Journey to the West: Beginning with the Apprenticeship of Bodhi Patriarch

Chapter 133: Tang Monk chases the Great Sage, and the Great Sage returns to Fangcun

There is a saying that goes "The three corpse gods must be defeated, and the advance and retreat of heaven will reveal the secrets of the six jias." The three corpse gods are the three corpse worms, which represent lust, thought and appetite, and are the arms of the two gods Wood Mother.

On the journey to the West, the pilgrims encountered a corpse demon who teased them. The corpse demon used a woman to make the group even more discordant. But seeing that the Heart Monkey was protecting them, the corpse demon dared not approach them, thinking that if they drove away the Heart Monkey, they would harm their original spirits.

The corpse demon reappeared in the image of an old woman, and Monkey King thought it was the woman's mother. How could Monkey King not know that it was a demon? He beat it to death with a stick, which caused Tang Monk to drive it away and scold it. It was Monkey King's repeated pleadings that made Tang Monk let it stay.

However, as the saying goes, three times is the limit, how could Monkey allow the demon to come again and again and escape? He secretly made some hand gestures and sent the local mountain gods away, instructing them not to let the demon escape if he came again. The local mountain gods naturally agreed.

Monkey thought that the demon would not dare to come again, so he relaxed and assured Tang Seng again and again that he would not fight and kill it again.

Unexpectedly, the demon changed into an old man and walked along the way, trying to deceive Tang Monk. Monkey King did not follow his instructions and killed him with a stick. At this time, the land and mountain gods appeared secretly, and the corpse demon had nowhere to escape. So he fled for his life, revealing his true appearance: a pile of skeletons with words on their spines, named "White Bone Lady".

Tang Seng was very angry and said, "You evil beast, you told me many times before that I should do good deeds. Now I have killed three people along the way, and you still have something to say."

The Monkey King pointed at the skeleton and said, "Master, I told you it was a demon. Look at this skeleton."

Tang Seng took a closer look and was so frightened that he fell down and said in shock, "How come such a dead person has become a pile of skeletons?"

The traveler said, "This is a demon called 'White Bone Lady'."

Tang Seng was skeptical.

Zhu Bajie came up and said, "Master, that Bi Ma Wen's stick has a black center. He beat three people to death. He is fearless. I heard him say that day in Wuzhuang Temple. I will teach you, Master. He said, 'Who can stop me, whether in heaven or on earth? The Jade Emperor recognizes me, the King of Heaven follows me, the 28 constellations fear me, the Nine Stars officials are afraid of me, the city gods of prefectures and counties kneel before me, the Eastern Peak and the Heavenly Gods are all terrified of me, the ten generations of Yama Kings have been my servants, the five rampant gods have been my juniors, who can defeat me?' This Bi Ma Wen is afraid of your old sayings, Master. He must be afraid that you will recite the scriptures, use tricks, and talk to fool you, Master."

Tang Seng believed in Bajie and recited the spell to tighten the hoop.

Sun Xingzhe felt a splitting headache and said, "Don't think about it, don't think about it!"

Tang Seng stopped and said angrily, "You evil beast, I can't keep you here. You killed three people in a row in this wilderness. If you come to the city and beat them with your iron rod, wouldn't it make trouble for us to see the officials together? Go away, go away!"

Monkey was angry and said, "Master, you have wronged me. This guy is a demon who wants to harm you. I tried to get rid of him for you, but you didn't believe me and believed that fool instead. You chased me away again and again. I am not homeless. I have the Flower-Fruit Mountain and the Square Inch Mountain. I can go anywhere. You chased me away again and again. If I don't go, I would be a shameless person. But if I go, you will have no one to help you."

Tang Seng cursed: "I have Wu Neng and Wu Jing here! But you are a monkey, not a human!"

When the Monkey King heard this, he felt very sad and said, "They are both human, but I am not. In the past, I went through untold hardships to subdue the white dragon, recruit Pigsy, get Sandy Monk, and capture demons and monsters. Now I am not a human in your mouth! Stop, stop, stop! I will go, but the tight hoop curse makes me uncomfortable."

