Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 702 - 701 I Was Wrong

Just as he stepped outside, Xuanzang saw a familiar figure. Upon a closer look, wasn’t this the disciple who had quarreled with him and then left? How come he had now returned?

Seeing his disciple return, Xuanzang was quite happy. Although they hadn’t known each other for very long, apart from the time they had argued, their relationship had been quite good.

Having had a falling out with his disciple over a stranger, Xuanzang had, in fact, reflected on this during all this time.

However, as a master and an elder, even if he was happy to see his disciple return, he couldn’t just go up to him joyfully.

So he kept his distance and said in a soft voice, "Haven’t you already left? Why have you come back now? Is your resolve really so weak?"

Six-Eared Macaque laughed, "Master, it’s my fault. All this time, I’ve clearly understood my mistake. I really made a mistake, and it was an outrageous one. Please, I beg you to forgive me this once. I promise I won’t ever make you angry again."

Xuanzang’s expression remained cool as he said, "I have already heard these words from you once before. You know, I do not want to hear these words."

Six-Eared Macaque’s eyes shifted before he hurriedly said, "I know, Master, you want me to apologize to the General. This matter—I’ve also thought about it all this time. Even if what he said was unreasonable, I shouldn’t have lost my temper with him, let alone told him to leave. He initially meant well and wanted to help us; it was my own failure to appreciate his intentions and instead resented him. I was wrong, and I know my mistake."

Xuanzang was somewhat surprised; he had originally thought that Six-Eared Macaque would continue to argue with him about this matter. He hadn’t expected him to admit his error so quickly.

"Do you really understand what you did wrong?"

Six-Eared Macaque nodded, raising three fingers as though to make an oath.

"I swear, Master, I truly understand my mistake. But so much time has passed, and I fear the General may already have reached the northwest by now. Let’s hurry on our way, and when we arrive in the northwest, I will definitely apologize to the General. What do you say, Master?"

His apology seemed so sincere, and Six-Eared Macaque was also very clear about why the two of them had gotten angry and parted ways.

When he apologized, he had detailed the entire matter. If Xuanzang were to stay angry about these trivial issues, he would seem too petty.

Xuanzang nodded. Even though he was very happy and relieved in his heart, he did not show it at all, "I will forgive you this once. But you must know, I can only forgive you once. If there is a next time..."

Before Xuanzang could finish his sentence, Six-Eared Macaque immediately interjected, "What are you talking about, Master? There won’t be a next time. I swear I won’t make the same mistake after knowing my error, no next time, no more."

Xuanzang nodded in satisfaction. It seemed his days of travel had not been in vain.

Since his disciple had realized his mistake and evidently wasn’t unreasonable, he said, "Good, then go and lead the horse. We shall set out immediately, towards the northwest."

The old man, hearing the commotion outside, came out of the house with his grandson.

Suddenly, seeing a creature in the courtyard that didn’t quite seem human nor monkey, he was startled, and the young child immediately started to cry.

Unaware of what was happening, Six-Eared Macaque initially thought perhaps bandits were attacking again and was about to go forward to comfort them, but Xuanzang stopped him.

Xuanzang waved his hand, telling him to step back, and although the Six-Eared Macaque did not know exactly what was going on, he quickly stepped back after hearing Xuanzang’s words.

As he retreated, he asked, "Master, what happened, what’s the matter?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"It’s nothing, you just frightened this elderly man," Xuanzang replied. "Wait a moment, this elderly man is very kind. I’ll explain to him, and he will know you’re not a bad person."

The Six-Eared Macaque nodded, and he wasn’t feeling sad about it, for indeed his appearance was somewhat frightening to others.

He had already understood this well back at the Bodhi Temple, and of course, he wasn’t the sort to dwell on details. He could easily forget such incidents, which really counted for nothing.

Xuanzang turned with a smile to the elderly man and said, "Elder, don’t be afraid. This is my disciple, whom I mentioned to you earlier. But my disciple now realizes his mistake, and he has specifically come over to apologize to me."

"Master, this, this one, this..." the elder, still frightened, didn’t know what to say. He wanted to refer to the creature but felt it wasn’t quite right, and calling him a person also seemed awkward. He stammered without being able to finish his sentence.

"Elder, don’t be afraid, my disciple may look unusual, but he has a good heart," Xuanzang said gently. "I hope you won’t judge him by his appearance."

Having received Xuanzang’s directive, the Six-Eared Macaque stood far away from them, neither moving nor speaking.

After hearing Xuanzang’s words, the old man took another careful look at the Six-Eared Macaque.

The Six-Eared Macaque didn’t get annoyed; he just obediently stood there, letting them look, and after a while, the elder and his grandson gradually lowered their guard towards Xuanzang.

"So this is your disciple," the elder began, then didn’t know how to continue because it seemed there was no respectful way to address the matter.

He thought that this master looked stately and so refined; how could he have such a disciple?

But his disciple was present, and to say such a thing now would be very disrespectful. He wanted to give some compliment, but setting aside the frightening appearance,

he didn’t know enough to praise anything else, having just met him. Hence, after a beginning, the elder didn’t know what to say.

Xuanzang looked back at the Six-Eared Macaque, then bowed to the elder. Following suit, the Six-Eared Macaque also performed a bow and said, "I was thoughtless before, leaving my master alone. Now I have come to my senses and will continue following my master on the Journey to the West for Scriptures. Thank you, elder, for taking my master in."

"Oh, it’s no trouble, no trouble at all," the elder quickly said. "It was just for one night, and we didn’t do much."

"Still, I must thank you," the Six-Eared Macaque added his thanks, then picked up Xuanzang’s pack. "The road is long, so we won’t linger any longer."

The elder, with his grandson, escorted Xuanzang outside. "Master, be careful on your way. This area is rife with wolves and spirits; you must be careful."

"Don’t worry, elder. My disciple has the ability to reach the heavens; with him here, he will surely protect me well," Xuanzang said.

After bidding farewell to the elder, the Six-Eared Macaque and Xuanzang set off once again on their journey.