New Journeys to the West
St . Paul ' s Convent School , Leung , King Sze Casey - 14
The shabby , overpriced motel was right next to the rowdy market , and that was where we were staying . I stalked upstairs to our room confidently , pretending to be the son of a young noble ; that was the role we agreed on before we entered the city . I bolted the door and checked the windows for peeping intruders before turning towards bundle of blankets on the bed . “ I scoured the palace area .” The blankets immediately unfurled , uncovering a monkey and a pig underneath . “ So it ’ s true ?” The monkey asked , anxiousness flickering in his eyes . I sighed in exhaustion . “ Yes , Big Brother . They ’ re keeping Teacher in the dungeons .” Big Brother growled , his fur prickling . “ How dare those corrupt humans imprison Teacher for —” “ Oh , those officials can get away with anything they want , really .” The pig interjected , picking at the threadbare bedsheets absentmindedly . “ With the might of the Emperor behind them , they can abuse their power however they wish .” “ But to arrest Teacher for ‘ possession of dangerous literary articles ’—” Big Brother exhaled , struggling to keep his temper in . “ That ’ s despicable . The Scrolls will be given to us by the Buddha himself ; if that ’ s considered dangerous I ’ ll give up my title as QiTian DaSheng . The officials want the Scrolls to satisfy their greed .” “ And we haven ’ t even received The Scrolls yet ,” the pig finished . “ Now , if you ’ re done talking , dear WuKong , I ’ m going back to sleep .” Big Brother slapped the pig on his snout . “ BaJie , do us a favour and shut your mouth .” Eyes clouded with worry , he turned to me . “ It must be done tonight , Wujing . I don ’ t know what they ’ ll do to Teacher and I don ’ t trust them .” I briefly shut my eyes . “ Tonight .” Second Brother groaned . “ Must it really be tonight ? There ’ s a lovely lady on floor two —” A glare from Big Brother effectively silenced him . He shifted uneasily , muttering under his breath . I met Big Brother ’ s eyes . His gaze was steely . …… We slipped out of the motel into the night . The previously bustling streets were now rather quiet , everyone having retreated back to the safety of their cosy homes . Cities , at nighttime , were dangerous places in general , with thugs , robbers and escaped criminals lining the alleys . The night was a mafia overlord ’ s paradise ; no self-respecting gentlemen would be willing to subject themselves to their terror . Well , we were hardly self-respecting gentlemen anyway . We blended into the shadows perfectly with our dark clothes , aided slightly by our demonic powers . We had made a rather large ruckus at the last place we visited , as Big Brother blew up half of the town during his battle with a demon . We reckoned we ’ d be singled out as troublemakers in the country sooner or later , and the cops would be tasked to take us in . We were not about to risk getting arrested on our rescue mission . I led our small party , retracing the steps I took in the morning . The stone paved roads gave way to mudsplattered lanes , and I knew we were nearing our destination . I don ’ t know exactly why a governing official of the city would choose to reside in the outskirts of said city , instead of living in the government-provided house at the heart of the of the hubbub , though I suspect it to be the same reason why he had new jewelry on his body every other week and threw lavish banquets when he felt like it . The plan was to distract the guards , break into the mansion , find Teacher and rescue him from the dungeons , and get out , preferably within half an hour . Second Brother would transform into a drunk man wandering the mansion grounds , hopefully attracting the attention of the guards as well . While the guards were off dealing with the faux threat , the real threat – Big Brother and I – would enter the mansion by climbing over the guard walls . From there , I would lead us to where the dungeons were supposed to be and find Teacher . Big Brother was in charge of breaking Teacher out of the dungeons . Then we would improvise a lot and escape . It was a plan that could go terribly wrong – in other words , a plan perfect for our trio .