I am a fairy in Journey to the West

A cultivator from the East came to Dani City. He claimed to be from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East, and his surname was Zhuang. Everyone called him "Mr. Zhuang".

This Mr. Zhuang has a miraculous medical skill. Not long after he arrived, he cured many difficult and complicated diseases in the city, and thus became quite famous in Dani City.

Patrol officer Duan Ganli entered the slums of Dani City, located in the southwest corner of the city, which was within his jurisdiction.

In the Vedic system, a city was divided into eight regions according to its location. Each region had a city patrol office, and each city patrol office had a patrol officer who was in charge of all the government affairs in the region.

These eight city patrol offices are under the unified jurisdiction of the city lord's mansion, which is at a higher level.

“Shangguan, that’s Mr. Zhuang,” a Vaishya leading the way said to Duan Ganli.

Duan Ganli nodded. There was no need for careful observation; the clothes and attire of that Mr. Zhuang were very different from those of the Vedic people, and it was easy to tell at a glance.

Duan Ganli stepped forward and saw that Mr. Zhuang was treating a filthy Dalit whose feet were festering and oozing pus, emitting an extremely disgusting stench.

Mr. Zhuang, however, showed no disgust and applied some of the ground juice to Dalit's foot, then said to Dalit, "Rest well for a few days, and the wound will stop festering."

Nadalite sat on the ground and thanked Mr. Zhuang repeatedly.

Then Mr. Zhuang stood up, and Duan Ganli immediately stepped forward and called out, "Mr. Zhuang."

Zhuang Yan turned to look at Duan Ganli, and then asked, "What is it?"

Duan Ganli said, "I am the city patrol officer here, and I have some questions to ask Mr. Zhuang."

Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "Please tell me."

Duan Ganli took out a book and asked Zhuang Yan, "Mr. Zhuang, are you from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East?"

"Not bad." Zhuang Yan nodded. "Is there a problem?"

Duan Ganli asked, "Does Mr. Zhuang know any of the people from the Great Tang Dynasty who traveled to the Western Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures?"

Zhuang Yan looked surprised and said, "Wasn't the journey to the West already over?"

"It's over?" Duan Ganli asked in surprise. "When did it end?"

Zhuang Yan said, "It ended more than a month ago. Didn't your Vedic Kingdom receive any notification from Mount Ling?"

Duan Ganli said, "We believe in Brahmanism."

"Oh, oh!" Zhuang Yan responded, then said, "I don't know them."

Duan Ganli made a note of it, and then asked, "May I ask what religion Mr. Zhuang believes in?"

Zhuang Yan said, "I believe in the Heavenly Court."

"The Heavenly Court?" Duan Ganli was taken aback. "Does such a sect exist?"

Zhuang Yan wasn't surprised by his puzzled look, and said, "The City God, the Earth God, the Kitchen God, and the Door Gods all belong to the Heavenly Court."

"Oh, you mean the Jade Emperor?" Duan Ganli asked.

Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "That's right, I believe in the Jade Emperor of the Golden Palace of the Azure Heaven."

"Understood." Duan Ganli nodded and then made a note of the matter.

Because of the existence of the Heavenly Court, Brahmanism cannot ignore it. If they ignore the Heavenly Court, it will be difficult for them to gain a foothold in the three realms of the mortal world.

Therefore, the Three Gods added the concept of 'God' above themselves, and this God is naturally 'the Supreme Jade Emperor of the Golden Palace of the Vast Heaven, the Great Heavenly Venerable of Pardoning Sins, the High God of the Mysterious Vault'.

With this concept, Brahmanism could explain the heavens to its followers, and explain the omnipresent gods who belonged to the heavens.

"Mr. Zhuang, what caste are you in the Tang Dynasty?" Duan Ganli asked again.

Zhuang Yan: "."

"Can't you answer?" Duan Ganli asked, puzzled.

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "Our Great Tang Dynasty does not have a caste system."

"What?" Duan Ganli looked astonished, as if he couldn't believe it. "Without the caste system, how would the Tang Dynasty govern the country? How would it govern its people?"

At this point, Duan Ganli looked incredulous; he couldn't imagine how a country without a caste system could function properly.

That's normal. He was just a minor official who never even left his own prefecture in his entire life. He was exposed to Brahmanism and the caste system from childhood to adulthood.

Duan Ganli didn't know how to record it, and stood there for a long time without putting pen to paper.

Seeing his reaction, Zhuang Yan asked, "Why didn't you remember, Shangguan?"

Duan Ganli said, "You said your Great Tang Dynasty doesn't have a caste system, so I don't know what identity to record for you."

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "People like me are considered outsiders in the Tang Dynasty, unrestrained by worldly conventions, similar to practitioners or immortals in your Brahmanism." Duan Ganli was greatly surprised upon hearing this and said, "Then you must be a venerable Brahman."

In the caste system established by Brahmanism, the Brahmins who control the rituals are the highest caste. Most of these people are practitioners who possess magical powers and are called priests, practitioners, or immortals.

That's why Duan Ganli was so shocked when he heard Zhuang Yan's self-comparison, but he didn't dare to write it down, feeling that the matter was somewhat absurd.

