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

Chapter 313 Leaving aside past events, thoroughly investigate the dragon's kin.

Meanwhile, inside the Crystal Dragon Palace of the East Sea, the Dragon King of the East Sea was enjoying a feast, savoring various fruits, flowers, and fine wines, feeling peaceful and carefree.

The Dragon King of the East Sea was attended by a turtle prime minister.

The Turtle Prime Minister bowed and said, "The King's birthday is still a few days away. Will today be the same as in the past?"

The Dragon King of the East Sea said, “It is the same, but if there are those who make offerings to me but have not been worshipped in the past, you should remember them. Those who have not been worshipped should not be checked in the incense book for three years.”

The Turtle Prime Minister replied, "Your Majesty, I will certainly remember."

The Dragon King of the East Sea held a fruit and ate it, saying, "To be honest, the East Sea has been peaceful for a long time, which is quite boring."

The Turtle Prime Minister shook his head and said, "Not long ago, not long ago. Hundreds of years ago, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven just wreaked havoc in the Dragon Palace. How can you say that peace has lasted for a long time?"

The Dragon King said, "The Great Sage Equaling Heaven has already returned to the right path. Besides, that happened hundreds of years ago, which is a long time ago, so there's no need to mention it."

The Turtle Prime Minister said, “Your Majesty, I have heard that the Queen Mother’s birthday is approaching. I wonder if we should prepare to go to the Heavenly Palace for the banquet?”

The Dragon King shook his head and said, "I don't know if the Queen Mother will invite me. There's no need to rush. But the proper etiquette should be prepared. Even if the Queen Mother hasn't invited me, the proper etiquette should still be presented."

The Turtle Prime Minister bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will certainly prepare everything."

Just as the Dragon King was about to say something more, he suddenly heard some commotion outside.

The Dragon King of the East Sea, Ao Guang, was somewhat displeased and said, "Let's go and see who is making such a fuss outside."

The Turtle Prime Minister accepted the order and was about to get up and go out to find out what was going on, but before he could go out, he saw shrimp soldiers and crab generals barging in.

The shrimp soldiers and crab generals trembled with fear and cried out in panic, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

Ao Guang asked, "What has caused you to be so panicked in the East Sea Dragon Palace? If it is nothing serious, then your behavior is an attempt to undermine the dignity of my Dragon Palace. If there is nothing wrong, then you should be punished!"

The shrimp soldiers and crab generals knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty! The Great Sage Equal to Heaven has broken into the Dragon Palace, and we cannot stop him."

Upon hearing this, the Dragon King remained calm and said, "The Great Sage Equaling Heaven and I have a past relationship. Why are you alarmed? When the Great Sage Equaling Heaven was traveling west to protect Tang Sanzang, I helped him. Now that he has come to the Dragon Palace, he must be looking for me to reminisce. There is no need to be alarmed."

The shrimp soldiers and crab generals said, "Your Majesty, besides the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, there is one more person."

The Dragon King asked, "Who is it?"

The shrimp soldiers and crab generals replied, "It is Nezha, the great god of the Three Altars and Seas. He has led three thousand heavenly soldiers into the Dragon Palace, and we cannot stop him."

Upon hearing that it was Nezha, the Dragon King was terrified and immediately got up to flee through the back door.

The Turtle Prime Minister stopped the Dragon King and asked, "Your Majesty, where are you going?"

The Dragon King panicked and said, "If Nezha comes here, he'll have to leave soon."

The Turtle Prime Minister said, "Although Your Majesty has a grudge against Nezha, you have not had any dealings with him for many years. Moreover, you each have your own duties and do not interfere with each other. Your Majesty has not done anything wrong, and even if you see Nezha, you are not afraid. Why are you running away?"

Upon hearing this, the Dragon King was relieved and said, "What you say makes sense, why should I be afraid?"

Say it.

The Dragon King sat firmly in his seat.

