The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 80 Passing Through the Flowing Sand River

"Langligelang, langligelang, the scenery is so beautiful under the bright sun, red flowers and green grass, I run forward happily, and I am still young even after traversing all the green hills."

Under the bright sunshine, Jiang Feng rode his white horse, humming a cheerful tune, and headed westward with a smile.

But his smile soon faded, for a great river blocked his path.

The great river was raging and turbulent, with no aquatic plants or fish in sight, and almost no sign of life.

There is a stone tablet on the bank with three seal characters written on it: Liusha River!

Beside it were four small lines of text: "Eight hundred miles of quicksand, three thousand miles of weak water. Even a goose feather cannot float, and reeds sink to the bottom."

Jiang Feng: "..."

This isn't right!

Once you leave Tuyuhun, you'll immediately reach the Liusha River.

Where is my Five Elements Mountain? Where are my Eagle Sorrow Stream and Gao Village?

You're not even bothering to act anymore, just to kill me faster!

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Feng pulled out a sound transmission stone with a resentful expression and threw it into the Liusha River.

Having just endured the torture of having a hundred swords pierce his chest, General Rolling Curtain, his stomach growling with unbearable hunger, lay weakly groaning on the stone when he suddenly heard a deafening, demonic sound.

"Your food delivery has arrived. Enjoy your meal... Your food delivery has arrived. Enjoy your meal..."

The curtain-rolling general jumped up abruptly, his face showing deep confusion.

What exactly is food delivery?

Completely bewildered, he went outside the cave and caught the slowly sinking communication stone.

Smelling the scent of living people above, his eyes gleamed with the green light of a wild, starving beast, and he grabbed Thoreau's staff and went to the riverbank.

Upon seeing Jiang Feng, he was slightly taken aback: "Another monk?"

Jiang Feng rolled his eyes at him and retorted irritably, "So what if he's a monk? Did he eat your rice?"

General Rolling Curtain sighed helplessly, "Monk, don't blame me. There's not even a blade of grass growing in this river. There's really nothing to eat."

"I've been starving here for over eight hundred years, and I've only managed to eat eight monks in total. You're the ninth. Blame it on fate!"

Having said that, he raised the Solo Staff and thrust it toward Jiang Feng's chest.

With a muffled "thud," the Solo Staff pierced through Jiang Feng's heart, and he collapsed to the ground with his eyes closed.

After retrieving his weapon, General Rolling Curtain squatted down in front of Jiang Feng's corpse with a sorrowful expression, closed his eyes, grabbed Jiang Feng's arm, and began to bite it.

After a snap, he suddenly realized that the monk's tasted a little off.

It's dry and tough, lacking any flesh or blood. The texture is like chewing wood.

He opened his eyes with a frown, and seeing that he was holding a piece of wood in his hand, he couldn't help but breathe a slight sigh of relief.

So it really was wood. No wonder...

"ah?!"

After a moment of bewilderment, he suddenly opened his eyes wide.

Wait a minute, how come I, a grown monk, suddenly turned into a block of wood?

Upon closer inspection, there were only a few broken pieces of wood on the ground. Jiang Feng had long since disappeared, as if he had never been to Liusha River at all!

He was shocked and looked around. He found a piece of wood shaped like a wooden horse next to him. Looking at the scattered pieces of wood on the ground, he couldn't help but feel sad.

"You even lied to a poor soul like me who's been starving for eight hundred years?! Are you even human?!"

He roared in deep sorrow, and the sound carried for hundreds of miles, even startling Guanyin Bodhisattva in the heavens.

Guanyin Bodhisattva frowned, calculated with her fingers, and then a helpless expression appeared on her face.

Then, he transformed himself into an old monk and arrived at the royal court of Tuyuhun.

The Tuyuhun was a regime established by a nomadic people. The Khan's daily life was mainly based in a tent, following the tradition of "living by water and grass".

Although Tuyuhun also had palaces, they were usually used for important occasions such as the Khan receiving envoys, holding tribal meetings, and performing sacrifices to Heaven.

As the envoy of the Sui Dynasty and the future "Imperial Brother of the Sui Dynasty," Jiang Feng received top-notch treatment and lived directly in the palace.

When Guanyin Bodhisattva arrived, he was sitting in the main hall eating roasted meat and fruits, and enjoying the songs and dances of the Tuyuhun beauties.

Upon seeing Guanyin Bodhisattva arrive, he waved his hand to dismiss the beautiful women and musicians in the palace.

An old monk, an incarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva, approached him with a helpless expression and questioned, "Sui Sanzang, why haven't you gone to the Western Paradise to retrieve the scriptures yet?"

At this moment, Jiang Feng had already received the memories from the puppet and said indignantly, "You were the one who was unethical first, how dare you come to me and accuse me of being the villain?"

Beyond Tuyuhun lies the Liusha River, how could you even think of that!

If I hadn't been so careful, I'd probably be buried in the quicksand river by now.

Guanyin Bodhisattva retorted, "It was the same every time before, why is it different this time?"

Jiang Feng angrily retorted, "It just won't work! This arrangement is your fault! I'll go on the pilgrimage, but you'll have to give me another Wind-Fixing Pearl!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva remained silent for a moment.

After a moment, he said, "If the Wind-Fixing Pearl won't work, I can teach you the Wind-Fixing Technique. As for whether you can freeze the Samadhi Divine Wind, that depends on your own cultivation level."

Jiang Feng immediately put on a smiling face: "The Bodhisattva is truly merciful. I'll go to the Guanyin Temple another day and offer you a carp so the Bodhisattva can eat first!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva: "..."

Why does your flattery sound so grating?

With a sigh, he extended his index finger and pointed, and a beam of Buddhist light entered Jiang Feng's brow.

Jiang Feng instantly realized he had mastered the Wind-Fixing Technique, and smiled kindly, "Bodhisattva, rest assured, I promise you, I will definitely cross the Flowing Sand River this year. Within a hundred years, I will definitely reach the Thunderclap Temple in the Western Paradise to seize the scriptures!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva: "Huh??"

Stealing scriptures from the Western Paradise? Did I mishear you, or did you say something wrong?

What the heck is this century-long period? If you really drag it out until then, wouldn't Buddha be so anxious that one Buddha will be born and two Buddhas will ascend to heaven?

After giving Jiang Feng a deep look, Guanyin Bodhisattva turned and left.

He's tired. Let it all end. He doesn't care who it is. Anyway, he doesn't want to see Jiang Feng's face again this year!

After watching Guanyin Bodhisattva leave, Jiang Feng waved his right hand and released eighty-one wooden puppets.

"You guys take turns delivering takeout to the Flowing Sand River. I refuse to believe that so much wood can't feed Sha Wujing!"

Upon receiving the order, the puppets all transformed into Jiang Feng's likeness and immediately set off for the vicinity of the Flowing Sand River.

One of the puppets broke away from the main group and, following the same procedure as before, threw the sound transmission stone into the Liusha River.

A moment later, General Rolling Curtain emerged from the water. Looking at Jiang Feng before him, he roared angrily, "You wicked monk! Are you deliberately trying to cause trouble? You dared to trick me into eating wood! This general will not forgive you!"

After saying that, he swung the Solo Staff at Jiang Feng's head and knocked Jiang Feng's head off with a snap.

Then he went to Jiang Feng's headless corpse, drooling, and viciously bit Jiang Feng's shoulder.

With a snap, he paused, and two streams of sorrowful tears involuntarily flowed down his face.

Why is it wood again?!