I am a boss in the world of nine uncles

Inside the dilapidated house.

On the wooden board.

Sun Wukong, who was lying flat, suddenly opened his eyes, leaped up nimbly, and stared at the door with his golden eyes.

Erlang Shen was seen carrying a woman on his back and leading his dog, Xiaotian, hurriedly entering the house, his face unusually filled with anxiety.

"Holy Monk, are the four-colored lotus flowers that He Xiangu gave you still there?" At this moment, Erlang Shen asked anxiously, meeting the gazes of the master and his disciple.

Qin Yao nodded, and with a flick of his hand, summoned four-colored lotus flowers, which he presented to Erlang Shen.

Erlang Shen was taken aback and said, "You're just giving it to me like this?"

"Otherwise what?" Qin Yao retorted, "To take the opportunity to extort some benefits from you?"

Erlangshen: "..."

"Master, please save the fairy maiden!" urged the celestial dog from the side.

Erlang Shen suddenly awoke from his dream, hurriedly placed his unconscious mother on a pile of straw, took the four-colored lotus flowers, refined them, and injected them into her body.

As the four-colored lotus flowers entered her body, the fairy's life essence was revitalized from her exhausted state, and her pale complexion quickly returned to a rosy state.

Erlang Shen finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned to kneel before Qin Yao: "Thank you, Holy Monk, for saving my life!"

Qin Yao bent down and helped him up, asking, "True Lord, have you conquered the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons?"

Erlang Shen paused slightly, then said with a bitter expression, "No... I shattered the seal of Peach Mountain and forcibly brought my mother out."

Years of imprisonment weakened her celestial body, eventually pushing her to her limit.

Upon receiving the message, I didn't even have time to consult the heavens; I could only rescue him first and allow him to absorb the divine energy.

Unfortunately, her body was too weak to receive my divine energy; only the four-colored lotus and Guanyin's nectar could save her.

"Compared to Guanyin Bodhisattva, you are easier to find, so I carried you here on my back."

Qin Yao remained silent for a moment, then sighed softly, "This is troublesome."

Erlang Shen immediately said, "Please rest assured, I will not implicate you. I will leave with my mother now. As for the four-colored lotus... I will definitely repay this favor in the future."

"you misunderstood."

Qin Yao waved his hand and said, "I am not afraid of being implicated by you. As long as the journey to the west is not over, you will not be able to implicate me."

I mean, you're in trouble. Although it's understandable that you saved your mother in a time of crisis, for the Jade Emperor, the law always trumps reason.

In this situation, your best course of action is to come to me first to get the four-colored lotus flowers, and then go to Peach Mountain to rescue your mother, rather than bringing your mother out to find me.”

Erlang Shen said helplessly, "I didn't expect that my mother was already too weak to take any more nourishment, otherwise she wouldn't be in this state."

Qin Yao pondered for a moment and said, "Let's go, take me to the heavens to meet the Emperor."

Erlang Shen was taken aback: "I'll take you to heaven?"

"Of course, do you still want to flee to avoid punishment?"

Qin Yao said slowly, "You must turn yourself in, the sooner the better. The best outcome would undoubtedly be to turn yourself in before the Jade Emperor even knows you've broken the seal."

The worst-case scenario is that you confess after the person who arrested you finds you.

That being said, when you meet the Emperor, I will do my best to plead for you, and you must also maintain the correct attitude and never contradict the Jade Emperor, no matter how harsh his words may be.

"If we can endure this, perhaps we can turn misfortune into blessing. After all, the Great Fairy is still the Jade Emperor's daughter, and we share a bloodline."

Erlang Shen nodded heavily and said, "Holy Monk, I will listen to you in everything!"

Shortly after.

The group hurriedly arrived at the Lingxiao Palace. After being informed, they entered the main hall and found all the civil and military officials present, while the Jade Emperor sat on the throne with a livid face.

"I am guilty."

Seeing the cold glint in the Jade Emperor's eyes, Erlang Shen immediately knelt on the ground as if a mountain of gold and a jade pillar had collapsed, and kowtowed heavily.

However, the Jade Emperor ignored him and instead asked Qin Yao, "Xuanzang, why are you here again?"

Qin Yao clasped his hands together, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, my master and I have come for Erlang Shen."

Seeing that he had directly mentioned Erlang Shen, the Jade Emperor couldn't help but snort coldly: "Erlang Shen knowingly broke the law, so Xuanzang should not plead for him."

"Please allow me to tell a story, Your Majesty," Qin Yao said sincerely, avoiding the trap of self-justification.

The Jade Emperor paused slightly, but in front of all the immortals and gods, he couldn't very well refuse him: "Speak."

“The mother of the Venerable Maudgalyayana, who was under the Buddha’s seat, did not cultivate merits in her life and loved to eat meat. As a result, after death she fell into the realm of hungry ghosts and suffered extreme hunger and pain.”

