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Chapter 191 The Green Ox's Guidance

The orange peels arrived before the person did.

Chen Guangrui and Tang Sheng already guessed who had come.

A burly man in blue armor strode in, pushing aside the leaves. He had thick eyebrows and large eyes, and a kind and honest face. He was holding half an orange in his hand. He was none other than the Green Ox Demon from the Tushita Palace.

The Green Ox Demon strode forward, looked at Chen Guangrui, grinned, casually broke off another segment of orange and popped it into his mouth, his voice muffled yet loud.
"Brother, you really are here! I heard you went down to the mortal realm, but I couldn't figure out which cloud you were hanging around under. Hey, there's been quite a commotion at the Fire Cloud Cave on Mount Hao these past two days, with the Heavenly Court's deputy commander and people blocking the entrance. I thought about it, and this sounds too good to be true. Who else could it be but you? Well, after searching around for two days, I've finally caught you!"

"Uncle Qingniu!" Tang Sheng saw a familiar face and immediately recovered from his shock and fear. A friendly smile appeared on his face as he went over to him.

"What are you doing here? Doesn't the Tushita Palace need a gatekeeper anymore?" He was precocious for his age, and his question had a familiar air about him.

The Green Ox Demon chuckled, his large, fan-like hand instinctively reaching out to pat Tang Sheng's bald head, but remembering he was a young monk, he withdrew his hand and instead rubbed his own head.

“Hey kid, you know Jindu Mountain? It’s not far from here. I know the Tongtian River and the Women’s Kingdom area well. I can hear the slightest noise around here.” He said, while peeling off another segment of orange.

Huang Fengguai stood to the side, his thick eyebrows slightly furrowed, warily observing the burly man who had suddenly appeared, his aura subtly solidifying. This man possessed a calm and composed demeanor; though seemingly simple and honest, his ability to pinpoint Chen Guangrui's whereabouts was no ordinary feat. He spoke in a deep voice, his tone carrying a direct question, "Brother Chen, who is this?"

Chen Guangrui regained his composure and introduced the two, giving only a brief introduction without mentioning their backgrounds.

Upon hearing that the Yellow Wind Monster was Chen Guangrui's accomplice, the Green Ox Demon's eyes lit up. He sized the Yellow Wind Monster up and down, noticing his imposing physique and extraordinary bearing, and couldn't help but laugh heartily, a hint of relief in his voice.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Huang Feng. Good, good! Brother Chen has good taste in finding help. You don't know, I was worried these past two days, afraid that he wouldn't be able to find any manpower and would turn around and run off to Flower Fruit Mountain to find that monkey."

He chewed on an orange, his tone relaxed.
"It's a good thing you didn't go; you can't go now. That Guanyin of the South Sea, hey, she sent her disciple Muzha to squat right next to Flower Fruit Mountain. They say they're going to help the monkey plant some kind of magical fruit and seedlings, and they've fenced off the Water Curtain Cave like an iron barrel. That monkey… hey,"

The green ox chuckled, a hint of disdain in his voice. "I think he's long lost his former ambition. After being suppressed for five hundred years, all he wants is to live a peaceful life on his small plot of land on Flower Fruit Mountain. Muzha standing there gives him a perfect excuse not to come down the mountain. He can just stay in his cave and pretend he didn't see anything."

"Master's been locked up?" Upon hearing this, Tang Sheng's face immediately fell, his dark eyes filled with worry and anxiety. "Father! Master, he..."

Chen Guangrui gently placed his hand on Tang Sheng's bald head, signaling him to calm down, his voice steady and calm.
"Don't worry, if he wants to come out, who can stop him? We never intended to disturb him this time. He's living the life he wants on Flower Fruit Mountain, guarding his monkey offspring. Guanyin's actions are just going with the flow, giving both sides a way out without a complete falling out."

He saw it clearly: Sun Wukong's heart was no longer set on stirring up trouble.

The Green Ox Demon nodded in agreement, stuffed the last bit of orange into his mouth, patted the juice off his hands, and looked at Chen Guangrui, a rare seriousness appearing on his usually honest face.
"Brother, I've come all this way to see you, partly to catch up,"

He paused, a serious look appearing on his face. "On the other hand, I'm also here to discuss this with you. There are some people around here... whose roots are more or less connected to our old master of the Tushita Palace."

