txolops Chapter 113 Lotus Cave - The Great Sage Returns to His Treasure
Chapter 113 Lotus Cave - The Great Sage Returns to His Treasure
Meanwhile, Sun Wukong was defeated by Li Fa, took the Wind-Slaying Pestle, put it in his bosom, rescued the princess, and arrived in Baoxiang Kingdom.
Upon arriving at the Golden Palace, the princess paid her respects to her father and mother, met with her sisters, and was greeted by all the officials.
The princess then recounted in detail how the Yellow Robe Monster had taken her to the Wave Moon Cave, where she had suffered for many years, until Sun Wukong rescued her.
Upon hearing this, the king wept, tears streaming down his dragon robe. He bowed repeatedly to the pilgrim, overcome with gratitude, and said, "If it weren't for the elder's divine might, my daughter and I would be forever trapped in the demon's lair, and the fate of my kingdom would likely be uncertain!"
Having said that, he hurriedly said, "Go see your master quickly!"
The three monks, including Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, went down from the main hall and, together with the officials, went to the court room. They carried out the iron cage and untied the fake tiger from its chains.
Others see him as a tiger, but lone travelers see him as a man. It turns out that the master was bewitched by a demonic spell, unable to walk, his mind clear, but his mouth and eyes unable to open.
The pilgrim laughed and said, "Master, you are a good monk, how come you've come to be such a wicked person? You blamed me for committing evil deeds and sent me back. You were supposed to be devoted to good, how come you've suddenly become like this?"
Bajie said, "Brother, let's save him instead of just making trouble for him."
The pilgrim said, "You always instigate things. He's such a good disciple of yours. Why don't you save him and instead come to me? I told you, after we subdue the demon and avenge him for insulting me, we'll go back."
Sha Wujing knelt down and said, "Brother, as the ancients said, 'Even if you don't care about the monk, you should care about the Buddha.' Since you've come all this way, I beg you to save him. If we could save him, we wouldn't dare to come all this way to ask you for help."
The traveler lifted him up with his hand and said, "How could I be at ease not to help? Quickly fetch some water."
Pigsy flew to the post station, retrieved the luggage and horses, took out the golden alms bowl, filled it halfway with water, and handed it to the traveler.
The pilgrim took the water in his hand, recited the incantation, and spat it at the tiger's head, thus dispelling the demonic spell and relieving the tiger's anger.
Tang Sanzang revealed his true form, regained his composure, and opened his eyes. Only then did he recognize Wukong, and he grabbed him, saying, "Wukong! Where have you come from?"
Sha Wujing stood by his side and recounted in detail how he invited Wukong, subdued the demon, rescued the princess, quelled the tiger's anger, and explained the origins of the fake tiger.
Tang Sanzang thanked him profusely, saying, "My worthy disciple, I am so grateful to you! I am so grateful to you! This journey will take us to the Western Paradise and back to the Eastern Land to report to the Tang Emperor. Your contribution is the greatest."
The pilgrim smiled and said, "Don't talk about merits and achievements! Just the fact that Master will never recite that tight-fitting spell again is enough to show my deep love and care."
Upon hearing this, the king hurriedly arranged a royal banquet to entertain the four disciples.
After the banquet, he took three hundred taels of gold, two hundred taels of silver, and a thousand bolts of exotic brocade and presented them to Tang Sanzang.
Tang Sanzang firmly declined the offer. The king had no choice but to order officials to escort him out of the palace gates, and he and his four disciples set off on their journey.
On the road, the pilgrim took out the Vajra Pestle and looked at it from side to side, saying, "That Great King Linggan is so rude, throwing this thing down for no reason, and I, the old Sun, got a free bargain."
Upon hearing the word "treasure," Bajie immediately came forward, grinning and saying, "Brother, what's the big deal about cheap or not? Since it's free, let's exchange it for wine."
The pilgrim laughed, "You nauseous fool, all you know is how to eat! This treasure shines with golden light; it's clearly a Buddhist artifact. How can you exchange it for wine?"
Just then, a Buddhist chant was heard from mid-air: "Amitabha! Great Sage, please wait!"
When the traveler looked up, he saw an auspicious cloud drifting in from the horizon, and on the cloud stood a divine general, wearing golden armor and holding a precious pestle, who was none other than the Golden-Headed Jiedi.
