Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 281 The Two Sides of Buddha and Demon
Late at night, in Majiazhuang.

Dark clouds obscured the starlight and moonlight, plunging the earth into complete darkness. Apart from the occasional cries of livestock, there was no light or sound in the entire village.

Shi Cui and Pang Wen stood on the earthen slope outside Ma Family Village, their eyes gleaming with a chilling, ghostly light, overlooking the entire village and seeing everything inside clearly.

Shi Cui looked at the man's house where Tang Sanzang and his group were spending the night, and slowly said:

"The people Your Majesty is waiting for have arrived."

"I think that monk from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East is just a delicate mortal. Why does he make the Venerable One care so much?"

"But those three over there..."

A flicker of apprehension crossed Pang Wen's eyes. If it weren't for the treasure bestowed upon him by the Venerable One, he would have been spotted by that hairy-faced, thunder-mouthed fellow the moment he glanced at them during the day.
"I once heard the Venerable One say that the monk was the second disciple of Buddha, the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi, a good person who had cultivated for ten lifetimes. Now the rumor has spread throughout Xiniu Hezhou that as long as you can eat a bite of Tang Monk's flesh, you can live forever."

"As for the three lords, they only mentioned that the hairy-faced thunder god was the Great Sage Equaling Heaven who caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago. We must be extremely careful."

"The Monkey King, is it?"

Pang Wen murmured the name, his eyes filled with even more apprehension, but after a moment, he suppressed it and took out the "Record of Wrongful Souls" from his sleeve.

"No matter who they are, the Lord's command must be carried out!"

Soon, a gust of cold wind swept across the Book of Wronged Souls, blowing it open with a rustling sound until it reached Gao Qiulan's page before slowly stopping.

"Now that the person has arrived, go, Gao Qiulan, and fulfill your long-cherished wish."

On the page of "The Record of Wronged Souls," flames quickly ignited on Gao Qiulan's page, and soon burned the page completely.

At the same time, Gao Qiulan, who had been sleeping soundly in the Gao family, suddenly opened her eyes and appeared in front of her aunt and uncle's bed in a flash.

She looked at the couple before her, whose faces were now pale and covered in sweat, trembling with fear and resentment because of her yin energy. They were muttering things like "Don't kill me." Her eyes were filled with coldness.

"You two seized my father's property and drove me out. Only now do I realize that my parents' deaths were also related to you two!"

Gao Qiulan's words were filled with endless resentment. She stretched out her two hands, one on each hand, and grabbed the necks of the two men.

The couple suddenly woke up, their eyes wide with terror as they stared at the familiar figure before them.

Outside the house, Sun Wukong's spirit sat cross-legged on the roof of the man's house, his eyes gleaming with golden light.

"As expected, it's a vengeful spirit seeking revenge!"

Sun Wukong rolled his eyes, turned over, and flew back into the house.

This couple has done all sorts of bad things, and they're only reaping what they sowed. He has no intention of meddling in their affairs, as long as they don't get involved.

However, early the next morning, Tang Sanzang and his group were awakened by a commotion coming from next door.

Tang Sanzang slowly woke up and saw that Zhu Bajie, who was still in bed, was being pulled up by the ear by Sun Wukong. Hearing the noise outside, he felt a little uneasy.

"Wukong, has something happened outside?"

"Master, I'll go and find out."

Sun Wukong then released Zhu Bajie's ears and walked outside.

As soon as Sun Wukong went outside, he saw a crowd gathered across the street, pointing and gesturing inside.

"That couple died such a tragic death! Do you think the rumor is true? That Gao Qiulan died and her ghost came to claim her life?"

"Of course it's true! Look at them, there's no other possibility, right? I'm telling you, I live next door to them, and I didn't hear a single sound last night!"

"Look at these two again, they both look terrified. Hiss."

As the man spoke, he suddenly felt a chill and couldn't help but rub his shoulders and take two steps back, making way for Sun Wukong.

"Excuse me, please."

As Sun Wukong spoke, he came forward and saw the couple's bodies stiff and dead, their eyes wide open, still showing signs of terror.

They clung to the open doorframe, their fingers gripping it tightly, black blood seeping from them, as if something was pulling them back, making them desperately want to escape.

This sight sent chills down everyone's spine, and they began to firmly believe that Gao Qiulan had returned to Gaojia Village as a demon to seek revenge.

Sun Wukong glanced around, then returned to the house and told Tang Sanzang everything he had seen, including what he had learned the day before.

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang sighed softly, clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and murmured repeatedly, "I have sinned," while chanting Amitabha Buddha.

As soon as Pigsy woke up, he felt hungry again and looked at his master, saying:
“Oh dear, Master, that person is dead. It’s no use chanting now. Let’s hurry and ask this family for a meal.”

Tang Sanzang opened his eyes and looked at Zhu Bajie, saying:
"Bajie, a monk should be compassionate. No matter what, those are two lives!"

