Volume 3: A Long Journey Chapter 229: The Willow-Clad Deer

It was unclear what spell the old man had used, but in the blink of an eye, this magnificent hall turned into a gray, gloomy cave. All the carved beams and painted rafters, as well as the splendid furnishings, turned into huge green rocks.

Wukong cried, “Bad news!” and rushed to Tang Seng’s side, grabbing his robe. Upon looking around more closely, he saw that the four of them were now in an empty cave. The old man surnamed Wu stood at the entrance and shouted, “You monk, if you don’t comply, I’ll trap you here and let you die. Forget about obtaining the scriptures—within ten days or half a month, you’ll starve to death.”

Only then did Zhu Bajie realize what was happening. He cursed, “Old bastard! So your whole family are demons!” With that, he charged forward with his rake. Wukong thought to himself that the old man Wu was undoubtedly a demon, but that Wu Xiaomei was a genuine immortal—something he could tell even now.

As soon as Zhu Bajie reached the cave entrance, something dark rushed at him. He thrust his rake forward, but a powerful force sent him flying backward. Fortunately, Wukong was behind him and caught Zhu Bajie.

Zhu Bajie cursed, “That guy has incredible strength!”

Wukong, with his sharp eyes, noticed that the object that had struck him earlier resembled a turtle shell. Could it be that the old man Wu was actually a turtle spirit? With Zhu Bajie’s abilities, he had already been sent flying before even facing the opponent—this person was indeed very tough.

Wuhui charged forward with his fire spear, but the old man Wu only defended the cave entrance. His magical weapon was indeed a turtle shell, which stood firm there. No matter how hard Wuhui stabbed or slashed, it remained unharmed.

Seeing that Honghui couldn’t defeat the old man Wu either, Wukong told Zhu Bajie to keep an eye on Tang Seng while he rushed forward with his Ruyi Staff, shouting, “Younger brother Wuhui, step back and let me deal with him.”

The old man Wu also realized that even the Taoist priest, with his immortal powers, couldn’t handle that iron staff—so this person must be extraordinary. His expression turned serious.

Wukong charged forward and swung his staff with 120% of his strength. There was a loud crash, and his arms went numb from the force. Yet the turtle shell remained untouched, while the old man Wu’s feet were sunk more than half a foot into the rocks beneath him.

Wukong was shocked. Since he obtained the Ruyi Tianji Staff, only the Emperor of Eternal Life in the South Pole had managed to withstand it once, and even then he was at a disadvantage. Yet this old man Wu could resist with just a turtle shell—what kind of extraordinary power did he possess? And that turtle shell was indeed a remarkable magical weapon.

It wasn’t just Wukong who was surprised; the old man Wu was equally astonished. He exclaimed in admiration, “The Great Sage Equal to Heaven—his reputation truly lives up to it!”

