Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 20, The Wind Rises at Dusk (Part 7)
Now, Sun Wukong went up to the South Heavenly Gate, met the Heavenly King Guangmu, and said:
"I have something to ask the Jade Emperor."

Upon arriving at the Lingxiao Palace, they were greeted by the Four Celestial Masters: Zhang Daoling, Ge Xianweng, Xu Jingyang, and Qiu Hongji. They all bowed and said:

"If the Great Sage couldn't protect Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West to obtain the scriptures, why has he come here?"

Wukong said, “Difficult! Difficult! The road is long and the demons are numerous. We haven’t even traveled three-tenths of the way yet, and we’ve already been blocked at Yellow Wind Ridge. We’ve encountered two demons, one who uses wind and the other who uses fire. Even with the help of the Bodhisattva and the Dragon King, we couldn’t defeat them. In the end, we even lost Pigsy. So I’ve come here to seek out the Jade Emperor and ask him to issue an edict to send troops to subdue the demons.”

Master Xu said, "You monkey, you used to have the ability to wreak havoc in the Heavenly Palace, how come you can't even subdue two demons now?"

Wukong said, "It's really difficult! It's really difficult!"

Zhang Tianshi said, "Alright, then inform him."

Wukong said, "Thank you! Thank you!"

The Four Celestial Masters relayed a message to the Heavenly Emperor, who then introduced the Celestial Master to the Jade Emperor'

Wukong bowed deeply and recounted the events at Huangfeng Ridge, saying:

“This demon is extremely fierce. Even the Bodhisattva Lingji could not subdue it. I, Old Sun, think it is not a demon on earth, but a malevolent star in heaven. I request the Jade Emperor to issue an order to investigate.”

Upon hearing the report, the Jade Emperor immediately issued a decree:

“Investigate the stars in the heavens and the gods and kings of each constellation, to see if any of them yearn to descend to the mortal realm.”

Wukong then said, "Let's first check if Kang Jinlong, who has dragon horns and golden scales, is in the palace!"

The celestial official received the decree and first investigated the divine kings and officials at the Four Heavenly Gates; then he investigated all the great and small immortals in the Three Subtle Enclosures; then he investigated the Thunder Officials and the Thirty-Three Heavens; then he investigated the Twenty-Eight Mansions; then he investigated the Sun, the Moon, and all the stars in the sky, and found no one who wanted to descend to the mortal realm.

The celestial official reported to the Jade Emperor: "All the stars in the sky and the gods from all directions are still here, and none of them have any desire to descend to the mortal realm."

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor said, "Although no celestial beings or gods have descended to earth, it is the demons and monsters on earth that are causing trouble. Let Sun Wukong select a few heavenly generals to go down to the mortal realm and capture the demons."

Wukong was deeply grateful for the emperor's kindness. He chose Li Tianwang and his son to capture the Yellow Wind Monster, and he also chose the Water Deity Star Lord to extinguish the demon fire. He then led a group of heavenly soldiers and headed straight for the South Heavenly Gate.

After lingering in the sky for a long time, more than half a month had passed by the time Wukong led his men to Huangfeng Ridge.

Wukong was anxious and pointed to the mountain, saying, "This is the monster's cave!"

Upon hearing this, Nezha, the Third Prince, took out his Universe Ring and prepared to smash the mountain.

Wukong quickly stopped him, saying, "My master is still inside. Let me go down and challenge him. You can come and subdue him later."

Wukong went down and said:

"You monster, come out at once and release my master, my junior brother, and Bodhisattva Lingji!"

Inside the Yellow Wind Cave, the little demon hurriedly reported:

"Your Majesty, Sun Wukong is here again!"

The Great Sage Huang Feng roared, "This monkey is never going to stop! This time we must capture him!"

Ao Tu said, "Brother, you go ahead, I'll cover you!"

The Great Sage Huang Feng agreed, put on his armor, took his steel fork, and jumped out the door.

"You impudent monkey, you've come here to die again!"

Wukong said, "Monster, look who that is."

As Huang Feng Dasheng looked up, he saw a young girl flying through the air. She had delicate features, but her expression was arrogant.

You saw him:
Her jade-like face was as beautiful as a full moon, and her red lips and square mouth revealed her silver teeth.

Embroidered ribbons dance in the wind like colorful flames, brocade robes reflect the sun and bloom with golden flowers.

It was none other than Nezha, the Third Prince.

The Great Sage Huangfeng was greatly alarmed and was about to summon the wind when Li Tianwang blocked him with his pagoda, rendering him unable to move. Nezha then drew out his Hun Tian Ling (a magical ribbon), intending to bind the demon and deliver the imperial decree.

Seeing this, Ao Tu flew out and fanned the pagoda and the Hun Tian Ling three times, breaking them.

