The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 152 The Terrifying Kingdom of Wuji

Seeing Jiang Feng and his group leave Wanshou Mountain safely, Guanyin Bodhisattva sighed in the sky, "Zhenyuan Daxian is too lenient, letting them pass through Wuzhuang Temple so easily."

Ksitigarbha laughed and said, "He only kept Jiang Feng at Wuzhuang Temple for six or seven days, which is already giving you face. After all, he's not a Buddhist, so how could he follow your arrangements?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva nodded: "I was just expressing my feelings. Who arranged their next tribulation?"

Manjushri Bodhisattva appeared from the void: "A little further ahead is the Kingdom of Wuji, which I have arranged."

Guanyin Bodhisattva frowned slightly and asked, "Is your lion-like beast resilient?"

Manjushri Bodhisattva smiled calmly: "In terms of martial arts, it can only barely withstand Sun Wukong for thirty to fifty rounds. However, if they want to overcome this difficulty, fighting alone is not enough."

Guanyin Bodhisattva said pessimistically, "Let's hope so."

Meanwhile, Jiang Feng and his group trekked through mountains and rivers, enduring wind and rain.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Pigsy couldn't help but complain, "Since leaving Wuzhuang Temple, we haven't seen a single inn along the way. Traveling day and night, when will we ever reach Mount Ling?"

Wukong said, "You can go from childhood to old age, and from old age to childhood again, and it will still be difficult to go through a thousand cycles of old and young. As long as you see your true nature and are sincere, the place you look back to every time is the Vulture Peak."

Pigsy's eyes darted around, and he turned back, saying, "Master, we've arrived at Mount Ling! Eldest Brother said that Mount Ling is just around the corner. Let's hurry and divide up our belongings!"

Wukong was so angry that he raised his hand to punch him: "Idiot, can't you tell that I'm talking Zen riddles with you?"

Bajie nimbly dodged behind Jiang Feng and said, "Master, look at him! He said something wrong, and now he won't let others say it!"

Jiang Feng used his clairvoyance to survey the area ahead and said, "There seems to be a small country ahead. Once we get there, I'll take you to the royal palace's grand bathhouse for a hot bath and some proper relaxation!"

Bai Suzhen's pupils dilated, and she feigned a look of horror: "Do I want to soak in it too?"

Jiang Feng rolled his eyes at her: "Go take a bath in the women's bath yourself!"

Bai Suzhen covered her mouth and smiled, "I still need to go to the market to buy some clothes and jewelry. Let's hurry up and get going!"

The group continued on their journey, and as dusk approached, a magnificent Zen temple came into view.

Looking up at the gate, one can see that the plaque is covered in dust, but the five large characters "Imperial Construction of Baolin Temple" are faintly visible.

Sun Wukong stepped forward and grabbed a young monk who was sweeping the floor, saying, "The Holy Monk of the Great Sui Dynasty has arrived! Quickly, have your abbot come out to greet him!"

The little monk was so frightened by Wukong's appearance that he trembled and hurriedly went inside to report.

Before long, a middle-aged monk wearing a golden robe came out. Seeing Jiang Feng and his companions' attire, he turned to the young monk who had gone in to report and scolded him: "Are you looking for a beating? Don't you know I am a monk official? I only come out to greet dignitaries from the city who come to offer incense."

These monks are mostly wandering hermits; it's getting late, and they probably want to stay the night. How can our temple tolerate their disturbance! Let them wait outside all night; why bother reporting it to me!

Sun Wukong roared, "You monk, how utterly ignorant of manners! As the ancients said, temples and monasteries are the lodgings of our venerable master, and upon entering the mountain gate, one is offered three pints of rice. Why did you not detain me? What is your reason?"

"Wukong, step back."

Jiang Feng wasn't angry. He stopped Sun Wukong, smiled, and stepped forward to ask, "May I ask, monk, how many armored soldiers does your country have?"

The monk official asked in confusion, "My Wuji Kingdom has three thousand armored soldiers, each a skilled warrior. Why do you ask this?"

