Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao

He spoke with a complex tone, "Why did you kill him?"

The Monkey, however, failed to detect any oddity in Tang Monk's demeanor, and with a proud smile on his face, he said, "This monster wanted to endanger your life, naturally, she could not be spared."

At the same time, the demon's soul left its body and returned to its own cavern abode, revealing its true form—it was actually a White Skeleton. Dark, long hair grew out from its skull, cascading onto the chilly ground. In its eye sockets burned a chilling blue flame.

The White Skeleton walked into the cavern; on both sides were rows of pits, each containing a corpse. Yet oddly, these corpses seemed alive as they stood silently in the pits, creating an eerie scene.

Past the pits was a woman's boudoir, wrapped in red silk that felt exceptionally warm and seemed out of place with the surrounding environment of the cave.

The White Skeleton strolled in and took a seat at the dressing table, which was adorned with a Bronze Mirror that bore simple patterns and seemed to have aged quite a bit.

In the mirror, she saw the reflection of a stunningly beautiful woman's face, seemingly excitedly telling a story, as if it were a blazing flame.

Pale bone claws, carrying an inexplicable tenderness, gently caressed the surface of the mirror. The demon murmured to herself, "Miss, you are forever so beautiful."

The White Skeleton's tone was tinged with an obscure melancholy. The empty eye sockets stared at the mirror, watching the woman in the reflection as if she were excitedly speaking, yet no sound emanated from it, after all, it was merely a scene from the past.

In a haunting tone, she said, "Miss, I saw that monk, the one you've longed for in your heart. I put on your red dress, but that monk had already forgotten you."

At this point, her tone began to turn angry, "How could he forget you, how dare he forget you, it's unforgivable, absolutely unforgivable!"

At this moment, the White Skeleton appeared to descend into madness, pacing frantically in the room, roaring like a lunatic, before finally emerging from this emotional state. She gently touched her spine with her claw, where a line of small characters read: Madam White Skeleton.

"Miss, just wait a little longer, soon I will bring that monk to keep you company, and you'll never be lonely again," Madam White Skeleton softly said.

Her hollow eye sockets looked toward the Bronze Mirror, as if recalling once more the face that had warmed her entire life—the woman as fiery as flames who had given her the greatest warmth in the world, allowing her to escape a miserable fate. At the darkest moment of her life, this person had shone like the sun and illuminated her existence.

It's just a pity that fate loves to play tricks on people, such a good woman ultimately ended with a tragic fate; hence, she loathed this world.

Especially that monk whom the miss had never forgotten, the man whom the miss had loved all her life; on the day the miss departed, Madam White Skeleton swore that she would ensure this faithless monk received his due retribution.

Ever since she learned that this monk would eventually pass by this place, Madam White Skeleton had been waiting here, no matter how the years changed, she remained, waiting to give her young miss an explanation.

"Golden Cicada, this matter isn't going to end so easily," Madam White Skeleton softly uttered.

She walked out of the room, observing the standing corpses on both sides, examining them closely, much like a woman shopping, carefully selecting her beloved clothes.

When she arrived at the body of an elderly woman, Madam White Skeleton stopped in her tracks and nodded in satisfaction. She slowly walked over to the old woman's side and entered her body as if slipping into a garment.

Before long, the old woman's eyes started to move. She lifted her arms and wiggled her feet, then eventually smiled contentedly and said, "Golden Cicada, you cannot escape."

However, Tang Xuanzang, the current incarnation of Golden Cicada mentioned by Madam White Skeleton, was feeling restless at this moment. For some reason, ever since he had seen that woman in red, his normally calm Heart Sea had been churning with tumultuous waves.

The many years of meditative cultivation appeared to have been wiped clean, which left him irritable and full of anger, lashing out at Monkey with a fierce scolding.

Monkey, on the other hand, was stunned by the Tang Monk's scolding. Since establishing their master-disciple bond beneath the Five Elements Mountain, Tang Monk had never treated him this way. He looked at the monk in bewilderment, feeling that something was very off with Tang Monk today, yet he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Only Bajie observed from the sidelines with a cold eye. While Monkey, having been cultivating from a young age, didn't understand worldly affections, Bajie, having experienced a full spectrum of life's hardships, naturally knew what was behind Tang Monk's loss of spirit and could only sigh silently.

When Monkey killed the approaching woman with his staff, a surge of rage suddenly welled up in Tang Monk's heart. He suppressed his anger and stormed ahead at the front of the group, not wanting to say a word to Monkey.

"What's gotten into the old monk today, he seems like a completely different person," Monkey muttered, confused as he watched Tang Monk storming ahead.

"Brother Monkey, have you ever been in love?" Bajie suddenly asked.

"I have devoted myself to the path of enlightenment since childhood; what are these mortal affections? What even is love?" Monkey sneered, feeling that nothing could be more thrilling than fighting.

Seeing Monkey's reaction, Bajie was somewhat speechless. He shook his head and sighed, "That's what you don't understand. The old monk's heart is stirred!"

"Impossible, he's not that kind of person," Monkey immediately objected, for he was very clear about how stern and serious the current Tang Monk was; the word 'affection' could hardly be associated with him.

"Who said it's his affection? He's been through ten cycles of reincarnation—who knows which life's romantic debt he's incurred? You killed the lady's lover, how could he not be angry!" Bajie gestured towards Tang Monk as he spoke.

"Regardless, I can't just watch the monk fall victim to a monster's harm!" Monkey declared, thoroughly bewildered, before finally waving his hand dismissively.

For him, this was the simplest approach—to cut through chaos with a decisive stroke.

So when Madam White Skeleton came disguised as an old man, Monkey, still without hesitation, struck him dead with his staff. But this time, Monkey, having been tricked several times before, had already sealed off the surroundings. Madam White Skeleton had no escape and revealed her true form.
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"Amitabha!" The instant he saw Madam White Skeleton, Tang Monk closed his eyes and started chanting the Buddha's name.

"Why does the monk not dare to open his eyes to look at me? Are you afraid that you'll see someone from your past through me?" Madam White Skeleton taunted scornfully.

"It's all in vain that my mistress had such devoted love for you; she thought of you until her dying breath. If it weren't for you, why would she have forsaken practicing her powerful spells and left the world so early, leaving only me behind to live alone in this miserable world?" Madam White Skeleton pointed at Tang Monk and cursed.