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

Chapter 171: Tang Monk Protects His Disciple, Battle Outside Lion City

Outside the Lion City, the Bull King and the Holy Infant Walker are united in harmony to defeat the demon. Inside the Lion City, the Green Lion, the White Elephant and the Big Peng are at odds with each other and look upon each other with disgust.

The story goes that in the Golden Palace, Tang Monk was sent here. He was drowsy and saw Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing who were tied up and unable to move.

Tang Seng summoned his energy and asked, "Bajie, Wujing, are Wukong here?"

Sha Wujing shook his head and said, "Master, our eldest brother has never been arrested."

Tang Seng heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this.

Seeing this, Zhu Bajie was a little indignant and shouted, "Master, how can you say that? Lao Sha and I saw you being captured and fought against the demons. How come you didn't ask anything?"

Tang Seng said, "Bajie, don't talk nonsense. As long as Wukong has not been captured, we have a chance to survive. Wukong always has magical powers. If he is outside, he can use his magical powers to defeat the demon. If Wukong is captured, we will have no chance to survive."

Say it.

Tang Monk recited scriptures on the spot, keeping silent.

Zhu Bajie yelled, "Master, we were captured half a day ago. If Monkey King had come to rescue us, he would have shown up long ago. Master, why are you chanting like this? Isn't it because chanting makes the meat taste better and makes the demons happier?"

Tang Seng opened his eyes and said, "Bajie, don't shout, don't shout. What Wukong said makes sense. When you encounter suffering, you should not be moved and frightened. You should always be calm and the demons and evil spirits will not dare to harm you."

Zhu Bajie was about to say something else when he heard some noise outside. He looked carefully and found it was the voice of the old demon Qingshi.

I only heard the old demon Qingshi say: "The Great Sage Equaling Heaven is very powerful. Together with the Bull Demon King and the Bull Saint Infant, they have set up camp outside the city to fight with us. If we want to fight them, we must follow your advice. But now I am hungry and thirsty, so I must eat something."

"That Tang Monk is the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. If we eat him, there will be no way back. It would be better to cook Zhu Bajie. He is fat and plump. After my three brothers have eaten him, we can fight him."

"Young men, five of you go fetch water, seven of you wash the pots, ten of you light the fire, and twelve of you carry Zhu Bajie out."

When Zhu Bajie heard what the blue lion said, he trembled with fear and said, "Master, Master, disaster has come, disaster has come, the monster wants to boil me."

Sha Wujing said, "Second Brother, do you have any way to escape? The monster wanted to boil you, but never thought of boiling Master and me."

Zhu Bajie cried, "Brother Sha, how can I get away? He tied me up with this hemp rope and sprayed me with water. You can see that the hemp rope has penetrated three-quarters of my flesh. How can I get rid of it?"

Sha Wujing said, "The old demon said that my eldest brother is fighting with him. If he can't hold out for this long, he will die."

Zhu Bajie said, "If the boiling water comes, it will only take a quarter of an hour for my entire body to be rotten. What shall I do?"

As the two were talking, a little demon spoke up and said, "My lord, Zhu Bajie is too big, his meat is too fat, and our pot is too small, so it's hard to steam him."

Dapeng said, "If the pot is too small, use a bigger one. If it's hard to steam, just peel Zhu Bajie's skin and steam him."

Zhu Bajie heard this and cursed, "Why are you trying to peel off my skin? What should I do? Why doesn't this damned monkey come?"

Tang Seng clasped his hands and said, "Bajie, stop yelling. Wukong has already said that we should work together."

Zhu Bajie said, "Master, those monsters wanted to kill me, why didn't I shout?"

Tang Seng shook his head.

Suddenly there was a sound, and a little demon walked in.

The little demon said, "The soup is boiling. The king has ordered us to take Zhu Bajie to cook."

Zhu Bajie's body was shaking and trembling with fear, and he dared not speak.

Tang Seng suddenly stood up, stopped the little demon, and said, "Let's talk to your king. If you want to boil my disciple, boil me first."

When the little demon saw Tang Seng coming to stop him, he did not dare to confront him and turned around quickly to report to the old demon.

When the old demon heard what Tang Seng had done, he was afraid that Monkey would fight them to the death, so he did not dare to cook Tang Seng. Instead, he had to give up and take some living people to eat.

When Zhu Bajie saw that Tang Seng protected him and prevented him from being cooked, tears welled up in his eyes.

……

At dawn the next day, outside the Lion City, Red Boy was ordered to be the vanguard and challenge the enemy outside the city. Red Boy, wearing an embroidered battle skirt around his waist and holding a flaming spear in his hand, ordered hundreds of little demons to help. There were also a dozen demons pushing five chariots to the foot of the city.

Red Boy ordered the chariots to get into position, pointed his spear and challenged them, saying, "Listen up, monsters in the city. I am the son of Bull Demon King of Cuiyun Mountain in Hezhou, West Niu, and the Holy Bull Infant under the tutelage of Guangxin Zhenren of Xieyue Sanxing Cave in Fangcun Mountain, Lingtai. Quickly release all the people who are seeking scriptures from the west, otherwise I will break down your city gates and you will never have peace."

