Chapter 403: Deep into the tiger's den, hell on earth
Chapter 403: Deep into the tiger's den, hell on earth
Four monkeys were walking on a road covered with weeds, and the big golden monkey leading them was Wen Rui.
In ancient times, all roads were built with rammed earth. If there were few vehicles and horses, and the government did not recruit laborers to ram the earth regularly, grass and trees would grow over time.
From the condition of the road, it can be seen that no one has maintained it for many years. It is hidden among the lush vegetation, and only two wheel tracks can be vaguely seen.
In the grass, there were skeletons and bones scattered around, with dry skin and hair curled into pieces of felt. I don't know how many human beings were left here after their deaths.
The skeleton is covered with bite marks from the gums, which shows that the person must have suffered the pain of being skinned and eaten by a monster before death.
There were gusts of cold wind and a foul stench all around. Houses on both sides of the road had collapsed and ruins were piled up.
The four monkeys are all transformed from gods, with divine eyes that can distinguish yin and yang. In reality, the place is desolate and uninhabited, but in Wen Rui's sight, there are countless wronged souls wandering around, and the sounds of wailing and crying seem far and near, looming.
These are all ghosts who died unjustly, and it is difficult for them to enter the cycle of reincarnation as their resentment remains.
Just as a person who is eaten by a tiger will become a ghost, a person who dies at the hands of a demon will also become a ghost, trapped in a place of suffering, unable to be reborn.
“It’s hell on earth!”
The orangutan grumbled as he looked at the white-haired monkey and said, "I really don't understand why the Heavenly Court let it go. Should we just turn a blind eye to the so-called 'complexity' and 'difficulty'?"
The white-haired monkey lowered his voice and said, "This cause and effect is not destined to fall on us. It is hard to predict the destiny. If we rush into the game, we will not be able to change anything. We will only suffer the consequences. Your Highness, please listen to my advice. You see, Emperor Wen is silent."
The golden monkey glared at the horse monkey and said coldly, "Don't bring me up. As I said before, a soldier's duty is to obey orders. As long as the Jade Emperor gives the order, I will lead 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals to attack. Are you trying to incite this marshal to mobilize troops privately?"
"I have no such intention. Anyway, every sip and every bite is a destiny. It's not that I don't want to report, but the time has not come. Your Highness should stay out of other people's business."
The orangutan pursed his lips and said angrily, "Humph, if my seven sisters really fell into the hands of the Lion Country Demon King, or even got killed, can we just ignore them?"
The white-haired monkey smiled bitterly and said, "Let's take it one step at a time. If this is true, I will report it to the Jade Emperor and ask His Majesty to make the decision."
Although Wen Rui did not say anything, he was thinking in his heart. He increasingly suspected that the direction of the investigation had been misled again. The clues pointed to the Lion Country of Demon King Peng, and it was very likely that the mastermind behind the scenes was deliberately controlling it.
I always feel that someone is hoping for chaos in the world, and is using the kidnapping of the Seven Fairies as bait to stir up conflicts among various forces and uncover the ugly scars beneath the glamorous appearance.
The first target was the Jiejiao represented by Wen Rui, then the demon clan, and finally the Western religion.
Especially leading the clues to the Lion Country, which is even more sinister. It is obvious that they want to use this as a fuse to cause confrontation between the Heavenly Court and the Western Religion, and then disintegrate the alliance between the two largest forces of the righteous path.
Taibai Jinxing, the old wily fellow, obviously understood some of the situation and has been trying hard to suppress the matter.
In a sense, this can be regarded as his loyalty to the Heavenly Court and his living up to the trust of the Jade Emperor.
Some things weigh less than three ounces if not weighed, but they weigh more than a thousand pounds if weighed.
This is the problem of the Lion Country.
If the case really had to be brought to the table and let the Jade Emperor make the judgment in front of all the immortals in the main hall of Lingxiao Palace, I'm afraid it would be difficult for the Jade Emperor to handle it.
Even if we don't care that the Western Church is the backer of the Lion Country, with the military force of the Heavenly Court controlled by the Jade Emperor, even if he sends out all his forces, the result is likely to be a failure and a great loss of face.
