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

Chapter 314 Chongyang II, Crossing Venus Again

In the mountains of Yangzhou, where the weather was freezing cold, Sun Wukong put away his golden cudgel and entered a village. Seeing that every household in the mountains had its doors tightly shut, Sun Wukong did not know where to go.

Sun Wukong looked around, looking for a decent family to stay with.

However, most of the houses in the village belong to poor families, so how can there be any good ones?

When Sun Wukong saw this, he intended to find a house anywhere, but suddenly he saw a house with its door half open and a seven or eight-year-old child sitting on the threshold, letting the cold wind beat against him.

Sun Wukong stepped forward and gently tapped the door.

The child looked up and asked, "Who are you, and why are you knocking on my door?"

Sun Wukong felt a warmth in his heart upon seeing the child, feeling a deep affinity with him and a sense of karmic connection. He said, "I am a traveler who has come from afar. I am passing through this place and see that it is getting dark and very cold. Therefore, I ask you, young boy, if you would allow us to stay for the night."

The child rose and bowed, saying, “Sir, although I wish to invite you to stay here, I am not your parent and therefore cannot grant your request. Please wait here for a while while I go and ask my parent. If my parent grants permission, I will invite you in and apologize for my rudeness.”

Sun Wukong said, "Young boy, go now. But if you know proper manners, I will be pleased to see you. When you go to inform others, you must tell them that I am a group of six cultivators and one beast."

The child said, "Although I am a wild child from the mountains, I still know manners. This is nothing to be happy about. Please wait a moment, sir, I will go and inform my parents."

Say it.

The child walked into the house.

Sun Wukong waited outside the door, thinking to himself, "This child is very intelligent and has some kind of connection with me, but this connection is not that of a master and disciple, which is very strange. But with this intelligence, this child must be extraordinary."

Sun Wukong waited for a while, and then saw two people walk into the house, a husband and wife.

The couple were greatly surprised to see Sun Wukong, but showed no fear. They said, "We have heard that you, a child who has cultivated yourself, are passing through this place. We have come here in person to invite you to stay in our home."

Sun Wukong bowed and said, “There are six of us and one beast in our group. Please do as much as you can. If your families are unable to provide us with lodging, we will seek shelter elsewhere.”

The couple bowed and said, “Sir, we are poor, but we have a spare room. If you don’t mind, please come in.”

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "What are you two saying? How could a cultivator have any disdain?"

The parent asked, "Why do you call my wife and me 'lay Buddhists'? We are not practitioners, how can we refer to ourselves like that?"

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "All living beings are, in essence, cultivating themselves, so such a title is acceptable."

Upon hearing this, the parents, impressed by Sun Wukong's remarkable cultivation, bowed repeatedly and said, "We hope you will invite all the gentlemen here. We will prepare plenty of soup and water to warm you up."

Sun Wukong said, "Thank you for your trouble."

He then led the immortals and their entourage along the road. Before entering the dwelling, the group met, and the couple bowed before the immortals. Upon seeing the immortals' true appearance, they found them adorned with gold and jade, wearing purple robes embroidered with the sun and moon, carrying immortal swords, with jewels hanging at their waists, and wearing cloud-patterned boots. Their countenance was graceful and dignified, their eyes held the stars, and they stood holding a whisk—truly immortal beings. How could they not bow before such immortals?

Seeing the two men bowing, Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "We are already grateful for the kindness of you two laymen who allowed us to stay here. How could we possibly accept your courtesy?"

The couple both said, "To have you, sir, in our home is like a god visiting us; it is a great blessing."

As they talked, they entered the house. The couple shared the largest room with the real person and brought firewood to warm them up. They then prepared tea and food for the real person and the others to enjoy.

Pigsy sat on the ground and said, "Master, this family is very polite, and it is easy to talk to them."

Zuo Liang also praised the family for their politeness.

Sun Wukong pointed to the child in the courtyard and said, "Eldest brother, this child is very intelligent and will surely be extraordinary in the future. However, I sense that there is some connection between him and me, but I do not know the reason. Does eldest brother know?"

The immortal looked out of the courtyard, and after a short while, he understood the cause and effect. He laughed and said, "How could I not know about Zhengwei's reincarnation?"

This child is the reincarnation of Chongyang, this is his second life.

Sun Wukong and the others were greatly shocked when they heard what the immortal said, never expecting that this child was actually Chongyang reincarnated.

Zuo Liang got up and left.

Pigsy grabbed him and said, "Zhengyuan, where are you going?"

Zuo Liang said, "Since my senior brother is away today, I should go and pay my respects."

