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

Meanwhile, Baili Bo, still furious, arrived at a mountain hollow, intending to find a cave dwelling, when he suddenly saw a woman gracefully walking towards him on the mountain path ahead.

The woman was born with:

Her skin was like ice, concealing her jade-like bones; her collar revealed her soft breasts. Her eyebrows were like willow leaves, dark as jade; her almond eyes sparkled like silver stars. Her face was as beautiful as the moon, her nature pure and refined. Her body was like a swallow hidden in a willow, her voice like a nightingale singing in the woods. The crabapple blossoms were half-open, shrouded in the morning sun; the peonies were just beginning to bloom, basking in the spring sunshine.

Baili Bo was taken aback and stopped in his tracks.

The woman was startled to see him, took two steps back, and asked in a trembling voice, "Who...who are you?"

Baili Bo shouted, "I am Baili Bo, the former master of this mountain! And who are you? Why are you wandering in this desolate wilderness?"

Upon hearing this, the woman's expression changed, and she immediately curtsied, crying, "So it's King Baili! I was blind and offended Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

Baili retorted, "Why are you crying? Speak up!"

The woman cried, "I am a village girl from the foot of the mountain. My father died early, and my mother is bedridden with illness, and we have no money for treatment. I had no choice but to go into the mountains to gather wild fruits to earn a few coins to survive. I never expected... I never expected to meet the King..."

After saying that, she sobbed and cried very sadly.

Baili Bo was a demon who had cultivated since childhood, but he had a bit of compassion. Seeing her crying pitifully, he softened his tone and said, "Since you're picking fruit, you may go. But there are many demons and evil spirits in these mountains. You're a woman, so don't wander around."

The woman kowtowed repeatedly, then got up and left.

She was none other than the White Bone Demon in disguise. After seeing Baili Bo walk away, she followed the path he had taken.

After traveling for a short while, they indeed saw an old Taoist priest on the cliff. The monster thought to himself, "This old Taoist priest is probably Baili Bo's helper. Let me carry out my plan."

So, his left hand transformed into a green clay jar, and his right hand into a green porcelain bottle, which contained poisonous insects but were transformed into the shape of food.

She walked unsteadily towards where Li Fa was resting.

Li Fa was sitting on the edge of the cliff, resting with his eyes closed, when suddenly he smelled a fragrant breeze. When he opened his eyes, he saw a woman gracefully approaching him.

Upon seeing Li Fa, the woman feigned surprise, took two steps back, and timidly asked, "Daoist Master, why are you sitting here all alone in this desolate wilderness? Have you lost your way?"

Li Fa opened his eyes and immediately understood seven or eight parts of the situation—where could there be any village girl in this desolate wilderness?

This woman must be the White Bone Demon without a doubt. He chuckled to himself: This corpse demon has some nerve, daring to come to my doorstep.

It's a pity that the Merit Record hasn't issued any missions yet, otherwise I would definitely kill you today!

Li Fa didn't expose his lie, but simply smiled and said, "This humble Taoist is resting here, waiting for a friend. Where do you come from, lady?"

The woman said, "I am a farmer from the foot of the mountain. My father is working in the fields, and I came to bring him food. I didn't mean to disturb you, Taoist priest. Please forgive me."

As he spoke, he placed the jars and bottles on the ground, opened the lids, and sure enough, the aroma of food wafted out.

Li Fa glanced at it, his confidence growing stronger.

In the original story, the first time the White Bone Demon transformed into a village girl, she was carrying a food pot and trying to deceive Tang Sanzang.

Now you're trying to coax him? Do you really think he's some mortal monk like Tang Sanzang?

He found it amusing inwardly, but put on a kind expression and said, "You are truly filial, benefactor. However, there are many wolves and tigers in these mountains. Aren't you afraid to travel alone as a woman?"

The woman covered her mouth and laughed, "Master, you jest. I grew up in the mountains since I was a child. Those beasts would run away from me if they saw me."

Li Fa nodded and said, "Since you, female benefactor, wish to deliver food to your father, I cannot delay you any longer. You may proceed."

The woman didn't leave; instead, she came closer and said, "Daoist Master, since you are a monk, you must be compassionate. I see you are travel-worn and must be hungry. If you don't mind, please have some of this food, as a way to accumulate good karma."

Li Fa sneered inwardly, thinking, "This monster's trying to pull these tricks on me? She's probably too green. But since I'm already here, I might as well play a trick on her."

He then coughed, waved his hand, and said, "This humble Taoist is not hungry; please help yourself, female benefactor."

The woman refused to comply and tried to persuade him repeatedly, displaying a somewhat coquettish manner.

Seeing her affectation, Li Fa sighed and said, "Since you are so kind, it would be inhumane of me to refuse. However, I have a rule when eating alms: if you do not agree, I will refuse to eat even if it means my death."

The woman was taken aback and asked, "What rules does the Taoist priest have?"

Li Fa said, "I ask you a question before each meal. I only eat if you can answer it."

The woman asked, "What question does the master wish to ask?"

Li Fa asked, "There are pheasants and rabbits in the same cage. There are 35 heads and 94 feet. How many pheasants and rabbits are there?"