Chen Guangrui's gaze suddenly sharpened, as if confirming a long-held suspicion in his mind.

He stepped forward, and before Qingniu could finish speaking, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Qingniu's thick, strong arm, pulling him a few steps away from Huangfengguai and Tangsheng.

"Explain yourself!" Chen Guangrui lowered his voice, his gaze fixed intently on the Green Ox Demon, pointing straight to the core issue. "You're not talking about Red Boy, are you? He's with Laozi..."

The Green Ox Demon's face turned bright red from the choking on the orange, and he coughed for a while before catching his breath. His eyes, as big as copper bells, stared wide-eyed.

"Brother! What's wrong with your head... Sigh, is this how you remember your old master?"

Chen Guangrui's face remained expressionless as he calmly watched the Green Ox Demon.

What else could there be?
The green ox demon felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze, and he quickly waved his hand.

"It's not Red Boy. Princess Iron Fan is a Rakshasa woman. Do you understand this?"

Seeing that Chen Guangrui's eyes were still blank, clearly indicating that he had no concept of Rakshasa, the Green Ox Demon became even more anxious, scratching his head and trying to make an analogy.

"Oh dear, do you understand now? You must recognize the Bodhisattva Pilanpo from the Western Paradise, right? She's also a Rakshasa! The old master and Bodhisattva Pilanpo... cough, they're old acquaintances."

"Bodhisattva Vimalakirti?" Chen Guangrui frowned even more deeply. A Buddhist bodhisattva and the Taoist patriarch had a past relationship? Was that plausible?

He was somewhat confused about the relationship between these two important figures, and an even more chilling thought uncontrollably slipped out.

"Could it be... that the Rabbit Sun Star Lord is Laozi's son?"

He remembered that the Bodhisattva Pilanpo did indeed have a son, namely the Star Lord of the Rabbit Sun.

"Pfft, cough cough cough!" This time, the Green Ox Demon actually spat out the orange pulp he had just swallowed, his bull face turning from red to purple as he nearly fainted. He pounded his thick chest, growling with a mixture of anger and laughter.
"You think the old master's belt is too loose?"

He leaned closer and lowered his voice.

“Prabha Bodhisattva… she indeed has no husband, but she has a son, the Sun God. What does that mean? It means that Rakshasa herself has the ability to give birth. Don’t look down on me. Women in the Women’s Kingdom can give birth just by drinking water. Rakshasa gave birth to a child with her innate supernatural abilities. What’s so strange about that? Why does she need to find a father?”

He took a breath, his expression turning truly serious. Looking at Chen Guangrui, he emphasized each word clearly, "Brother, I abandoned my peaceful life on Golden Gourd Mountain and traveled all this way to find you, just to give you a definite message: you must not provoke that Rakshasa Princess Iron Fan or that brat Red Boy! The waters there are too deep, the karma too great; it's not something we can wade into. If you get even a little involved, even our old master might not be able to protect you!"

Chen Guangrui fell silent.

Seeing this, the Green Ox Demon sensed something was wrong and cautiously asked, "Have we already provoked them?"

Chen Guangrui nodded. "My matter should be settled soon."

Upon hearing this, the Green Ox Demon's face turned pale.

……

The sky was overcast and the signs of defeat were clear. The 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals were no longer the ones who had set out with their banners obscuring the sun and their armor shining brightly. Now, they had abandoned their helmets and armor, their battle robes covered in dust, and they silently followed their commander in retreat.

Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, sat upright on the back of his magnificent celestial horse, his back still ramrod straight, but the knuckles of his hand holding the exquisite pagoda were white from gripping it so tightly.

His face was grim, his gaze fixed on the void ahead, and he didn't say a word.

A heavy silence weighed on the hearts of every general and soldier. No one dared to speak; even breathing was done cautiously.

Nezha rode his Wind Fire Wheels, leisurely following on the flank of the column, maintaining a delicate distance from the center. He held a bright red apple in his hand, taking bites here and there, making a crisp "crunch" sound. This sound was particularly jarring in the deathly silent column.

His handsome face was expressionless, but his eyes swept with interest over Li Jing's stiff, stone-carved back, and then over the dejected, mournful appearance of the generals, including the Giant Spirit God.

In her heart, she praised Chen Guangrui again.

