The Battle of Nalandians
Po Leung Kuk Ngan Po Ling College , Lam , Kani Lon Hei -11
After several years of adventure , Xuanzang and Wukong finally reached Nalanda , the Promised Land that they were dreaming to find . They immediately entered the heart of the place , but things turned out to be unexpectedly strange . The whole Nalanda looked lifeless , and there was only dust rolling and wind moaning , complaining the loneliness of this dark sacred land . Strange symbols were etched on the walls of the temples and the ground . The sutras that described Nalanda were hugely different from what the dual were seeing then . They were bewildered and perplexed by such scenery . “ How is this possible ? Yijing has described nothing like this . This must not be Nalanda !” Wukong exclaimed . “ This place must be protected by the mist of the gods to keep out outlanders . I shall pray and ask them to let us see the path ahead ...” Xuanzang muttered and started to kneel . When Wukong saw this , he said “ Master , no ! Now is not the time for such things . I can ' t see through this magic , but I suspect there are dark workings in this . We must be alert .” They scouted the land for citizens that needed their help . While Wukong was looking around , he noticed that there was a dark cave cleaved between two boulders . As Wukong reached out to touch it , a screeching sound snarled behind their ears , like nails scraping against a chalkboard . “ Surprise , foolish mortals !” Wukong was the first one to counter , whirled around to meet the speaker . He waved his golden cudgel wildly , hitting nothing but air . Soon , Xuanzang and Wukong were covered with sacks , ropes binding tightly around their necks . They let out muffled yells , protesting to be released from their unseen attackers . Cold hands grabbed , not grabbed , but rather wrapped around them like a snake entangling their prey , squeezing their arms till they were numb , and forced them to walk . After a while , the attackers hit them in the back and they were dumped unceremoniously into a freezing , slimy river . Struggling free towards the banks , both found out they were ambushed by a bizarre group of snake-like creatures . They were nothing they ' ve ever confronted before , and these creatures standing in front of them were horrific , beyond their wildest nightmares . These creatures formed a semi-circle around them , but as soon as they saw them , they let out a feral roar of a lion and they attacked , moving so quickly that they seemed invisible . “ Who are you , and what do you want ?” Wukong demanded as he waved his cudgel wildly , trying in desperation to fend off his aggressive attackers . By his side , Xuanzang wrapped his calloused fingers with one hand around his prayer beads , raising his Ichigo sword in his other hand , causing it to gleam with strange light , though sunlight would have never broken through the fog of this place . Eyes filled with wariness and steeled with killing calm , Xuangzang ever so softly muttered an ancient language which no one could decipher . To their sheer consternation , a streak of lightning came in flashing hot white light towards the duo , crackling with energy , rampaging its way through the air . Xuanzang dropped to the ground like a stone the moment he saw the lightning , but Wukong , who was still occupied with his winning attackers , barely avoided it and got an ugly sear across his face , with the wound streaking from his forehead to one of his eyes and blood dripping down . Howling in pain , he collapsed to the ground , momentarily blinded . But a second was all they need . Just as the creatures moved for the killing blow , another cry , somewhat sounded like a war cry , maybe from hundreds of people or so , echoed nearby . Then , miraculously , faster than a blink of the eye , their attacks stopped . The wind howled once more . The only signs of the last battle were the deep trenches in the earth , cut deep by the swords of their enemy , an unearthly reminder of the battle left in their wake . Wukong was still reeling from the sudden silence of his attackers and dazed from his injury , but he put up his sword and screamed : “ Stay back !” His yell brought up tense silence for a few seconds , but suddenly , two dazzling auras appeared in front of Wukong ' s nose . He swatted the light like a fly , but as his eyes slowly adjusted to the light , he saw two elf-like creatures in front of him , as their pale complexion , almondshaped eyes with slitted pupils and pointed ears gave their identity away . “ Efrits ― the apprentices of Guanyin .” Xuanzang automatically recited . Such knowledge has been drilled into his mind since he was young . Their movements seemed to flow like liquid , an uncanny cat-like grace unique to their kind . Even as they stepped forward , they never made a sound . In unison , they spoke “ The Lady of the Lily has sent us to look for the two of you ,” Wukong and Xuanzang stared at the Efrits in amazement and shock , for both of them could not believe in their luck to ever hope that an all-mighty goddess would extend a hand and assist them .