Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 373 Senior Brother
At the summit of Jindu Mountain, shrouded in mist and surrounded by swirling golden clouds, the sound of snoring could be heard emanating from the peach grove.
"Huhu."

In the middle of the tall, pink peach orchard, a fat, big-eared, broad-shouldered figure in a white robe was fast asleep, clutching a wine jar with his mouth open.

This person was none other than Zhu Bajie, the Clean Altar Messenger, whom Sun Wukong had dragged from the Clean Altar Messenger Temple.

The snoring sounds that rose and fell were coming from Pigsy's big mouth and long nose.

Just then, a figure slowly walked to Pigsy's side, bent down gently, and patted Pigsy's belly.

Pigsy was sleeping soundly, and only reacted after being patted several times by the figure.

He kept his head down and eyes closed, one hand holding the wine jar, the other sweeping across his stomach, humming softly:

"Hmph~ You monkey, stop fooling around~"

As Pigsy spoke, he turned to the side and covered his belly with the sleeve of his white robe with gold patterns.

But the figure turned around and patted Pigsy's shoulder again, several times in a row, before Pigsy impatiently opened his eyes, turned around and looked up at the figure that kept patting him.

"Oh my! You monkey-like Daoist?!"

Pigsy's eyes widened as he stared at the smiling old man in purple Taoist robes. In just a moment, he forced a smile and said:
"Oh dear, Daoist Master, what brings you here? Could it be that you've also come to visit Brother Monkey's senior brother? If I had known you were coming, I would have gone to greet you right away."

As Pigsy was speaking, the Daoist Master blinked rapidly, revealing a playful expression. He scratched his cheek and quickly transformed into a monkey face covered in yellow fur.

"Hehe~ Pigsy, why didn't you come to pick up this old man earlier?"

"Huh? A monkey?!"

Seeing Sun Wukong scratching his ears and laughing happily, Pigsy knew perfectly well that he had been tricked by the monkey again!

"You monkey! You've disturbed my peaceful sleep again! And you even disguised yourself as a Daoist Master to deceive me! You, you, you, stop right there!"

Pigsy put the wine jar aside, got up from the ground, and chased after Monkey King!
Soon, the two figures, one chasing and the other running, began to chase each other through the peach blossom forest until Sun Wukong hid behind the largest peach tree in the forest.

Hey! You monkey! Come out here!

Pigsy chased after him, and just as he was about to reach the back of the incredibly thick peach tree, he saw a Taoist priest dressed in purple robes, holding a white whisk, walking out from behind the peach tree with a somewhat helpless smile on his face.

"You monkey, you're trying to scare me by trying to fool the Daoist Master!"

As Zhu Bajie spoke, he stepped forward with his big belly, about to pluck the Daoist's black beard, but was stopped by the white whisk.

"Envoy of the Clean Altar, it's not very nice of you to start pulling my beard as soon as we meet."

Just then, Sun Wukong's head popped out from behind Daojun, and he grinned at Zhu Bajie:
"That's right, Daoist Master, this fool is so rude, you have to teach him a lesson!"

"Ah? Daojun?"

Seeing this, Pigsy's eyes widened, realizing he had met the person in charge, and he quickly cupped his hands and said:

"Daojun, don't listen to this monkey's nonsense. He was the one who impersonated you to trick me. If you need to discipline someone, you should discipline him!"

Ever since he passed by Daojun Mountain, Zhu Bajie was pulled into a dream by Daojun and Guanyin Bodhisattva to test his Zen mind. He was hung up in the dream for a long time as punishment. Since then, he has been somewhat afraid of Daojun.

Furthermore, the heavenly rules are strict, and even among the immortals there are different ranks. This divine physician Daoist is far superior to him in terms of official rank, status, ability, and the number of offerings he receives in the mortal world, so he should naturally show him respect.

Daojun smiled and shook his head, then turned to Sun Wukong, who was smiling broadly, and said, "You haven't told him about me yet?"

“Senior brother, this fool has been staying in the temple every day since he became a Buddha. He does nothing but eat and sleep all day. He is so lazy that I rarely see him.”

"Besides, how could I reveal your identity without your permission? I was planning to tell him a few days ago, but who knew that this fool would come to your dojo and just eat and sleep all day long."

"Senior brother?"

Pigsy glanced at Daoist Master, then at Sun Wukong. He blinked and darted around, then moved closer to the two in front of him.

"Senior Brother, when did Daojun become your senior brother? When did you two become relatives?"

"You idiot."

Sun Wukong walked towards Zhu Bajie, grabbed his shoulder, and brought him before the Daoist Master, saying:
“Fool, let me tell you, my senior brother is the Dao Lord, and the Dao Lord is my senior brother. The person in front of you and my senior brother on Golden Gourd Mountain are the same person.”

"what?"

Pigsy opened his mouth wide, staring in astonishment at the figure before him. After a moment, he seemed to understand something, nodded in realization, and then quickly moved forward again with a broad smile.

"No wonder Daojun treated us so warmly when we passed through Daojun Mountain, even bringing out that precious incense to entertain us. It turns out he's one of our own!"

"Um, Daoist Master, since you are Monkey King's senior brother, then you are also my senior brother. You remember the method I mentioned back at Wuzhuang Temple to make myself more handsome?"

Daojun chuckled. Even though Zhu Bajie had become the Clean Altar Messenger, he was still quick to climb the social ladder. However, although he was always grinning, he wasn't disliked.

"Hey, you idiot, go away, go find another remedy!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong couldn't help but roll his eyes, quickly patted Zhu Bajie's shoulder a few times, and chased him away.

"Hey—you stingy monkey, I finally got to see my senior brother!"

Pigsy was reluctantly chased aside by Monkey King, while the Daoist Master laughed:

"Marshal Tianpeng, even with your imposing and heroic appearance back then, you never won the favor of Fairy Ni Chang. This appearance is ultimately just that—an appearance. The most important thing is your heart."

"Besides, you are now a nun. If you still harbor lustful thoughts, I might go and report to Guanyin Bodhisattva."

Before the Daoist Master could finish speaking, Pigsy hurriedly interjected:
"Daojun, Daojun, I'm not joking. We don't expose people's shortcomings. It's no fun to keep bringing up the past."

Looking at Zhu Bajie's appearance, Sun Wukong laughed at his senior brother:

"Senior brother, I think this fool has the desire to steal but not the courage, so let him off this time."

Daojun nodded with a smile, then turned and walked towards the thatched hut.

"Let's go. It's a rare occasion for you to come all the way to my Jindu Mountain, so I should prepare some good wine and food to treat you. Let's not drink the peach blossom wine today, but drink my apricot wine instead, and I'll also cook a few dishes for you."

"Hey, thank you, senior brother, thank you, senior brother."

Upon hearing this, Pigsy immediately followed with a big smile, calling out to his senior brother with increasing affection.

(End of this chapter)