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

Chapter 311 The Evil Dragon's Origins, Lü Yan Battles the Demon

Meanwhile, Lü Yan was by the Lijiang River, talking for a long time with the old man in the house. He asked about the details of the demon and even said that he was a cultivator who had come to subdue the demon.

Upon hearing this, the old man was overjoyed and dared not conceal anything, so he told Lü Yan everything.

"I have never seen that demon in person, but I have heard many stories about it. I have heard that the demon is a vicious dragon that dwells in the middle reaches of the Lijiang River. Some boatmen have seen it. It is huge, fierce and evil, and is a black dragon."

"If you are going to exorcise a demon, sir, you may take some mixed grains with you."

The old man spoke to Lü Yan in detail.

Lu Yan sat on the threshold and asked, "Young man, what do you mean by these mixed grains?"

The old man said, "A storyteller once said that these evil dragons are afraid of mixed grains. Firstly, mixed grains carry human energy, which can frighten the evil dragons. Secondly, these evil dragons are huge and are most afraid of small insects, fearing that the insects will crawl along their scales and into their bodies. Therefore, if they see mixed grains, they will easily mistake them for small insects. Carrying mixed grains might save their lives."

Upon hearing this, Lü Yan knew that it was just a rumor and not to be taken seriously, but he had already learned about the evil dragon.

That evil dragon dwells in the middle reaches of the Lijiang River. It is a black dragon, and black represents water. Therefore, that evil dragon is a water dragon, and if it wants to find something to subdue it, it must seek out creatures of the earth.

After gathering the information, Lü Yan got up to leave.

The old man stopped Lü Yan.

Lü Yan asked, "Young man, is there anything else?"

The old man said, "Sir, please wait here for a moment."

Say it.

The old man walked into the house.

Lü Yan smiled helplessly and could only stand there and wait.

A white deer stepped forward from behind and spoke in human language, asking, "Lu Yan, what are your plans?"

Lu Yan turned his head and said, "Immortal Deer, I intend to go to the middle reaches to subdue the demon. The one who can subdue that evil dragon is of the earth element, but I really have no earth element in my body. I only have a sword. Most of my skills are in the sword."

Bai Lu said, "But if it is a sword, it may be difficult to harm that evil dragon. You have no magic power or supernatural abilities. The sword is made of metal, so how can it control the evil water? If you, Jin Gong, had subdued the Mind Monkey, that would be fine, but you have not yet subdued the Mind Monkey."

After pondering for a moment, Lü Yan said, "If that's the case, what should we do?"

Bai Lu said, "Go back and report to the master about what happened here. Ask others to come. Anyone who comes besides you can subdue that evil dragon."

Lu Yan shook his head and said, "My teacher entrusted this matter to me, how can I return empty-handed? I should go."

The white deer said, "Your abilities are difficult to subdue. If you go, you may suffer calamity. Do you really want to go?"

Lü Yan nodded and said, "I must go!"

Bai Lu said, "Whatever you say."

Just as Lü Yan was about to say something more, he suddenly saw the old man inside come out and hand him a cloth bag.

Puzzled, Lü Yan asked, "What is this?"

The old man said, "Open it and take a look."

Upon hearing this, Lü Yan untied the cloth bag and saw some stale grain inside, which had a musty smell. He immediately understood the old man's meaning and took the grain to help him subdue the demon. If he was not strong enough to deal with the evil dragon, he could use this to escape.

Lu Yan said, "Young man, why are you in such a state? You are not even able to eat your fill or stay warm. What will you do if I give you all this food?"

The old man shook his head and said, "Let's not talk about me. You have come here to subdue the demon, but I have no money to give you. All I can give you is this. If you fail to subdue the demon, throw away this grain and you may escape with your life."

Lu Yan tried to politely decline, but the old man wouldn't listen and insisted that Lu Yan guard the grains.

Helpless, Lü Yan had no choice but to accept the grains and leave with the old man seeing him off.

Lu Yan walked along the middle path, followed by Bai Lu. He held a cloth bag in his hand and sighed, "Life won't be easy for the young."

The white deer asked, "How do you know?"

Lu Yan said, "This bag contains some old grain, all of it like this. The young man didn't want to use it and kept it mostly. But now that he saw I was coming to subdue the demon, he took it out and gave it to me."

Bai Lu said, "How do you know that these old grains are not the grains they don't want?"

Lu Yan shook his head and said, "I was once an official, so I know that such farmers must have a handful of old grain at home. This is for emergencies and is not used unless there is a life-or-death crisis. The fact that this young man gave me this grain is enough to show his heart."

The white deer said, "If that's the case, we must not betray their trust and should subdue this demon."

Lü Yan nodded and said, "That's exactly right."

Having said this much, the two stopped talking and headed towards the middle reaches of the river.

