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

Chapter 223: Just think about sending troops to the mountains and revising the laws

It is said that Sun Wukong was fighting with Feng Shijun in the forest. Feng Shijun changed into a tiger and pounced on Sun Wukong. On the other hand, Sun Wukong was not frightened at all. He swung his golden cudgel and hit Feng Shijun in the face.

This golden cudgel was a stator used by Dayu to measure rivers when he was controlling floods. It is extremely heavy. How could Feng Shijun be able to match it?

But Sun Wukong hit Feng Shijun with a stick with three moves. Fortunately, Feng Shijun dodged quickly and the stick landed on his shoulder. Feng Shijun had no ability to fight back and turned around and ran away.

Sun Wukong shouted, "Monster, where are you going!"

Wukong swung his golden cudgel and shouted "long!", and the cudgel stretched a thousand miles and hit Envoy Feng.

The envoy was so frightened that he quickly stopped moving, made some hand gestures, and actually attracted a hundred mountains to press down on Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong carried fifty mountains on each of his shoulders. He said with a smile, "You evil spirit, you actually sent mountains to crush me, but you don't know that I have the ability to carry mountains. Let alone these ordinary mountains, even if you sent Emei, Taishan, and Xumi, I can still carry them."

When Envoy Feng saw that Sun Wukong had such magical powers, he cried out a few times and had no power left. He told Sun Wukong to come closer and finished him off with a stick.

Sun Wukong looked at Envoy Feng's body lying on the ground. He retracted his golden cudgel and said, "He has some abilities, but he is good at escaping and hiding. He doesn't have many real skills, but his ability to send people away is not bad."

As he spoke, he looked up at the sky and said, "But if I am not capable of sending mountains like this, wouldn't I have to let these hundreds of mountains fall to the ground? Who owns these mountains? Why don't you show up quickly and take them away?"

But then dozens of land and mountain gods appeared and bowed down to the ground, and said in panic: "Great Sage, please forgive me! Great Sage, please forgive me! We did not intend to attack you!"

Sun Wukong said, "Whether you are doing it intentionally or not, let's not talk about it for now. Now that you see me carrying a hundred mountains, why don't you cast a spell to send me away?"

Upon hearing this, all the land and mountain gods took the order and sent Baishan away to their respective places, but they were very frightened and asked for forgiveness.

Sun Wukong said: "I don't blame you now, but I don't know why you accepted the order of the envoy and sent the mountain to suppress me?"

The land gods and mountain gods all said, "Great Sage, we don't know, and we don't know who is the envoy. It's just that someone chanted the spell to send the mountain, and we followed the spell and came here to be dispatched. We don't know why, and we are afraid that if we are slow, the master will blame us."

Sun Wukong said: "If anyone chants a spell, you will respond to it?"

The land gods and mountain gods all answered, saying, "That's right, that's right. If there is anyone with magical powers chanting a spell, we will respond to it. The master has long said that if we disobey or are late, we will be punished. So when we heard the order, we came here in a hurry and would never dare to disobey."

Sun Wukong said: "If that's the case, I won't make it difficult for you. You can go now."

When the land god heard this, he was overjoyed and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Great Sage! Thank you, Great Sage!"

Sun Wukong waved his hand and asked the land gods and mountain gods to leave.

The land god, mountain god and others bowed again and again before leaving.

Sun Wukong rode his somersault cloud and went to the land temple.

After a while, Sun Wukong arrived at the land temple and met the real person.

Sun Wukong stepped forward and said, "Big Brother."

Jiang Yuan sat cross-legged on the ground. He asked, "Wukong, what's wrong?"

Sun Wukong then recounted what had happened and told Jiang Yuan everything.

When Jiang Yuan heard about the appointment of the envoy and the fact that the land and mountain gods responded to orders, he was moved.

The land god wept with gratitude and bowed, saying: "The land god of Qingliu Mountain thanks the Immortal, the Great Sage, and the Ox King."

Jiang Yuan helped him up and said, "No need to be polite, Earth God, but I have a question that I need your answer."

The land god said, "I dare not call myself the god of earth in front of the real person. Since the real person has doubts, please speak up. I will tell you everything I know and resolve your doubts."

Jiang Yuan asked, "If you receive the order and are sent away from the mountain, will you investigate who the caster is?"

The land god shook his head and said, "We only follow orders, but we will not ask who casts the spell. This is because when the spellcaster issues the order, it means that it is extremely urgent. If we disobey, we will be guilty. Therefore, we don't have time to find out who the spellcaster is."

Jiang Yuan asked again: "If a demon learns the full spell and recites it, will you also respond?"

The land god was a little terrified and said, "Master, we really can't do anything, but please don't blame me, don't blame me!"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "I never meant to blame you, but I just wanted to ask for clarification."

The land god said, "Master, this is a lawless act. If we were to investigate who issued the order, we would be guilty of a crime when the time comes. Therefore, no matter who it is, whether it is a fairy or a demon, as long as they chant the spell, we will obey them."

Sun Wukong stepped forward and said, "Big Brother, this kind of thing is inevitable. When I was traveling west in the past, I passed through a country and saw three monsters in the country. They were in high positions and had the Five Thunders. They could command the gods and immortals and make the wind and rain come to them. If I didn't have some tricks, I would not be able to stand up to them."

