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

Chapter 220: Wukong makes a scene in Heaven, and the big beast outside the mountain

It is said that Jiang Yuan and his group walked to a temple beside a mountain path, which was a land temple.

They entered the temple, but saw a group of people roasting by the fire. The Bull Demon King retracted his horns, transformed into a big man, and went forward to ask some questions. He then learned that the people in the temple were passers-by who gathered together and walked together. Seeing that it was getting late, they rested here.

The Bull Demon King spoke to the Immortal, but the Immortal did not say much. He led everyone inside and rested in another place in the temple.

Liu Yanchang sat down, pounded his body, and kept groaning.

Zuo Liang saw this and laughed, "How come you are so young and yet you act like this?"

Liu Yanchang replied: "I was wrong. The old man is really still strong despite his age."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Liang smiled and shook his head, but said no more.

The Bull Demon King brought firewood and lit a fire there.

Sun Wukong waited on the immortal and sat down beside him. He looked out with his fiery eyes wide open. He smiled and said, "Big Brother, this mountain is a little uneasy."

Jiang Yuan asked: "How do you say that?"

Sun Wukong looked around carefully and said, "I see some black air surrounding this mountain. There must be an evil spirit here. Big Brother, do you want me to capture him so that he won't come to block our way?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "We have no grudges against him, why do we have to do this?"

Sun Wukong said: "In this case, there is no need to go, but if he attacks, Senior Brother, please let me go and capture him."

Jiang Yuan smiled and asked, "How do you know that the evil spirit in the mountain will attack us?"

Sun Wukong said, "Big Brother, I protected Tang Monk on his pilgrimage to obtain Buddhist scriptures in the past. We traveled the western road and experienced a lot. I often saw those evil spirits, so I know their temperaments. The monsters in this mountain have the ability to see the aura. If you see this aura openly, it must be an evil spirit that eats and harms people for a living. Such evil spirits often stay outside the mountain. When they see people in the mountain, they will definitely attack. Although Big Brother is here now, the evil spirit is short-sighted. How can it recognize Big Brother's auspicious aura? Therefore, it cannot be frightened. It will come to this temple sooner or later."

Jiang Yuan said: "If it is true as you said, there is an evil spirit coming to attack, I will allow you to capture it."

Sun Wukong obeyed the order.

The Bull Demon King said: "My dear brother, you are well versed in this area."

Sun Wukong smiled and said, "I have traveled the great road to the west, conquering demons and training monsters. After a long time, I will know it."

Zuo Liang stepped forward and said, "Grandpa Buddha, can you tell me the story of the journey to the west?"

Sun Wukong said: "Of course it's fine. Just listen carefully and I will talk to you in a nice way."

Zuo Liang listened attentively.

Liu Yanchang was a little confused when he heard this, but he still listened quietly, wanting to hear what Sun Wukong would say.

Another group of travelers in the temple were also listening attentively, wanting to hear what stories Sun Wukong would tell.

Seeing this, Sun Wukong was about to tell his story, but he didn't know where to start. He hesitated for a while and said, "I have experienced many things along the way, but I don't know where to start."

The Bull Demon King came forward and said, "My dear brother, why don't we start from when you caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace?"

Sun Wukong heard this and nodded, "Let's start from that time. That was the biggest disaster I ever caused in my life. But since I was in Flower-Fruit Mountain..."

Sun Wukong told his own story. Although he was not very eloquent, his story was bizarre and mysterious. Zuo Liang, Liu Yanchang and the other passengers were all moved after hearing it.

After talking for a long time, Sun Wukong came to the point where he was suppressed by the Five Elements by Tathagata Buddha. Seeing that it was already past midnight, he said he would continue the story the next day.

Upon hearing this, Zuo Liang bowed and said, "What Grandpa Buddha did was indeed wonderful. He caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace. He really has magical powers."

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Don't say that. This is a disaster, not a wonderful thing. It is my crime." Liu Yanchang asked, "Sir, is this true?"

Sun Wukong turned around and asked, "You don't believe it?"

Liu Yanchang hesitated for a moment and said, "It's a little hard to believe. Rather than calling it a thing, it's better to call it a story."

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "If you believe it, it is true. If you don't believe it, it is false. You can just listen to it as a story."

The passers-by gathered around and said, "Sir, this story is very interesting. Is there a sequel?"

Sun Wukong said to the travelers, "There is a follow-up. There is a follow-up. But it is late today. You should go and have a good rest. We need to travel again tomorrow."

When the passers-by heard this, they thought it made sense, so they could only disperse.

Sun Wukong and Liu Yanchang said, "You are the same."

Seeing that it was getting late today, Liu Yanchang had to give up, found a place to lie down and began to rest.

Zuo Liang came up and asked Sun Wukong about the follow-up matters.

Sun Wukong stopped Zuo Liang and said, "It's a long journey. I'll tell you more later."

Zuo Liang agreed and looked around, but he didn't need to rest. Since swallowing the golden elixir, his body has been very strong. Even if he didn't eat, drink or sleep for a long time, it would be normal for him.

He was just about to get up and go thank the immortal for the elixir, but before he could go, he suddenly saw someone walking in from outside the temple.

Zuo Liang took a closer look and found that it was not a human figure, but was crawling on the ground like a big insect. He was startled and was about to shout when he suddenly saw Sun Wukong coming towards him.

Wukong laughed and said, "Don't panic. Let's see if he dares to enter the temple. If he does, don't blame me for being merciless with my stick."

Zuo Liang felt relieved only after he saw Sun Wukong, the real man sitting cross-legged and the Bull Demon King looking bored.

Sun Wukong stood there and saw the tiger shadow crawling forward. He put his hand into his ear and was about to pull out his golden hoop stick.

Suddenly, the tiger shadow retreated violently, as if it had sensed something.

Sun Wukong took a closer look and shook his head, saying, "He's a smart one."

He then turned around and reported to the Immortal Master, saying, "Big Brother, there is a tiger spirit in this mountain, but it is quite clever. It didn't know where we were, but it left before we entered the temple."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Let's find out the details tomorrow and then make plans."

Sun Wukong replied, "Yes, Big Brother."

Everyone remained silent all night. At dawn, the group of travelers left.

Jiang Yuan and his companions were still staying in the temple. As soon as the group of travelers left, an old man appeared from the temple and bowed before the immortal.

The old man bowed deeply and said, "The land of Qingliu Mountain pays homage to the Immortal Master. I hope the Immortal Master will forgive me for not being able to greet you in time."

Sun Wukong stepped forward and grabbed the land god, saying, "My elder brother has been in the temple for more than a night. Why are you coming to pay your respects only now?"

The land god panicked and said, "Great Sage, please spare my life! Great Sage, please spare my life!"

Sun Wukong said: "Tell me the truth first, and I will forgive you."

The land god said, "Great Sage, it's not that I didn't come in time, but the spirit in the mountain was patrolling there, so I couldn't go in, for fear that it would find me and harm me. So I had to wait outside. When the spirit went away at daybreak, I dared to go in and pay homage to the immortal."

(End of this chapter)