Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 30, Crossing the Shifting Sands (Part 6)
Meanwhile, Sun Wukong was ambushed by Ao Tu and stumbled.

Ao Tu pressed his advantage and struck again with his seal.

With the added advantage of his innate supernatural abilities in the water, Ao Tu's strengths are greatly amplified.

Seeing this, Sun Wukong retreated.

Ao Tu threw out the Water-Covering Seal, but Sun Wukong took out a glass bowl from his robes and collided with the Water-Covering Seal, thus neutralizing its attack.

Sun Wukong retrieved the glass bowl, looking at the newly added cracks with some heartache, and quickly withdrew it from the water.

Back on shore, Wukong thought to himself, "This demon dragon has many treasures, and they are hidden in the water. I am no match for it. I should go and ask the Bodhisattva for help."

So he somersaulted on the cloud and went straight to the South Sea.

Flying over the vast ocean, Wukong looked down and saw the sea. Suddenly, he remembered that he had gone to find Ao Guang at Huangfeng Ridge.

"Blackwater River, I remember now!"

Wukong remembered that when he went to Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea, for help, the old dragon, upon hearing that he had encountered a demonic dragon, immediately asked him, "Have you reached the Blackwater River?"

The river demon must be connected to that old dragon!
Wukong stopped the cloud, changed direction, and went to settle accounts with the old dragon.

In a short while, they arrived at the East Sea.

Sun Wukong entered the Crystal Palace, found Ao Guang, grabbed Ao Guang's beard, and told him what had happened.

Ao Guang said, "Great Sage, that Sand Crocodile Dragon should be an alias. He is actually my nephew, called Little Crocodile Dragon, the youngest son of my brother-in-law, the Jing River Dragon King."

Upon hearing this, Wukong angrily retorted, "You have several nephews, why are they all causing trouble for my master? That Jinghe Old Dragon has violated the Heavenly Laws, his crime is unforgivable, and he deserves to be executed. What does this have to do with my master?"

Ao Guang said, "Great Sage, you may not know, but there are some hidden reasons behind this."

Wukong asked, "What's the secret?"

Ao Guang said, "It's not easy for me to say about this. After my brother-in-law died, my sister took her nine children and went to live with my third brother, the Dragon King of the West Sea. I'll call him over now and explain the situation to the Great Sage."

In the Dragon Palace, there are golden bells and iron drums. Whenever there is an emergency, the drums are beaten and the bells are struck, and the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas will arrive in an instant.

Ao Guang rang the bells and drums on the west side of the Dragon Palace, and soon after, Ao Run, the Dragon King of the West Sea, arrived upon hearing the sound.

Ao Run asked, "Brother, what urgent matter has brought you to beat the drums and strike the bells?"

Ao Guang explained the situation to Ao Run, who exclaimed in surprise:

"The Great Sage moves very fast; he has arrived at the Blackwater River so quickly!"

Wukong was annoyed and didn't think much of it. He said, "Stop talking nonsense and tell me what happened. How many sons does the Jinghe Dragon King have? Why does he keep obstructing my master?"

Ao Run said, “Great Sage, please forgive me. My sister has nine sons. The first is a little yellow dragon, who lives in the Huai River; the second is a little black dragon, who lives in the Ji River; the third is a green-backed dragon, who occupies the Jiang River; the fourth is a red-bearded dragon, who guards the He River; the fifth is a futile dragon, who rings the bell with the Buddha; the sixth is a steady beast dragon, who guards the ridge of the Divine Palace; the seventh is a respectful dragon, who guards the Heavenly Pillar with the Jade Emperor; the eighth is a mirage dragon, who stands on Mount Tai. The ninth is a little alligator dragon, who is the youngest, and lives in the Blackwater River to nurture his nature.”

Upon hearing this, Wukong was shocked. He thought to himself that the Jinghe Dragon King actually had nine sons. One Ao Tu and the little alligator dragon were already such a problem. If the other seven came down to the mortal world, how could the scriptures be obtained?

As the saying goes, only by getting to the bottom of things and tracing back to the source can problems be solved. Wukong asked, "What are the hidden secrets behind the death of the Jing River Dragon King that have caused your nephews to relentlessly pursue my master?"

Ao Run said upon hearing this:
"Reporting to the Great Sage, I dare not speak of any hidden reasons. It is only because my brother-in-law, Ren Sheng, and my nephew are strong-willed and headstrong that this matter occurred, offending the Great Sage and his disciples. I, the little dragon, am guilty of a thousand sins."