Seeing that the old man recognized him, Wukong said, “Since you’ve known me all along, why hide and act like a turtle?”
The old man with the turtle appearance laughed heartily and said, “I am already a turtle; why bother imitating one?”
He stepped aside to open the cave entrance, and Wukong leaped out. Outside, there was no courtyard or forest—only bare rocks. Tang Seng and the other two also came out, with Tang Seng constantly muttering, “My horse, my horse, don’t get lost.”
Wukong asked the old man, “What a clever trick! After putting so much effort into it, what exactly do you want?”
The old man replied, “I just want Tang Seng to marry my daughter. As long as Tang Seng stays, you three may go on your pilgrimage. I won’t stop you.”
Wukong sneered, “Delusional dreams!”
The Wu family used both gentle and forceful tactics, investing a great deal of effort. First, they entertained Zhu Bajie with food and drink, then had Wu Xiaomei tempt him into breaking his moral vows, leaving Tang Seng filled with guilt. The old man, Wu Xiaomei, and Wu Liu took turns persuading Tang Seng, hitting right at his weaknesses. If not for Tang Seng’s firm resolve, anyone else might have given in to their demands. When soft tactics failed, they resorted to threatening him with gods and Taoists. After trying every trick, the old man’s true nature was revealed—he truly wanted Tang Seng at all costs.
Tang Seng had only two treasures: one was his flesh, which could grant immortality, and the other was what Wukong had heard from Zhu Bajie in the Cloud Stack Cave—that if a woman slept with Tang Seng, she could absorb his vital energy and become a Golden Immortal. Since the old man insisted on Tang Seng marrying his daughter, it was clearly the second reason.
Wukong had already discovered that the old man was actually a demon in disguise. He had claimed to be a turtle, while Wu Xiaomei was clearly human, not a demon, with no trace of demonic energy. Logically, they couldn’t be father and daughter. Given this, the origin of Wu Xiaomei must be quite complicated, as she could make such a skilled opponent like the old man work for her.
Suddenly, the old man said, “Come on, come on! Today, I’ll really take on you!”
Full of fighting spirit, Wukong swung his staff and stood against the old man. One focused on attacking while the other defended, and before long, fifty or sixty rounds had passed. Compared to Wukong, the old man was very slow, but his turtle shell provided extremely strong defense. Even Wukong’s Ruyi Staff could dent steel, but it was useless against the shell.
After fighting for a while, Wukong said, “Enough, enough! It’s getting boring.”
The old man laughed heartily and asked, “Have you given up?”
Wukong replied, “I can’t defeat you, and you can’t defeat me. So where’s the talk of giving up?”
The old man said, “If you can’t defeat me, don’t even think about going west for your pilgrimage!”

Wukong cursed, “Where did you come from, you rascal?” Though he cursed, beating him was useless.
The old crow said, “You monkey are too stubborn. What’s so good about the journey to the West? It’s better to find a fairy mountain to live in leisurely.” Wukong replied, “The Great Way is profound—how could you possibly understand it?”
The old crow said, “Whether it’s the Great Way or a lesser path, I’ll just stick to this one, and I’ll make sure you have no way forward.”
These words reminded Wukong that this old turtle only defended and didn’t attack, with no novel tactics of its own. Why not do the same? Wukong whistled, and the White Dragon Horse rushed over from afar and arrived beside Tang Seng.
Wukong said, “Master, get on the horse. I’ll hold off this old turtle while you all go ahead. I’ll catch up later.”
Tang Seng said, “Wukong, be careful!”
The old crow laughed heartily and said, “Where do you think you can go?” He threw the turtle shell onto his back, lowered himself to the ground, and transformed into a giant turtle ten zhang across, blocking the path in front of the cave.
There was no path on the mountain, and with the giant turtle blocking the way, how could Tang Seng pass? Wukong flew into a rage and swung his iron rod, striking repeatedly. But the old turtle calmly retracted its head, tail, and limbs, allowing Wukong to strike at will.
Seeing that forceful attacks wouldn’t work, Wukong had a sudden idea. He spat out a blaze of flame, which seeped into the gaps beneath the turtle shell. The old turtle leaped up and extinguished the fire.
Tang Seng said, “Wukong, stop wasting effort.”
Wukong had no choice but to put away his iron rod and sit down, pondering a solution.
Just then, a very pleasant voice came from the sky: “Zheng!” Then a white jade flask floated down and landed on the old turtle’s back.
A willow branch was inserted into the flask, which was only half full. Yet even that half of seawater pressed down on the old turtle, forcing its limbs into the ground—its belly seemed to be touching the ground as well.
Wukong rejoiced, “The Goddess Guanyin has arrived!”
The others looked up and indeed saw the Goddess Guanyin in plain white robes, standing smilingly in the clouds. They quickly knelt down to pay homage. The Goddess said, “No need for formalities.” She descended from the clouds and approached the old turtle, saying, “You wretched beast! How dare you run out on your own?”
The old turtle, pressed down by the flask, couldn’t lift its head or speak. The Goddess took away the flask and smiled at Wu Xiaomei in the distance, saying, “I knew it was you. You tricked the old turtle into coming out again.” Her tone was unexpectedly polite.
Though the Goddess was polite, Wu Xiaomei wasn’t grateful. She stamped her golden lotus feet and snapped, “I was about to trap Tang Seng, and you won’t even let me have some fun? Hmph!” She leaped up into the clouds, with Wu Liu following closely behind.
Wukong couldn’t help but ask, “Who is this woman?”