Sun Wukong listened from the side and shook his head, knowing that his Tang Monk, who couldn't even bear to hurt an ant, had become compassionate again.

Tang Sanzang didn't feel much pity for the two, after all, they had indeed done many evil deeds. He just felt sorry that two lives had died because of his evil deeds.

"Elder Tang! Elder Tang!"

Just then, the man who had brought them to his home yesterday strode into the house, followed by many people from Majiazhuang.

"Elder Tang, I'm sorry to bother you." Tang Sanzang quickly stood up and greeted the person behind him, but he was also a little puzzled by the people following him.

"It's nothing, I wonder what brings you here, benefactor?"

When Tang Sanzang asked him a question, the man rubbed his hands together somewhat embarrassedly.

"Oh, Elder Tang, the family across the street suddenly passed away. The villagers all believe that they were killed by a vengeful ghost, but they don't know if the ghost has left."

"Everyone wants to ask you, since you are a high-ranking monk from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East, you must be very capable! We want to see if you can perform a ritual. This grievance has its source and the debtor its debtor. What happened back then has nothing to do with us, and leaving those two there is not a solution. So we want to ask you to perform a ritual to help them pass on to the afterlife."

As the man spoke, his tone became pleading, because the man had died right across the street, and in such a tragic way.

"This"

Tang Sanzang pondered for a moment, looked around, and finally agreed because he was so warmly welcomed by the villagers.

Sun Wukong's eyes darted around, and after the group had all left, he pulled Tang Sanzang aside and said to him:

"Master, if you were to perform a ritual and recite the sutra for saving sentient beings, you would surely eliminate the karmic obstacles of those two and allow them to be reincarnated. But I'm afraid this would offend the wronged spirits."

Tang Sanzang was a virtuous person who had cultivated himself for ten lifetimes and was also a highly virtuous monk.

When Tang Sanzang passed by Liangjie Mountain, Liu Boqin's father, who was repaying his karmic debts in the underworld and could not be reincarnated, received a scripture from Tang Sanzang, which washed away his karmic debts, and he was reincarnated the next day.

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang was somewhat flustered, but after a moment he calmed down and said to Sun Wukong:

"Don't worry, disciple. If that female benefactor comes, I will recite the salvation mantra for her and help her wash away her karmic obstacles. I believe she will not harm me."

Sun Wukong shook his head and scratched his cheek, saying:

“Oh dear, Master, why don’t you understand? If the wronged souls who died unjustly were so easy to ferry, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva wouldn’t have built the City of the Unjustly Dead.”

"Even if you're willing to help someone, they might not want you to."

His master was, after all, a mortal, and knew nothing of the gods or immortals, nor had he ever been to the underworld.

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang's heart tightened, and he quickly said:

"Wukong, what should we do?"

"Master, rest assured. When the ritual is performed tonight, have Brother Sha watch over the Dragon Horse's package. Pigsy and I will protect you and keep you safe."

Pigsy, who was standing nearby, was immediately displeased when he heard that he was also involved, and muttered:

"Hmph! No food! And I have to do all the work... Ouch!!!"

"Bajie, what did you just say?"

"Ouch!! You monkey, let go! Let go of me!"

Fortunately, just then, the man, accompanied by his family, entered the house carrying baskets of steaming hot, fragrant buns and vegetables, and greeted them warmly:

"Elders, please have a meal."

"Thank you, donor."

Upon hearing that there was food, Pigsy's expression immediately changed, and he beamed with joy. He didn't care that Monkey was pulling his ear, and just sniffed the aroma as he reached for the steamed bun.

The underworld, in the Black Valley.

The venerable one, dressed in a black Buddhist robe, sat cross-legged on the stone statue that was half Buddha and half demon, with only his head showing, looking at the sky of the underworld, but his eyes reflected everything in Ma Family Village.

"Buddha's second disciple, a virtuous person who cultivated himself for ten lifetimes."

“Ksitigarbha, what do you think he will choose? Will he help the couple burdened with karmic debts, or will he help Gao Qiulan, who died unjustly?”

The Venerable One lowered his head and saw a handsome monk in a robe and holding a staff walking slowly towards him. As the monk walked by, the staff in his hand made a pleasant sound that calmed people's hearts.

The visitor was none other than Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

“Ksitigarbha, we have been fighting for too long. Since neither of us can convince the other, let’s leave it to someone else.”

“The Buddha’s second disciple, a good man who has cultivated for ten lifetimes, and the one appointed by the West to retrieve the scriptures, I think he should be qualified to represent Buddhism, expound the Dharma, and prove that you and I are right or wrong.”

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva lowered his eyes and said in a clear voice:

"This humble monk also has the same intention."

Immediately afterwards, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva slowly raised his head and looked at the figure on the Buddha-demon head.

The face of the deity was exactly the same as that of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

It's just that the Venerable One usually uses the ability to perceive things, so others can't detect it.

At this moment, the Venerable One and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, just like that statue, represent two sides: Buddha and demon.

(End of this chapter)