txolops Chapter 18 Stealing Horses in Eagle's Sorrow Valley
Chapter 18 Stealing Horses in Eagle's Sorrow Valley
Upon arriving at the stream, the group was immediately captivated by the scenery.
Suddenly, the stream roared, and a chill swept over us.
Everyone heard a loud "boom," and sure enough, a dragon emerged from the ravine, pushing the waves and leaping out of the cliff, heading straight for Tang Sanzang.
Upon seeing this, Wukong quickly dropped his luggage, snatched Tang Sanzang off his horse, and turned to leave.
The dragon, however, couldn't catch up and could only try to catch the horse.
But at this moment, Li Fa also revealed his true form as Jiedi.
But he swung the wind-crushing pestle and smashed it straight at the little white dragon.
The two of them fought fiercely in the air, and what was seen was:
The dragon lifts its sharp claws, and the god lifts the golden pestle.
One had a white jade beard hanging down, and the other wore a bright silver robe.
One is the Third Prince of the West Sea Dragon Palace, and the other is the Mountain King, a fake deity.
One shook its head and wagged its tail, its sharp claws tearing through the air; the other swept and chopped, its pestle carrying a fierce wind.
The two fought back and forth for a long time, making Wukong's heart itch with desire.
The monkey then said to Tang Sanzang, "Master, please sit for a moment. Let me, Old Sun, go and fight that little dragon."
Tang Sanzang said, "Disciple, there is a Jiedi deity there. If you go, what if that fellow suddenly rushes over and harms me?"
As he spoke, the elder, for some unknown reason, began to cry, tears streaming down his face.
When the pilgrim saw him cry, he became angry and shouted, "Master, don't be such a coward! Sit down! Sit down! Let those guards and officials watch over you."
You know my skills. My stick is easily broken if it gets close, and it dies if it just grazes the edge. It's just a small dragon, nothing to worry about.
Having said this, the pilgrim summoned the Golden-Headed Guardian, calling out, "Golden-Headed Guardian, Golden-Headed Guardian!"
There was no response from mid-air. Then the duty officer stepped forward and said, "Great Sage, do not shout. The Golden-Headed Guardian has just left temporarily. We are here to protect the pilgrims. Great Sage, you can go with peace of mind."
Wukong nodded and said, "In that case, I, Old Sun, am off!"
He then pulled out a stick, did a somersault, and flipped over.
Although Li Fa fought against the White Dragon, he only used 50% of his strength.
Firstly, he wasn't in his true form, and using the black gold spear would expose his identity; secondly, he needed to keep an eye on Tang Sanzang's situation, especially the white horse.
When he heard the duty officer say that the Golden-Headed Guardian had left, he knew something was wrong.
This fellow must have gone to the South China Sea to invite Guanyin.
If that Bodhisattva were to come, I might really have to surrender.
Fortunately, the white horse's life has been saved, and all I need to do is take the horse with me.
So he pretended to be defeated and was forced to retreat.
Upon seeing Li Fa retreat, Wukong shouted, "Jiedi, hold on! I, Old Sun, am coming!"
But then the monkey flew over with his stick, and the stick struck the little white dragon.
The little dragon couldn't dodge in time and took a solid hit from the stick. He groaned and fell to the side of the stream, the pearl around his neck rolling away.
Li Fa reacted quickly, snatched the pearl, and left.
Wukong was so focused on fighting the dragon that he didn't pay any attention to Li Fa's actions.
One of them leaped to the edge of the stream, raised his stick, and was about to end the little dragon's life.
The little dragon was terrified. He quickly transformed into a water snake and disappeared into the water plants.
The Monkey King, stick in hand, rushed forward, parting the grass to search for the snake, but could not find any trace of the little dragon.
He was so angry that his three corpses exploded and smoke billowed from his seven orifices.
Li Faze retreated to where the horse was tied, and while Tang Sanzang and the guardian deities were also focused on the stream, he chanted incantations and made hand seals, using the Wind and Cloud Transformation Technique to blow up a cloud of dust, blinding the monk, and then created a gust of wind to lift the horse and drive away.
Meanwhile, the strange wind swept the white horse away in the blink of an eye, leaving only a large cloud of dust behind.