Pigsy shouted, "What are you doing? How would a mere child know if you're worshipping him? This is a reincarnation, not his true spirit. There's no need to worship him. Wait until he is reincarnated and returns before you worship him."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Liang felt that what Zhu Bajie said made sense, so he had no choice but to sit down and say no more.

Sun Wukong said, "Why is there a karmic connection? I never imagined it was my nephew Zhengwei. Elder brother, this nephew needs to go through three lifetimes to return. This is the second lifetime. If that's the case, his return is not far off."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "There's still some time."

Qingniu said, "Speaking of which, this disciple of the True Man is indeed quite bold."

Jiang Yuan turned and looked around, then asked, "What do you mean?"

The Green Ox said, “To cultivate the righteous path of the Golden Elixir, he is willing to undergo reincarnation. Isn’t that courage? Although many people know about reincarnation, not everyone has this courage. After reincarnation, one enters the sea of ​​suffering, and everyone knows that this sea of ​​suffering is difficult to cross. Even if one is a star reincarnated, there is still a risk of being trapped in the sea of ​​suffering. For a disciple of a True Person to undergo reincarnation for cultivation, such courage is very rare.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan smiled but remained silent.

Pigsy said, “Speaking of which, Zhengwei and Master are quite similar.”

Sun Wukong grabbed Zhu Bajie's fan-shaped ear and said, "How can there be any similarity? You fool, don't talk nonsense. Explain yourself properly."

Pigsy said, “I observe that Master’s cultivation focuses on saving himself, and he also encourages all beings to save themselves and gives them the opportunity to do so, rather than like others who desperately try to save others. Zhengwei is the same way. When Master gives him the opportunity to save himself, he saves himself with great courage.”

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong nodded and said, "You fool, what you said is not wrong."

As they were talking, the couple, leading a child, arrived with plenty of tea and food, and offered it to the monks.

The couple bowed and said, “Gentlemen, this place is simple, and we only have these coarse tea and simple food. We hope you will not find them offensive. We really have no other choice. Recently, heavy snow has blocked the mountain, and we cannot go out of the mountain, so we cannot buy anything else.”

Jiang Yuan returned the greeting, saying, "This simple meal is enough."

When Sun Wukong and the others saw the real people, they all rose and bowed to the couple in return.

The couple were somewhat flustered and said, "We are poor and lowly, how can we accept the courtesy of you gentlemen?"

The master laughed and said, "You are all the same as us, so how can you talk about being poor or lowly?"

The parent said, "How can we, people from the mountains, be the same as you gentlemen?"

The sage said, "If we cast aside wealth and glory, what difference is there between us in this body and this family?"

The parents were deeply impressed by the master's profound spiritual cultivation, so they bowed again and offered him tea and food.

The group ate tea and rice, and drank soup to ward off the cold.

The parents and the group sat among the houses talking. The man and the parents had a pleasant conversation. After a long time, the parents brought their child over and asked, "Sir, what do you think of my child?"

Jiang Yuan looked at the child and smiled, "Not bad, a prodigy. He will surely achieve great things in the future." The parent said, "To be honest, my child is naturally intelligent. I am a country person and cannot teach him much, but he knows how to behave properly and teaches us in return. I knew then that if my child grew up, he would definitely be extraordinary."

Pigsy laughed and said, "To be born with knowledge is to be a sage."

The parent shook their head and said, "I don't deserve such praise. But he is much smarter than other children."

Pigsy said, "You child, if you achieve something in the future, I will definitely help you. You are truly blessed."

The parent smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words, sir."

The man looked at the child with a smile, but didn't say much. He knew the time wasn't right, and he didn't need to say anything more to him.

The child looked at the real man and felt as if he had seen him somewhere before. He felt a great sense of familiarity upon seeing him again.

But he couldn't remember where he had seen this gentleman before.

……

The group of people rested in the house for one night and had no intention of staying there for long. The next day, they bid farewell to the couple and the child and continued on their way.

The couple tried to persuade the real person to stay.

The master shook his head and said, "As the saying goes, 'All good things must come to an end.' I should leave now. There is no need to try to stop me. If fate allows, we will surely meet again in the future."

Upon hearing this, the couple had no choice but to let the real person leave, daring not to obstruct him any further.

Just as the group of people were about to leave, the child suddenly grabbed the corner of the person's clothes.

The couple were about to pull the child back.

The master bent down and asked, "Young boy, what is it you need?"

The child looked up and said, "Sir, is it really possible for us to meet again?"

