More days passed and they continued on their journey west, Macaque and Tripitaka are getting to know one another more and the monk was true to his promise of never using the tightening spell and to listen more, Wukong would help Macaque as the tanned simian slow regains his powers and getting his strength back, though there are always problems on the way, like the Gold and Silver Demon and the 5 weapons (which Wukong is still bummed out for giving them up), a snotty river demon that kicked the real river god out of his domain and, kidnapped Tripitaka and Zhu Bajie (which the river God thanks them by parting the river for them to cross after defeating the demon)
And three Immortal demons who tricked the king to enslave Buddhist monks making them build a giant Taoist temple (Wukong frees them after defeating the guard) they then snuck the last few into the last surviving monastery for the night, Wukong investigating the giant Taoist temple bringing Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and Ao Lie along, making a big storm to make the three immortals and young Taoists leave for the night and they began to eating the food left out ( Wukong saving some for Tripitaka and Macaque), turning to the gold statues as the three immortals ask for golden elixir giving the statues a big golden cistern, and the three pilgrims did something else instead of holy water (Wukong was holding it in for centuries and Ao Lie and Zhu Bajie couldn't stop laughing), they got discovered and they bolted out of their, they then went to the king to have their papers re-certified, then the 6 gets dragged into a competition (with Tripitaka winning the rain, clothes, dragon calling, and meditation contest), then the three immortals demand one final competition in testing their immortality, in which Wukong won all three of them with the three immortals dying proving them to be just demons (and Wukong spent an hour apologizing to Macaque profusely for scaring him when he turned into a flea in the pot of boiling oil) and they were finally off. What a day indeed
Zhu Bajie let out a groan as he walks tiredly on the dirt road of the mountain "we've been walking forever" Zhu Bajie said tiredly "3 hours is not forever piglet" Wukong said glancing over at the pig demon "is with the speed where going at" Zhu Bajie said tiredly "you sure we can't just fly to the monastery to get the scrolls" Zhu Bajie asked earning a bonk on the head by Wukong "he have to get there ourselves, no short cuts" Wukong said making Zhu Bajie groan again "don't worry brother, we'll find a good place to rest soon" Sha Wujing said placing a comforting hand on the pig demons shoulder
Then Macaques ears starts twitching as he hears something in the distance "what do you hear Mac?" Wukong asked looking at the tanned simian "talking, and clattering of pans, a village is somewhere nearby" Macaque said looking at the pilgrims "really, which way" Sha Wujing asked looking at the tanned simian, Macaque listens carefully "there, just at the bottom of this mountain and behind those trees" Macaque said pointing at the direction "whoa, Wukong wasn't kidding when he said your hearing was good" Zhu Bajie said as they head to the direction of where the village is
As they reached to the bottom and through the trees they see a village right in front of them just as Macaque said their would be, Wukong looks at the village with his eyes of truth scanning for any demons or danger in it, when the copper simian was done he turns back to the others "it looks safe and there aren't any disguised demons in the village but don't let your guard down, it could still be a trap" Wukong said looking back at the village "ah don't worry brother, it looks pretty harmless to me" Zhu Bajie said with a shrug "yes that may be, but let us not throw caution to the wind just yet" Tripitaka said as they went to the village
As they entered the village they noticed how happy everyone is, laughing, and happily talking with one another, some of the villagers looks at the pilgrims and happily wave at them "everyone is...happy here....too happy" Wukong said feeling a little creeped out by it, Ao Lie spotted a villager entering a large black and red temple that had an eerie energy coming off it. Then a woman appears in front of the pilgrims startling them "hello travelers, I am Joo Dee, welcome to our humble village" Joo Dee said with a big smile "hello miss Joo Dee, I am Zhu Bajie, excellent chef, and wonderful warrior" Zhu Bajie said smiling doing a pose, Wukong facepalms at the pig demons flirting
