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

Chapter 328 The Bull King's Admonition Leads to the Retreat of All Evil Spirits
In a mountain village, the Bull Demon King heard that a monster had attacked. He was puzzled, but he followed the villagers to the village chief's place to find out what was going on.

After some inquiries, the Bull Demon King learned that a monster known as the "King of Kuishan" had appeared in the mountains at some point. He was causing havoc in the mountains, gathering a group of demons and monsters, and demanding that the three villages in the mountains make offerings regularly. If they did not make offerings, he would come and slaughter the villages.

Therefore, in order to defend against this monster, the village chief summoned the able-bodied men to come and discuss a plan.

After hearing all the news, the Bull Demon King sat on the ground, looking at the village chief and the villagers talking in front of him, and thought to himself, "If a monster comes to attack, these villagers will definitely not be able to resist. If they are in trouble, I may have to lend a hand."

The Bull Demon King thought to himself.

The village chief raised his hand and shouted, “Fellow villagers, the monster says that he wants us to offer him twenty women and ten boys and girls for his amusement and food. How can we agree to such a thing? If we agree, how can we face the world? We can only resist.”

He was highly respected in the village and his call was met with great enthusiasm. The villagers were determined to fight the monster and would never listen to his words. They even made offerings to the girl and the boy and to the monster.

Upon seeing this, the Bull Demon King nodded in approval.

Fortunately, these villagers who lived with him day and night were all people of spirit and did not actually choose to worship the monster. If they had, it would have put him in a difficult position.

The Bull Demon King stepped forward and said, "Village Chief, if we are to resist the monsters, we must come up with a way to do so."

One villager laughed and said, "No need for any methods, no need for any methods. There are so many of us, and if each of us just spits at him, we can kill him."

The villagers all burst into laughter.

The Bull Demon King said, "We must not be careless."

The villager wanted to say something more.

The village chief said, "Old Niu is right. We need to come up with a solution. I called you all here today because I have the same idea. I need you to come up with a solution."

One villager said, "Why don't we arrange for people to patrol the village entrance first? That way, if any monsters come, we can be alerted and defend ourselves."

The village chief nodded and said, "What you said makes some sense, but are there any other points? You can each say one."

Upon hearing this, many villagers had no choice but to step forward. One villager said, "Village chief, how about we prepare some items outside the village to ward off monsters?"

The village chief asked, "How do you know what can subdue a monster?"

The villagers said, "It's always good to prepare more. We've heard that snake demons are afraid of realgar wine, and centipede demons are afraid of roosters. So why not prepare some realgar wine and roosters?"

One villager laughed and said, "Are you inviting a monster to drink and eat chicken?"

The village chief sighed and shook his head, saying, "This method won't work. The village is already poor; how can we afford to prepare realgar wine and roosters?"

Say it.

The village chief asked the other villagers.

The other villagers offered suggestions one by one, but most of them were ineffective. After listening, the village chief sighed inwardly, feeling that asking the villagers for ideas was still putting them in a difficult position.

After asking all the questions, the village chief suddenly realized he hadn't asked the Bull Demon King yet, so he asked, "Old Bull, what's your plan?"

The Bull Demon King said, "Village Chief, if you want to do a good job, you must first have the right tools. Why don't you find some handy weapons first? That way you can deal with the monsters."

The village chief was slightly surprised to hear what the Bull Demon King said, and said, "You old bull, you have read books and know the principles in them. You can even say that 'a craftsman must first sharpen his tools if he wants to do his work well.' That's quite remarkable."

The Bull Demon King said, "When I first came here, I said that I had studied for a few years, but you all didn't believe me."

One villager joked, "You old ox, you're born with superhuman strength. Who would believe you can read books? You're all just talk. You're just a farmer."

The Bull Demon King said, "Don't underestimate me, I've read a lot of books."

The village chief said, "We should do as the old ox said and prepare some weapons."

The villager asked cautiously, "Do you have any armor?"

The village chief pointed at the villager who had spoken and scolded, "You scoundrel, what nonsense are you spouting? Are those armors something we are allowed to possess? The imperial court has issued a prohibition against them, as you know."

The villagers panicked and said, "It's just talk, don't take it seriously."

The village chief said, "Let's prepare the weapons first, and then have people guard and patrol them."

All the villagers responded.

When the Bull Demon King saw the villagers' appearance, he thought they were just a bunch of rabble and sighed inwardly.

……

More than half a month passed. When the Great King Kui Shan in the mountains saw that none of the three villages had anyone to worship him, he became very angry. He led a group of demons and monsters and devoured all the people in one of the villages. When this news spread, the other two villages were terrified. One of the villages had already chosen to worship the Great King Kui Shan, and the village where the Bull Demon King was located was thrown into chaos because of this incident.

