"Elder Brother!" Sha Wujing also recovered from the sudden turn of events.
"Monkey! Look at the fine ss you've caused! You've killed soone again!" Zhu Bajie sat on the boat with a thud, holding the oar and weeping, "Cui Cui, Cui Cui! Although you despised this old pig's ugliness and even set your dog on , you still let this old pig get on the boat and were going to ferry the master and across the river. You were a living Bodhisattva, why did you have to die!"
"Wu——"
The masterless yellow dog, erging from the water's surface, howled towards the sky and was gradually swept away by the Tongtian River, obviously on the verge of death.
"..." Tang Seng vigorously shook his sleeve.
"Master, that really was a monster!" Sun Wukong grabbed Tang Seng's sleeve.
"Let go!" Tang Seng, not as strong as Wukong, struggled as they grappled on the boat.
Because of Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and the White Dragon Horse, the boat was already riding very low in the water and this rocking, combined with Li Changzhou adding fuel to the fire, caused it to wobble—and then—
The boat capsized!
Caught off-guard, the monkey instinctively leaped up upon contacting the water, landing midair.
"Bajie, Sha Disciple, take good care of the master!" he shouted from the clouds.
When Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing resurfaced, there was no sign of Tang Seng.
"Bajie! Where's the master?"
"Master Surna 'Chen', Na 'To-The-End'! Monkey, you killed the master! You're coming with to see the Bodhisattva!" Zhu Bajie wailed bitterly.
Sun Wukong, his monkey face turning red with anxiety, his body itching all over.
Suddenly, he turned his head and looked around: "Where's that dog?"
"The master is dead, and you still worry about a dog!"
Without ti to explain, Sun Wukong said quickly, "Bajie, Sha Disciple, you go search the riverbed for the master, I'll go to the Underworld to see if the master's soul is there! If it is, I'll scoop it up on the way back!"
With that, he tumbled out of sight.
At the river bottom, Li Changzhou, who was about to rescue Tang Seng, stopped in his tracks.
He waited until Tang Seng had drowned before collecting his body.
After doing this, he swiftly returned to his cave dwelling and quickly instructed the Water Demon, barely finishing before Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing arrived.
Li Changzhou stepped out the door, looking at the two with a hint of hesitation and spoke slowly, "Are you Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy and Marshal Canopy's Commander?"
"Indeed, I am that old pig!"
"I'm Linggan. You two were escorting Tang Elder across the river to the Western Heaven on a scripture quest, what brings you looking for ?" Li Changzhou asked in confusion.
"Enough! That Tang Seng is dead!" shouted Zhu Bajie. Follow current novᴇls on NoveI-Fire.ɴet
"What? How could the Saint Monk be dead? Is the murderer a person from the Chen family village? My minions, fetch my weapon, let's decimate the Chen family village and avenge the Saint Monk!"
"Yes, Great King!" the Water Demon answered loudly.
"Alas!" Sha Wujing sighed, "Please, Elder Brother, it's unnecessary, the Chen family villagers, following your instructions, were very good to us; my master... died from drowning."
"...drowned?"
"Elder Brother," Sha Wujing took a step forward and bowed deeply, "My Elder Brother has gone to the Underworld to seek the master's soul, please ask the Water Demon to help find the master's body so his soul can return to it when it cos back!"
"I am a child under the South Sea's Guanyin, and Elder Tang Seng is on a scripture quest to the Western Heaven by the Bodhisattva's command—I cannot refuse this matter!" Li Changzhou declared solemnly, "But..."
His tone shifted, his voice growing weaker, "Dear brothers, the Tongtian River is boundless, even with my assistance, finding it might be impossible in such a short ti."
"Master is but a mortal flesh, tumbling about in the water or soaking for too long, even with the soul returned, it would be in vain! Master, oh!" Zhu Bajie cried out, his heart harboring other thoughts.
With Tang Seng's demise, waiting for his reincarnation would take another twenty years, ti enough for old pig to return to Gao Lao Zhuang and sire twenty litters.
But how to divide the belongings? That monk left behind quite a few treasures...
"What are we to do!" panicked Sha Wujing as well.
Li Changzhou pondered with his head down, then suddenly announced, "Dear brothers, wait a mont, I have a thod!"
"Elder Brother, speak quickly!" urged Sha Wujing.
Zhu Bajie curled his lips in disdain.
Li Changzhou continued, "If you travel upstream along the Tongtian River, you'll find the source, the River Eye Plain. With the river eye, no matter how wide or long the Tongtian River is, it's like seeing patterns in the palm of your hand, and finding the Saint Monk's body would be easy. I've t a disciple of the Heavenly Venerate Taiyi who rescues from suffering, who presides over the River Eye Plain. I can visit and persuade him to lend us the river eye."
"Excellent! Thank you, Elder Brother! Go quickly!"
"I shall set out imdiately, if fast, half a day, if slow, no more than two days, I will definitely borrow the river eye! Dear brothers, please rest assured and wait for my good news!"
Without waiting for Zhu Bajie or Sha Wujing to reply, Li Changzhou hurriedly transford into a streak of clear light, surging upstream against the current.
After Li Changzhou had left, Sha Wujing said to Zhu Bajie, "Big Brother, let's also have a look!"
"Look for what? Once that boy Linggan borrows the river eye, a glance will tell all. You search, will you find anything?"
Sha Wujing was anxious, but Zhu Bajie had spoken rationally indeed.
"Oh, my Cui Cui! And the master, I wonder if he'll bump into Cui Cui in the Underworld, lest the judges take her away!" Zhu Bajie wailed again.
Sun Wukong, incredibly fast, could traverse heaven and earth in the blink of an eye.
He brought back Tang Seng's soul to the Mortal World, distressed and wracked with guilt on the bank, debating whether he should use the water avoidance art to dive into the river for the body.
Just then, the river split apart, and an old turtle surfaced.
Sun Wukong, in no good temper, assuming the old man was the turtle's ally, swung his staff to strike.
"Great Sage, Great Sage, hear out! It was the Penglai that killed your master!"
The old turtle had been the original owner of the Water Turtle Mansion, whom Li Changzhou had also sought but found not.
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