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

Chapter 157: Bull King changes to earn luggage (ask for monthly ticket)
Cuiyun Mountain, in the Banana Cave.

The Bull Demon King ordered his soldiers to move stones to build a door and started construction in order to repair the gate that was broken by Sun Wukong.

As the Bull King gave orders, he was furious and said, "This damned monkey broke into my house and did some robbing, which would have been fine, but he actually smashed my door. I am so angry."

The Rakshasa woman stepped forward and said, "Don't be upset, my king. The monkey is stealing because your king has made it difficult for him and he has no other choice. That's why he is stealing."

The Bull King said, "He destroyed my gate, I cannot stand it."

The Rakshasa woman asked, "My king, what are you going to do?"

The Bull Demon King looked around outside the palace, pondered for a long time, and said: "I think that monkey will not be able to win this time, so he must think of a way to get reinforcements. I don't know where the pilgrims are, I will go to look for them, if I find them, I will capture them, put a damper on their arrogance, and let them know that I, the Bull Demon King, am not someone to be trifled with."

The Rakshasa woman said, "If that is the case, Your Majesty must be careful."

The Bull Demon King laughed and said, "Madam, you must be careful in the mansion. If that monkey comes, just keep the door closed. If he tries to break in, take the Yu Ding and hit him. I don't think he can resist."

The Rakshasa woman naturally agreed.

The Bull Demon King put down the iron stick, walked out of the mansion, and used some magic to transform himself into a traveler. He rode on a cloud of light and went to the Flaming Mountain.

……

At that time, the true traveler was leaving Cuiyun Mountain. He had no idea how to deal with the Bull King and was at a loss as to what to do.

The Monkey King sighed, "What should I do? If it were a fight, I would not be afraid of the Bull Demon King, but he has a tripod, which is as heavy as a thousand pounds. No matter what I do, I cannot catch him. Last time I entered his house, I did not find the palm leaf fan. He must have brought it with him. How can I get it?"

Just as the traveler was at a loss as to what to do, an old man suddenly came forward to pay his respects and said, "Great Sage, Great Sage."

The traveler looked around and saw the old man wearing a flowing cloak, a crescent-shaped crown on his head, and a dragon-headed staff in his hand.

The Monkey King asked, "Where are you from, and why are you looking for me?"

The old man bowed and said, "Great Sage, I am the mountain god of Huoyan Mountain. I heard you sigh, so I came to help."

The traveler asked, "The mountain god of Huoyan Mountain? Why are you dressed like a Taoist?"

The old man said, "To be honest with you, Great Sage, I was originally a Taoist priest who guarded the furnace in the Tushita Palace. Because of my sins, I was banished by Laojun to be a mountain god here."

When the Monkey King heard this, he laughed and said, "What crime have you committed? Tell me about it."

The land god said, "Speaking of this matter, it has something to do with the Great Sage. Not to mention this matter, even this Flaming Mountain has something to do with the Great Sage."

The Monkey King said, "Don't talk nonsense, you land god. I am devoted to practicing the righteous way. How could I have the time to come here and set fire to it, and even banish you to the lower world?"

The land god said, "Great Sage, you don't know that five hundred years ago, when you caused trouble in the Heavenly Palace, I was captured by the immortals and pressed into the furnace for refining. At that time, the calcination was successful, so I opened the cauldron to observe. How could you, Great Sage, jump out and kick over the furnace, causing brick fire to fly out and turn into the Flaming Mountain here? I was also blamed by Laojun, so I was demoted to the mortal world to be a land god."

The traveler said, "If you say so, I am indeed a burden to you."

The land master apologized, "I dare not, I dare not."

The Monkey King said, "Since you say you will help me, you can tell me something. If you really have helped me, I will go to the Tushita Palace and ask for your mercy from Laojun, and pardon your sin."

The land god said, "Great Sage, I am here to tell you where the Bull King of Cuiyun Mountain came from."

The traveler said, "I know his origins much better than you do. What can you tell me?"

The land god said, "Great Sage, you know where the Bull King came from, but have you ever heard of the tripod in the Bull King's hand?"

