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

Leaving aside the fact that Tang Sanzang and his companions continued their westward journey, let's focus on Li Fa stealing the horse and returning on his own.

Sure enough, the merit record book issued a reward on the way:

[Target of rescue: Tang Sanzang's white horse]

[Unemployment Assessment]

Rewards received:

[Optional Reward 1: Six Harmonies Spear Technique (Martial Arts)]

[Optional Reward Two: Water and Fire (Supernatural Power)]

[Optional Reward 3: Horse Riding Proficiency]

Li Fa pondered these three options. The first was the Six Harmonies Spear Technique. This martial art was quite suitable for him at the moment. However, his original body already had some spear techniques. Although he coveted the Six Harmonies Spear Technique, it was not a necessity for him.

The second reward is "entering water and sitting on fire," and you can tell the effect of this supernatural power just by looking at the name.

It's basically just the Water Avoidance Technique combined with the Fire Avoidance Technique. With this supernatural power, you can go anywhere, whether it's in the sky or the sea, which is pretty good.

As for the third reward, horseback riding proficiency, it's practically useless. With my ability to ride the wind and clouds, why would I need a mount to travel?

With that in mind, Li Fa immediately chose the second reward: sitting in water and fire.

After choosing the supernatural power, he took out the bright pearl from his bosom again.

In the original story, it was Guanyin Bodhisattva who removed the pearl from the White Dragon's neck before transforming him into a dragon horse to carry Sanzang on his journey to retrieve the scriptures.

After the successful pilgrimage, Buddha bestowed upon the White Dragon the title of "Bodhisattva of the Eight Heavenly Dragons," and sent him to the Dragon Pool to restore his dragon form, where he coiled around the Huabiao pillar on Mount Ling. There was no mention of Guanyin returning the pearl.

Could there be another explanation for this pearl?

Li Fa pondered these thoughts, but they only flashed by. His current strength was not very high, so he really couldn't think about anything deeper.

This pearl might still have some practical use for him right now.

So Li Fa tried to inject a wisp of magic power into the pearl, but the pearl only emitted a faint light.

Li Fa tried to increase the amount of magic power he poured into the pearl, and the pearl shone even brighter, but there was no other reaction.

Li Fa was helpless, as the Merit Chart did not give him any instructions.

Could it be that this pearl is just a bead used for lighting? There's probably something fishy going on here.

However, he didn't have the mind to think about it, so he put the pearl away.

He then descended from the clouds, patted the white horse's head, and released it back into the deep mountains.

After releasing the white horse, Li Fa returned to Shuangcha Ridge.

But when he arrived at the Skinning Pavilion, the scene before him shocked him greatly.

This place used to be a monster's cave, but now it's a ruin.

Li Fa was greatly alarmed and transformed into a gust of wind, rushing to the hermit's residence.

As he expected, the hermitage had also been reduced to ruins.

He transformed into the appearance of Xiong Shan Jun again, rode a cloud to Xiong Shan Jun's cave, only to find that it was also a ruin!

Li Fa was momentarily bewildered and shocked when he suddenly heard rustling sounds coming from the bushes.

He whirled around and yelled, "Who? Who's there?"

Suddenly, a small monster emerged from the bushes. Li Fa looked over and saw that it was Que Jiuhan.

The little monster was covered in wounds, and one of its eyes was blind. Upon seeing Li Fa, it bowed deeply and cried out, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Oh no! Oh no! Our family is gone!"

"What happened? Explain yourself!"

Li Fa stepped forward, supported Que Jiuhan, and asked in a deep voice.

His heart was also in turmoil. In a short period of time, the three nests in Shuangcha Ridge were uprooted!

Who possesses such ruthless methods? Is it aimed at Twin Fork Ridge, or at him...?

With tears streaming down his face, Que Jiuhan said haltingly, "After Your Majesty left... not long after, several fierce-looking monks came!"

The leader was a fat monk who carried a gleaming staff and killed anyone he saw!

