Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 720 - 719: Xiong Daoren Returns the Fake Kasaya
Xiong Daoren actually already knew that this Mr. Lingxu was an impostor, and although he had some acquaintance with Mr. Lingxu, the truth was that their acquaintance was not that deep, and certainly not to the point where they would have such an in-depth conversation.
However, precisely because he did not know who was impersonating Mr. Lingxu, Xiong Daoren had to test him step by step, and at least he had already found out that this Mr. Lingxu was definitely not disguised by the Six-Eared Macaque.
If it had been the Six-Eared Macaque in disguise, he would have tried every possible means to get the kasaya back, but this Mr. Lingxu started by tricking him into eating an elixir and then cajoling information from him; it was very likely that he was someone from Buddhism.
Moreover, seeing that he was not absolutely determined to have the kasaya, he decided to give up on punishing him.
Xiong Daoren was not zealous about finding out who exactly the imposter Mr. Lingxu was—after all, everything was going to be returned anyway. Knowing who it was would be useless; he was sure he could not defeat the other.
He who understands the times is a great man indeed; it would be better to think of a way to return the kasaya to that Xuanzang and disengage from this affair as soon as possible.
"Well, that’s it, ah, I really can’t say for sure, so I’d rather return it myself," Xiong Daoren said as he picked up the kasaya and got to his feet. "Mr. Lingxu, I shall go to return the kasaya now and we can meet again tomorrow."
"Let us meet again tomorrow," Guanyin said.
Clutching the kasaya, Xiong Daoren did not dare to stay even for a second and hurried to the Guanyin Temple, where he saw many monks repairing the Zen monastery. He approached them and asked, "Is there a monk here called Xuanzang?"
The monk at the gate, who was initially startled by the rough voice and about to shout "monster," relaxed a bit once he realized it was Xiong Daoren.
But he did not dare to treat him the way he treated other ordinary people. "Oh, it’s you, Black Bear Demon. Well, that Xuanzang monk is from the Great Tang of the Eastern Land on his Journey to the West for Scriptures, and he isn’t a monk of our Zen monastery."
"Oh, I know. I have something to ask of him and also of his bearded disciple," Xiong Daoren said.
"Your Excellency, please wait a moment; I will go and fetch them immediately," the monk said as he set down the brick he was holding, patted it off, and ran inside.
Xiong Daoren just stood at the entrance, waiting. The monastery had really suffered severely from the fire—what kind of blaze must it have been to devastate this Zen monastery to such an extent?
Besides, there were so many monks inside the monastery when it caught fire, yet there were no reports of casualties. There must have been something wrong with all of this.
He remembered that when the Six-Eared Macaque came last time, it seemed to tell him that the kasaya was coveted by the Jinchi Elder, who then started the fire in the attempt to kill them.
Reconsidering the appearance of the Six-Eared Macaque and the tone of their conversation, if he was not mistaken, the fire at this monastery must have been related to the Six-Eared Macaque.
He had thought he was truly good-hearted, but it seemed that it was not quite so; his nature was retaliatory. However, he had gained the reputation of a good man just because he accompanied Xuanzang on the Journey to the West for Scriptures, leading others to believe he was indeed a good person.
After a while, Xuanzang and the Six-Eared Macaque came out from inside. Seeing Xiong Daoren, Xuanzang gasped, "A monster, how did this monster get here?"
"Master, do not fear, with me here, I will not let this monster harm you," the Six-Eared Macaque said.
Xuanzang, standing behind the Six-Eared Macaque, let out a sigh of relief, but he did not dare to come any closer, and slowly moved forward with his face covered.
The leading monk was also a little afraid of Xiong Daoren but knew in his heart that Xiong Daoren would not harm him, and reassured Xuanzang, "Elder, do not be afraid, this demon does not harm people and has never done anything against Heaven or reason. He said he has something to discuss with you; just listen to what he has to say, there’s no need to be afraid."
"He... he doesn’t harm people?" Xuanzang asked.
"Yes, Elder, this monster doesn’t harm people; he’s a good monster," the leading monk said.
Six-Eared Macaque sneered, "What good monster? He stole someone’s kasaya and still has the nerve to show up at their temple gate."
"Was it him who stole our kasaya?" Xuanzang looked at Xiong Daoren, even more baffled. If he really stole the kasaya, why would he come to the temple gate? What was he up to?
Xiong Daoren, who had good hearing and wasn’t far from them, caught every word they said. He sneered, "You burned down someone’s Zen monastery too. None of us are good people, it’s all the same in the end, so stop throwing stones in a glass house."
As soon as Xiong Daoren finished speaking, the monk leading the way turned and glanced back at Six-Eared Macaque.
Feeling insulted, Six-Eared Macaque immediately stiffened his neck in response, "What fire? I wasn’t the one who started it! And why are you looking at me? Don’t you know how the fire started?"
It was a fair point, and the monk turned his head back around.
Xuanzang, feeling somewhat uneasy himself, uttered "Amitabha" and then fell silent.
Having gotten the upper hand with his words, Xiong Daoren didn’t say much more and waited for the leading monk to bring the two people over.
When they reached Xiong Daoren, the leading monk quickly found an excuse to leave, leaving the three of them face to face.
Six-Eared Macaque looked at Xiong Daoren, certain that the Black Bear Demon had already guessed his identity, or else he wouldn’t have been so calm upon seeing him.
"You monster, what do you want with my master?"
"Oh, I’m here to return something to you," Xiong Daoren said.
With a quick thought, Six-Eared Macaque realized what the Black Bear Demon was returning, but he wasn’t completely sure and could only ask first, "What is it?"
"When the Zen monastery was on fire, I came to put it out and saw something that I took with me. But this item, after all, was not rightfully mine, and it has been bothering me. Having it doesn’t feel right."
Xiong Daoren slowly voiced the thoughts he had mulled over all night and then gradually took out the kasaya, "After much deliberation, I decided it’s best to return it to you."
Xuanzang looked at the kasaya with utter shock, nearly stepping forward, but as soon as his eyes met those of the monster, he quickly looked away, grasping Six-Eared Macaque and saying, "Wukong, the kasaya, the kasaya is in the hands of this monster."
Six-Eared Macaque patted Xuanzang’s hand, "Master, rest assured, I will definitely retrieve the kasaya for you."
Xuanzang nodded, "Amitabha."
"Monster, are you really that kind-hearted?" Six-Eared Macaque found it hard to believe that Xiong Daoren would truly be so benevolent; there had to be some trickery involved.
"What are you afraid of? Now that I’ve taken the item out for you, I won’t trick you," Xiong Daoren unrolled the kasaya in his hands, "Take a good look and see whether this kasaya is real or fake."
As soon as Xiong Daoren took the kasaya out, Six-Eared Macaque recognized it; there was no mistaking the style of the kasaya. Aside from the kasaya gifted by Bodhisattva Guanyin, ordinary kasayas simply do not look like this.