Jiang Feng smiled and took out the imperial edict: "It's nothing. This humble monk is an envoy of the Great Sui Dynasty. Every word and action represents the face of the Great Sui Dynasty."

My Great Sui Dynasty has only a million armored soldiers, mostly lowly commoners, and dare not compare themselves to your country's elite troops, each capable of taking on a thousand men. This humble monk must quickly send a letter back, urging His Majesty to dispatch two hundred thousand elite troops to pay tribute to the Wuji Kingdom!

Monk official: "————"

What merit or ability do we, the Kingdom of Wuji, possess to deserve 200,000 elite troops coming to pay tribute? You are clearly here to destroy our kingdom!

"No, no, Holy Monk!"

The monk's robe was instantly soaked with cold sweat. If the Kingdom of Wuji were to be destroyed because of his disrespect for the Sui Dynasty envoy, he would be a sinner for all time!

"Holy Monk, please come with me to the temple to rest. I will have a vegetarian meal prepared immediately! Someone, quickly inform His Majesty and request that he make arrangements for welcoming the Holy Monk of the Great Sui Dynasty!"

The monk bowed and scraped, displaying an utter humility that seemed to reach the very depths of the earth. Wukong scoffed, "His initial humility followed by his obsequiousness is laughable."

The monk quickly smiled apologetically and said, "Master, please laugh. It is my good fortune to make you laugh."

Wukong: "————"

Are all the officials in Wuji Kingdom like this? They're utterly shameless!

Soon, Jiang Feng and the others were led into Baolin Temple.

The temple houses a complete set of Vajra statues and Four Heavenly Kings statues, which are several times larger than those in ordinary temples.

The second courtyard houses a Guanyin statue in a reversed position in the main hall, which also enshrines various Western Buddhas. Upon entering the main hall, three golden Buddha statues sit side by side on a horizontal beam above their heads, each weighing several thousand kilograms.

Wukong looked at the three clay Buddha statues gilded with gold, then glanced at the incense burner filled with incense sticks before them, and laughed, "You are nothing but clay sculptures adorned with gold, and those who worship you are just a bunch of fake monks. I wonder if you have any inner feelings about this?"

Jiang Feng shook his head slightly: "All forms are illusory. If you see all forms as non-forms, then you will see the Tathagata. Wukong, you have no Buddha in your heart, so you naturally regard it as a false Buddha statue."

"But I am different. I am a disciple of Buddha, and I always keep Buddha in my heart, remembering to collect the donations on behalf of Buddha!"

After saying that, he emptied all the money from the donation box and put it into his treasure bag.

Wukong: "————"

Are you even thinking about Buddha? You're just after his wealth, aren't you?

The monk official stood by, furious but unable to speak out. He watched helplessly as Jiang Feng collected the incense money, then ordered a vegetarian meal to be served. When Jiang Feng waved for him to leave, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and disappeared from everyone's sight.

While eating, Jiang Feng said with a serious expression, "I never expected to end up in the Kingdom of Black Chicken. All the people here are black-skinned and they specifically persecute handsome men like Pleiades Star Lord, hence the name Kingdom of Black Chicken. It is the most terrifying country I have ever seen."

Bai Suzhen smiled disdainfully: "How wicked can the common people be? I don't believe they can be as wicked as you!"

Jiang Feng glanced at her and said, "The king here was killed because he looked like the Pleiades star god. Now even the king is a fake. Don't you think these little black-hearted people are ruthless?"

Bai Suzhen was shocked: "Really? Just because the king looks like the Pleiades star god, he was killed and replaced?"

Jiang Feng said, "It's fake."

Bai Suzhen covered her forehead: "I knew it—"

Jiang Feng continued, "It's true that the king was impersonated. I've calculated that his prince will soon learn the truth about his father's murder and his mother's abduction, then he'll kill the fake king and become the new king."

Bai Suzhen exclaimed in surprise, "How do you know so much? Did you calculate all of this?"

Jiang Feng said with a proud look, "Because I'm the one who's about to tell the prince the truth."

Bai Suzhen: