Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 676 - 675: Six-Eared Macaque Creates an Illusion

Xuanzang had already come out from the side room and was surprised to see Chen Nuo. He asked in concern, "Great General, what’s happened to your complexion? Why does it look so poor? Did you not sleep well last night?"

Chen Nuo rubbed his eyes and yawned widely before answering, "I don’t know what happened last night. I kept having nightmares, and there were even monsters chasing and attacking me in my dreams. I was truly terrified. I still haven’t recovered from the shock."

"Nightmares?" Xuanzang frowned. He hardly ever dreamed when he slept. It shouldn’t be, should it? This is a temple, how could one have nightmares here, and nightmares involving demons at that?

"Could it be, Great General, that you offended something on your way here and got scared?"

"Offended something? What could possibly scare me?" Chen Nuo pondered while stroking his chin, "Nothing at all. I was on the road all of yesterday, and the only time I stopped was when I found you. How could I have possibly offended anything?"

Xuanzang observed Chen Nuo’s expression, which didn’t seem troubled by evil spirits. He really looked sleep-deprived. He said, "Amitabha, when we find a place to stay tonight, I shall recite the Scripture of Quietude for you. I believe that after the scriptures are recited, you won’t have nightmares."

"Oh, there’s no need, Master. It’s not necessary to trouble yourself," Chen Nuo waved off Xuanzang’s offer.

"It’s probably because I came all the way from the northwest without much rest. It was only yesterday when I met the Master, and once I relaxed, I felt the weariness in my body. That must have led to the nightmares. I guess I’ll be fine tonight. Besides, if you recite scriptures for me, then you won’t sleep well. Please don’t trouble yourself."

Xuanzang thought it over and felt there might be some truth to Chen Nuo’s words, nodding in agreement, "That could be the case. If nightmares still trouble you tonight, remember to tell me. I will recite scriptures for you."

"Alright, Master," Chen Nuo complied.

After the two had finished speaking, Six-Eared Macaque slowly emerged from the room. He first greeted Xuanzang and then turned to look at Chen Nuo, feigning concern, "What’s the matter, Master? Didn’t sleep well last night? You don’t look very good."

Chen Nuo smiled without exposing his pretense, "Indeed, I don’t know what happened, but I had nightmares all night. I dreamed about spiders and other frightful creatures. It was so scary that it kept me awake all night." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"I’ve heard that whatever you think about during the day or encounter, that’s what you dream about at night. General, you didn’t happen to see a spider during the day and then dream about it at night, did you?"

Six-Eared Macaque suddenly seemed to have a better idea in mind and looked at Chen Nuo with a sly grin.

Chen Nuo also smiled at Six-Eared Macaque before turning to leave.

The journey continued during the day. Since Xuanzang could not ride a horse, it was Six-Eared Macaque who led them at a slow pace. They could only move swiftly on the official road; anything off it, no matter where they were or whom they met, Xuanzang would alight and introduce himself, seeing if the person was interested in entering Buddhism.

They had been traveling for a day and only passed through two villages. As the sky grew dim, Xuanzang suggested, "We’ve been on the road all day. Perhaps we should find a place to rest. Otherwise, traveling at night may be difficult, and we might even encounter demons. It’s better to be cautious."

"Alright, since the Master suggests we find a place to rest, let’s look for somewhere to stop," Chen Nuo concurred with Xuanzang’s suggestion. Then, as though remembering something, he asked, "Master, I’ve never actually seen a demon. Is it possible we could encounter one?"

"It’s in places like these rural areas where one might encounter demons." Before Xuanzang could reply, Six-Eared Macaque answered first.

This mortal asking such a question must be thinking about his dream from last night. Initially, he thought all his efforts the previous evening had been in vain, but now it seemed not entirely fruitless. At least the mortal was asking questions—a sign his effort had some effect.

"Really?" Chen Nuo’s eyes widened in surprise, "Back at the military camp, we never heard anyone talk about monsters or ghosts at night."

"The camp is full of men brimming with vigor; their yang energy is very strong, so naturally, they don’t need to fear demons or ghosts. But, General, look at the road ahead—deserted and uninhabited, it’s naturally a place where demons and ghosts thrive," said the Six-Eared Macaque, leading Chen Nuo to look ahead.

Chen Nuo indulged him and followed the gaze of the Six-Eared Macaque, spotting several elusive figures.

Whether these figures were real or not, they were exceedingly strange. If it had been an ordinary person standing here instead of Chen Nuo, they would surely have been frightened by such apparitions.

Chen Nuo was currently acting as an ordinary mortal; he was supposed to be scared, so his body shivered and he looked at the spot, crying out in alarm.

Xuanzang turned his head when he heard Chen Nuo, "What is it, Great General?"

Chen Nuo pointed into the woods, "I saw several people walking into the woods."

Xuanzang followed Chen Nuo’s gaze into the woods but saw no figures. "Amitabha, Great General, might you have been mistaken? I have not seen any figures in there."

"No, I really did see figures just now, I definitely wasn’t mistaken," Chen Nuo said while pointing at the woods and looking for a reaction in the eyes of the two opposite him. Seeing that they truly did not see anything, he was also amazed, "How can you see nothing? Just now, there were clearly several people who walked past there."

Xuanzang and the Six-Eared Macaque exchanged glances. He truly hadn’t seen anything and asked the Six-Eared Macaque, "Wukong, I do not think the Great General is lying given his words and expressions. Did you see anything?"

The Six-Eared Macaque also shook his head, "What figures? I truly did not see anyone; perhaps the Great General was mistaken?"

"I really wasn’t mistaken just now!" Chen Nuo insisted.

The Six-Eared Macaque looked at Chen Nuo’s serious expression with delight in his heart, but he had to keep his own expression under control. He couldn’t just break out laughing; if he really did laugh, then all his setup would be for naught.

"The few people the Great General saw just now, were they walking or running?"

After hearing this question, Chen Nuo’s agitated heart calmed down slightly. He pondered on the horseback for a moment, then answered, "They were walking."

"If the step of a person is rather slow and the Great General saw them walking, then in just the blink of an eye, my master and I would definitely have been able to see them. Since we did not, that indicates the figures the Great General saw might not have been human," analyzed the Six-Eared Macaque.

As he spoke, his eyes were tightly locked on Chen Nuo, not missing any of his subtle movements.

Sure enough, as the Six-Eared Macaque deduced, a look of fear slowly emerged in the eyes of the General across from him. His dry lips trembled slightly before he slowly uttered the words, "Not... human?"

"Places like this forest where in past years, many have been eaten by wild beasts or have accidentally fallen off cliffs, what you saw might have been the souls of people who died in these woods," said the Six-Eared Macaque.

"In the woods, they are ghosts?" Chen Nuo grew even more frightened.