"Tell me, tell me that the demons of Shuangcha Ridge harmed the Silver-Headed Jiedi, their sins are heinous, and they must be wiped out to serve as a warning to others!"

"Silver-Headed Jiedi?" Li Fa's heart skipped a beat. He thought, "I didn't expect... Mount Ling to act so quickly! I just don't know if it was at the behest of Buddha, or..."

"What is the monk's background?" Li Fa asked.

"No, I don't know, Your Majesty!" Que Jiuhan trembled all over. "They are too powerful! Countless brothers from the Skinning Pavilion and the Hermit's Abode have died... Even here... It's all thanks to my ability to fly through the mountains and run fast that I managed to survive by hiding in the bushes..."

"Did you get a good look at the fat monk? And did they mention anything?" Li Fa pressed.

Que Jiuhan said, "That fat monk had a full beard and a fierce look... Oh right! It seems that the two ancient seal characters 'Subduing Tiger' are engraved on his staff!"

Furthermore, I think I also heard him say to his companions, "Although we secretly descended to the mortal realm to avenge Silverhead, don't worry, Buddha won't blame us," or something like that.

"Subduing Tiger? Subduing Tiger Arhat! Descending to the mortal realm without permission? To avenge Silverhead?" Li Fa's gaze suddenly sharpened as he grasped the key words. This was a massive amount of information!

This shows that it was not an official purge by Lingshan, but rather that the Arhat Fuhu led a group of people under the guise of avenging his colleague, to take revenge on his own!

What does this mean?

Li Fa quickly made a judgment in his mind:

First, the death of the Silver-Headed Jiedi must have caused a stir within Mount Ling, but the Tathagata or the Buddhas, for certain considerations, did not intend to launch a major attack.

Secondly, Fu Hu descended to the mortal realm without permission to avenge Yin Tou. Due to the short time available, he simply razed Shuangcha Ridge to the ground.

But no matter what, we must never return to Shuangchaling; we must leave now.

Thinking of this, Li Fa asked Que Jiuhan again, "You said they 'secretly descended to the mortal realm'? Are you sure that's what you said?"

Que Jiuhan recalled the words several times and nodded, saying, "Yes! I heard it clearly; that's what the fat monk said!"

Upon hearing this, Li Fa felt somewhat relieved and said, "Shuangcha Ridge is a dead end; we cannot stay any longer. But I don't know where to go now."

Que Jiuhan suddenly asked, "Has Your Majesty forgotten your great-uncle from Black Wind Mountain?"

Upon hearing this, Li Fa slapped his thigh. How could he have forgotten about this?

Black Wind Mountain was one of the calamities of the Journey to the West.

That place is adjacent to Guanyin Temple, which is nominally a place of worship for Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Furthermore, since the Black Bear Spirit was the mountain guardian deity appointed by the Bodhisattva, even if the Tiger-Taming Arhat could find out about him, his influence wouldn't extend there.

Moreover, the merit record serves as a cover, but...

Li Fa took a deep look at Que Jiuhan. This little demon had to be eliminated. Tathagata and the others could not foresee him, but they could certainly foresee Que Jiuhan. Therefore, he had to die!

But he didn't show it on his face, only saying happily, "Good! Good! Let's set off for Black Wind Mountain immediately!"

Que Jiuhan had no suspicions and led the way.

Li Fa suddenly drew his black gold spear and thrust it forward.

Poor thing! The last little demon loyal to Lord Xiongshan also became a dead soul and went straight to the underworld.

Until the merit chart in front of me lit up:

[Target of execution: Que Jiuhan (Chief Steward and Clerk under Xiong Shanjun)]

……

[Reward: A wisp of the power of the "Creating Heaven and Earth Technique," earned through five years of arduous cultivation.]

After absorbing the magical power, Li Fa set fire to the mountain forest, cave, and the monster's corpse, turning them all to ashes. The ashes then vanished like a gust of wind, heading westward.