txolops Chapter 171 Blackwater River
Chapter 171 Blackwater River
Meanwhile, Li Fa, along with Tang Sanzang and his disciples, traveled westward, chatting and laughing, and quickened his pace considerably.
As they were traveling, they suddenly saw a raging black river ahead, which the horse could not proceed.
The five men stopped on the shore and watched carefully. They saw: layers of thick waves, surging and churning. The thick waves churned up dark, murky water, and the murky waves rolled up black, oily foam.
Up close, sand and stones are indistinguishable; from afar, islands are hard to discern. The riverbed resembles a sheet of ink, and the waves resemble boiling lacquer.
Boats come and go without sails, birds fly high and low but find it hard to spread their wings. For eight hundred miles there is no ferry crossing, and for five thousand fathoms there is no bridge.
The truth is: the water is like the gall of a demon, and the waves are like the heart of a yaksha.
Tang Sanzang, trembling on horseback, asked, "Disciples, why is this water so black?"
Bajie said, "It was that family that spilled the indigo vat."
Sha Wujing said, "Otherwise, whose brush and inkstone are you washing?"
Li Fa said, "No, no, in my humble opinion, it's just that some people's dirty water from bathing is being discharged into this river!"
The traveler said, "Old man, why are you spouting nonsense here? The most important thing right now is to figure out how to get my master across the river!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Pigsy interjected, "It wouldn't be difficult for me to cross this river. I could either ride on a cloud or carry water down to the river. I'd be across in less than the time it takes to eat a meal."
Sha Wujing said, "If it were up to me, I could simply ride the clouds and leap across the water in an instant."
The traveler said, "It's easy for us, but difficult for the master."
Sanzang asked, "Disciple, how wide is this river?"
Bajie said, "It's about ten li wide."
Sanzang said, "You three decide which one will carry me across."
The pilgrim said, "Pigsy can carry it."
Pigsy said, "It's not easy to carry. If we're carrying someone on a cloud, we won't be able to lift more than three feet off the ground. As the saying goes, carrying a mortal is as heavy as a mountain. If we're carrying water, I'll fall into the water with them."
With the master and disciples at a loss, Li Fa said, "It's alright, it's alright. My Xuanhu is used to traversing mountains and rivers and riding waves. Not to mention carrying a holy monk, it can even carry mountains on its shoulders and cross rivers safely."
The traveler was overjoyed upon hearing this and clapped his hands, saying, "Excellent! Old friends, we owe you so much! I'll trouble you, divine tiger, to carry my master across the river first, and then come back to fetch you. Wouldn't that save us a lot of trouble?"
Li Fa gently shook his head: "If we carry the holy monk first, we can only reach the other side. We can get there, but we can't come back."
Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang asked, "What do you mean by that, Daoist Master?"
Li Fa said, "My tiger god power is limited. If I were to ride the clouds and carry immortals like myself, I could cross this river more than thirty times, including the bends. But if I were to carry a mortal like the Holy Monk, my strength would only be enough to barely cross ten miles of the river, and I would have no strength left to turn back."
Bajie said, "Then why don't we carry you across the river first, and then turn back to carry Master?"
Li Fa said, "That won't work either. If you take me across the river first, I'll be exhausted by the time we turn back to carry the Holy Monk. I'm afraid we'll fall in when we get to the middle of the river."
Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang sighed and said, "So, there really is no way out?"
Li Fa said, "Holy Monk, please be at ease. My injuries have been gradually healing these past few days, and my magical power has recovered somewhat. I now possess the ability to walk on water, but I lack one thing as a catalyst."
Tang Sanzang asked, "I wonder what kind of catalyst is needed?"
Li Fa said, "I need a water creature to guide me on the water so that I can steadily suppress the waves."
Upon hearing this, Pigsy's eyes lit up, and he said, "Old folks, what do you think of this white horse? He's the third prince of the West Sea Dragon King, isn't he a creature of the water?"
