New Journeys to the West
Kowloon Tong School ( Primary Section ), Lam , Marcus Man Ho - 11
Once upon a time , a monk named Tang Xuanzang set off for a journey to the West to find Buddhist scriptures , only armed with a charm and a few carrots . He looked far from the mountains and saw a large valley between him and the Western city where the Buddhist scriptures . It looked like it would be only a week of horse-riding , but then he remembered Buddha ’ s words when he was born , “ Tang Xuanzang , you are the chosen one to get the scriptures for your country . It looks easy but there will be a lot of monsters which want to eat you . You must find others which are worthy to fight them with you . All of you will become gods if you succeed .” Tang Xuanzang looked up again and thought of the challenges that lie ahead of him . It was sure to be a challenging adventure .
For the next few days , Tang Xuanzang looked high and low for spirits and sages , hoping that someone powerful would accompany him . Finally , he found Suan Wukong the monkey king , who can transform into animals , clone himself and can fight with a magical staff that can pound on other ’ s heads . Zhu Bajie the Monk Pig is a giant pig that is really strong and can eat a lot . Sha Wuzing the Sand Sage can turn rocks into minions that can help him fight . The Buddha also gave him a horse that would turn into a strong centaur to protect him . And so , they set off .
On the way , they talked about the interesting experiences they ’ ve had and their histories . For a few hours , they watched the green fields and the trees which birds chirped happily . They watched the yellow corn glimmering in the sunlight , having a good time . All of a sudden , as they passed through a deep , dark cave , there was a loud growl . Wukong detected some strong monsters lurking and the creepy fact is that the monsters want to eat Tang Xuanzang . So all of them stood in a line and waited for the monster to come . Zhu Bajie , who was a greedy pig , made an excuse that he was hungry and went off to eat some corn . A moment after he had gone , the growling voice turned into an ear-shattering loud roar . To their surprise , a dark figure leapt out and pranced on Tang Xuanzang , nearly killing him . Suan Wukong went to save him , whacking the monster with his 17-ton stick , shattering it to pieces . It let out a hideous scream and fell dead . As they sighed with relief , three more monsters appeared . They were fatter and taller than the previous one and less dark . This time , Sha Wuzing leapt out , and a sandstorm blew into the monster ’ s eyes , blinding them . Tang Xuanzang finished them off with a glowing charm . The sounds of the monsters were louder and more hideous that they didn ’ t dare take their hands off their ears until the monster fell down . Sha Wuzing decided that the monsters would follow them if they kept going so he decided to go in and eliminate the monsters . And Zhu Bajie was nowhere to be seen as he may be captured .
Tang Xuanzang lit the way with the charm . They walked for half an hour in panic , until a familiar growl was heard . Without warning , a giant monster leapt out . It had four eyes and legs as huge as oak trees . They fought and fought , and the monster bodies flew everywhere . Suan Wukong turned into ten clones and the clones turned into lions that chewed into the monster ’ s flesh . Sha Wuzing turned rocks into golems that pounded onto the monster ’ s bodies . Tang Xuanzang simply fended them off with the magical charm . Still Zhu Bajie was nowhere to be seen and he might be captured by monsters . As the monsters went down , the big one stomped on Sha Wuzing , knocking him unconscious . At that time , Suan Wukong came to his defense and knocked down the giant with one fatal blow of the stick . As the monster fell down , Zhu Bajie was still nowhere to be seen . As the trio left the cave , they suddenly saw Zhu Bajie ’ s shape . He said , “ Come on ! The corn tasted great !” Sha Wuzing said angrily , “ While you were gone , we were fighting monsters . Why did you betray us ?”
On the next few days , Zhu Bajie was sulking so bad as he couldn ’ t bring himself together until the others comforted him . They were fighting a lot of monsters and Zhu Bajie did not dare sneak away . They fought monsters and demons , and faced many challenges and puzzles to get through . Yet the city where the scriptures are held was not found by any of them . As they were about to give up , Tang Xuanzang said , “ Walk one step further and you are one step closer to the west . Don ’ t give up ! You can do this !”
Sha Wuzing said , “ The journey is not over and we still have a long way to go . There will be a lot of challenges and fighting ahead .” Tang Xuanzang profoundly sighed , “ Life is like a journey to the west , overcoming one challenge more difficult than the previous . We must overcome all of them till we live up to our dreams .” They all hope that they will overcome the puzzles , monsters and challenges and finally get to the scriptures . In this journey , each of them has learnt a valuable life lesson .