The Great Sage Huangfeng immediately summoned the wind, which fueled the fire, and the flames soared ten thousand feet into the sky.

Wukong cried out urgently, "Water Deity, release the water quickly, release the water quickly!"

The Water Deity cast a spell, unleashing a thousand-foot-high clear wave, its roar echoing through the valley, its power reaching the heavens. Unexpectedly, the fire was unaffected by the water, burning ever brighter, and instead rose up with the water.

The Yellow Wind Great Sage blew the wind so hard that Sun Wukong, Nezha, and Li Tianwang couldn't open their eyes, couldn't stand, and couldn't withstand the wind.

Ao Tu fanned the fire from the side, causing flames to fill the sky. Nezha's hair was burned and he fled in disarray. Li Jing protected the pagoda with one hand, fearing that it would be burned down, and also retreated along the way.

Water Deity was too slow to escape and was burned down from the clouds and captured in a cave.

Seeing that things were not going well, Sun Wukong quickly somersaulted away, leaving earlier than everyone else.

Seeing Nezha and Li Tianwang follow, Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Third Prince, you look more and more like a girl now!"

Nezha said angrily, "You impudent monkey! We suffered heavy losses to save your master, and you turn around and make fun of us!"

Li Jing said, "Alas! That demon is so powerful, what should we do?"

Nezha remembered something and asked, "Father, have you seen the magic fan in the demon's hand?"

Li Jing said, "I was standing far away and didn't see it."

Nezha said, "I see that the precious fan is very similar to the treasure of my master uncle, the True Lord Qingxu. I wonder if his disciple stole the precious fan and came here to cause trouble?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong hurriedly asked, "Is it the Pure Void Moral True Lord of Ziyang Cave on Green Peak Mountain?"

Nezha replied, "That's right."

Sun Wukong said, "I, Old Sun, will go and invite him right away."

Having said that, he rode away on a cloud.

A moment later, he turned back and pulled Nezha along, saying, "Please come with me, Third Prince, so I can introduce you to them."

Before long, Wukong and Nezha arrived at Ziyang Cave on Qingfeng Mountain. Through Nezha's introduction, they met Qingxu Daode Zhenjun.

After hearing what Nezha said, Qingxu Daode Zhenjun raised his hand and summoned his precious fan, saying, "No one has come down the mountain from my cave, and the precious fan has not been stolen. I suppose my junior brother has misjudged."

Sun Wukong and Nezha had no choice but to return.

Back at Huangfeng Ridge, after fruitless discussions, the Heavenly King said, "If we want to win, we can only take his treasure first; there is no other way." He then looked at Wukong.

Wukong said, "Forget about taking it, just say you're stealing it. I'm off!"

Wukong jumped down, transformed into a fly, and scurried into the cave.

Inside the cave, large and small demons danced and sang, lined up on both sides; the great demon sat high on a platform, with roe deer meat and deer legs laid out before him, eating with great relish. Two other demons sat not far away, enjoying wine, fruit, and other treats.

Upon closer inspection, the precious fan was nowhere to be found on the two demons' waists, hands, chests, or necks.

Wukong found a corner, transformed into a small demon, walked up to the two demons, poured them wine, and inquired, "Second King, you are truly amazing! With a gentle wave of that magic fan, you chased away Sun Wukong and all the heavenly generals!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu raised his head and looked at the little demon. He had some doubts in his heart, but he couldn't see anything.

Ordinary people cannot distinguish Sun Wukong's transformation skills. He was able to recognize Sun Wukong before because Sun Wukong turned into a mosquito and bit Tang Sanzang's bald head, which was very obvious.

Although he couldn't tell the difference, he remained highly suspicious. Since he was new to Yellow Wind Cave, apart from Tiger Vanguard, whom he was relatively familiar with, the ordinary lesser demons weren't that close to him and wouldn't suddenly come over to pour him wine and chat.

After thinking for a moment, Ao Tu patted the little demon on the shoulder and whispered, "You can't say that. Big Brother also deserves credit, don't you think?"

Unaware of the trap, Sun Wukong replied, "Of course, of course!"

Ao Tu laughed. He was certain that the little demon was indeed Sun Wukong in disguise.

When he and the Yellow Wind Monster became sworn brothers, he was the eldest brother, and the Yellow Wind Monster was the second brother.

Because he was just a guest in the cave and hadn't actually joined Yellow Wind Cave, the cave master was still Yellow Wind Monster. The lesser demons naturally called Yellow Wind Monster "Great King," but they didn't address him properly.

Ao Tu has no nickname. Calling him Second King is inappropriate; calling him Great King is too wordy; and calling him Guest is too distant.

Ao Tu then lowered his status and asked the lesser demons to call him Second King to avoid too much trouble.

Sun Wukong was unaware of this and thus revealed his true colors.

(End of this chapter)