Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

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Having entered the mountain, they searched all day but failed to find any trace of the old man and his granddaughter. As dusk fell, Jiang Liu instructed Zhu Bajie to catch a big, fat-headed fish from the mountain stream. Then, he expanded the Exquisite Immortal Mansion on a flat area of land.

Smoke from the cooking fire curled into the air. After stir-frying two meat and two vegetarian dishes, they also made a large pot of Chopped Chilli Fish Head.

The huge fish head was covered in chopped red chili peppers, and just the sight of it made Zhu Bajie and the others swallow their saliva.

They hadn't started eating yet, but just the sight of those chilis made them reflexively feel as though their tongues were tingling with spiciness.

"Master, ever since we found chilies, your cooking has been getting more and more delicious," Zhu Bajie said while sitting down with the others and gorging himself.

"Hmm, there are many dishes that require chili peppers. I could make them for half a year without repeating a single recipe!" Jiang Liu replied with a smile, nodding at Zhu Bajie's comment.

"Wow, that's truly blissful!" Hearing Jiang Liu's words, Zhu Bajie's eyes lit up with surprise and delight.

However, no sooner had he spoken than Zhu Bajie's expression soured.

Gazing at his plump figure, especially at his big belly, he shook his head helplessly and said, "Master, a few days ago, I overheard you saying that women generally prefer men with good figures, especially strong men with six-pack abs. Do you think my "one-pack" belly could attract a beautiful lady?"

"You're overthinking it!" Jiang Liu glanced at Zhu Bajie's physique, topped with a huge pig's head, and his mouth twitched slightly in a mocking comment.

"Then... should I eat more vegetables to lose weight?" Zhu Bajie hesitated for a moment after Jiang Liu's comment and then seemed to muster up great resolve before asking.

If eating only vegetables could make him slim down, Zhu Bajie thought he could stick to such a diet.

After all, even the vegetarian dishes that Master cooked were very delicious.

For instance, the vegetables and mushrooms in the spicy hot pot, and those in the roasted skewers, actually tasted quite good.

"Big brother, eating vegetables is good. After all, we are monks; we all should..." Sha Wujing reflexively started to speak in agreement with Zhu Bajie.

However, before Sha Wujing could finish his sentence, Zhu Bajie glanced at the piece of fish meat clamped in his chopsticks and said, "What do you think, little brother? Are you qualified to say that?"

"Amitabha, my sins, my sins, I..." Zhu Bajie's words made Sha Wujing look at the fish meat in his own bowl; he immediately put down his chopsticks and quietly chanted a Buddha's name, repenting in his heart.

"Alright, don't overthink it. Whether you lose weight or not, it has nothing to do with whether you eat meat or vegetables!" Jiang Liu shook his head at Zhu Bajie's words, dashing his hopes.

It seemed like a confirmation of his own words, and without waiting for Zhu Bajie to respond, Jiang Liu asked, "Bajie, let me ask you, between a wolf and a cow, which is fatter and which is leaner? Which eats meat and which eats grass?"

Zhu Bajie: "This..."

"I'll ask you again, between a cheetah and a hippopotamus, which is fatter and which is leaner? Which eats meat and which eats grass?"

Zhu Bajie: "..."

"So you see, you should give up on the idea of losing weight..." Seeing Zhu Bajie at a loss for words, Jiang Liu shook his head and said.

This advice was for Zhu Bajie's own good.

Looking back at the original story, Zhu Bajie never seemed to have enough to eat and walked 108,000 li on foot. Most importantly, the Zhu Bajie in the original story was vegetarian.

And the result? He was as fat as ever. Losing weight? Not going to happen!

"Okay, Master, I was wrong!" Zhu Bajie nodded, feeling Master's words made complete sense and suddenly finding himself unable to argue.

Having relieved himself of this burden, Zhu Bajie picked up a large piece of meat and put it into his mouth, eating contentedly.

"Master, what shall we do after dinner? Do you want to play a few rounds of Mahjong?" Having enjoyed the meal, and as the eating was coming to an end, Zhu Bajie asked Jiang Liu.

"After dinner, I naturally return to my room to cultivate," Jiang Liu replied curiously, not understanding why Zhu Bajie would specifically ask this. Was his addiction to Mahjong kicking in again?

"Master, tonight is the full moon..." Zhu Bajie said with his head slightly lowered, reminding him.

The mention of the full moon stirred something in Jiang Liu, and he understood.

Every full moon night, Zhu Bajie would go to bed early or insist on playing Mahjong or Fight the Landlord with everyone to pass the time, making sure he wouldn't have too much time to daydream.

Because once he started daydreaming, Zhu Bajie liked to gaze at the round moon, staring blankly, even for the whole night.

