Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 679 - 678: The Farmer Comes

Chen Nuo and Xuanzang tried to politely refuse each other several times before lying down peacefully to listen as Xuanzang recited the Scripture of Quietude to him.

It must be said, Xuanzang, being the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi, recited the Scripture of Quietude in a way that indeed soothed the mind and spirit. Not only did it bring peace of mind, but it felt as if the whole world had become peaceful as well.

However calm it may be, Chen Nuo was never going to fall asleep here. After all, this wasn’t his territory. He needed to remain vigilant, so listening to this Scripture of Quietude could be counted as resting as well.

This night, it seemed that only one person had slept, but actually, all three were awake.

Even though they had traveled for two whole days, in fact, they had only just left a single county, which was incredibly slow.

If it were just about finding a place to stay and idling the days away, Chen Nuo could have kept it going indefinitely. But most of the time they were rushing, and the pace was excruciatingly slow, Chen Nuo couldn’t stand it at all.

Therefore, he planned to leave this place on the third day and go to look for the Dragon King’s Third Prince, Ao Lie.

In the morning, Chen Nuo got up, stretched his arms in a big yawn, then thanked Xuanzang, "I really owe it to the Master. Indeed, the Master’s recitation of the Scripture of Quietude was highly effective. I had a wonderfully refreshing sleep last night."

"I’m glad it could help the Great General," Xuanzang replied with a smile.

He didn’t spend the entire night reciting scriptures for Chen Nuo. The scripture wasn’t very long, and after he finished reciting the whole book, he put it away and went to sleep.

This Scripture of Quietude was effective only when recited in full, and since the Great General was simply unable to sleep, there was no need to worry about him encountering any problems.

"Master, I see you haven’t rested all night. We are not in a hurry to leave, why don’t you rest a bit more before we go?" Six-Eared Macaque said this as if talking to Xuanzang, but actually, he was speaking to Chen Nuo.

As he spoke, he glanced at Chen Nuo twice, not with any other intention but to induce a feeling of guilt in him.

Chen Nuo pretended not to catch the gaze of Six-Eared Macaque, got up, rubbed his shoulders, then took the horse reins, ready to leave.

The few had just risen and not yet departed when they were seen by the locals.

"Hey! What are you lot doing on my haystack so early in the morning?!" The farmer, with a hoe in hand, rushed over.

Seeing this, Six-Eared Macaque hurriedly pulled Xuanzang behind him and explained, "Elder, we did not mean to intrude. We were just passing by last night and wanted to rest our feet, so we borrowed your haystack for a while. We will clean it up immediately."

"It seems all of you have arms and legs, and there are decent inns to sleep in. Why would you sleep here in our place?" The farmer clearly did not believe his story, especially since Six-Eared Macaque with his sharp features didn’t look like a decent person, which made the farmer even less trusting.

"Elder, we have come from Chang’an," Xuanzang came out from behind Six-Eared Macaque and began to explain.

"What’s that supposed to mean? Coming from Chang’an makes you important, does it? Even coming from Chang’an, you still end up sleeping in my broken haystack. What are you trying to say, that you’re from Chang’an and a cut above the rest?" The farmer didn’t wait for Xuanzang to finish before talking over him.

"All of you are strong men, capable of doing worthwhile things; why engage in such petty thievery? It’s not as if we’re in the years of famine. Nowadays, the world is so prosperous, you ought to be doing something more meaningful."

"The elder speaks the truth. The monks here, my disciples and I, are not the kind of people you describe," Xuanzang responded slowly.

After hearing his explanation, the farmer sized up Xuanzang from head to toe.

Among the three of them, only one looked like a monk, the other two just tagged along—one as tall as if to reach the clouds and another short one with a face full of fur. It seemed becoming a monk had no threshold; anyone could be one.

"You are a monk?"

"Indeed, this is my disciple," Xuanzang introduced, "and this is my good friend. We are on our Journey to the West for Scriptures, and we just happened to pass by here. It was already late, so we rested here; we hope you don’t mind, old man."

"You monks can make friends too?" The farmer looked Chen Nuo up and down. He was tall and burly, not exactly looking like a monk.

With such a build, he could match two of the sturdy men from their village. How strange it seems that such a powerful man would huddle up with a monk to sleep on a haystack.

Seeing the farmer sizing him up, Chen Nuo knew it was his turn to introduce himself.

Xuanzang had not revealed his identity just now, and there were considerations for that. Moreover, even if he did tell the farmer his identity, the farmer might not believe him, so it might be better not to say anything.

"Ah, I am heading northwest and just happened to be traveling with this master. To be able to accompany the master is such a good opportunity, how could I give it up? However the master departs, I will follow," Chen Nuo said.

This rather poorly conceived reason actually convinced the farmer.

Buddhism prevailed in the Great Tang, especially since the emperor had recently taken a monk as his sworn brother. The common people were aware of this, so seeing someone follow a monk so devotedly didn’t seem strange to them.

"Oh, I see, then why didn’t you knock on my door? It’s so cold outside, what if you caught a chill? Young people really don’t know how to look after their health," the farmer said.

Xuanzang did not mention the part about knocking last night without getting an answer, "The poor monk was worried that knocking so late would disturb you, so I thought to find a haystack to sleep on for the night."

The farmer didn’t have a good impression of the other two, but he was quite friendly towards Xuanzang.

He nodded his head, "Hey, really now, don’t think just because I’m old, I can’t hear well. My ears are very sharp, and I can hear the slightest noise."

You can hear the slightest noise but not the louder ones, Chen Nuo couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

The farmer glared at Chen Nuo, "What’s the matter with you young man? I’m speaking here, what’s so funny? Yes, I’m old, but what’s wrong with having good hearing? If you don’t believe it, fine, but laughing like that is a great disrespect to me!"

"Sorry, old man, I just couldn’t hold it in," Chen Nuo said while laughing.

Six-Eared Macaque realized something was amiss and tried to stop Chen Nuo from speaking, but it was too late, for Chen Nuo had already spoken.

"Do you think we would sleep on a haystack just for fun? We knocked on the door for a long time yesterday but got no response; that’s why we had to sleep on the haystack," he said.

Chen Nuo continued between laughs, "You didn’t have to mention it earlier, but you specifically pointed out how good your hearing is, so I just couldn’t help but laugh."

"Are you serious?" The old man became somewhat angry from being laughed at, "I truly didn’t hear anything last night. If I had, I would have opened the door for you long ago."

Chen Nuo started laughing again, "Right, if you had heard us, you would have opened the door long ago."

That statement had a double meaning, and it took the farmer a moment to catch on. Fuming, he said, "Don’t move, stay right there, I’m going to call my wife."

After uttering those words, the farmer left, leaving the three of them staring at each other.