txolops Chapter 162 Fire Cloud Cave - Guanyin Subdues Demons
Chapter 162 Fire Cloud Cave - Guanyin Subdues Demons
However, the traveler was exposed by Red Boy and retreated in golden light. Instead of being angry, he swung his iron cudgel and laughed heartily as he came from the stream.
Sha Wujing hurried out of the forest to greet him, asking, "Brother, you've only just returned after half a day. Why are you laughing at me like that? I suppose you've rescued Master?"
The pilgrim waved his hand and said, "Brother, although we failed to save our master, I've gained the upper hand!"
Sha Wujing hurriedly asked the reason, and Wukong laughed and said, "That Pigsy was tricked back by that monster who pretended to be Guanyin and was hung in a leather bag."
Just as I was about to rescue him, he sent six generals to invite the eldest king to eat my master's flesh. So I transformed into the Bull Demon King and went in. He called me "Father" and I responded. He kowtowed and I accepted. It was really fun!
But then the monster's mother came and asked me for my birth date and time, which I couldn't answer, so I had to leave. I guess I got away with it.
Sha Wujing exclaimed anxiously, "Brother, you're only thinking of this small gain; I'm afraid Master's life is in danger!"
The traveler said, "No need to worry, let me go and invite Guanyin Bodhisattva."
Sha Wujing then advised, "Your back still hurts!"
The traveler waved his hand and said, "I'm not in pain anymore, and I'm in high spirits when something good happens. You watch the luggage and horses, I'll be right back, it'll only take about the time it takes to eat a meal."
Having said that, he somersaulted into the South China Sea.
The Great Sage, after less than half an hour in mid-air, saw the scenery of Mount Putuo, descended from the clouds, and went straight to Luojia Cliff.
The twenty-four celestial beings greeted him with their greetings, but the traveler said he wanted to see the Bodhisattva. Without waiting for an announcement, he strode into the Purple Bamboo Grove and the Coral Gate, arriving at the Tide Sound Cave.
Sudhana and the Dragon Girl had already come out to greet him, saying, "Great Sage, the Bodhisattva knows you have come and wants you to come in."
The traveler straightened his robe and quickly stepped inside.
The Bodhisattva asked, "Wukong, why aren't you protecting your master on the road? What are you doing here?"
The pilgrim bowed and said, "Bodhisattva, I am in trouble and have come to ask for your help."
He then recounted the entire story of Red Boy at the Fire Cloud Cave of Mount Hao, detailing the power of the demon's Samadhi True Fire, how the Dragon King's private rain could not extinguish it, how he himself was injured by the fire, and how Pigsy was tricked and captured by the fake Guanyin.
When the Bodhisattva heard that Red Boy dared to transform into her appearance, she was furious. With a hateful cry, she threw the precious jade bottle in her hand into the heart of the sea.
The pilgrim was terrified, thinking to himself, "This Bodhisattva's temper won't subside. It's just that I, Old Sun, said something inappropriate and offended his virtue, so he threw the jade bottle away. What a pity! What a pity! If only I had given it to him, wouldn't that have been a much bigger deal?"
Before I could finish speaking, waves surged and leaped in the sea, and a turtle carrying a clean bottle climbed up the cliff.
The Bodhisattva then told the practitioner to carry the bottle, but the practitioner was unable to lift it.
It turns out that the Bodhisattva threw the vase into the sea, thus borrowing a whole ocean of water.
Seeing this, the Bodhisattva said, "You monkey, all you do is talk. You can't even lift a bottle. How can you subdue demons and monsters?"
The pilgrim smiled and said, "To be honest, Bodhisattva, I can usually lift it, but today I suffered a loss at the hands of the demon, and my strength is weak."
The Bodhisattva did not answer, but stepped forward, picked up the vase, and held it in his palm, saying, "The nectar in this vase can extinguish the demon's fire. I wanted to give it to you, but you can't carry it. If I asked Sudhana and the Dragon Girl to go with you, I'm afraid you might have ulterior motives and try to deceive people. You must leave something as collateral."
The pilgrim said bitterly, "Bodhisattva, you are overthinking this. I have long since ceased to do such things since I became a monk. The cotton robe I am wearing was given to me by you, the tiger-skin skirt is worth very little, the iron rod is for protection, and the golden headband on my head cannot be removed. If you want to take my head, then I will take this golden headband as collateral. Please recite the loosening headband mantra to remove it."