After thinking it over, Duan Ganli decided to skip the question for now and asked instead, "Mr. Zhuang, what brings you to my Vedic country from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East?"

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "I have been traveling around and practicing medicine in all directions. I have seen many people suffering from illness here, so I have stopped here to treat the sick."

“Then you shouldn’t treat these lowly people.” Duan Ganli pointed at Dalit, who had just had his foot treated by Zhuang Yan, and said, “They are untouchable people, their souls and bodies are filthy, and they will pollute your cultivation.”

Zhuang Yan said calmly, "I have no taboos here."

Seeing his words, Duan Ganli didn't say anything more. After all, the Tang Dynasty was in Jambudvipa, while the Vedic Kingdom was in Aparagodaniya, which was more than a million miles apart. It was normal for their customs and traditions to be different.

“As long as you feel it’s appropriate, that’s fine,” Duan Ganli said. “However, according to the laws of our Vedic country, we have to pay taxes for treating untouchables.”

Zhuang Yan asked, "Then how much tax do I need to pay?"

Duan Ganli said, "It costs ten coins to see a doctor."

Zhuang Yan took out a large silver ingot and placed it in Duan Ganli's hand, then asked, "This is one hundred taels of silver. How many lowly people can this cure?"

Duan Ganli felt a sudden weight in his hand and almost dropped it, but after realizing what was happening, he was overjoyed and quickly hugged the silver ingot to his chest, saying, "Sir, you can treat as many patients as you wish."

Seeing his demeanor, Zhuang Yan knew that practicing medicine and paying taxes was a pretense; his real intention was to use the opportunity to amass wealth.

But instead of exposing him, he asked, "Can I continue treating these lowly people now?"

"That's enough, sir. Please feel free to look around. I won't disturb you any longer." After saying that, Duan Ganli left the slum with the silver ingots in his arms.

Meanwhile, Er Hui, the son of the city lord of Dani, was undergoing ascetic practices. His method of asceticism was quite peculiar: he would use his magic to curse a lowly commoner every day.

It may sound absurd, but how can cursing others be considered asceticism?

However, this is perfectly reasonable in Brahmanism, because those untouchables are 'untouchables' and the higher castes will not have any contact with them, much less give them anything.

Er Hui expends his magical power every day to curse the lowly people, an act he calls asceticism.

The ascetic practice was for the purpose of obtaining divine blessings. Every day, Er Hui would chant the names of all the gods in Brahmanism and then curse a commoner.

He has been practicing this asceticism for ten years, day after day.

However, he recently sensed something was wrong; why was his power of arduous cultivation weakening?

Er Hui felt deeply apprehensive, for if his arduous cultivation failed, then these ten years would have been wasted.

After completing his ascetic practice for the day, Erhui immediately summoned two Shudras and ordered them to check the dwellings of the untouchables he had cursed to see what had caused his ascetic power to weaken.

These Shudras, acting as servants, received their master's orders and immediately went to the poor quarters throughout the city to check on the cursed outcasts.

Then they discovered Zhuang Yan, who was treating the wounds of these lowly people. The Shudras immediately reported this to Er Hui, who was furious upon hearing it and said, "Where did this fiend come from, daring to disrupt my ascetic practice?"

After saying that, Er Hui led his men to cause trouble for Zhuang Yan. When they found Zhuang Yan, he was treating a little girl who was a commoner.

The little girl is blind, but her eyes are intact and without any injuries.

As soon as Er Hui saw the little girl, he knew that she was the lowly person he had cursed a few days ago, and the curse was to make her blind.

Zhuang Yan dipped his finger in water and dripped it onto the little girl's eyes. The next moment, the little girl's pupils brightened. She turned her head to look left and right, and finally exclaimed excitedly, "I can see?!"

Er Hui felt his cultivation power weakening further, and he could no longer tolerate it. He stepped forward, kicked the little girl to the ground, grabbed Zhuang Yan's shoulder, and said, "How dare you ruin my cultivation!"

Turning around to look at Er Hui, he said, "Your arduous cultivation will not bring you blessings."

“Nonsense,” Er Hui said. “I have been cultivating diligently for ten years and am about to succeed, but you have ruined the power of my cultivation.”

At this point, Er Hui pointed at Zhuang Yan and said, "I curse you to have sores on your head and pus flowing from your feet."

As soon as he finished speaking, a ray of light appeared at Er Hui's fingertip, and the curse took effect instantly.

However, it did not work on Zhuang Yan. Instead, Er Hui suddenly let out a painful howl, and then his hair fell out rapidly, leaving his head covered with bumps and bloody sores.

At the same time, he fell to the ground, and a strong stench emanated from his feet. When he took off his shoes, he saw that his feet were also covered with sores, which were festering and oozing pus. They were extremely painful and itchy.

The Shudra servants behind him turned pale with fright at the sight and looked at Zhuang Yan with utter fear.

Er Hui also realized amidst the excruciating pain and intense itching that the person in front of him was no ordinary person, and quickly called out to the Shudra servants.

The Shudra servants, snapping out of their daze at Erhui's cries, rushed forward, carrying Erhui as they fled the slums and returned to the city lord's mansion. (End of Chapter)