Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 22, The Wind Rises at Dusk (Part 9)
Meanwhile, Wukong rode the clouds to Mount Ling.

They descended from the clouds to the foot of Vulture Peak, where the Four Heavenly Kings blocked their way, saying, "Where are you going, you monkey?"

Wukong bowed and said, "I am Sun Wukong, a disciple of Tang Sanzang. I have something to discuss with the Buddha."

At that time, the Buddha was sitting on the nine-tiered lotus platform, preaching to the eighteen Arhats, and said, "Sun Wukong has arrived. You all go out and greet him."

The eighteen Arhats, following the Buddha's instructions, went out the door:
"Great Sage Sun, the Buddha has ordered you to receive him."

The four guardian deities at the entrance then made way for Wukong to enter.

When Wukong saw the Buddha, he bowed down in reverence.

The Buddha asked, "Wukong, what brings you here?"

Wukong said, "I have been repeatedly fortunate to receive your teachings and have been entrusted with the protection of the Buddha, to safeguard Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West to obtain the scriptures."

Now, upon arriving at Huangfeng Ridge, we encountered two demons, one who could wield wind and the other fire. They were extremely fierce and captured my master.

The disciple could not defeat him, so he first invited Bodhisattva Lingji, then the Dragon King, then Heavenly King Li, the Third Prince, and the Water Deity, but none of them could subdue the demon.

"Upon investigation, we have learned that the demon is actually the son of the Jing River Dragon King, a minor dragon serving as the bell-ringer under the Buddha. Therefore, he has come to request that you send someone to subdue him."

The Buddha said, “That’s right. That demon was originally my bell-ringing boy. Because he missed the appointed time, I asked Ananda to give him a minor punishment as a warning. But for some reason, he couldn’t bear the hardship and fled to the mortal world.”

Wukong said, "How can such a small child possess such cultivation?"

The Buddha said, "He has long been under my tutelage, listening to the wonderful teachings of the West, and thus has gained some spiritual attainment."

Wukong said, "So it was your fault for not recognizing people properly!"

The Buddha said, "You monkey, how can you say that it's my fault for misjudging people?"

Wukong said, "You are similar to that old Jade Emperor. I, Old Sun, have such great abilities, yet he asks me to raise horses? That demon has great supernatural powers and has already cultivated a true dragon golden body, yet you ask him to be the bell ringer. Isn't that your fault for not recognizing people well?"

The Buddha said, “The attainment of Buddhahood in the Western Paradise is not based on supernatural powers, but on great wisdom, great compassion, great perseverance, and great vows. Only those with these qualities can achieve enlightenment. That little dragon made a mistake and refused even a small punishment, so he secretly fled to the mortal realm. How can he attain enlightenment? His actions are just like yours.”

Wukong laughed and said, "Why are you bringing up me again? Quickly send some Buddhist soldiers to subdue that demonic dragon and rescue my master!"

The Buddha said, “Ananda is currently working on the scriptures in the Treasure Pavilion. Go find him and ask him to help you subdue that little dragon.”

Wukong said, "Thank you, thank you!"

She turned and went to the Treasure Pavilion.

Outside the Zhen Pavilion, a young monk was dozing off.

Wukong clapped his hands and called out, "Little monk, little monk, is Venerable Ananda inside?"

The young monk opened his eyes, not bothering to look closely, and said, "Senior brother, you're back. Why were you gone for so long?"

Wukong said, "That's your senior brother, look carefully!"

The child then saw what Wukong looked like and said in fear:

"who are you?"

Wukong said, "Don't be afraid. I have come to find Venerable Ananda on the orders of the Buddha."

The boy said, "Oh, so you're looking for my master."

Wukong said, "That's right, that's right. Please inform them."

The child extends his hand.

Wukong asked, "What?"

The boy said, "You monkey have no manners. How can you expect me to announce your arrival empty-handed?"

Wukong angrily said, "I'll beat you, you greedy little monk! My master is suffering in the demon cave, and you're asking me for a gift? If you don't open the door, look at this iron rod, doesn't it look like a gift?" The boy was frightened and opened the door.

Wukong jumped in, and Ananda was inside organizing the scriptures.

Wukong quickly greeted him, bowing and saying, "Venerable Ananda," and then explained the whole story, including the matter of the gatekeeper asking for gifts.