Red Boy's words frightened the monster in the city so much that he rushed inside to report.

Upon hearing this, the three demons from Lion Camel Mountain in the city gathered together to discuss.

The old demon said, "What do you mean by the Bull Saint Infant helping out outside? Is he leading the troops to fight him, or does he have another plan?"

Dapeng said, "That Bull Holy Infant has some skills, but he is still young and not as strong as my three brothers. We will send one of us to fight him and lure him to our city. Once he is close to the city and far away from the Monkey King and the Bull Demon King, we will attack him together and catch him off guard, capture him, and dissolve him with the Yin-Yang Qi Bottle."

The white elephant volunteered, "I will fight with it and lead it into the city."

The old demon said, "Be careful, my dear brother."

The white elephant turned around and reached for his spear, then headed out.

When the old demon saw Dapeng also going to collect his troops, he followed the white elephant. Just then, the white elephant took out the spear and was about to attack, so he asked the old demon to stop him.

The white elephant asked, "Brother, why are you trying to stop me? You should go with my third brother to ambush the Holy Bull Infant."

The old demon grabbed the white elephant and said, "My dear brother, I have come here to tell you something secret."

The white elephant asked, "What do you say, brother?"

The old demon said, "My dear brother, you must remember what I said. If things change, you should focus on saving your life. You and I have seen the methods of the Monkey King. He subdued the two of us easily. I have seen that the Bull Demon King is quite capable and may be as strong as the Monkey King. If your plan fails and we fight, we will most likely lose. At that time, you should save your life."

The white elephant said, "Brother, why didn't you tell my third brother about this?"

The old demon replied, "Third brother and I are not of the same kind."

The white elephant asked, "What do you mean?"

The old demon snorted, "I saw him because he wanted to eat Tang Monk's flesh. He was obsessed with it and attacked us repeatedly. How could he care about our lives? If Tang Monk's flesh was really that delicious, he would have eaten it on the way to the west. How could it be our turn? The Monkey King is very powerful. I dare not argue with him, but he refused to give up and insisted on fighting. My dear brother, please listen to me. The third brother and I are not from the same family. We just got together temporarily to become sworn brothers. How can there be any brotherhood? If we talk about friendship, it is only between you and me."

The white elephant listened to what the blue lion said, pondered for a long time, and nodded in agreement.

On the other side, Dapeng descended from the Golden Palace and called the demons to tell them how to deal with Monkey. However, he didn't know that his two brothers already had other intentions.

A group of people selected their troops and went out of the city. Just then, the white elephant came with a spear. Dapeng stopped him and said, "Be careful, brother." The white elephant nodded at Dapeng and went out without saying anything.

When the white elephant went out of the city, he saw Red Boy standing on fire, looking majestic and glaring at him.

The white elephant stepped forward with his spear in hand and asked, "Is that you, the Holy Bull Infant?"

Red Boy pointed his flaming spear at White Elephant and said, "Are you the old demon's second brother?"

The white elephant patted his chest and said, "It's me!"

Red Boy shouted, "You bullied my uncle, committed many evil things, and ate countless people. The master always taught us to do more good deeds. You are such an evil demon, you should be killed for your crimes."

The white elephant laughed and said, "How do you know the taste of human flesh, little boy? Listen to me, don't try to learn the right way. Come to my Lion Camel Mountain and eat humans every day. You will find it tastes good."

Red Boy was very angry and cursed, "I am the boy under the Immortal Master. How dare you speak like that? Take my shot!"

Say it.

Red Boy thrust his spear forward and stabbed.

Seeing that Red Boy was coming fiercely, the white elephant did not dare to be careless and waved his spear to fight with him.

The two of them fought in front of the Lion Camel City. The Holy Infant's Fire Spear showed his magical power in the fight, and the White Elephant's Long Spear tried to show his strength. The two long pythons entangled each other and fought back and forth. One was a spiritual child under the immortal. The ancestor loved him since he was young. He clearly loved and hated him for his uncle. The other was an evil demon in the Lion Camel Mountain. He listened to the Bodhisattva's advice and came to the world to eat people. This killing was so desolate that the sky and the earth were hazy.

After fighting for nearly a hundred rounds, Red Boy was slightly inferior, but he was still no match for the White Elephant. The White Elephant had superb martial arts and a wide range of tricks, and was impenetrable.

The Monkey King and the Bull Demon King were talking while watching the battle from a distance.

The Great Sage exclaimed, "Brother, the Holy Infant's abilities have improved a lot."

The Bull Demon King laughed and said, "It was because the Grandmaster made the Holy Infant eat wind and sleep in dew when he was young, which cultivated his spiritual energy. With the Grandmaster's instruction, and the martial arts I taught him, he has become what he is today. This is also the Holy Infant's hard work. Otherwise, the Holy Infant would not be what he is today."

The Great Sage said, "Given time, my nephew's abilities will surely surpass yours and mine."

The Bull Demon King said: "You and I have been practicing and have encountered many difficulties, but the Holy Infant is blessed by nature."

