrink back into one chi. "And if you want," she said to the demon-concealer, "you can just call me Lady."

The short monk remarked: "Those demons also plan on doing a complete attack on the Tenth Day of the Eighth Lunar Month, overmorrow. If Second Brother wasn't that injuried I would be preparing myself to snap their necks and crash their heads."

"That agressiveness is the reason the monastery's elder told you you wouldn't be a good monk, Fourth Brother. There are five precepts in Buddhism, and the first one of them is not to kill any living being. The only reason we were allowed to subdue these demons is because we prayed for three days and three nights to get a permission to protect the population, and look at what it caused! Not only Second Brother is greatly injuried, this lady Bodhisattva and that venerable gentleman are severly hurt too." Said the fat monk, waving his arms around.

"Humph, the sutras also say that we should nuture a mind of compassion and filial piety. If we don't help the people by exorcising the demons, then what were we born for?" Replied the short monk.

"Elder Brother, Fourth Brother, do not argue, you're both right." Said the tall monk. "But the lady Boddhisattva and the venerable gentleman are both more injuried than I am. What if we returned to the monastery to treat our wounds?"

We will say no more of the group at the garden as we go and check on the eldery monk and the White Bull Spirit.

The eldery monk, keeping his eyes on the White Bull Spirit, said: "So you say, this farmer abandoned his home, his animals, his livelihood in the wake of a bandit attack." The eldery monk thought of it and it made sense. Why else would this demon not have attacked him right then and there, in a fit of savagery?

But he knew what these devils were capable of. He recalled his young disciples being dragged back to the temple, one dead and the other by its door. Him desperately throwing all his qi into saving that one remaining life, all for naught. As he reminisced, he spoke once more to the skeleton. "You say you want to protect these cattle? I will allow you to do so."

"But this is not my trust. This is not my mercy. I have seen firsthand what even your kind's apathy can do to the lives of others. But for now, you do not seem to be malicious towards these people."

He then noticed the Earth God offering to fix his staff. "Thank you, Old Immortal Earth. I appreciate it greatly." He said, and then he handed his staff to the Earth God, who muttered a spell and said "Change!". The staff was repaired, right as it was before.

The White Bull spirit scoffed, ghostly blue smoke exuding from his nose-hole.

"I ask not for your mercy, or your trust. It is because of people like you that my kind dislikes humans. There are those of us who kill and bring terror upon the human world, so you assume we must all be the same. But are there not humans, too, that kill and steal from others, and bring terror to their victims? Should they, too, not be judged by the same merit?"

Without waiting for a response, he turned, and began to walk southwards with the cattle following him. He headed straight south, without stopping, where instead of a gate hurriedly closed too late by guards when they noticed the demons, there was nothing but a solid wall blocking the way. The City God then bowed to the eldery monk, excused himself, and disappeared back into the ground.

"Venerable elder," said the Earth God bowing again to the eldery monk, "as you are not from here, you don't know what's been happening around. Seventy li southwest from here there is a Scarlet Mountain with a Wild Red Cave. The mountain was originally called Mount Dragonfly, and the cave used to be the local Mountain God's Flower Dew Cave. There is also a small river called the Silent Tears Spring. Three months ago an army of eight thousand demons arrived there leaded by their king the Yellow Furred Demon King. They came from the Kingdom of India, and have devastated the land as they progressed. I've heard it used to be a fifty thousand army, but they lost more than half of it in the River of Heaven, and continued reducing every time they crossed a river. But neverless, the demons have caused great devastation in the land. They killed so many people and animals that the mountain was dyed red with blood, and filled with skulls the dark forests horrify any unfortunate traveller. The tigers and wolves are on the loose, and the snakes have seized the river. Only three days ago they decided to attack the city, and what despair! Hundreds dead and hundreds to be soon. They plan to have a massive attack overmorrow, and to ransack the entire city."

"Us Earth Gods and City Gods are too weak and insignificant to do against them, so we can't do anything except trying to help the populace as we can." Said the Earth God. "We can sense you had bad experiences with demons before, venerable elder, so please allow this little god to give you a small charm." He said producing a small wooden tablet with the words "Earth" carved in it from his sleeve. In a short bright red string tied at one side, five beads of green jade, red jade, white jade, black jade and yellow jade, representing the four directions and the center. "When you hold this charm and say the spell I am going to teach you, you will summon the local Earth God. If you forget about it, which I doubt, just yell "Old Immortal Earth" three times while striking the ground and they shall appear." After he said this, he straightened up his back, pushed down the eldery monk's bald head, and whispered in his left ear the spell.

