Journey to the West
Victoria Shanghai Academy , Graff , Eric - 9
The monk Tang Shang was quietly reading the ancient scrolls that the Buddha had given to him outside the Temple of the Ancestors . Suddenly he heard an ear piercing scream . He immediately ran into the temple and saw his friend lying on the floor motionless . At dinner all the monks were still muttering about this terrifying incident . The head abbot pleaded with everyone to quiet down and said we all know about what happened today . Other members of our order have also reported deaths of monks around the globe and we think those responsible are searching for the ancient scrolls . Suddenly there was an explosion and a huge crack appeared in the ceiling . The fire in the hearth crackled and a deep evil voice boomed , “ You will never know who I am and you will all be destroyed .” The monks were petrified and decided they needed to send the scrolls to a kingdom far away . Five of the bravest among them were selected to embark on this dangerous quest . Among them was Tang Shang . He knew millions of lives would be saved if they succeeded but if they failed they would probably not only die horribly but monsters would be free to roam the world unchallenged . The brave monks decided to first stop at the village of Huangshan where they would spend the night . The plan was to reach the kingdom the following day . They traveled through steep canyons and raging rivers . When they finally arrived at the village they saw hundreds of wounded people lying on the ground . The monks now knew that the evil entity was following them and would stop at nothing to destroy them . The next day they left Huangshan . Everything was very quiet and peaceful at first but suddenly the earth shook and the ground right in front of them exploded and dozens of the scariest monsters imaginable crawled out of the hole and advanced towards them . They bravely slashed and defended against blows but one monk was stabbed and fell . The battle was finally won and but it was was dark when they arrived at the bottom of the mountain which was the only thing between them and their destination . The next morning they woke up to the sound of a scream and they saw that one monk had a knife in his head . The other monks were horrified and immediately started climbing the mountain but one lost his footing and fell off the cliff and died . The remaining monks continued ascending . They climbed over the summit of the mountain and stared at the kingdom below . The view was incredible but there was no time to waste so they began to cautiously descend . Walking slowly through the kingdom , their hearts beat faster and faster . As they reached the gates of the castle a ear piercing scream rang out from behind the door . Their hands shook with fear and sweat dripped from their faces as they turned the knob and pushed opened the door .