However Joo Dee didn't seemed fazed by it at all "all of you must be tired, please follow me to the guest house" Joo Dee said turning around and walking to the guest house, the pilgrims followed her as Zhu Bajie deflated at this a bit but followed along. Soon they reached the guest house, it was big and looked nice, Tripitaka dismounted the white horse as Joo Dee walks up to him "please allow me to take your horse to the stables" Joo Dee said still smiling, the monk hesitated at first but Ao Lie looks at him with a nod and the monk handed her the reins "thank you, I shall return with the village chief, make yourselves at home in the guest house" Joo Dee said and left with Ao Lie to the stables
The pilgrims then entered the house, the inside was big and had a cozy atmosphere, Zhu Bajie went to the sofa and sat down, letting out a sigh at the soft comfortable chair "now this is much better, so comfortable" Zhu Bajie said leaning back "is it me or was there something suspicious about that Joo Dee lady?" Wukong said his arms crossed "what do you mean by that, I didn't notice anything wrong about her" Zhu Bajie said his eyes still closed "that's because you were too focused on her beauty the whole time" Wukong said giving the pig demon a disdain look "hey!" Zhu Bajie exclaimed. Just then the door opens and a man walks in wearing a long green cheongsam with some yellow with a darker green vest, a queue hairstyle, and a thin mustache and a small beard with Joo Dee behind him "hello great pilgrims, it is an honor to meet all of you, I am Long Feng, the chief of this lovely village" Long Feng said with a bow
"Hello Long Feng, we are thankful for your hospitality" Tripitaka said bowing back, Long Feng smiles before noticing Macaque "I am taking that none of you are staying too long?" Long Feng asked looking back at the monk "yes I'm afraid, we are on a journey and we cannot waste any time on it" the great monk said with a polite smile "well I can only wish that you and your disciples can enjoy your stay" Long Feng said with a smile, Wukong narrowed his eyes at the man 'something isn't right, what is he up to' the copper simian thought as Long Feng left "please get comfortable, I will return with delicious snacks and tea for all of you" Joo Dee said still smiling and leaves as well
"Tell me none of you were creeped out by them?" Wukong asked looking back "hey! You take that back, that beautiful woman was not creepy!" Zhu Bajie said glaring at the copper simian "oh come on, tell me that you didn't notice that she hasn't stopped smiling even for a little bit, or that she hasn't BLINKED once!" Wukong said glaring at the pig demon "and not only that, but that chief's been glancing at Macaque during the entire conversation!" Wukong said still glaring at the pig demon "Wukong's right, the way he stared at me was...unsettling like he knew something about me" Macaque said looking at the others "now that you mentioned it, when we entered the village everyone was looking at us when our back were turn, at first I thought it was because we were demons, but from what you and Macaque says, makes me feel a sense of unease and even danger from what secrets this village holds" Sha Wujing said looking at his brothers "all of you are insane, you don't believe any of this do you master?" Zhu Bajie said looking at the monk
"Well, I did sense something about them, I just don't know what it is though" Tripitaka said a hand under his chin, Zhu Bajie let out a groan "now look what you've done, you riddled master's mind with worry and suspicious when in fact nothing is wrong with this village!" Zhu Baji said glaring at the copper simian "just because you think nothing is wrong doesn't mean we should agree with you, now me and Sha Wujing are going to look around this village" Wukong said and leaves along with Sha Wujing "I will go to the prayer temple, it might ease my worries a bit" Tripitaka said and leaves as well leaving Zhu Bajie and Macaque "hmph, fine by me, that means more snack for me and Macaque then" Zhu Bajie said grumbling, Macaque just looks at the door worried
Meanwhile in the horses stables, Ao Lie in his human form let out a sigh as he sat cross legged with his hands holding his head 'So very, very bored, nothing to do but count straw' the dragon boy thought letting out another sigh. He peaks over the stall and sees that the door was left ajar "hmm, should I stay here and continue to be bored, or go out and explore the village" Ao Lie said to himself thinking "what would big brother do?" Ao Lie asked thinking, then a smile grace his lips before he hops over the horse stall and head to the door, slipping through the door with a small chuckle
Wukong and Sha Wujing follows Long Feng staying hidden as the village chief walks into his home "okay, I'm going in there, stay out here and act natural" Wukong said transforming into a fly and flies inside the home. Meanwhile, Tripitaka walks down the road trying to look for the prayer temple "um excuse me, do you might know where I can find the prayer temple?" Tripitaka asked a villager who was sweeping "oh, it's right behind those two buildings, but it might be very full when you reach it" the villager said going back to sweeping 'Full?' Tripitaka thought following the directions the villager gave him
