Volume 2: The Path That Can Be Told, Chapter 126: The Path of Emotions
Wings brushed through the air, stirring strong winds. When they landed in front of the building, it was the multi-faced Nine-Headed Worm. Wukong stepped forward and asked, “Brother, why did you come so late?” The Nine-Headed Worm smiled and said, “I was thoroughly drunk yesterday and just woke up. If you have any troubles, brother, I’ll help you solve them.”
Seeing the two chatting cheerfully as if he didn’t exist at all, the ancient patriarch of the Dao Asking Sect, who was the supreme being above everyone else in his sect with great seniority and status, felt extremely uncomfortable being treated so lightly in his own territory. He immediately shouted, “You three, get lost from here!”
The Nine-Headed Worm frowned and glanced at the patriarch in green robes, saying, “You worthless wretch! Have I not done as you asked?”
The patriarch’s body trembled. When he looked again at the Nine-Headed Worm, his face twisted like a demon’s—it was indeed the man who appeared in his nightmares. He immediately knelt down, his old head hitting the stone ground with a dull thud. He didn’t dare use any magic at all. After knocking for a while, blood appeared on his head. He pleaded, “Lord, please spare my life! Forgive me…”
The Nine-Headed Worm explained to Wukong, “This man is an immortal I subdued long ago. It seems he’s almost forgotten me.” The patriarch hurriedly said, “Lord, I wouldn’t dare forget that matter. It’s already taken care of.”
The Nine-Headed Worm nodded and said, “Good. Then I’ll forgive you for your disrespect earlier.” At that moment, the man in red behind them shouted, “Tell me, where have you taken my disciple, Yan Zheng?”
The patriarch glanced at the Nine-Headed Worm and then at the man in red, not knowing their relationship, but he didn’t dare answer. The Nine-Headed Worm asked, “Is your disciple a being of pure Yang of the Five Elements?” The man nodded and said, “Indeed, he has a body of pure fire.” The Nine-Headed Worm smiled and said, “That’s right. I’ve been searching for such a man for years. He must have been captured by now.”
The man in red demanded, “Hand him over!” After fighting against the patriarch earlier, he knew the patriarch was only slightly inferior to him. Even if he could win, it would take a long time to decide the outcome. Since the patriarch feared this multi-faced creature so much, he likely wasn’t a match for him either. As he spoke, a faint light flashed from the patterns on his palm—this was his Fire Cloud Sect’s unique communication method. Soon, fellow sect members would arrive to reinforce him.
The Nine-Headed Worm shook its head and said, “I need these people to be of great use; I can’t hand them over.” Wukong thought to himself that if that was the case, Zhang Hui must also have been captured. His knowledge of the Five Elements was shallow, and he couldn’t tell which one was metal and which was wood. Wukong then asked, “I wonder what use these people are for. Among those captured, one is actually my friend.”
“Oh?” said the Nine-Headed Worm. “Since that’s the case, I’ll do my brother a favor and spare his life—it’s no trouble at all.” From this, it seemed that without Wukong, these people would all be killed.
Wukong opened his mouth to speak but held back, deciding to wait and see what would happen first. The man in red changed his expression, wary of the Nine-Headed Worm’s powers and not daring to attack right away.
The Nine-Headed Worm stepped into the small building, with Wukong following naturally. The man in red, concerned for his disciple’s life, also followed closely behind. Only the ancestor of the Daoist sect knelt on the ground, too terrified to get up, his face pale with shock and fear.
The building was only about ten zhang in diameter, with some defensive arrays at the entrance. The Nine-Headed Worm paid no attention and kicked them apart. Once the arrays were broken, a strong smell of blood filled the air. Wukong was alarmed—had Zhang Hui and the others already been killed?
Upon closer inspection, the building was empty, with not even a single pillar. The floor was covered with many curved channels, which, upon closer look, turned out to be connected lines drawn in one stroke. The channels were filled with blood, flowing slowly, resembling a very long blood-red worm writhing slowly. Against the colorful stones on the floor, it looked extremely eerie.
Zhang Hui and Yan Zheng were collapsed in a corner of the building. Besides them, three young men were also unconscious on the ground. Seeing this blood array, the Nine-Headed Worm laughed loudly, “What boldness! With such trivial skills, they still dare to create a Five Elements blood array.” He rushed out of the building and found that the ancestor of the Daoist sect had already disappeared. He then shouted at Wukong, “My dear brother, guard this place for me while I go back and capture that death-defying fool.” Unfurling his wings, he flew after the ancestor of the Daoist sect.
The man in red saw the Nine-Headed Worm fly away and wanted to rescue Yan Zheng, but feared Wukong’s interference. Knowing he wasn’t Wukong’s match, he asked, “Do… you also want to save someone?” After thinking for a moment, Wukong realized these people had committed no crime. Given that the array was clearly of evil origin, how could it be allowed to take innocent lives? So he nodded and said, “Go and save whoever you want.” The man in red was overjoyed and flew over to lift Yan Zheng up. Wukong found it convenient and used a spell to bind the four men. Since they were unconscious, he didn’t know how to rescue them.
The man in red said, “It’s due to a sedative. I have some divine pills that can clear the mind; they should work.” With that, he took out a few pills from his bosom, gave one to Yan Zheng first, and then tossed four to Wukong. Wukong found the man in red very familiar, but he really couldn’t recall where he had seen him before. Without suspicion, he took the pills and gave them to the four of them to take. After a while, the men gradually regained consciousness. Seeing the man in red, Yan Zheng exclaimed in joy, “Master!” Zhang Hui also quickly regained his senses, but the other three remained dazed even after waking up, clearly because the sedative had taken effect for too long. The man in red asked Yan Zheng to recount everything that had happened. Yan Zheng then told how he had participated in the marriage-seeking event, been taken to a garden, how he had followed Yun Juanshu’s advice, and how he had been captured. Zhang Hui remained silent the whole time, but his depressed expression clearly showed that he agreed with Yan Zheng’s account. Wukong then realized that the Daowen Sect’s large-scale promotion of the marriage-seeking event had been premeditated. Now their goal was clear: to find youths with the pure Yang constitution of the five elements, and they had already gathered enough of them. And the mastermind behind this was none other than the Nine-Headed Worm! There were many twists and turns in this matter. According to the Nine-Headed Worm, the sect’s founder seemed to have defied his orders and tried to take matters into his own hands. Fortunately, the Nine-Headed Worm arrived at just the right time, bringing things back under his control. Wukong remembered the day when he invited the Nine-Headed Worm to meet at the Daowen Sect. The Nine-Headed Worm had agreed without hesitation, and Wukong had thought he wanted to befriend him. But it turned out he had his own schemes here—truly cunning. Thus, Wukong became more wary of him. After hearing the truth, Zhang Hui was even more disheartened. He had been wholeheartedly in love, only to find that his feelings were unreciprocated. Yun Zhaoying had no intention of seeking marriage and didn’t even remember him at all. What he had thought were mutual feelings were merely his own delusions. Wukong naturally understood Zhang Hui’s feelings and thought to himself that most men and women in the world were like this. Whenever they had someone they admired, every move, smile, and expression of that person entered their hearts, making them pay extra attention. And once the person they loved showed slight interest, they often mistook it as a sign of affection, leading to countless misunderstandings and even tragedies turning from joy to sorrow. Before, he had thought that love was also a kind of philosophy, but now he realized he needed to change his view. The essence of love was still obsession. As far as he knew, Taoism taught non-attachment, and Buddhism taught emptiness—both urging people to let go. But did letting go really solve everything? Was it the right approach?