Jiang Yuan said, "I already know about this." Sun Wukong said, "Brother, you are revising the law, can this also be changed? How should it be changed?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I have to go talk to Emperor Xuan. Wukong, you wait here for me for a while."

Sun Wukong bowed and said, "Big Brother, please go ahead. I will be waiting for you here."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan didn't think any more about it. He stood up and walked outside. When he reached the outside of the temple, he rode on a auspicious cloud and headed towards Wudang Mountain.

Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King watched the Immortal leave, then returned to the temple to wait. The Land God waited quietly by their side, not daring to leave.
The land god bowed and said, "Great Sage, Bull King, if there is anything else you need, please tell me and I will prepare it for you."

Sun Wukong shook his head and said, "No need, we will borrow this place from you temporarily, just give us your permission."

The land god was in a panic and bowed, saying that he could stay there as long as he wanted.

When the Bull Demon King entered the temple, he saw Liu Yanchang sleeping soundly. He laughed and said, "Why hasn't this fellow woken up yet? He is such a sleeper."

Sun Wukong said: "Don't pay any attention to him, but if he is willing to wait in the temple, then let him wait. If not, let him go on his way."

The Bull Demon King nodded and said nothing more.

Zuo Liang stepped forward and said, "Grandpa Buddha, Grandpa Niu, I'm going to go outside and chop some firewood."

Sun Wukong shook his head and said, "You don't need to go there. Firewood can be obtained anywhere. Since my elder brother is not here, you can stay here for a while and practice with me. I can teach you some skills."

Zuo Liang asked, "Grandpa Buddha, do you want to teach me magical powers?"

Sun Wukong said: "That's fine."

Zuo Liang replied: "Grandpa Buddha, I have no intention of learning supernatural powers now."

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "If I could teach you some magical power, why wouldn't you learn it?"

Zuo Liang pondered for a long time and replied, "Grandpa Buddha, there is a saying that goes 'If one's virtue does not match his position, there will be disaster; if one does not match his wealth, there will be loss.' I am now devoted to cultivation and seeking freedom, but I know that I am not capable of acquiring supernatural powers. If I were to acquire them, it would be harmful. Please forgive me, Grandpa Buddha."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong said, "You have been practicing with my elder brother for a long time, and now you have cultivated a heart of Tao. Even though you don't have magical powers, when your heart of Tao is established, magical powers will naturally arise."

Wukong was amazed at the teachings of the elder brother. The elder brother always put the heart first, just like when he was in the Three Stars Cave. The elder brother often taught him to cultivate his heart, but he never listened, which led to disasters later.

Now Zuo Liang is different. He is devoted to cultivating his mind and regards this as his practice, which must be correct.

……

The story takes place in the Taihe Palace in Wudang Mountain.

When Jiang Yuan arrived here and pressed down the clouds, he realized that the Heavenly Venerable Subduing Demons had already sensed something, so he came out in person to welcome the Immortal.

The Deity who Subdues Demons welcomed the Immortal Master, and then invited him to the Taihe Palace, and presented him with red dates, pears, fragrant tea, and green lotus roots for his enjoyment.

Seeing that Emperor Xuan was so polite, Jiang Yuan had no choice but to use one or two of his tricks.

When Emperor Xuan saw that the Immortal had finished his meal, he asked, "Is it true that you have come here to reminisce about the past and to discuss the law with me?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "All of them."

Emperor Xuan smiled and said, "In that case, please discuss the official business with me first. After we finish discussing the official business, it won't be too late for us to reminisce about the past."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan told Emperor Xuan all the stories that had happened before, including how the gods of land and mountains only heard orders but did not know who cast the spells, which allowed evil spirits and practitioners with evil intentions to mobilize the gods of land and mountains and even call the wind and rain.

Emperor Xuan listened to the real person's story attentively. When the real person finished speaking, he said, "If this is the case, it is difficult to change it. The land gods and mountain gods must obey the order and do it urgently."

Jiang Yuan pondered for a long time and said, "There is nothing that can be changed about the land god or mountain god, but there are things that can be changed about the caster."

Emperor Xuan said: "Master, please speak clearly."

Jiang Yuan replied, "So we should revise the laws and restrain those who cast the law. If there are those who cast the law and call on the gods of the land and mountains with laws, we should respond to them. However, after responding to them, we should observe whether their law is cast in a legitimate way or whether it is cast by evil spirits. If they cast the law in an improper way and send officials to the mountains indiscriminately, they should be punished. If they are cast by evil spirits, we should investigate whether the evil spirits are acting in a legitimate way. If they are acting in a legitimate way, there will be no problem. If they are acting in an evil way, we should report it to the higher authorities and punish them."

Emperor Xuan said: "If it is as the Immortal said, it is feasible. We should not teach a group of practitioners to fight against demons and evil spirits, and send generals and officials at random. I will record this example."

Say it.

Emperor Xuan immediately ordered someone to come in and take out the black book. He wrote rules on it for casting spells and sending generals. He established laws and regulations. Anyone who violated them would be punished.

(End of this chapter)