Many villagers gathered again at the village chief's place to discuss countermeasures.

The villagers were all trembling with fear, saying, "Village chief, what should we do? That monster has such power that it devoured the entire village. We are completely unable to resist it. What should we do now?"

The village chief was also panicked, his body trembling. Hearing what the villagers said, he said in a panic, "But it is difficult to resist, it is difficult to resist."

Seeing that the villagers were terrified at the mere mention of the demon's name, the Bull Demon King stepped forward and said, "Although it is difficult to resist, we must resist. If we do not resist, are we to be offered as sacrifices to that monster?"

The villagers said tremblingly, "If we don't make offerings, what will happen? We fear that if the monster attacks, not a single person in the entire village will survive."

The other villagers all felt that what this villager said made sense.

The village chief, unusually, did not refute this.

The Bull Demon King stepped forward and said, "I wonder if any of you have read any books and know anything about the pre-Qin era?"

The villagers were all bewildered, and some even asked which barbarian place it was from before the Qin Dynasty.

Only the village chief had heard of it and said, "I've heard that our dynasty is called Tang. Before Tang, there was the Qin dynasty. Old Niu, what do you mean by the Qin dynasty?"

The Bull Demon King said, "In the past, the Qin state was a small country. There were five other states like Qin at that time. The six states were in conflict and it was difficult to unify them. Each of the six states had its own strengths and weaknesses. However, Qin reformed its laws and its national strength gradually increased. The other five states could not match Qin. Qin said that peace could be achieved by ceding territory and paying reparations. What do you think the five states should do?"

One villager said, "If ceding territory and paying reparations can bring peace, then we should be willing to suffer some losses in exchange for peace."

The Bull Demon King said, "At that time, the five kingdoms, as you all said, ceded territory and paid reparations in exchange for peace. But how can Qin's greed be satisfied? Ceding territory and paying reparations only weakens itself while strengthening its external enemies. Ultimately, Qin will wait until they are weak and then annex them one by one, thus establishing the Qin Dynasty. Therefore, I say that worshipping monsters is not advisable. Using monster worship to exchange for peace is like adding fuel to the fire; the fire will not be extinguished until the fuel is exhausted." The villagers, upon hearing this, did not take it seriously and were about to refute it.

The village chief, however, was enlightened by the Bull Demon King and stepped forward, saying, "What the old bull says makes perfect sense. We must not worship that monster. Even if our entire village is destroyed, we must not worship that monster!"

The villagers were terrified and said, "If we don't make offerings to that monster, how are we supposed to fight it?"

Another villager said, "Wangjia Village never made offerings, and now the entire village is gone. What are we to do?"

The village chief said, "Even if the whole village dies, we cannot make offerings. If you can bring your wives and children here, then it's not too late to make offerings."

Upon hearing this, none of the villagers dared to utter a word.

The village chief looked at the Bull Demon King and said, "Old Bull, I used to underestimate you, but now the village refuses to worship you. I don't know what to do. Can you think of a way?"

The Bull Demon King said, "I have a way to defeat the monster."

The village chief asked, "Old Niu, tell me."

The Bull Demon King said, "Find a powerful weapon, and I, the old bull, will personally go to fight the enemy. I am born with superhuman strength, and I am sure to be no less than that monster. As long as that monster comes, I will definitely be able to defeat it."

Upon hearing this, the villagers all disbelieved that the Bull Demon King could defeat the monster.

The village chief was also somewhat at a loss. After pondering for a long time, he asked, "Old Niu, how confident are you?"

The Bull Demon King said, "But as long as I live, I will not allow that monster to enter the village."

The village chief said, "In that case, we will do as you say. If you need anything, just tell me, and the village will definitely support you."

The Bull Demon King smiled and nodded in agreement.

The villagers were somewhat puzzled, but seeing that the village chief had spoken in this way, they dared not say anything more.

With the support of the entire village, the Bull Demon King was able to resist the demons. He did not abuse his power and simply had a versatile iron rod forged, after which he made no further requests.

The weapon that the Bull Demon King is currently most comfortable using is a Spear that cuts through mountains, but he knows that the villagers' craftsmanship makes it impossible to forge one, so the Bull Demon King only uses a handy iron rod.

……

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

When the Great King of Kui Mountain learned that the village where the Ox King lived was unwilling to pay homage, he became extremely angry and gathered a group of demons and monsters to slaughter the 'Li Mountain Village' where the Ox King lived.