Soon Tripitaka reached the prayer temple, but the doors were closed and guards wearing black armor were guarding the entrance 'guards, at the prayer temple, that cannot be right' Tripitaka thought looking at the guards and the temple, then noises comes out of the temple and the monk quietly walks around the temple spotting an open window and peaks through it, as he looks in the temple he gasped at what he saw, there at the far end of the building wasn't a statue of Buddha or Guan Yin, but a statue of a man wearing black armor, a tail, and a sword, offerings piled in front of the statue, and almost everyone in the village was bowing to the statue "praise the Cursed Immortal, we thank you you're endless generosity, please live a long healthy life" they all said bowing
Tripitaka looks away from the window completely shocked at what he saw almost dropping his khakkara "a-amitabha Buddha, Amitabha Buddha" Tripitaka chanted trying to calm his nerves, when he calmed down he looks back at the temple "I-I must warn the others" Tripitaka said running back towards the guest house. Meanwhile back with Wukong, the copper simian continues to spy on Long Feng as he writes a letter, he tries to get closer but Long Feng shoos the fly away 'What is he writing' Wukong thought getting impatient, finally Long Feng finished writing and got up leaving. When the man was gone Wukong flies to the letter and began reading it the best he could, he couldn't make out much of the words but he manage to make out the most important one's "I am happy to inform you that the six eared Macaque and the monks have entered our village Cursed Immortal"
'I knew it!, I gotta warn the others!' Wukong thought and flies out the window back to the water spirit and transforming back "did you find anything brother?" Sha Wujing asked the copper simian "yes, I knew something was up with this village, we gotta warn the others" Wukong said as he and Sha Wujing heads back to the guest house unaware that Joo Dee was spying on them. Back at the guest house, Zhu Bajie was scarfing down the delicious snacks Joo Dee brought while Macaque just sips on some tea when Tripitaka came in out of breath "master?" Zhu Bajie said his mouth full as the monk tries to catch his breath
The tanned simian quickly went over to the monk and placed him onto the sofa "deep breaths Tripitaka" Macaque said as the great monk takes a few deep breaths "I....I saw something most terrible" Tripitaka said as he catches his breath "what happened?" Macaque asked as the monks breathing settled "I was on my way to the prayer temple, and their were guards at the entrance, now I know that the prayer temple is a sacred place but it shouldn't have guards guarding it" the great monk said looking at the two "that is true, what else happened?" Macaque asked
"I went around to find another entrance and I found a window, I looked in and saw a statue of the Cursed Immortal at the center, and everyone was bowing and praising the statue, it was such a dreadful sight" Tripitaka said, Macaques and Zhu Bajie eyes widened in shock 'w-what?' The tanned simian thought. Then the door burst open and Wukong and Sha Wujing entered "we need to leave, now" Wukong said looking at the three "we know, Tripitaka told us" Macaque said looking at the copper simian "let's get Ao Lie and get out of here" Wukong said and they all left the guest house and towards the horses stables
When they reached the stables, the pilgrims went inside to see all the stalls were empty "wh-where's Ao Lie?!" Zhu Bajie said looking the other empty stables "he should be right here, this is the only horse stalls in the village" Sha Wujing said also looking around "we need to find him before---augh!!" Wukong was cut off when thick heavy black chains are wrapped around his neck pulling him back. Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, Tripitaka, and Macaque all turned to see a man holding the chains around Wukong's neck, but before they could even do anything more mysterious men grabs them and restraint them "Ngh, get off me!" Wukong said struggling to get the chains off him, but then a searing pain coarse through his hands and neck sapping his strength away
The man wraps the chain around the copper simian and drops him to the ground, Wukong struggles to get up but the chains were sapping his strength away "well, well, well" a voice said making the pilgrims turn to see Long Feng appearing from the shadows "it would seem that our guests have learned the truth" Long Feng said with a evil smile "tie them up, and hang the copper monkey" Long Feng said. The men pulled out some rope and began tying the pilgrims "why are you doing this?!" Tripitaka said as he tries to get out of their grip "why, because this is the design of the great Cursed Immortal" Long Feng said as the men throws the tied up pilgrims to the ground
