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

Chapter 143: The Wood Mother deceives the Yuanshen, and the Monkey King cannot get the help of the Golden Lord

It is said that Monkey King traveled a thousand miles away to beg for alms, covered in clouds, and left Tang Monk, his two companions, and a horse behind.

When Zhu Bajie saw Monkey leaving, he put down his Nine-toothed Rake and became lazy.

Sha Wujing said, "Second Brother, don't let your guard down."

Zhu Bajie said, "It's windy here, and we came in a hurry. My feet are cold just standing there, and my hands are cold too, holding my sword. Put the sword down quickly and warm yourself up."

Sha Seng refused to listen and swung his demon-subduing staff.

Tang Seng said: "This place is windless and cold. It is not a good place. I don't know when Wukong will come back. If there is a hot vegetarian meal, it will be a great bonus."

Bajie said, "Maybe I won't be able to return today."

Tang Seng asked: "What do you mean?"

Bajie said, "I thought he must be riding a cloud to a warm place to have fun. He is so fast that he won't beg for food. On his way back, he will pick a few fruits from the trees and say he couldn't find the person to deceive Master."

Tang Monk said: "Don't talk nonsense."

Bajie said, "Master, if I were him, I would definitely do the same thing. He made us stay in jail here because he was afraid that we would go looking for him."

Tang Seng asked: "What does 'going to jail' mean?"

Bajie pointed at the circle on the ground and said, "There is a saying that 'drawing on the ground is a prison.' He drew a circle on the ground to deceive Master Wu, saying that it can keep away demons and monsters. How can this circle stop us? If a demon comes, it will be easy to enter the circle, but it is difficult for us to get out of the circle. This circle is useless, useless. It must be here to trap us so that we don't have to look for him and disturb him."

Wu Jing said, "Stop talking nonsense."

Bajie shouted, "Old Sha, since you say I'm talking nonsense, is there anything you can do to figure out the secret of the circle?"

Wujing said: "My skills are too low to be seen. But my elder brother learned his skills from the Three Stars Cave of the Slanting Moon. His skills are profound and mysterious. We cannot see the true and profound way."

When Bajie heard the phrase 'Slanting Moon and Three Stars Cave', he felt a burning sensation throughout his body and dared not say anything more.

Hearing this, Tang Seng said, "Wuneng, if it is up to you, what should we do here?"

Bajie said, "If you follow what I say, we should go forward and find a place to take shelter. If there is a house there, that would be great. Brother will come to beg for food. He will be fast and will definitely know where we are going and catch up with us."

Tang Seng was moved, so he followed Bajie's instructions and left the circle to move forward.

Sha Wujing tried to persuade him in vain and was about to lead the horse, but Bajie took the reins away, so Wujing had to shoulder the heavy burden.

It is just like 'When the mind is often distracted, the Wood Mother will cause trouble and deceive the soul'.

The three men and the horse continued to move forward.

It didn't take long before they arrived in front of the building they had seen from afar. The three of them took a closer look and found it was a really great building with "dense trees in front of the gate and bright wild flowers outside the house", white mud walls, brick enclosure, and a tall gatehouse, which looked very impressive.

Zhu Bajie pointed at the house and said, "Master, that brother was really trying to scare you. This house is the residence of a duke. How can there be evil spirits in the house of a duke?"

Tang Seng was a little annoyed and said, "Since this is a noble family, Wukong must be playing tricks by going there."

Bajie said, "Master, tie the horses here, and we will go find something to eat. There is no one at the door, so they must be warming themselves by the fire because they are afraid of the cold. I will go and report the servant's crime to the master, and he will be grateful to me. Then I will give him ten acres of land to eat and drink."

Say it.

Zhu Bajie walked inside.

Tang Monk shouted, "Don't scare me."

Zhu Bajie responded, pushed open the gate, walked inside, and looked around, but found that the house was empty and there was only a pile of skeletons on the bed.

