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

Chapter 134: Tang Monk in trouble, Bajie climbs Fangcun Mountain

Time flies, and before I knew it, more than half a month has passed.

Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, outside the slanting moon and three stars cave.

Jiang Yuan practiced martial arts with Wukong. This was not a test of Wukong's competitiveness, but a real person personally invited Wukong to practice.

The Immortal knew that his martial arts skills were mediocre, but his supernatural powers were just okay. He acquired an exquisite martial art of using a whisk to counter strength with softness. He often displayed this martial art when fighting with Erlang Shen.

However, if his whisk-wielding skills met those with unparalleled martial arts, such as Erlang Shen or Wukong, he would surely be defeated.

If someone like Erlang Shen had adaptable martial arts, knowing that his whisk was flexible and could break his face with skill, he would be defeated in just a few rounds.

Since reading the book given by Laojun, he knew about the numbers of yin and yang.

His whisk is soft and gentle, which is yin.

The reason why Fang practiced martial arts with Sun Wukong was because he knew that Wukong's skills were mostly based on strength, so he tried to learn some strong skills from Wukong's martial arts and improve his martial arts.

The Immortal also taught Wukong some gentle techniques. Although the iron rod is good at strong techniques, it would be difficult to fight against someone who is good at gentle techniques. If he learned all the techniques, he would have a way to deal with it.

The Immortal and Wukong were practicing outside the mansion. The Immortal wore a purple robe and a jade whisk, while Wukong held an iron rod. The Immortal's whisk was floating, while Wukong's iron rod was strong. They fought for a long time without a winner, and the sun set in the west without them noticing. When the two practiced, the Immortal's whisk blocked left and right, and no matter how Wukong swung his iron rod, he could not get close to the Immortal. They fought for dozens of rounds.

The two men put away their weapons, and Wukong supported Zhenren with his hand and returned to the mansion, where Zhenren came forward to greet them.

Zhen Jian smiled and said, "Big Brother and Junior Brother Wukong are both people with great magical powers and exquisite martial arts. I am amazed by what I see."

Jiang Yuan said: "In terms of martial arts, Wukong is the best. My poor martial arts are only good enough to protect myself."

Wukong bowed and said, "I don't deserve such praise from my two senior brothers."

Zhen Jian said: "Big Brother, Junior Brother Wukong, please go into the mansion first."

Seeing how leisurely he was, Jiang Yuanwang asked, "Junior brother, why aren't you watching the furnace?"

Zhen Jian smiled and said, "I met Chongyang and asked him to look after me a little."

Jiang Yuan heard this and laughed and scolded, "You are such a fool, you ordered my disciple to watch the furnace."

Zhen Jian knew that it was the eldest brother who was joking with him, and said with a smile: "Eldest brother, don't wait like that, come in quickly."

The three brothers then entered the mansion, walked to the tower, and talked about everything under the sun, feeling very comfortable.

During the banquet, Wukong asked, "Big Brother, Second Brother, what do you think of the monk who went to seek scriptures now?"

Zhen Jian said: "Don't worry about it. Since there is a letter of criticism, just ignore it."

Jiang Yuan smiled but said nothing.

The three of them were very happy and talked a lot. They also said that they should discuss the Dharma. Jiang Yuan was the eldest brother, so Jiang Yuan spoke first.

Jiang Yuan said: "Since that is what you said, let me talk about the Dharma first, and you two brothers should listen carefully."

Zhen Jian Wukong bowed and said, "Please discuss the Dharma with me, elder brother."

Jiang Yuan stood up and left the table, saying, "What is Dharma? Dharma is the guest! There are all kinds of wonders in the body, which correspond to the number of heaven and earth. The master is only the true self in the Niwan Palace, which is the master. The host and the guest cannot be reversed. Why is that? Just like we live in this mansion, we are the masters of the mansion. Everything in the mansion is for us to use. However, if a group of robbers enter, their Dharma is very high and we cannot fight them, then this mansion will belong to the robbers. We may be killed, help the evil, or have no power. This is the reversal of the host and the guest, and the mansion is no longer ours. However, if we can be willing to use all kinds of Dharma to turn the robbers into our own use, then we can use the robbers to guard the mansion and use the robbers to suppress the remaining bandits in the mountains. This is the right way. This is the host and the guest."

