Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 672 - 671: Encounter with Tang Monk

Leading Tian Peng’s horse, Chen Nuo began walking toward Chang’an, his first order of business was to meet Tang Xuanzang.

The horse’s pace was fairly quick, and after a month, he found the Six-Eared Macaque seeking alms in a small village.

Upon sighting the Six-Eared Macaque, Chen Nuo was taken aback, initially mistaking him for Sun Wukong descending to the mortal world. It took a moment for him to remember that this was not Sun Wukong.

According to Tian Peng’s memories, he should recognize Tang Xuanzang. However, he did not know the Six-Eared Macaque, and even now that he had seen him, he needed to pretend he did not and simply walk past him before seeking out Tang Xuanzang.

Since the Six-Eared Macaque was here, Tang Xuanzang must be nearby. Chen Nuo rode around the outskirts of the village and finally found the Tang Monk resting by a stream.

Chen Nuo dismounted, and joyfully exclaimed, "Master, you must be the Imperial Disciple, Master Xuanzang, right?"

Putting down his palms, Tang Xuanzang looked at Chen Nuo. He was stunned at first, but then quickly realized, "Donor, to think I would run into you here! Are you out traveling in this area?"

Chen Nuo hesitated upon hearing Xuanzang’s response, and then remembered that Tian Peng had indeed met Tang Xuanzang elsewhere before. He’d forgotten that detail, but fortunately, his previous words were merely greetings, so no slip could be heard.

"Yes, but I am not here for leisure; I am here by imperial command, specifically to escort you, Master," Chen Nuo said.

"You are the General the Emperor mentioned from the borderlands?" Tang Xuanzang too was quite surprised; he had thought their meeting was a coincidence, not realizing years had passed since they last met, and he’d become the Emperor’s sworn brother, while the young man before him had become a General.

"Yes, it’s me," Chen Nuo affirmed, "I’ve come to safeguard your passage through the borderlands."

"It’s a long way for the General to come," Tang Xuanzang expressed his gratitude with hands clasped and a bow, then something crossed his mind and he asked, "But the Emperor did not tell me a General would come from the frontier to escort this humble monk. Why has the Great General come all this way from the borderlands?"

"Oh, the Emperor did say there was no need for me to come all this way. However, I couldn’t rest easy knowing Master was traveling alone from Chang’an, so I rushed here from the military camp as fast as I could," Chen Nuo explained.

Feeling touched, Tang Xuanzang once more bowed to Chen Nuo. "It really troubles the General to go to such lengths. It’s just that I have taken a disciple on my journey, who is extremely skilled in martial arts. With his protection, I am quite safe on the road."

"I see," Chen Nuo smiled, "The Emperor’s letter did not mention that you had a disciple, Master. It seems my concerns were superfluous," Chen Nuo remarked cheerfully.

"Not at all, General! That’s not what I meant. I just thought it must have taken you a long time to come from the border, and although it doesn’t bother me, I was worried for your well-being, General," Tang Xuanzang clarified.

Chen Nuo waved his hand dismissively, feigning indifference, then looked around and asked, "Master mentioned you had accepted a disciple on the road? Why have I not seen him?"

"He’s gone to beg for a vegetarian meal," Tang Xuanzang replied, "He should be back soon. However, his appearance is somewhat intimidating—I hope the General won’t be frightened by him."

"How could I be?" Chen Nuo laughed off the concern. "I may not claim to have extensive knowledge, but I have been on the battlefield. What kind of sight haven’t I seen? Could your disciple really be that frightening?"

At the mention of the battlefield, Tang Xuanzang immediately brought his palms together and murmured "Amitabha."

Just as Chen Nuo was about to speak, a voice came from behind.

"Who are you?"

Without turning around, Chen Nuo guessed who the speaker was. His voice was slightly deeper than Sun Wukong’s—a clear indication it wasn’t Sun Wukong’s voice.

Upon hearing this voice, Chen Nuo slowly turned his head and saw the Six-Eared Macaque retreat a step with a hint of surprise.

Tang Xuanzang immediately stepped forward, "Wukong, this is the General who Guards the Northwest, he has specially come from the border to escort us."

Then he turned back to Chen Nuo and said, "Great General, this is my disciple, Sun Wukong."

Chen Nuo stood up straight but his eyes remained fixed on the Six-Eared Macaque.

The Six-Eared Macaque sized up Chen Nuo from head to toe, standing nine feet tall with a broad stature and wearing military attire; he truly had the appearance of a great general.

However, the doubts of the Six-Eared Macaque didn’t subside as he asked, "What’s going on? Wasn’t it said we were going to the border? How come the Great General has come himself?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Oh, it’s like this, I didn’t know the master had taken on a disciple on the way, and the journey through the northwest is arduous. I was worried the master wouldn’t know the way, so I came specially to escort him," responded Chen Nuo to the Six-Eared Macaque’s question, then turned to Tang Xuanzang and said, "Master, so this is your disciple, no wonder you told me not to be afraid just now. Seeing him without being mentally prepared really would be problematic."

The Six-Eared Macaque wasn’t concerned about being spoken of in this manner by a mortal, since he himself was not a mere mortal. It was natural for ordinary people to be afraid upon seeing him.

"Great General, in fact, Wukong may look different from ordinary people, but he is actually very kind," Tang Xuanzang said.

"Is that so?" Chen Nuo looked at the Six-Eared Macaque and smiled. Whether he was kind or not, he didn’t know, but obedient, he certainly seemed to be. It must be that he had made some sort of deal with those above to become Tang Xuanzang’s disciple.

If this were the Sun Wukong from the original story, he would be in the stage of getting along with Tang Monk and would have run back to Huaguo Mountain countless times by now.

"Master, this is the vegetarian meal I begged for you from the village ahead. You eat first," said the Six-Eared Macaque, not lingering on his words. He handed the bowl of food to Tang Xuanzang.

If the Six-Eared Macaque were alone here, Tang Xuanzang would have taken it without a second thought, but now that others were present, it might not seem proper to take it and start eating directly.

Tang Xuanzang took a steamed bun from the bowl and offered it to Chen Nuo, "Great General, have you eaten on your way here? Do you want something to eat?"

Chen Nuo waved his hands to decline, "No need, I just ate at an inn on my way here, and moreover, I have brought provisions with me. Master, please go ahead and eat, don’t concern yourself with whether or not I have eaten."

"Perhaps you should eat a little," insisted Tang Xuanzang, trying to press the steamed bun into Chen Nuo’s hands. "This bun is still warm, Great General. Have a little. We still have to travel later; how will you have the strength if you don’t eat?"

"It’s unnecessary," Chen Nuo said, looking at the dry bun with such distaste he didn’t even want to touch it. Being a cook, his standards for food were always a bit higher than others. The food here didn’t come close to his own cooking, which is why he rarely ate out.

"Master, please eat yourself," he said.

Seeing Chen Nuo’s continued refusals, the Six-Eared Macaque snatched the steamed bun that Tang Xuanzang was pressing into Chen Nuo’s hand.

After Tang Xuanzang had offered twice and Chen Nuo had refused twice, he stopped insisting and took the steamed bun to eat by himself, sitting beside a rock.

"Originally, Master hadn’t taken me on as his disciple. Now that he has me, Great General, you should return to the military camp. You needn’t worry about my master’s affairs any longer; I will take good care of him myself," the Six-Eared Macaque said to Chen Nuo.