Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 1-2 | Page 259

New Journey to The West
Good Hope Primary School cum Kindergarten , Cheung , Ka Ching - 11

Sun WuKong (‘ WuKong ’) headed off the road together with his new master . He was forever grateful to Xuanzang for freeing him from the Five Elements Mountain , so from now on he promised to be a loyal servant and referred Xuanzang as his ‘ master ’. Not long after , they saw a girl who was sobbing . ‘ Whatever is the matter ?’, they asked the poor girl . She looked up , but then shook her head and continued to cry . Suddenly , a panda appeared . The panda told WuKong and Xuanzang about the girl ’ s story . ‘ You see , this girl – Meiling , here was captured by a monster , who is half pig , half man . She wants to go back home , but is unable to do so .’ He explained sadly . WuKong and Xuanzang felt sorry for Meiling . Suddenly they saw a pig munching on a peach . Sun pounced , and they fell to the ground and fought . Eventually , the pig lay on the ground , defeated . ‘ Oh well ,’, the pig said , ‘ I ’ m too tired to fight with you , after all , I need to take my afternoon nap .’ Meiling was freed also after the fight . Then the pig , who was named Zhu Bajie (‘ Bajie ’), followed WuKong and Xuanzang to search for the true spiritual fulfilment . The panda , whose name was Mika wanted to join too , but he was Meiling ’ s guardian . He wished them good luck , and disappeared . They also met Sha Wujing (‘ Wujing ’) on the way . They were walking along when they saw a beautiful nymph . She was carrying a bowl of dumplings . Bajie , who was unable to resist food , asked the nymph , ‘ May I have one of them ?’. The nymph said nothing , but giggled and handed over the whole bowl to him . The travelers had a dreamy look on their faces , except for WuKong . The smart Monkey King saw past the disguise of the demon with his eyes and growled . It was one of the demons that Mika has told us about , he thought . His eyes were full of hatred and anger . ‘ Master , this is one of the demons .’, he said . Unfortunately , Xuanzang ignored him . WuKong continued to warn him , but Xuanzang silenced him by chanting the ‘ Ring Tightening Mantra ’. WuKong was powerless against that . So the little group went to the nymph ’ s house to stay for the night . When it was midnight , the demon crept inside Xuanzang ’ s bedroom and was ready to eat his flesh for immortality when WuKong appeared . He pounced on the demon and killed it with one swipe . Xuanzang woke up and thanked him for the rescue . The next morning , they headed off to the road again . They were walking when they saw an old man with a pretty young girl . The travelers all looked at WuKong , as if to ask , are they demons ? He shook his head , yet they seemed so familiar … Suddenly , the old man transformed to a panda . ‘ Mika !’ WuKong shouted . Mika smiled , nodded and looked at Meiling as if wanting her to speak . Meiling said , ‘ Mika and I want to thank you for freeing me . We want to give you this necklace that will help you . It will guide you to walk along the right way to find the true spiritual fulfilment and avoid demons .’ She said happily , then her beautiful eyes turned serious . ‘ However , if you lose the necklace , your journey will end in disaster .’ The team gulped and nodded . Meiling then took off the necklace around Mika ’ s neck and gave it to them . Then they smiled , wished them good luck once again and disappeared in a swirl of stardust . They were gone . Then the necklace began to glow green and it floated into the air . They followed it and proceeded with their journey . The journey was easy after that . Years passed , yet they still haven ’ t found the fulfilment . One day , they stopped to rest because Bajie complained yet again how tired he was . The others went into a nearby shop to buy food . The lazy pig was left alone with the necklace tied around his neck . He was about to fall asleep when a young man approached him . The young man let out a yawn and lied down next to Bajie , and asked , ‘ Mind if I sleep here too ?’. Bajie didn ’ t mind at all . But just right about when they were falling asleep , the young man asked , ‘ What ’ s that necklace around your neck ?’. ‘ Oh , it ’ s a necklace that ’ s supposed to guide us along the journey . You see , a few of my buddies and I are seeking out the true spiritual fulfilment , but we still haven ’ t found it yet .’ Bajie said without thinking , then slept . ‘ Hey , wake up !’ Bajie heard someone saying . ‘ Wait just one more moment …’ The pig complained . ‘ Where ’ s the necklace that ’ s supposed to be around your neck ?’ That voice asked again . ‘ What ? It ’ s right there .’ Bajie answered . He reached his hand towards his neck to touch the necklace , but he only touched air . At this point , he sat up straight . ‘ Where ’ s the necklace ?’ The pig asked , now feeling panicked too . ‘ What happened when we were gone ?’ Xuanzang asked , trying not to panic himself . The pig then told the story to them . ‘ Oh no … He must have stolen it .’ The pig whispered and his eyes were wide with fear . The others were scared too , for their eyes were bulging .