The Turtle Prime Minister stepped forward and bowed, saying, “Your Majesty, although there is no need to be afraid, the Great God of the Three Altars and the Great Sage Equaling Heaven have arrived together. We must not be impolite. Your Majesty should personally go to greet them. As Your Majesty knows, the Great Sage is no ordinary person and has an impatient nature. If Your Majesty does not go, I fear the Great Sage will blame you.”

Upon hearing this, the Dragon King hurriedly went outside, but before he even left the palace, he bumped into Sun Wukong who was walking in.

The Dragon King, caught off guard, was knocked down, but upon seeing that it was Sun Wukong, he disregarded everything and stepped forward, bowing and saying, "Greetings, Great Sage! Great Sage, it has been many years since we parted on our journey to the West. How have you been lately, Great Sage?"

Sun Wukong said, "I am fine, but your collision has caused some trouble. How could you, an old dragon, collide with me like that?"

The Dragon King said with a forced smile, "Great Sage, you're joking!"

Sun Wukong said, "Make way for my brother and me to enter."

The Dragon King was puzzled upon hearing this, but he still made way for Sun Wukong to enter.

Seeing that the Dragon King had made way, Sun Wukong quickly pulled Nezha behind him into the path.

The Dragon King became somewhat flustered as soon as Nezha entered.

Nezha stepped forward and grabbed the Dragon King, laughing, "You old Dragon King, it's been a long time since we last met. You greeted the Great Sage just now, why didn't you greet me today?"

The Dragon King hurriedly bowed and said, "Greetings, Great God of the Three Altars and Seas. How have you been lately, Great God?"

Nezha smiled and said, "I'm fine, I'm fine. But I wonder how you, the old Dragon King, are doing? Back when I was still a human, you made me quite uncomfortable."

The old Dragon King was terrified and said, "This, this."

For a moment, the old Dragon King did not know how to answer.

The Turtle Prime Minister stepped forward from the side, bowed, and said, "Great God of the Three Altars and Seas, the matter of the past is long gone. The Dragon King has long intended to apologize, but he has never had the opportunity to meet the Great God, so he could not apologize. Now that he has met the Great God, he has the opportunity to apologize. Your Majesty, why don't you quickly apologize to the Great God?"

Upon hearing this, the Dragon King dared not be careless and hurriedly apologized to Nezha.

Nezha smiled and helped the old Dragon King up, saying, "Let's not dwell on past grievances."

Hearing what Nezha said, the old Dragon King was overjoyed and thought to himself, "Who said that Nezha is a narrow-minded person? Rumors are really not to be believed! I only said a few words, and he has already let bygones be bygones. This is not narrow-mindedness, but rather a broad mind!"

The old Dragon King truly admired Nezha.

Suddenly, Nezha changed the subject, saying, "Those old stories should not be mentioned again. I have come here today not for that matter."

The old Dragon King said, "But I don't know why you have come, Great God. Please tell me, and if there is anything I can do to help you, I will certainly do so."

Nezha laughed and said, "What is it? Then I'll be frank with you."

The old Dragon King replied with a smile, "Please enlighten me, Great God."

Nezha, his face cold, took out his Fire-Tipped Spear, pointed it at the Dragon King, and looked as if he were about to rip out the dragon's tendons at the slightest provocation. He said, "Dragon King! Do you know your crime!"

The old Dragon King, trembling with fear, asked, "What crime have I committed?"

Nezha cursed, "Even now, you old Dragon King, how dare you speak like this? Your grandson is causing trouble in the Lijiang River, intending to flood and kill all the living beings around. He has committed many evil deeds in the past. Now that the Immortal Guangxin has learned of this, he has sent the Great Sage Equaling Heaven to report to the Heavenly Palace. The Jade Emperor has personally ordered me to come here to thoroughly investigate the many troubles caused by the dragons in the lower realm! Old Dragon King, what else do you have to say?"

Say it.

