Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 118 Encountering the Blackwater River (Part 4)
Meanwhile, Tang Sanzang and his disciples arrived at the Blackwater River area.

Not far from the Blackwater River, there was a small town where the imperial envoy lived.

Upon learning of the arrival of the holy monk from the Tang Dynasty, the imperial envoy hurriedly led his men to welcome him, bringing him into the city and ordering his subordinates to prepare songs, dances, and a banquet.

Upon seeing this, Tang Sanzang said, "This humble monk is merely a monk; how could I dare to trouble Your Excellency with such trouble?"

The imperial envoy smiled and said, "Holy Monk, this is just a small token of my appreciation. I have no other request but that you agree to help our country repair the bridge."

Tang Sanzang dared not agree so readily, and said to Wukong, "Wukong, look at this..."

Wukong said to the imperial envoy, "Let's not talk about these things for now. Tell us about the Dragon King in the river. What is his background, and why did he ask us, master and disciple, to come here to build a bridge?"

Upon hearing this, the imperial envoy recounted the events in the river from beginning to end.

Compared to others, the imperial envoy, as a firsthand witness, gave a more detailed account.

They also recounted various details of the previous dragon god sacrifices.

As Tang Sanzang listened to the imperial envoy's account, when he heard that the river god did not want young boys and girls, he couldn't help but say, "If that's the case, then this river god is actually a good god."

The imperial envoy said, “What does it matter whether they are good or bad gods? The matter of young boys and girls is minor; building a bridge is of paramount importance. If we can truly build a great bridge, our country will benefit for generations to come. Even if we use hundreds of young boys and girls as sacrifices, it will not be excessive.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang couldn't help but say, "Your Excellency, the children of ordinary people are also born of and raised by their parents. How can you, in your high position, be so indifferent to their lives?"

The imperial envoy said, “Holy Monk, an official should sacrifice the small for the greater good, and abandon the trivial for the important. My actions are also for the benefit of the people, so I hope the Holy Monk will not be offended by this. If the Holy Monk can truly build the bridge, our people will be eternally grateful to you!”

Tang Sanzang shook his head and said, "This humble monk dares not say that he can definitely build a bridge. Let's go to the riverbank and take a look first."

The imperial envoy said, "Then please, Holy Monk, rest for a while. I will go and have people prepare."

Upon hearing this, Wukong asked, "What are you preparing?"

The imperial envoy said, "Prepare carriages, horses, parasols, and ceremonial regalia for the journey."

Wukong asked, "How far is it to the river?"

The imperial envoy said, "It's about twenty or thirty li from the city gate."

Wukong said, "It's only twenty or thirty li. Why prepare carriages and ceremonial guards? Why make a big show of it? We can get there in the time it takes to eat a meal by riding a fast horse."

The imperial envoy said, "This... is fine. Elder Sun, are you also riding a horse?"

Pigsy laughed and said, "It's such a short distance, why bother riding a horse? My senior brother can just stomp his foot and get across!"

Wukong laughed and said, "With a stomp of my foot, I can travel a thousand miles, and I still have to find my way back more than nine hundred miles!"

Upon hearing this, the imperial envoy said, "The elders are all very powerful. I will go and prepare the horses immediately. Although we will not prepare any ceremonial regalia, we must still prepare the sacrificial animals and grains for the Dragon God. Please wait a moment, holy monks."

Wukong said, "There's no need to prepare any sacrificial animals or grains. Let's proceed quickly and simply!"

The imperial envoy said, "Ah! This... if we don't prepare sacrificial offerings, we might anger the Dragon God. What should we do?"

Pigsy laughed, "You official, you have no sense at all. In front of my eldest brother, even the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas wouldn't dare to put on airs. What need is there for a mere river dragon king to prepare formalities?"

Upon hearing this, the imperial envoy had no choice but to agree.

Soon, the imperial envoy had prepared the horses.

Although it was said to be a simplified procession, the imperial envoy still summoned two teams of guards to accompany him.

There's no other reason than to be prepared.

After all, he had never witnessed Wukong and Bajie's abilities firsthand. If he really went out alone and encountered some bandits or robbers on the road, and accidentally killed a Tang Dynasty monk, he, the imperial envoy, would be finished.

The group rode swiftly on horseback, with Wukong and the others following on clouds. Before long, they heard the sound of rushing water and arrived at the banks of the Blackwater River.

Tang Sanzang dismounted and saw a stone tablet on the riverbank. He walked up to it and saw three seal characters engraved on the tablet, which read "Black Water River". There were also four lines of mantra: "Rolling ink on the ground, surging gray for thousands of miles. No one is seen up close, and it is hard to find its shape from afar."

Pigsy caught up and, seeing the inscription on the stele, exclaimed, "Master, we've taken the wrong path!" Tang Sanzang asked, "What do you mean, wrong path?"

