Chapter 21

In the gentle morning sunlight, Tang Sen and his two companions left the lakeside and returned to the road. They walked along the long road toward the next town.

As they walked, Sun Wukong grew impatient: "Walking is such a hassle. Let me ride the cloud, and I'll take all of you to Ling Mountain in a flash."

"Don't be like that. I'm here to broaden my horizons, not to get married in Ling Mountain," Tang Sen said irritably. "Whether we go to Ling Mountain or not isn't the point. We need to walk slowly to learn more... What's the point if we just fly there?"

As he spoke, Tang Sen walked to the side of the road, squatted next to a wheat field, and started chatting with an old farmer: "Uncle, how many acres of land do you have? How much wheat can you produce per acre? How do you harvest the wheat? How much does it cost per pound?"

The old farmer, rarely seeing a college student from the city willing to humbly seek his advice, chatted happily. Tang Sen jotted down everything the old farmer said in his notebook, secretly delighted: "It was indeed a good idea to come out and walk. I never knew about the wheat yield per acre, market prices, and the planting and harvesting process before. This has certainly broadened my knowledge."

"Expanding your knowledge is fine, but walking like this is too slow," Sun Wukong complained. "It will take at least a dozen years to reach the West this way."

"For you, a dozen years is just a blink of an eye, but for me, it's very precious," Tang Sen smiled. "There's no choice. My bicycle was broken by the heavenly soldiers. I'll buy a new one when we reach the next town."

"Um..." Xiaobailong suddenly said softly, "If... if you don't mind, I... I can turn into a bicycle."

"Huh?" Tang Sen and Sun Wukong were surprised. "Why would you do that?"

"I... I want to help you as much as I can, but I'm not good at fighting, so I can only help in other ways," Xiaobailong's face turned red. "I can't just eat for free."

Tang Sen pointed at Sun Wukong: "This guy has been eating my food happily. You can learn from her."

Xiaobailong shook her head: "That's not right, and I don't want to do that."

Sun Wukong: "..."

Tang Sen said: "For a girl, turning into a bicycle isn't good. You'll get dirty and have to roll on the ground..."

Xiaobailong shook her head: "That's better than eating for free!"

"Uh... I'll have to ride you if you turn into a bicycle... That doesn't seem right, does it?"

Xiaobailong said shyly: "If you have no evil thoughts, it's fine. Besides, can you... can you have evil thoughts about a bicycle?"

Tang Sen thought about it seriously, and a strange image immediately appeared in his mind: a man frantically masturbating to a bicycle, with a box of paper money next to him. The image was too beautiful to look at.

Tang Sen covered his face: "Alright, you win. No one can masturbate to a bicycle; that's not human."

Xiaobailong nodded, and Tang Sen felt a blur before his eyes. The gentle and obedient Xiaobailong disappeared, replaced by a cute bicycle, painted entirely white, even the tires and seat. There was a small, beautiful dragon head on the front fork, like a decorative item.

"Get on!" The bicycle spoke in a soft, feminine voice.

Tang Sen smiled bitterly, got on the bicycle, and thought: If I have no evil thoughts, there's nothing wrong with riding it. It's just a white bicycle. However, the bicycle started to tremble...

"Hey, you told me not to have evil thoughts, but why are you shaking?" Tang Sen was sweating.

"Because... because I turned into a bicycle, you can easily have no evil thoughts. But you're still a man, so I can't help but feel a little... un... uncomfortable..."

Tang Sen: "..."

Sun Wukong: "..."

Well, the man didn't have evil thoughts, but the woman did...

Tang Sen pedaled gently, thinking about the fact that the bicycle was a girl, he didn't dare to use much force. The bicycle moved very slowly, like a snail on the road...

"Pedal harder!" Xiaobailong's voice rang out.

Tang Sen: "..."

"Faster!"

Tang Sen: "..."

"Don't be so gentle!"

