Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 3 2018 | Page 214

Still shocked, they remained motionless as Efrits spoke, “The foes you meet soon have taken over Guanyin’s
Temple in the cave, and you have to release it from their evil grasp…” The Efrits then swiftly blew sliver
power from their palms and knocked them out cold.
While Xuanzang and Wukong struggled back to consciousness, both were chilled to realize that a sharp
knife, a very sharp one in fact, was held to each of their throats. Were the Efrits villains after all? Had they
been tricked? Questions bubbled up and clustered in their minds. But as the light slowly seeped into their
eyelids and they regained their vision again, standing in front of them was something so outrageous that it
didn’t even seem to be possible to exist. Glowing black auras were undulating and pulsating in front of
Xuanzang and Wukong, as if they were going to burst into millions of tiny specks of dust and lash out to
send them to their graves. The humongous snakes hissed and sprayed acid, as they crept out of the sleeves of
their heavy, ragged cloaks, jagged spikes lining their long, smooth bodies, slithering towards the black auras.
A snake, in particular, stood by Xuanzang and Wukong's side, and it had two tails, each one holding a sharp
dagger to both their throats. “Oh look, Tweedledum and Tweedledee are awake.” Sneered the snake beside
them. It had the same voice as the one who spoke in the earlier attack. Wukong thrashed against his bonds
and thundered, “Free us, demons! You have no right to capture the King of Monkeys, a sage equal to the
heavens!” “Demons?” The snakes burst into hissing chorus of laughter, “No, even they bow in my wisdom.
We are the Jorrif, here to bring your kind down. We shall conquer the Earth when we are finished with
you. But you!” the hideous hisses trembled with undeniable anger, “you two destroyed my beautiful plans
and allies, like the white bone demon, and your life would be the perfect compensation!”
Thirsty for vengeance, the alien-snake beside them strikes his first blow, both tails moving to slit their
throats open to the bone. But lighting flashed, like the last fight they had, and so many things happened at
once.
An uproar sounded from outside the cave as hundreds of people, probably the citizens of Nalanda pelted in,
uttering “For Nalanda!”
At the same time, Wukong broke from his bonds and began sawing ferociously Xuanzang’s ropes. Then
came the Efrits, twangs of bows and arrows falling amongst the Jorrif, who broke their ranks, hiss-shrieking
in surprise. The Barefoot Immortal had grown in size, as the god’s stamping feet made thunderous sounds.
Chaos took rein, and everyone was scattering under the Barefoot Immortal’s feet.
A slash of the Ichigo sword could not be heard over the roar of the oncoming crowd or the sound of bows
drawn or the screams of the dying. With a single stroke Xuanzang sliced off the head of the only snake that
talked to them, the leader of the Jorrif as it seems, which cartwheeled high into the air, each drop of its
purple blood gleaming in the lighting still pulsating in the air, and all the Jorrif’s mouth were open in a
scream of fury and agony as they too, were dispersed into dust in the howling wind gusting in from the cave
entrance.
The sun rose steadily outside the cave, streaming in life and light from the dark cave’s entrance, driving away
the gloom and doom. Cheers rose as victory was claimed, as the cave was cleansed of the evil. “Mission
accomplished.” Wukong snarked as he swaggered like a strutting stallion. towards the cave entrance.
Nothingx that they haven’t done before.