The King, The Prince, and The Warrior

Chapter 36

When the forest fire and smoke finally died down, the pilgrims went onward staying close to the river so the wolves won't find their scent and Wukong scanning around for if those wolves came back, soon they were at a good distance from the smoldered forest 'oh Penghou spirit, please heal this forest and let it prosper then it had before' Tripitaka prayed in his head looking back at the forest. Wukong looks around before wincing as he held his arm in the sling "is your arm still hurting?" Macaque asked looking at the copper simian "yeah, just a little bit, but I'm fine" Wukong said giving the tanned simian a smile

But before Macaque could say anything else his ears perked up and twitch "what do you hear?" Tripitaka asked looking at the tanned simian, Macaque listens more "I hear...a village nearby" Macaque said looking back at the others "a village, is it not like that other village?" Zhu Bajie said looking at the others "maybe, but they might not be, and all of us are exhausted" Sha Wujing said looking at his brothers "yeah, we have to take our chances" Zhu Bajie said and with that they head to the direction where the village was. As they walk they spotted something the closer they got, as they got closer they discovered that it was a stone statue of a turtle his right hand in a fist connected to his left open palm hand, and under it was the words 'To Protect Us' carved into the stone "interesting statue" Wukong said looking at it, Macaque looks at the statue with a tilted head 'there's something familiar about that statue, but what?' Macaque thought as they walked past the statue

Soon they reached the entrance of the village, the air holding a calm, friendly and peaceful atmosphere as they entered, Wukong scan the village with his eyes of truth, making sure every building was safe and had no signs of anything Cured Immortal related "it looks normal" Wukong said as they walked in the village. Then a man with a grey streak in his hair walked up to them "hello travelers, I am Bumi, the village chief" Bumi said giving the pilgrims a gentle smile, he notice the soot covering them as well as their tired expressions "you 6 must have traveled a long way here" Bumi said looking at them "yeah, well we had a run in with some wolves and a forest fire as well" Zhu Bajie said earning a whack on the head by Wukongs tail "oh my, the Curse Immortal soldiers close to our village" Bumi said worry

The 6 looked at him "you know of the cursed immortal?" Tripitaka asked looking at the village chief "yes, he and his soldiers have been trying to enter our village for years" Bumi said looking at the pilgrims "how come they haven't yet?" Sha Wujing asked tilting his head "it is thanks to a kind and wise monk Oogway" Bumi said, Tripitaka and Macaque let out a small gasp "Master Oogway" Tripitaka said an awe "do you know them master?" Wukong asked turning to the monk "Master Oogway is the most wisest and kindest monk in all of china with his endless wisdom and kindness, roaming all around china to share his kindness and wisdom to others, some say that he was the disciple of Buddha and Guan Yin, and that he is also a master of Kung Fu" Tripitaka said looking at the copper simian "he made the statues that is surrounding our village to protect us from evil demons and the cursed immortals soldiers" Bumi said

"Well, that's a relief" Wukong said with a small shrug "I will show you the guest home follow me" Bumi said turning around, the pilgrims shared a look with a bit of hesitation before following the village chief, they all looked around as they walked, seeing how friendly everyone was, soon they reached their destination, it was a cozy cottage "here we are" Bumi said opening the door and letting the pilgrims in, Ao Lie transforms into a human and went inside, the inside was also cozy with a wooden low floor table and cushions, a chess set, and a comfy sofa "the bedrooms are on the left and the bath is on the right, make yourselves comfortable" Bumi said giving them a smile before leaving closing the door behind them