Tang Sen was exasperated: "I'm dizzy. If you don't talk, no one will think you're mute. Your random lines are seriously misleading my thoughts."

"Huh? Is there anything wrong with what I said?" Xiaobailong asked innocently.

"No... you're not wrong, it's my fault," Tang Sen covered his face. "My thoughts are too dirty. I'm sorry to the people, the country, and the party."

The bicycle finally sped up, racing along the road through the fields. Sun Wukong used her powers and walked behind the bicycle, each step seeming slow but keeping up with the speeding bicycle, which was quite strange.

A car passed by on the road, and a woman's head poked out of the window, pointing at Tang Sen excitedly: "Wow, look, a handsome guy riding a white bicycle. The scene is so beautiful, I want to sit on the back and wrap my arms around his waist... Hey? Why is there a little girl following him?"

Such incidents happened at least five or six times on the road. As the vehicles increased, Tang Sen knew they were approaching the town. He slowed down the bicycle to avoid drawing attention to Sun Wukong's fast walking speed. They finally entered the bustling and lively town before lunchtime.

It had been 500 years since Sun Wukong had last entered a human settlement. Everything she saw was unfamiliar... buildings were so tall, carriages on the streets no longer needed horses, roads were wide, and traffic lights flashed at intersections... The new world left her dazed and confused.

"Hey, don't be dazed. Let's find a fast-food place to eat," Tang Sen smiled. "Don't expect anything too fancy; I don't have much money."

There was a stall selling fried rice and noodles by the roadside. Tang Sen pushed the bicycle and walked to the stall with Sun Wukong.

The owner greeted them warmly: "What would you like?"

Tang Sen smiled: "Three plates of potato and meat stir-fried rice!"

"Huh? Aren't there only two of you?"

"Cough, another person will be here soon." Tang Sen pushed the bicycle into a nearby alley and came out with Xiaobailong.

The owner, seeing the sudden appearance of a beautiful girl, was momentarily stunned: "Strange, when did a pretty girl appear in that alley?"

Sun Wukong slapped the table: "Hey! Boss, what are you staring at? Hurry up and serve me."

"Ah, little girl, just a moment." The owner put aside his confusion and focused on cooking the rice.

Sun Wukong pouted: "What? I'm over 500 years old, and you call me a little girl?"

Tang Sen smiled: "Who asked you to be less than 1.3 meters tall? In our human eyes, you're just a little girl. If you want to look impressive, grow taller first."

"Old Sun's height is natural; I can't grow taller," Sun Wukong huffed.

"Alright, let's eat. After we finish, we need to go to the supermarket for a big shopping trip. We need to prepare food for the journey from this town to the next, and we need two more sleeping bags and two more tents." Tang Sen smiled. "We also need to find a place to charge all my electronic devices... We have a lot to do."

Twenty minutes later, the three of them arrived at the nearest supermarket. As they walked in, Sun Wukong looked at the shelves filled with various items, and her jaw dropped: "Wow, humans have developed so quickly in 500 years."

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**Diary of the Journey to the West:**

Human development is rapid. Even a year, a month, or even a week without learning can make you feel left behind by the times.

Seeing the new electronic devices on the streets makes you feel out of touch. Hearing the latest popular songs in the streets and alleys makes you feel out of touch. Hearing that the supermarket is selling steamed buns made from potatoes still makes you feel out of touch...

My feelings are still manageable, but when Sun Wukong, who was sealed for 500 years, first entered a modern city and saw the shelves filled with items in the supermarket... the shock she felt is unimaginable...

It's like Alice in Wonderland, probably how she feels now.

I feel a deep regret for the 500 years she lost and a bit of resentment toward the Great Thunderclap Temple that sealed her for 500 years. Perhaps my journey to the West is not just for my own travels. I also want to ask the Lady Rulai why she treated Wukong this way.

If possible, I hope to help her quickly adapt to the new world and live a vibrant life again...

Tang Sen

Recorded on the 2015 Year of the Demon, on the journey to the West.

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