Bajie opened the door with a smile on his face, thinking that it was a house of the dead and that it belonged to them now. He invited Tang Seng and Sha Wujing into the house.

Zhu Bajie took out three more brocade vests. They shone with precious light and were truly rare treasures. He said, "Master, I saw three vests in the house. They are great treasures. But this man has lost his family and it is a house of the dead. There is no use for these vests. We will each have one. Don't give one to the monkey head. He will wear it underneath to keep it warm."

Tang Seng panicked and said, "No, no. There is a saying that goes 'He who takes without asking is a thief'. We are monks, how can we do this?"

Zhu Bajie laughed and said, "Master, you are obsessed. There is no one in this house, how can we ask? If we want to ask, we must go to the underworld to ask. Why don't you use your magical powers to go to the underworld to ask?"

Tang Monk said: "How can I have magical powers?"

Bajie asked, "Lao Sha, why don't you go to the underworld and ask?"

Sha Seng shook his head and said, "Second Brother, I don't have any magical powers either."

Bajie smiled and said, "In that case, I will give one to each of you. Besides, if you really don't want them, it's cold now and there's no fire to warm you up. You can put them on to keep warm. When Senior Brother comes back, you can leave the clothes here."

When Sha Seng heard this, he turned around and saw the howling north wind in the sky, and also saw the shining precious light on his vest, which made him feel tempted.

Bajie asked, "Lao Sha, do you want to wear it?"

Sha Monk said, "Forget it, give me something to wear."

The two men took off their tops and put on their vests. As they put them on, they suddenly felt the vests tighten. They cried out in pain and were tied up by the vests, unable to move.

Tang Seng was surprised and asked, "Disciple, what are you two doing?"

call!
A gust of evil wind blew, and fifty or sixty demons emerged, holding swords and weapons, cheering and jumping for joy. They frightened Tang Seng so much that he fell down and was unable to get up.

Under the evil wind, a demon appeared. It was none other than the green ox of the Lord Laojun in the sky, also known as "Si Da Wang".

Qingniu laughed and said, "The hunters in the mountains told me that to catch deer, you should set up a pit and throw some bait. Now I set up a fake house, took three vests, and really caught someone. Hey, it's a pig spirit? Very interesting, very interesting!"

Tang Seng was terrified and almost lost his soul.

Qingniu waved his hand and said, "Capture the general."

All the demons and monsters rushed forward and captured the three men. Qingniu waved his hand, dispersed the fake house, and went towards Jindou Cave.

……

After a while, the Green Ox captured Tang Monk and his two companions and brought them back to the Golden Gourd Cave.

The green ox sat on the stage, looking carefree, and ate an orange. The demons pushed Tang Monk, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Monk to the side of the stage, holding their weapons and standing by.

Tang Seng had tears on his cheeks and was trembling with fear.

Qingniu put the orange fruit down and asked, "Are you a monk?"

Tang Seng panicked and said, "That's right, that's right."

The blue ox said, "Since you are a monk, how could you covet incense and flowers? My house only catches greedy people. If you didn't steal treasures and just borrowed the land to keep warm, you wouldn't be in trouble. It's because you are greedy that I caught you."

Tang Seng said with tears in his eyes, "I didn't covet it. It was because my eldest disciple went out to beg for food and has not returned yet. He told us not to go ahead. I didn't hear him, so he went into the house to avoid the wind and cold. It was my two disciples, one named Zhu Bajie and the other named Sha Wujing, who took the clothes and wore them without listening to my advice. That's when we got into trouble."

Qingniu said, "You are the teacher. How can it be none of your business if you fail to teach? Tell me where you are from."

Tang Monk clasped his hands and said, "I am a monk sent by the Tang Dynasty to the West to seek Buddhist scriptures. There is a pass in my bag."