Upon hearing this, Li Fa said, "Marshal Tianpeng is right! This white horse is indeed a spiritual creature from the water. If I can have it carry me across the river, we will surely be able to cross this Black River safely without any mishap."
Tang Sanzang hesitated slightly: "But this humble monk has always ridden horses, and has never ridden a tiger before. I am afraid there may be some mishap."
Li Fa laughed and said, "Elder, don't worry. My Xuanhu understands human intentions. You just need to sit still, and it will take steady steps to ensure that you are unharmed."
At that moment, Li Fa and Tang Sanzang exchanged mounts.
Tang Sanzang cautiously mounted the black tiger, which was indeed docile, bowing its head and remaining motionless.
Li Fa then mounted the white horse, which neighed loudly and pawed at the ground, seemingly unwilling.
Li Fa patted the horse's neck and said, "Third Prince, please bear with it for now. We will change back as soon as we cross the Black River."
Upon hearing this, the white dragon horse gradually calmed down.
After the agreement was reached, everyone set off immediately: Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Wujing rode on the clouds; Tang Sanzang sat on the black tiger and crossed the waves steadily; only Li Fa rode the white dragon horse and walked on the water.
In addition, his old injuries had not yet healed and his magical power had not yet recovered, so his speed was slow and he gradually fell behind the others.
Before long, Tang Sanzang and his disciples had safely reached the shore. Looking back, Li Fa had just reached the middle of the Black River.
As he was walking, Li Fa suddenly had a bad feeling.
A loud crash was heard, and the waves surged and churned, obscuring the sky and blinding the eyes.
A single wave swept Li Fa into the water, leaving him vanished without a trace.
The white dragon horse, however, leaped out of the water like an arrow and galloped ashore.
Tang Sanzang and his disciples waited anxiously on the shore, only to see the white horse gallop back, but Li Fa was nowhere to be seen.
The white horse neighed repeatedly at Tang Sanzang and his disciples, pawing the ground with its front hooves, appearing extremely agitated.
The pilgrim, with his keen eyes and sharp mind, immediately sensed something was wrong and cried out sharply, "Master! Something's wrong! Lao Zhan is nowhere to be seen!"
Tang Sanzang turned around in shock, only to see the turbid waves still rolling on the Black River, and not a single person in sight. Only the white horse in front of him paced back and forth on the bank, neighing mournfully.
Bajie said, "Could it be that the Plasma Taoist's riding skills were poor and he slipped and fell into the water?"
Sha Wujing said sternly, "Second Brother, stop talking nonsense! What kind of cultivation does the Daoist have? How could he be compared to ordinary mortals? Didn't you see how suddenly and fiercely that wave came? There must be a monster hiding in this river that dragged him into the water!"
Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang exclaimed in alarm, "What should we do? The Daoist's injuries have not yet healed, and his magical powers are weak. If he were captured by a demon, wouldn't that be extremely dangerous!"
The traveler sighed, "Master, this was a tribulation that was destined for you, but today, we old folks have taken it upon ourselves to save it for you."
Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang felt deeply ashamed: "Wukong, it's all my fault for being incompetent, causing you to suffer this undeserved calamity and be in danger."
The pilgrim pondered and said, "In my opinion, that monster must have seen the man on horseback from afar and mistook him for Master Tang Sanzang, which is why he attacked and captured us by mistake."
Tang Sanzang said urgently, "Disciple! Since that's the case, quickly think of a way to rescue the Taoist priest!"
The pilgrim said, "That's exactly what I was thinking, but I'm not good at naval warfare. If you want to rescue us, we'll need you two brothers to help."
Pigsy and Sandy replied, "Brother, what's so difficult about that? Just watch how we do it!"
Without saying a word, the two of them took off their shirts, tied their hands and feet, and tightly bound their clothes.
One carried a nine-toothed rake, its cold light gleaming; the other wielded a demon-subduing staff, exuding a chilling aura.
With a splash, they parted the waterway and plunged into the waves, striding forward to search for the demon and rescue the people in the depths of the black water.
Whether Zhu Sha can rescue Li Fa remains to be seen; we'll find out in the next chapter.