Journey to the West: Starting by becoming an apprentice of Emperor Donghua

The Jade Emperor put down his vermilion brush, took the memorial, glanced at it, and asked:

"The name Ji Sheng sounds familiar. Could it be the one Mu Cha mentioned before?"

Zhang Tianshi said:

"The one who reported to the Jade Emperor was Ji Sheng, the one who killed the Fire Toad."

The Jade Emperor nodded and said:

"I've heard that he's also a disciple of Emperor Donghua. Is that true?"

Zhang Tianshi said:

"Emperor Donghua did not take him as a disciple, but judging from his skills, he should be the one."

The Jade Emperor frowned:

"How could there be someone in the Donghua Sect who indiscriminately slaughters mortals? There must be something fishy about this. Zhang Tianshi, please summon Taibai Jinxing here."

Zhang Tianshi acknowledged and withdrew. A moment later, an old man dressed in white robes, holding a whisk, with white hair and beard, stepped into the hall.

This old man was none other than Venus. After exchanging greetings, the Jade Emperor told Venus about Ji Sheng's matter, but said:

"Go down to the mortal realm and meet Ji Sheng at Golden Rooster Mountain. If this matter is false, help him find the culprit; if it is true, then..."

The Jade Emperor thought for a moment before saying:

"Go to Yunlou Palace and proclaim my decree, and have Nezha accompany you. If this is true, capture Ji Sheng and send him to Fangzhang Mountain for Emperor Donghua to deal with as he sees fit. Do you understand?"

Venus readily agreed, took the Jade Emperor's decree, and headed to the Cloud Tower Palace.

Upon arriving at the Cloud Tower Palace, Venus searched everywhere but could not find Nezha. He originally intended to inform the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King and ask him to help search for him.

But then he thought again and guessed that Nezha must be playing and had gone off to play somewhere else. If he told his father, it would probably cause more trouble.

The father and son were already outwardly harmonious, and doing this would inevitably create further rifts.

It's unlikely that the disciples of Donghua Sect would be unreasonable.

Since that's the case, it's better to go down there first and test Ji Sheng's words. If it really was him who did such a thing, then it won't be too late to find Nezha.

With that thought in mind, Venus went straight out of the South Heavenly Gate and headed towards the Western Continent of Niuhe.

Now, Ji Sheng returned to Golden Rooster Mountain and used the Pot Heaven Technique to refine the Earth Fire Pearl into the Fire Gourd, expanding the space inside the Fire Gourd.

More than ten days passed, and about half of the dozen or so Earth Fire Pearls were consumed. The north and south sides of the fire gourd had also expanded by four or five zhang.

Lü Dongbin and Nezha have not returned these days.

Ji Sheng wasn't worried. These two were skilled enough to roam the world freely; they must be playing around somewhere again.

That day, the little demon guarding the gate came to report:

"Your Majesty, there is an old man with a white beard at the foot of the mountain who requests an audience."

Ji Sheng frowned:

"An old man with a white beard? Is he the mountain god?"

The little demon shook its head and said:

"It wasn't a mountain god. That man said he came from heaven, and his name was something like... something like Venus!"

Venus? Ji Sheng was immediately taken aback.

This old man's surname was Li, and his given name was Chang Geng. He was a very famous figure in the Heavenly Court. He was the one who handled both of Sun Wukong's attempts to recruit him into the imperial court.

He also helped Tang Sanzang and his disciples many times on their journey to the West. He was a well-known good-natured person in Heaven, and everyone who met him had to give him some face.

What is he doing here?

After thinking it over, I don't think I've done anything out of line, have I?

To offer themselves up for re-establishment? Definitely not.

"Quickly, invite him up here!"

Ji Sheng immediately sent Xiao Yao to let them pass, while he followed behind to greet them.

Sure enough, an old man with white hair and beard stood at the mountain gate. When he saw Ji Sheng, he stroked his long beard and nodded with a smile.

Ji Sheng quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said:

"Ji Sheng, Lord of Golden Rooster Mountain, greets the Old Angel!"

Ji Sheng dared not underestimate his opponent. This Venus looked kind and benevolent, but he was a war god who represented slaughter.