The traveler said, "I once saw a tripod in the hands of Master Guangxin. It was one of the Nine Tripods of King Yu. The tripod of King Niu is very similar to Master's. I am troubled by the tripod in his hand."

The land god said, "Great Sage, you know it, but I have done something unnecessary. That tripod is exactly the one in the hands of Immortal Guangxin. I don't know why it is in the hands of the Bull King. Therefore, if the Great Sage wants to conquer the tripod in his hand, he must go to the Immortal and ask where it came from."

When Monkey heard this, he thought to himself, "I just left home and am now going back home. What will the elder brother think of me? I can't go. I can't go. Now that I know the tripod is the Yu Ding, why don't I go to Heaven and find a way to crack it? Then I can take the tripod and ask the Bull King what he says. If he finds out that he stole it, I will return the Yu Ding to the elder brother and then I can face him."

Think about it.

The traveler said to the land god, "I already know what's going on here. You can go now."

The land worshippers left.

The Monkey King rode a cloud to heaven to get reinforcements to deal with Yu Ding.

……

But in the area of ​​the Flaming Mountain, in the house where Tang Monk was staying, the Bull Demon King was riding a cloud and looking around, looking for the people who were seeking the scriptures.

The Bull Demon King then searched and asked all the big and small monsters nearby, and finally found himself near a house, where he saw Zhu Bajie. This guy was very easy to recognize, and the Bull Demon King knew at once that this was the person who was seeking scriptures.

The Bull Demon King transformed himself into a fake monk and pressed down the clouds.

Zhu Bajie didn't know what had happened, so he stepped forward and said, "Brother, have you stolen the tripod? If you can't, you can steal the palm leaf fan. How come you have nothing?"

After hearing this, the Bull King was secretly resentful. This Zhu Bajie had previously insulted his son, the Holy Infant, and now he instigated the monkey to steal from his house and smash the door. He really deserved to be beaten.

The Bull King was angry but he didn't show it. He just stepped forward and said, "Brother, the Bull King was very cautious. He didn't succeed and only stole the golden cudgel back."

Zhu Bajie said, "Brother, you were always successful in your previous activities, why did you fail this time?"

The Bull King said, "Brother, the Bull King is more powerful than before. Take me to the Master. I have something to say to the Master."

How could this idiot have the heart to identify and lead the Bull King into the house.

The fool said, "I thought you would succeed, so I asked Master to pack up and set off when you returned. I didn't expect you didn't succeed. If you didn't succeed, why don't I go with you to deal with the Bull King? With my Nine-toothed Rake and your Golden Cudgel, we will definitely succeed."

Seeing that this fool seemed to have some martial arts skills, the Bull King thought to himself that this was not good. He had come out to deceive people without any weapons. If he fought with him, he might not be able to defeat him. He came up with a plan and asked, "Is the luggage important?"

The fool replied, "Brother, did the Bull King hit you in the head? There is a pass disc in the bag. Without it, where can we go to get the scriptures?"

Upon hearing this, Bull King wanted to take possession of the luggage. He and Zhu Bajie walked forward, and when they entered the house, he saw that the luggage was neatly packed. He pushed Zhu Bajie down and blew a fierce gust of wind, which blew away all the luggage.

He saw Tang Monk nearby and wanted to capture him as well, but Sha Monk was in front of him, swinging his demon-subduing staff, so he could not get close.

The Bull King revealed his true form and said with a smile, "That monkey came to my house to steal, and I had to fight it off. You, the pilgrims, have no chance of passing through the Flaming Mountain. Turn back as soon as possible to save your lives!"

Say it.

The Bull King rode away on the wind and fog.

The house was covered with flying sand and rocks, the mat was in a mess, Tang Seng was frightened, the old man was panicked, Bajie was shouting, and Sha Seng was protecting him.

After a long time, the evil wind finally subsided. Seeing that there was no evil spirit, Sha Seng put down his demon-subduing staff, approached Tang Seng, and said, "Master!" Tang Seng was still in shock and asked, "Wujing, what kind of evil spirit was that?"