The pilgrim leaped onto a cloud and said, "So it's the Golden-Headed Jiedi. You were secretly protecting my master, why have you suddenly appeared out of nowhere today?"
The Golden-Headed Jiedi said, "Great Sage, this humble monk has come specifically for the Vajra Pestle in your hand."
The traveler said, "Oh? Tell me then, what do you want?"
The Golden-Headed Guardian asked, "Great Sage, do you know the origin of this treasure?"
The pilgrim said, "This treasure was used when I was about to kill the Yellow Robe Monster. A demon appeared out of the sky, called the Great King of Inspiration, and used this to block my cudgel."
He rescued the Yellow-Robed Monster and ran away. Old Sun wanted to give chase, but the monster threw down this treasure to block him. Old Sun couldn't catch it in time and had to retrieve it. "What's so strange about this treasure?"
After hearing this, the Golden-Headed Jiedi sighed deeply and said, "Great Sage, you may not know this, but this pestle is called the Wind-Slaying Pestle, and it is the personal magic weapon of my junior brother, the Silver-Headed Jiedi."
The pilgrim was greatly alarmed upon hearing this and said, "Didn't the Silver-Headed Protector get harmed?"
Upon hearing this, the Golden-Headed Guardian said, "Indeed, Great Sage has a good memory."
Upon hearing this, the traveler suddenly had a thought and remembered something.
The Bodhisattva once told him that there was indeed a person who cut off the Silver-Headed Jiedi, and later even transformed into his appearance to steal the ordinary horse in Eagle Sorrow Gorge.
Later, at Black Wind Mountain, this person was injured by Guanyin Bodhisattva, and unexpectedly he has reappeared today.
He then asked, "This fellow is vicious and might cause us trouble. What do you intend to do?"
The Golden-Headed Immortal said, "This... I don't know either. But don't worry, Great Sage, I will investigate this matter myself. Great Sage, just focus on protecting Master on his journey westward and don't delay the great undertaking of obtaining the scriptures."
The pilgrim nodded, then handed over the wind-chopping pestle, saying, "Since it is your junior brother's keepsake, it should be returned."
The Golden-Headed Immortal accepted the precious pestle, clasped his hands in prayer, and said, "Thank you, Great Sage. This humble deity takes his leave."
After he finished speaking, the auspicious clouds dispersed and disappeared into the clouds.
The traveler leaped down from the clouds again, and the four of them, master and disciples, led the horse and carried the loads, continuing their journey westward. This will not be discussed further here.
Meanwhile, the Golden-Headed Guardian concealed his form, pondering in his heart: This matter is of great importance, and I must report to the Buddha as soon as possible.
Back in the air, they saw Paragate, and the Golden-Headed Paragate said, "Parajatta, I was just looking for you. There is something I need to report back to Mount Ling. I need to protect Tang Sanzang at all times. Go and report."
Pārajīva asked, "What brings you here?"
The Golden-Headed Immortal recounted the story of the wind-chopping pestle, and then said, "That fellow has repeatedly disrupted the great undertaking of obtaining the scriptures, and even killed my Silver-Headed Junior Brother. This grudge must be avenged. We must ask the Buddha to decide."
Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Pārajīva's eyes. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Senior brother, there's no need to alarm the Buddha about this. I know someone who might be able to avenge Silverhead."
The golden-headed Jiedi asked, "Who goes there?"
Paragate said, "The Arhat who subdues the tiger."
The Golden-Headed Jiedi was taken aback and said, "The Tiger-Taming Arhat? He and the Silver-Headed..."
Polojiedi said, "Brother, you may not know this, but the Arhat who subdues tigers and the Silver-Headed Junior Brother are very close friends. Back when they were at Mount Ling, the two of them often discussed the Dharma together."
Later, after Silverhead died, Tiger Subduer descended to the mortal realm and vanquished the demons in the vicinity!
The Golden-Headed Immortal pondered, "That is true, but this matter is of great importance. If we do not report to the Buddha..."
Paragate said, "Brother, rest assured, I will go and speak with the Tiger-Taming Arhat myself. If he can resolve this matter, there is no need to trouble the Buddha; if he cannot, it is not too late to report back."
The Golden-Headed Guardian thought about it and felt it made sense, so he said, "In that case, you may go. I will wait here for news."
Paragate nodded, turned around, and rode on a cloud, heading southwest.