Journey to the West: Beginning with the Apprenticeship of Bodhi Patriarch

Chapter 13: The Golden Light of the West Road Shines Brightly

The next day.

The master, along with Jiang Yuan, sent Laozi into the storage room to guard it, then left Luoyi and headed west, intending to go to Lingtai Fangcun Mountain in Xiniu Hezhou.

On the way, Jiang Yuan was a man of sharp thoughts. He knew that Laozi asked him to play the incomplete game because he wanted to know the situation between the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the vassal states. He wondered if the people from the Southern Continent could solve it. Yes, they could.

Jiang Yuan gave the answer, which can be solved by people living in Jambudvīpa.

However, he didn't understand why Laozi cared so much about it. He didn't understand, so he asked the master.

The master walked on the road and said with a smile: "Boyang had an appointment with the heroes of the Southern Continent in the past. Zhou lost his teachings, so Boyang should have left a way for them. He entered the world probably for this reason."

When the emperor loses his office, learning will spread among the barbarians.

The Zhou Dynasty's fortunes were fading, and the fortunes of the four barbarians were gathering.

Therefore, the vassal states became powerful, and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty existed in name only.

Jiang Yuan asked: "Master, what are the differences between the people of Jambudvīpa in the past and today?"

From the words of the ancestor, he could tell that there were many heroes in Jambudvīpa in the past.

Now it is the Zhou Dynasty. Counting back to the dynasties before it, there were only the Xia and Shang dynasties, and then the "Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors".

The master said, "I was waiting for you to enter the Dao before I could tell you. Since you asked, I will tell you a thing or two. In the past, there were many heroes in the Southern Continent, and the gods loved it. The heavens were pleased with the energy of the Southern Continent. There was an 'Emperor' who did not obey, so he rebelled. The energy of the Southern Continent was lost, and many people died later, and chaos broke out."

In just a few words, the master seemed to have skipped over thousands of things.

Jiang Yuan seemed to be thinking about something, and it seemed that he understood a lot. This was "Journey to the West", with Heaven above, Buddhism in the west, and the underworld below.

The southern continent may not have been like this in the past, but due to many complications, it has reached the state it is today, with a short lifespan.

In the past, he had seen from Yu Ding that he had entered the worldly life, made great contributions and became a great sage in the world, but was still convicted. Why bother?

Or maybe "Heaven" felt that he was a threat and did not allow the "Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors" to exist anymore, so he taught him a crime and sent him to hell for a severe sentence.

The master extended a hand from under his sleeves, patted Jiang Yuan's mud palace, and said, "Don't think too much, enter the Tao first."

Jiang Yuan lowered his head in realization, knowing that he could not change the situation here, and he was powerless to change it. He should take care of himself so that his inner monkey could return as soon as possible.

He said, "Master, I understand."

The ancestor nodded and said, "Things happen because of heaven. If you get a golden elixir in the future, it will be a way to seek justice. It will also be a way to do anything else. You need to have the ability to do it."

Jiang Yuan laughed and said, "Master didn't teach me to accumulate virtue and do good deeds, but instead taught me to fight and kill to seek justice."

He listened to what the master said. When he had the ability, he would seek justice. If justice was not given, he would beat and kill people to get justice.

The master replied: "I understand the principles of Taoism and Buddhism, so how can I be bound by them? It is okay to accumulate virtue and do good deeds, but there are also ways to be violent and ruthless. It all depends on yourself."

Jiang Yuan deeply agreed with this. He had been with the master for a long time and knew that the master was a free and easy-going person, not the kind of person who was particular about words and deeds.

Jiang Yuan looked to the west and said, "Master, how far is it to Lingtai Fangcun Mountain?"

The master smiled, pointed to the west, and said, "To the end of the golden light."

As he finished speaking, a golden light rose up on the road beneath his feet, so bright and dazzling that even looking from afar, one could not see the end of the golden light.

When Jiang Yuan saw this, he turned around and looked. The outline of Luoyi disappeared, and the sky turned white again. There was a golden light shining on the road ahead.

It really is a scene where 'the sky in the east is slightly white, while in the west there is bright golden light'.

The master said, "Boy, go ahead."

Jiang Yuan responded and accompanied the master towards the west.

……

Luo Yi.

The Zhou royal family guarded the storage room.

