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

Chapter 265: Bajie goes to heaven and is beaten a hundred times

The story goes that at the South Heavenly Gate, Zhu Bajie, holding a nine-toothed rake, rode a cloud to this place and was about to crash into the Heavenly Gate.

Before Zhu Bajie could rush in, the four marshals Ma, Zhao, Wen and Guan suddenly stepped forward to block the way, and a group of soldiers came out with swords, spears, and halberds to block Zhu Bajie.

The four marshals shouted, "Who is coming? Stop the cloud!"

Zhu Bajie stopped the cloud, looked at the four marshals, and said, "I was wondering who was blocking the road. It turned out to be you four. How could you not recognize me? I am Zhu Bajie."

The four great marshals saw this and said, "Altar Cleansing Envoy, why are you here in the Heavenly Palace today? Do you want to enter the Heavenly Palace?"

Zhu Bajie said, "Because of past events, I must enter the Heavenly Palace. I hope you will let me pass."

The four marshals said, "Altar Cleansing Envoy, you were the Marshal of Tianhe Tianpeng in your early years, in charge of 80,000 Tianhe naval forces, but you were demoted to the lower world due to something, and are no longer the Marshal of Tianpeng. Therefore, you have not obtained the immortal certificate, so we cannot let you in. But if you want to enter the Heavenly Gate, you can send a document and wait for the approval of various departments, then we will let you in."

Zhu Bajie said, "I have something extremely urgent to do. I must go to the Heavenly Palace. I can't wait that long."

The four marshals said: "Even if there is an emergency, the rules cannot be broken."

Zhu Bajie said impatiently, "Don't try to stop me. I'm here to deal with evil spirits in the lower world. I must go to the Heavenly Palace to meet the Jade Emperor. If you try to stop me, don't blame me for forcing my way into the Heavenly Palace."

Hearing what Zhu Bajie said, the four marshals became angry and shouted, "Altar Cleansing Envoy, please stop being rude!"

A group of officers and soldiers lined up in front, as if they would immediately surrender if Zhu Bajie dared to intrude.

When Zhu Bajie saw this scene, he was frightened. How could he have the courage to rush forward and break into the Heavenly Gate? He said that even the monkey who made trouble in the Heavenly Palace in the past had never broken into the Heavenly Gate, so how could he break into the Heavenly Gate now?

The four marshals shouted, "Retreat quickly and don't cause any trouble!"

Zhu Bajie was a little weaker, and said, "This matter is not caused by me alone. I was originally a demon hunter together with Master Guangxin. Now I have come to heaven, and I have also received the will of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. He has already said that if you meet someone blocking your way, just tell him his name."

When the four marshals heard this, they said, "Is it really the intention of the Great Sage to travel with the Immortal?"

Zhu Bajie said, "I dare not hide anything. It is true that I am traveling with the Immortal Being, and I have been sent to the Heaven by the Great Sage."

The four marshals said, "In this case, you stay here for a while. I will send soldiers to inform you. If there is an order, you can enter the Heavenly Gate. If not, you should retreat."

Zhu Bajie bowed and said, "Thank you for your help."

The four marshals immediately sent troops to report to the four heavenly masters.

After a while.

The soldiers returned with a royal decree, allowing Zhu Bajie to enter the Heavenly Gate.

Upon hearing this, the four marshals cleared the way for Zhu Bajie to enter the Heavenly Gate.

After Zhu Bajie paid his respects to everyone, he rode on a cloud and entered the palace. After a while, he arrived outside the Tongming Palace and saw Zhang Daoling, Ge Xianweng, Xu Jingyang, Qiu Hongji, the four celestial masters, the six officials of the Southern Dipper, and the seven elements of the Northern Dipper all waiting there.

When the group saw Zhu Bajie, they stopped him and asked, "Altar Cleanser, I heard that you went with the Immortal to subdue the demon, and got the Great Sage's permission to enter the Heavenly Palace, but I don't know what you did for him."

Zhu Bajie then told everyone about his visit to the northern Juluzhou in the lower world.

When everyone heard this, they all said, "I never thought it would be like this. The flag-bearing spiritual officer of the Tianhe Navy in the past would do such evil things. But is he really impossible to subdue?"

Zhu Bajie replied, "Its original spirit has long ceased to exist, and it is only resentful that is causing trouble. If we kill it and subdue it, it will come back to life and do evil again after a thousand or hundred years. Therefore, its resentment must be eliminated before it can be subdued."

Zhang Tianshi heard what he said and said, "If that's the case, we should resolve his resentment. What you said, the altar purifier, makes sense. He still has resentment because of the punishment he received. If we can ask for the Jade Emperor's order to pardon his crime, that will certainly help resolve his resentment. You wait here while we report to His Majesty and ask for his will."

Zhu Bajie bowed and said, "Thank you for your help."

The Four Heavenly Masters then turned around and entered the Lingxiao Palace, and played before the Jade Emperor's chariot.

When the Jade Emperor heard the report, he issued an edict to clear the flag-bearing spirit official of his crime, and approved Zhu Bajie's request to plead guilty, but ordered him to be beaten a hundred times.

