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

Chapter 420 The Gift of Calligraphy, the Resentment of the Taoist Priest
In the royal palace of Baoliang Kingdom, late at night, the Taoist priest, after learning about the backgrounds of Wang Chongyang and the Bull Demon King, still harbored some resentment.

The alchemist sat quietly in the alchemy room, collecting all the incense and other offerings used to summon the local earth god. He said in a low voice, "So what if they are disciples of immortals? Even if they are disciples of immortals, can they steal my future and disrupt my path? Let's wait until tomorrow and go with the king to observe them. If they really come to steal my position and disrupt my future, even if they are disciples of immortals, I will never tolerate it."

In terms of supernatural powers, he might not be able to match those immortal disciples.

Immortal disciples possess extraordinary magical abilities, making them far superior to ordinary cultivators like himself. However, if such immortal disciples go too far, he will teach them a lesson about their power and influence.

It should be known that "a common man's anger can cause blood to splatter five steps away."

If a disciple of the immortals goes too far, he will definitely teach them a lesson about his abilities. Even if he cannot harm them, he will still disrupt their cultivation.

The alchemist had already made up his mind.

……

The next morning at dawn, the alchemist was tidying up in his alchemy room, preparing to begin his cultivation practice as soon as possible.

Before the alchemist could begin his practice, the king suddenly entered, looking radiant, and interrupted his practice, saying, "Sir."

The sorcerer was somewhat relieved to see that the king had come to see him so early, thinking that he had come to prevent the king from overthinking. He said, "Why did Your Majesty come so early?"

The king replied, “I have heard that the immortal lord from Lingtai Fangcun Mountain is in the country, which has made me restless and unable to eat or sleep. After bathing and purifying myself, I did not sleep all night because of my worries. I am afraid that the immortal lord will leave, so I came early.”

The sorcerer's face was grim. He asked, "If that's the case, Your Majesty should go to the inn to find that immortal master. Why come here?"

The king said, “Sir, I have never had any contact with immortals before and do not know how to treat them. You are, after all, half an immortal, so I would like to ask you to come with me so that I may not be impolite and offend the immortals.”

The sorcerer was somewhat annoyed. He had come to find him so early so as not to offend the immortal disciple. This king was indeed not a human ruler. He was worried about offending the immortal disciple, but was he not worried about offending him?

The sorcerer harbored some resentment, but seeing that this man was the king and that he had once been kind to him, he could not say anything and could only agree, saying, "Your Majesty, I will change my clothes now and go with you."

The king was overjoyed and said, "Sir, go and change your clothes. I will wait for you outside the room."

Say it.

The king went outside.

The sorcerer, though unwilling, had no choice but to change his clothes and prepare to accompany the king.

After the sorcerer came out of the room, the king led him outside.

As soon as the two stepped out of the palace, the sorcerer saw that the king had prepared a full entourage outside the palace. Such a entourage left the sorcerer speechless. There were about a hundred people in the entourage, and four people were clearing the way. Each of them held a large wooden mallet covered with copper and struck a large bronze gong painted with a tiger's head. This was for the purpose of warning, and also to scare away the little demons and make them retreat.

Beside the drummers leading the way, several people held up signs with the words "Silence" in red lacquer and gold lettering. This sect instructed them to avoid them and not to clash with them. Further on were street cleaners and others.

Before this was the ceremonial procession. Behind it, there were people holding guide banners, four-directional flags, and sun and moon fans. Further back, there were guards with weapons in the front. Further back, the alchemist could not see clearly because the procession was too formal and grand. However, he heard music coming and guessed that there was a musical performance behind it.

The king laughed and said, "I have sent my elite troops as a ceremonial guard to welcome you with proper etiquette. I am sure the immortal lord will be pleased to see you."

The sorcerer had nothing to say and remained silent.

The king then entered the royal carriage and instructed the alchemist to ride a horse and follow behind. They then set off for the post station to meet Wang Chongyang and his companion.

Half an hour later, the king's entourage arrived at the post station. Wang Chongyang and his companion instructed the soldiers in the city to inform each other that the king was about to arrive. Upon learning this, the two men did not make any move but waited quietly for the king to come.

Upon learning of the two men's intentions, the soldier dared not linger and hurriedly headed outside to inform the king.

Inside the house, Wang Chongyang and the Bull Demon King were sitting cross-legged.

The Bull Demon King laughed and said, "The King of Baoliang Kingdom knows that the two of us have come here, and he has come to see us today. But he does not know your background. If he knew your background, he would probably bow down to you and call you 'ancestor'."

Wang Chongyang shook his head and said, "My cultivation has long since ceased to be related to it. I have come here today probably because I have heard of the name of Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, and therefore I have come here to seek out some kind of magic."

