Beneath a large cloth, there was set up a vermilion lacquered incense table, upon which rested a pair of gold incense urns, with a box of incense placed beside the urns.
Zhu Ganglie frowned and said, "Hey, acolyte, why doesn't your Five Villages Taoist temple offer sacrifices to the Three Pure Ones, the Four Emperors, and all the other celestial chiefs? Why are only the characters 'heaven and earth' displayed?
After speaking, Zhu Ganglie whispered to Tang Sanzang, "Master, this doesn't look like a legitimate Taoist temple at all; it must be transford by a demon.
Sun Wukong imdiately twisted his ear and pulled him aside, "Fool, don't talk nonsense!"
Zhu Ganglie said tearfully, "If I don't say it now, I might not have another chance. Brother Monkey, when you eat later, could you light so incense for first?
Sun Wukong was speechless and said, "Don't worry, if worst cos to worst, I will sorsault back and catch a demon to take your place.
Zhu Ganglie, moved to almost tears, said, "Thank you, Brother Monkey, you really are my own elder brother!"
...
On the other side, Qingfeng replied, "Gentlen, I don't know. Our master's status is too high; if we were to offer incense to the Three Pure Ones and the Four Emperors, that would be presenting them with a tribute, and they would have to return the favor. As for the others, they can't accept our offerings of incense.
"Our master was invited by the Primordial Heavenly Venerate to go to Miluo Palace to lecture on the essence of the mixed yuan because of his status. Otherwise, if he were here, you would understand imdiately and we wouldn't need to explain so much."
Sun Wukong, unable to listen any further, rolled his eyes and said, "That's enough; I see what's going on here. You, acolyte, can brag even more than old Wukong here. You might as well rena your Taoist temple to 'Bragging Temple'!
"It's just because my elder brother, the Ox-Demon King, isn't here, otherwise you might have blown him away with your boasts.
"How prestigious is the Primordial Heavenly Venerate of the Miluo Palace? Why would he need your ox hooves to lecture? Don't spin these baseless stories, just speak properly...."
Upon hearing this, the two acolytes were instantly infuriated, and they rolled up their sleeves, ready to start cursing.
Just then, the bald monk suddenly sniffed the air and asked, "What is that sll? It's so fragrant?"
The two acolytes exchanged glances, each seeing the intent in the other's eyes.
Simultaneously, both used a Secret Technique to transmit their voices...
Qingfeng said, "Mingyue, this monk is annoying, but his nose is really quite good. He has actually slled the fragrance of the ginseng fruit...."
Mingyue said, "Before our master left, he instructed us to give this monk two ginseng fruits as a way of returning the favor from a previous toast. However, he also said that the two were not close friends. Given how annoying this monk is now, I say we shouldn't give them at all."
Qingfeng said, "That's what I think, too. They don't deserve our family's human-like fruit."
Mingyue said, "Exactly my thoughts."
Thinking they were speaking covertly, they did not realize that the bald monk's ears were twitching...
Back when a few Bodhisattvas had used voice transmission, Tang Sanzang had heard everything clearly; how could the transmissions of two young acolytes possibly escape his ears?
Mingyue stepped forward and said, "Elder, those were just so wild fruits ripening in the Taoist temple, nothing special."
Tang Sanzang narrowed his eyes, drawing out his words, "Oh... so they are just so wild fruits, huh?"
Qingfeng said, "Yes, yes, nothing special. Elder, it's getting late. Why don't we settle you in to rest first, then we can start cooking and have a vegetarian al together later?"
Speaking of eating, Zhu Ganglie shivered and, sweating profusely, shouted, "It's too early for a al... You all eat so early, hahaha..."
Though he claid not to be hungry, his stomach audibly growled, turning his pig face bright red.
Tang Sanzang paid him no attention and righteously declared, "Cooking is too troubleso, we might as well just eat so wild fruits and make do. Wukong, Wufan, Wujing, let's go eat wild fruits!"
With that, Tang Sanzang turned and walked away.
Upon hearing this, Qingfeng and Mingyue instantly panicked.
Wild fruits? Those were not any wild fruits!
Those were the original Spirit Roots from the dawn of heaven and earth, the treasured ginseng fruit of the Five Masters' Taoist temple!
In terms of quantity, there were even fewer ginseng fruits than pan-peaches, and in terms of quality, they were on the sa level as the top-tier pan-peaches.
When Zhenyuanzi had agreed to give Tang Sanzang two ginseng fruits, he was already in great pain. And now this bald monk was taking his disciples to eat them, who could stand it?
Qingfeng quickly shouted, "Elder, you are originally a guest. Our master instructed us to treat you well before he left; how can we let you eat wild fruits? Please have a vegetarian al instead?"
Mingyue nodded repeatedly, "Exactly, exactly. Please wait a mont; the vegetarian al will be ready soon."
Gurgle gurgle...
Zhu Ganglie's stomach growled again.
Tang Sanzang said, "My disciples are hungry. How about you start preparing the vegetarian al, and we'll go pick so wild fruits to fill our stomachs. Call us when the al is ready."
Upon hearing this, Qingfeng and Mingyue felt bitterly helpless; they had dug their own graves with their lies, and now they were stepping on the stones they'd moved, unspeakably miserable.
Sun Wukong glanced at the bald monk, then at the visibly panicked young boys, and instantly understood that this was not rely about eating wild fruits. Astutely, he chid in, "Exactly, exactly... You go prepare the al, and once the vegetarian al is ready, we'll go eat. This way, nothing is delayed..."
Tang Sanzang nodded and said, "We have had plenty of at and fish along the way, but we haven't tried these fragrant wild fruits. We've co from far away—not for good food, but for novelty. Disciples, let's go!"
Having said that, Tang Sanzang led his disciples towards the backyard.
Seeing that they could no longer be stopped by words, Qingfeng and Mingyue, in their extre anxiety, rolled up their sleeves, contemplating whether to resort to violence, when Zhu Ganglie glanced at them and said, "Allow to introduce myself, I was originally the Naval Commander of Heaven, Marshal Tianpeng. See this rake? It was personally forged by the Grand Supre Elderly Lord..."
Upon hearing this, the two boys were montarily stunned. Marshal Tianpeng? Although that title wasn't that significant, he was still a divine military figure... They seed out of their league.
Zhu Ganglie then slapped Sha Wujing on the back and said, "This is my junior brother Wujing. He was originally the Curtain Lifting General in charge of guarding the safety of the Jade Emperor."
Qingfeng and Mingyue were montarily speechless. They might have dealt with a Marshal Tianpeng with so of the tricks up their sleeves.
But now there was a Curtain Lifting General as well. This was troubleso.
Zhu Ganglie grinned and pointed at Sun Wukong, "That's our eldest senior brother. Five hundred years ago, he alone, with a staff, ascended to the Heavenly Palace, fought the gods of the Thunder Ministry and various other celestial buddhas single-handedly in a great upheaval, uncontrollable by anyone. In the end, it was the Buddha himself who had to intervene to calm him down."
The two boys shuddered and cursed inwardly, "Is this monk who ca from the east actually a bandit? How can we fight this?"
The two hurriedly rolled their sleeves back down, exchanged glances, and saw the tears in each other's eyes. If only they had known, they would not have lied and simply given them the two fruits from the start.
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