After hearing this, Ananda said, "Don't be angry. After this matter is over, I will definitely punish him severely and forbid him from accepting any more gifts."

Wukong said, “Very good, very good, Venerable One, please come with me to save my master. One day in this world is equivalent to one year on Earth. We dare not delay any longer.”

Ah Nan said, “Wait a minute. Since you’ve asked me to help, what gifts have you given me? I haven’t shown them yet.”

"Personnel fee?" Upon hearing this, Wukong jumped up in anger and shouted, "Fine! My master is about to be eaten by demons, and you, as a Venerable One, don't go to save him, but instead demand personnel fees from me? I wondered why that child was so greedy; tracing back to the source, it turns out it was you!"

Ananda laughed and said, "Even if you ask a monk to perform a ritual or release hungry ghosts, you still need to prepare vegetarian meals and give him money; if you give money for nothing, future generations of monks will starve to death!"

Upon hearing this, Wukong couldn't help but pull Ananda up and said:
"Let's go, let's go to the Buddha to settle this matter!"

Ah Nan said, "Even if you try to reason with me, I'm not afraid of you. I'm just afraid that Jin Chanzi won't be able to hold out for that long. You know that one day in this world is equivalent to one year on Earth. If this continues, even if your master isn't eaten by the demons, he'll starve to death!"

Wukong, feeling utterly helpless, finally said:

"Alright, come with me to subdue the demon. There are many treasures in the demon's cave. I'll take them and give them to you. If you think that's not enough, I, Old Sun, will risk everything and steal the Heavenly King's pagoda and the Crown Prince's Universe Ring, and give them to you as well!"

Upon hearing this, Ananda smiled with delight and followed Wukong out of Mount Ling and arrived at Huangfeng Ridge.

At this point, the progress of the Aotu system had reached thirty-five days.

It was still Wukong who came to the door to yell and curse, and Huang Feng Dasheng came out to fight.

Ao Tu secretly observed and saw that only Ananda and Li Tianwang and his son were in the air, so he was relieved.

Before long, Ananda took out a glass bowl, which emitted seven-colored light and froze the Yellow Wind Monster.

The Great Sage Huang Feng hurriedly cried out, "Brother, save me!"

Ao Tu appeared in the air, flew to Ananda's side, and raised his hand to fan twenty times.

Although Ananda was one of the Buddha's ten great disciples, his spiritual cultivation was not high; he was only known as "foremost in learning." Before the Buddha attained enlightenment, Ananda had long followed the Buddha, recording his words and deeds. Therefore, after the Buddha attained enlightenment, Ananda shared some of the merits and thus received a higher level of enlightenment.

In terms of inherent strength, without using any magical artifacts, he is not even as good as Bodhisattva Lingji.

Now, taking advantage of his unpreparedness, Ao Tu fanned him twenty times, burning the glass bowl until it cracked and fell down. Ananda was engulfed in divine fire, let out a miserable scream, and his body and soul were destroyed, turning into a gust of red wind and disappearing.

Only a trace of true spirit remained, enveloped in a golden lotus, and flew westward.

Ao Tu chased after him and fanned the flames hundreds of times, causing the sky to blaze with fire, making it resemble a second sun.

Upon seeing this, Li Jing and the Third Prince quickly retreated.

Wukong, being bold, went down and picked up the glass bowl that Ananda had dropped. A crack had been burned into the side, so it was no longer suitable for holding water, but it could still be used to hold some dry rice.

Wukong happily accepted it, saying, "Pity you, Venerable Ananda. You can't keep my personal connections, but I'll keep yours. In the future, when you beg for alms, you can serve your master some rice or cold dishes. That will be considered your good deed."

On the other side, Ao Tu chased for six thousand miles but could not shake the golden lotus. He knew it was a great Luo technique that could not be broken by human power, so he had no choice but to turn back.

Back at Huangfeng Cave, Huangfeng Dasheng saw Ao Tu return and was about to celebrate Ao Tu's success.

Ao Tu said, "Brother, we can't eat Tang Sanzang's flesh now."

The Great Sage Yellow Wind asked, "Why can't we eat it?"

Ao Tu said, "The monk I just slapped to death was the Buddha of the West, a disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha. Now that he is dead, all the Buddhas will surely come to take revenge. You and I should each flee for our lives."

(End of this chapter)