The woman was stunned upon hearing this; she had no idea that Li Fa would ask such a question!

So she stammered, unable to answer, and could only say, "This humble woman is not good at arithmetic, please ask the Taoist priest to give me another one."

Li Fa nodded and said, "Alright, alright. Then I'll ask you another question. Mozi said: 'When the sun reaches its zenith, there is a beginning at noon; when the sun's zenith is long, the explanation is at the beginning.' What is the reason for this?"

The woman was even more bewildered and didn't understand.

She was originally a spirit formed from white bones. Although she was somewhat cunning, she had no understanding of these profound principles.

She stammered, "What are you talking about, Master? I don't know a single word of Mozi or Jingzi. I really don't know."

Li Fa laughed and said, "Don't know? Then this humble Taoist will explain it to you. Mozi's words are about the principle of light and shadow: 'Jing' means shadow. 'Wu' means intersection. 'Duan' means point. The gist is that a shadow is inverted because there is a point at the intersection of light rays, which is related to the length of the shadow. The principle lies in this point. This is the principle of pinhole imaging. Do you understand, benefactor?"

The woman had no idea what was going on. She felt dizzy and forced a smile, saying, "Master, you are profound, and I am foolish. But the food is getting cold, so please eat first."

Li Fa shook his head and said, "No rush, no rush. I have another question. Zhuangzi said: 'A one-foot stick, if half of it is taken away each day, will never be exhausted.' What does this mean?"

The woman was completely bewildered, secretly resentful: Why did this old Taoist priest ask so many strange questions? Was he deliberately making things difficult for her?

But she couldn't show her anger, so she forced a smile and said, "Master, I really don't understand these things. Please have your meal first, so I can go and bring my father his food later."

Seeing her embarrassment, Li Fa chuckled inwardly, but put on a stern face and said, "If you, female benefactor, cannot even answer these questions, it must be because you don't study regularly. I absolutely cannot eat this meal. You may go now, lest you delay your father's lunch."

The woman was both angry and anxious, but she still refused to leave.

Then, her eyes darted around, and she suddenly covered her face and cried, "Taoist Master, how rude of you! I kindly brought you food, but you asked me all sorts of questions, and now you're trying to drive me away. Do you think I'm ugly and look down on peasant women? Waaah..."

She cried so hard that tears streamed down her face; an ordinary person would have softened their heart long ago.

But what kind of person was Li Fa? He smiled slightly and said, "Female benefactor, please don't cry. How about this: if you can answer the last question, I will eat this meal, how about it?"

The woman stopped crying and said, "Please speak, Taoist priest."

Li Fa said, "I've heard that there's a corpse demon on White Tiger Ridge that preys on people. Have you heard of it, female benefactor, since you live at the foot of the mountain?"

The woman's expression changed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and said, "Master, you jest. There are no corpse demons on this ridge. I've never seen one in all my years of life."

Li Fa stared into her eyes and slowly said, "Is that so? But I've heard that the Corpse Demon is not only on the ridge, she also has an accomplice, an old monster who wields a steel-dipped knife, possessing great supernatural powers, who stole someone's relic. Have you heard of her, female benefactor?"

Upon hearing the words "sarira," the woman knew that Li Fa had seen through her true identity. She forced a smile and said, "Daoist Master, I don't understand a word you're saying. If you don't eat this food, I'll leave."

Seeing her guilty conscience, Li Fa became even more certain and smiled, "Don't be anxious, female benefactor. I have another friend named Baili Bo. Do you know him?"

Upon hearing this, the woman's expression changed drastically, and she turned and left.

Li Fa didn't give chase, but simply said, "Stop."

The woman wouldn't listen; she ran as fast as the wind.

Li Fa pulled out a dragon-skin seven-star whip from his sleeve, and without chanting any incantation, simply tossed it into the air.

The whip transformed into a streak of green light, instantly catching up with the woman, gently wrapping around her waist, and dragging her back.

The woman fell to the ground, repeatedly begging for mercy: "Taoist priest, spare my life! Taoist priest, spare my life!"

Li Fa put away his whip and laughed, "You wretched child, you're quite the actor. Let me ask you, did you trick Baili Bo into giving you his relic?"

The woman's eyes darted around, and she cried, "Master, you've been wronged! I'm just a village girl, how would I know anything about relics?"

Li Fa said, "You damned beast, watch my divine power!"

As he spoke, he made a hand gesture, preparing to cast a spell.

Seeing this, the woman knew she couldn't hide it any longer and laughed sharply, "You damned Taoist priest! Since you've seen through me, I'm not pretending anymore!"

So he stomped his foot on the ground, drew two swords out of thin air, and slashed at the head.

Li Fa quickly twisted his body, pulled out the hairpin, shook it, and transformed it into the Five Elements Mixed Yuan Spear. He deflected and flicked it to the left and right, knocking her two swords down in just one round.

The corpse demon was terrified and hastily used a corpse-dissolving technique to leave in a daze.

Although Li Fa knew her methods, he was afraid that if he killed her true form, the Merit Record would stop issuing missions, so he did not pursue her.