Tang Monk said: "Just go away, I will never think of you again."

The traveler said, "Since you say I am not a human, how can I believe you? Moreover, the Bodhisattva asked me to be your disciple. Now you are driving me away. If the Bodhisattva asks about this, what should I say?"

Tang Seng said angrily, "I will never be your disciple again. If I continue to be your disciple, I will fall into the Avici Hell. I have a document here. If a Bodhisattva asks about it, give it to him and I will drive you away!"

Say it.

Tang Seng took out paper and pen from his bag and wrote a letter of demotion, full of humiliation.

The Monkey King took the document, put it in his sleeve, and said to Sha Seng, "I am leaving now. Junior Brother Sha, you are a good person, you must be careful of Bajie's nonsense. If there are any demons that are causing trouble, tell them my name, and they will be afraid of me."

Sha Seng has not yet answered.

Tang Seng said: "I will never mention your name, and I will be killed. Go away, I don't want to see you."

The traveler had no choice but to leave and leap towards the Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Bajie's eyes rolled around, and he stepped forward and said, "Master, the Horse Keeper has gone, and there is no one to show the way. I have some magical powers, so why don't I lead the horse and show the way for you, and let Sha Seng carry the burden?"

Sha Seng wants to speak.

Tang Seng said: "What you said makes sense. I see that Wu Neng has some strength, not inferior to that monkey. Thank you Wu Jing for carrying the burden."

How could Bajie let Sha Seng refuse? He handed the heavy burden to Sha Seng and led the horse forward.

The soul here is protected by the Centrifugal Monkey, the Wood Mother is controlling the mind, and the Huang Po is powerless to stop it, and the situation is full of crises.

……

It is said that the Monkey King rode his somersault cloud and traveled 18,000 miles across the East China Sea to the Flower-Fruit Mountain, where he saw many monkeys running.

As soon as the Great Sage leaped down, the monkeys and their descendants gathered around him. They recognized him and bowed to him, saying, "Grandpa Great Sage!"

The Great Sage saw a mountain full of monkeys and asked, "Where did you come from?"

The monkeys and their descendants said, "It is from this mountain."

The Great Sage was puzzled again. He had caused a great disturbance in the Heavenly Palace in the past and was captured and taken to the mountain. Why didn't the Heavenly Palace search the mountain to subdue the demons and exterminate the monkeys? He asked again: "Who is in charge of the mountain now?"

The monkeys replied, "The four great warriors under the Great Sage are all here."

The Great Sage said, “Go and tell him and others that I have returned.”

The monkeys reported the news, and soon the four strong men came and bowed, saying, "Great Sage, you have returned."

The four strong generals welcomed the Great Sage into the Water Curtain Cave, where they gave him a warm welcome. After that, the Great Sage asked, "When I was captured by the heavens, didn't the heavenly soldiers find you?"

The four warriors replied, "In the past, the Great Sage captured the upper realm, and Master Guangxin pleaded for mercy, so the heavenly soldiers and generals did not search the mountain. Except for the tigers, leopards, jackals and wolves in the mountain, we monkeys and descendants were not harmed. Master Guangxin once told us to do good deeds, so in the past few years, we have only enjoyed ourselves in the mountains and have never harmed anyone. If there are hunters coming, we will drive them away. If there are demons, we four monkeys will fight them off."

When the Great Sage heard this, tears welled up in his eyes. He said, "My eldest brother has saved my descendants. I had no hope of going west and gave up halfway. I am ashamed to see you. Now I am going to pay my respects to you and tell you about my sufferings. You should manage the mountain well and prevent any disturbance. Just as my eldest brother said, do more good deeds."

The four strong men took orders.

The Great Sage did not stay in the mountain for long. He came out of the Water Curtain Cave and went to the Lingtai Fangcun Mountain through clouds and light.

……

In Fangcun Mountain, Jiang Yuan raised a golden road, revealed his immortal appearance, and frightened the demons along the way, thus helping Chongyang return to the mountain.