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"Oh, since that's the case, I'll play a few rounds with you all," Jiang Liu contemplated before nodding in agreement. "But when it gets late, I'll have to go back to rest!"

Hearing Jiang Liu's consent, Zhu Bajie's face burst with joy, and then he pulled Wujing and Sun Wukong to start cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks.

Usually, while the master was busy with his cultivation, they could only entertain themselves by playing Fight the Landlord, and it seemed quite a while since they last touched the Mahjong tiles.

They lit a few lamps to brighten up the great hall and, after setting up the Mahjong, the master and disciples quickly began to play.

...

Approximately ten miles away in a cave dwelling, a woman in her mid to late twenties with a full figure and a beautiful face sat silently on a throne made of bones, the White Bone Throne.

In front of her were two figures bound and unconscious, one old and one young; an old grandfather and a little girl.

"Lady, these two have been captured for two days now and have gone hungry for as long," a dainty Female Demon clad as a maid spoke to the woman on the White Bone Throne. "After they are cleaned, we can eat them!"

"Hmm, take them away and clean them up!" the woman on the White Bone Throne murmured as she nodded slightly while looking at the two figures.

The Human Clan, possessing Innate Taoist Bodies, is highly nourishing for the Demon Clan.

Therefore, unless a Demon Creature has set upon the path of cultivation with firm resolve, it is difficult for any of them to resist the temptation to eat humans.

This was even more the case for Lady White Bones, who was originally transformed from White Bone. She needed human blood to maintain her stunning appearance. Without eating a few humans each month, her complexion would turn a frightening pale, to the point where even her black hair would turn snow white.

"Lady, because we've eaten quite a number of people in recent years, there are hardly any households left within fifty miles. If we want to find more people, we will have to go even further," another pretty maid at the foot of the White Bone Throne suddenly interjected.

"Hmm, then we will just have to go further away," the lady leaning on her throne replied with a calm demeanor and a slight nod, unconcerned by this.

No matter how far her subordinates had to travel, as long as they brought back living people, it was all that mattered.

"Lady, I have something to report!" However, before long, a Little Demon on patrol kneeled before Lady White Bones and began to speak.

"Speak!" Lady White Bones said calmly, slightly lifting her eyelids while seated on her throne.

"Reporting to the Lady, something curious has occurred. Not far from the foot of our mountain, a household seems to have appeared out of thin air. No one noticed when that house was constructed, and the residence doesn't seem like one of an ordinary family," the Little Demon reported.

"Oh? Building such a residence would require at least several months, wouldn't it? And it's not far from the foot of our mountain? Interesting, could it be that some other Demon Kind has arrived? But they should first pay homage to the master of the mountain, right?"

Upon hearing this, the lady lounging on the White Bone Throne sat up a bit straighter, her face showing a trace of amusement.

"This residence appeared rather mysteriously, so we did not dare to get too close. However, it is now evening, and light can still be seen coming from within that house!" the patrolling Little Demon replied.

"Hmm, you did well not to disturb the owner of that residence. I will see for myself what exactly is going on. If it's members of the Demon Clan, they should be made aware that this is the territory of Lady White Bones. If it's the Human Clan, then an extra meal could hardly go amiss," Lady White Bones nodded and said.

Glancing at the sky, it was only around 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and night had only just begun to fall. Lady White Bones rose from her cave dwelling and left.

Sure enough, the mountain road, being no more than ten or so miles long, was quickly traversed by Lady White Bones, and she saw a rather grand-looking residence at the foot of the mountain, with lights clearly visible from within the courtyard.

After landing, Lady White Bones transformed into a woman in her twenties or thirties, and then she approached the Exquisite Immortal Mansion.

She looked at the signboard of the residence, which Jiang Liu had changed to read "Jiang Mansion."

"Jiang Mansion!? Isn't that something that human families like to use on their residences?" Lady White Bones murmured to herself upon seeing the characters on the signboard.

She then approached the door and gently knocked.

"Wait, it seems like someone is knocking at the door!" Inside the great hall, upon hearing the knocking, Jiang Liu spoke to his disciples, and as he spoke, he got up from the Mahjong table, went to the door, and opened it.

"This lady, where are you from!?"
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Seeing her, and considering the current time was around 7 p.m., with darkness already blanketing the deep woods, yet a young woman was knocking on the door, Jiang Liu was momentarily taken aback.

"Respected little master, I am a peasant woman from the foot of the mountain, who came up to gather herbs. Having accidentally fallen and missed the time to descend, I am now hungry. May I trouble you for a bowl of leftover food?" Lady White Bones asked.

Without giving an answer and with suspicion in his heart, Jiang Liu's gaze lingered on her as he silently commanded:

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