Those who truly saw and heard it deeply agreed with it and clasped their hands in praise of the true master’s profound Dharma.

Wukong lowered his head, thinking.

……

The story goes that on the journey to the West, three people who were seeking scriptures rode a white horse. Without the protection of their heart-warming monkey, they met a disaster. On the way, they met a yellow-robed monster. This monster was extraordinary, with great powers. He captured Tang Monk and fought alone against Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, the Six Dings and Six Jias, the Five Directions Jie Di, the Four Valued Officials, and eighteen protectors of the religion, without showing any sign of defeat.

Finally, the third princess of Baoxiang Kingdom, also known as "Princess Baihua", who was abducted by the Yellow Robe Monster, begged the Yellow Robe Monster to release Tang Monk. The monster was a man of deep feelings, so he released Tang Monk.

Monk Tang received a letter from Princess Baihua, saying that Princess Baihua was abducted by the Yellow Robe Monster and had no news from her since. She asked Monk Tang to give the letter to the King of Baoxiang Kingdom to relieve his longing for her.

Tang Monk was so frightened that he stumbled away from the monster's cave and set out on a journey with Pigsy and Sha Seng. They continued their journey westward, suffering a lot along the way. Pigsy was stupid and could not get any food, so he often led the horse around and walked around.

After traveling all the way, they finally arrived at Baoxiang Kingdom, which made Tang Seng feel relieved. However, he felt a little indignant that the monkey left like that.

Wujing came forward with his load on his shoulders and said, "Master, why don't you ask our eldest brother to go back? Without him, the journey will be difficult."

Upon hearing this, Tang Seng was somewhat tempted.

Bajie said, "Master, if we invite Bi Ma Wen here, he might kill people again. Then we won't even be able to enter this country. If we do, we will be arrested and reported to the authorities. His mourning stick is neither high nor low, and he will beat anyone he sees. How can we stop him?"

Tang Seng did not think about it any more and said, "Wujing, do not mention it again. I will never meet him. I have sworn that if I meet him again, I will fall into the Avici Hell. I only have two disciples now, the eldest disciple Zhu Wuneng and the second disciple Sha Wujing."

Sha Wujing had no choice but to give up. Although he was a little jealous of the Great Sage for coming from the Three Stars Immortal Cave, he had been calm along the way and knew that it would be impossible to continue this journey without the Great Sage's protection.

The pilgrims entered Baoxiang Kingdom, met the king, exchanged pass documents, and retrieved Princess Baihua's letter.

When the king saw him, tears welled up in his eyes. He believed that Tang Seng was from the eastern land and must have the power to subdue demons and monsters. So he asked Tang Seng to subdue the demons and save his daughter. Tang Seng was arrogant by nature, so he sent Bajie and Wujing to subdue the demons.

However, the reason why Bajie and Wujing could fight the Yellow Robe Monster without being defeated was that the gods were secretly protecting them and fighting together with them. Now the gods were protecting Tang Monk in the sky, so how could these two defeat the Yellow Robe Monster? After a few moves, Bajie, possessed by his wood mother, thought he was sleepy, so he turned around and left, went into a haystack to sleep, leaving Wujing to be captured.

When the Yellow-Robed Monster learned the whole story, he was very angry. He transformed himself into a human, entered Baoxiang Kingdom, and turned the tables, saying that Tang Seng was a tiger spirit in disguise. He then used some magic to turn Tang Seng into a tiger, which frightened the king. He ordered Tang Seng to be executed. Fortunately, the gods protected Tang Seng and saved his life.

Here, the group of people who are seeking the scriptures suffer such a great disaster and will never be reunited. The Monkey King is being driven out, the Wood Mother is causing trouble, the Yellow Lady is being captured, and their original spirits are being harmed. How can they be able to obtain the scriptures at all? It is hard to believe that they are still alive.

