In the end, the Great Sage broke the rules.

The sun was shining brightly that day, but the master and his disciples were not in a relaxed mood.

They arrived at a rather dilapidated-looking temple, having traveled a long and arduous journey.

The temple was surrounded by weeds and its walls were peeling and crumbling, as if it had been forgotten by time.

Sha Wujing spoke first, "Master, look, there isn't a single monk in this temple." A hint of doubt appeared on his honest face.

Pigsy then muttered, "Oh dear, how can such a big temple be so desolate? I can't even find a place to beg for alms!" As he spoke, he patted his round belly.

Sha Wujing glared at Zhu Bajie and said irritably, "Second Brother, all you know is eating! Didn't we just have lunch?"

Pigsy was displeased upon hearing this and retorted, "Hey! Junior brother, we've been eating pickled vegetables all this way, and we're already tired of them. Can't I, Old Pig, change things up and eat some fresh vegetables?"

Chen Yi, who had been silent all along, chimed in, "Bajie is right. Your master also wants to eat some fresh dishes. But it's really hard to find them in this desolate wilderness."

Chen thought to himself, "If only that storage bottle could preserve food over time, then I could put fresh food in it and enjoy it anytime. It's just a pity that this wish can't be fulfilled..."

Just as everyone was discussing this, Sun Wukong suddenly pointed in a direction and shouted, "There seems to be some movement over there!"

Pigsy immediately pricked up his two big ears and listened carefully for a while, then excitedly said, "Hey, Brother Monkey is right, I heard it too, it seems like someone is shouting loudly over there."

"I gonna go see."

Sun Wukong flashed and sped off toward the direction from which the sound came from.

In the blink of an eye, his figure vanished from everyone's sight like a ghost.

……

After waiting for a long time, Sun Wukong finally returned, followed closely by a large group of disheveled monks.

Seeing this, Sha Wujing was filled with doubt and hurriedly stepped forward to ask the elderly monk what had happened.

The old monk sat down and slowly began to speak, "This is a long story..."

"About twenty years ago, our country suffered an extremely severe drought, and not a single drop of rain fell for a whole year."

“At that time, we monks would recite scriptures every day and pray to God for rain, but no matter how hard we prayed, we never saw any effect.”

At this point, the old monk couldn't help but sigh, and then continued, "Suddenly one day, three Taoist priests with an air of otherworldly wisdom arrived."

"As soon as they appeared, they used their supernatural powers to instantly summon wind and rain, which alleviated the disaster."

"The king was furious with us monks because of this, and accused us of being useless. He demolished our temples, smashed our Buddha statues, and punished us by making us work for him."

The old monk paused, a hint of helplessness on his face, and continued, "The king and those three immortals addressed each other as brothers."

"Any Taoist priest who comes to our country can go to the royal palace to receive a reward."

“If a monk comes, take him to be a long-term laborer.”

Pigsy angrily exclaimed, "This is so unfair!"

Sha Wujing chimed in, "That's right, this is going too far!"

Chen Yi sighed, "No wonder this temple is so dilapidated."

Sun Wukong leaned closer to Chen Yi and whispered, "Little monk, what should we do? You're going to be captured and made a farmhand."

Chen Yi: “…”

Not bad, even the Great Sage can joke now!