It's unclear how much time passed—perhaps a quarter of an hour, perhaps half an hour. Li Jing's tightly pursed lips finally moved, and he forced out a single, harsh sentence through gritted teeth. His voice wasn't loud.
"Chen Guangrui... Chen Guangrui, you're something else. He must have known all along and deliberately left the camp to see me make a fool of myself."

These words were like a stone thrown into stagnant water, creating only faint ripples. The Giant Spirit and the others exchanged glances instinctively, their faces growing even more ashen, their heads drooping even lower.

They clearly remembered that it was they, the generals, who had secretly conspired to spread rumors and collectively ostracized the deputy commander, forcing him to leave. Now they were accusing him of plotting against them?

Moreover, wasn't it Chen Guangrui who strongly opposed going to Leopard Head Mountain?
The moment this thought arose, the lingering resentment in my heart was instantly overwhelmed by greater shame and regret, leaving my chest feeling suffocated.

Only Nezha, with an almost imperceptible sneer at the corner of his mouth, took another bite of the apple, his voice still clear and crisp.

An awkward silence descended once more. After a long while, a general in charge of the rear guard rode closer to Li Jing and asked for instructions in a hoarse voice.

"Heavenly King, should we... should we return to the Heavenly Court to report?"

"Back to Heaven?" Li Jing suddenly turned his head, his eyes sharp as knives.

"His Majesty's decree is to quell the demons causing chaos in the mortal realm and to uphold the divine might of our Heavenly Court. This is an imperial edict that allows only victory and forbids no defeat. In this state of affairs, how can we have the face to return?"

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his surging anger and humiliation, glanced around at the generals, and said in a deep voice,

"We must find another place where these troublesome demons reside and quickly wipe them out, so that we can atone for our crimes!"

The generals exchanged bewildered glances, their faces showing confusion and difficulty. Find another one? In such a rush, where could they find a mountain that could both demonstrate imperial might and avoid a disastrous outcome like Leopard Head Mountain?
Just as everyone was at a loss and the atmosphere became tense again, a soft and holy seven-colored glow suddenly shone down from the sky. Guanyin Bodhisattva, holding a vase and willow branch, descended slowly on a lotus platform, her dignified appearance solemn and majestic.

The generals were stunned, and then hurriedly dismounted. Li Jing also immediately suppressed his anger, dismounted, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Guanyin Bodhisattva!"

The Bodhisattva lowered his eyes, his compassionate gaze sweeping over the disheveled heavenly army.
"Your Majesty, please rise. All soldiers, please disregard the formalities. I am already aware of your predicament at Leopard Head Mountain."

Li Jing stood up, his face showing shame. "I'm sorry to have made the Bodhisattva laugh at me; this humble general is incompetent..."

Guanyin Bodhisattva slightly raised her hand to stop him from speaking, her tone remaining calm.

"Your Majesty need not blame yourself. That nine-headed lion possesses great supernatural powers, far surpassing ordinary demons. The most urgent task now is to regroup and achieve new merits to appease Your Majesty's heart."

Her gaze drifted into the distance.
"This humble monk has come here precisely to offer guidance. The pilgrims will soon reach the territory of Jindu Mountain. There dwells a demon there, who calls himself the Great King of the Rhinoceros. He resides in the Jindu Cave on Jindu Mountain and possesses great magical power. He robs passing creatures and is currently obstructing the westward journey."

She looked at Li Jing, her eyes filled with encouragement and expectation, "If the Heavenly King can lead his troops to help the pilgrims subdue this fiend, it will not only rid the people of a scourge but also protect the eastward spread of Buddhism, a merit beyond measure. In this way, both the troublesome demon will be subdued, and the great undertaking of obtaining the scriptures will be assisted, achieving the best of both worlds. The Great Heavenly Venerable will surely be overjoyed to hear of this."

Golden Gourd Mountain? King Rhinoceros?
Li Jing's eyes suddenly lit up. Going here to subdue the demon would not only restore the Heavenly Court's reputation but also do the Buddhist sect a huge favor.

This was like a godsend, and his anger instantly turned to joy. However, he tried his best to maintain a respectful and solemn expression, bowing deeply to Guanyin Bodhisattva.
"Thank you, Bodhisattva, for your guidance. I will follow your instructions and work together to wipe out the demons of Jindu Mountain and help the holy monk on his journey to the west."

(End of this chapter)