Nezha took out a jade edict and handed it to the turtle prime minister beside him.

The Turtle Prime Minister took the jade edict from Nezha, opened it, and looked at it with a flustered expression. He hurriedly handed it to the Dragon King Ao Guang.

Ao Guang opened it and was startled. He replied, "This matter is indeed unrelated to me, but I do not recognize that evil dragon from the Lijiang River!"

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Old Dragon King, although you don't know him, he has indeed been acting under your name and committing evil for a long time. It was only because of your name that the local city god and earth god dared not report it. How can you say that this matter is unrelated?"

Ao Guang said tremblingly, "Please wait a moment, Great Sage. I will send someone to check the family genealogy to see if that evil dragon is related to me."

Ao Guang hurriedly ordered Prime Minister Gui to retrieve the family genealogy and examine it.

Knowing that things were not going well, Prime Minister Gui quickly went to retrieve the family genealogy.

Before long, Prime Minister Turtle brought out the family genealogy, flipped through it, took out one of the books, and handed it to Ao Guang. Ao Guang refused to take it, feeling flustered, and only told Prime Minister Turtle to read it aloud.

The Turtle Prime Minister read aloud: "The Dragon King of the East Sea, Ao Guang, had four sons. His second son, Ao Yi, had seventy-eight sons. His sixty-seventh son, Chen, had a mixed bloodline and never became a dragon. He lived in Yangzhou, Lijiang River, in the Southern Continent of Jambudvipa."

Ao Guang had a bad feeling; that really was his grandson.

Nezha looked at Ao Guang and said, "Ao Guang, what else do you have to say this time?"

Ao Guang exclaimed in alarm, "But please be clear, that fellow is not my grandson!"

Nezha said, "He is not your direct grandson, but he is still your grandson. Is that not true?"

Ao Guang said, "Although he is my grandson, it is not that I have not taught him, but that I have never taught him to do evil."

Nezha said, "I have come here today on the orders of the Jade Emperor to thoroughly investigate this matter. If any dragons are involved, I shall punish them. Ao Guang, what do you think?"

Ao Guang said, "I dare not obstruct, I dare not obstruct. But please, Your Excellency, handle this matter impartially!"

Nezha grabbed Ao Guang and said, "Then let's start by investigating your Dragon Palace. Come with me."

Say it.

Nezha pulled Ao Guang out.

Sun Wukong followed behind, laughing, at a leisurely pace.

……

Time flies, and more than half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

The immortals and their companions waited for half a year at the pavilion in the mountains, and finally Sun Wukong returned.

Sun Wukong entered the long pavilion in the mountain, paid his respects to the Immortal Yu, and said, "I've troubled you to wait so long, Senior Brother. Now that the matter is settled, I've come!"

The immortal helped Sun Wukong up and said, "Is this matter truly over?"

Sun Wukong then recounted the events that had transpired and said, “Eldest brother, I followed the Third Prince to the Dragon Palace of the Four Seas to thoroughly investigate the matter. Afterwards, the Third Prince led his troops to the Dragon Palaces of all the rivers and lakes in the world. Out of consideration for you, eldest brother, I returned here. I know that the Dragon Palaces of all the rivers and lakes will be unable to subdue the Third Prince.”

Jiang Yuan laughed and said, "Why not return after achieving complete success?"

Sun Wukong shook his head and said, "I knew that my senior brother would wait for me, so I dared not keep him waiting for long."

Jiang Yuan shook her head and said, "Enough, enough, enough. Now that you have returned, I cannot let you go back again."

Sun Wukong bowed and said, "Elder brother, you can rest assured. Third Prince Nezha is highly skilled. No one in the world, including the dragons and other creatures, can rival him."

Pigsy stepped forward and exclaimed, “Master, what my eldest brother said makes a lot of sense. Master, you didn’t see how ferocious and terrifying the Third Prince looked when he pulled out the tendons of that evil dragon. He only needed to pull lightly to get the tendons out.”

