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

Chapter 321 Chenxiang departs, the skills of his henchmen

We stayed at the Guanjiangkou Post Station and passed away before we knew it.

The group of immortals went inside to rest. As dawn broke, Chenxiang panicked and went into the room where Zhu Bajie, Sun Wukong and the others were resting.

Chenxiang startled everyone awake, and they were all trembling with fear and at a loss.

Seeing Chenxiang's anxiety, Sun Wukong abandoned his meditation and stood up to ask, "Chenxiang, why are you so flustered? If you are flustered, you will lose the way of cultivating your mind."

Chenxiang said, "Master, please don't be offended! But I really have something urgent to attend to."

Sun Wukong asked, "What's the matter? With me here and my senior brother here, there's no way any demon or evil spirit would dare to cause trouble. What could be so urgent?"

Chenxiang replied, "But in my dream last night, I saw my biological father begging me for help. He was suffering in the underworld. I couldn't bear to see him like that, and I also realized that I had no magical power to save him. So I came to ask my master for help. I hope my master will help me!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong remained calm and smiled slightly, saying, "But how can you tell whether the dream is real or not? You should know that what you think about during the day, you dream about at night. Perhaps it is because you miss your biological father that you have this dream."

Chenxiang shook his head and said, "But that must be real, not a dream."

Sun Wukong asked, "How did you know?"

Chenxiang said, “Blood relatives are inseparable, how could they be fake? This must be true, but seeing my biological father suffering in my dream makes me feel extremely pained.”

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "I won't lie to you, Chenxiang, your biological father is indeed suffering in the underworld. However, I can't help you with this matter. If you want to save your biological father, you must go there yourself. I can't do that."

Chenxiang said urgently, "Master, why can't you help me? Master has such profound magical power, but if you help, how can the underworld stop you? My father will definitely be able to escape."

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "I can help you now, but how can I help you with your cultivation in the future? Chenxiang, you should know that it is better to rely on yourself than to rely on others."

While enjoying oranges nearby, Pigsy overheard the conversation and said, "Brother Monkey is right. It's better to rely on yourself than others. I made a mistake in my cultivation years ago, allowing the Wood Mother to cause trouble. I was powerless to control myself. Brother Monkey knows what I was like back then. But in the end, I received the help of the True Man and was able to cultivate with him. Gradually, I achieved something and became what I am today. However, I didn't beg the True Man to help me get rid of the Wood Mother. Rather, I asked the True Man to help me find a way out, and then I relied on myself. That's why I am where I am today."

Upon hearing this, Chenxiang said, "But I truly cannot bear to see my father suffer in the underworld. Master, sir, please help me. If my father is alright, I can cultivate in peace. If you help me, Master, sir, once this matter is over, I will follow your lead without hesitation."

Sun Wukong sighed and said, "You cultivate for yourself, not for me. How can you not understand such a simple principle? What help will you be to me once you have succeeded in your cultivation?"

Seeing Sun Wukong's evasiveness, Chenxiang became somewhat angry and said, "Master, are you really unwilling to help me?"

Sun Wukong was very disappointed when he saw this, and remained silent.

Chenxiang was furious and turned to leave the inn.

Sun Wukong watched Chenxiang leave without stopping him, and stood there with his hands clasped together.

Pigsy asked, "Brother, are you really not going to try and stop them?"

Sun Wukong shook his head and said, "I'm not going, I'm not going."

Pigsy said, “But my life is precious, Brother Monkey, don’t be angry. You should stop him if you should. If you don’t stop him, my life will be in trouble, and we will have to trouble Laozi.”

Sun Wukong said, "Fool, the road is right in front of you. My disciple insists on going, what can I do? Don't pay any attention to him, don't pay any attention to him."

Pigsy said, "Brother, are we really not going to pay any attention to it?"

Sun Wukong said, "Ignore it, ignore it."

Upon hearing this, Pigsy had no choice but to give up and stop trying to persuade him.

As the two were talking, someone suddenly entered the inn, walked to the front of the room, bowed and said, "Great Sage, Pigsy."

Sun Wukong looked up and saw that it was Erlang Shen. He stepped forward and said, "Why does the True Lord pay such a great respect?"

Erlang Shen said, "Great Sage, I am somewhat sorry. I am fully aware of what Chenxiang said and did just now, but he was somewhat rude. I hope that you will forgive him and pardon Chenxiang."

Sun Wukong shook his head and said, "I have no grudge against you, so how can I forgive you? True Lord, please rest assured, I am not the same as before, and I am no longer so petty."

Erlang Shen said, "But Chenxiang is indeed impolite."

Sun Wukong said, "Although Chenxiang was impolite, it was out of his eagerness to save his father, which is understandable. However, his cultivation is not in accordance with the Way, so the True Lord should pay attention to it and not let him disrupt his cultivation."