The group of people seeking scriptures fell apart, leaving only the white horse eating grass in the trough. After hearing this, he knew the reason and wanted to rescue the horse. He transformed into a dragon at night and asked the sect to save him. However, the Yellow Robe Monster had great magical powers and almost killed the white dragon. Fortunately, there was a river, so the white dragon took the opportunity to escape.

Yi Ma nearly died, and there was no hope of obtaining the scriptures.

It is said that Zhu Bajie slept in the haystack for two days. When he woke up, he realized that something was wrong. He wanted to go back to save Sha Seng, but he did not have the strength, so he turned back.

When Zhu Bajie entered the palace, he learned the big news and was terrified. Without saying a word, he picked up his luggage, led the white horse, and was about to go back.

Bajie said, "In this case, it is a failure. They will not survive, and the luggage is useless. I will carry it back to Gao Laozhuang. I will get a white horse, so it is not a loss, not a loss."

When the white horse saw Bajie carrying the load, it approached and bit his black clothes, refusing to let him escape.

Bajie fell down in shock and said, "How can you do such a thing, horse?" The white horse said, "Brother, don't be afraid. The eldest brother has already told you that I am the Dragon Prince of the West Sea."

Bajie said: "This is true. You usually don't talk about it. You spoke today. There must be something ominous."

The white horse then recounted what had happened and told Bajie everything.

When Bajie heard this, he asked, "Brother, can you struggle?"

Bai Ma asked, "What do you mean?"

Bajie said, "If you can struggle, run to the sea and escape. I can't share these luggage with you. I picked up most of them on the way. I'll take them and go to Gao Laozhuang to be your son-in-law."

Bai Ma shed tears and said, "Brother, don't be lazy now. If you are lazy, Third Brother, Master will lose his life and there will be no recovery."

Bajie yelled, "It's not that I'm lazy, I just can't do anything. That guy has great magical powers. Junior Brother Sha taught him to catch him. This recipe will probably be cooked and shared. Master is suffering, and I can't win the fight. What should I do if I don't leave? If you don't leave, you will be eaten as horse meat. What a pity. Eating a body of dragon meat as horse meat is really a waste of nature'."

The white horse said: "Brother, you can't fight, you go and ask the eldest brother, he has great magical powers, he can go to heaven and earth, he is omnipotent, he will definitely subdue this monster."

Bajie said, "Brother, don't joke. Bi Ma Wen is holding a grudge. In the past, he beat and killed the White Bone Lady on the mountain. I was kidding and said something nonsense, but Master really believed me. He recited the old sayings and chased me away. If I go now, he will definitely beat me with his stick. His mourning stick is heavy. If he hits me a few times, I will die."

Bai Ma said: "Brother, our eldest brother is a man of love and righteousness, he would never do that, just tell him that the master misses him and coax him to come here, he will definitely save you when he sees this."

Bajie said, "Well, I'll go for a walk."

Bai Ma said, "Brother, the eldest brother said earlier that he has two homes, one is Huaguo Mountain, and the other is Fangcun Mountain. If you can't find it in Huaguo Mountain, then go to Fangcun Mountain."

Bajie responded and rode his cloud to the Flower-Fruit Mountain.

When Bai Ma saw Bajie leave and there was no further news after several days, he became worried that his fellow apprentice would become lazy and find a place to sleep, and would not wake up until several months later. By then, he would have achieved nothing. He had to go to the South China Sea to see Guanyin Bodhisattva in person and explain what had happened before.

The white horse endured the pain, transformed into a dragon, and flew to the South China Sea.

……

The journey to obtain the scriptures is in trouble, as the Fangcun Mountain is unknown.

Jiang Yuan often discussed techniques with his two junior fellow apprentices in the mansion. Moreover, as they were both engaged in alchemy, he intended to teach Wukong a few things and hoped that Wukong would listen.

One day, in the alchemy room.

Jiang Yuan taught his two junior brothers some knowledge of heaven and earth.