The Great Sage deeply agreed with this and was deeply moved. He was created by heaven and earth, and practicing cultivation was so easy that he could achieve the golden elixir in just a few years. However, he was never perfect and had never cultivated his mind, so he suffered disasters.

Afterwards, he went through untold hardships and traveled through thousands of mountains and rivers before he gradually returned to the right path.

The Great Sage then understood what the founder meant when he chanted "The Golden Elixir is Difficult" before preaching.

The Bull Demon King said: "Speaking of which, my dear brother, your practice is becoming more and more perfect."

The Great Sage said in panic, "Brother, please don't say that. How dare I say that I have achieved perfection with my little practice? It's still far, still far."

The Bull Demon King pointed to the direction of Lingshan Mountain and said, "This place is not too far from Lingshan Mountain. When you complete your quest for scriptures, it will be complete."

The Great Sage shook his head and said, "Brother, even if the quest for the scriptures is successful, it cannot be called perfection. If it is successful, it is only the first time I have returned to the right path. Brother, please do not talk about perfection anymore. I am afraid that if the eldest brother hears it, he will laugh at me for being a shameless monkey."

The Bull Demon King said: "My dear brother, you have a deep Buddha nature."

The Great Sage was about to say something else when he suddenly saw Red Boy fighting with the White Elephant and heading towards the Lion City. He was an old hand at gambling and fighting, so it was no wonder he could see the clues.

He pulled the golden hoop stick out of his ear and cursed, "Brother, something terrible is happening. These demons are not honest. They are leading my nephew to the city."

The Bull Demon King took a closer look and also understood what had happened. He was so anxious that he swung up the iron stick and rushed towards the Lion City with the Great Sage.

Outside the city, Red Boy was intent on competing with the White Elephant for strength, but he didn't know that the White Elephant was leading him into the city.

The white elephant led Red Boy to the Lion City. He saw that the city was three or four miles behind him. He was overjoyed and held Red Boy with his spear, shouting, "Brother, dear brother! Come and help me quickly to capture the Holy Bull Infant!"

When Red Boy heard this, he was shocked. He saw Dapeng and Qingshi rushing out of the city together, and then there were overwhelming demons coming to kill him.

The white elephant laughed loudly and said, "Niu Shengying, you have fallen into my trap!"

As he spoke, the white elephant held the spear and tried to entangle Red Boy.

Red Boy threw away his flaming spear, turned around and ran away.

Before long, they arrived at the side of the five chariots and saw the white elephant chasing them, and the green lion, the big peng and many demons chasing them from behind.

Red Boy cursed: "You are such a shameless demon, you actually use your numbers to bully the few. Don't blame me for being so angry."

Say it.

Red Boy borrowed the power of the Five Chariots, connected his primordial spirit with the numbers of heaven and earth, and used the true fire. He opened his mouth and spit out flames. The flames came violently, exactly 'black smoke and red flames. At first, the flames were like blazing golden snakes, and later, the flames were like mighty blood horses'.

When the real fire came out, the white elephant was frightened to the point of losing its soul, and turned around to escape.

The big peng saw that the situation was not good, so it flapped its wings and retreated. Only the green lion was a little clumsy, and was hit by the flame. It rolled on the ground in extreme pain. The monsters that were close to it were all burned by the true fire. It was like stars falling and clouds scattering. The monsters in front would die if they were touched by the true fire, would suffer miserably if they were brushed by it, and would be injured if they were touched by it. The monsters behind turned around and left, how could they dare to fight?

What a great Holy Infant King! The true fire of his spirit shows his power!
Red Boy's breath of real fire frightened the monsters in Lion City so much that they dared not fight back.

The Great Sage came closer, saw this, and said with a smile, "My dear nephew, you are very capable!"

The Bull Demon King came on a cloud and looked up and down. He was relieved to see that the Holy Infant was not harmed. He was very angry and said, "How dare you, demons, to murder my child? I will kill you!"

The Bull Demon King swung the iron stick and hit the green lion that was struggling on the ground. The green lion was so frightened that it didn't care about the fire on its body and turned around to escape.

The Bull Demon King struck down with his stick, shaking the Lion Camel City. He really had the power to move mountains and hills.

"Stay away, you bastard! Take this blow from me!"

The Bull Demon King caught up and wanted to kill the Green Lion, but the Green Lion was in danger when the White Elephant came to rescue him with a spear.

"Bull Demon King, please don't hurt my brother."

The white elephant blocked the Bull Demon King, and the two fought fiercely outside the city. The Bull Demon King became angry, and within three or four rounds, the white elephant was at a disadvantage.

When Dapeng saw this, he came to help with his Fang Tian Hua Ji.

How could the Great Sage tolerate Dapeng's recklessness? He waved his golden cudgel to block it. The Green Lion was badly injured, but still came to fight. Red Boy found the Fire Spear and they started fighting again.

A group of six people fought again outside the Lion City, using six kinds of weapons to show their magical powers, competing for victory or defeat. After fighting for ten rounds, tens of thousands of demon soldiers from the Bull Demon King's camp came out together, lined up and attacked the Lion City, just to help. The victory or defeat was decided in a moment.

(End of this chapter)