After Tang Seng regained consciousness, he was shocked to find that the person guarding by his window was the gentle, dignified and lofty Queen. He couldn't help coughing violently.
"Brother Monk, you're awake?" The Queen rose from the bedside and quickly summoned the attendants. "Hurry up and call the imperial physician."
Tang Seng was extremely startled. His heart was pounding wildly. He didn't dare to meet her gaze. He covered his mouth and coughed for a long time before it stopped.
Soon, the imperial physician came to feel Tang Seng's pulse. After learning that he was not seriously ill and only needed to rest for a few days, the Queen felt relieved. Then she ordered someone to bring some light vegetarian food. She personally carried the food to the bedside and was about to feed Tang Seng.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't do this." Tang Seng quickly got out of bed, stood up and put his hands together. "Amitabha. I'll do it myself. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your care. You're of noble birth. How could you..."
"Brother Monk, are you driving me away?" The Queen softly interrupted him. She put down the congee in her hand and walked up to him. "Brother Monk, why don't you dare to look at me?"
"..." Tang Seng didn't dare to look into her eyes. Those eyes were like rippling autumn waters. The affectionate and intense look in them made him panic and feel in a complete mess. He could only silently recite the Heart - Cleansing Mantra in his heart.
"Brother Monk, please sit down." The Queen took a small step back. "Since that's the case, I'll watch you eat."
"..." Tang Seng looked up and found that the Queen was propping her elbow on the table and looking up at him.
He quickly averted his gaze. Although she was not as stunning as the Scorpion Spirit, her eyes were brighter and more charming than any eyes he had ever seen. All kinds of amorous feelings were in them, making people yearn for her.
But he was devoted to Buddhism. His lifelong mission was to obtain the True Scriptures. So many suffering people in the Tang Dynasty were still waiting for his salvation.
He mustn't stop here. He mustn't fall into those eyes.
"Brother Monk, you were frightened and drugged. If you don't eat, it will be difficult for you to continue your journey to obtain the scriptures." The Queen looked at Tang Seng, who was only wearing a thin Buddhist robe and had a gaunt face. She felt as sweet as if she had eaten honey. Her eyes just couldn't move away from him.
She never knew that there was such a perfect man in the world, even though he was bald and his eyes were always avoiding hers.
Especially when she saw him looking seemingly calm while his fingers were nervously fumbling with the Buddhist beads, she desired to possess him even more.
Zhu Bajie and Sha Seng had lived a care - free and well - fed life for a few days. Since they couldn't see their master, they began to feel restless.
Although the food and clothing here were excellent and they lived very comfortably, they still felt irritable when they just sat here waiting.
"Brother Sha, do you think Master will stay here, marry the Queen and have children?" Zhu Bajie took a bite of the honeydew melon and said with infinite melancholy. "We haven't seen him for the past few days. We don't even know if we should flirt with those girls. If Master is not willing, won't I hurt those girls' feelings?"
The looks those girls who served them these days gave them were really tantalizing.
Sha Seng put down the wooden toy in his hand and replied seriously, "I don't know."
After saying that, he was again engrossed in studying the utensils they had brought. He thought it would be nice to stay here as a craftsman.
If Master was not willing to stay, he would continue to travel westward to obtain the scriptures. If Master stayed here and fell in love with the Queen, he could also find a few women, have children and experience the life of ordinary people.
Anyway, if they couldn't obtain the True Scriptures, they would be no different from ordinary people. It wouldn't be so bad to just live and die like this.
In short, he could accept whatever decision Master made.
"Or we can go find Brother Monkey. Let's go to the Flower - Fruit Mountain and ask Big Brother. I've had enough of just sitting here waiting." As he said, Zhu Bajie stood up, patted his belly and said with a frown, "Eating and drinking like this every day, my belly has grown a whole circle."
"Since we're here, we should make the best of it. Second Brother, Master has woken up. He will give us an answer tomorrow." As he said, Sha Seng stood up and walked outside. "I'm going to practice boxing. Do you want to come, Second Brother?"
Zhu Bajie walked towards the yard reluctantly. When he saw the female soldiers guarding the door, he couldn't help walking over with a smile. "Miss, would you like to sit down and chat with me to relieve my boredom?"
"Sure." The two female soldiers glanced at each other and walked towards Zhu Bajie shyly. "What do you want to talk about?"
Just then, Zhu Bajie felt a chill on his head. Suddenly, a hard object hit his head. "Ouch!"
He looked down and saw it was a pebble.
"Who is it? Who dares to throw stones at me!"
"It's me, Idiot!" Sun Wukong fell from the sky and slumped down on a stone table. "Where's Master!"
"Big Brother!" Sha Wujing put down the spear in his hand and exclaimed in surprise, "Big Brother, you're finally back!"
"Brother Monkey, what about Miss Xue'er?" Zhu Bajie said with a lewd smile. "Why didn't she come with you? Did you make the girl angry?"
"I'm going to find Master!" Sun Wukong was too lazy to explain to them. He stood up and left!
"Hey hey hey, don't go and bother Master. He just woke up. What if..." Zhu Bajie gave a suggestive smile. "It's better not to disturb Master."
"Ah..." He originally wondered why a monk like Master would be infatuated with the mortal world and was reluctant to come back after staying with the Queen. But then he thought that he himself was even more infatuated with the mortal world. Now that Yang Xue was locked in the stone cave, he felt extremely tortured. How could he blame Master?
Human love was indeed a poison. It could make people lose their senses, lose themselves because of the other person and be indulged in longing...
"What's up, Brother Monkey? Are you back to find Master to continue the journey to obtain the scriptures?" Zhu Bajie was extremely curious. "Quickly tell us what happened. You also have the day when you're driven out by a girl. Hahaha."
Sha Seng just smiled but said nothing. He pricked up his ears and waited for Sun Wukong to continue.
...
The Jade Emperor got the news that Sun Wukong came back alone from the Northern Jambudvipa. After staying dejectedly on the Flower - Fruit Mountain for a few days, he went to the Country of Women to look for Tang Seng, seemingly to continue the journey to obtain the scriptures.
"Good, good! Sun Wukong has seen the error of his ways. This is really a blessing for the Heavenly Court and the world. If he can continue to escort Tang Seng to obtain the scriptures and return to the Tang Dynasty earlier, everyone can rest easy. Hahaha~" The Jade Emperor was in a great mood and summoned all the ministers.
"Your Majesty, the whereabouts of the female demon is unknown. What if she comes back? Then Sun Wukong might go back to be the demon king again." The Great White Planet said worriedly. "If we really want to rest easy, we still have to confirm whether the female demon will never come back."
"Exactly. Since Sun Wukong is dejected, maybe he had a conflict with that woman. What if..."
Many immortals in the main hall proposed that Sun Wukong's reaction needed further investigation. They still couldn't let their guard down.
The God of Wealth stepped forward. "Your Majesty, since the whereabouts of the female demon is unknown, in my opinion, we'd better find out."
"Oh?" The Jade Emperor looked at him and suddenly came up with an idea. "Do you know where to find her?"
Zhao Gongming felt a chill in his heart. He almost forgot that the Heavenly Court wanted to kill her.