Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 284: The Invisible Arrow

Wukong watched this man’s arrogant and triumphant demeanor and felt hatred rise in his heart. Yet, since the man’s background was unknown, he decided to investigate further first. He turned to Tang Seng and said, “Master, let’s return to the temple for now. We can come back for the documents tomorrow.”
For some reason, Tang Seng couldn’t hear a word of what everyone in the hall was saying today; he felt extremely irritable. Hearing Wukong suggest returning, he felt as if he had been pardoned and stood up to head outside.
Wukong helped Tang Seng back to Zhishen Temple. Wuhui and Wuping had already taken care of the horses and luggage. After days of travel, the monks were finally able to rest, lying down or sitting on the ground and falling asleep.
When Wuhui saw Wukong return, he rushed up and asked, “Senior brother, have you gotten the passage documents?” Wukong shook his head and recounted what had happened in the hall, saying, “This isn’t urgent. I’ll think of a solution later.”
He led Tang Seng to a quiet room. Tang Seng said, “Wukong, I’ve been extremely irritable today and can’t find peace. What’s the reason?”
Wukong replied, “It’s probably because of the urgency of the pilgrimage. Master, rest for a while. I’ll definitely bring back the documents tomorrow!”
Tang Seng said, “Once we have the documents, let’s leave this place immediately. I can’t bear to see my fellow monks suffer.”
Before Wukong could answer, a strong sense of crisis surged in him. He spread his mental senses to explore the surroundings but found nothing unusual. Only then did he notice Tang Seng shivering again.
Wukong was puzzled—this feeling was truly strange. Just then, as he was about to retract his mental senses, he detected a blinding arrow streaking down from the sky, aimed straight at the room where they were.
An arrow from the sky? Without time to think, Wukong transformed his Ruyi Tianji Stick into a large shield to protect Tang Seng and himself. In an instant, with a loud boom, Wukong felt his arm go numb—the arrow’s power was beyond imagination.
What shocked Wukong even more was that the target of this arrow was—Tang Seng!
Someone wanted to kill Tang Seng! Who could it be?
Strangely enough, after Wukong blocked the arrow, Tang Seng immediately calmed down, sitting up as if nothing had happened. He asked, “Wukong, what was that noise just now?”
Wukong was speechless. He dismissed his magic and said, “Master, nothing serious.” He searched the room thoroughly but found no trace of the arrow. Hmm? Where had it gone?
For the first time since beginning the pilgrimage, Wukong felt such a strong sense of crisis. If the arrow had been aimed at him, he wouldn’t have feared it at all. But Tang Seng was just an ordinary mortal. Even if he wasn’t hit by the arrow itself, a mere brush from its tip might be fatal.

Only to hear Tang Seng say, “Wukong, I suddenly feel much better.” Wukong glanced at Tang Seng. His face, which had been as pale as clay earlier, was now much redder. He couldn’t help but think that whenever Tang Seng encountered demons, he would feel extreme fear, and over time, this had developed into an ability to sense danger—what could be considered a blessing in disguise.

Wukong said, “It’s good that Master is fine.”

At that moment, Wu Ping and Wu Hui also heard the strange noise and rushed inside to check what was going on.

Wu Ping asked Wukong, who was equally puzzled—someone actually wanted to kill Tang Seng! It was utterly unbelievable.

Tang Seng was the core of the pilgrimage; he was chosen by Buddha and personally selected by Guanyin. Who would be so reckless as to dare harm him?

Upon seeing this astonishing arrow, Wukong’s first thought was of Hou Yi, but he quickly ruled that out. No matter Hou Yi’s motives, if he intended to do such a thing, surely he would tell Wukong first.

Besides Hou Yi, there was also Zhu Bajie, who was highly skilled in archery. Wukong remembered that in “Journey to the West,” when Guanyin enlightened Bajie, he already carried a curved bow on his back. His archery skills came from Hou Yi, so they must be extraordinary. But Wukong knew very well how capable Bajie really was. The power of that arrow was definitely at the level of a Hunyuan Jinxian—impossible for him to reach such a level after just a few days.

