The Exorcism Record

Based on the tale of the Journey to the West, the Demon-Slaying Chronicles are a retelling of the story, reimagining them as dedicated demon slayers instead of pilgrims for sacred texts. The author interprets the story as the four main protagonists fighting for justice freely, not fearing power and status, and neither doing so for the “greater good”. From the White Bone Spirit, Sea Spirit, Nine-Headed Beast, Azure Lion, White Elephant, Great Peng, to the battle to the death with the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord, all of it was done for the sake of justice, and not as trials and tribulations in the way of acquiring sacred texts. A clear distinction between being pilgrims and demon-slaying is made, where the former is for an intangible “greater good”, while the latter is easier to grasp. Between the both, the four choose the latter, and to quote what Jiang Liu’er says to the Buddha: “I am but a simple monk, and our paths simply do not coincide.”