The Bodhisattva scolded, "You monkey, how carefree you are! I don't want your clothes, iron rod, or golden headband; I'll just pluck a life-saving hair from the back of your head as collateral."
The traveler said urgently, "Even this hair was given to me by you. Plucking just one will tear the whole thing apart. How can it save my life?"
The Bodhisattva said angrily, "You are so stingy, yet I find it hard to part with this precious wealth."
The pilgrim hurriedly begged and pleaded, and the Bodhisattva finally agreed. First, he told Wukong to cross the sea, then he instructed all the heavens to guard the celestial realm. Afterward, he summoned Huian Muzha and ordered him to go to the heavens to borrow the complete set of Tiangang swords from the Heavenly King.
Moksha accepted the order, rode a cloud into the South Heavenly Gate, and explained his purpose to the Heavenly King. The Heavenly King then ordered Nezha to bring him thirty-six Heavenly Gang Blades.
Moksha didn't have time to bow much before hurriedly returning with the knife and presenting it to the Bodhisattva.
The Bodhisattva caught the knife and threw it away, chanting a spell. The knife transformed into a thousand-petaled lotus platform, and the Bodhisattva leaped onto it and sat upon it.
Only then did they ride the clouds away from the sea. When they arrived at Mount Hao, the Bodhisattva told the pilgrim to stretch out his hand, plucked a willow branch, dipped it in sweet dew, and wrote the character "迷" (meaning "bewildered") in his palm. He then instructed him: "Clench your fist and challenge that demon to a battle. You may lose, but you may not win. If you are defeated and come before me, I will have the power to subdue him."
The pilgrim obeyed the order, returned to the entrance of the Fiery Cloud Cave, and shouted, "Demon, open the door!"
A little demon rushed in to report, and Red Boy, who was talking with Li Fa in the cave, said, "Close the door tightly and ignore him!"
The traveler cursed again, "You good-for-nothing son! You've left your old man outside, why aren't you opening the door!"
The little demon reported again, but Red Boy still told him not to pay any attention. The Monkey King was furious and smashed a hole in the cave entrance with his iron cudgel.
The little demon rushed inside to report. Red Boy panicked and said to Li Fa, "That mischievous monkey is persistent! Mother, please wait a moment, I'll be right back."
Having said that, he brandished his fire-tipped spear, led the demons to open the cave door, and shouted angrily, "This monkey boss doesn't know what's good for him! I let you get some advantages, but you're still not satisfied and come to bully me again, breaking down my door. What should your punishment be?"
The traveler laughed and said, "My son, what crime should you commit by kicking your old man out of the house?"
Red Boy was furious and thrust his spear at the boy's chest, but Monkey King raised his iron cudgel to parry.
After four or five rounds of fighting, the Monkey King, clenching his fists and dragging his staff, deliberately lost the fight.
Red Boy stood before the mountain and said, "I'm going to go and scrub Tang Sanzang!"
The traveler exclaimed, "Good son, Heaven is watching you! Come here!"
Red Boy grew even angrier, grabbed his spear and charged. Monkey fought for a few more rounds, but was defeated once more.
Red Boy scolded, "Monkey, you had the skill for twenty or thirty rounds before, why are you retreating now that you're fighting?"
The traveler laughed and said, "My dear son, I'm afraid you'll set fire to the place."
The fairy said, "I won't set the fire anymore, come up here!"
The traveler said, "If you're not going to set a fire, then move aside. A true hero shouldn't beat someone up in front of his own house."
Red Boy, unaware of the trickery, raised his spear and gave chase. Monkey King, however, dragged his staff and unleashed his fists, leading Red Boy toward the direction of the Bodhisattva.
Before long, the two saw the Bodhisattva. The Monkey King cried out, "Demon, I'm afraid of you! Spare me! You've already gone all the way to Guanyin Bodhisattva in the South Sea, why don't you go back?"
Red Boy didn't believe it and gritted his teeth to chase after him. The traveler's figure flickered and he hid in the shadow of the Bodhisattva's divine light.
Seeing that the Monkey King was gone, the demon opened her eyes wide and demanded of the Bodhisattva, "Are you the reinforcements that Sun Wukong invited?"