After returning to the Sanxing Immortal Cave, Jiang Yuan took Chongyang to find a quiet room, and also took Chongyang to meet Zhenjian.

After that, Jiang Yuan gave the Taixuan Qingsheng Talisman to Chongyang and asked him to read. When he had read all the books in the room, he would teach him the secrets.

The Immortal went back to the alchemy room and watched over the alchemy furnace. Seeing that its true yang energy had been almost cultivated, he was ready to add medicine and prepare the elixir.

He opened the medicine box, took out four medicines one by one, and confirmed again and again that there was no mistake in the weight of the herbs.

Zhen Jian said, "Big Brother, where is Junior Brother Chongyang going?"

Jiang Yuan said: "Chongyang is reading in the library. I asked him to finish reading all the books, and then I explained some of the secrets to him."

Zhen Jian said, "In my opinion, Junior Brother Chongyang, it won't take long for you to finish reading all the books and come to find Senior Brother to learn from you." Jiang Yuan asked, "Why?"

Zhen Jian said: "I see that Junior Brother Chongyang is quite similar to you, Senior Brother."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Those who have heard the truth are all the same person. I am not outstanding in any way, I am also like my junior brother, and my junior brother is also like me."

Zhen Jiandao said: "Brother, what you said is very true. Those who hear the Tao are all the same. Speaking of it, this is the way to achieve the right result. I feel how insignificant I am."

Jiang Yuan said: "The vastness of the universe is beyond our imagination. We are always insignificant. Whether it is enlightenment or the right fruit, it can only make us realize the vastness of the universe, so we can concentrate on practicing."

Zhenjian was deeply moved by the words of the real person and bowed again and again.

Jiang Yuan smiled and helped him up. He was about to organize the medicine box and start the furnace to make the elixir, but before he could move, he suddenly felt something in his heart, knowing that there was a guest outside the mansion.

He has never had such supernatural powers, and cannot peek outside the palace. He is not like those with great supernatural powers who can see the three realms at a glance. When he becomes proficient in alchemy, he may have to practice divination-like supernatural powers.

Jiang Yuan said: "Junior brother, please stay in the room for a while. There are guests outside the mansion. I will meet them and then return to the alchemy room."

Zhen Jian saw him off and said, "Big Brother, please go."

Jiang Yuan got up and left the alchemy room, and walked outside the mansion. He opened the door, but saw Sun Wukong standing outside the mansion, acting furtively and peeking his head out, really an old hand at stealing.

Jiang Yuan walked out and said, "Wukong, what are you doing? You keep going back and forth, neither going in nor going out. How can you not accomplish anything?"

The monkey shrank his head in fear and said, "Big Brother, I am ashamed to see Master, so I dare not go in. But I want to meet Big Brother, so I am in a dilemma in front of the mansion."

When Jiang Yuan heard this, he pointed at the monkey head and scolded him with a smile: "You monkey, come in. Yuanshi Tianzun has sent a letter to invite Master to listen to the lecture on 'Huanyuan Daoguo'. He is not in the mansion now."

Say it.

He let the door open.

Monkey Head finally mustered up the courage to enter the cave. After many years, he entered the cave again and saw the old place. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Jiang Yuan brought the monkey to the Yaotai, made him sit in the middle, and asked, "Monkey, didn't I see you in Wuzhuang Temple a while ago? Why didn't you come back home to escort Tang Monk back to the west?"

The monkey said, "Big Brother, I will ask the old monk to drive him away."

Jiang Yuan asked, "Why did he chase you away?"

The monkey got a little angry when he heard that and said, "Big Brother, you don't know. I escorted him to a mountain. It was an isolated mountain with no village in front and no shop behind. The old monk just said he was hungry. Why did he care where I should go to find vegetarian food? If I didn't go, he would just think I was lazy. If I didn't go, he would recite the spell to tighten the hoop. So I had to go."