After Maudgalyayana attained enlightenment, he witnessed this scene through his supernatural powers. He was heartbroken and used his supernatural powers to send the rice to his mother. However, every time his mother picked up the rice bowl, the rice would turn into burning coals.

Maudgalyayana tried many times to no avail, and was extremely saddened, but he could not do nothing, so he knelt down and begged Buddha for help.

The Buddha, moved by Maudgalyayana's filial piety, instructed him to hold the Ullambana Festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, so that he could use the power of monks from all directions to feed his mother. Thus, the Ullambana Festival came into being, and it has become a well-known story.

Later, after Mulian's mother had eaten her fill, she escaped the realm of hungry ghosts and was reborn as a dog.

Maudgalyayana recited sutras continuously for seven days and seven nights, finally enabling his mother to be freed from her dog body and reach the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

This story was passed down by word of mouth throughout the land, with everyone praising Mulian's filial piety and the Buddha's compassion.

Your Majesty, how similar is Erlang's rescue of his mother today to Mulian's rescue of his mother?
Not to mention, the fairy was already on her deathbed at that time, and if there had been any delay, she might have perished.

If a parent or child can remain indifferent to this, it shows they are cold-blooded and heartless.

How can someone who doesn't even care about their own mother's life or death possibly love the world? How can they possibly have even a shred of loyalty? On the contrary, they are selfish to the extreme.

This kind of person is truly not worth giving important responsibilities to.

Of course, this is just my humble opinion, not an instruction for Your Majesty on what to do or what to do.

"I only hope that Your Majesty can take the Buddha's example and prevent what could have been a beautiful story from turning into rumors and slander, or even malicious attacks against Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor fell into deep thought, his mind filled with countless emotions.

He knew very well that Xuanzang's words focused on the Buddha's actions.

The Buddha helped Maudgalyayana, thus creating a beautiful story.

If he were to severely punish Erlang Shen, he would uphold the strictness of the heavenly rules, but he would also become a villain in the eyes of the world.

What's more, the person who nearly perished was his own daughter.

If one doesn't even respect basic human relationships and kinship, wouldn't one become the selfish and self-serving person Xuanzang described?
After much deliberation, the Jade Emperor said in a solemn voice, "Erlang Shen, considering your transgression was understandable and that Master Xuanzang pleaded for you, you should send Xueliang back to Peach Mountain as soon as possible. There's no need to seal her up anymore; let her confine herself. However, your sins cannot be forgiven so easily. From this day forward, you are stripped of your divine office as the Manifestation Saint True Lord, and all wealth derived from that office, including your residence and family fortune, is confiscated. You must atone for your sins by continuing the siege of the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom."

Erlang Shen was overjoyed and knelt down to kowtow, saying, "Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty."

The Jade Emperor waved his hand and turned to Qin Yao, saying, "Xuanzang, you should continue your journey westward. Focus your energy on the journey itself and avoid creating unnecessary trouble."

Qin Yao nodded in acceptance, but inwardly thought, "Jade Emperor, oh Jade Emperor, I was just wasting my energy on getting on the road..."

If we don't protect Erlang Shen, this karmic debt won't end so easily, and the next ordeal will be even more unforeseen.

Unfortunately, he could only mutter these words to himself; he couldn't even hint at them, let alone say them outright.

Not long after.

The master and his disciples returned to the human world, only to find it was already broad daylight. They started from the dilapidated house along the way and continued westward, soon arriving in the territory of the Kingdom of Wuji...

"Isn't this place called the Kingdom of Black Chickens? How come we haven't seen a single black chicken along the way?"

On the way from the border to the imperial city, Pigsy suddenly muttered to himself.

Sun Wukong turned his head and looked at him, then asked with a smile, "Your name is Bajie, aren't you also full of greed, anger, and ignorance?"

Pigsy snorted: "Then you're called Wukong, but you can't achieve the state of 'emptiness of the four elements' either?"

"So, it's normal that the country is called the Black Chicken Kingdom, but there are no black chickens in it?" Sun Wukong retorted.

"Stop arguing. There's a temple ahead. Let's go take a look," Qin Yao said, gazing into the distance before Zhu Bajie could object.

Pigsy immediately fell silent, while Monkey King skipped to the front and said with a grin, "It's getting late, so staying at a temple is better than living in a drafty, dilapidated house..."

During their conversation, the group slowly arrived at the temple. There, a gilded plaque hung above the temple gate, with the four Chinese characters "Baolin Chan Monastery" written in the center.

In this foreign land, these four Chinese characters alone feel incredibly familiar.

"Wow, such a huge crowd! This temple is incredibly popular!" Pigsy exclaimed with amazement as he climbed the steps and crossed the threshold.

This Zen temple looked unremarkable from the outside, but unexpectedly, it was crowded with people, many of whom were even scrambling to push their way forward.

"Something's wrong."

