Zhu Ganglie laughed and said, "Fellows, you say that Golden Cicada is a monk without the strength to truss a chicken, yet in the eyes of this old pig, the fellow looks quite robust!"

    Hearing this, the protective spirits all gave bitter smiles, while Tang Sanzang felt like crying but had no tears...

    Tang Sanzang asked, "Zhu Ganglie, you... since you followed that fake monk, why have you come back to find me?"

    Zhu Ganglie stroked his chin and pondered for a while, then suddenly looked up at the sky and exclaimed, "Look, a demon!"

    Everyone instinctively looked up, only to experience a whirlwind of flying sand and rocks as a fierce wind picked up!

    By the time they realized something was amiss and looked down, Zhu Ganglie had vanished.

    The group hastily turned to Tang Sanzang, who was unharmed. They exchanged glances and murmured, "That Zhu Ganglie left and then returned, stirred up a wind, and without doing much else, has left again. What is he actually up to?"

    "Where are my belongings? My belongings are gone!"

    At that moment, Tang Sanzang''s cry of alarm was heard.

    All eighteen protective spirits looked over, only to see that the luggage hanging from the pole beside Tang Sanzang was missing!

    The group realized all at once that Zhu Ganglie had come to steal things.

    The party bristled with anger...

    "To think that Marshal Tianpeng, that Zhu Ganglie, would not only accept a thief as his father but also come back to steal from us, is utterly despicable!" one of the protective spirits rolled up his sleeves and cursed righteously.

    "Exactly, exactly! What can be endured and what cannot be endured, this can''t be overlooked!"

    Moved by their words, Tang Sanzang said, "For you all to have such thoughts, that''s wonderful. I beg of you to act quickly and retrieve my belongings. Otherwise, as I journey Westward, without food, without drink, without a mount, without a change of clothes, not to mention the travel documents, the begging bowl, the staff, and the kasaya, how will I be able to face the Buddha? Please, you protective spirits, take swift action and ensure the return of my possessions!"No?v(el)B\\jnn

    Just a moment ago, the eighteen protective spirits, filled with righteous indignation, suddenly became engulfed in a coughing fit, and then pointed to the sky, saying, "Ah, it seems a demon just passed by."

    "That wasn''t a demon, it was a bird."

    "That bird seemed sick, its eyes were quite red."

    Soon, Tang Sanzang was invited into the grand hall.

    However, this time Zhu Ganglie and Sha Wujing didn''t go in because the guards felt that these two were too ferocious to enter the hall, lest they frighten the King and his ministers.

    In response, Zhu Ganglie looked at the monk who had already walked in, shook his head, and muttered, "Heh... they must have misunderstood the word ''ferocious''."

    Sha Wujing cut to the heart of the matter, "Small country, limited experience."

    At this very moment, inside the Silver Peace Palace of the imperial palace,

    The Yellow-robed Monster sat at the top seat, surrounded by two gorgeous women, drinking and enjoying the spectacle of eighteen palace maidens and talented girls singing and dancing. He was quite happy and muttered, "Judging by the time, if that bald thief didn''t deliberately delay, he should have passed Baoxiang Country by now. Once he''s gone... Humph..."

    Thinking thus, he took a couple more drinks.

    In fact, ever since the Yellow-robed Monster followed Bai Huaxiu and came to Baoxiang Country, recognizing her as kin, the King and his ministers have been accompanying him in heavy drinking, managing to lure out his addiction to alcohol.

    When everyone else had been carried away after drinking to the point of lying down, he alone remained, never setting down his cup and continuing to drink until now.

    Just then, amid the dance of the palace maidens, a full moon rose up—it was a scene from the Chang''e Moon Worship Dance.

    But when the Yellow-robed Monster glimpsed the full moon, he mistook it for the shiny bald head of someone, and, startled, he jumped up with a "whoa," flinging his arms out and sending the two women in his arms flying against the wall with a bang, where they hit their heads, bled, and died on the spot!

    At this scene, the palace maidens screamed in fright.

    The Yellow-robed Monster, amidst the screaming, came back to his senses and saw that the bald head was just a prop from the dance. Furious, he became enraged!

    Drunk and furious, he forgot the agreement he had made with Bai Huaxiu not to cause trouble in the palace, showed his true form, and, in a burst of rage, opened his tremendously large hands and grabbed a woman playing the pipa, biting into her head with a crunch!

    Such a scene terrified the other palace maidens who scampered out even though nothing had threatened them, throwing everything into chaos!

    The Yellow-robed Monster laughed loudly, pulled out a flagpole and waved it, enveloping the Silver Peace Palace within it. No matter how desperately the palace maidens hit it trying to escape, they couldn''t get out, and not a sound could be heard...

    They trembled with fear, huddled under the eaves, not daring to move.

    The Yellow-robed Monster didn''t care about them and just sat there, pouring and drinking his own wine, grabbing a victim to nibble on after each drink, truly bloody and brutal.

    At that moment, he suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "I almost ruined my own important affairs. I had agreed that today I would present myself before His Majesty, today I must announce to the world my and my wife''s identities, I can''t miss that."