Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4 - 7 2018 | Page 191

‘How dare you insult me you- wait, how would you know my name? Devil come out of your disguise!”
Wukong rambled and proceeded to pluck his staff from behind his ear, enlarging it, twirling it and tucking it
underneath his arms,101% ready to sprint at me.
“Master, look at Wukong’s impulsiveness, he seriously-” Pigsy declared.
I let out a huge sigh. “Guys, you may be a four-man-band-archetype, but that means you’re a team! If you
don’t work together for once, and recognize your personal traits, there will be more troubles and obstacles
while defeating the demons! Your personalities may be different, but all of your strenths compliment each
other and cover your weaknesses!” I declared in a serious tone. “Seriously it’s so hard to complete any
mission with you all acting up like this.” I muttered under my breath as I turned and placed my can of
popcorn back in the cupboard. Pigsy’s stare was starting to make me uncomfortable.
I didn’t miss the looks the four people- and animals exchanged.
This might be the first and last time I possessed the ability to get a 100% double take rate at me. I mean, it’s
kind of inevitable when you have a marching troupe of 5 compadres, with three being animals, and mostly
dressed up in hideous eye-catching costumes. I gave strained smiles to the chuckling children, mentally
scolding myself for agreeing to bring them to a local Buddhist temple and promising to buy them a copy of
the scriptures. I explained to them that the scriptures were attained a long time ago and now Buddhism is
one of the major religions in the world. Xuanzang totally freaked out when I told him there were other
religions like Christianity, Islam in our mixed society. I can basically still feel his judging eyes staring holes
into me.
By now we arrived at a more rural part of the city, and while Pigsy and Wukong continued to bicker away,
Sha-monk and Xuanzang immersed deep in a conversation, I hauled out my phone to read the messages I
received throughout the night.
The ape's immortal body is matched a human mind: That the mind is an ape is deeply meaningful.
-- Journey to the West, chapter 7
-guanyin
The heart must be frequently swept,
The dust of emotions removed,
Lest the Buddha be trapped in the pit.
-- Journey to the West, chapter 50
-guanyin
Samantabhadra and Manjusri were
Disguised as pretty girls among the trees.
the unreligious Pig was worse than worldly.
From now on he must calm his mind and reform.
If he misbehaves again, the journey will be hard.
-- Journey to the West, chapter 23
-guanyin
I decided all of these texts were sent to me by guanyin, obviously, and from what I heard she was a member
of the court of Heaven. After decoding them for an entire night, it seemed like every single text described
traits of each of the four-man-band-archetype-members, and how they often get consumed and distracted
by their lower self instead of seeking enlightenment by seeking higher state of consciousness. They seemed
like commands specifically for me, but what could I do? I only knew how to press computer keys.
The group suddenly came to a halt and I looked up to see a shabby old lady and a young girl approaching
our group.
“We...we come with no bad intentions, we merely wanted someone stronger to help us with chopping
some firewood. Can you come and help us?” The girl specifically looked at Xuanzang with her innocent
eyes.