I am a fairy in Journey to the West

West Niuhe Continent, North Tianzhu, Pushu Kingdom.

Since Tang Sanzang entered the Kingdom of Pushu, this monk from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East has become increasingly famous and his reputation has spread far and wide in North India.

Because of his profound knowledge of Buddhism, many eminent monks and masters from North India came to debate with him, but they all ended up losing.

Therefore, the fame of 'Tang Xuanzang' spread far and wide to North India, and even to West India and Central India.

On this day, the king of Pushu Kingdom was holding a court assembly and summoned the envoy from Central India.

Central India is the most powerful of the five great Indias because King Dangmyo unified Central India twenty years ago and established a unified kingdom.

King Dangmiao named his country 'Galan' to signify that his entire country was a protector of the Buddha.

Meanwhile, the other four major regions of India—East, South, West, and North—were all separate states, not unified, so their strength was naturally inferior to that of the Kingdom of Garan in Central India.

The reason the Kingdom of Garan sent envoys to the Kingdom of Pushu is that the Ullambana Festival is approaching, and Garan is preparing to hold a grand Dharma assembly. Therefore, they have come to invite the King of Pushu and the eminent monks and masters of Pushu to Garan to participate in the Dharma assembly.

However, on the eve of the envoy's audience with King Pushu, an incident occurred: the Kingdom of Garan sent another message, stating that they would not be inviting the Kingdom of Pushu for the time being.

But the messenger received the message too late; the arrangements for his audience with the King of Pushu Kingdom the next day had already been made and could not be changed.

So the envoy from Garan had no choice but to go and meet the King of Pushu. At first, he tried to gloss over the matter, but the King of Pushu already knew that Garan was going to hold a multi-nation Dharma assembly, so he asked about it as soon as he opened his mouth.

This made it difficult to fool them, so the envoy from the Kingdom of Garan had no choice but to tell them the truth.

"Your Majesty, our country originally intended to invite you and your eminent monks to the Kingdom of Garan to participate in a multinational Dharma assembly. However, yesterday, your humble servant received an urgent message from our country, and the invitation has been temporarily cancelled," the envoy from the Kingdom of Garan said respectfully.

Upon hearing this, both the King of Pushu and his ministers in the hall were puzzled. The King of Pushu asked, "Have all the invitations from all countries been cancelled?"

“No,” the envoy said. “We only cancelled the invitation to your country.”

These words immediately caused an uproar in the hall, and an official stepped forward to question, "Why does your country show such contempt for our country?"

Another official said, "Although the Kingdom of Garan is a great power, it is still unacceptable for them to insult us like this."

"Since the Kingdom of Garan invited all the countries of the Four Great Indias, why did they not invite our Kingdom of Pushu? What is the reason for this?"

"That's right. If we don't explain our reasoning, it might damage the diplomatic relations between our two countries."

The envoy from Garan Kingdom was questioned by officials from Pushu Kingdom without even a chance to speak. Seeing this, the King of Pushu Kingdom immediately said, "Silence."

The ministers stopped questioning when they heard their king speak, but they still looked at the envoy from the Kingdom of Garan with indignant eyes.

Then the King of Pushu Kingdom spoke up and asked, "May I ask why your country withdrew its invitation to our country?"

The envoy from the Kingdom of Garan asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, has a monk from the Great Tang Dynasty of the East arrived in your country?"

"Indeed," the king asked. "Could it be because we received this monk from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East?"

"That's not it," the envoy from the Kingdom of Garan said with a smile. "It is said that all the eminent monks in your country sought out this monk from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East to debate scriptures, and all of them returned defeated?"

Upon hearing this, the civil and military officials in the hall immediately understood, and their faces immediately showed complicated expressions.

The king of Pushu Kingdom also looked conflicted, but quickly nodded and said, "That is indeed the case, but this is our way of showing hospitality to our guests."

"Your Majesty, there's no need for formalities," the envoy from the Kingdom of Garan said with a smile. "This matter has already reached Central India, and our king is aware of it. He and his ministers and high monks believe that India is the birthplace of the Buddha and the origin of Buddhism. As one of the kingdoms of India, Pushu Kingdom has always spread Buddhism throughout the country. It is unexpected that its high monks cannot even win a debate with a foreign monk. They are truly unsuitable to participate in this Ullambana Festival."

Finally, the envoy from the Kingdom of Garan said, "Therefore, our country hastily sent a letter to cancel our invitation to your country."

"This..." Even the King of Pushu was speechless, because he simply lacked confidence and couldn't even offer a sophistry.

But the prime minister still stepped forward and said, "This is really unfair. As the largest country among the five great Indian kingdoms, Garan Kingdom has invited all the other countries to hold the Dharma assembly, but not our country. Isn't this a deliberate humiliation of our nation?"

