Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 710 - 709: Xiong Daoren Appears, Steals Kasaya
Xiong Daoren was terrified beyond measure, and with a mighty heave, he got out of bed to look around, realizing it was all a dream.
But if it was a dream, where did this burnt smell come from?
Xiong Daoren regulated his breathing for a moment, opened his eyes, and exclaimed, "Not good, there’s a fire ahead!"
This fire was no small matter—since it was still night, very few people would have noticed.
If the fire didn’t spread their way, they would be lucky, but if it did, it would become a wildfire. To deal with it, they would have to extinguish its source first.
Xiong Daoren emerged from his residence and, upon seeing the Zen monastery ablaze, cried out, "My God! What a huge fire."
This fire definitely had to be addressed immediately. If not swiftly tackled, given its fierceness, it would reach them very soon.
Without delay, Xiong Daoren grabbed a tool and headed toward the burning Zen monastery.
The fire grew more and more intense. Before he even arrived at the scene, the heat was so overwhelming that he nearly couldn’t stay on his feet. Just what had happened to cause such a massive fire?
Xiong Daoren was preparing to exert his strength, making his way toward the monastery. He may have been working on putting out the fire, but he had not forgotten that he was a demon. He had to extinguish the fire without drawing their attention, starting from the least crowded area.
He came to a small room and was startled by the bright shining light within it.
"Could it be that these mortals are fools? The light from this room is so bright, yet they are not putting out the fire here but have gone to other rooms first. They are lucky to have me here; otherwise, this room would be the first to burn down," he thought.
When Xiong Daoren had come earlier, he had borrowed a lot of water from a nearby river. As he reached the room, ready to douse it with water, he saw that there were no flames coming out of the room.
"How strange, what’s going on with this room? It’s so brightly lit, yet there’s not a single flame?" Xiong Daoren was unclear about the reason, but since he was already there, he certainly had to see for himself, so he entered the room.
Indeed, there was not the slightest fire inside. With such a massive fire outside, yet not a spark within—was this deliberate, or was it due to the direction of the room? 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Xiong Daoren inspected the room carefully and found it adorned with various scrolls and paintings, along with gold and jade utensils. Upon entering, it seemed less like a living space and more like a treasure vault.
Of course, these treasures were just mortal possessions, and Xiong Daoren was not interested in them.
He looked around. Though they were luxurious, he considered them all mundane and none caught his eye. He was about to leave when a kasaya on a couch drew his attention.
At first glance, the kasaya seemed like an ordinary one, but what kind of person was Xiong Daoren? He saw immediately that this kasaya was no ordinary item.
It contained a vast amount of spiritual power, and Xiong Daoren’s gaze was instantly captured by the kasaya.
"This kasaya is even rarer than the treasures I’ve seen before. How could such an artifact end up in a place like this?" Xiong Daoren held the kasaya, unable to part with it.
"With this kasaya, I could save myself ten years of struggle. Truly a found treasure. Indeed, giving roses leaves the giver with lingering fragrance. If I had not thought to come and put out the fire, I would never have seen this precious kasaya."
The more Xiong Daoren looked at the kasaya, the more he liked it. Ignoring the ongoing fire behind him, he took the kasaya and left.
The monks outside were still fighting the fire, thankfully contained by the surrounding walls.
In fact, the blaze had not reached the outside, and as the sky gradually brightened, the fire had dwindled to nearly nothing. Jinchi Elder dragged his ash-covered face back to his room.
This room was fairly fortunate; while other houses were almost burnt down, this one remained untouched.
Jinchi Elder looked at his own treasures with relief, laughed, and said, "It must be your protection that spared my room any trouble. I am truly thankful to you, my precious belongings."
After surveying the treasures throughout the room, he then remembered the kasaya he had just acquired. Rubbing his hands together, he chuckled, "Let’s have a good look at my precious kasaya."
Thinking of the kasaya filled Jinchi Elder with immense joy, but after searching the room, he found nothing.
"What’s going on? Where is my kasaya? My precious kasaya?" Jinchi Elder was in a panic. When he went out to fight the fire, the kasaya had been lying on the table. How could it disappear upon his return, while everything else remained intact?
He began to search every corner of the room for the kasaya, but its trace had vanished without a clue of its whereabouts.
Jinchi Elder searched so frantically he broke out in a sweat and found nothing. So anxious and angry was he that he fainted.
The sky outside was getting lighter. The monks, after a night of battling the fire, had just extinguished it. They were covered in soot but rested against each other without minding the dirt.
After tucking away the Fire-Avoiding Cloak, Six-Eared Macaque hurriedly went up to the Heavenly Court to return it to the Vast Eye Heavenly King, and then he went back to the Zen monastery to wake up Master Xuanzang.
Dressed, Xuanzang stepped out of the Zen room only to be stunned by the scene, with charred remains everywhere, exposed beams, a mottled courtyard, and monks in disarray.
"What, Wukong, what happened here?" Xuanzang hastily asked.
"Oh, last night, a great fire broke out here," replied the Six-Eared Macaque. "The flames were fierce, and the Zen rooms were destroyed."
"A great fire?" Xuanzang was shocked. "But why did it burn so fiercely?"
"Actually, it wasn’t that fierce at first," the Six-Eared Macaque responded. "I just added a bit more force to make the fire burn more intensely."
Xuanzang was even more startled and chanted ’excellent’ several times before asking, "Wukong, what are you doing? You should have been putting out the fire, not feeding it!"
"Master, you don’t understand; they were the ones who started the fire," explained the Six-Eared Macaque.
"Nonsense, this is their own Zen monastery, why would they set fire to it?" Xuanzang was somewhat angry. "Wukong, you were not a stubborn person before; why are you so disobedient now, not only allowing the fire but also framing others for it?"
The Six-Eared Macaque grew angry as well. "Master, what do you mean? How come you believe me when I say I started the fire, but not when I say they did? Whose master are you, mine or theirs?"
"That is not what I meant," Xuanzang, noticing his disciple’s anger, tried to explain. "I just feel that since this is their monastery, they have no reason to start a fire. Who would burn down their own home?"
"That is not necessarily the case," snorted the Six-Eared Macaque. "What if they had premeditated it?"
"Wukong, what do you mean by that?" Xuanzang was puzzled, but then he remembered something important. "Right, what about our kasaya? Last night, didn’t I send you to fetch it? Did you get it back?"
"Master, you finally ask the right question," said Sun Wukong. "If it weren’t for the kasaya, perhaps there wouldn’t have been so much trouble. In the end, it’s still the issue with these monks."
