northernbook Chapter 232 First Arrival at Gao Village
Chapter 232 First Arrival at Gao Village
"So, you still haven't started school?" Lin Liuyi thought the progress was a bit slow.
"No, we have to earn some money first, otherwise I won't be able to study peacefully!" We can't let the family eat chaff and vegetables and tighten our belts to support his schooling.
That won't do, that would put too much pressure on us!
"Besides, I'm still young, I can wait!" Ding Lan smiled confidently, revealing her white teeth.
"Alright, then go ahead with your plan!" Lin Liuyi gave Ding Lan some instructions and then hurried off to find Daiyu, because the plot Lin Liuyi was waiting for had arrived!
"Where am I? Where am I? I'm not late, am I?"
"It's not late yet, the Great Sage and the others have just arrived at Gao Village." Daiyu reported the situation over there in real time, and the two of them began to watch the Great Sage intently.
At this moment, the Great Sage and Tang Sanzang were arguing with the people of Gao Village.
"I am a servant in the Gao family, named Gao Cai. Our grandfather has a young daughter, only twenty years old, and unmarried. Three years ago, she was taken by a demon. That demon has been his son-in-law for the past three years, which displeases our grandfather. He says that it is not good for his daughter to have a demon. Firstly, it will bring shame to the family, and secondly, there will be no in-laws to maintain relations. So he wanted to force the demon to leave, but the demon refused and locked our grandfather's daughter in the back house for almost half a year, not letting her out to see anyone else. Our grandfather gave me some silver and told me to find a sorcerer to capture that demon." Gao Cai scratched his head and explained the situation.
“These past few days, I’ve invited three or four people, but they were all incompetent monks and useless Taoist priests, unable to subdue that demon. My grandfather just scolded me, saying I was useless, and gave me five qian of silver for travel expenses, telling me to go and invite a good sorcerer to subdue it. I didn’t expect to run into you two, which delayed my journey, so I’m being bullied from both sides. I had no choice but to shout at you.” Gao Cai was extremely helpless; he hadn’t even completed the task his grandfather had given him.
Upon hearing this, the Great Sage thought, "This is a job for me!" He said to the talented man, "What a coincidence! I can do what you're talking about. Here's what we'll do: you don't need to look for anyone else, and don't waste your money. Please go back and tell your master that we are the Holy Monks, the Imperial Brothers of the Eastern Land, sent by the Emperor to the Western Paradise to worship Buddha and seek scriptures. We are skilled at subduing demons and monsters."
Gao Cai exclaimed in surprise, "Don't lie to me! What if you can't catch that vixen? Wouldn't that make me suffer in the process?"
The Great Sage gave another assurance, mentioning Tang Sanzang's name, and Gao Cai, still somewhat doubtful, led the two back.
The old man hurriedly changed his clothes and came out with Gao Cai to greet them, calling out "Elder".
Upon hearing this, Sanzang turned around quickly, and the figure was already standing in front of him.
Grandpa Gao quickly bowed to the other party, and Sanzang returned the bow. When he saw the Great Sage, he was somewhat afraid.
Grandpa Gao was displeased. He already had an ugly and strange-looking son-in-law, but now he had to come up with a face like that of a thunder god.
The Great Sage knew that the other party was somewhat unwilling because of his appearance, so he quickly explained his abilities. Old Master Gao had no choice but to try his luck and believed the Great Sage.
Once everyone was seated, Wukong began to ask the monster how powerful it was.
Grandpa Gao said, “In our village, from ancient times to the present, we have never known any ghosts or evil spirits causing trouble. I have only three daughters: the eldest is named Xianglan, the second is named Yulan, and the third is named Cuilan. The first two daughters were married off to families in the village when they were young, and they are doing alright. Only my youngest daughter is someone I want to find a husband for, someone to live with me, someone to support me in my old age, someone to do chores and help out. Three years ago, there was a man who was quite handsome. He said he was from Fuling Mountain, his surname was Zhu, and he had no parents or brothers. He was willing to become my son-in-law. I saw that he was a man without any roots or ties, so I took him in. When he first came to our house, he was quite diligent: he plowed and harrowed the fields without using oxen or tools; he harvested the crops without using knives or sticks. He was actually quite good; but there was one thing, he could change his ways.”
Tang Sanzang and the Great Sage listened with fascination, "How do you change faces?"
Grandpa Gao continued, "When he first came, he was a fat, dark-skinned man. Later, he turned into a long-snouted, big-eared idiot with a mane of hair down his back. His body was rough and frightening, and his head and face looked like a pig. He could eat three to five bushels of rice in one meal; and for breakfast, he needed a hundred or so sesame cakes. Luckily, this fellow is a vegetarian. If he ate meat and drank alcohol, he would have eaten up all of my family's property and fields in less than half a year!"
Grandpa Gao was heartbroken, as if he could already see his family's property being devoured.
Tang Sanzang said something fair: "It's probably because he does a lot of work that he eats a lot."
Lin Liuyi and Daiyu nodded in agreement. Didn't they hear what the old man Gao said about Pigsy not needing oxen to plow and harrow the fields? That must have taken a lot of effort, so it's normal that he eats a lot.
Old Master Gao was displeased and continued, "Eating is a minor matter. Now he can also conjure up wind, clouds, fog, flying stones, and flying sand, scaring my family and all the neighbors. He has locked my little girl Cuilan in the back house and hasn't seen her for half a year. I don't even know if she's alive or dead."
Tears streamed down Gao Taigong's face as he spoke, "Only then did I realize he was a monster, and I wanted to ask a sorcerer to make him leave."
Monkey said, "That's easy, old man. Don't worry, I'll make sure to catch him tonight."
Grandpa Gao was overjoyed and quickly arranged for the two of them to have dinner.
After dinner, Grandpa Gao asked Wukong what weapons he needed and how many people he needed to accompany him, so that he could prepare as soon as possible.
Wukong took out an embroidery needle from his ear, held it in his hand, and waved it in the wind. It turned into a golden iron rod as thick as a bowl. He told Gao Taigong that he didn't need it, and then prepared to catch a pig.
Lin Liuyi and Daiyu were snacking on melon seeds and discussing something with great interest.
“I feel that Old Master Gao seemed to like Pigsy quite a bit at first, but later he started to think that Pigsy ate too much. Also, since the other party was a monster, he was afraid of him and felt that he had lost face in front of the neighbors.” Daiyu pointed out the crux of the matter.
“That’s true. The father-in-law couldn’t stand his son-in-law any longer. And Pigsy is so lazy and eats so much. No wonder people dislike him.” Lin Liuyi agreed wholeheartedly.
“I think Grandpa Gao is still worried about his own fortune, not really about his daughter. You see, at the beginning, when Pigsy said he wanted to be his son-in-law, he didn’t even investigate. He just agreed because Pigsy was efficient at his work. Later, when Pigsy ate a lot, he started to worry. And when his true identity was finally revealed, he was even more disgusted that Pigsy was a monster,” Daiyu said after thinking for a while.
When Daiyu said that, Lin Liuyi also sensed that something was wrong. No family would ask questions before marrying off their daughter. This old man Gao saw that the other party was efficient and agreed directly without even asking Miss Gao if she agreed.