Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 1-2 | Page 453

"WHAT?" shouted Bajie, utterly confused by how he could see two Monkey Kings fighting.
"Can someone explain–," Dragon Horse started.
"What!" Sha cut him off. "Is! Going! On!"
Meanwhile, the fight between the two skilled monkeys were intense. The fake monkey's Jingu was
pressed against Monkey King's. Monkey King gritted his teeth and pushed harder. All of a sudden, the fake
monkey's Jingu snapped into three. The broken pieces tumbled down the blazing hill and caught fire, and
were never seen again.
Upon the shattering of the stick, the fake monkey turned tail and flew away. Monkey King heaved
a sigh and got back to his companions. "What a terrible actor he was," commented Monkey King.
Many years had passed since the encountering of the fake monkey, and the journey was nearly
over. They had passed dozens of different biomes, fought over two dozen demons, and encountered over
three dozen problems and hardships. Over time, the group members had proved themselves physically and
mentally. Whether it was fighting off multiple demons or figuring out a way to get across a fast-flowing
river, they proved themselves worthy of a second chance at life.
All this was observed by the almighty Buddha. He watched and listened closely to their actions and
conversations, and came to realize that he didn't plan enough hardships for the strong team to face. So far,
they had encountered and dealt with seventy-nine.
The team was carrying the precious scrolls back home, and they had to cross a wide river. Buddha's
plan was to have a turtle carry the team with their scrolls across, and then make the turtle flip over, causing
the scrolls to get wet, making it eighty. Yet Buddha wanted to go with the saying, "When nine nines are
complete, the demons are all destroyed." "Nine nines" supposedly meant eighty-one.
Buddha's eyes suddenly brightened. That was it! He could make the scrolls blank, and make them
go back! But he had to be quick.
"I think that was the last scroll," panted the Monkey King. "I thought we were going to lose them
for good – oh." A dismayed look came upon his face. "Why are they all blank?"
The others crowded around him. "What?!"
Xuanzang gaped in horror.
Dragon Horse started running around in panic.
Bajie fainted.
However, Sha just stood there calmly as he recited, "When nine nines are complete, the demons
are all destroyed."
Just then, a group of priests came running towards them. They were all laughing and holding
bundles of scrolls. "We gave you blank scrolls to fulfill the old saying."
Everyone recovered from their state of shock. At least the scrolls were safe.