Wukong said, "Stop with the official talk, just say it, say it!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Run then recounted what had happened back then.

“In the past, in Chang’an, there was a fortune teller named Yuan Shoucheng. He would tell a fisherman a fortune every day, telling him where to cast his net and when to catch fish. Every net he cast was sure to catch something, and every day he would catch a golden carp.”

Ao Run explained to Sun Wukong:
"This golden carp is the transformation of my dragon clan during their tribulations. Before becoming a Golden Immortal, cultivators face three calamities, and the dragon clan also has its corresponding tribulations, which involve transforming into this golden carp to obscure their primordial spirit. If someone catches and eats it, they will perish, and a thousand years of arduous cultivation will all be in vain. That fisherman hits every time; if this continues, won't all the dragon sons and grandsons of the Jing River be wiped out?"

Wukong nodded upon hearing this and said, "That's true!"

Ao Run continued:
"When my brother-in-law found out, he went to settle accounts with Yuan Shoucheng. The two made a bet: Yuan Shoucheng would calculate the exact time of the rain the next day. If he was right, my brother-in-law would give him gold; if he was wrong, he would make Yuan Shoucheng leave Chang'an."

Upon hearing this, Wukong laughed and said, "How could a fortune teller possibly win against the Dragon King in calculating the amount of rain?"

Ao Run shook his head and said:
“Great Sage, you may not know this. Normally, my brother-in-law is in charge of controlling the rain. As long as there are no major mistakes, it doesn’t matter how much or how little rain falls. But that day, the Jade Emperor suddenly issued an edict, instructing my brother-in-law on when to create clouds, when to make it rain, how many feet, how many drops, and when to stop the rain. His calculations were exactly the same as Yuan Shoucheng’s!”

Wukong exclaimed in surprise, "Is that so? It seems that Yuan Shoucheng is no ordinary person!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Run hurriedly replied, "I dare not say, perhaps it is due to his superb divination skills."

Wukong smiled but didn't say anything.

Ao Run continued, "Afterwards, my brother-in-law, being stubborn and eager to win, secretly altered some of the points. Unexpectedly, the Jade Emperor found out and had him imprisoned on the Dragon-Slaying Platform."

Wukong said, "I, Old Sun, know what happened next. He went to plead with the Tang Emperor, but the Tang Emperor, instead of saving him, killed him. His dragon spirit was not at peace, and he filed a complaint in the underworld, which frightened the Tang Emperor. That's why he sent my master to the Western Paradise to obtain the Mahayana Buddhist teachings to deliver the souls of the dead."

Ao Run asked, "Exactly. How did these great sages find out?"

Wukong said, "It was Guanyin Bodhisattva who said it, but she didn't mention what happened before. She only said that your brother-in-law violated the heavenly rules and was executed by the Jade Emperor. Ao Tu was unwilling to accept this, which is why he stopped us, master and disciple."

Upon hearing this, Ao Run hurriedly knelt down and said, "This little dragon doesn't know, this little dragon doesn't know! Great Sage, I heard that my brother-in-law was destined to die a violent death in the Book of Life and Death at the time of his birth. What I said today was just a joke, and I hope that the Great Sage will not spread it."

Wukong looked at the kneeling West Sea Dragon King, shook his head, and wanted to laugh at how cowardly this old dragon was, despite being the West Sea Dragon King.

But when he thought of the golden headband on his head, he swallowed back the words he was about to say.

After a long silence, he said:

“Old Dragon, I was originally going to the South China Sea to find the Bodhisattva to subdue those two demonic dragons. Now that things are like this, you come with me to the Blackwater River to try and persuade them to surrender. If we can get those two demonic dragons to send my master out, then we won’t need to go to the Bodhisattva.”

Upon hearing this, the Dragon King of the West Sea said:
“Great Sage, I am somewhat confident about my youngest nephew. But my nephew Ao Tu, he came to my Dragon Palace not long ago and stole many of my Dragon Palace weapons and magical treasures. I am afraid he will not be willing to surrender.”

Wukong said, “He’s your nephew. What’s wrong with him taking a few of your treasures? I think he has some sense of righteousness. Although he blocked my master’s journey to the West, he didn’t harm my master. He probably knows that there’s a cause for every grievance and a debtor for every debt. Go and persuade him. If that doesn’t work, then we can talk about other things.”

(End of this chapter)