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

Chapter 210: The True Lord Talks about the Holy Mother, the Fox Marries a Daughter

However, Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen competed for a while, and finally, according to the immortal's words, they were evenly matched. Naturally, the two agreed, sat down in the pavilion, and started to talk.

The True Lord praised Sun Wukong for his great martial arts, and Sun Wukong also admired the True Lord for his great magical powers.

The two talked for a long time about their previous fight, confirming each other's abilities.

After talking for a long time, Erlang Shen finally stood up and was about to leave.

When Jiang Yuan heard that Erlang Shen was about to leave, he immediately stood up to see him off.

Sun Wukong, Bull Demon King and others also proposed to send Erlang Shen away.

Erlang Shen stopped everyone and said, "No need to see me off. I will come back to see you when I have some free time. Don't think I am bothering you then."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Why would I bother you? When you have time, please come and find me."

Sun Wukong and Bull Demon King both said this.

Erlang Shen smiled and said, "If we are destined to meet again, I will definitely come back to talk to you and the Great Sage. But I will stop here. I will go back to Guanjiangkou."

He suddenly had an idea and said, "Master, I have something to ask for your help?"

Jiang Yuan stepped forward and asked, "Master, please be clear. You and I are friends. If there is anything I can help, I will definitely help you."

Sun Wukong also said: "Master, I will also help you, please tell me clearly."

Erlang Shen shook his head and said, "It's not a big deal, True Man, Great Sage, and Bull King, you three may not know that I have a sister, called the Third Holy Mother, who has a loyal heart and has cultivated the truth. The Jade Emperor has been kind and has bestowed upon her the title of Chahua Holy Mother. She holds the Precious Lotus Lantern and is responsible for saving the world and suppressing all monsters. If True Man is walking in the human world, please meet her. If she is in trouble, please ask True Man to help her. I will be very grateful."

Jiang Yuan said, "I have written it all down, Master Zhen, rest assured. If I see it, I will definitely help you."

Erlang Shen bowed to the Immortal and said, "Thank you for your help, Immortal."

Jiang Yuan helped her up, shook his head and said, "Why do you have to perform the ceremony, Master? Those who have heard the Dao are all one, and my sister is a practitioner. Helping her is helping me."

Erlang Shen heard this and pondered for a moment before saying, "In the past, I was able to sit and discuss Taoism with the Immortal, but now it is no longer possible. The Immortal's magical power is boundless and I cannot compare to him."

Jiang Yuan smiled but said nothing.

Erlang Shen said no more, said goodbye to Sun Wukong and others, and then left with the six brothers of Meishan and a group of grass-headed gods on the wind and fog.

Jiang Yuan watched Erlang Shen leave, and after giving some instructions to Sun Wukong and Bull Demon King, he was about to set off and walk again.

The Immortal sat on the white deer, Sun Wukong went forward to lead the deer, and the Bull Demon King naturally went with Zuo Liang.

Sun Wukong said, "Big Brother, we have accepted the words of the True Lord. Do we want to go find the True Lord's sister?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Wukong, there is no need to force it. If we meet, it is fate. If we don't meet, we can't force it."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong said, "Brother, I am obsessed with appearances."

As the two talked, they walked out of the pavilion and headed outside.

Zuo Liang followed behind him, and seeing Sun Wukong's appearance, he couldn't help but say, "Master Niu, this Buddha Grandpa is really different from his previous appearance."

The Bull Demon King asked, "What kind of appearance are you talking about?"

Zuo Liang said: "When this Buddha was fighting with that Immortal Saint, he looked really majestic. Now that he has changed into a monk's robe, he looks kind and benevolent."

The Bull Demon King replied, "My dear brother, he had to fight at that time, so he needed the help of a treasure. How can my current practice compare with his? But what you said is right. With the treasure on my body, my dear brother is really very majestic."

Zuo Liang was confused and asked, "Master Niu, why can't such a treasure be worn during cultivation?"

The Bull Demon King laughed and said, "Old Zuo, what good does it do to you to wear incense and flowers when you are practicing? When practicing, you should calm your mind. If you have incense and flowers around you, won't it make you lose your mind? If you don't cultivate your mind, it will be even more difficult to practice."

Zuo Liang said, "Master Niu, that person is already a Buddha, so why should he also guard his mind and not be distracted by incense and flowers?"