The Bull Demon King laughed and said, "People in the world love magic and regard it as a sign of honor and lineage. That king must be like that, but he doesn't know the true meaning. What do you want to do? Do you want to pass on the magic to that king, or do you want to drive him away? Tell me the details, and I will help you."

Wang Chongyang said, “King Ox, what I want to do depends on the king, not on me. Let us just observe what the king wants to do.”

The Bull Demon King pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Zhengwei's words make sense, so we will follow Zhengwei's advice."

The two then waited in the house for the king to arrive.

The king outside the inn learned that the two had not come, but instead instructed him to go. He dared not refuse, so he ordered his soldiers to guard the outside and not allow anyone to disturb his immortal destiny.

The king made the necessary arrangements, namely, to have the sorcerer accompany him.

The king and the sorcerer arrived at the house and knocked on the door.

The Bull Demon King stepped forward, opened the door, and welcomed the two inside.

Upon seeing the king, Wang Chongyang smiled, rose, bowed, and said, "This humble man from the mountains greets Your Majesty."

When the king saw him bowing and paying his respects, he hurriedly returned the greeting, but his haste made his manners somewhat strange. He said, "I dare not accept the respect due to the immortal lord; this makes me feel apprehensive."

The Taoist priest did not bow. Looking at Wang Chongyang, he felt somewhat disdainful. How could a disciple of an immortal not possess even a trace of magical power? He was truly unworthy of the title.

Wang Chongyang laughed and said, "What talk of immortal masters? We are just some cultivators."

The king bowed and said, "The immortal lord comes from Lingtai Fangcun Mountain. It is said that the place is a land of immortals, shrouded in auspicious mist all year round, colorful and purple in the sky. People often see immortals there. The person who comes from there is naturally the immortal lord."

Wang Chongyang said, "There has never been any such thing as an immortal master. We are all just cultivators and would never dare to use such a title. Please, Your Majesty, change your title. We really dare not accept the title of immortal master."

The king had no choice but to say, "In that case, I will call you 'sir'."

Wang Chongyang had just agreed and accepted the title. He said, "I wonder why Your Majesty has come to see us today. Is it because we entered the city and disturbed Your Majesty? If so, we can leave now. We came here to rest for a day."

When the king heard Wang Chongyang say that he would leave after resting for a day, he became anxious and said, "I have not disturbed you at all. I have come here because I heard that you, my immortal master, are here. I came to pay my respects to you, and also because I have always been fond of Taoism and often practice alchemy. I have also invited a hermit from the mountains to teach me. Therefore, I knew that you were here and wanted to come to ask for a proper method of cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Wang Chongyang laughed and said, "The orthodox Taoist cultivation method? What do you mean by that?"

The king said, "This is the method of the immortals, and it is the orthodox one."

Wang Chongyang shook his head and said, "This statement is biased, but as for methods of cultivation, each has its own merits. Some are talismans, some are meditation, and some are other methods—the list is endless. If you want to ask me for a method, you should at least give me an explanation. Otherwise, how can I proceed?" Upon hearing this, the king pondered for a long time before saying, "Sir, I wish to seek a method for achieving immortality. Is there any possibility of obtaining one?"

Wang Chongyang said, "Immortality is extremely difficult and cannot be easily obtained, but there is a method to prolong life."

The king bowed again and said, "Please, sir, bestow upon me the Dharma!"

Wang Chongyang smiled and said, "The Dao cannot be easily passed on, but I will write a single character for you. If you can comprehend its meaning, you will naturally obtain the Dharma."

Say it.

Wang Chongyang took out paper and pen, wrote the character '离' (li, meaning separation) on it, and handed the blank paper to the king.

The king accepted it and said, "Thank you, sir."

Wang Chongyang said, "In that case, Your Majesty, you may depart. We shall also rise and leave."

The king was anxious. He didn't know how he could figure it out. If he couldn't figure it out and couldn't find the immortal master, wouldn't his immortal opportunity be wasted? He said anxiously, "Why are you leaving like this, sir?"

Wang Chongyang said, "I have important business to attend to when I leave the mountain, so I should depart now."

The king said, “Sir, you have just arrived in my country and I have not yet treated you with courtesy. How can I ask you to leave? If you leave now, I fear that someone will find out and condemn me for being rude. Therefore, I ask you to stay in the country for five or six days so that I can treat you with courtesy before you leave.”

Wang Chongyang smiled knowingly but said nothing, "In that case, I will rest in your country for six days as Your Majesty has said. After six days, I will depart."

The king was overjoyed. Holding the paper, he prepared to return home. Before leaving, he instructed that some people be sent to look after Wang Chongyang.

Wang Chongyang simply smiled and did not refuse.