Erlang Shen nodded and said, "I am aware of this matter, but I cannot speak of it openly to him. I hope you, Great Sage, will assist me."

Sun Wukong said, "If Chenxiang doesn't listen to me, how can I help him?"

Erlang Shen bowed again and said, "Great Sage, but I have my own way to teach him to come and listen to your teachings. I hope you will forgive my past grievances and teach Chenxiang."

Sun Wukong said, "If True Lord has a way, I will not hold it against you."

Erlang Shen then talked with Sun Wukong for a long time.

After a while, Erlang Shen said, "Now that we have come this far, we should go and pay our respects to the True Man. Great Sage, please wait here for a while."

Sun Wukong responded with a smile.

The Green Ox, who was enjoying oranges with Pigsy, heard what Pigsy said and said, "You little sage Erlang, why don't you come and pay your respects to me? Am I not worthy of your worship?"

Erlang Shen looked at the green ox and pointed at it, saying, "You green ox, don't cause trouble. Laozi is not by your side today. If you talk nonsense here, I will definitely teach you a lesson."

The green ox threw the orange on the ground and said, "I want to see how you teach me a lesson, and what kind of magic you have."

Erlang Shen said, "Green Ox, your Vajra Bracelet is quite powerful, but with that alone, you cannot contend with me. If we were to fight, you would surely lose. You should know that I possess quite a few magical treasures."

The green ox said, "Without the Vajra Bracelet, you cannot do anything to me."

Erlang Shen laughed and said, "Tell me what other skills you have."

The green ox stood up and said, “But Laozi taught me to the True Man, and you are teaching me. Do you think that True Man will just sit idly by? With that True Man’s abilities, he can subdue you in no time. In the end, I will be the one teaching you.”

Erlang Shen, upon hearing the Green Ox's words, felt deeply that the Green Ox was of a scoundrel's nature, and without saying another word, got up and left.

The green ox wanted to say something more, but Erlang Shen ignored it all, making the green ox's shouts pointless.

Erlang Shen walked to the Immortal's room, knocked lightly on the door, and said, "Immortal."

As soon as he finished speaking, a gentle breeze blew in and opened the door.

Erlang Shen looked inside and saw the True Man sitting cross-legged. The True Man smiled and said, "Why has the True Lord come again? Last night, you brought Liu Yanchang here. We had already exchanged pleasantries before our spiritual communion."

Erlang Shen shook his head and said, "I came here because of the matter of agarwood. You, Master, are certainly familiar with the intricacies of this matter, but can you explain your views to me?"

After listening to Erlang Shen's words, the True Man pondered for a moment and said, "Chen Xiang has a poor character. Even though he has studied in the Three Star Immortal Cave for many years, he has not changed his mind. If his character cannot be tempered, he will hardly achieve great things."

Erlang Shen sighed, "This is mostly Liu Yanchang's fault. He didn't teach him properly, which has led to his current state."

The Master said, “I fully understand the True Lord’s intention. The suffering that Chenxiang endures must be borne, otherwise, it will be difficult for him to achieve great success. Therefore, True Lord, you should not engage in any more minor disturbances.”

Erlang Shen wanted to say something, but then he thought, what is there to say in front of the True Man? With the True Man's magical power, he would surely know everything. He also knew that although he had the intention to refine the agarwood, he had always been lenient and had never truly harmed it.

Erlang Shen sighed, "I understand now, but I know what to do. Thank you, Master."

The man shook his head and said nothing more.

Erlang Shen then bowed and left.

……

The next day, on the road outside the mouth of the Guanjiang River, he carried an axe, heading towards Mount Tai. He had heard Sun Wukong and the others say that Mount Tai was a place that led to the underworld. Since he was going to save his father, he should go there.

Chenxiang was filled with resentment, thinking to himself, "Why won't my master and teacher help me? I've already become their disciple, and I even said that as long as I rescue my father, I can cultivate in peace. But they just won't help me. Fine, fine, fine. Since they won't help me, I'll go myself. I have some martial arts skills, and I also have the Lotus Lantern. How can I not rescue my father!"

With this in mind, Chenxiang set off for Mount Tai.

But he hadn't gone far when he suddenly saw a strong wind coming from ahead, and a dark fog. He knew that Erlang Shen was about to arrive.

Chenxiang cursed, "You persistent ghost! I only left my master a day ago, how come you've caught up with me now?"

As Chenxiang spoke, he took out his axe and then the Lotus Lantern, preparing to fight.

But then, behind the dark mist, a falcon circled, searching for Chenxiang's location. After the falcon appeared, the Howling Celestial Dog pounced from the gale, attacking Chenxiang's vitals with a fierce and extraordinary attack.