They traveled for two or three hours.

The two finally reached the middle of the river, where they saw dark clouds gathering, lightning flashing and thunder roaring, as if a torrential downpour was about to begin.

Upon seeing this, Bai Lu said, "This evil dragon is about to move into the water. I have heard that it needs to accumulate water power. This celestial phenomenon is an indication that it is accumulating water power. Lü Yan, if you want to subdue the demon, you should hurry. If its water power is fully formed, I'm afraid you will drown before you even have to lift a finger."

Lu Yan nodded and said, "Immortal Deer, I should rest and recuperate before going to subdue this demon."

Bai Lu said, "That's right. The matter of subduing demons should not be taken lightly. You should rest."

Without hesitation, Lü Yan sat down cross-legged and began chanting incantations, preparing himself to subdue the demon with his sword.

Meanwhile, amidst the clouds and mist, Pigsy, carrying his nine-toothed rake, looked somewhat bored at Lü Yan, who was tidying up the area below. He said with some resentment, "There's nothing to prepare here. Just go and subdue the demon. If you can't, I, Pigsy, will definitely descend to the mortal realm. But with my nine-toothed rake, that evil dragon will be killed in no time."

"This Lü Yan is talented and has a good character, but he doesn't know his place."

"Perhaps he doesn't know I'm here. Should I go down and talk to him? No, no. If the master finds out, I'm afraid I'll suffer. The master is merciful, but that stable boy is not easy to talk to. If that stable boy makes a move, that green ox monster will join in the fun. I can't handle it."

Just then, Pigsy was speaking.

Suddenly, a shout was heard from above.

"What are you talking about, you idiot? Tell me what happened!"

As soon as Pigsy looked up, he saw Sun Wukong riding on a cloud, followed by three thousand heavenly soldiers and the Third Prince Nezha.

Pigsy shivered and laughed, "Brother, what brings you here?"

Sun Wukong was furious. He grabbed Zhu Bajie by the fan-shaped ear and said, "You fool, I heard everything you just said. Have you forgotten that I have a keen ear that can hear everything when I'm close? Do you dare repeat what you said before?" Zhu Bajie begged for mercy, saying, "Brother, please forgive me. I won't dare to do it again."

Sun Wukong scolded, "How many times have you said this? How can you ever take it seriously?"

Nezha laughed from the side, "Since it's not taken seriously, it should be taught a lesson so that he will remember it. Great Sage, I have a treasure here that can really hurt Pigsy. I'll lend it to you so you can teach him a lesson."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Perfect, perfect. The Third Prince has lent me this treasure. I will return it to you after I have used it."

Nezha was about to take out his treasure to lend to Sun Wukong, but just as he took it out, he suddenly thought of something and said, "Great Sage, you've used the treasure, you wouldn't not return it to me, would you?"

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Am I that kind of person?"

Nezha thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Fine, fine, fine. Great Sage, just use your golden cudgel to beat Pigsy."

Sun Wukong stepped forward and grabbed Nezha, laughing, "Your Highness, we are brothers who have risked our lives for each other, how can you not believe me?"

Nezha laughed and said, "Great Sage, I have heard that a Bodhisattva once gave you a Wind-Fixing Pill, which you have not yet returned."

Sun Wukong said, "There are differences, there are differences."

Pigsy begged for mercy, saying, "Brother, please forgive me this once, please forgive me this once. I will never dare to talk nonsense again, but if I do, you can beat me a hundred more times."

Sun Wukong grabbed Zhu Bajie and said, "Is this really true?"

Pigsy said, "Of course it's true, of course it's true."

Sun Wukong said, "In that case, I will spare you this time. Tell me what the situation is like down there."

Pigsy said, "The evil dragon is living in that place. Lu Yan is resting. Once he has finished resting, he will go to subdue the demon."

Upon hearing this, Nezha stepped forward and said, "There's no need for those cultivators to subdue the demon. I will go myself and subdue that evil dragon. Pigsy and Great Sage, you two stay here and watch. I will pull out the dragon's tendons and show them to you."

Sun Wukong stopped Nezha and said, “I know that you, Prince, have the ability to extract dragon tendons. You once subdued a dragon and extracted its tendons in your early years. However, Lü Yan here is a person by my senior brother’s side and has a connection with Laozi. My senior brother sent him here with the intention of tempering him. Why don’t we let him subdue the demon first? If he is not strong enough, then we will show ourselves.”

Nezha said, "Since the Great Sage has spoken, then we shall obey the Great Sage's words. After subduing this evil dragon, I still need to go and find out about those dragons. Would the Great Sage be willing to come with me?"

Sun Wukong said, "Of course it's possible. But if it's those dragons, Your Highness, you alone are enough to defeat them."