The envoy from the Kingdom of Garan smiled and said, "Prime Minister, in our sacred land of India, the Dharma is the greatest form of justice."

Upon hearing this, the prime minister sighed and retreated. Indeed, in India, even if you were mentally challenged, as long as you could utter "Amitabha," no one would look down on you; they would still respect you.

But if your understanding of Buddhism is poor, then I'm sorry, your status is probably even lower than that of a fool.

At this moment, the King of Pushu Kingdom gritted his teeth and said, "Your Excellency, there are still two months until the Ghost Festival. There is still time. May I ask what we can do to obtain an invitation again?"

Pushu Kingdom is a small country and certainly cannot afford to offend Garan Kingdom, but in order to avoid being humiliated, it must get Garan Kingdom to reinstate the invitation.

Upon hearing this, the envoy from the Kingdom of Garan, seeing the sincerity of King Pushu, said, "There is indeed a way."

The king's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said, "Please enlighten me, Your Excellency."

The envoy said, “Your Majesty, you should hold a Dharma debate in the country as soon as possible, so that all the monks in the country can come and debate with the monks from the East. As long as one of them wins a debate, I will report to my king and ask him to reinstate the invitation to Pushu Kingdom.”

At this point, the envoy said earnestly, "As long as Pushu Kingdom can win the debate with Tang Sanzang, the foreign ministers will have something to say to the king and the people at home."

Upon hearing this, the King of Pushu Kingdom immediately realized that this was indeed a good idea, so he quickly stood up and thanked the envoy.

He then arranged for the envoy to stay in the best residence in the capital, and then sent someone to invite Tang Sanzang and his disciples to a banquet in the palace.

At this time, Tang Sanzang and his disciples were resting at the Yulan Temple in the capital of Pushu Kingdom, preparing to continue their journey the next day. However, that afternoon, they were unexpectedly summoned by the king to give him a perfunctory welcome.

Tang Sanzang thought it was a farewell banquet, but the king's words surprised him.

"Master Xuanzang, I will be holding a Buddhist conference in the country in ten days. Please prepare in advance and make sure you attend," the king said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang was taken aback at first, and then quickly said, "Your Majesty, I am on the orders of the Tang Emperor to travel to the Western Paradise to worship Buddha and seek scriptures. Because the journey is long, I dare not delay. I plan to take my leave early tomorrow morning. I am afraid I will miss this grand event."

But the king said, "Master Xuanzang, this conference on Buddhist scriptures is of great importance, and you must attend." Sun Wukong, the White Dragon Horse, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing all put down their utensils and looked at the king.

Tang Sanzang was also astonished, wondering why he was insisted on participating. So he asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, why must this humble monk participate in this Dharma assembly?"

The king did not say it explicitly, but simply asked, "Master Xuanzang, since you entered our country, have I ever mistreated you?"

Tang Sanzang quickly waved his hand and said, "There has been absolutely no mistreatment. My needs for clothing, food, lodging, and transportation have all been met. This humble monk is deeply grateful for the King's kindness."

"Since you are so grateful for my kindness, please attend the ceremony before you leave," the king said.

Tang Sanzang was quite troubled upon hearing this. At this moment, Sun Wukong noticed something was wrong and said, "Master, we have already arrived in India and are not far from Mount Ling. It won't matter if we are delayed for a few days."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang had no choice but to reluctantly agree, rising to bow and saying, "This humble monk obeys."

The king finally smiled again and greeted Tang Sanzang, saying, "Master, please have a meal."

After leaving the palace, Tang Sanzang returned to his meditation room at Yulan Temple and said to Sun Wukong, "Wukong, go and find out why the King of Pushu Kingdom suddenly wants to hold a Dharma assembly and insists that I attend. There must be something fishy about this."

Sun Wukong said, "Master, don't worry, I'll go out and scout it out right away."

After saying that, Sun Wukong flew out of Yulan Temple and went to inquire about the news.

About two or three hours later, late at night, Sun Wukong returned to the meditation room. Tang Sanzang and the others had not yet rested. Upon seeing Sun Wukong return, they hurriedly asked, "Wukong, how did it go?"

Sun Wukong stepped forward and said, "Master, I've found out that this matter is actually related to you."

So Sun Wukong told Tang Sanzang the whole story. After listening, Tang Sanzang was stunned and said, "So that's how it is."

After regaining his senses, Tang Sanzang pulled Sun Wukong aside and asked, "Wukong, what should we do about this?"

Before Sun Wukong could speak, Zhu Bajie said first, "Master, what's so difficult about that? When we go on stage to debate the scriptures, you can just concede defeat after a few sentences."

