In the end, the Great Sage broke the rules.

Late at night, Sun Wukong went to the well in the royal garden of the palace and brought up the king's body.

Because of the face-preserving pearl, the king's body remained intact.

When the prince arrived at the temple and saw his father's corpse, he collapsed to the ground.

"Father!"

"Your son is unfilial..."

After all these years, he still doesn't recognize his own father, and even mistakes a thief for his father!

After the Crown Prince returned to the palace, he went to see the Empress and told her the truth.

The mother and son embraced and wept bitterly.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty has arrived!"

The Empress was startled and quickly told the Crown Prince to hide.

The prince exclaimed excitedly, "Mother, this is perfect! Let me kill that evil Taoist priest!"

The Empress quickly stopped her son: "Don't be reckless!"

"My son, go find Elder Tang! Beg for his protection!"

Crown Prince: "But Mother, you..."

The Empress said firmly, "Go now!"

"quick!"

Seeing his mother's serious expression, the crown prince had no choice but to leave from behind the screen.

……

Pigsy: "Master, my eldest brother must have a way to revive this king, otherwise why would he bring his corpse back?!"

Sun Wukong: "Nonsense! I brought him back to make the prince believe the truth."

Chen Yi pulled Sun Wukong aside and whispered, "Great Sage, we'll have to trouble you with this."

"The Rejuvenation Pill in Laozi's hand can save this king's life. Why don't you go and ask for one?"

Sun Wukong: "..."

"Little monk, you're getting more and more adept at ordering me around, aren't you?"

Chen Yi quickly coaxed, "Great Sage, don't be angry. Next time, I'll let you ride the horse for three days, and I'll walk."

Sun Wukong did not respond, because he would feel sorry for the little monk if he walked too far, so this benefit was practically useless.

Sun Wukong: "Fine, I'll keep track of it. You can pay me back after we get the scriptures."

"Having more debt is no burden," Chen laughed and said, "Okay!"

So be it. Sun Wukong probably won't go too far.

……

In the palace, the king was restless after returning from the queen's place.

He returned to the Crystal Well to check, and found that the king's body was indeed gone.

He hurriedly returned to find the Crown Prince, and seeing the bound eunuch, he knew something was wrong and quickly asked, "Where is the Crown Prince?"

The young eunuch replied, "The Crown Prince is missing."

The king shouted sternly, "Immediately issue the order to arrest the crown prince!"

"Yes!"

The little eunuch scrambled off to deliver the order.

……

When Sun Wukong returned, he put the elixir of life into the king's mouth, and the king woke up in an instant.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

"Really woke up!"

After the king awoke, he bowed to Chen Yi and thanked him, saying, "Thank you, holy monk, for saving my life!"

Chen Yi quickly waved his hand and pointed at Sun Wukong, explaining, "No, no, it was my disciple Sun Wukong who saved you."

The king bowed deeply to Sun Wukong again: "Thank you, Elder Sun."

Sun Wukong simply responded with a faint "yes".

Chen Yi said hurriedly, "That monster has probably noticed that the king's body is missing. We need to leave here immediately."

The master and his disciples then hurriedly left the temple that very night.

……

The next day at noon, Chen Yi and the others saw the Crown Prince riding a horse at full speed from afar.

Upon seeing his father carrying the load, the crown prince's eyes welled with tears, and he cried out, "Father!"

The king helped the crown prince to his feet, his voice choked with emotion: "My son!"

Chen Yi said anxiously, "Your Highness, you must return to the palace immediately to protect your mother."

The crown prince turned to look at the king, his eyes filled with reluctance.

The king waved his hand and said softly, "Go, go."

The crown prince then turned back reluctantly, looking back every few steps.

Chen Yi and the others also spurred their horses and galloped towards the palace, eager to expose the monster's true nature.

……

Inside the palace, the fake king was enraged by the queen's refusal to submit and was about to execute her when a eunuch came to report.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! A Tang Dynasty monk requests an audience!"

The fake king gritted his teeth and said, "Perfect timing!"

"Kill this vile woman!"

The young eunuch replied, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

……

Chen Yi and his group led the true king into the main hall.

Seeing that the master and his disciples did not bow, the fake king said in a deep voice, "Where did you monks come from? Why do you not kneel before me?"

Pigsy, holding the real king's ring, shouted at the fake king sitting above him, "Monster, open your eyes wide and see who this is!"

Upon seeing the real king beside Chen Yi, the fake king was startled and immediately fled.

Pigsy quickly chased after him.

Sun Wukong followed closely behind.

Pigsy and the monster fought fiercely in the forest, evenly matched.

Sun Wukong also stepped forward to help, but he used too much force and sent the monster flying.

When the two returned to the palace, they saw two Chen Yis.

Pigsy: "Junior brother! How...how come there are two masters now?"

Sha Wujing looked bewildered: "In the blink of an eye, I have two masters. I don't know which one is real and which one is fake."

The fake Tang Sanzang: "Wukong, he's a demon!"

Chen Yi retorted irritably, "You're the monster!"

Pigsy asked anxiously, "Brother Monkey, what should we do?"

Sha Wujing: "These...they're exactly the same, how can you tell the difference!"

Sun Wukong chuckled and said, "Come, Master, recite the Tightening-Headband Mantra for me?"

Chen Yi: "?!!"

Am I crazy? Why am I harming myself by chanting the mantra?

Chen Yi rolled his eyes at Sun Wukong, moved his lips, and recited the core socialist values.

The fake Tang Sanzang also pretended to chant incantations.

Sun Wukong looked pained and started complaining of a headache, leaning his whole body against Chen Yi.

Pigsy: "..."

Sha Wujing: "..."

The two watched the master and apprentice perform quietly.

Having pretended enough, Sun Wukong charged straight at the fake Tang Sanzang with his golden cudgel.

The monster, realizing the danger, immediately flew away.

Sun Wukong quickly flew after him.

They encountered Manjushri Bodhisattva halfway there.

Sun Wukong asked in surprise, "Bodhisattva, what is this?"

Manjushri Bodhisattva: "Great Sage, I have come to help you eliminate the demon."

Sun Wukong snorted coldly: "This monster isn't your mount, is it?"

Manjushri Bodhisattva nodded and used his magic to subdue the demon.

Even after Manjushri Bodhisattva left, Sun Wukong's expression remained grim. How could these celestial beings not even be able to control their own people, constantly causing trouble for their journey to the West?