Sun Wukong, with his sharp eyes and keen observation, suddenly noticed that everyone in the courtyard was carrying one or two buckets, and they didn't seem to be there to worship Buddha at all, but rather to collect water.

"Abbot, Abbot."

Suddenly, a shout caught the four people's attention. Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw a woman carrying a bucket of water stopping a monk in golden robes, pleadingly saying, "I was in a hurry today and forgot to bring any money. Could you please let me fetch some water first..."

"no!"

Before she could finish speaking, the golden-robed abbot interrupted her, saying, "It's like giving alms; we must never open that door. Otherwise, everyone will say they didn't bring any money, and how will I sell water?"

"Selling water?" Sha Wujing exclaimed in astonishment. "Is this some kind of spiritual spring water? No, even if it is spiritual spring water, the temple shouldn't be using it for profit!"

"Who is spouting such nonsense?" Upon hearing this, the golden-robed abbot's expression changed drastically, and his sharp gaze immediately followed the sound.

This gaze, though capable of intimidating ordinary people, failed to subdue Sha Wujing, even prompting him to directly ask, "May I ask, Abbot, what is the purpose of this water?"

The abbot in golden robes said indifferently, "Things are valued for their rarity. In this area, only my temple has a well, and that is its greatest feature."

"Why is that?" Sun Wukong asked in surprise. "Logically speaking, a village should have at least one well."

Why should I answer your questions?

The golden-robed abbot retorted, then said, "You lot, if you want to buy water, go and line up. If you don't want to buy water, then leave now. What are you doing standing here like four trees?"

"Insolence!" Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow and summoned his golden cudgel with a flick of his hand. "It's one thing for you to talk about me, but you even dare to speak ill of my master. I'll show you the consequences of your loose tongue."

"Wukong, how can a monk shout and kill? Take him to heaven for a while, fly around and come back. I think he'll realize his mistake then." Qin Yao raised his hand and pressed down on the golden cudgel, speaking with a smile.

Sun Wukong's heart stirred slightly, and his body suddenly transformed into a blur, instantly appearing in front of the golden-robed abbot. Holding the golden cudgel in one hand and grabbing the abbot's collar with the other, he soared into the sky with a bang.

"Ah~~~"

The abbot in golden robes had clearly never experienced anything like this before, and he began to scream in agony the moment he was lifted into the sky.

A shrill cry came from high above, frightening those who came to buy water into fleeing in terror, thus revealing two young monks standing beside the well, responsible for selling water.

After a long time.

Sun Wukong and the golden-robed abbot made a rapid emergency landing, but the landing was very light, without even generating any impact force.

However, once freed from his confinement, the golden-robed abbot began vomiting violently, as if experiencing some kind of dizziness...

"Abbot!"

At this moment, two young monks who were selling water rushed over and carefully helped the abbot in golden robes up, one on each side.

"Crack...crack..."

The golden-robed abbot raised his hand and slapped his forehead, his chaotic mind finally clearing up a bit. He stared at Sun Wukong with a face full of fear and asked, "Are you a human or a ghost?"

"I am neither human nor ghost, but the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, appointed by the Heavenly Realm!" Sun Wukong declared, raising his head.

This could be said to be his proudest identity; those self-proclaimed Great Saints in the demon realm were not the same as him at all.

"The Great Sage Equal to Heaven?" The golden-robed abbot gasped, then suddenly turned to look at Qin Yao: "Then you must be the Venerable Xuanzang?"

Qin Yao smiled and nodded: "Yes, the abbot has heard about us?"

"Who in the Buddhist community, with all the right connections, doesn't know about Xuanzang's pilgrimage to the West?" the golden-robed abbot flattered.

"Stop flattering me and quickly explain why your well is the only one left in the surrounding area!" Sun Wukong said in a low voice.

The golden-robed abbot's lips twitched, inwardly quite displeased, but after flying once, he truly dared not be presumptuous again, and obediently said:
"It's because the wells in the surrounding villages were all connected to the Qingshui River. Now that the Qingshui River has been filled in, the wells in their villages have naturally become dry wells."

However, the well in our Zen monastery is not connected to the Clear Water River, so it remained unaffected.

"Why was the Qingshui River filled in?" Sha Wujing asked.

The abbot in golden robes explained, "This is His Majesty's decision. How could we, mere abbots, possibly know the specific reasons?"

"His Majesty's decision?" Sun Wukong slowly narrowed his eyes and said, "An emperor can't even cross a river? What kind of situation is this?"

Pigsy guessed, "Perhaps he dreamed that he would drown in the river one day, and to prevent the dream from coming true, he simply filled the river in."

“That makes sense,” Sha Wujing said. “This isn’t the first time we’ve seen such an absurd emperor.”

Qin Yao shook his head and said, "Don't guess wildly. We'll find out the reason when we meet the Emperor tomorrow..." (End of Chapter)