“Hey!” said Sha Wujing, “Third Brother’s idea is good. It can allow Pushu Kingdom to get the invitation back, and we can also get away.”

Even the White Dragon agreed, saying, "Master, Pigsy's idea is indeed very good."

Tang Sanzang hesitated for a moment and said, "A monk does not lie. If I pretend to admit defeat, wouldn't I be breaking the precept?"

“It is not a violation of the precepts,” Sun Wukong said. “Master, this king has been kind to you, and you are repaying that kindness. Therefore, if you give way during the debate, it is a gesture of goodwill and not a violation of the precepts.”

Sun Wukong's words cleared up Tang Sanzang's confusion, so he nodded and said, "Wukong, you are right. Then I will be kind and admit defeat."

Having decided on a strategy, Tang Sanzang no longer worried about the matter and settled down at Yulan Temple to eat and stay well, waiting for the Dharma assembly to begin.

At the same time, the king of Pushu Kingdom issued a decree to the whole country that all monks who had received the full ordination must come to the Yulan Temple in the capital within ten days to participate in the sutra discussion conference. They could not be absent, otherwise they would be severely punished.

The fact that a monk has received full ordination signifies that his Buddhist practice and cultivation have reached a certain level, and he can be called a 'high monk'.

As a result, within just ten days, nearly 20,000 eminent monks from all over the country gathered in the capital.

Ten days later, King Pushu invited the envoy of the Kingdom of Garan to witness a grand Dharma assembly held at the Yulan Temple. At this assembly, all 24,321 eminent monks of the Kingdom of Pushu were present to debate with the monk Xuanzang from the Tang Dynasty.

This debate attracted a lot of attention. Not only did envoys from the Kingdom of Garan come to witness it, but many other countries in the four great Indian kingdoms also sent envoys to watch this grand event.

On the day the conference began, the weather was fine, and the King of Pushu led the Queen, Prince, Princess, envoys from various countries, and civil and military officials to the stands.

The eminent monks of Pushu Kingdom gathered on both sides of the debating platform and sat in meditation. Outside the platform, countless merchants and common people watched, and the place was packed with people.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Tang Sanzang, together with the national teacher of Pushu Kingdom, ascended to the center of the debating platform, first paying homage to the king, and then to the eminent monks below.

After the two sides exchanged greetings, the King of Pushu Kingdom promulgated the rules for this Dharma assembly.

"There is only one rule for this Dharma debate: the monks of my Pushu Kingdom will be debating with the eminent monk Xuanzang from the East. Both sides must be honest and strictly abide by the precepts of Buddhism, and no one may intentionally admit defeat. If one intentionally admits defeat, it will be a violation of the precept against lying. Both sides must give their all in this debate. Anyone who withdraws midway or loses the debate will be executed on the spot." The King of Pushu Kingdom directly promulgated this explosive rule.

The crowd outside was in an uproar. Even Tang Sanzang was stunned. On the other hand, the high monks of Pushu Kingdom remained expressionless and calm, as if they had known about this all along.

After promulgating the rules, the King of Pushu Kingdom turned his gaze to the Grand Preceptor, Master Lanxin, and said, "The Grand Preceptor will preside over this debate in his entirety."

After speaking, the King of Pushu sat down.

At this moment, the National Preceptor of Pushu Kingdom, Master Lanxin, looked at Tang Sanzang and said with a smile, "Master Xuanzang, the debate is about to begin. You may go and take your seat on the prayer mat."

Tang Sanzang then asked, "Master, what did the king just say about what happens to the one who loses the debate?"

Master Lanxin laughed and said, "Execution means beheading."

Tang Sanzang broke out in a cold sweat instantly and quickly said, "Isn't this a bit too much?"

Master Lanxin remained unmoved, only smiling as she said, "Master Xuanzang, the debate is about to begin. Please take your seat. Remember, the loser will be beheaded, so Master Xuanzang must give it his all."

After speaking, Master Lanxin turned around and sat down on the prayer mat in the abbot's seat. Tang Sanzang hurriedly turned his head to look at Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong was also shocked by this rule. He did not expect that the king would be so ruthless that he would even fight to the death over a debate on scriptures.

Seeing the pleading look in Tang Sanzang's eyes, Sun Wukong couldn't think of a solution for the moment, so he transmitted his voice to Tang Sanzang and said, "Master, the previous strategy of admitting defeat is invalid. You debate with them first, and give me some time to think of another way."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang could only do as Sun Wukong suggested. So he sat down on the prayer mat and began to quickly adjust his state, clear his mind of distractions, and purify his spirit.

A moment later, seeing that Tang Sanzang had entered a meditative state, Master Lanxin announced, "The debate officially begins!" (End of Chapter)