"Is there anything else you need to know, venerable elder?" Asked the Earth God.

We will say no more of the White Bull Spirit or the eldery monk as we go and check on the travellers at the streets.

The umbrella looked at Mister Sun and said: "I'd be more than happy to help, if you would like to elaborate on what we would be doing."

The farmer, illiterate as he was and ignorant of Sanskrit, threw the stone tablet away. Then he looked down and found about thirteen copper coins.

The young foreign monk agreed to join Mister Sun, and the scribe explained she wasn't a warrior.

Mister Sun laughed. "This "Hundred bees in the plum petals" stratagem is simple. When we reach Scarlet Mountain we'll need to see how the demons are distributed. Then divide the demons by luring parts of them to different places, and divise tricks to kill them group by group. This way, slowly, the army is reduced, and if we don't manage to kill all of it, we would have done a great help to the Emperor's army."

"Now, we should probably be going if we don't want to arrive late." And with that, the short man turned around and started walking west.

We will say no more of the travellers as we go and check on the spirit-protected woman.

After being flung back a block, the spirit-protected woman was mildly dazed from the strike from the paddle, and muttered something in her own language. She took a moment to steady herself, and just as she was going to explain herself to the fisherman, the old woman hurried outside from inside the house, and yelled: "Don't strike, child! This woman is no demoness, Liuer, she is just a kind girl who helped me carry the vegetables back."

The fisherman looked around, and then at the spirit-protected woman. "Oh golly," he thought, "Granny Lin's right, she is no demon. She even killed the demon who was going to attack the kid."

"Miss, I'm so sorry. I've got eyes but no pupils, and was acting out of reflex without observing the situation." He apologized.

"Come here, child," said the old woman, "I have clothes for you to change into." She then lead the spirit-protected woman inside, gave her a small bowl with water to wash the blood away, and a simple ruqun originally worn by her daughter. Just look at her:

When the spirit-protected woman had finished and came out again, the fisherman had two things in his hands. The first was the woman's hook, retrieved from afar and blood wiped out. The second, a wooden hairpin, with two carved carps in it. "Have this hairpin. You might not get to use it, but at least it's a lucky charm. Sorry again for hitting you."

Indeed:

If you want to know what happened next, listen to our next chapter to know.

Summary of what's happening around in Chang'an:

Center/Garden: Sister Crow and Junpei are there with the monks and Daoist and the plantain demon. Slight conflict between two of the monks. Tall monk proposed going into the monastery to rest.

South(east)/Farm: Huang Shouling and White Bull Spirit were there. WBS is leaving south with the cattle. The Earth God provided exposition and fixed Shouling's staff.

Tiny tad east of Fighting Streets: Present people are Zhang Tian, Yanzi, Wind-Blown Umbrella, Jotaro and Li. Mister Sun explained his "Hundred bees in the plum petals" stratagem, proposes going to Scarlet Mountain.

Granny Lin's house: Mel is there, bloody clothes changed inside, child calmed down, apologies from Liu Fan gotten.

Status of mergedness of groups: NOBODY CAN SEE ANY OF THE OTHER GROUPS NOW NOR IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, AND ALL PEOPLE IN ONE GROUP ARE AT MOST FIVE METERS AWAY.

Glossary:

• Liuer: Er is a suffix used for young people. Honestly couldn't find any other honorific that worked, so you are stuck with this and all the "child"s because the book doesn't give me anything either.
• Ruqun: The most basic type of hanfu (clothes of the Han, aka Traditional Chinese clothes), consisting of a top and a wrap-around skirt.
• Pibo: A long scarf, common fashion accessory for women.
• Hairpin: The one Liu Fan is giving now is a zan, the most basic/common type of Chinese hairpin, typically used to stabilize hair.

Notes:

• Plantain Lady's Chinese name, for those curious, is Cheqian Niangzi, aka Ma'am Before the Car, since Plantain is Cheqiancao/Cheqianzi, which means Grass/That Before the Car.
• Brother order is a slightly confusing thing. In order of age, it's Juewu, Juetian, Juedi and then Zhao Fei. In the order they agreed when becoming sworn brothers... Zhao Fei and Juedi switch orders due to mental maturity (and looks). This is the one used by them here.
• How is the distance to Scarlet Mountain here seventy li instead of the fifty-two li Mister Sun said before? Well... Mister Sun was being literal with the "southwest of the city" and math gives those results.
• That charm is about the size of half a Graham cracker, so around 5 x 6 cm maybe.
• Do not question the existence of red, black and yellow jade if it was all nephrite then. It's magic.
• I did say before that the exchange rate would probably be 20 dollars to a silver ounce to simplify the 35 dollars to a silver ounce thing. But that's ridiculous. Anyways, those thirteen copper coins are about half a dollar. You can buy some food with that.
• I do realize the hairpin is basically an useless accessory because of the short, curly hair of the person it was gifted to. Don't worry, the carps make it a lucky charm.