"The Cursed Immortal is an evil being, killing everything and sparing no one!" Sha Wujing said as on of the men began wrapping the Dark Metal chains around Wukong's neck, arms, and legs "words of naysayers and non believers, they know nothing of the wealth an generosity the Cursed Immortal has given us, before this our village was nothing, children starving and elders dying to sickness, but the Cursed Immortal has given us new life and purpose, and all he ask in return is for us to obey him" Long Feng said looking at the group "what are you going to do to us?" Zhu Bajie asked as the men toss the Dark Metal chain up around the joists "we will turn you in to the Cursed Immortal so you will face a proper judgment, although one of you will not be able to meet him unfortunately" Long Feng said
Then two of the men began pulling the chain hoisting Wukong by his neck into the air, Wukong gasped and immediately went to his neck trying to tug the chains off his neck ignoring the burning pain from his hands "no! Stop it! Stop!!" Macaque said trying to get free as he watched Wukong fight for air his legs kicking in the air and his tail flailing around, Long Feng and the men watched the whole thing with the village chief smiling. Long Feng snaps his fingers and the men begin punching Wukong repeatedly in the gut and face "stop it!! Please stop!!" Macaque said begging the men to stop but they didn't listen and continue beating the copper simian "Stop this, this is madness!" Tripitaka said looking at Long Feng "madness, this isn't madness, this is order, this is just, this is the way of the Cursed Immor--!" But the village chief was cut off by a loud bong causing him to fall forward unconscious and revealing Ao Lie holding a metal wok
"Ao Lie!?!" Tripitaka, Sha Wujing, Zhu Bajie, and Macaque said in shock, the men turned to the dragon boy and charges at him but Ao Lie dodge their attacks and swiftly knocks them all out with the wok "you four aren't injured?" Ao Lie said dropping the wok and going to his master and brothers, quickly untying them "no, we're alright" Macaque said as Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie quickly went over to the hanging copper simian, the pig demon and water spirit grabbing Wukong's legs and hoisting him up a bit "what do we do, we can't touch the chain and we can't hold him up like this!" Zhu Bajie said as Wukong gasp and struggle for air, then his hands fall to his sides as his struggles and gasping for air grow weak "no no no no no! Wukong! Wukong please don't give up!!" Macaque said going over and help lift the copper simian up with tears in his eyes watching as Wukong eyes roll to the back of his head
Ao Lie looks at the chain following it to where it was tied to a wooden pole, he quickly went over to it, put on a pair of thick gray gloves and untie the chain causing it to slack. Sha Wujing, Zhu Bajie, and Macaque quickly placed Wukong down to the ground as Ao Lie went over and removed the chain on Wukongs neck, Immediately the copper simian gasped and coughed taking deep gulps of air "Wukong, brother, deep breaths" Sha Wujing said helping the copper simian to sit up, Wukong coughs some more before calming down "S..Sha Wujing...Mihou?" Wukong rasped out his throat raw and red with burns from the chain "you're alright, I thought you would've" Macaque said stopping as he hugs Wukong tightly "It's a good thing I've arrived on time" Ao Lie said smiling in relief "Ao Lie how were you able to touch the chain, it's made of Dark Metal" Tripitaka said looking at the dragon boy
"Well after I left the stables, I began to look explore the village, during my exploration I notice two men wearing very familiar armor, so I followed them to this big building, I went inside ans saw hundreds maybe thousands of armors and weapons, I soon discovered that they were all made of Dark Metal" Ao Lie said taking the glove off to reveal a burn wound on his hand "I soon discovered these gloves that protected me from the Dark Metals burns" Ao Lie said finishing his explanation "so that's how those demons from the mountains were able to wear their armor, it must have the same material the gloves have" Sha Wujing said, then they turn to the sound of groaning, seeing Long Feng slowly stirring "we need to leave this place before they wake up" Macaque said, Tripitaka, Ao Lie, Sha Wujing, and Zhu Bajie nodded in agreement and they all left the horses stables, Macaque helping Wukong up and the 6 flee from the village without anyone noticing