Qingniu then ordered the monsters to bring it to him. Soon, he got the pass. He took a closer look and said happily, "It is indeed Tang Monk. There was a rumor on the road before that if one ate a piece of Tang Monk's meat, the white hair would turn black again and the fallen teeth would grow again. I never thought that I would meet you by accident today. I thought you were a great monk, but you are just a fat monk with a white face. If I eat a piece of your meat, it would be such a great fortune. If I share it all with you, wouldn't it be enough for a hundred or eighty people?" Tang Monk was even more frightened and dared not answer.

Qingniu said, "You mentioned earlier that you have a senior disciple. Who is he? Tell me now, and I will send someone to capture him and bring you back together. We will cook you both in the pot. But you can't wait."

He then looked at the demons and asked, "How big is the stove in my house? Can it hold one of them?"

The demons replied, "My lord, it is not possible. It is not possible. The monk with the rake mouth and the cattail leaf fan can fill it up."

Green Ox said, "In that case, let's cook the fat monk first."

The monsters lifted Zhu Bajie up, captured him and put him in a pot to steam.

Zhu Bajie panicked and said, "Don't cook me, my eldest brother is the Monkey King Sun Wukong who caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago."

Qingniu called out to the demons and asked, "Is it Sun Wukong who was so helpless against the 100,000 heavenly soldiers?"

Zhu Bajie said, "That's right, that's right! If you don't let us go, when my eldest brother comes back from begging for food, he will definitely destroy your cave."

When Qingniu heard this, he thought to himself, "I've heard for a long time that Sun Wukong has great magical powers and once caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace. He is very capable, but now I have run into him. I have a treasure, so I am not afraid of Sun Wukong. But I heard that Sun Wukong and Guangxin are fellow disciples, and Guangxin once practiced with my master. If he finds out and invites my master, I will be in trouble. Besides, Guangxin is not an easy person to deal with. In the past, I used a diamond chisel to trap his tripod in the Heavenly Palace, and I taught him to guard it. It's hard to say whether we can fight, so let him go and don't harm this fat and ugly monk."

Qing Niu then ordered the monsters to take Tang Monk and his companions away and ignored them for the time being.

……

The story goes that when Monkey King came back from begging for food, he found that his master was not there and that the buildings and houses were no longer there. He knew that his master must have been harmed by the demon.

The Monkey King said angrily, "I've already told you not to leave the circle. No demon will dare to harm you if you don't listen to me. If the Bodhisattva has a fiery temper, he will definitely treat Tang Monk as a pure bottle and send him out. Stop, stop, stop. Let's go ask the local gods for help."

Say it.

The traveler chanted a spell and summoned the land god and mountain god.

The land god of the mountain bowed in front of him and said, "The mountain god of Jindou Mountain, the land god, pays homage to the Great Sage."

The traveler asked, "Have you two seen my master?"

The land god said, "Great Sage, the elders have asked the Golden Dou Mountain Si King to capture him."

The traveler asked, "What does King Si say?"

The land god replied, "To answer the Great Sage, this mountain is called Jindou Mountain. In the mountain is a Jindou Cave, in which lives a demon called Si Da Wang. Si Da Wang is very powerful and has great magical powers. No one can defeat him. He is very capable."

The traveler asked, "Does he really have such ability?"

The land god said, "He is indeed capable."

The Monkey King said, "You two, keep the bowl for me. I will go and subdue the monster and rescue my master."

The land god held the bowl in both hands and said, "As you wish."

The Monkey King said no more. He swung his golden cudgel, asked the local mountain god to point out a direction, and headed there, intending to find the Si King and fight him.

In a short while, the traveler found the Golden Gourd Cave, but saw many strange rocks in front of the cave, covered with green mosses and surrounded by black air. It must be a dangerous place.

The Monkey King was very powerful, so he was not afraid of this. He jumped up and walked to the front of the cave, shouting, "Little demon guarding the door, quickly tell your cave master that I am the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong. Your cave master has captured my master. If you don't want to start a war, quickly release my master."