Edited by JTTWlover on Nov 7th 2020 at 10:41:42 AM

Jotaro simply goes alongside Mister Sun, wanting to see his plan through to the end.

> Follow Mr. Sun

[Wind-Blown Umbrella nods, satisfied with Mr. Sun's explanation.] "That thoundth thimple enough. Let'th head to the Thcarlet Mountain at onthe!"

>follow Mister Sun

Sister Crow bows — again carefully — to the monks. "Thank you truly for your help, I am not sure we would have survived without it. I am afraid you are right, we may need to heal before we do anything else."

> Agree to go with the monks to the monestary for healing

"Well, this isn't good," Yanzi sighs. She glances at Mr. Sun.

> Follow Mr. Sun,

Huang Shouling takes the charm from the Earth God, going over the spell in his mind. "Thank you for this charm, Old Immortal Earth."

He looks towards the southwest, to where the Scarlet Mountain is. "When this humble monk began traveling Under Heaven those years ago, he made myself a promise. No person, no family, will have to lay their loved ones to rest like he once had. This humble monk regrets that he hasn't been able to arrive sooner, now knowing the dire threat you and this city face."

"You say that there is an army of eight thousand demons, who have slaughtered enough men and beasts to paint this mountain red? This humble monk will assist you. He will do whatever is necessary to help you, whether it is to build your defenses or to evacuate the young and the vulnerable to a place untouched by their primal savagery. But this humble monk is only one mortal man, and not a foolish one. He knows that he cannot face this army on his own."

"So, this humble monk must ask you one more question, Old Immortal Earth. Do you know of any others that are willing to help fight back against the forces of the Yellow Furred Demon King?"

Edited by MadameButterflyKnife on Nov 3rd 2020 at 12:17:00 PM

> Put the money in my purse and follow Mr. Sun.

Edited by dvorak on Nov 3rd 2020 at 7:18:48 AM

“不瞒娘子说，小的有三个法宝，都能装一个妖怪。法宝便是这几个铁管，请娘子进去。” Junpei returns the Plantain Lady to the summoning tube, a vaguely half-amused and half-pained expression flickering across his face at the monks’ argument. “Missus Crow here gets it. Can’t say this tops the ranking of ‘worst shape I’ve been in’, but I’d hate to show up collecting bounty on a stretcher, y’know?”

>Pull yourself to your feet, albeit with a stumble, and follow the group to the monastery

Edited by unfortunatezorua on Nov 6th 2020 at 8:46:58 PM

After having her predicament with the fisherman solved. Alarmelmangai decided to leave Granny Lin's house.

> Say goodbye to Granny Lin, the fisherman and the child.

Edited by Baisteach on Nov 7th 2020 at 11:33:03 AM

Not much later, the wall obstructed his way. He slammed the bone staff against the stone barricade, but to no avail, it was much too fortified.

It was at this time that an idea, very rare that this happens, but an idea appeared in White Bull's mind.

"City Gods!!" he calls out to the city. "You are still indebted to me, are you not? Come, for I require your aid!"

Edited by Afterwards on Nov 7th 2020 at 11:57:01 AM

The Monkey King's Misfits: Chapter 11

The story tells of how after the fat and short monks had argued and the tall monk had stopped them both and asked the crow and the demon-concealer to come back to the monastery to heal, the crow said while bowing carefully: "Thank you truly for your help, I am not sure we would have survived without it. I am afraid you are right, we may need to heal before we do anything else."

The demon-concealer, while holding three metal tubes, said to the Plantain Lady: "Lady, I dare not conceal anything from you. This little man has three magical treasures, and each of them can carry a demon. The magical treasures are these metal tubes, and I invite you, Lady, to enter."

The demoness laughed. "So this is what you Sun's Risers use to contain your fiends. Very well, I'll enter, but forget me not, or you shall be sorry."

After sending her in, a vaguely half-amused and half-pained expression flickered across the demon-concealer's face at the monks' argument. "Missus Crow here gets it. Can't say this tops the ranking of 'worst shape I've been in', but I'd hate to show up collecting bounty on a stretcher, y'know?"

He pulled himself to your feet, albeit with a stumble, and followed the group to the monastery.

Soon after, they arrived to a monastery. Over the gate, in big golden letters, there was written "Empty Peace Monastery".

