Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

Although all of Sha Wujing's actions had been orchestrated by Jiang Liu, in this moment facing Jiang Liu, Sha Wujing's heart was filled with guilt, he always felt that he had let his master down.
Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

Along the journey, the master seemed to always treat him poorly, intentionally or unintentionally marginalizing him. Therefore, Sha Wujing had resolved that as long as he could complete this Journey to the West and successfully be awarded, there was no need to deliberately please him.

However, today, after spouting nonsense and scolding his master, and even lashing out at Bodhisattva Guanyin, when faced with the Bodhisattva's fury and her intent to kill him, the master unexpectedly jumped out, regardless of past grievances, to protect him from Bodhisattva Guanyin.

What was the master's attitude towards Bodhisattva Guanyin? It was evident from the fact that he had specially invited the Bodhisattva for a meal.

The Bodhisattva had taken great care of him throughout the journey to the West, even guiding him to embark on this path, yet at a critical moment, as a disciple of the Buddhist Sect, he dared to strike at Bodhisattva Guanyin to create a chance for his escape.

Thinking of this, Sha Wujing's heart overflowed with gratitude towards Jiang Liu, and at the same time, he finally agreed with White Dragon Horse's words.

The master was indeed someone who appeared cold on the outside but was warm on the inside; he seemed not to care about him on the surface, but when it mattered, it was clear that he valued their master-disciple relationship deeply.

Facing Jiang Liu, Sha Wujing's heart was filled with guilt; at the same time, he made a silent resolve that from now on their journey to the West, he would do his utmost to serve diligently and forbearingly, vowing never to speak out of turn again!

"Guilt? There's no need for that…" Seeing the look in Sha Wujing's eyes, Jiang Liu's lips twitched slightly, feeling that the sensation was very strange.

All of this had been his own scheming, trying to drive him away, kick him out of the Journey to the West team, but now, he was so grateful to him?

Was this what people called selling someone out and having them thank you for it?

At that moment, Jiang Liu even felt as if he had become a villain.

In movies and anime alike, those who betray others yet receive immense gratitude typically belonged to the villain's set, right?

Shaking his head silently, Jiang Liu shook these strange feelings from his mind. Although there was a sense of guilt towards Sha Wujing, he felt sorry about scheming against him.

But, after all, this involved his own major affairs, so, despite feeling guilty, he was unrepentant about it all.

As the saying goes, if our paths do not align, we cannot scheme together.

His goal was to overturn all the deities in Western Heaven, not only to save Gaoyang but also to save himself. Zhu Bajie and Sun Wukong were already on his side, and even White Dragon Horse would eventually join his lines.

Only Sha Wujing, since he was not of the same heart and might even become a spy for the Immortals and Buddhas, naturally, Jiang Liu was determined to drive him out.

Although he schemed against him and felt guilty, he acted out of necessity for himself and for those like Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie who trusted him, without regret!

After all, his goal was merely to kick him out of the team, not to take his life, right?

In doing so, he hadn't crossed his own moral line! Could he really risk himself, Gaoyang, and even Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie?

"Wujing, you offended Bodhisattva Guanyin today. I advise you to hide for a few days!"

Looking at Sha Wujing in front of him, seeing his expression of deep gratitude, Jiang Liu, though unrepentant, felt some guilt and spoke after a moment.

"Ah!? Hide for a few days!? Master, are you really driving me away? No, I won't go! Please, Master, don't drive me away!" Hearing Jiang Liu's statement, Sha Wujing's face grew anxious, shouting loudly, with an appearance unwilling to leave no matter what.

"If I could have driven you away, I would have done so already!" Sha Wujing's attitude secretly made Jiang Liu scoff.

He would rather die than flee, making it even more impossible for Jiang Liu to drive him away, so he shook his head and said, "No, I'm not driving you out, just having you hide for a few days."

"Hide for a few days? Why is that!?" Hearing Jiang Liu's words that he wasn't being driven away, Sha Wujing relaxed a bit, but he was puzzled and looked at Jiang Liu, asking.

"It's simple, don't you remember the incident where Bajie offended the Bodhisattva?" Seeing Sha Wujing's expression, Jiang Liu looked at him somewhat helplessly and said.

"Master, why are you bringing that up again!?" It was because of that incident that he had almost been killed by Bodhisattva Guanyin; hearing Jiang Liu mention it again startled Sha Wujing, who glanced around.

"I'm not talking about the incident itself, but don't you remember what happened afterward? Bajie happened to encounter the female demon Zhuzhu, then Zhuzhu even got pregnant with Bajie's child, but what was the outcome? Zhuzhu and her child in her belly died, killed by whom!?" Seeing Sha Wujing's expression, Jiang Liu gave him an exasperated look.

