The Scheme

Bajie thought the young lady was foolish and easy to trick. Little did he know, he was the one being deceived.

More importantly, the old man who had seemed so terrified a moment ago had returned to his normal self the second he was out of sight. He walked into the kitchen, struggling to suppress his laughter.

"Little Friend Su, is the stuff ready?" Taishang Laojun asked with a grin as he approached Su Qing.

Su Qing turned to look at him and nodded slightly. "It’s been ready for a while... but will this dosage really be enough to knock out Wukong? He is, after all, a peak powerhouse among Earthly Immortals."

Wukong had consumed countless divine elixirs and pills, giving him a body that had long been immune to a hundred poisons. Su Qing was naturally worried about whether this potion would actually work on him.

Laojun, however, didn't seem worried in the slightest.

He shook his head with a chuckle. "It will naturally be enough to lay him low. Don't forget, this old man is the best at alchemy! Forget Wukong—if I put my mind to it, who couldn't I drug? You can rest easy. Besides, I don't actually intend to knock him out completely; I want him in a state between dreaming and waking. If he were out cold, how would he know which demon kidnapped his master?"

Taishang Laojun and Guanyin Bodhisattva had planned everything out long ago. Both were ancient seniors and, more importantly, ten-thousand-year-old foxes. One shouldn't be fooled by Laojun’s occasionally dazed or easy-to-bully appearance; how could someone who had lived for so many eons be a fool? His daily demeanor was merely a way to better play along with everyone.

One could never underestimate these ancient seniors.

Su Qing thought for a moment and nodded. "I suppose you're right. In that case, this dosage should be fine."

She quickly dissolved the medicine into the food. Then, she suddenly remembered something else and asked, "By the way, Wukong won't be able to tell there's medicine in here, will he?"

"What is there to fear? Who could see through a potion I've brewed? He only has his Fiery Golden Eyes; how could he possibly tell?" Laojun gave a smug smile. "The Fiery Golden Eyes are indeed impressive, but even they have their limits. He couldn't see through the transformation you learned from Guanyin, so how could he see through my medicine?"

Su Qing said no more. After nodding, she handed the items to Laojun.

"That’s that, then! I'll go give the things to Zhu Bajie!"

"Wait, will that pig eat everything himself before going back?"

"Don't worry. Guanyin and I have already calculated that; he won't."

"Good!" Su Qing nodded. "In that case, I'll go get ready as well."

With that, Su Qing turned and left.

On the other side, Laojun carried the alms bowl back outside. He had transformed back into the form of the old servant, looking timid and cautious.

Laojun brought the food to Zhu Bajie and Guanyin. "M-Miss, the food is ready."

Guanyin nodded and turned to Bajie. "Little Master, please take this back to your master!"

Looking at the alms bowl filled to the brim with rice and vegetables, Bajie swallowed hard and nodded repeatedly. "Thank you, Lady Bodhisattva! Thank you! After traveling for so many days, we can finally have a full meal."

Guanyin gave a soft, seemingly bashful laugh. "You overpraise me, Little Master. I am no Lady Bodhisattva. Now, hurry back!"

Bajie was actually quite reluctant to leave. But the thought that his Eldest Senior Brother might give him a thrashing if he delayed made him lose his nerve.

After thanking the young lady again, he left the manor. As he walked away, he kept looking back with a lingering gaze. He couldn't help it; the lady was simply too beautiful.

Unfortunately, he couldn't stay. His master and the others were waiting. If he returned late, he wouldn't be eating dinner; he'd be eating the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod.

Without lingering any longer, Bajie took the alms bowl and flew back to his master.

When Wukong saw Bajie return, he was slightly surprised. Bajie had actually returned quite quickly this time.

"Back so soon? Did you manage to find any food?" Tang Sanzang asked. He was so hungry his vision was blurring, and he couldn't help but inquire the moment he saw Bajie.

Hearing the question, Bajie grinned. "I did not fail my mission! Old Pig has quite a talent for begging for food! I'm much better than a certain monkey who looks like a hairy-faced thunder god; just standing there, he'd scare everyone to death."

Wukong glared at him. "You pig-head, do you want a taste of my staff again?"

"Master, look! Eldest Senior Brother is threatening me again!" Bajie immediately complained to his master.

"Alright, Wukong. Since he has returned with food, stop threatening him. Let us eat first," Tang Sanzang said.

Seeing this, Wukong snorted and stopped mocking Bajie. He simply nodded. "Since Master has spoken, I will let this pig-head off for now."

Sha Wujing, watching from the side, let out a sigh of relief. His two senior brothers had almost started another fight.

Once the bickering stopped, Tang Sanzang distributed the food to Wukong and the others.

Wukong looked at the vegetarian meal. After a moment of silence, he ate it. He hadn't seen anything wrong with the food, so he saw no reason not to eat.

Everyone was starving. Even if the food hadn't been good, they would have eaten quickly. Moreover, this was Su Qing's cooking, so the flavor was naturally excellent.

Even Tang Sanzang felt a bit unsatisfied after finishing, as if he hadn't quite eaten his fill. As for Bajie, he wished he could go back and beg for more. Unfortunately, that was clearly impossible now.

After finishing the meal, the group didn't linger. They had rested for a while and it was time to continue their journey.

However, just as they were preparing to set off, the medicinal potency within the food was triggered.

In an instant, everyone felt their heads spinning. Even Wukong was no exception.

Tang Sanzang clutched his head. "Wukong, why do I feel so dizzy? My eyelids are so heavy... could it be... could it be..."

Before he could even finish his sentence, he collapsed onto the ground with a thud.