The Daoist bowed and made his farewells, as he had to go back to his abbey. The rest of the group made their way into the monastery. The elder and many other monks came to greet them, and tea was served.

"This humble monk might as well ask you a question, lady Bodhisattva." Said the tall monk after he bowed and sat in a seat near the crow. "Pardon me for asking, but how did the lady Bodhisattva get hit by a demon body so hard she landed near us?"

"Second brother is right." Said the fat monk, after drinking his cup of tea. "That demon must have come from somewhere; and given out how it looked like, it came from a fight. Lady Bodhisattva, were you with anyone before the hit, or were you travelling alone in the streets?"

"Oi, Venerable Gentleman." Said the short monk, after observing the demon-concealer for a while. "Where did you get those tubes from?"

We shall say no more of the group at the monastery as we go and check on the eldery monk and the Earth God.

The eldery monk took the charm from the Earth God, going over the spell in his mind. "Thank you for this charm, Old Immortal Earth."

He looked towards the southwest, to where the Scarlet Mountain was. "When this humble monk began traveling Under Heaven those years ago, he made himself a promise. No person, no family, will have to lay their loved ones to rest like he once had. This humble monk regrets that he hasn't been able to arrive sooner, now knowing the dire threat you and this city face."

"You say that there is an army of eight thousand demons, who have slaughtered enough men and beasts to paint this mountain red? This humble monk will assist you. He will do whatever is necessary to help you, whether it is to build your defenses or to evacuate the young and the vulnerable to a place untouched by their primal savagery. But this humble monk is only one mortal man, and not a foolish one. He knows that he cannot face this army on his own."

"So, this humble monk must ask you one more question, Old Immortal Earth. Do you know of any others that are willing to help fight back against the forces of the Yellow Furred Demon King?"

The Earth God stroked his beard for a few moments, then said: "In the city of Chang'an there are many heroic people who are willing to help. But I also remember a wandering vigilante staying near."

"Twenty li at the East of here there is a Bamboo Grove Mountain. In the mountain, there is a Silver Wind Monastery. About five days ago the Earth God of that area came to have tea with us, and told us that a wandering vigilante known as the Flood-Dragon-Trapping Willow had arrived there. According to him, they are a very skilled fighter in many weapons and martial arts, and have a magical sash that can trap anyone in a bond harder than steel. As the saying says, the more people the better. Venerable elder, this little god has to answer his prayers and help the common people. I humbly request, would the venerable elder go and ask the wandering vigilante to help us?"

We will say no more of the eldery monk and the Earth God as we go and check on the White Bull Spirit.

Not much later after he had started walking south, the wall obstructed the White Bull Spirit's way. He slammed the bone staff against the stone barricade, but to no avail, it was much too fortified.

It was at this time that an idea, a very rare occurrence for him, appeared in the demon's mind.

"City Gods!!" he called out to the city. "You are still indebted to me, are you not? Come, for I require your aid!"

Trembling, and with a brush and scroll in hand, dripping ink, the City God appeared and bowed.

"Venerable gentleman, this little god makes his humble appearance. I was just starting to sort the requests for rain I got, what made the venerable gentleman want to call me for?"

We will say no more of the White Bull Spirit and the City God as we go and check quickly on the travellers.

The travellers following Mister Sun all started to leave the city with him and we will say no more of them as we go and check on the spirit-protected woman.

The spirit-protected woman thanked the fisherman, and said goodbye to the old woman, the kid, and him. She then headed southeast and less than two or three li after, she saw an eldery monk and a short old man talking.

If you want to know what happened next, listen to our next chapter to know.

Questions, questions, questions. It's all questions for the not travellers! What shall you say? What will you do? Read next chapter to know!

Glossary:

• Flood Dragons: The Jiao(long). Not really dragons, but kinda similar. Flood dragons are smaller, more serpent-like, generally evil (one of the alternate names for them is evil dragon), and associated almost exclusively to water while regular dragons can be associated to the air and other elements. They can make floods as their English name indicates, and their horns are either very short and undivided or inexistent.

Notes:

• Tea isn't supposed to be a common thing until a bunch of years later (the Classic of Tea is from 760-762), but if the original book gets it, Monkey King's Misfits will get it.
• Drink the tea, guys, it's basically a very low level healing potion. I did not put poison in it yet.
• Travellers, you are all excused from posting for about three chapters or so until you arrive to Scarlet Mountain unless you want to ask Mister Sun a question.

"What happened to you?" Yanzi asks groggily as she follows Mister Sun.

>Continue walking to the destination

Edited by AdeptGaderius on Nov 8th 2020 at 2:15:56 AM