Inside the horse carriage, Tang Sanzang was browsing the Three Realms Mall, searching for Ginsengfruit when he suddenly entered a store called Wuzhuang Temple. There were only a few items in the store, one of which was a picture that resembled an infant not yet three days old, with an introduction written below.

In the ancient cave heaven of Longevity Mountain, ginseng ripens every nine thousand years.

Upon revealing its spirit root, the damaged branches sprout, the sweet dew nurtures, and the fruit and leaves are whole.

Smelling it alone grants three hundred and sixty years of life; eating one bestows forty-seven thousand years, known as the Longevity Grass Rejuvenation Pill, selling for a million Merit Coins each.

Tang Sanzang's eyes suddenly bulged, and he coughed chokingly.

Atop the carriage shaft, Zhu Bajie turned his head with concern and called out, "Master, did you catch a cold? Cover up more warmly."

Tang Sanzang clutched his chest, crying out in pain, "Bajie, my heart aches! Just now, your master consumed a million in Merit."

Atop the carriage, Sun Wukong shouted, "Little monk, your behavior is unscrupulous. I, your Old Sun, have gone through great trials and tribulations to protect you on your westward journey, and here you are, secretly devouring a million in Merit."

" Wukong, it's not that your master ate it in secret. The Ginsengfruit from Immortal Zhenyuan's Wuzhuang Temple costs a million Merit each. If we hadn't eaten that fruit, we would be millionaires in Merit by now, achieving financial freedom and no longer worrying about money."

Sun Wukong exclaimed in shock, "That expensive? Then even my debts could be paid off."

Zhu Bajie also said, "Eldest brother, the Ginsengfruit is also called the Longevity Grass Rejuvenation Pill. When I, Old Pig, was still Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy, I caught a whiff of it at the Peach Banquet. It is comparable to the Purple Pattern Flat Peach and is exceptionally precious."

Tang Sanzang, still feeling the scare, scolded, "Wukong, do not act so impulsively in the future. If we couldn't revive the Ginsengfruit tree, even selling you wouldn't cover the loss!"

"If anyone's to blame, it's that little Taoist Qingfeng for going too far, claiming I, Old Sun, was a wild monkey from the mountains who couldn't recognize a true treasure. In a fit of anger, I overturned his fruit tree. He said I, Old Sun, couldn't recognize a true treasure, so I, Old Sun, made sure he lost his true treasure."

"Eldest brother, not to speak ill of you, but you truly acted rashly, almost dooming us all. We couldn't afford it!"

Sun Wukong scratched his head and said, "I, Old Sun, didn't expect that Taoist to be so formidable; I had no power to resist him at all."

Tang Sanzang solemnly said, "Wukong, there are many with Great Divine Power in this world. Whether as a person or as a monkey, one must always be humble."

Sha Wujing suddenly called out, "Master, there's an inn ahead! Shall we rest there?"

Tang Sanzang expressed his doubts, "With no village ahead and no shop behind, how can there be an inn? Could it be a trap?"

Sun Wukong stood on the carriage roof, shading his eyes with his hand as he looked forward. His eyes were ablaze with golden flames, and he saw a surge of clean energy reaching to the sky from the inn, within which bloomed myriad auspicious flowers.

Sun Wukong had a sudden thought, and guessed the origin of the inn: it must be an immortal from the heavens descending to the Lower Realm to give his master a gift. He chuckled, "No worries, no worries, I see no Blood Evil Qi in that inn. It should be a home of good intent."

Feeling somewhat reassured, Tang Sanzang said, "It's getting late. Since it's a home of good intent, let us rest and settle down here."

The horse carriage moved forward and soon stopped before the inn. The inn was not large, a quaint two-story building, aged yet not dilapidated, with vines climbing its walls, serene and elegant.

An elderly man dressed simply stood at the entrance, greeting with a chuckle, "It is a joy to have friends come from afar! This old man welcomes the guests from afar."

Sun Wukong leapt off the carriage in a bound and skipped to the old man's side in just a few steps, chuckling mischievously, "Old lad, do you have any good wine?"

The elder did not change his expression, nodded with a smile, and said, "Of course, there is!"

Zhu Bajie hurriedly lifted the carriage curtain and helped Tang Sanzang, saying, "Master, please be careful."

Tang Sanzang nodded, and with Zhu Bajie's support, he descended from the horse carriage, feeling touched in his heart. Bajie is truly good to me!

Sha Wujing silently took the luggage off his back. Besides clothes, the luggage contained his second brother's fine wine; it was indeed very heavy!

Tang Sanzang stepped down from the carriage, advanced with a smile, and with hands clasped together, he said, "You have my thanks, good sir. I am a monk from the Eastern Tang, heading to Western Heaven by decree to seek an audience with the True Buddha for the True Scripture."

The old man said with some surprise, "It turns out to be a saint monk from the Great Tang." He hurriedly extended his hand in gesture, saying, "Saint Monk, please come inside."

"Many thanks to you, good sir!"

Tang Sanzang entered the inn and quickly glanced around. The inn was clean and tidy, with four or five tables. Three young men were diligently wiping and cleaning.

Tang Sanzang took out a piece of gold, handed it to the old man, and said with a smile, "Please help me arrange four rooms! And prepare some vegetarian meals for my horse as well."

The old man's eyes brightened. He accepted the gold with sleeves rolled up, laughing heartily, "Feeding the horse vegetarian meals, no problem!" He gestured with his hand, "Saint Monk, please come upstairs!"

Tang Sanzang nodded slightly and headed upstairs with justified peace of mind. Having money means being able to afford food and lodging without even a hint of the guilt associated with begging.

One Merit Coin can be exchanged for one hundred Xuanhuang Coins, which equals one thousand Purple Coins, or ten thousand coins of the mortal world. However, the conversion cannot be reversed; ten thousand mortal world coins cannot exchange for even one Purple Coin.

Now in possession of a fortune from selling his kasaya, Tang Sanzang could be described as a tycoon in the Mortal World, not caring about trivial amounts of gold or silver.

Inside the hall, Tang Sanzang and his companions sat down to dine.

The old man brought over a jar of wine, jovially saying, "Saint Monk, this is good wine that I brewed myself. Please, everyone, have a taste."

Tang Sanzang quickly stood up, apologetically saying, "I appreciate your kindness, good sir. However, monks do not drink alcohol!"

Sun Wukong laughingly said, "Little Monk, when have you ever drunk less wine?"

Tang Sanzang's face turned red, and he glared at Sun Wukong. He could talk about drinking as an act leading to enlightenment when there were no others around, but in the presence of outsiders, how could he tarnish the Buddha Sect's reputation?

The old man chuckled and said, "Saint Monk, no need to be concerned. This is vegetarian wine that I brewed."

While speaking, he poured wine for Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing in turn.

Since Sun Wukong had already spilled the beans, Tang Sanzang felt embarrassed to refuse. He gestured and said, "Good sir, please join us at the table!"

The old man took a seat in an empty spot.

Tang Sanzang asked curiously, "May I ask what vegetarian wine is?"

The old man stroked his beard, still smiling, and said, "This so-called vegetarian wine is brewed from fruits and plants, not tainted with a hint of meat or fish, hence it is vegetarian wine and can be consumed by monks."

Tang Sanzang laughed and said, "Good sir, almost all wine in the world is brewed from grains. Are you suggesting they are all vegetarian wine?"

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.