Sha Monk said, "Master, that must be the Bull King from the Banana Cave in Cuiyun Mountain! He came to take revenge because he knew that Brother Zhi had gone to steal."

Bajie stood up and angrily shouted, "How dare you, you idiot bull, disguise yourself as my brother and tease me?"

Tang Seng was filled with grief, tears welling up in his eyes, and said, "Wukong, where have you been? Now the demon has taken away your luggage. Even if you can get the palm leaf fan, how can you travel west?"

This is the time when the mind is wandering and the evil spirits are invading and bullying the righteous master.

……

The Monkey King was unaware of what was happening in the human world. He had just entered the South Heaven Gate, intending to meet the Jade Emperor and ask for help to deal with the Bull Demon King. However, upon hearing what had happened, the Jade Emperor said that it was a family matter and it would be frivolous for him to get involved, so he asked the monkey to leave. He then said that if the gods in heaven were willing to follow the monkey down to the human world, they could also help.

The Monkey King thought that the gods in heaven were better than him, and that if he went down to the mortal world, he would have to order the Bull King to kill him. So he did not ask for help in heaven and went down to the mortal world again. He should have gone to the sea to find a way, but when the Monkey King passed by a mountain, he saw auspicious lights all around, and he took a closer look and realized that it was Mount Wudang.

Seeing this, the Monkey King secretly thought, "This is actually the place where the Demon-Subduing Patriarch Dangmo comes to do his homework. Why not go and ask the Demon-Subduing Celestial Lord to help me defeat the Yu Ding? If he can't do it, I can ask him to help me defeat the Bull King."

The traveler pressed down the clouds and went to Wudang Mountain. The traveler fell into the mountain and looked around carefully. The mountain was really a good place. He saw 'several plum trees in bloom, and the whole mountain was covered with beautiful grass. White cranes were living on old cypresses with clouds, and green phoenixes were singing towards the sun'. He also saw 'dragons lurking at the bottom of the ravine, tigers lying on the cliffs, whispering in a silent voice, and tamed deer walking close to people'.

When the traveler reached the outside of Taihe Palace, he saw auspicious light and five hundred spiritual officials coming.

A spiritual official stepped forward and asked, "Who is coming?"

The Monkey King introduced himself, and upon hearing this, the Spirit Official rushed into the hall to report. Upon hearing this, the Patriarch Jiu Tian Dang Mo came down from the hall to greet him.

The Patriarch Dangmo invited him into the hall, served him tea, and asked, "I heard that you converted to Buddhism and helped Tang Monk to obtain Buddhist scriptures in the West. How come you have time to visit me today?"

The traveler bowed and said, "I have a favor to ask of you, Lord Daomo."

The Demon-Subduing Patriarch said, "Tell me about it."

The traveler then recounted what had happened previously.

Upon hearing this, the Patriarch Dangmo said, "You have come to ask me to subdue the Bull King, which is very easy. However, I was powerful in the north, commanded the position of Zhenwu, and eliminated the demons and evil spirits in the world, all by the order of the Jade Emperor. Now I cannot start a war without the order of the Jade Emperor, but if I say no, I will be disobeying the Great Sage. So, I will send the two generals, the turtle and the snake, as well as the five great dragons and elite soldiers, to help you capture the Bull King. The Bull King lives in the west, and I believe there are no major demons in the west. Moreover, this Bull King has practiced with the True Man and has no vicious nature."

The traveler said, "Heavenly Lord, if it was the Bull King, it would be easy to deal with. But the Bull King has a tripod in his hand, which is very powerful. It is called the Yu Ding."

The Patriarch Dangmo said, "Yu Ding is earth. Earth is the mother of the five elements. I have heard of this treasure a long time ago. It fell into the hands of Laojun and then passed to the hands of Master Guangxin. It is the most precious treasure of Master. Since this treasure is in the hands of the Bull King, Master must know that you and Master are from the same family. Why don't you go to Fangcun Mountain to ask, and you will definitely be able to subdue the Bull King."

The traveler said, "I am afraid that he might disturb the True Man's meditation, so I dare not disturb him."

The Demon-Subduing Patriarch said, "It is so. If so, you should be careful. If you don't compete with him, Yu Ding will be hard to defend against."

