Journey to the West: Starting with the Hunting of the Three Demons of Twin Fork Ridge

Without further ado, Li Fa settled all the affairs inside the cave, then called a man who knew the way and headed straight for Xiong Shan Jun's lair.

After walking for an hour, as dusk approached, we arrived at our destination.

Li Fa then told the little demon to go back, while he stayed there alone.

This place was indeed treacherous, with jagged, jagged rocks, and even the entrance to his cave was hidden by two or three dozen vines.

If Li Fa hadn't been so observant, he probably wouldn't have noticed.

Li Fa leaped into the air and hid himself in a crevice in the rock above the cave entrance, then grabbed some withered branches and leaves to cover himself.

That wasn't enough. Fearing that Xiong Shan Jun would smell it and be afraid to come back, it covered its body with mud before hiding again.

The crescent moon rose high in the sky, but there was no movement around the cave.

Li Fa was not in a hurry at all. He was certain that Xiong Shan Jun was so frightened by him that he would not dare to return to his lair immediately and walk into a trap.

More likely, the old bear will first find a secluded place to quell the unrest, and only after the night has fallen or a day or two has passed, when he thinks the storm has passed, will he secretly sneak back to retrieve some important items or check the situation.

"Wait." Li Fa's mind was clear and he was extremely patient.

His original military career, coupled with the life-and-death battles he experienced after transmigrating, had already forged his will into something as hard as iron.

Hunters have no shortage of patience.

This wait lasted for three days.

At dawn, Li Fa was about to take a nap when he suddenly sensed something was amiss.

He focused his gaze and indeed saw a dark-skinned man tiptoeing towards the cave.

He looked around, his eyes darting about, as if searching for something.

The man walked three steps to the cave entrance and suddenly stopped.

Li Fa's heart stirred slightly, and he held his breath.

After a while, the man carefully parted the vines and crawled inside.

Just as half of his body disappeared into the cave!

"King Xiongshan, I've been waiting for you for a long time." Li Fa's calm voice rang out from above his head.

Xiong Shanjun looked up in shock and saw a figure swooping down from the crevice of the rock like an eagle pouncing on a rabbit!

Upon seeing this, Xiong Shanjun reacted immediately by rolling on the ground.

But the slash was too fast, and even so, Xiong Shan Jun was slashed in the buttocks.

"You bastard, you're really persistent!" Xiong Shanjun covered his buttocks with one hand and made a hand seal with the other, transforming into a black wind once again and fleeing westward.

But Li Fa would never give him another chance to escape this time, and he gave chase immediately.

The two of them, one flying through the forest, the other chasing each other in the mountains.

One wants to save his own life, the other wants to kill.

During the chase, they left Shuangcha Ridge and entered the Liangjie Mountain area.

At this moment, the sky was bright, and auspicious clouds swirled in the air. A silver-armored general appeared, who was none other than the Silver-Headed Jiedi, one of the Five Directions Jiedi who had been sent by Buddha to imprison Sun Wukong for five hundred years.

It was his turn to be on duty this month. Yesterday, he and the Golden-Headed Jiedi escorted the Monkey King to protect Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West. The Golden-Headed Jiedi left together and, by the Buddha's decree, stayed by Tang Sanzang's side day and night.

However, the Silver-Headed Jiedi stayed for a day to clean up the mountain area and return to Mount Ling to report before going on duty. Unexpectedly, he happened to encounter a sudden gust of demonic wind and murderous aura in the mountain forest.

Jiedi looked closely and saw a black wind fleeing in a sorry state ahead, with a gray shadow chasing closely behind.

He recognized the person in the black wind; this demon was the nephew of the Black Wind King of Black Wind Mountain.

He knew that the Black Wind King was the bodyguard that Guanyin Bodhisattva had arranged to guard during this great journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

It was precisely because of this relationship that the Five Directions Protectors occasionally took care of this Lord Xiongshan.

Xiongshan Jun would often give some tribute to the Jiedi (priests), so the five Jiedi turned a blind eye to his actions at Shuangchaling.

After all, their main task was to guard Sun Wukong, wasn't it?

The one chasing after Xiong Shan Jun was a bit hard to figure out. It looked like a deer demon, but its aura was strange, even somewhat "vague"!

However, Liangjie Mountain is still within his jurisdiction, and as a guardian deity, he still needs to make some contributions.

"What kind of demon dares to act so presumptuously before the Two Realms Mountain!" the Silver-Headed Jiedi roared, descending from the clouds to stand between the two.

