I am a fairy in Journey to the West

Chapter 17: The Emperor Grants a Favor, but the Mountain God Disobeys His Order

But when Lan Caihe returned to the human world, the first thing he did was to go to meet the Emperor of Zifu Shaoyang, the Supreme Lord of Dongzhen.

Emperor Shaoyang saw that his robe was stained with blood and there was a wound on his chest that had not yet completely healed. He couldn't help but ask, "Master Lan, are you alright?"

Lan Caihe bowed and said, "Thank you for asking, Emperor Shaoyang. I am fine."

Emperor Shaoyang nodded slightly, and then asked, "Did you catch the demon?"

Lan Caihe bowed and said, "I was just about to report this to Emperor Shaoyang." Then, Lan Caihe told Emperor Shaoyang about the process of capturing demons in the lower world.

After listening to this, Emperor Shaoyang was also surprised and said, "I never thought that there would be such a person among the mountain gods in the lower world?"

Lan Caihe said, "The Lingtai Mountain God is truly extraordinary, with mysterious and unpredictable magical powers. If it weren't for his help, I'm afraid I would have been killed by that demon."

Emperor Shaoyang said with a smile: "Master Lan, do you know who recommended the Lingtai Mountain God?"

Lan Caihe was slightly surprised when he heard this and said, "I don't know about that."

Emperor Shaoyang said: "The Lingtai Mountain God was recommended by Laojun to His Majesty the Jade Emperor."

Lan Caihe suddenly realized, and immediately said with a smile: "So that's how it is, this is not surprising."

But Lan Caihe said: "The demon Garuda has been captured and suppressed by the Lingtai Mountain God in the mountain temple. The Lingtai Mountain God will report to the emperor in a letter soon."

Emperor Shaoyang said: "Nagarula is the mount of Akasagarbha Bodhisattva, who is one of the eight great bodhisattvas of Buddhism. This matter is a bit tricky."

At this point, Emperor Shaoyang said, "Go back and write a memorial about this matter and submit it to the Divine Sky Jade Palace together with the memorial from the Lingtai Mountain God."

Lan Caihe bowed and said, "I will obey your orders."

Emperor Shaoyang said to Lan Caihe again: "Wait a minute before leaving."

Emperor Shaoyang turned to the boy beside him and said, "Go get a 'Five-turn Yuan-returning Pill' and give it to Master Lan."

"Yes." The boy bowed and accepted the order.

Soon the boy brought a jade box containing the Five-turn Yuan-returning Pill to Lan Caihe. Lan Caihe took the jade box and bowed to Emperor Shaoyang, saying, "Thank you, Emperor, for the pill."

This Five-Turn Huiyuan Pill is an elixir refined by the Jade Emperor. As long as the physical body is still there, no matter how serious the injury is, just taking one pill will recover.

Emperor Shaoyang waved his hand, and then Lan Caihe left the hall.

Not long after, Zhuang Yan's memorial arrived at the Ministry of Humanities, and after a while, Lan Caihe's memorial was also submitted.

Emperor Shaoyang put the two memorials together and submitted them all to the Shenxiao Jade Palace.

At the Divine Jade Palace, Emperor Wenchang, the Grand Envoy of Taixuan Province, received the memorial from the Divine Jade Palace. After reading it carefully, he immediately said, "Send an order to Lingshan Shengjing and Lumenshan Daochang to invite Akasagarbha Bodhisattva to Taixuan Province for a discussion."

"I will obey the order." The messenger below received the order respectfully.

Not long after, a ray of Buddha's light went straight into the heaven from the Western Paradise. After an incense stick of time, it entered the Daluo Heaven from the West Heaven Gate, and then came to Taixuandu Province.

"Your Majesty, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva has come to heaven and is waiting to see you outside the palace." The boy walked into the Taihua Palace and reported.

Emperor Wenchang said, "Please invite Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha to enter the palace."

The boy sang loudly: "The Emperor Wenchang has decreed that Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha be invited to the palace to meet him."

The next moment, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, with a body of precious light, slowly walked into the Taihua Palace, came to the center of the palace, clasped his hands together and bowed, saying: "This humble monk pays homage to the Emperor."

Emperor Wenchang smiled and said, "No need to be polite, Bodhisattva. Please take your seat."

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva bowed his thanks, then walked to the sandalwood chair at the upper right side of the hall and sat down.

Afterwards, Emperor Wenchang ordered Taixuan to deliver the memorial sent by the Ministry of Humanity to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and said, "Bodhisattva, this is a memorial from the Ministry of Humanity. The case in it involves Bodhisattva. Please take a look at it." Upon hearing this, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva thanked him again, then picked up the memorial handed to him and began to read it.

After a while, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva put down the memorial, stood up and apologized, "I neglected to discipline the beast, and let it escape to the lower world and become a demon, harming all living beings. This is my fault, and I apologize to the Emperor."

Emperor Wenchang stood up and walked down the steps of the palace, came forward to help Bodhisattva Xukongzang up, and then said: "Bodhisattva, you are too serious. This matter is because the mount ran away without permission and caused trouble to the world. Bodhisattva is not responsible."