The immortal bent down, gently stroked the child's head, and said with a smile, "If it were someone else, it might require fate, but you and I will surely have the opportunity to meet again in the future, so you can rest assured."

The child said, "Sir, have you lied to me?"

The man laughed and said, "I didn't lie to you, I didn't lie to you! You can rest assured! I'm off."

Say it.

The man said no more, got up and went outside.

Sun Wukong and the others naturally followed behind.

As the real person left, a thought flashed through the child's mind, and he bowed deeply to the departing figure.

Only after the real person had left did the couple help the child up and ask, "Child, are you feeling unwell?"

The child shook his head and said, "Father, Mother, I am fine."

The couple said, "Seeing you like that, my child, we thought you were going to follow your teacher and the others."

The child laughed and said, "Father, Mother, I am too young to know how to do such a thing."

The couple laughed and said, "But you often act like an adult, and over time, people will forget that you are still young."

The child did not answer, but smiled silently.

……

Meanwhile, the True Man and his group left the village and traveled along the mountain path. There was no wind or snow, but the road was covered with snow, making it difficult to move forward. However, for the True Man and his group, it was as if they were walking on flat ground.

Lu Yan suddenly asked, "Teacher, that person just now was your disciple. He was reborn to cultivate the righteous path. Such faith makes me admire him. But I still have a question. I wonder if you can answer it for me?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Lu Yan, tell me what happened."

After bowing, Lü Yan said, "Teacher, what level of cultivation is required to be like you, able to know your past life even after reincarnation and discern the truth?"

Jiang Yuan replied, "Such things require profound magical power; without profound magical power, it is impossible to do this."

Lu Yan asked, "Teacher, is magic power all that's needed? Is there any supernatural ability involved?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "But the roles of host and guest have not been reversed. The magic power is sufficient. There is no need for supernatural powers to have such abilities."

Lu Yan bowed respectfully, saying he had just received instruction.

Pigsy pulled at Lü Yan and said, "But your cultivation is very shallow, and you are far from being able to talk about such things. Lü Yan, you see Monkey King. He has been cultivating for a long time and has supernatural powers, but his cultivation is still not as profound as what Master said, that he can see through the truth."

Lü Yan said, "I know that you possess profound magical power, teacher. But I am grateful that someone of your power would come to help me."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "I'm just accepting your favor. I've already told you about it."

Lu Yan shook his head and said, "Even though it is out of gratitude, the fact that you guided and taught me is genuine."

Jiang Yuan said, "No need for further words, but if you truly remember the kindness shown to you today, when you achieve success in the future, if fate allows, you will be able to help others save themselves."

Upon hearing this, Lü Yan bowed deeply, remembering the words of the immortal.

The group continued forward. In the southern part of Yangzhou, there were countless mountains and valleys, one after another. They walked out of one mountain along the mountain path, but in an instant, they entered another mountain.

Continuing on like this, for an unknown period of time, perhaps one or two months, or perhaps three or four, one could see that the wind and snow ahead had long since disappeared, leaving only a thousand peaks layered with green, ten thousand ravines rushing with water, clouds rising and falling on the azure cliffs, and misty light swallowing and exhaling in the empty valleys. Pine and cypress intertwined branches, like a blue phoenix spreading its wings, and orchids and irises covered the path, like a fairy maiden burning incense, truly a scene of warm spring.

One day, Sun Wukong rode on a cloud and looked ahead. Upon closer inspection, he saw a thatched hut near the city on the mountain path ahead, and in front of the hut stood a familiar face—it was Li Bai.

When Sun Wukong saw Li Taibai, he was overjoyed. He descended from the cloud and spoke with Jiang Yuan.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan laughed and said, "Since the reincarnation of Venus is right ahead, let's go and meet him."

Lü Yan asked, "Teacher, just now the Great Sage mentioned Li Bai. Is he the Li Bai who is famous for his poetry?"

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "It is indeed that Li Taibai, who is the reincarnation of Venus. He is now suffering greatly. We have a past relationship with him, so we should go and help him."

Upon hearing this, Lü Yan was very surprised and said, "That Li Bai is often called a banished immortal. How could he really be an immortal? This is hard to believe."

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "He was once a deity, but he is no longer a deity now, so there is no need to be surprised."

Lu Yan said, "Even a deity reincarnated is still a deity. Besides, I have long admired Li Bai and heard of his name. I admire his talent. It is my honor to meet him now."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "There will be many opportunities to meet him in the future, so there is no need for this. But now that he is ahead, we should hurry over to see him."

(End of this chapter)