Laozi sat in front of the table, he lowered his head and looked at the table, where the chess game he played with Jiang Yuan yesterday was presented one by one. "Horse-after-the-fact" is indeed a clever move, using the general as bait to lure the chess pieces forward and take advantage of the opportunity to decide the overall situation.

"The game of chess begins with a proper combination and ends with a surprising victory."

"What Guangxin said makes sense. If we want to break the deadlock, we have to use this principle to have a good chance."

"However, the current Zhou royal family has no broad mind."

Laozi looked at the chessboard for a long time and sighed.

He knew that if he paid a little attention to this chess game, he could break it in an instant, and the counter-attack and the final victory could be achieved in just five or six moves. However, what he was looking for was a good opportunity to break the game, not to win or lose.

People born in Jambudvīpa can break this situation.

Helplessly, his fate with Jiang was severed, so he passed away and became a disciple of Bodhi. The fate with the Jiang family was also resolved, and he was regarded as the 'Jiang Ancestor' of Shangjing Mountain, and no longer had any connection with the world.

Bodhi is indeed a cautious person.

He also saw that Bodhi loved this disciple.

Start by determining cause and effect, and do it decisively.

"The ancestor of the Zhou royal family was Huangdi. Huangdi and Yandi had always been friendly and harmonious. The Ji and Jiang surnames have always supported each other. How could the Zhou royal family exclude the Jiang surname?"

"Even if the Jiang family in Guangxin still exists, they cannot be moved by the Zhou royal family."

I know myself, the ups and downs of life.

This situation is difficult to resolve unless you are a worldly-wise person.

Laozi pondered for a long time and said, "Forget it, forget it, forget it! I have been here for two hundred years. If the Zhou royal family is unrighteous, I will have to give up."

……

Heading west, the golden light is the way.

Time flies, and several months have passed.

Jiang Yuan served the master as he walked, drinking dew during the day and eating wind at night, chanting mantras continuously. His body became lighter and lighter, and he could jump as high as fifty-six feet. His mind was often used by him, and his arrogance gradually disappeared and his madness gradually subsided.

As he walked, he often chatted with the ancestors.

The principles of spiritual practice taught by the ancestors often gave him a sudden enlightenment.

He used the theories of hundreds of schools of thought and their respective principles to teach the ancestors, and also helped them to gain something from them.

Several months later, the master and the disciple came to a deep valley and stopped.

When the master saw this, he pointed to the deep valley and said, "This is a wonderful place. The valley is deep and dangerous like a box. It stretches from Mount Xiao in the east to Tongjin in the west. If we build a pass and make the gate passable for only one car, one man can guard the pass and ten thousand men cannot open it."

Jiang Yuan looked forward once or twice, then looked to the east, and said, "Master, there is a pass to the east, which is very far from here and difficult to see."

The master took a closer look and said, "That is Taolin Pass. In the past, when Zhou and Shang were fighting, the King of Zhou went out of the pass and passed through Hangu Pass to meet with the princes."

Jiang Yuan thought for a while and realized that this deep and dangerous Hangu Valley might be the later Hangu Pass. However, at that time Hangu Pass had not been built, and this was a military place, so no one had ever passed through.

He knew that later on, one of the vassal states, the Qin State, built a world-famous pass here called "Hangu Pass", also known as "Qin Hangu Pass".

Jiang Yuan pointed to Hangu Pass and said with a smile, "Master, what you said is so wonderful. In the future, there will surely be someone who knows military skills and will build a pass here."

The master shook his head and said, "Let's not talk about this for now. Boy, when you leave this Hangu Pass, you will enter Xiniu Hezhou. There are many monsters and demons in Xiniu Hezhou. Remember to keep your mind steady and don't let the two spirits penetrate your mind. If the two spirits penetrate your mind, your mind may cause trouble."

Jiang Yuan responded with a "yes", alert in his heart. He wanted to see how there were so many monsters in Xiniu Hezhou and how he had a Yu Ding in his hand. He knew they were not weaklings who could be bullied.

The master nodded with a smile and walked forward along the golden avenue.

Jiang Yuanduo glanced ahead. He remembered that the Buddhist sect was in Xiniu Hezhou. He wondered if he would run into the Buddha or Bodhisattva on this trip...

(End of this chapter)