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

Chapter 27: The Source of the Flow

Laozi accepted Jiang Yuan's suggestion and taught Jiang Yuan to be his guardian of Qianniu.

Jiang Yuan bowed again and walked to the side of Qingniu.

Qingniu looked up and saw the Yu Ding on Jiang Yuan's waist. He did not dare to be presumptuous and lowered his head.

Yin Xi, the commander of Hangu Pass, walked up to Laozi, bowed and said, "Guan Ling Yin Xi, I pay my respects to the saint!"

Laozi smiled and shook his head, saying: "I am just a poor old man, I don't deserve Guan Ling's courtesy!"

Yin Xi said: "I have some knowledge of celestial phenomena. I saw purple air coming from the east, as vast as a dragon, so I knew a saint was traveling west. I also saw the master, who was a divine man. If the master came to greet me, it would be impossible for anyone other than a saint to succeed. So I know you are a saint."

Laozi smiled, his eyes were calm as water, and said: "Master is Guangxin, but I and Guangxin are the elders and the younger ones. Guangxin saw that I had difficulty walking, so he came to me to lead the cow and taught me not to be bullied by tigers and leopards. How can a poor old man like me become a saint? I heard that there are many great sages among the marquises, and saints should come from them."

Jiang Yuan stood beside the green ox without saying a word.

Yin Xi heard this and shook his head and said, "The marquises are often involved in state affairs, and saints do not follow them. Master Guangxin is a disciple of the saint in the West. If the master leads the cow, you must be a saint. If you allow me to lead the cow to protect the law, I am willing to sacrifice my life for it, no matter what!"

Lao Tzu said, "Do you really think I am a saint?"

Yin Xi said: "It's true!"

Laozi looked at Yin Xi for a long time, then nodded and said with a smile: "A talented person with great potential!"

Yin Xi bowed and said: "Please enter the pass, Saint. I have cleared the pass and am waiting. Please invite the Saint."

Lao Tzu said: "Good!"

Yin Xi was overjoyed, and he and his two servants led the way so that they would have no worries on the journey ahead.

Jiang Yuan patted the blue ox lightly, and the blue ox mooed and headed towards Hangu Pass.

When he saw Laozi riding the green ox upside down, he knew there must be a deeper meaning behind it, so he did not whip or pull the rope.

The Green Ox was very human-like and followed Yin Xi's lead. It wasn't long before they entered Hangu Pass.

Laozi looked at Jiang Yuan and said, "Guangxin, this journey has been thirty-three years, and it is not a short journey."

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Boyang, I will understand."

Laozi smiled and said, "If Guangxin had not yet entered the Dao, I would never dare to teach Guangxin to leave. However, Guangxin has entered the Dao for a long time, so I can rest assured. Is Bodhi still well?"

Jiang Yuan said: "Mr. Lao Boyang, my master is well!"

Seeing Jiang Yuan's light but steady figure, Laozi secretly admired him and said, "This boy will surely acquire great magical powers in the future."

When they reached Hangu Pass, Yin Xi led Laozi to a place to stay so that the sage could rest.

When he was halfway through the journey, he suddenly saw someone blocking the road and kneeling down before Yin Xi.

Jiang Yuan stopped and saw that the man looked familiar, but he couldn't remember his name for a moment. However, he saw the "Tai Xuan Qing Sheng Talisman" on his waist tremble slightly, and knew that this man also had this talisman. He immediately realized that this man was Lao Tzu's servant in Luoyi's home in the past.

Yin Xi was startled and asked, "Who are you?"

The man shouted, "Officer, listen to me. I am from Luoyi, my name is Xu Jia, I have been employed by the master since I was young, doing odd jobs for the family, I dare not make mistakes, the master once said that the daily wages are about one hundred, but the master owes me a lot of money and has not agreed, now I am leaving the border, I am afraid that the money will be gone, so please ask the officer to collect it for me, it is about one million yuan or more."

When Jiang Yuan heard this, he thought it was ridiculous. This person was really stupid and ignorant.

In addition to his cultivation, he has lived through three generations of the Zuo family and several generations in the human world. This person still does not know how to achieve immortality and escape birth, old age, sickness and death, and actually comes to stop me and ask for his wages.

Yin Xi was shocked when he heard this and asked, "Are you talking nonsense?"