Nezha laughed and said, "Traveling with the Great Sage is quite enjoyable."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong naturally agreed.

Pigsy asked, "Brother, what are you talking about?"

Sun Wukong then told Zhu Bajie about the affairs of Heaven and invited Zhu Bajie to go with him.

Upon hearing this, Pigsy shook his head and said, "I must follow Master to cultivate; I cannot go."

Sun Wukong didn't say much, only telling him to cultivate diligently.

Pigsy responded repeatedly.

Seeing that Lü Yan was still resting below, Nezha, feeling rather bored, said, "Great Sage, I've heard that you have a disciple named Chenxiang. Is that true?"

Sun Wukong said, "That is indeed true, but I've managed to make sure that you, Third Prince, are aware of it as well."

Nezha laughed and said, "Earlier, when I was talking with my father in Heaven, he mentioned that there was a temple in the mortal world. I heard that a man named Chenxiang came out with an axe and killed the demons. He also mentioned that my master was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. So I did some research and found out that he was the Great Sage's disciple."

Sun Wukong scratched his head and said, "When I went down the mountain, Chenxiang was still cultivating in his mansion. How could I know him?"

Pigsy patted his belly and said, "Brother, what do you not know? It must be that Chenxiang went down the mountain while you were away."

Sun Wukong pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Fool, what you say makes sense. Since he is going down the mountain, I can't stop him. He is most likely going to defeat the True Lord, but he is the nephew of the Manifestation True Lord, so I don't think the True Lord will do anything to him."

Nezha asked, "How so?"

Sun Wukong then explained the whole story to Nezha, who finally understood.

The group was talking amidst the clouds and mist, but those without magical powers had no idea that there were immortals or gods among them.

Lu Yan rested for a long time by the middle reaches of the Lijiang River, and finally stood up after adjusting himself.

The white deer followed closely behind and asked, "Are you here to subdue a demon?"

Lu Yan nodded and said, "We should certainly subdue the demon, but I'm afraid if we delay any longer, the evil dragon will flee into the water."

The white deer said, "You may go. If you encounter any trouble, I will help you."

Lu Yan bowed to the white deer and said, "Thank you very much, Immortal Deer."

The white deer said, "But my magic is not very profound, so don't rely on me entirely."

Lü Yan laughed and said, "Of course not, Immortal Deer, you can rest assured and watch me slay that evil dragon."

Say it.

Lu Yan drew his sword, pointed it at the river, and strode towards it.

A short while later, Lü Yan arrived at the riverbank. He looked around and saw that the Lijiang River was truly turbulent. He saw "black waves churning in the air like black dragons dancing with claws, silver mountains collapsing like fair maidens throwing ribbons. Wherever the tide passed, withered trees were reduced to dust, and dangerous rocks were turned into dirt. When the wind amplified its power, the sound was like the roar of a giant spirit, and thunder could be heard ten miles away; when the force weakened, the undercurrents gnawed at the banks, like an old dragon grinding its teeth. This was not just the roar of the river, but truly the wrath of heaven and earth."

Lü Yan laughed and said, "What a terrible place! A wicked dragon living in such a place is quite fitting."

He strode forward, took his sword, and slashed at the wave. A white light flashed across the water, and the wave was struck down, causing the water to slow down slightly.

Lu Yan shouted, "I am Lu Yan, a cultivator. I have come here to subdue the demon! You evil dragon that is causing trouble in the river, show yourself at once!"

As soon as the voice faded, a colossal creature rose from the river. It was a black dragon, its body as black as ink, its eyes like glowing red pearls, and its gaping maw revealing rows of sharp teeth like cold stars. It was truly an evil dragon.

The evil dragon opened its pupils and stared at Lü Yan. Seeing that Lü Yan had almost no magical power left, it spoke in human language, saying, "I wondered who came from, but I never expected it to be you, you fool. If you were a cultivator with magical power, that would be one thing, but you, who have no magical power, dare to make a fuss here."

Seeing the fierce dragon's imposing aura, Lü Yan showed no fear whatsoever. His gaze remained calm as he said, "But if you commit evil deeds, cultivators will hear of them and will surely exterminate you. This has nothing to do with whether you possess any magical power."

The evil dragon said, "You have no magical power, how can you kill me? I don't like to eat old meat. If you were strong and healthy, I would eat you whole in one bite, spitting out the bones and using the flesh and blood to keep me alive. But you are old, and I find your flesh and blood too tough and I don't want to eat you. You should kneel down and kowtow to me, and then call three or four strong and healthy men to die in your place, and I will spare your life."

Lu Yan said, "Evil demons should be killed. How dare you utter such words here."

Lu Yan, not wanting to say any more, drew his sword and slashed, intending to subdue the evil dragon.

(End of this chapter)