The so-called journey to the West to retrieve the scriptures, with its eighty-one trials, was all set up by the heavens.

    Whatever they encountered and however they tormented Tang Sanzang was all part of a clear plan.

    So, while others might be unaware, as deities, they were in the know.

    In their memories, according to the script, this place was supposed to be the site of a calamity involving the loss of a kasaya to a black bear...

    However...

    As they were lost in thought, a local deity popped out, "Stop looking, a monk riding a white horse with a monkey came by earlier and set this monastery on fire. Now, there''s nothing left..."

    The group was rendered speechless once more, a monk, a monkey-accompanied monk, damn!

    Tang Sanzang howled to the heavens, "That... that was supposed to be my monkey... my horse, my monastery..."

    As he spoke, a figure descended from the sky.

    "Golden Cicada, refrain from distress," it said.

    Tang Sanzang looked up to see a swollen-faced youth, bearing a pair of Wu Gou swords on his back, descending from the heavens.

    Upon seeing him, the Liuding Liujia and the Five Directions Devarajas all stood up to greet him, "Mu Zha, have you been beaten up?"

    Mu Zha smiled wryly. He had thought his descent to the mortal world would merely be a formality, but the first black bear he encountered was so ferocious. It saw him as if they were archenemies, fighting desperately. The bear''s combat strength was terrifyingly high, and Mu Zha could not defeat it, receiving a severe beating instead.

    Luckily, the Bodhisattva arrived in time, capturing the Black Bear Spirit and taking it to the South Sea to guard the back mountains.

    After hearing of Black Bear''s ordeal, the Bodhisattva Guanyin realized something was amiss. She immediately rushed to the Western heavens to consult with the Buddha about the matter of the true and false Tang Sanzangs...

    Mu Zha, meanwhile, had come to console Tang Sanzang.

    After hearing Mu Zha''s detailed account, knowing that ahead lay an exceedingly fierce bandit monk, everyone discussed and decided to slow their pace. They would wait for news from Mount Meru before deciding the next move.

    However, Mu Zha, young and impetuous, scoffed, "Although the black bear said that the false Tang Sanzang is so very powerful, what he said may not be true. Otherwise, how could he have survived in the hands of Sun Wukong and that fake Tang Sanzang?"

    At that moment, one of the Liuding Liujia Gods said, "The walker is right, it''s eighty percent likely that the Black Bear Spirit inflated his importance with tall tales.

    But even if he didn''t exaggerate, it doesn''t matter. Considering the timing and their pace, by now, they should have passed Mount Futu and be nearing the Eight Hundred Miles of Yellow Wind Ridge."

    Dust is thrown into the air, sand splashes, and waves overturn rivers with their fury.

    This is by no means a seasonal wind; this is clearly a deathly wind! Everything withers where it passes, all beasts are disturbed—it must be the work of a demon."

    Hearing this, Sun Wukong laughed heartily and said, "You clod, you do have some insight, but what you''re talking about is just the surface. With our lineup, do you think we need to worry about whether there''s a demon or not?

    If there really is one, we''ll just vanquish it!

    Therefore, it''s just a seasonal wind, nothing serious, right, master?"

    Sun Wukong looked at Tang Sanzang, who tightened the white tiger helmet on his head and said, "I am hungry."

    Upon hearing this, others showed no reaction, but Zhu Ganglie shuddered and quickly jumped out, shouting, "Master, I''ll go hunt for you!"

    Watching Zhu Ganglie sprint away, Sun Wukong smiled, "The fool is terrified of becoming the lunch himself. Master, if you are really hungry, you wouldn''t actually eat him, would you?"

    Tang Sanzang rubbed his nose and said, "Hard to say... Look at his flesh, due to years of constant training and cultivation, there isn''t much fat, it''s all lean muscle... slurp..."

    Sun Wukong: "@#￥%#@..."

    The White Dragon Horse muttered, "I wonder if Second Brother would give up on cultivation if he knew about this, and just eat and laze around to fatten up..."

    Sun Wukong said, "At the very least, he wouldn''t run so fast anymore..."

    As they were talking, suddenly a red tiger leapt out of the mountain forest. The tiger, unafraid of Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong, and the others, just stood in the middle of the road, eyeing them up and down.

    Sun Wukong''s eyes instantly lit up, "Master, that tiger skin is nice. How about making me a proper garment this time?"

    Tang Sanzang said, "Sure, but save its whip for me; we''ll soak it in wine to drink."

    "How dare you!"

    Before Sun Wukong could speak, the red tiger spoke human words and roared in anger, then astonishingly stood up on two legs!

    The creature plunged its claws straight into its chest and, with force, tore off its own tiger skin and peeled it off!

    This spectacle left Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong, and the White Dragon Horse utterly dumbfounded.

    The White Dragon Horse said, "Big brother, isn''t this tiger just too accommodating? It''s afraid you''ll be too harsh, so it''s offering its hide voluntarily. With its size, your garment is sorted. How do you feel about a tiger skin kilt?"