The Monkey King nodded and said, "Thank you for the recipe, but I'm afraid that Tang Monk will have to wait for a long time. I will lead the troops to deal with the Bull King first."

The Demon-Subduing Patriarch said, "No need. If you meet Master Guangxin someday, please talk to him. I have been in spiritual communication with him for a long time. If you have time, come and sit in my hall."

The traveler bowed and said, "I will definitely pass it on. I dare not make any mistake."

The Monkey King thanked the Master of Subduing Demons, and returned to the Flaming Mountain with his two generals, the Tortoise and the Snake, the five divine dragons, and thousands of elite soldiers.

……

Not long after, Monkey led his troops to the Flaming Mountain and went down to pay a visit to Monk Tang.

As soon as Monkey landed, he saw Bajie rushing towards him aggressively. Monkey dodged and said, "You idiot, what are you doing?"

Bajie scolded, "You cow, don't lie to me, old pig."

The Monkey King asked, "Pigsy, when have I ever lied to you?"

Bajie took a closer look and said, "Are you really Sun Wukong?"

The Monkey King said, "I am Sun Xingzhe, how come you don't recognize me?"

After hearing this, Bajie heaved a sigh of relief and told the rest of his story.

When the traveler heard this, his steel teeth clashed and he was very angry. He said, "How could this bull king change into my appearance to deceive me? I have been hunting geese every year, but now a little goose has pierced my eyes."

The Monkey King then went in to pay his respects to Tang Monk, talked with him, and asked for the help of the soldiers under the command of the Grandmaster Jiu Tian Dang Mo, and was about to go out to fight the Bull Demon King again.

Upon hearing this, Tang Seng bowed to the north, then asked Sha Seng to protect him, and asked Zhu Bajie to go with them to capture the Bull Demon King and obtain the palm-leaf fan.

Zhu Bajie, holding the Nine-toothed Rake, stepped onto the clouds with Monkey King and met the two generals, the tortoise and the snake, and five divine dragons.

Zhu Bajie stepped forward and said, "How is the Devil-Subduing Heavenly Lord doing today? I, Old Zhu, and he are old acquaintances."

The two generals, the turtle and the snake, and the five great dragons returned the greeting and said, "Greetings to Marshal Tianpeng. Thank you for your concern, Marshal Tianpeng. May God be well today."

Zhu Bajie said with a smile: "Does the Heavenly Lord miss me lately?"

When everyone heard this, they didn't know how to respond.

Sun Xingzhe grabbed Zhu Bajie's palm leaf fan and said, "Don't talk nonsense, let's go into Cuiyun Mountain and fight the Bull Demon King. Everyone, listen carefully, I will talk to him about our brotherhood again and lend him the palm leaf fan for the third time. If he still refuses, I will give the order and we will fight him together, but don't kill anyone."

The crowd replied, "We obey the orders of the Great Sage."

The group rode on clouds and headed for Cuiyun Mountain to deal with the Bull Demon King and obtain the banana fan.

……

In the Three Stars Cave of the Slanting Moon on Fangcun Mountain of Lingtai, Master Jiang was refining an elixir in the alchemy room. The two immortal boys, Jinjiao and Yinjiao, were there, one to build the fire and the other to pull the wind. All he had to do was to watch the temperature of the cauldron.

Zhenjian also asked Zhenren to come over and learn the whole external alchemy from him.

Jiang Yuanshi Zhenjian watched over the furnace for him for a while. He suddenly thought of the Bull King and said, "It's been a while since Wukong and the others left. I wonder if he has run into the Bull King."

Zhen Jian turned around and replied, "Big Brother, they are slow and most likely have not encountered them. If they did, why wouldn't Junior Brother Wukong come to invite you?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Who knows, maybe Junior Brother Wukong can borrow the banana fan to take care of the matter at Huoyan Mountain, and then go west again."

Zhen Jian shook his head and said, "Difficult, difficult, difficult! Unless Junior Brother Wukong does something else, maybe it will be possible."

Jiang Yuan smiled but said nothing.

(End of this chapter)