Wang Chongyang and the Bull Demon King watched the two leave.

The Bull Demon King closed the door, scratched his head, and asked, "Zhengwei, your word doesn't contain any magical power; it's just an ordinary word. How can you say there's magic in it?"

Wang Chongyang shook his head and said, "The Dharma originates from the mortal realm. If one can comprehend it, the Dharma will naturally follow."

The Bull Demon King nodded thoughtfully and said, "I'm afraid that king can't see through it. I see that his eyes are cloudy and he has all five poisons. He says he likes the Dao, but in reality, he doesn't like the Dao. He likes longevity, and he is greedy for longevity. He is even more greedy for the power in his hands."

Wang Chongyang laughed and said, "If one cannot understand it, that is their fate, and it has nothing to do with me."

The Bull Demon King said, "But I fear this fellow will use this as an excuse to detain you and prevent you from leaving, all for the sake of obtaining your magic method."

Wang Chongyang was not afraid and said with a smile, "With the Bull King here, who can stop us from leaving?"

Upon hearing this, the Bull Demon King beamed and said, "Zhengwei's words are very reasonable, very reasonable! With me here, how can this small country stop me? Even if there are ten thousand troops blocking my way, I only need to wave my Black Dragon Spear lightly, and I can make the sun and moon lose their color, the world lose its light, and all the troops perish."

Wang Chongyang laughed and said, "I know the Bull King's abilities, but the people of this country are innocent. I must not let the Bull King harm them, otherwise it will only add to our troubles."

Upon hearing this, the Bull Demon King pondered for a moment and said, "Zhengwei, what you say makes sense. In that case, I, the Bull Demon King, will not bother with such matters. If the people in this country really try to stop you, I will take you away."

Wang Chongyang smiled and nodded in agreement, saying that he would stay there for six days before leaving.

The Bull Demon King readily agreed.

……

Meanwhile, back in the palace, the king returned and immediately went to the quiet room. During this time, the sorcerer wanted to see the words, but the king reprimanded him without giving him any face, which made the sorcerer even more resentful.

The king paid no attention to the sorcerer and went to the quiet room to observe carefully.

As night fell, in the alchemy room, the alchemist, his face contorted with resentment, said, “The king has treated me well, yet he humiliates me like this. I thought that our debts were settled, but I must teach him a lesson so he knows I cannot be humiliated. That immortal disciple is also a damned fool. If it weren’t for him, how could my future be ruined? I will definitely take revenge on him and kill him!”

"However, that immortal disciple and his protector are not to be trifled with, as their magical power is profound. On the other hand, that immortal disciple has no magical power. If I want to take revenge, I should harm this person. Once I have succeeded, I will flee far away."

The alchemist harbored resentment and needed to find a way to carry out his scheme.

His thoughts remain unknown to others, unmoved by their opinions, as he patiently awaits the opportune moment.

Time flies, and five days passed in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, in the quiet chamber of the palace, the king studied the character "离" (separation) on the paper every day for five days without gaining any insight. This made him restless and confused. If there were truly some secret within this character, there was no reason why he couldn't see it.

The king grew increasingly agitated and furious, and began to suspect that the sorcerer was a fraud, deliberately writing a word to deceive him. Tomorrow would be the sixth day, and by then the man would be gone, and any further thoughts he might have would be useless.

However, some soldiers said that one of the two had used strange arts, which made him dare not doubt it lightly.

The king was at a loss when a eunuch beside him said, "Your Majesty has many questions about this matter of cultivation, because Your Majesty is not familiar with this path. As the saying goes, 'everyone has their own expertise.' Why don't you invite the alchemist in the alchemy room to teach you what to observe? Perhaps you will gain something from it."

Upon hearing this, the king suddenly understood and found it to be reasonable. He then instructed the eunuch to summon the sorcerer.

The sorcerer arrived as ordered and met with the king.

The king then apologized to the sorcerer, explaining his past mistakes.

The sorcerer feigned indifference, saying there was no problem, and then asked why the king had summoned him.

The king said, “To be honest, sir, I have obtained that immortal calligraphy scroll, but I have been reading it here for five days without gaining anything, nor have I seen any such method. I am puzzled, so I would like to invite you to come and see for yourself what the reason is.”

The alchemist devised a plan and said, "Your Majesty, please let me see that calligraphy scroll so that I may understand its meaning."

The king hesitated for a moment, then ordered someone to bring the calligraphy copybook.

A short while later, the calligraphy was presented to the king.

The king then handed it over to the sorcerer.

The alchemist obtained the calligraphy copybook and studied it carefully for a long time. Suddenly, he looked surprised and stood up. The king, seeing his behavior, did not understand his meaning and asked him for advice.

(End of this chapter)