The Bull Demon King shook his head and said, "He has achieved great success in his practice, why would he be afraid of this?" Zuo Liang said, "If that's the case, why doesn't he wear such a treasure while practicing?"

The Bull Demon King said, "The master once said that those who hear the Tao are all one and the same, there is no difference between first and last, so guarding one's heart and not being greedy for incense and flowers is what those who come later do."

Zuo Liang was a little confused.

The Bull Demon King didn't say much, but just smiled and shook his head, not speaking much to Zuo Liang.

Zuo Liang was at a loss, but seeing that Bull Demon King didn't want to say more, he had to keep on going.

The group walked forward, just hurrying on their way.

Before I knew it, time passed quickly, and more than two or three months had gone by. It was already the beginning of autumn again. One could see "the autumn scenery is bleak, the air is lonely and cool, with yellow leaves falling by the roadside and white clouds floating over the hills."

Jiang Yuan and his group had been traveling in Yongzhou for a long time without seeing any accidents. No demons dared to invade along the way. He passed through Yongzhou, then went to Jizhou, and then fell into Yuzhou.

When they entered Yuzhou, they had not gone far when, in the middle of the night, they suddenly saw a farmhouse on the side of the road. It was very grand, covering an area of ​​several acres, with buildings connected to each other. The house was brightly lit and decorated with lanterns, as if a wedding was being celebrated.

Zuo Liang pointed to the front and said, "Sir, there seems to be a happy event in front, but why is it happening in the middle of the night? It's strange."

Sun Wukong stepped forward, opened his eyes wide, and took a closer look. He saw that the place was filled with black air and there was no sign of human life. He smiled and said, "Zuo Liang, it's just as you said, there's something strange going on there. It's probably some mountain goblins holding a wedding."

He looked at Zuo Liang and said with a smile: "You have some knowledge. When I was protecting Tang Monk on his journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures, he often saw strange things without realizing it, which made me suffer a lot."

Zuo Liang said: "How can there not be something strange in such a midnight scene? Even if there is nothing strange, there must be some strange people."

Sun Wukong said: "Big Brother, should we avoid the road ahead?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "No need to avoid him, just walk over. If he invites us, we will stop and congratulate him. If he doesn't invite us, we will just walk over without stopping."

The Bull Demon King laughed and said, "I knew the Master would do this."

Jiang Yuan laughed and said, "You little ox, if you know it, why don't you tell Wukong about it?"

The Bull Demon King shook his head and said, "I dare not interfere in other people's affairs."

Jiang Yuan pointed at the Bull Demon King and said, "This is not considered as interfering in other people's affairs."

But the Bull Demon King was unwilling.

The group chatted and laughed as they headed towards that house.

When we arrived at that house, the door was wide open and there were loud gongs and drums inside, making it very lively and bustling.

Jiang Yuan and others passed by, but no one showed up.

Sun Wukong looked inside once or twice, and without stopping, was about to walk forward.

Suddenly, an old man came out from the front in a hurry. When he saw the immortals, he came forward to pay his respects and said, "I pay my respects to the immortals. I pay my respects to the immortals! I hope the immortals will not blame me for failing to welcome them!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan stopped the white deer and asked, "Are you worshipping us?"

The old man said, "It is to pay respect to the real immortal! My daughter is getting married tonight, so I was a little busy and didn't know the real immortal was coming. Now I know the real immortal is coming, so I came out to pay respect to him. I hope the real immortal will not blame me!"

Jiang Yuan said with a smile: "I said there was a wedding banquet today, but I didn't expect it was your daughter's wedding. You have some skills and can know us. Can you tell me your name and hometown?"

The old man bowed deeply and said, "I have very little ability. I am a fox spirit from Liuhe Mountain in Yuzhou, Southern Continent. I have no name, but I am called Liuhe Fox King."

Jiang Yuan said, "Since the Fox King is marrying his daughter, could you invite me to the banquet and share in the good fortune?"

The old man was overjoyed when he heard this and said, "It is a great honor for my family to have the Immortal come to the banquet, but I am afraid that there are many spirits among them, which may disturb the Immortal. I hope the Immortal will stay for a while and I will send the spirits away."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said it was okay, then went in with the old man.

(End of this chapter)