Another candidate was Yang Jian, the True Lord of Manifestation. Although Yang Jian was skilled in archery, Wukong had only seen him use slingshots, never a long bow. Moreover, Yang Jian lived alone by Guanjiangkou, living freely and unbothered. Even the Jade Emperor couldn’t force him to do anything, so there was no reason for him to intervene.

After much deliberation, Wukong decided to go seek help from Guanyin Bodhisattva, but he couldn’t bear to leave Tang Seng unattended. That arrow came silently; if it weren’t for him using his spiritual senses to detect it, he might not have had time to turn his staff into a shield and would have had to block it with his body.

Seeing Wukong pondering for so long, Wu Ping asked, “What troubles you, Great Sage?”

Wukong pulled Wu Ping aside and said, “Someone is plotting against Master. That arrow just now was incredibly powerful. I want to ask Guanyin for help, but I can’t leave Master unguarded.”

Wu Ping asked, “How powerful is it? Can I possibly block it?”

Wukong suddenly realized he had always treated Wu Ping as an outsider, when in fact he could be very useful now. His armor could even withstand his own Ruyi Tianji Staff, so blocking that arrow should not be a problem.

So Wukong said, “If you can’t block it, how dare I take it head-on? Then I’ll have to rely on Brother Wu.” Wu Ping quickly replied, “I dare not, I dare not. Go ahead, Great Sage, rest assured.”

Wukong left the Country of Chichi and headed straight for the South Sea. Upon arriving at Mount Luojia, he saw Guanyin about to leave. Wukong stepped forward and said, “Why do you bother to greet me? I can’t bear such honor.”
Guanyin replied angrily, “Who said I’m greeting you? There’s unrest in the Heavenly Court, and I’m heading to the Western Heaven right away. What are you doing here?”
Wukong asked, “Unrest in the Heavenly Court? Could it be some major incident?”
Guanyin said, “It’s neither major nor minor.”
Wukong asked again, “Is it related to me?”
Guanyin replied, “It’s highly related!”
Wukong sighed and said, “It’s just bad luck on top of bad luck—this surely isn’t good news!”
Guanyin wondered, “With your abilities, plus Wu Ping’s assistance, is there really any obstacle you can’t overcome?”
Wukong replied solemnly, “If it were just an ordinary obstacle, I wouldn’t have come to see you. But someone wants to kill Tang Seng—it’s truly hard to defend against!”
“Ah!” Even Guanyin, usually calm, exclaimed in shock. “Tell me in detail!”
Wukong then described how a strange, invisible arrow appeared out of nowhere in the sky. After hearing this, Guanyin said angrily, “That pig-like Wuneng! How dare he be so bold?”
This time it was Wukong’s turn to be surprised. “What? It can’t be him! That arrow—” He was about to say it must belong to someone at least at the level of a Hunyuan Golden Immortal, but then remembered he had hidden much of his strength. He said, “That arrow shook me so much I almost vomited blood. My arms still can’t be raised. How could it be that fool?”
Guanyin looked worried and said, “With such divine weapons appearing, chaos will truly ensue!”
Wukong thought for a moment and seemed to understand. “Are you saying this arrow wasn’t entirely Wuneng’s doing? That it relied more on the power of a magical weapon?”
Guanyin nodded. “The Eastern Emperor has two treasures: the Sword of Slaying Immortals and the Xuanyuan Bow. From your description, it’s very likely that arrow was shot from the Xuanyuan Bow.”
The Sword of Slaying Immortals? Wukong remembered the day he went to Fangzhang Immortal Island. When the fake Wukong, the Six-Eared Monkey, saw the Eastern Emperor draw his sword, he immediately fled. Could that sword be the Sword of Slaying Immortals?
“The Xuanyuan Bow? What is that?” Wukong asked.
Guanyin replied, “It’s said this bow was created by the ancient divine emperor Xuanyuan. He used the horns of a giant ox as the shaft and a giant sea dragon as the string. It’s extremely durable and possesses immense power.”
Wukong said, “That arrow is too strange. It disappears without a trace after being shot—why is that?”