The Bodhisattva shook her head and said, “She is the only daughter of the Purple Micro Emperor. By nature, she is mischievous and difficult to discipline. She has always been on good terms with me, this old turtle who carries jars. When I returned to the South Sea from the Buddha, I couldn’t find the old turtle, so by counting on my fingers, I knew she was causing trouble for you all. That’s why I came to relieve your distress.”

Wukong was slightly surprised. The Purple Micro Emperor? The one who rules over all the stars in the heavens? How had he ended up involved in this quest for the scriptures?

After thinking for a moment, Wukong asked, “The Purple Micro Emperor is so exalted—why doesn’t he discipline his daughter properly? What if something goes wrong…?”

Guanyin replied, “How could the Purple Micro Emperor control her? She grew up with the Sacred Mother of Li Mountain since childhood…” At this point, Guanyin realized she had said too much and stopped, saying, “I’ll take this mischievous creature back. You may go west in peace.”

Wukong now remembered this old turtle. In the story of “Journey to the West,” when they encountered the Red Boy, the Bodhisattva used the Pure Bottle to fetch water from the sea, which was carried by this very turtle. Wukong certainly didn’t have the ability to cross the sea, and in terms of strength, this old turtle was clearly far superior to him.

Why did the daughter of the Purple Micro Emperor grow up with the Sacred Mother of Li Mountain? Could it be that the two had a special relationship? From Guanyin’s words, it seemed the Purple Micro Emperor himself was very wary of the Sacred Mother of Li Mountain. So, it was likely that this girl wasn’t sent by the Purple Micro Emperor but rather acted on the instructions of the Sacred Mother of Li Mountain.

The Sacred Mother of Li Mountain held a high status—was she more inclined to Taoism or Buddhism? If she were Taoist, she could still arrange for three Bodhisattvas to pretend to be her daughter; if she were Buddhist, why would she set such a difficulty to stop Tang Seng and the others from going west? Could it be that she was also part of the Buddha’s faction from the East…

Wukong wandered in thought, glancing at the Bodhisattva. He noticed that she looked much better today than before, though he had no idea that the Tathagata had given Guanyin a pill to calm her worries.

With Guanyin’s sharp mind, she immediately guessed that this difficulty was set by the Sacred Mother of Li Mountain. Normally, she would have been indirect, allowing Wukong to ask for help several times before agreeing to assist.

But this time was different. Guanyin’s life force was fading—nothing in the world was more important than her own life. The Tathagata only promised to save her if Guanyin wholeheartedly supported the quest to complete the scriptures. How could Guanyin dare to play any tricks now?

Guanyin picked up the Pure Bottle, ascended to the lotus throne, ignored the old turtle, and flew toward the South Sea.

Seeing that the old turtle had barely recovered from being pressed by the Pure Bottle and was slowly getting up, Wukong went over and asked, “Who ordered you to do this?”

The old turtle changed its form back into that of an old man and said with a sad face, “It was all Miss Zixuan who taught me. She just wanted to put on a show—how could I dare not obey?”

Wukong nodded. Although the old turtle was highly skilled, his status was far inferior to that of the daughter of the Purple Micro Emperor, so what he said must be true. Wukong asked again, “Who is that immortal master of his—a demon or something?”
The old turtle replied, “How could Miss Zi Xuan associate with a demon? It’s Liu Tuzhang from the Twenty-Eight Mansions.”
Wukong said, “Nonsense! I’ve clearly seen Liu Tuzhang before—how could he be that person?”
The old turtle said, “The Great Sage is unaware. The Twenty-Eight Mansions aren’t made up of twenty-eight fixed individuals; they can rotate.”
Wukong’s mind stirred. He knew well that the Twenty-Eight Mansions could rotate—six of them, the Tail Fire Tiger and the Heart Rabbit, had been killed by him, yet when he saw them again, the group was complete once more.
But this Liu Tuzhang—he had seen him during the battle at Qitian Ridge. How could he be replaced without reason? Could there be hidden currents at work behind the scenes in the Heavenly Court?