Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

The old man, hunched over, stood at the entrance of the village and gazed in the distance. As he saw Jiang Liu and Sun Wukong approaching, he hastened towards them with faltering steps.

However, upon seeing only Jiang Liu and Sun Wukong, the faint smile initially on the old man's face slowly faded, "Holy Monk, have only you returned? What about the other villagers?"

The hope in the old man's eyes seemed to clutch at a lifeline amidst despair.

Jiang Liu, hesitant to meet his gaze, turned his head slightly but still disclosed the truth, "When we arrived, all the captured villagers had already been killed."

"Have they all died? Have all of them died?" The old man murmured in a dazed whisper after hearing Jiang Liu's words.

"Since everyone is dead, and I'm just an old man left, what's the point of me living anymore..." Overcome with despair, the old man suddenly cried out and, losing all will to live, fiercely banged his head against a nearby tree.

The old man's sudden action startled Jiang Liu, who attempted to grab him but it was too late.

However, having battled so many times, Jiang Liu quickly reacted, lifting a finger and pointing at the old man rushing towards the tree: "Vajra Mantra."

The mysterious power of the Vajra protected the old man, granting him immunity from 80% of the impending damage.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

When his head struck the tree, the old man lost his balance and fell to the ground. He simply rubbed his head, which swelled slightly, but the skin was unbroken.

"Old grandpa, why resort to this?" Jiang Liu hurried over and helped him up, saying.

"I'm now just a lonely old man with no one left. How can I go on living? I'd rather die and perhaps catch up with them on the Underworld Road..." The old man cried out heart-wrenchingly.

This left Jiang Liu speechless.

Indeed, it would be extremely difficult for the old man to continue living alone at his age when he needed care.

"Old grandpa, don't you have any other relatives?", Jiang Liu asked after a moment's thought.

Hearing Jiang Liu's question, the old man gradually stopped wailing but still shook his head, "I do have a daughter who married far away in Wu City, but it's over three hundred miles from here. How can I possibly travel such a distance alone..."

"Wu City? Over three hundred miles? Where is it located?", Jiang Liu persisted upon learning that the old man had one last relative in the world.

"Wu City is roughly to the southeast of Xiaotian Village," the old man replied.

"To the southeast!?," Upon hearing the old man's directions, Jiang Liu's eyes momentarily brightened.

"Master, you aren't thinking of taking this old man to Wu City, are you?" Noticing something off in Jiang Liu's expression, Sun Wukong couldn't help but speak up, "We are on a journey to the Western Heaven, continuously heading west. If Wu City were to the west, it would be on our way, but it's unfortunately to the southeast. That means we'll have to make a detour."

"A detour..." Jiang Liu let a hint of a smile flicker in his eyes, yet his face showed a compassionate look as he firmly stated, "Wukong, as the saying goes, saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. Although it means taking a detour to Wu City, if we can save a life, isn't it worth it?"

"Master, you really are a good person," Seeing Jiang Liu's stance, clearly non-negotiable, Sun Wukong helplessly rolled his eyes.

"Wukong, never say that your master is a good person. In my hometown, calling someone a good person is actually a form of insult," Jiang Liu earnestly instructed Sun Wukong.

"What a coincidence, it means the same in Flower Fruit Mountain too."

"Monkey, stop fooling around and speak properly..."

After a brief verbal spat, Jiang Liu ignored Sun Wukong's intentions, turned his head, and addressed the elder beside him, "Old grandfather, although it's over 300 miles to Wu City, my disciples and I are willing to escort you there. How about it?"

"Ah? Holy Monk, wouldn't that greatly delay your journey? I, I dare not accept such a burden..." the elder said, overwhelmed by Jiang Liu's offer to take a long detour to escort him to Wu City.

"It's settled then, old grandfather, do you have anything to pack? If not, we can depart now," Jiang Liu waved his hand, not giving the elder a chance to refuse.

"This..." the elder stared at Jiang Liu in surprise, somewhat baffled. It seemed as if the Holy Monk was even more eager than he was?

Unaware onlookers might think he actually enjoyed taking the long way around.

"In that case, I greatly thank you, Holy Monk, for your profound kindness. I dare not forget this for as long as I live," the elder said gratefully, almost pushed into the journey to Wu City like a duck being herded up a ramp, feeling truly that this was the benevolence of the Holy Monk of Great Tang, akin to that of a Bodhisattva.

Hint: Triggered mission "Escort." Mission requirements: successfully escort the elder from Xiaotian Village to Wu City. Reward upon completion: 7000 Experience Points. Penalty for failure: none.

Just then, a prompt from the game system suddenly appeared, causing Jiang Liu to pause slightly. Another mission triggered?

Earlier, when he decided to go to Returning Wind Mountain to investigate if the villagers from Xiaotian Village were still alive, the system assigned him an "Exorcise Demons" task. Now, as he decided to escort the elder to Wu City, the system was handing out an escort mission?

Both tasks matched exactly what he was about to do, as if the system was finding excuses to give him missions?

"Is it a coincidence? It seems that every time I decide to do something, the system then issues a task. Could this be the key to triggering my missions?" With this new understanding after analyzing the situation, Jiang Liu formed a rough hypothesis in his mind.

With this hypothesis, naturally, he wanted to test it thoroughly.

"Wukong, see that big rock up ahead? I am going to smash it!"

"This tree here, it's really not in a good place, growing by the roadside. What if it bumps into someone? I'll smash it down."

...

Sun Wukong and the elder, watching Jiang Liu's peculiar behavior, exchanged looks, both finding it rather odd.

"Um, has Holy Monk Xuanzang always been like this?" the elder asked Sun Wukong in a low voice after a moment of silence, gesturing towards his own head.

"Exactly, yes," Sun Wukong nodded emphatically.

Speaking exaggeratedly aloud about what he was going to do, Jiang Liu noticed, however, that even after several announcements, the system prompt showed no reaction. He wondered silently, was it because these deeds were too trivial? Merely petty matters that couldn't form a mission?

Or was it because the previous two missions involved deciding to help others, and the tasks he was now undertaking didn't help anyone?

With this thought in mind, Jiang Liu turned to the elder and asked, "Old grandfather, are you thirsty? I will fetch you a bowl of water to drink."

Hearing Jiang Liu's words, the elder reflexively stepped back two steps: "No need, Holy Monk, I am not thirsty."

"No, you are thirsty!"