Upon seeing this, Chenxiang was greatly alarmed. He realized that the Howling Celestial Dog was quite different from before. Its attacks had never been this fierce in the past, but now it had changed completely.

Chenxiang raised his axe and charged towards Xiaotian Dog.

How could he know the power of the Celestial Hound? As he got close, the Celestial Hound suddenly changed its body, retreated, bypassed Chenxiang's axe, and attacked from behind.

Chenxiang was caught off guard and fell to the ground. If he hadn't taken out the Lotus Lantern in time to force back the Howling Celestial Dog, the dog would probably have already bitten his throat.

Chenxiang was greatly alarmed. This Howling Celestial Dog was different from the ones he usually fought.

He suddenly stood up, raised the Lotus Lantern, and swung it at the Howling Celestial Dog.

Within the Lotus Lantern, divine light shone, and immense majesty emanated from it, pressing down upon the Howling Celestial Dog.

The Celestial Dog dared not confront the Lotus Lantern head-on, so it quickly turned around and dodged it.

Chenxiang chattered on and on, carrying the precious lotus lantern, and fiercely attacked Xiaotian Dog.

Before Chenxiang could launch a fierce attack, the circling falcon swooped down on Chenxiang's back.

As soon as Chenxiang grabbed him, he felt a burning sensation on his back. Although he didn't know how powerful the Howling Dog and the Falcon were, he knew that he was no match for them now.

Without hesitation, he used the power of the Lotus Lantern to clear a path and headed towards the mouth of the Guanjiang River.

Chenxiang escaped.

The celestial hound and the falcon did not pursue, but instead circled and waited.

A short while later, Erlang Shen arrived with the Six Sages of Meishan.

Erlang Shen looked in the direction Chenxiang had left and said, "Chase after him without holding back. If he is protected by the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, then we need not pay him any attention. But if he goes somewhere else, then we should continue to chase after him."

Upon receiving their orders, the Celestial Hound and the Falcon quickly pursued Chenxiang's direction.

The Six Sages of Meishan behind him asked, "True Lord, is it really alright to pursue like this? If so, I'm afraid Chenxiang must have been injured."

Erlang Shen shook his head and said, "The Meng family of Nanzhanbuzhou once said, 'When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it will first test his mind, strain his muscles and bones, and starve his body.' If he is to grow, his character must change. If he continues to suffer in such trivial ways, he will not make any progress. Therefore, we must teach him to understand the advantages and disadvantages."

The Six Sages of Meishan said, “That’s good, True Lord. You once said that we should not harm him, and we taught him to underestimate us. He thought that the six of us were not enough to harm him, but he didn’t know that his hawks and hounds were enough to defeat him.”

Erlang Shen laughed and said, "Brothers, please don't take it to heart."

The Six Sages of Meishan joked, saying, "We don't need to worry about it. Chenxiang thinks that the True Lord is not very capable. If it weren't for the power of his cloak, Chenxiang would definitely be able to defeat him. But he doesn't know that the True Lord has many magical treasures. If it were just one of them, he would have a hard time defeating him."

Erlang Shen, upon hearing this, did not say anything more.

……

At the mouth of the Guanjiang River, Chenxiang, wounded, fled to this place. He was panting heavily, holding the Lotus Lantern in his hands. With the help of the Lotus Lantern's power, he finally escaped into the mouth of the Guanjiang River.

Chenxiang thought to himself, "That Howling Celestial Dog and that Falcon are incredibly skilled. I am no match for them. If I fight them again, I will surely be killed. If they really want to kill me, then my parents will be beyond saving. Where should I go?"

Like a headless fly, Chenxiang darted around aimlessly, not knowing where to go. He looked around and saw dark mist and a strong wind coming from behind him. He dared not stop. He knew how powerful the falcon was, but if he stayed for more than half an incense stick's time, the falcon would know his location, send a message to Xiaotian Dog, and chase after him.

With this cooperation, he suffered many losses and dared not fight with them anymore.

Chenxiang didn't know where to go.

But as he pondered, he suddenly remembered that his master and his group were in the inn. If he could find his master and his group, he would surely be able to successfully defeat the Howling Celestial Dog. Moreover, his eldest uncle was also among them.

Without hesitation, Chenxiang headed towards the post station. He no longer harbored any resentment and only hoped to gain protection and escape attacks from the hounds.

Before long, Chenxiang entered the inn, but after searching around, he heard the people there say that the True Man and his group had already left yesterday.

Upon hearing this, Chenxiang was filled with remorse. He regretted leaving his master's side and disobeying him. He should have cultivated diligently and waited until he had mastered his skills before going to the underworld to save his father and Mount Hua to save his mother. At that time, he would not be in such a sorry state. Why was he forced into this state by Erlang Shen's henchmen?

Chenxiang dared not linger there and fled outside.

(End of this chapter)