Traveling through various miniature worlds with a small restaurant

Chapter 220 World of Famous Works 9

Sun Wukong drank a cup of wine and slowly said to the three of them, "You don't know this. In order to spread Buddhism widely in the East, the Buddha Tathagata appointed a chosen person to go to the West to retrieve the scriptures. He also gave this chosen person magical treasures and invited a large group of gods to protect him."

Such importance was placed on ensuring this chosen one's smooth journey westward. That brocade cassock was a treasure specially given to Tang Sanzang by Guanyin Bodhisattva through the Buddha for protection; now it's lost. Isn't this a provocation against Buddhism, a deliberate act of defiance?

Black King jumped to his feet: "Absolutely not! Absolutely not!"

He was devoted to Buddhism, studying Buddhist teachings daily in the cave, hoping to attain enlightenment through this practice, and naturally did not want to make enemies of the Buddhist community. Upon hearing Sun Wukong's words, he panicked, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

Sun Wukong pretended not to see anything, focusing on his wine, and reassured him, "Black King, what you took wasn't Tang Sanzang's cassock, so don't worry. By the way, speaking of Tang Sanzang, there are all sorts of deities secretly watching over and protecting him every day. If someone discovered that Tang Sanzang's cassock was missing, they would definitely report it to the Buddhist sect as soon as possible. I wonder which Bodhisattva will come this time?"

He deliberately approached Black King: "Black King, guess, could it be Guanyin Bodhisattva of the South China Sea?"

Black King stared wide-eyed, his eyes somewhat vacant, his fingers trembling slightly, muttering, "Guanyin... Bodhisattva?"

He did want to see Guanyin Bodhisattva, that's true, but he wanted Guanyin Bodhisattva to enlighten him so that he could become a Buddha. If she came to interrogate him and kill him, then he should just forget about it.

The black bear spirit grew increasingly frightened, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

Sun Wukong quickly stepped forward to help him up and kindly settled him on a stone bench. "Brother Hei, you can't hold your liquor. You're already drunk?"

The Black Bear Spirit was helped to sit down by Sun Wukong. He forced a smile and said weakly, "Hehe... I... I'm a little weak from drinking."

The scholar in white and the Taoist in green also came over, their faces full of worry.

The scholar in white said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you today?"

The black bear spirit frowned, his mind in turmoil. He truly loved the cassock, but the thought of the possible consequences filled him with dread.

Sun Wukong stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Thank you all for the fine wine and hospitality, but I have important matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

Without waiting for Black King and his men to stop him, he vanished from the spot in a flash.

With Sun Wukong gone, the cave fell into a deathly silence. The Black Bear Spirit sat blankly on the stone bench, his eyes vacant, as if he had lost his soul. The white-robed scholar and the green-robed Taoist exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what to do.

After a long silence, the scholar in white cautiously broke the silence: "Your Majesty, is this precious cassock really Tang Sanzang's?"

The black bear spirit sighed deeply, nodded, and slowly said, "I thought I had obtained a priceless treasure, but I never expected such a huge trouble behind it. Now it has become a hot potato. If what Sun Wukong said is true, and the Buddhist sect really investigates, I will not have a good outcome."

The Taoist priest in blue paced back and forth anxiously, saying, "Why don't we hide the cassock and pretend this never happened?"

The black bear spirit glared at him and said irritably, "What do you know! The Buddhist sect has great supernatural powers, how can we hide it from them? Once we are discovered, the sin will be even greater."

The scholar in white pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, it would be best to take the initiative to return the robe."

The black bear spirit frowned, struggling with immense inner turmoil, and forced back his reluctance, said, "This is the only way!"

The black bear spirit sighed deeply, slowly rose, held the brocade cassock in his hands, and looked on with longing.

He gently stroked the jewels and silk threads on his robe, as if bidding farewell to a woman he admired.

"Fine, fine," the black bear spirit said through gritted teeth, "I'll go and return the cassock to Tang Sanzang right now."

After saying this, the Black Bear Spirit transformed into a black wind and flew towards the direction where Tang Sanzang was.

Sun Wukong looked down from his flying chariot in the sky.

They saw the Black King sneaking up to the vicinity of the temple, intending to find a place to hide the cassock. Fearing that Tang Sanzang wouldn't be able to find it, he deliberately hid it in a conspicuous place.

He couldn't help but exclaim, "This black bear spirit actually returned the cassock on his own initiative?"

Then, in surprise, she turned to look at Liao Zhuang, "Speaking to that black bear spirit the way you taught me actually worked!"

Liao Zhuang sat to one side, smiling humbly and kindly, "Sometimes, solving problems doesn't require fighting and killing."

Lin Xiaoqian explained, "That black bear spirit isn't inherently bad. He's devoted to Buddhism, and his two friends are both Taoist practitioners and alchemists. Last night, he went to the temple because he saw a fire and wanted to save people. It's just that he was greedy and stole the cassock. If Guanyin really came, he'd have to go to the South China Sea to guard the mountain. He'd also be wearing the golden headband like you and wouldn't be free."

"So that's how it is." Sun Wukong seemed to understand something. He was a very clever monkey, and he could understand things very quickly.

Then he chuckled and said, "Then this black bear spirit should thank me, Old Sun."

At this moment, a monk from the temple below found the brocade cassock in the ruins and quickly picked it up and ran to Tang Sanzang to show it to him.

"Elder Tang, Elder Tang, we've found your cassock!"

When Tang Sanzang saw the precious cassock back in his hands, his face was full of joy at having it returned, and he kept chanting, "Amitabha, Amitabha, may Buddha protect you."

Sun Wukong also returned to Tang Sanzang's side at the right time.

Tang Sanzang, holding the cassock, said with a hint of reproach, "Where have you been! You call yourself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, with great abilities, yet you didn't even see the cassock, which was right there in the temple ruins."

Sun Wukong replied, "This cassock was stolen by that black bear demon. I, Old Sun, went through a lot of trouble to get him to return it. He was only hiding in those ruins for a short while."

After hearing Sun Wukong's explanation, Tang Sanzang's resentment lessened, and he softened his tone, saying, "Wukong, I was just too anxious and my tone was a little harsh. This cassock was bestowed by the Buddha, and there can be no mistakes. I was just anxious and that's why I was harsh with you. Please don't take it to heart."

Sun Wukong remembered Liao Zhuang telling him that Tang Sanzang was a mortal with limited understanding, somewhat ignorant and pedantic, and that he shouldn't stoop to his level.

Monkey King, considering himself a magnanimous monkey, waved his hand and said, "Master, I, Old Sun, am very magnanimous. Why would I take these things to heart?"