Wukong was fascinated by what he heard, and after a while he said, "Big Brother, your magical power is growing stronger day by day. Now it is time for you to accept disciples and open a temple. This is the freedom you want to live."

Zhen Jian said: "Big Brother's method is far superior to ours."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "My two junior brothers, please don't say that. My magical power is slightly better than yours, but it's because I've practiced for a longer time."

Zhen Jian said: "I know that Senior Brother will never be influenced by words."

Wukong sat cross-legged on the cushion. In the past he was restless, but now in front of his elder brother, he felt somewhat at ease. He said, "Elder brother, my nephew Chongyang is really similar to you. I saw that he was young and devoted to studying, and he was a little bored, so I plucked a hair and turned it into a toy in front of him to teach him to relax. But I didn't expect that no matter what I turned it into, it would not make him feel moved."

Jiang Yuan said, "You monkey, why are you teasing Chongyang for no reason?"

Wukong smiled secretly and said, "I feel a sense of familiarity when I meet Junior Brother Chongyang, just like meeting my senior brother in the past."

Jiang Yuan said: "Chongyang cultivated for several lifetimes to obtain this fate, and he was once the crown prince of a country and suffered great hardships. Now his heart is dead and the Tao is alive. He has a heart of Tao. You can see who has a strong heart of Tao and is dedicated to Tao. Who is not like me?"

Wukong asked, "How do you explain this method of cultivating karma over several lifetimes?"

Jiang Yuan said: "I met him thousands of years ago. At that time, he was an old man. I went up the mountain to subdue demons and formed a relationship with him. He passed on my name for the rest of his life and was devoted to my teachings. That's why we have some affinity and teachings. I don't know how many times I have been reincarnated. I have kept my true self in mind and endured many great tribulations before I was able to enter the door today."

As the saying goes, 'It takes a hundred years to be able to ride the same boat together, and a thousand years to be able to sleep on the same pillow together', fate is hard to come by.

Wukong said, "I never thought that there would be such a reason. I don't know how it was that I became Master's disciple and met the eldest and second brothers."

Jiang Yuan pointed at Wukong and said with a smile: "What are you thinking about, you monkey? You were created by heaven and earth, what kind of fate do you have?"

Wukong was about to say something when there was a knock on the door of the alchemy room.

"Master, two uncles."

This is the sound of Chongyang.

Wukong opened the door, brought Chongyang in, and said, "Junior Brother Chongyang, are you here to play with me?"

Chongyang bowed to Jiang Yuan first, then to Zhenjian, and Wukong bowed in turn, saying, "Master, two uncles, junior Chongyang greets you."

Jiang Yuan asked, "Chongyang, have you read all the books in your collection and come to me to learn from me?"

Chongyang said: "I haven't read them all. There are so many books in the mountains that it would take decades to read them all."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Since you haven't finished reading it, why are you looking for me?"

Chongyang bowed and said, "I saw some dust in the house, so I swept it away when I was free from studying. Now I saw a pig demon outside the house, intending to enter the house, but it didn't have the courage, so I came to tell the master."

Jiang Yuan heard this and was confused. He said, "There are many spiritual beasts in the mountains. They are right there with the caves. We dare not offend them. How can there be a pig monster?"

Chongyang said: "Master, I don't know."

When Wukong heard that it was a pig demon, he had some guesses and asked, "My nephew, that pig demon has a rake mouth, fan ears, and walks around with a spiked rake in his hand?"

Chongyang nodded and said, "Just as Uncle Master said, the pig demon is wearing a green robe."

When Wukong heard this, he said, "That must be Zhu Bajie. Why did he come to Fangcun Mountain now? Could it be that Tang Monk is in danger and he came to ask me to protect him?"

Jiang Yuan said unhappily, "Since you have sent me a letter of demotion, the words are so harsh, how can I have the face to come again? This Zhu Bajie was a water god in the past, so this is unreasonable."

Wukong said, "Big Brother, this Bajie often talks nonsense and slanders me. Although we have some brotherly love, I usually can't stand him."

Jiang Yuan said, "In that case, I'll take it and let you, a monkey, vent your anger."

(End of this chapter)