The Bodhisattva said, “The most remarkable feature of this bow lies in this mechanism. There’s no need to draw the arrow and string it; the user only needs to infuse it with magical power, and the bowstring will stretch on its own. The more power poured in, the greater the power of the invisible arrow fired. You said you used your mental senses to investigate and found nothing unusual, simply because the archer might be thousands of miles away. Not many people know how to use this mind-arrow.”

“Zhu Wuneng has been with Tang Seng day and night for so long; it’s possible he has a spell similar to the Seven Arrow Technique. This method is cruel and vicious… Nowadays, few people use it.”

Upon hearing this, Wukong was shocked. The Seven Arrow Technique was one of the Thirty-Six Transformations. When Master Subhuti taught him, he had said that this method was extremely malicious and should never be used unless absolutely necessary! He quickly said to Guanyin, “If that’s the case, I must go back to protect my master. What if that fool goes mad—”

Guanyin waved her hand and said, “There’s no need to worry so much. Using the Xuanyuan Bow consumes a great deal of energy. After firing one arrow, Zhu Wuneng will likely be unable to move for a month.”

Hearing this, Wukong let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. Otherwise, I would have been living in constant fear every day.”

Guanyin said, “Every advantage has its disadvantage. If the Xuanyuan Bow could fire a series of arrows, it would truly defy heaven. Go back and thoroughly examine Tang Seng’s entire body. You must find anything unusual about him!”

Wukong nodded and said, “Of course!”

Guanyin asked, “Where has Tang Seng arrived?”

Wukong replied, “He has reached the Country of Chichi.”

Guanyin murmured, “The Country of Chichi… Hmm, do you know if there are any unusual developments in the heavens?”

Wukong naturally shook his head.

Guanyin said, “The Jade Emperor has ordered the expansion of heavenly forces westward, all the way to east of the Qi Tian Ridge. The Country of Chichi is also included. I suppose you’ll encounter trouble now.”

Hearing that the heavenly court wanted to expand westward, Wukong’s first thought was, Fate! It’s all for fate! But the heavenly court was divided. What tactics could the Jade Emperor use to bring people like Zhenwu and Laojun under his control?

It was obvious the Jade Emperor had reached his limit. Buddha wanted to spread his teachings in the Eastern Lands, while the Jade Emperor wanted the heavenly forces to expand westward—clearly, they were opposing each other. And the focal point of this struggle between the two powers… was none other than the group on their pilgrimage. Just thinking about it gave Wukong a headache. He had no intention of helping Buddhism succeed, yet now he had to confront the heavenly court.

Thinking back to how he had even invited the heavenly court to help capture the Golden and Silver Horned Kings just a year ago, how quickly things changed! And naturally, it was human hearts that drove everything.

Seeing Wukong deep in thought, Guanyin said, “You should know that the journey to obtain the scriptures is becoming increasingly difficult. You must be extremely careful and protect Tang Seng at all costs.”

Wukong smiled bitterly and said, “We’ve just arrived in the Country of Chichi, and already we encounter troubles.” He recounted how the mysterious Taoist had snatched away the pass documents and muttered, “I don’t even know what use these documents are; they only cause trouble everywhere!”
Guanyin said seriously, “The Buddha has repeatedly warned us not to underestimate these documents. When you reach the Western Heaven, show them, and you’ll naturally know how to proceed step by step. They can silence all doubts in the world. Do you understand?”
Wukong thought to himself that these documents were given by that fake Li Shimin. Why would the Buddha give such instructions? Could that fake Li Shimin also be part of Buddhism?