Jiang Yuan laughed and said, "Why? Did he chase you away because you couldn't find vegetarian food?"

The monkey said, "No, no. Big Brother, I listened to what he said and went to the mountain to look for some fruits. Unexpectedly, there was a corpse demon in the mountain. When he saw that I had left, he turned into a young girl to tempt the old monk. The old monk was not ashamed. At his age, he was tempted by a young girl. I knew it was a demon and killed it. Unexpectedly, the old monk came to blame me. I explained to him, but he didn't believe me. He only listened to Zhu Bajie's slander. I begged him a few times and he stayed. The corpse demon had some tricks and turned into an old woman and an old man. I saw through them one by one. Unexpectedly, the old monk didn't know my heart and thought I killed a human. No matter how much I said, it was useless. He kept driving me away, so I left. I walked to Huaguo Mountain. I knew that Big Brother was kind, so I came to pay my respects."

Say it.

The monkey bowed deeply.

Jiang Yuan said: "How could Tang Monk be so foolish that he dared to be attracted by a mountain girl? Didn't he see how Zhu Bajie looked? How could anyone dare to approach him?"

The monkey said, "Big Brother, that's exactly what is going on."

Jiang Yuan asked, "Does Tang Seng have any evidence to prove that he chased you away?"

Monkey took out the document from his sleeve, and presented it to Jiang Yuan with both hands, not daring to be rude, and said, "There is a letter of demotion."

Jiang Yuan took the document and read it carefully. He found it full of insults. He was displeased and said, "How come this Tang Monk has a Buddhist heart but has never practiced the precepts?"

The monkey laughed secretly and said, "Big Brother, you don't know that the old monk still has worldly desires."

Jiang Yuan said: "If that's the case, then forget it. You should practice in the mountains and don't go out. We'll talk about it later."

The monkey said, "Big Brother, if the master saw me, he would probably chase me away."

Jiang Yuan said, "You are wholeheartedly doing good deeds and cultivating your mind. Master will only praise you when he sees you. Why would he chase you away?"

The monkey agreed and stayed in the mansion to practice.

Jiang Yuan said, "Come with me and go visit Zhenjian."

The monkey asked, "How is Second Brother now?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "I have achieved the right result, and I have the ability."

The monkey clasped his hands and laughed, "Fate, fate."

Jiang Yuan said, "I thought you, the monkey, would try your magic with Zhenjian after hearing his words, but I didn't expect you to be a bit cautious."

The monkey said, "Brother, please don't mention it. I was frivolous in the past and didn't know the true number. I tried to trick you. This time, I will never dare to do that again."

Jiang Yuan said: "I feel relieved when you say this now."

The Immortal said nothing more and walked towards the alchemy room, with Wukong following closely behind him.

After a while, the two of them arrived at the alchemy room.

When Wukong saw the real one, he was surprised and said, "Second Brother, why is it you?"

Zhen Jian put down his fan, stopped lighting the fire, turned around and said with a smile: "Brother Wukong, long time no see. What are you talking about, why am I here?"

Wukong said, "The Zen master at the foot of Mount Futu was none other than my Second Senior Brother! My Second Senior Brother's transformation was not that great. I hadn't seen him for a long time and didn't recognize him. But now that I see him, I remember him. That Zen master must have been my Second Senior Brother."

Zhen Jian laughed and said, "You, Wukong, I have never learned many transformations, so I am not very good at it."

Wukong straightened his clothes and bowed, saying, "I didn't know you were my second brother at that time, so I was very rude. But please don't blame me, second brother."

Zhen Jian said: "I never blame you, I just sigh that you have completely lost the spirit monkey face of the past, leaving only the appearance of a demon."

Wukong said: "I have recently come to my senses and no longer do evil."

Zhen Jiandao: "Since you no longer do evil, your true colors will be revealed sooner or later."

Three disciples of the Sanxing Immortal Cave were chatting and laughing happily in the room. When they looked carefully, they had not met for hundreds of years. When they met today, their friendship was stronger than before.

(End of this chapter)