NOVEL WEB Chapter 113 Thorn Ridge
The ridge was like a long serpent, winding its way toward a large mountain in the distance.
The sky was overcast with dark clouds, and a fine misty rain shrouded the distant scenery like a veil of smoke.
Strangely, vines dangled from the heavens, covered in thorny poisonous barbs that hung down and obscured the sunlight!
The thief of Tang Sanzang's hat was not a person, but rather the hat had gotten caught on one of those poisonous thorns.
Zhu Ganglie's cheek had been cut by a poisonous thorn...
Sha Wujing's bundle was also full of poisonous thorns, but he wasn't hurt because he had buckled a large frame over his head...
The most miserable was the White Dragon Horse, its legs injured by the thorns on the ground and covered with a dense mass of poisonous spines...
The Six-Eared Macaque and Sun Wukong were unharmed, but their expressions weren't too pleasant either.
Before Tang Sanzang could speak, Zhu Ganglie cursed, "Where did all these thorny vines come from? Watch your Grandpa Pig burn them all with a fire!"
Sun Wukong said, "Master, it seems that these thousands of miles of mountain ridges are all covered with these thorns. If we walk through this, I'm afraid Xiao Bai will turn into a hedgehog..."
Sha Wujing laughed, "Master, don't worry. No matter how powerful these thorns are, they are just plants, and fire can solve the problem."
Zhu Ganglie said, "Stop talking nonsense. If the weather were dry, indeed, a fire could burn them without leaving grass in a thousand miles. But now, with this dense fog and humid air, not to mention starting a fire, even if you light ten fires, it would be useless."
It was at this moment that the Six-Eared Macaque shouted, "Master, this is Thorny Forest!"
Everyone looked over to see the Six-Eared Macaque pulling out a stone tablet from the thorns, inscribed with three big characters: Thorny Forest!
There were also two lines of fourteen smaller characters:
Thorny vines spread for three thousand miles, seldom walked since ancient times.
"Master, it seems this path is not easy," Zhu Ganglie said, drooling over the tablet.
Hardly had the words left his mouth when suddenly a boom resounded!
A wave of Fist Power pushed forward!
Turning back, everyone saw Tang Sanzang slowly retracting his fist, looking at the straight path ahead, "The word 'difficult' does not exist in this monk's dictionary!"
Having said that, Tang Sanzang slapped the horse's rear and said, "Let's go!"
However, Tang Sanzang hadn't put too much force into his punch, so it only cleared a distance of over a thousand meters.
But Tang Sanzang had indeed created a path for everyone.
Then, Sun Wukong directly smashed the vines hanging from the sky with his Jingu Bang, clearing the way.
Zhu Ganglie transformed into a giant and, wielding a rake in front, plowed through the thorns like they were with an iron plough, then cast them far away with a flick of his hand.
Working together in this manner, they traveled for another day and night, and as darkness was about to fall once again, they stopped.
Sha Wujing set up the cooking stove, and after having a hearty meal, they all wiped the grease from their mouths and chatted with full bellies.
But then, Zhu Ganglie, who went out to relieve himself, suddenly cried out, "Master, come and see this!"
Tang Sanzang looked in the direction of the cry and saw in the midst of the Thorny Forest, a clearing with a small bamboo grove, and beyond that, an ancient temple.
Outside the temple gate, pines and cypress stood tall, peach and plum trees in full bloom, like an idyllic paradise.
Zhu Ganglie said, "Master, who would have thought such a broken place would have this kind of peach garden paradise, why don't we stay here tonight!"
However, Sun Wukong shook his head, "This place is no paradise. Haunted by demon energy, I fear there is some little snack causing trouble here!"
At the mention of a little snack, Tang Sanzang touched his round belly, his brow tightly furrowed...
Just then, a chilly breeze blew, and from behind the temple door, there emerged an old man with a horned cap, wearing light-colored clothes, holding a staff, and wearing straw sandals.
Behind the old man followed a ghostly figure with a green face, sharp teeth, red beard, and bare-chested.
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The ghost guard was holding a tray of steamed buns as he knelt down and cried out, "Great Saint, I am the god of the Thorny Forest. Knowing of the Great Saint's arrival and having nothing to offer, I've prepared a plate of steamed buns for Elder Tang, the Great Saint, and the others. There are no households for three thousand miles, so truly, I have no better offerings for the Great Saint and the esteemed monks." Discover hidden stories at empire
At these words, Zhu Ganglie's eyes lit up and he was about to grab the buns.
But Sun Wukong snorted coldly, "Idiot, you dare take anything? This guy is no good person!"
The Six-Eared Macaque also sneered, "You old demon pretending to be some sort of local god, do you really take us for fools? Take this!"
The Six-Eared Macaque pulled out his trusty iron rod and struck a blow at the old man!
Seeing this, the old man twirled and transformed into a gust of wind, whooshing toward Tang Sanzang, snatching him up and flying off into the distance.
From afar, Tang Sanzang's somewhat reluctant voice could be heard, "Ah... esteemed patrons, please put down this humble monk. I have truly eaten my fill!"
The demon's voice came through, "Shut up!"
"Alright, alright, whatever you say... Uh, may I take a bath first, before you eat me? I'm a bit smelly..."
"#￥..."
Hearing the voice fade away, the Six-Eared Macaque set off in pursuit.
Sun Wukong grabbed him, "Brother, what's the hurry?"
Anxious, the Six-Eared Macaque said, "Master has been taken away, of course I'm worried. If he comes back and chides us for not being attentive enough, what if he punches each of us? Wouldn't we be ascending to heaven before our time?"
Sun Wukong laughed, "Brother, you're new here, there are things you don't understand. Think about it, with Master's power, what demon could capture him?
Master wasn't captured. He's gone to take a bath."
Zhu Ganglie added, "We've been on the road, with no water sources in sight. Master has wanted to bathe for a long time. Now that the bathing servant has arrived, don't ruin Master's good time."
Next to them, Sha Wujing said, "Still, there are some protocols we must follow."
The Six-Eared Macaque looked suspiciously at Sha Wujing.
With a serious face, Sha Wujing told the group, "Big Brother, Second Brother, Fourth Brother, Master has been taken by a demon!"
The Six-Eared Macaque: "@#￥...&"
...
Elsewhere, Tang Sanzang was being taken by the ghost guard to the front of a misty stone house.
The ghost guard, unlike the other demons, was not rough but gently set Tang Sanzang down.
Then, the old man grabbed Tang Sanzang's hand, eyes shining as he looked at him and said, "Holy monk..."
Looking into the old man's eyes, Tang Sanzang felt a chill, getting goosebumps all over his body, and slapped the man's hand away!
"Get away from me, you freak!"
Smack!
A slap flew across the old man's face, sending him flying.
Cradling his face against the wall, the old man exclaimed, "Holy monk, why did you hit me?"
Tang Sanzang furiously wiped his hands while shouting, "Why? You pervert! Let me tell you, I don't like men!"
The old man was dumbfounded... then he gave a wry smile and said, "Holy monk, you misunderstand me. I'm not that kind of person."
Tang Sanzang eyed the old man suspiciously.
The old man continued, "I am the god of the Eighteenth Ridge of the Thorny Forest, and since the weather is nice today, with a clear moon and sparse stars, I thought to invite you to discuss poetry and philosophies, just to pass the time and emotions."
Tang Sanzang chuckled sarcastically, "Then explain that look in your eyes, why does it resemble that of a lecherous old man?"
The old man was speechless for a moment. He was merely trying his best to appear as gentle as possible, so as not to frighten the other party.
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