The Bodhisattva did not answer, so Red Boy brandished his spear and shouted again. The Bodhisattva remained silent. Enraged, Red Boy raised his spear and thrust it towards the Bodhisattva's heart.
The Bodhisattva transformed into golden light and soared into the heavens, leaving the Thousand-Petaled Lotus Platform in place.
Red Boy's spear missed its mark. Seeing the lotus platform gleaming with golden light, he assumed the Bodhisattva had been frightened away. Overjoyed, he leaped onto the lotus platform, sat cross-legged, and said smugly, "You impudent monkey has mistaken me for someone else! You couldn't defeat me, so you brought this useless Bodhisattva, who vanished without a trace with a single spear thrust and even lost this precious lotus platform. Let me sit here and have a good time."
Before the words were finished, the Bodhisattva chanted a mantra in the air and shouted, "Retreat!" The lotus platform instantly transformed, each lotus petal turning into a gleaming Heavenly Blade, its tip pointing upwards, firmly pinning Red Boy's legs in place!
Red Boy let out a miserable scream, trying to struggle but unable to move.
The wooden fork walker suddenly appeared from the side, raised his vajra pestle and slammed it into the back of the knife, all thirty-six Heavenly Gang knives plunging into his leg, leaving him covered in blood.
The Bodhisattva chanted another incantation, and barbs sprouted from the tip of the knife, causing Red Boy to plead in agony, "Bodhisattva, spare my life! This disciple is willing to take refuge! I am willing to receive the precepts!"
When the Bodhisattva saw him begging for mercy, he stopped chanting, descended from the clouds, took a dagger and shaved the hair off the top of his head, touched his head and gave him the precepts, bestowing upon him the Dharma name Sudhana.
Red Boy's pain lessened slightly, and he managed to bow a few times, calling out "Master".
The Bodhisattva believed that he had truly repented, so he ordered Muksha to send the Heavenly Gang Blade back to the Heavenly Palace, while he waited in the same spot.
Unexpectedly, Red Boy was still wild and untamed. After calming down a bit, his hatred intensified. He seized an opportunity, grabbed the Fire-Tipped Spear from the ground, and stabbed it towards the Bodhisattva's heart!
The Bodhisattva was prepared and dodged to the side. He took out the golden headband bestowed by the Buddha from his sleeve, swung it in the wind, and was about to put it on Red Boy's head.
In the blink of an eye, a loud shout rang out from mid-air: "Don't hurt my son!"
A beam of black and white light shot through the air and struck the golden hoop squarely. With a clang, the golden hoop was knocked off.
The Bodhisattva was greatly surprised. Looking up, he saw a woman standing on the clouds, adorned with pearls and jade, and dressed in a brocade skirt.
Li Fa's supernatural powers were truly wondrous, and the illustrated manual was incredibly powerful. Even the Bodhisattva couldn't recognize his true form, and shouted, "Who are you? How dare you damage my magic treasure!"
Li Fa sneered and said, "Bodhisattva, what great power you have! I am Red Boy's mother."
Even if my son has done wrong, you want to become a monk with someone else without even asking their parents? Yet you use the golden headband to harm him; is this the way of compassion?
The Bodhisattva said angrily, "This child is wild and untamed; only the golden headband can subdue him. Since you are his mother, you should persuade him to do good."
Li Fa said, "My son has his own mother to teach him; what business is it of yours!"
Upon hearing this, the Bodhisattva realized he was in the wrong and hurriedly asked the Monkey King, "Wukong, since this demon's mother was also in the cave, why didn't you report it sooner?"
Upon hearing this, the pilgrim scratched his head and stammered, "Bodhisattva, please calm down. I didn't know she had such abilities. Back in the cave, I thought she was just an ordinary woman, and I even took advantage of her a bit, so I was too embarrassed to mention it to you..."
Upon hearing this, the Bodhisattva was indeed somewhat angry, but he couldn't afford to reprimand her and could only concentrate on dealing with the situation.
The Bodhisattva said, "There is a saying that 'spoiling a child is like killing him.' I was just about to discipline him and send him to my place to become a disciple of Sudhana, so that he may attain enlightenment. Wouldn't that be better?"
Li Fa couldn't possibly let Guanyin take in Red Boy; if she did, his mission would fail instantly. So he said, "Bodhisattva is teaching people to be separated from their loved ones. Enough with the preaching, take this sword!"