The four heavenly masters received the order and passed it to Zhu Bajie.

When Zhu Bajie saw that the Jade Emperor allowed to clear the flag-bearing spirit official of his crime, but also wanted to beat him a hundred times, he was so scared that his body trembled and he felt a little regretful. He felt that he was like a possessed man, why did he want to ask the Jade Emperor to punish him? Now that the Jade Emperor had issued an order, he could not disobey.

Zhu Bajie held the imperial edict in his hand and said tremblingly, "Four of you, do you really want to beat me a hundred times?"

The four great celestial masters laughed and said, "Altar Cleansing Envoy, this is your personal apology, how can it be false? But you cannot disobey the order. You were also the Marshal of the Heavenly Peng in the past, so you should know what kind of crime it is to disobey the order."

Zhu Bajie said: "I dare not disobey the order, but I wonder if this hundred blows may be less?"

Ge Xianweng said: "Altar Cleansing Envoy, this is only a hundred blows with the stick, which is not very painful. If you were to use a hammer a hundred times, you would not be able to bear it. This kind of punishment is already light."

Zhu Bajie said: "But even a hundred blows would be unbearable."

The four great celestial masters said, "If you cannot bear it, then go to the lower world and do not say anything more."

Zhu Bajie asked: "Is it really possible to go to the lower world?"

The four great celestial masters smiled and nodded.

Zhu Bajie turned around and left.

The four great celestial masters discussed and said, "Let's go and send orders to all the tribes, dispatch the celestial soldiers, and prepare to descend to the mortal world to subdue the altar purifier. If he disobeys the order, we will report to the Jade Emperor and order the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King to lead the battle."

Zhu Bajie, who had just walked two steps, heard this and turned around quickly, looking a little indignant, saying, "How can you four old men say such things? If I really walked away and no one noticed, wouldn't I be committing a heinous crime?"

The four great celestial masters laughed and said, “Altar Purifier, if you cannot accept this, you will be defying the heavens.”

Zhu Bajie said, "I can bear it, I can bear it."

The four heavenly masters responded with a smile and ordered Zhu Bajie to be punished.

When the heavenly soldiers took Zhu Bajie away, the four heavenly masters all laughed.

Ge Xianweng said: "Your Majesty, you beat him with a stick a hundred times, but is it for his cultivation?"

Zhang Tianshi smiled and said, "It is only right. Your Majesty knows that it is difficult for him to practice. Beating him a hundred times is like beating his wooden mother."

Ge Xianweng said: "I hope he will know your majesty's good intentions, and don't let him be like the Great Sage Equaling Heaven in the past. In the past, your majesty helped him to subdue the monkey, but he didn't know it and made a big fuss in the Heavenly Palace. How rude."

Zhang Tianshi said: "The great sage in the past is now very polite."

……

But in Beijuluzhou, outside the White Bone City, the immortals had been waiting for a long time, but Zhu Bajie did not return.

Sun Wukong was a little impatient and said, "Big Brother, why don't I go look for him for a while."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Just be patient and wait for him here."

Sun Wukong scratched his head and said, "Big Brother, you don't know that this fool was always lazy when he traveled west. If you ask him to find a vegetarian meal, he will definitely find a way to rest halfway and sleep for half a day. This kind of thing happens all the time."

The Bull Demon King who was escorting Wang Yu back said, "Master, you must be careful. Zhu Bajie has not descended on the Earth Mother and has been causing trouble for a long time. Maybe he has really been slacking off."

Jiang Yuan said, "Just wait patiently for a while. Wukong, Niu'er, please guard this place and don't let the Great Sage Shuangpo do evil again."

Sun Wukong and Bull Demon King responded and flew on clouds to guard the surroundings to prevent the Great Sage Frost Soul from going out to harm people. Both of them had magical powers, so even if the Great Sage Frost Soul left the White Bone City, he could not hurt them.

Not long after the two of them left, Qingniu came forward and shared a tangerine with Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan took it and saw that Qingniu was still eating the fruit. He asked, "King Si, where did you find these fruits?"

Qingniu laughed and said, "Master, I have my own way of finding fruit. I only need to stick my nose forward and I will know where the fruit is within a thousand miles."

Jiang Yuan said: "You actually have such magical powers?"

Qingniu said, "I know countless magical powers. How can you not learn them? If you want to learn, I can teach you."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Are you really willing to teach me?"

Qingniu said: "If the real person wants to learn, I am willing to do so."

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "But if I have some free time, I will definitely ask King Si for some magical skills."

Qingniu laughed and said, "I thought the Master would refuse, but I never thought the Master would accept it."

Jiang Yuan asked: "Why do you think I will refuse?"

Qingniu said, "Master, you have your own magical powers, and most of them are righteous. I thought you wouldn't care about my trivial tricks."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Mystical powers are endless."

Qingniu and Jiang Yuan were talking.

Zuo Liang suddenly came forward, bowed, and pointed to a place and said, "Master, there are strangers coming over there."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan looked in the direction Zuo Liang was pointing, and saw five or six people walking towards where he was.

Qingniu said, "These people seem to be passers-by. Why did they come out only after they found the place? Could it be that they are like the guys from Wangjia Village, who are tempted by money and come here to look for a good opportunity to make money?"