Pigsy said, “We should have been heading west to fetch the scriptures, but somehow we’ve ended up heading east. Look at this stele, isn’t it the one we used to subdue Brother Sandy? We’ve come all this way back. Let’s turn our horses around and head back.”

Upon hearing this, Wukong said, "You idiot, what nonsense are you talking about? The river where Brother Sha is is called the Flowing Sand River, and the stone tablet was changed later. Don't you know that? Now that you're saying this, I think you've fallen back into your old ways and are trying to trick Master into taking you back to Gao Village!"

Having said that, he stepped forward and made a move to hit Pigsy.

Pigsy dodged and weaved around Tang Sanzang. He sought the Dao:
"Senior brother, don't hit him! Don't hit him! I forgot for a moment. Master, please plead for my eldest brother!"

Tang Sanzang laughed and said, "Alright, Wukong, the important matter is more important."

Wukong said, "For Master's sake, I'll spare you this time."

Wukong turned to look at the Blackwater River and saw that the river was no more than a hundred miles wide, so he thought to himself that it was a small river.

The imperial envoy stepped forward and said, "This river is the Blackwater River. I wonder how Elder Sun intends to summon the river god?"

Wukong said, "Invite him? He should be the one bowing to me!"

After saying that, Wukong leaped into the air, made the golden cudgel dozens of feet wide, and stabbed it into the river, but he didn't really use any force.

Bajie's antics just now actually reminded Wukong. The dragon god in this river seems to be that person's younger brother, which is why he held back.

After the golden cudgel struck down, the river water surged and immediately, and Ao Tu emerged from the water amidst the waves.

Wukong sized up Ao Tu's appearance and said:

"Who are you, some kind of demon or monster, daring to come here and plot against my master?"

Ao Tu bowed and said, "Reporting to the Great Sage, I am the river god of the Blackwater River. I only want to help the Great Sage and his disciples go west. I would never dare to plot against the Great Sage."

Upon hearing this, Wukong jumped down, grabbed Ao Tu's dragon whiskers, and brought Ao Tu before the imperial envoy, saying:
"You cunning and wicked dragon, how dare you deny it? Didn't you say you wanted my master to build a bridge for them?"

Ao Tu's dragon whiskers were being pulled painfully, and he thought to himself that when he saw Wukong in his true form next time, he would definitely ask him to teach him axe techniques.

Ao Tu said, "Great Sage, this is actually a selfish wish of mine. Please allow me to explain slowly."

Wukong released his grip and said, "Tell me, what trick are you plotting?"

Ao Tu said, “Great Sage, I have no ulterior motives. I am merely greedy for the offerings of the people and wish to do some good deeds to leave behind a good reputation. This country is called Huoluo, which has plenty of grain but little copper and iron. There is another country in Hexi called Chechi, which has plenty of copper and iron but little grain. If a bridge can be built to connect the two countries, it will benefit all the people. They will surely build a shrine and burn incense to express their gratitude. That is all I want.”

Upon hearing this, Wukong said, "If that's the case, then you should build your own bridge. Why do you insist on waiting for my master to build it?"

Ao Tu said, “Great Sage, you may not know this, but gods who descend to the mortal realm are not allowed to display their divine power lightly in front of mortals; they are even less allowed to bestow favors or set up incense offerings in private. Otherwise, they will violate the Heavenly Rules, and I, the little dragon, will have to go to the Dragon Execution Platform. My father was executed on the Dragon Execution Platform for violating the Heavenly Rules. I am terrified of this and would never dare to do it again.”

Wukong asked, "Are you the son of the Jing River Dragon King?"

Ao Tu said, "That's right, Great Sage, the little dragon is indeed the ninth son of the Jing River Dragon King, known as the Little Crocodile Dragon."

Wukong said, "Then your real name must be Ao Tuo?"

Ao Tu said, "No, the little dragon's name is Ao Jie."

Bajie laughed and said, "Brother, this family's naming is completely haphazard. How did Tuolong come up with the character 'Jie'?"

Ao Tu said, "The word '鼍龙' means 'muddled,' which is why my father chose the character '洁' (clean) for it."

Tang Sanzang, instead of dwelling on the name, asked Ao Tu:

"Since the Heavenly Rules stipulate that one cannot easily display divine power in front of mortals, why did you wait for this humble monk to come and build the bridge?"

Ao Tu said, “Holy Monk, are you no ordinary person? Behind you are the Dharma protectors, above you are the Six Ding and Six Jia, to your left are the Five Directions Jiedi, to your right are the Four Duty Officers, and in front of you are eighteen Dharma Protectors clearing the way, accompanying you for thousands of miles. If I were to use my divine power to build a bridge for ordinary people to cross, it would be a private act of kindness, a great sin. On the contrary, if I were to use my divine power to build a bridge for the Holy Monk to travel west, it would be assisting the westward journey, a great merit. Therefore, I did it this way.”

(End of this chapter)