Xu Jia said: "Don't dare to talk nonsense."

Jiang Yuan was secretly annoyed. Without waiting for Yin Xi to see Laozi, he walked out, stretched out his hand from his sleeve and pointed at Xu Jia.

He said, "Do you recognize me, kid?" Xu Jia looked up and saw that Jiang Yuan looked familiar, but he didn't know who he was, so he pretended to shake his head.

Jiang Yuan said, "In the past, I went to Luoyi with my master and stayed at Mr. Boyang's house. I met you by chance."

Xu Jia suddenly realized and said, "It's you. When I saw you last time, you were just a little kid. Now you look like a god. I couldn't recognize you at first!"

Jiang Yuan said: "Since you know me, do you know when we met?"

Xu Jia touched his head, thought for a long time, and shook his head: "I don't know."

Jiang Yuan said, "We met a hundred or two hundred years ago. Do you really think you have a long life? It was because Mr. Boyang gave you a Taixuan Qingsheng Talisman that you were able to glimpse the side door to longevity. If you didn't have this talisman, the King of Hell would have taken you away long ago. How dare you ask for your wages from Mr. Boyang?"

When Xu Jia heard this, he was horrified and opened his mouth. A talisman came out of his mouth. Then the wind blew and he turned into white bones and fell to the ground.

Fate is like "revealing the source of the flow will lead to the loss of energy, and the side doors will not lead to the secret of longevity."

Laozi sat on a green ox and saw Jiang Yuan's method. He smiled without saying a word and nodded slightly.

Yin Xi bowed down and said, "Saint, Master, I am stupid and do not understand the way of saints. I have heard the way but did not move forward, and I have missed a good opportunity. However, I do not mean to hate you. I hope you will allow me to live."

Laozi just said: "I told him that I would pay him in gold when we entered the Parthian Empire, but he was so restless and anxious. Forget it! Just let him swallow it and we will be even."

Say it.

Laozi glanced at Jiang Yuan, who understood what he meant. He patted the green ox lightly and walked forward.

Yin Xi put the Taixuan Qingsheng Fu recipe into the mouth of the bones. When the wind blew again, flesh grew on the bones. Not long after, Xu Jia came back to life, and the servants exclaimed in surprise.

Yin Xi knew that this was the ability of a sage, so he straightened his clothes, bowed down to Laozi and kowtowed sincerely.

……

When Laozi entered Hangu Pass, he told Jiang Yuanfen that he would stay at the pass for March 3rd, and after March 3rd, he would head west to Xiniuhezhou.

Jiang Yuan originally came as the guardian of Qianniu, so he naturally agreed. He continued to practice, breathing out heavenly fire every day and burning a golden man.

Yin Xi, the commander of Hangu Pass, served Laozi every day as a disciple and listened to his wonderful music.

Jiang Yuan knew very well that Laozi stayed for March and three days for those who wanted to hear the Tao. However, the only person who heard the Tao was Yin Xi.

Time passes quickly in practice.

Jiang Yuan practiced every day, and March 3rd passed in a flash.

On this day, Laozi rode a green ox upside down and was about to go out of Hangu Pass to the west, and Jiang Yuan accompanied him.

Yin Xi led his servants to bid farewell. When leaving, he was reluctant to leave and said, "Sage, I can sacrifice my life to follow you."

Laozi smiled and said, "Your destiny is not here."

Yin Xi said again: "Saint, the Dao is not clear now, it is dark and gloomy. The wisdom of the saint is infinite. I heard the wonderful sound of March 3rd and knew that the saint is wise. I have no chance to follow the saint, but I ask the saint to write a book and leave your name. In the future, if there are people who hear the Dao again, they will not stop because the Dao is unclear and dark. Those who hear the Dao should know the saint!"

Upon hearing this, Laozi patted the green ox lightly, causing it to stop and ponder in silence.

Jiang Yuan was shocked. He knew in his dream that in the mythological story "Laozi Coming Out of Seclusion", Laozi left a book to educate the world. It was called "Tao Te Ching" and was known as the "King of All Classics".

Could it be that this book will appear in the world?

The ancestor once said that when Laozi was born, both the Southern Continent and the Western Continent would gain a chance of life.

The vitality of the Southern Continent may lie in the Tao Te Ching...

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(End of this chapter)