If you don't have real skills, how can you gain everyone's respect and act as a peacemaker?

"Lord Ji, there's no need for such formalities."

Taibai Jinxing stepped forward and gently took Ji Sheng's hand, nodding silently in his heart.

Ji Sheng is not only handsome and upright, but also very polite.

As expected, it doesn't seem like the indiscriminate killing of innocent people. It seems there must be some misunderstanding in the mountain god's memorial.

Ji Sheng quickly invited Venus into the cave and asked him to sit down, then ordered a little demon to serve tea.

Just as I was about to ask Venus the purpose of his visit, a burst of laughter suddenly came from outside:

"Ji Sheng, look what Chunyangzi and I brought back for you!"

Lü Dongbin and Nezha strode into the cave together, one carrying a roasted chicken and a pig's head, the other carrying two large jars of wine, both with joyful expressions.

"This roast chicken and fine wine are from three thousand miles away. The taste is completely different from what we have nearby. Quickly, let's start drinking a few cups..."

Nezha was still calling Ji Sheng to come and drink. As soon as he entered the cave, he saw Taibai Jinxing having tea with Ji Sheng.

He was immediately startled, and his voice abruptly stopped. He couldn't help but think to himself:

Oh no! Could it be that I secretly descended to the mortal realm today and was discovered by the Jade Emperor, thus sending Venus to find me?

Venus was slightly surprised when he saw Nezha.

When he saw the fine wine in his hand, and recalled what had been said before entering the cave, he immediately understood what was going on.

He laughed and said:

"No wonder we couldn't find the Crown Prince in the Cloud Tower Palace. It seems he also knew of the Jade Emperor's decree and came down the mountain to investigate the matter."

Nezha's mind raced quickly, and he realized that Venus was not coming for him, so he immediately felt relieved.

"Haha, Venus, you guessed right. You two chat, I'll put my things down first."

Nezha, unaware of the matter, quickly laughed it off. He suggested going aside to listen to their conversation and find out what had happened.

Lü Dongbin also greeted Taibai Jinxing. The two went to a cave to put their things down, but they were listening to the conversation of the other two.

Venus took a sip of tea before saying:

"Has Lord Ji offended anyone recently?"

Ji Sheng found it somewhat strange:

"Offended someone? To be honest, I, Ji Sheng, don't have many friends, but I don't have many enemies either. To say I have none would be a lie. I wonder what makes you say that, Elder?"

The Venus deity then relayed the petition from the mountain god of Luanshi Ridge, detailing how Ji Sheng had allowed his demon subordinates to slaughter the villagers.

Ji Sheng was furious and sneered:

"It seems I've really been targeted. With the old angel personally coming, Ji Sheng must clear his name no matter what, and he can't let the entire village die unjustly."

Where are those villages located? I request that the old angel accompany me to investigate!

Nezha listened intently from the side. Although he had not been at Jinji Mountain for the past ten days, he already knew Ji Sheng's character and naturally did not believe that Ji Sheng could have done this.

"I'm involved in this matter. Let's go together and get to the bottom of it. Let's see who has the audacity to frame an innocent person!"

The sound was like a thunderclap, startling Venus, who was drinking tea, and he almost choked on his tea.

"Third Prince, there's no need to worry. This matter will definitely be investigated thoroughly."

The four immediately decided to go to the villages where the victims had been killed to see what had happened.

After flying for half an hour, the group finally arrived at a desolate village.

The village, situated on the banks of the Tianlang River, had been completely slaughtered, its houses burned to ashes. All that remained were ruins and charred, twisted corpses.

Some of the corpses were less than three feet tall and were clearly those of children.

"These guys are ruthless! They're just ordinary mortals, yet they could do this!"

Seeing this, Nezha flew into a rage and couldn't help but shout:

"If I ever find out who did this, I will skin them alive, just like that Dragon Prince Ao Bing!"

Seeing this tragic scene, Venus, the planet of Venus, felt a pang of pity and said:

"There's not a single survivor in this village. It seems we'll have to go to the underworld and ask Yama, the King of Hell."

Ji Shengdao:

"There's no need for such trouble. I'll cast a spell now and inquire about the wronged souls who died unjustly."