Jiang Yuan pondered for a long time, then said: "King Si, please go there and use a trick to make those people return the same way."

Qingniu said, "Master, if it is a trick, it can only stop them temporarily, but if these people use a messy method, or insist on not leaving, I am afraid that I can't stop them."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "If you insist on not leaving, then I'll let you do as you please."

Qingniu responded and rode a cloud to the mountain. It didn't take long before he reached the front of the mountain and used a sleight of hand to stop others.

Zuo Liang looked over there and said, "Master, if those people had never met you, or if you had never come, wouldn't they have lost their lives in vain?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Everything is predestined. The fact that they are able to survive must be due to their fate."

Zuo Liang sighed, "He came here for money, but he didn't expect there would be no money here. There is only a demon king who eats people. There is no such thing as easy money in the world, but if someone says that easy money is easy to get, then it must be a demon's den."

Jiang Yuan said: "What Zhengyuan said is very reasonable."

Everyone was busy with their own things and before they knew it, five or six days had passed.

One day, Zhu Bajie finally arrived late and walked to the outside of the White Bone City.

When Green Ox, Sun Wukong and Bull Demon King saw Zhu Bajie, they all descended from the clouds and reunited with Zhu Bajie.

Sun Wukong stepped forward and said, "Fool, how come you just came back at such an early hour? Where have you been?"

Zhu Bajie sat down on the ground, groaning non-stop, and said, "Brother, please teach me how to rest for a while."

Sun Wukong said: "I have been waiting for you for a long time. Why do you say take a rest? Are you looking for a place to be lazy?"

Zhu Bajie shook his head and said, "Brother, I have never been lazy. I have gone to the Heavenly Palace. Listen to me. I wanted to enter the Heavenly Palace, but I was stopped by the four great marshals. They would not allow me to enter the Heavenly Palace. It was only after I gave the name of the Immortal Master and your name, Monkey Brother, that I was able to enter the Heavenly Palace."

Sun Wukong said: "I knew you would be stopped. You entered the Heavenly Palace, why did it take you so long to come back? Did you accomplish your mission?"

Zhu Bajie said, "It's done, it's done."

Say it.

Zhu Bajie took out a jade edict and said, "This is the jade edict. The Jade Emperor has cleared the flag-bearing spirit official of his crime and punished me by beating me a hundred times. That's why I came back so late. Brother, these hundred beatings are not pleasant."

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "In the past, I captured you, burned you with fire, struck you with thunder, and beaten you with sticks. I don't know how many times I suffered, but I never said much. How come you said it was uncomfortable after being beaten a hundred times?"

Zhu Bajie said, "Brother, please don't treat me as you. I don't have your iron skin and bones, so how can I talk like you?"

The Bull Demon King stepped forward and said, "Zhu Bajie, your practice now is somewhat different. You are lucky to be able to endure these hundred blows."

Zhu Bajie didn't understand what he meant and asked, "How can I be so blessed? I can't bear such a blessing."

The Bull Demon King asked, "Do you feel like you have no control over yourself right now?"

Zhu Bajie shook his head and said, "It's been a long time."

The Bull Demon King said, "That's exactly the truth."

Zhu Bajie said: "If what you say is true, then beating me a hundred times is helping me?"

The Bull Demon King smiled and said, "Whether I can help you or not, you know it yourself, so I don't need to say more."

Sun Wukong grabbed Zhu Bajie and said, "We can discuss this kind of cultivation later when we have free time. Now we should subdue the Great Sage Shuangpo."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie took the Jade Order and went to bid farewell to the Immortal before going to the White Bone City to subdue the monster.

The Immortal saw this and said, "No need to say more, just go and subdue the Great Sage Shuangpo."

Zhu Bajie and Sun Wukong then headed towards the City of Bones.

The Bull Demon King said, "Master, I will go and help him for a while."

Jiang Yuan said, "Go ahead. If you want to make the Great Sage Shuangpo's resentment disappear, you must be on guard against his escape."

The Bull Demon King responded, swung the Black Dragon Piyue Spear, and walked towards the White Bone City on the clouds.

……

The story goes that at the foot of the White Bone City, Zhu Bajie, Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King arrived there. Looking at the scenery in the city, they were all a little frightened by the extreme evil deeds of this monster.

Sun Wukong and Bull Demon King are still better, as they were both great demons in their past and have seen all kinds of battles.

Zhu Bajie was a little bit helpless. Even though he had seen it before, he was a little bit lacking in courage when he saw it again. He said, "Brother, how can we call out the Great Sage Shuangpo today?"

Sun Wukong said: "Today is the Jade Order, you just need to call it out."

Zhu Bajie looked back and said, "Brother, Bull King, you two must protect me and don't let him harm me."

Sun Wukong said: "Go ahead and challenge him without any worries. I and my brother are here to protect you from any harm."

The Bull Demon King nodded and said, "Zhu Bajie, if that fellow makes any move, I will immediately use the Pi Yue Spear to stop him."

After listening to what the two said, Zhu Bajie felt relieved to go.

(End of this chapter)