One night, the King of Kuishan attacked. When the Bull Demon King learned of this, he took his iron cudgel and went out to stop the demons and monsters outside.

The villagers dared not stop him, nor did they dare to step forward. They all hid in their houses. Only the village chief watched the Bull Demon King from a distance, trembling with fear and great worry. If the Bull Demon King was killed by the monster, then his village would be completely doomed.

The Bull Demon King faced the demons and monsters ahead alone, yet showed no fear.

The Bull Demon King swung his iron rod, pointed ahead, and said, "This is Lishan Village. Evil spirits are not allowed to enter."

The demons and monsters that heard his words trembled, as if mocking the Bull King's ignorance for daring to block their path.

Seeing that the demons and monsters dared not show themselves and only dared to hide in the darkness, the Bull Demon King thought to himself that they were a rabble and just stood there without any intention of going forward.

He waited there for a long time, when suddenly he saw a gust of evil wind rolling in from the front, as if it was going to knock him away.

The Bull Demon King immediately recognized that this demonic wind must be the so-called King Kui Mountain. He swung his iron rod forward and smashed it, and the wind from the rod tore the demonic wind apart.

When the demonic wind blocked the Bull Demon King's path, the Great King of Kuishan revealed himself. He was a burly man with eyes like copper bells, a bright green color, and sharp teeth like refined steel. He looked fierce and menacing, a demonic figure that inspired fear.

The Bull Demon King was a great demon, so how could he be afraid of such a fierce appearance? He calmly looked at King Kui Mountain without any fear.

When King Kuishan saw the Bull Demon King's appearance, he laughed and said, "You peasant, you have some courage. You didn't even flinch at the sight of me. You're quite something. You can submit to me, but you must leave quickly. I will slaughter the village and then take you away."

The Bull Demon King said, "What abilities do you have that make you so arrogant?"

King Kuishan said, “There are three villages in your mountains. One is where I eat my fill, and another is where I am offered food. Do you think I have any special abilities?”

The Bull Demon King said, "It's just a remote and desolate mountain village in the Southern Jambudvipa, nothing to brag about. But if you leave this mountain and go to Jingzhou, what are you? If you leave Jingzhou and go to the Southern Jambudvipa, what are you? If you leave the Southern Jambudvipa and go to the Four Great Continents, what are you? You are truly ignorant and fearless."

Upon hearing this, King Kuishan was somewhat annoyed and cursed, "You peasant, you spout such useless words. Since you do not wish to serve under me, I will send you into my belly to keep me warm for the long life."

Say it.

King Kuishan roared and pounced on the Bull Demon King.

Seeing the clumsy and cumbersome manner of King Kuishan, the Bull Demon King felt that his fighting skills were extremely poor. He swung his iron rod, found an opening in King Kuishan's defenses, and swept it across.

But the Bull Demon King struck the King of Kuishan with his staff, sending him staggering backward.

King Kuishan was astonished, feeling that the Bull Demon King possessed immense strength, which he found difficult to resist. He found it hard to believe that a peasant could have such great strength to defeat him; it was truly astonishing.

King Kuishan refused to believe it and turned around to charge at the Bull Demon King again.

Unfazed, the Bull Demon King swung his iron cudgel forward, instantly driving back King Kuishan. After defeating King Kuishan with a single blow, the Bull Demon King had no more intention of playing around and continued to strike King Kuishan with his iron cudgel.

The fight between the two sides lasted only a moment. King Kuishan was at a disadvantage and could only endure the blows from the Bull Demon King's iron rod, unable to fight back.

King Kuishan was extremely annoyed by the Bull Demon King's superb martial arts skills. He wondered to himself, "Who is this peasant? How can he be so powerful? He has such martial arts skills. If it were just martial arts skills, that would be one thing, but his strength is also enormous. Every time he is hit, he feels pain in his body. How can he fight against him under such circumstances?"

Seeing how formidable the Bull Demon King was, King Kuishan had already decided to retreat and no longer wished to fight him. He got up and tried to escape.

The Bull Demon King, a veteran of countless battles, knew exactly what King Kuishan meant and shouted, "Monster, don't run away!"

King Kuishan fled on a demonic wind, summoning all the surrounding demons and monsters to block his path and stop the Bull Demon King.

Upon seeing this, the Bull Demon King was about to reveal his true form and give chase, but seeing that the village chief was still behind him, he had no choice but to hold back, put away his iron rod, and stop pursuing.

Seeing that the evil spirits had all retreated, the village chief stepped forward excitedly and said, "Old Niu, Old Niu! You actually managed to drive the monsters away! That's quite remarkable. I never imagined you had such abilities!"

(End of this chapter)