The guardian monk watching over the white horse got his eyes wet with dust. By the time he rubbed his eyes and looked again, the horse had already disappeared. He was so terrified that he cried out in despair.
While Wukong was furious at not finding the White Dragon, he suddenly heard Garan exclaim in the distance. Turning around, he saw that the place where the horse was tied was empty. Wukong quickly turned back and scolded, "What happened here?"
Garan said, "This humble god doesn't know either. Just now, while I was guarding the horse, a sudden gust of wind came, stirring up dust that blinded me. When I opened my eyes again, the horse was nowhere to be seen!"
The traveler looked around and saw Ding Jia and Gong Cao were there. The Golden-Headed Jiedi had left earlier, but the Silver-Headed Jiedi who had just stepped down was nowhere to be seen.
"What a scoundrel!" Wukong finally realized, "That silver-headed Jiedi was an imposter!"
"What? It's fake?" The gods were shocked upon hearing this.
Wukong said, "This fellow must be playing tricks. No wonder his transformation skills are so good. It turns out he's not the original Silver-Headed Jiedi. How hateful! He even fooled me, Old Sun."
Tang Sanzang also noticed the situation and quickly came over.
"Disciple, what should we do?" Tang Sanzang complained, tears streaming down his face again. "That white horse was a gift from the Tang Emperor. It carried me all the way here with great difficulty, and now it has been kidnapped by villains. How can I... how can I explain this to His Majesty?"
Now that I have lost my horse and haven't captured the dragon, how can I advance! Alas! How can I traverse these countless rivers and mountains!
Wukong was already furious, and seeing Tang Sanzang crying only made him angrier: "Master, Master! Don't cry! It's just an ordinary horse, it's gone!"
The thief transformed into the appearance of Jiedi, and even the guardian deities and I, Old Sun, were caught off guard and could not defend against him. Who can we blame?
The most important thing right now is to find that scoundrel, get the horses back, and then figure out what to do next!
Tang Sanzang said, "Disciple, that fake Jiedi has great supernatural powers, and you don't even recognize him. So where can you look for him?"
I fear he might secretly launch an attack, and before the gods can protect me, I'll be doomed too! What will become of us then, with both men and horses dead?
Upon hearing this, Wukong grew even angrier and roared like thunder, "You're utterly useless! utterly useless! You want me to find a horse, yet you're afraid the gods can't protect you. You might as well just sit here watching the luggage until you're old!"
He was shouting here when he suddenly heard someone in mid-air calling out, "Great Sage Sun, don't be angry! Imperial Brother Tang, stop crying! The Golden-Headed Guardian has invited the Bodhisattva!"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked up and indeed saw auspicious light and thousands of auspicious clouds in the sky. The Golden-Headed Jiedi was in the lead, followed by Guanyin Bodhisattva, who was riding on auspicious clouds and had already arrived above Eagle's Sorrow Gorge.
The pilgrim saw the Bodhisattva and quickly leaped into the air on a cloud, shouting, "Bodhisattva! You are the teacher of the Seven Buddhas, the compassionate leader! How could you try to harm me!"
The Bodhisattva said, "How dare you, you ignorant village fool with your bare buttocks!"
I went to great lengths to bring a pilgrim from the East to save your life, and instructed him to do so. Why don't you thank me for saving your life, but instead come to argue with me?
The pilgrim said, "Bodhisattva! Your arrangement is rather unfair! You should have released me from under the Five Elements Mountain and let me live a carefree life."
We met at sea the other day and exchanged a few hurtful words. He then told me to do my best to assist Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West.
Why did you give him a flowery hat, only to make me suffer by wearing it on my head?
"You put this headband on Old Sun's head, and then taught him to recite some kind of tight-fitting headband mantra. You made that old monk recite it over and over again, making my head ache again and again. Aren't you just harming me?"
The Bodhisattva laughed and said, "You monkey! You do not obey the teachings and will not attain enlightenment. If I did not restrain you like this, you would deceive Heaven and know nothing of good or bad!"
If you cause trouble again as before, who will take care of you? Only by relying on this constraint will you be willing to enter the path of Buddhist practice!