Bajie was also unable to withstand the potion. He swayed unsteadily, looking as if he were drunk.

"E-Eldest Senior Brother? Two Eldest Senior Brothers? Three?" Bajie shook his head. He felt like his senior brother was multiplying, as if he were caught in an illusion.

Seeing this, Sha Wujing realized what was happening. He cried out, "Eldest Senior Brother, we’ve been tricked! There was a sleeping potion in the food!"

Wukong’s head was also pounding. However, because his strength was the greatest, he hadn't completely lost consciousness yet. He shook his head violently. "There really was a potion! You stupid pig, what kind of food did you bring back?!"

Wukong was furious and instinctively blamed Bajie. But in his heart, he knew that if even he couldn't see anything wrong, Bajie certainly wouldn't have.

When he turned his gaze toward Bajie, he saw that the pig had already collapsed, sleeping like a dead hog.

Not just Bajie—except for himself and the White Dragon Horse, no one else was still awake.

'Damn it... how can we run into this kind of trouble even in a place like this?' Wukong was speechless. His mind was a fog. To keep himself from falling asleep, he kept shaking his head, trying to resist the urge to black out.

If he fell asleep, who would protect his master? Could he count on the White Dragon Horse? What could the horse do besides carry the master around? He was just a horse right now!

Wait, maybe he actually could rely on him for a moment.

Wukong said to the White Dragon Horse, "White Dragon Horse, take Master and hide! We’ve been drugged; there must be a demon behind this! They’re definitely after Master."

Hearing this, the White Dragon Horse nodded quickly. He reached out, bit Tang Sanzang’s clothes, and tossed him onto his back. Once the monk was secure, the horse prepared to flee for his life.

However, at that exact moment, a black figure appeared and sent the White Dragon Horse flying with a single kick, crashing him into a tree.

The newcomer was a tall, dark demon. The creature looked terrifying, the kind that could make a child cry just by looking at it.

"That was close. I almost let Tang Sanzang get away!" The demon grabbed Tang Sanzang and gave Wukong a mocking grin. "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven is nothing more than this! To think a bit of sleeping potion would lay you low!"

Wukong’s body was weak and his mind was clouded, but his temper hadn't diminished at all.

"Demon, you used trickery! Let go of my master!" Wukong roared.

The demon chuckled. "Why would I let go of Tang Sanzang meat when it's right at my lips? You’re drugged; what can you do to save him? Hahaha, you won't last much longer. By the time you wake up, your master will already be chunks of meat in my belly."

Wukong snorted. With a thought, he summoned the Golden-Hooped Rod. As soon as the staff appeared, he swung it at the demon.

The demon suddenly produced a long saber and parried the Golden-Hooped Rod with a powerful swing.

"Hmph, to still be awake after my potion... you do have some skill," the demon said. "But unfortunately... you're not good enough! Hahaha!"

The demon didn't seem to intend to linger. After mocking Wukong a few more times, it slipped away, showing no desire for a prolonged fight.

Seeing this, Wukong hurriedly summoned his Somersault Cloud to give chase. However, the moment the cloud appeared, he tumbled head-first onto the ground.

Su Qing, watching from a distance, smiled to herself. 'How pitiful,' she thought.

With that, she stopped watching the show. Carrying Tang Sanzang, she headed toward a cave.

This cave was a standard demon lair named Black Wind Cave. It had originally belonged to a demon called Great King Black Wind. However, that king had been weak and was slain by a single flying sword spell from Su Qing.

After killing the demon, the place naturally became Su Qing’s lair, and the small demons there became her subordinates.

Normally, given Su Qing’s personality, she would have pulled up the grass by the roots. But she was playing the role of a Demon King; it would be too strange not to have any subordinates. So, she had spared them and let them take her as their new ruler.

Naturally, these demons didn't know Su Qing’s true identity. They only knew she was a powerful demon who had killed their previous king in an instant. These demons were opportunistic; none of them were particularly loyal to the former Great King Black Wind. Once the king was dead, they became 'devoted' to Su Qing.

Su Qing found them a bit snobbish, but she didn't care much. As long as they acted like proper subordinates and didn't cause any trouble, it was fine. It was only for a few days, anyway.

Returning to Black Wind Cave, Su Qing tossed Tang Sanzang onto the ground. She said to the small demons, "Boys, your King has brought back something good for you."

She then told the demons about the legendary Tang Sanzang meat.

"The King is wise! The King is wise!"

The small demons began to praise Su Qing in a cacophony of voices.

Su Qing gave a cold chuckle internally. She said, "Take this monk and wash him clean. We will slaughter him for his meat at an auspicious hour tomorrow! We shall all achieve immortality together!"

Hearing this, the demons grew even more excited, having no idea how tragic their future would be.

Su Qing shook her head and said no more. She simply sat on the King’s throne and closed her eyes to rest, waiting for the situation to develop.

Half an hour later, Taishang Laojun transformed into an old man. Carrying a basket of firewood and leading a green ox, he walked slowly toward Wukong and the others.

When he reached Wukong, he took out a gourd of water and fed some to the monkey.

A moment later, Wukong woke up.

Upon waking, Wukong instinctively went to swing his staff at the old man. But seeing that it was just an ordinary mortal, he immediately checked his strike.

Wukong looked at the terrified old man and quickly apologized. "Don't be afraid, old sir. I didn't mean to scare you. I just thought you were the demon who drugged me, so I accidentally startled you."

Wukong wasn't inherently an impolite person. When he had first finished his apprenticeship, he had been a very polite monkey. It was only after he grew arrogant that he became so defiant and wild. Now, after so many years of tempering, he had become much more stable. He only showed his arrogance when facing enemies.