The several demon kings in the demon alliance were all powerful demons that could defeat a hundred thousand soldiers and crush the heavenly army. Take Jiuling Yuansheng for example, when the lion ancestor opened his huge mouth to swallow the sky, a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals would be scared away and avoid fighting, not daring to face him directly.
Even if the Jade Emperor lowered his posture and sent an envoy to invite Erlang Shen to fight, there were powerful generals like Peng Demon King and Yellow Eyebrow King in the Demon Alliance who could rival him.
A black glove vassal force composed of relatives, mounts, and disciples of the Western religion made it difficult for the regular army of Heaven to match. If they lost this battle, the Jade Emperor would not be able to raise his head in front of Tathagata.
Even though the Heavenly Army was so weak, Wen Rui still dared to make such a boast, saying that he would lead his troops to wipe out Lion Camel Ridge as long as the Jade Emperor gave the order. This was partly irresponsible bragging, and partly because he was more confident than the Jade Emperor.
The Heavenly Palace seems weak, and even monkeys can cause trouble in the Lingxiao Palace. In fact, there are many factions, many internal conflicts, and a lack of unity.
There are too many people who just do nothing but work.
It’s not that there are few strong people in Heaven, but that there are few strong people that the Jade Emperor can command.
If Wen Rui got the Jade Emperor's order to attack, in addition to the Heavenly Army, he could also look for external aid like a monkey, inviting the generals of the Thunder Department, the evil stars, the Eight Gods, the Three Immortals of Samsara, the Mother of Mount Li...
He could even use the pardon of the disciples of the four great immortal sects as a bargaining chip to invite the four golden immortals of the orthodox teaching.
For such a rich battle, he would dare to fight not only the Lion Camel Ridge, but even the Lingshan Mountain.
You know, Wen Rui is even more eager for chaos than the mastermind behind the scenes. He hopes that the Heavenly Court and the Western God will fight each other until their brains are turned into dog brains.
It’s a pity that the cautious Jade Emperor would definitely not issue an edict, so his bragging would not matter.
No matter how indignant Princess Longji was about the suffering of the people, Wen Rui did not respond, Taibai Jinxing tried to persuade her, and the two old foxes were good at shifting the blame. She could only suppress her anger and hold back her anger.
The four monkeys walked in silence, stepping on corpses and dry bones. The closer they got to the Lion Cave, the more bones they saw all over the mountains. Resentful and gloomy energy rose to the sky and blocked out the sun. The tragic scene of purgatory filled their eyes.
When they reached the entrance of a canyon, hundreds of monsters suddenly jumped down from the top of the canyon and surrounded the four monkeys.
The leading demon king was a tiger spirit, carrying a large ring-handled sword on his shoulder. He was more than three meters tall, with his upper body bare, revealing his muscular and colorful tiger skin.
The tiger demon raised his sword with one hand, pointed the tip of the sword at the four monkeys, and roared, "Hey, where did you come from, you strange monkeys? Tell the truth. Are you spies sent by the Demon Alliance?"
The golden monkey that Wen Rui turned into raised his head with a look of arrogance and a disdainful smile, not even bothering to answer correctly.
He glanced at the orangutan and nodded at Princess Longji, meaning that the other party was not worthy of talking to him and asked Princess Longji to come forward.
The orangutan grabbed the pygmy marmoset that was lying on her shoulder, threw the little monkey in front of her, and pouted at the little monkey.
The little monkey was still holding the Ruyi Immortal Soldier Jade Plate in his hand. It seemed that he was too distracted to focus on the critical BOSS in the game and pouted at the white-haired monkey impatiently.
This is a case of one level suppressing another. They are all high-ranking officials in the Heavenly Court and no one will give in to anyone else.
The white-haired monkey sighed, took a step forward and said, "You are blind! My king is the Great Sage Yu Ape King, who is here to pay a visit to the Great Sage Hun Tian. Why don't you report it quickly!"
The tiger demon opened his eyes wide and looked carefully, but found that the four monkeys were ordinary and the evil spirit on them was not strong. He couldn't help but laugh up to the sky: "You four hairy monkeys with not even two taels of meat on your body are not enough to fill my teeth, and you pretend to be the Yu Monkey King? Who gave you the courage to come to Lion Camel Ridge to cheat? Are you tired of living? Guys, the main course for tonight is monkey brains!"
(End of this chapter)