Upon hearing this, the little demon guarding the door rushed into the mansion to report.

When Qing Niu, who was eating tangerines, heard this, he put on his armor, took his gun, opened the door of the mansion wide, went out, and met the traveler.

The Green Bull pointed his spear at the traveler and asked, "Are you Sun Wukong?"

The Monkey King said, "That's right. If you take the weapons, do you want to fight with me? If you don't want to fight, quickly release my master."

Qingniu said, "Your master committed a theft and was greedy. I caught him in the act. As the saying goes, 'Catch the thief and take the stolen goods.' How can I let him go?"

The Monkey King said, "My master is a monk, and he would never steal or be greedy. Don't say anything about this. If you want to fight, just say so."

Qingniu said, "I was worried that no one would challenge me in martial arts. You came at the right time. I thought you could fight me and not lose. So what if I let your master go? Then I can ask you to use some fruits."

The Monkey King smiled and said, "If you want to compete, then come and fight. I am not afraid of this."

Say it.

The traveler said no more and started beating him with his stick.

The Green Ox charged forward with his spear, and the iron rod of the traveler collided with it. Both of them were people of extraordinary skills. The steel spears stabbed like a phoenix piercing flowers, and the iron rods danced like a dragon leaving water. The spears and rods clashed and shook the sky, competing for the strength of the weaker one. It was true that there were stronger people among the strong, and there were stronger people among the strong.

The traveler, who had always relied on his strong physical strength to defeat his enemies, was unable to defeat Green Ox at all. After fighting for thirty rounds, he was unable to gain the upper hand. No matter how skilled he was with the cudgel, he could not advance even an inch.

Qing Niu waved his steel spear and beat back the traveler, cheering: "What a great Monkey King! Great ability! He really has the ability to cause trouble in the Heavenly Palace."

Say it.

Qingniu raised his spear and attacked again.

The Monkey King swung his stick to meet the attack, and the spears and sticks clashed together, with neither able to win. After another twenty rounds, the Monkey King was still undefeated and became anxious. Suddenly, he remembered that his senior brother had taught him the theory of yin and yang, and that martial arts is not just about hardness, but also about softness.

In the past, the eldest senior brother used the soft force to teach him that the iron rod could not get close to him. The eldest senior brother had taught him a lot. Now that he met this strong man, it would be better to change the momentum, overcome the hard with the soft, and combine the hard and the soft.

It turned out that the Monkey King was born from heaven and earth, and was well versed in the Dharma. He used the stick to break through the surface with a point, combining hardness with softness. He fought with the Green Ox for twenty or thirty rounds, and his martial arts skills actually improved. The Green Ox was frightened and made a feint with a gun before retreating.

Qingniu said, "Great Sage! Come, help me capture him."

But King Si ordered all the demons to raise their weapons and kill Monkey.

The Monkey King was not afraid at all. He shouted "change" and used his supernatural powers to transform the golden hoop into three sticks, which frightened the demons to death and forced them to flee for their lives.

Seeing this, Qingniu said, "Don't be rude. Look at my magic weapon."

Say it.

He took out a white circle and threw it into the air. The golden hoop was actually caught in the circle, so how could it resist?

The blue bull shouted, "Sun Wukong, don't run away. Take my shot."

When the Green Ox saw that the traveler had lost his weapon, he raised his spear and was about to attack.

The Monkey King was horrified, wondering how he could be a match for the Green Bull with his bare hands, so he quickly escaped on his Somersault Cloud.

The green ox could not catch up, so it returned to the cave victoriously.

This is exactly the case of 'the monkey mind cannot get help from Jin Gong, and it is difficult to refine the true devil with supernatural powers'.

……

The story is told at the Three Stars Cave on the Slanting Moon in the Fangcun Mountain of Lingtai. The Lord Laojun did not come as promised. The Patriarch was calling for the Immortal to speak...

(End of this chapter)