But then he paused with his vajra, and the tip of the vajra was immediately illuminated by a Buddha-light, instantly freezing the black wind that Xiong Shan Jun had transformed into, and also stopping Li Fa's pursuit.

The black wind around Xiong Shanjun dissipated, revealing his true form. His buttocks were covered in blood, making him look quite pathetic.

The old bear looked up and saw that it was the Silver-Headed Jiedi. His eyes darted around, and he immediately knelt down with a thud, wailing, "Grandpa Jiedi! Grandpa Jiedi, save me! This brat has gone mad! He's trying to kill me! I was just going back to my cave to retrieve some old things when he ambushed me and chased me all the way here! Please, Grandpa, do justice for me!"

Li Fa sneered inwardly, but remained calm.

The Five Directions Protectors did not perform well in the original work, and their individual combat strength was almost negligible.

It's worth noting that in the episode with Kui Mulang, it took Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, the Five Directions Protectors, the Four Duty Officers, the Six Ding and Six Jia, and the eighteen Dharma Protectors to barely manage to fight Kui Mulang to a draw. Among them, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing's fighting strength accounted for the majority.

Although Li Fa had never fought against a high-level demon king like Kui Mulang, the power of his three-hundred-year-old "Opening Heaven and Earth Technique" could not possibly be weaker than that of a guardian deity like Yin Tou Jie Di, who was mainly responsible for assistance.

So he stopped and bowed to the deity, saying, "This humble demon greets the High God. This hut is occupied by Xiong Shanjun, a notorious bandit from Shuangcha Ridge. He, along with General Yin and Scholar Te, have been entrenched in this area, devouring countless people and committing heinous crimes. This humble demon's pursuit of them is precisely to act on behalf of Heaven. I have disturbed the High God; I beg your forgiveness."

The atmosphere became tense immediately after Li Fa said this.

"Acting on behalf of Heaven?" The silver-headed Jiedi sneered, slowly speaking, "What arrogance! You are nothing but a lowly mountain demon, what right do you have to speak of the will of Heaven? The matter of Shuangcha Ridge is subject to cause and effect, how dare you take matters into your own hands?"

Upon hearing this, Xiong Shanjun immediately began wailing and adding fuel to the fire: "Grandpa Jiedi is right! This kid is a madman! He definitely wants to kill me and steal my treasure! Grandpa, save me!"

Li Fa's heart stirred. This silver-headed Jiedi spoke with veiled barbs and never mentioned Xiong Shanjun. It seemed there must be some hidden meaning in this.

But he was still unsure and wanted to try, so he continued, "May the Supreme Gods bear witness. The so-called 'acting on behalf of Heaven' is not about whether I, a lowly demon, am qualified, but about whether people can distinguish right from wrong."

This monastery has wreaked havoc on the region, harming countless lives—this is a fact. Having witnessed this, I, a lowly demon, felt indignant and thus took action. How could I hesitate to act simply because of my insignificant status?

Jiedi choked for a moment, his face darkening slightly.

He never expected that this deer demon would be so eloquent.

He immediately changed his tune and sneered, "Clever words and a flattering face! Even if this demon is guilty, he should be dealt with by the Heavenly Court or our Buddhist sect according to the law."

Your actions today, ostensibly acting on behalf of Heaven, are in reality a form of wanton and arbitrary killing! If everyone acted like you, wouldn't the Three Realms be thrown into chaos?

Xiong Shanjun nodded repeatedly, as if he had found a lifeline: "Yes, yes, yes! Vigilante justice! This is vigilante justice! Grandfather Jiedi, quickly apprehend this madman who abuses vigilante justice!"

Li Fa smiled and slowly said, "I am afraid I cannot agree with what you have said, Your Majesty."

"May I ask, Your Majesty, these three demons of Shuangcha Ridge have wreaked havoc for years, devouring countless people, yet there has been no punishment from the Heavenly Court or any repercussions from the Buddhist sect. Did those innocent people who died deserve to be eaten?"

"That's their destiny, a tribulation they haven't yet fulfilled in this life. If they recite my Mahayana Buddhist teachings in their next life, they will naturally be liberated. Besides..."

Jiedi's expression changed several times before he finally put on a kind face and continued, "This black bear's maternal uncle is the future guardian deity of our Buddhist sect, the mountain-guarding general of the South Sea Guanyin. You have taken his life, and I'm afraid you will bring trouble upon yourself."