The two venerables remained silent throughout the journey, leading us to the meditation room and then leaving.

When I saw that the meditation room was pitch black, I quickly called out to them, wanting a tinderbox. "Venerables, please wait."

Ānanda turned around, his mouth almost reaching his eyes, with what seemed like blood dripping from the corners of his eyes. His expression was a strange smile. "Holy monk, what's the matter?"

I was frightened by his expression and felt a chill. I quickly waved my hand. "It's nothing, it's nothing."

I didn't want to cause any more trouble.

Looking again, Venerable Ānanda had returned to his normal expression, as if it had all been my imagination.

Venerable Ānanda paused for a moment, as if suddenly realizing something.

He handed me a tinderbox. "I didn't consider it properly. Few people live in the meditation room, and we each have our own powers. We don't usually need much light. Since the holy monk is still in mortal form, please use this."

I hurriedly accepted and thanked him.

After the two venerables left, Wukong asked me for the tinderbox.

"Master, I can use my powers to illuminate the room. The treasures of Mount Ling should not be used recklessly."

I thought the same and handed him the tinderbox.

Wukong took the tinderbox and used his powers in the meditation room, and all the candles and oil lamps around us lit up.

The rest of us looked around and indeed, it was bright as day.

"Wukong, isn't it a bit excessive for us to be so wasteful?"

"Hehehe, Master, you're worrying too much. The treasures of Mount Ling are abundant, even surpassing the Celestial Realm. When I was working in the Celestial Realm, the entire palace was resplendent with gold and jade. This is nothing."

Bajie explained first.

Wukong didn't say much, he just picked up a candle and asked me to take a closer look at the wonders of Mount Ling.

I leaned in and took the candle. To my surprise, the candle turned out to be a small section of bone. I was immediately scared stiff, and the candle fell straight to the ground, breaking in two.

Instantly, everyone around looked at me.

Bajie laughed even more joyfully. "Master, are you still going to talk about wasting? In an instant, you broke someone else's candle."

I was still in a state of shock and quickly let the three disciples take a look at the candle.

Bajie casually picked it up, looked left and right, but didn't find anything unusual. Then he handed it to me. "Master, this is just a candle. It shouldn't scare you like this. Besides, in Mount Ling, what demon or monster would dare to cause trouble?"

I looked again and indeed, it was just an ordinary candle.

Wukong didn't say much, he just faintly said, "I'll go out and get another candle from them."

I was about to stop him, but Bajie lightly pulled at my clothes to stop me.

"Master, just let Monkey go, otherwise it'll be inconvenient to have one less candle in the room."

At this point, Sand Monk also got up. "Master, I'll go and check on the White Dragon Horse. I left him in the stable and haven't explained the situation to him yet. I'm afraid he'll get impatient in a while."

I didn't have a reason to refuse, so that's how it was. After Sand Monk went out, there were only the two of us left in the room.

Just as I was looking for a place to recite scriptures, Bajie came over again.

I felt a tingling sensation in my chest, and when I looked, another strand of hair had disappeared.

This time, I became instantly nervous and quickly asked Bajie to keep a certain distance from me.

But Bajie sneered, "Master, you don't really believe what that Monkey said, do you? Those three strands of hair were completely his deception."

When Wukong gave me the strands of hair, he did it secretly and didn't let the others know.

Seeing that I didn't believe him, Bajie continued, "Master, you should know that Monkey is mischievous and loves to play tricks. Don't be so easily fooled by his words. He probably just wanted to scare you and have a little fun. Besides, we are in Mount Ling, a sacred place with powerful spiritual energy. It's unlikely that any demons or monsters would dare to cause trouble here."

Although Bajie's words made sense, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. Something felt off, and I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this situation than meets the eye.

As I pondered over the strange occurrences, Sand Monk returned to the room with a worried expression on his face.

"Master, something unexpected has happened to the White Dragon Horse," Sand Monk said in a concerned tone.

"What happened?" I asked, my anxiety growing.

Sand Monk explained, "When I went to the stable, I found the stable empty. The White Dragon Horse was nowhere to be found. I asked the stable keeper, but he claimed that he hadn't seen the horse leave. It's as if the horse vanished into thin air."

I was taken aback by the news. The disappearance of the White Dragon Horse only added to my growing unease. I couldn't help but suspect that there was a sinister force at work.

Just then, Wukong returned with a new candle. He noticed the tension in the room and asked, "What's wrong? Why does everyone look so worried?"

I quickly filled him in on the disappearance of the White Dragon Horse.

Wukong's carefree expression changed, and his eyes narrowed. "This doesn't bode well. It seems there are troubles brewing in Mount Ling. We must investigate this matter further."

With renewed determination, I gathered my disciples and headed out of the meditation room. We would search for clues and unravel the mystery of the disappearing horse in the sacred grounds of Mount Ling.