Hearing the words of Emperor Wenchang, Bodhisattva Xukongzang immediately bowed and said, "Thank you, Emperor."

Emperor Wenchang nodded and said, "But how should we deal with Garuda?"

The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha said: "This evil creature descended to the lower world as a demon and killed people. Now that it has been captured by the Heavenly Court, it should be dealt with by the Heavenly Court."

Emperor Wenchang said, "If the case is to be handled by the Heavenly Court, it will have to be transferred to the Divine Thunder Jade Palace. Bodhisattva should think carefully about it."

Hearing this, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's expression changed. He knew that if the matter was handed over to the Divine Thunder Jade Palace, then with Garuda's crimes, he would at least have to go to the Demon Slaying Platform.

But according to Emperor Wenchang, it seems that there are other ways to deal with this matter?
Thinking of this, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva immediately bowed and said, "Please give me your instructions, Emperor."

Emperor Wenchang said, "Garuda has been the mount of the Bodhisattva for many years. This time he descended to the mortal world as a demon because of a momentary evil thought. Considering that this is his first offense, he will not be handed over to the Divine Thunder Jade Palace for punishment. I will send Taixuan Envoy to accompany the Bodhisattva to Lingtai Mountain. The Bodhisattva can go to Lingtai Mountain to take Garuda back to Lumen Mountain and give him a good admonition so that he will be wholeheartedly good."

Upon hearing this, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva immediately folded his hands and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I am grateful for your mercy. Please rest assured, I will discipline that evil creature strictly after it returns to the mountain."

Emperor Wenchang nodded slightly, and then said to the Taixuan Envoy beside him: "Taixuan Envoy, you will accompany the Bodhisattva to Lingtai Mountain immediately."

The Taixuan Envoy bowed and said, "I accept your order."

Afterwards, Taixuan Envoy and Xukongzang Bodhisattva bid farewell to Emperor Wenchang, left the West Heaven Gate, and went down to Lingtai Mountain.

I saw a ray of Buddha's light falling into Lingtai Mountain and directly landing outside the mountain temple.

Afterwards, the Taixuan Envoy stepped forward and shouted into the mountain temple, "I am the Taixuan Envoy of the Taixuan Province. The Lingtai Mountain God, please come out to see me quickly."

Soon, a faint divine light flew out from the mountain temple, and Zhuang Yan's figure appeared after landing.

Zhuang Yan's eyes swept over the two immortals in front of him, and finally set his eyes on the Taixuan Envoy and bowed, "Your humble servant is the Lingtai Mountain God Zhuang Yan, greeting the Taixuan Envoy."

Taixuan Envoy nodded slightly and said, "God of Lingtai Mountain, the Great Envoy Wenchang Emperor has ordered you to immediately hand over Garuda to Akasagarbha Bodhisattva. Akasagarbha Bodhisattva will take Garuda back and discipline him for the crimes he committed."

Zhuang Yan was somewhat surprised and asked, "Will Heaven not punish the crime?"

Taixuan said: "Garuda is the mount of Akasagarbha Bodhisattva, so Akasagarbha Bodhisattva will take his crime back to the temple for punishment."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Yan immediately shook his head and said, "Please ask Envoy Taixuan to report to the Emperor. If this is the case, please forgive me for not releasing him."

Upon hearing this, Taixuan Envoy raised his eyebrows and said, "Lingtai Mountain God, this is the order of Emperor Wenchang!"

Zhuang Yan said, "Garuda has been doing evil in the human world for a long time. If I hadn't captured him, I don't know how many lives he would have harmed. Not only does the Heavenly Court not ask for his crime, but it wants to hand him over to the master for punishment. I don't understand, and I can't let him go."

Taixuan frowned and was about to speak, but Kūkungzang Bodhisattva stepped forward and said, "Please rest assured, mountain god. After Nagaratra follows me back to the mountain, I will punish him severely and imprison him in the temple. I will not allow him to leave the mountain again."

Zhuang Yan looked at the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha and said, "Bodhisattva, it's not that I am unreasonable. This Garuda has eaten countless people and has also arbitrarily detained the land gods and beaten them at will. He even injured the celestial officials who came to subdue the demon. His crimes are extremely heinous."

At this point, Zhuang Yan said bluntly: "If this Garuda is not severely punished by the law of heaven, where will those who died unjustly be placed? Where will the laws of heaven be placed?"

After saying this, Zhuang Yan said to the Taixuan Envoy, "Garuda's crimes are grave, and the report has made it clear. I have a clear conscience, and the Taixuan Envoy can report my intentions back to the Emperor."

"You..." Envoy Taixuan was about to get angry when he saw this, but was stopped by Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha. Then he heard Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha said with a smile: "The mountain god is impartial in enforcing the law, which makes this poor monk admire him very much. Envoy Taixuan, let's go to heaven to see Emperor Wenchang first."

When Taixuan heard what Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said, his expression eased a little and he nodded, saying, "Okay, I'll follow what the Bodhisattva said."

After saying this, Taixuan Envoy and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva flew up into the clouds and returned to heaven.

(End of this chapter)