The master shook his head and said, "Bajie, he hasn't done anything to you, why are you in such a hurry?"

Pigsy said, "But I fear that one day he will come and tear out my tendons."

Jiang Yuan was both amused and exasperated, and said, "Bajie, don't talk nonsense. With you here, how could he possibly pull out your tendons?"

Pigsy said, "You are a little worried, sir. If he tries to pull out my tendons, you must stop him and not let him do it."

Jiang Yuan shook her head and said, "But you have not done anything evil, so he will certainly not harm you."

Pigsy had no choice but to agree and said no more.

Jiang Yuan then said, "Now that Wukong has returned, we should set off on our journey."

Sun Wukong stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Elder Brother, where shall we go now that we are setting off?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Just keep going forward, and there will be a way to get there."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong said no more. He looked around and, seeing that the Green Ox was nowhere to be seen, asked, "Elder Brother, where did that Green Ox monster go?"

Jiang Yuan pointed to a spot and said, "King Si has gone there to pick oranges. Let's wait for him for a while."

Sun Wukong scratched his head, puzzled, and said, "Why does that fellow go looking for oranges every day?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "It's not a bad thing that King Si likes this kind of thing, so there's no need to pay attention to it."

Zuo Liang replied, “Master is right. That Rhinoceros King is a demon, but I have never seen a demon so compassionate. He does not eat meat, but only eats one or two oranges. He loves such things, which is not a bad thing.”

Sun Wukong asked, "Nephew, how can you say that the Green Ox Demon is compassionate?"

Zuo Liang bowed and said, "Uncle-Master, although King Si appears to be indifferent and only cares about playing and having fun, if a junior like me is in trouble, he will definitely help me out of the predicament. He has a sincere and compassionate heart."

Jiang Yuan laughed and said, "It is Laozi's beast, and it has a loyal heart. Otherwise, how could Laozi allow it to act recklessly?"

As they were talking, the blue ox appeared, riding on the clouds.

The blue ox was carrying a carrying pole with oranges on both ends.

Upon seeing this, Pigsy was greatly alarmed and tried to flee, but Sun Wukong grabbed him.

The green ox put down the oranges and said, "Pigsy, I saw you were leisurely on the road earlier, so I specially went to pick two baskets of oranges for you to carry on your journey."

Pigsy sat on the ground and cried out, "My life is so hard! Why am I always stuck doing chores like carrying loads?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Bajie, just pick one. It will be of some help to your cultivation."

Upon hearing these words, Pigsy had no choice but to accept the two baskets of oranges.

The group continued onward, heading forward, seeking those who would hear the Way.

……

Traveling so fast, autumn turned to winter before we knew it. The north wind howled, the snow fell fiercely, and winter was in full swing.

The group of immortals traveled for a long time in Yangzhou, braving the cold and snow, but the wind and snow could not stop them.

After traveling for a long time, they came across a village in the mountains. Seeing that Lü Yan was feeling unwell, they decided to go in and find a place to stay for the night so that Lü Yan could rest properly before continuing their journey.

Sun Wukong swung his golden cudgel, clearing the way ahead. Upon seeing the village, he turned around and said, "Eldest brother, I'll go ahead and find a family. Please stay here for a while, I'll be right back."

Jiang Yuan, riding on the white deer, said, "Wukong, go ahead, but don't be rude."

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "I understand, Senior Brother, don't worry."

Say it.

Sun Wukong walked forward, intending to find a house and ask if he could stay the night.

Pigsy put down the carrying pole and said, "Master, why don't you send Zheng Yuan? If it were Zheng Yuan, wouldn't people be more convinced? That Monkey King is ultimately just a monkey."

Jiang Yuan said, "Although Wukong has the appearance of a monkey, his cultivation has progressed and his face is full of spiritual energy. Ordinary people may be surprised when they see him, but they will not be afraid. Bajie, there is no need to panic."

(End of this chapter)