"He died at the hands of Bodhisattva Guanyin!" On hearing this, Sha Wujing answered in a daze.

Upon these words, he seemed to have realized and his face suddenly turned pale, saying, "Back then, didn't Bodhisattva Guanyin save Second Brother's life? You're saying that the Bodhisattva deliberately tried to kill him?"

"Wujing, let me put it this way, after Zhuzhu was killed, Bajie left for some time, didn't he? Do you know where he went? He went to see the Matchmaker God, initially wanting to seek revenge for pulling the Red Thread between him and Zhuzhu, but do you know how the Matchmaker God responded?" Jiang Liu didn't speak too directly but instead outlined Zhu Bajie's subsequent actions.

"The Matchmaker God? This indeed has something to do with him, so how did he respond at that time!?" Sha Wujing asked, following Jiang Liu's words.

"The Matchmaker God replied that the Red Thread between Bajie and Zhuzhu wasn't pulled by him. Moreover, a long time ago, Bodhisattva Guanyin had also taken a few strands of Red Thread from the Matchmaker God..." Jiang Liu's gaze rested on Sha Wujing as he spoke.

"Could it be!? All of this is..." Hearing this, Sha Wujing's complexion changed drastically.

It's not to say Sha Wujing was foolish; even a fool, upon hearing these things, would understand what the truth was.

"Think about it for yourself, shortly after Bajie offended Bodhisattva Guanyin, he soon suffered a romantic tragedy, losing both his wife and child. So, I advise you to lay low for a few days before talking!" Jiang Liu nodded, advising Sha Wujing.

"I, I..." Hearing this, Sha Wujing felt a chill in his heart, finding everything too horrifying.

To think that he had always been in the Journey to the West Team, yet such events had happened within the team and he had been oblivious?

Hearing Jiang Liu's words, Sha Wujing indeed felt that he should hide for a few days, yet he was afraid that hiding would mean truly leaving the Journey to the West Team.

After a moment of silence, Sha Wujing's gaze turned serious as he stared at Jiang Liu, saying, "Master, you said it yourself, to go and hide for a few days, you better not abandon me!"

"Don't worry, I may not have many great virtues, but keeping my word is something I take seriously!"

"How about this, go hide for a few months, or even a year or so, I'll stay right here in Treasure Elephant Country and won't leave. Whenever you come back, we'll continue the Journey to the West!" Jiang Liu nodded, showing a very loyal demeanor as he spoke to Sha Wujing.

"Master!"

On hearing Jiang Liu, Sha Wujing, grateful for his master's willingness to even delay the journey for a year and a half on his behalf, knelt down immediately with heartfelt bows, making thudding sounds.

"Master's kindness and grace, I can never repay in this lifetime. On the road to the West hereafter, I will surely dedicate every shred of myself!"

"Alright, you may go now. No need for more words!" Seeing Sha Wujing's state, Jiang Liu waved his hand and showed a deeply affectionate look between master and disciple.

"Master, I will go now!" Nodding his head, Sha Wujing took three steps and kept looking back, unwilling to leave, then turned around and soared into the clouds.

"Phew, finally managed to persuade him to leave..." Watching Sha Wujing finally leave the team, Jiang Liu let out a long sigh of relief.

Sha Wujing had left, but the mission was not completed; it clearly didn't count as expelling him from the discipleship, and Jiang Liu was not concerned about it.

Though the mission was unfinished and disappointing, it was good that it made him leave temporarily. At least concerning the Yellow-Robed Monster's devious plan, he no longer had to worry about Sha Wujing, the spy, leaking it.

Of course, if Sha Wujing could really stay hidden for a year or more, Jiang Liu would be even happier.

Wouldn't that allow him to legitimately take his time in Treasure Elephant Country for a year and a half, giving himself a better chance to cultivate?

"Alas, I didn't expect that even if he were to die, he still wouldn't want to leave the Journey to the West Team. Indeed, acquiring 80 million Experience Points isn't that easy!"

Thinking of Sha Wujing's choice, and that his seemingly foolproof mission was still uncompleted, Jiang Liu inevitably felt a bit disappointed.

He sighed inwardly, shook his head, and stopped thinking about it. Turning around, he returned to his room to cultivate.

Just today, by scheming against Sha Wujing, he ended up feeling incredibly grateful, almost ready to lay down his life for him, this unexpected development left Jiang Liu somewhat bemused.

Apart from that, with Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing gone and Jiang Liu back in his room, only Sun Wukong and White Dragon Horse were left. Even the delicious food in the Dragon and Phoenix Yin Yang Pot seemed less appetizing.

A night passed quietly, and the next morning, after Jiang Liu and others washed up and packed a bit, they continued towards Wanzi Mountain...