txolops Chapter 30 The Traveler Battles the Black Bear
Chapter 30 The Traveler Battles the Black Bear
Li Fa first killed the white-robed scholar, and then executed Ling Xuzi, thus receiving two rewards in total.
One was a water-overturning bowl, and the other chose "gun-fu".
At this point, Li Fa possessed martial arts skills, supernatural abilities, magical treasures, and magical power. Although he was still somewhat inferior to the top-tier demon kings like the Green Ox Demon and the Nine-Headed Lion in the original story, he was probably not much different from ordinary demon kings.
If only we could defeat the Black Bear Spirit, the mountain god of Luojia Mountain, then we could obtain the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner and be virtually invincible.
Unfortunately, achieving this is still very difficult, and in the current situation, we can only take it one step at a time.
With that thought, Li Fa leaped into the air, transforming into a gust of wind, and headed straight for the Black Wind Cave.
Now, the Great Sage had fought Li Fa for three or five rounds, and just as he was getting into the swing of things, he saw that Li Fa was exhausted and fell off the cloud. Sun Wukong thought he was going to die, so he didn't care anymore and simply went into the deep mountains to find the Black Bear Spirit.
The monkey turned around the mountain peaks and swept over the steep ridges, arriving at a cliff face where a fine cave dwelling was indeed located.
He arrived at the entrance to the cave and saw six large characters written there: "Black Wind Mountain Black Wind Cave".
Enraged, Sun Wukong swung his cudgel and smashed the gate, causing the mountain gate to tremble and the peaks to shake.
The little demon guarding the cave hurriedly came out to open the door. Upon seeing Wukong, he said, "Who are you, daring to attack my immortal cave?"
Sun Wukong cursed, "You damned beast! What kind of place is this, daring to call itself a celestial cave! You think you can call yourself a celestial being? Go in and tell that burly man to quickly bring out my Buddhist treasure, and I'll spare your lives!"
The little demon rushed inside and reported, "Your Majesty! The Buddhist Treasure Gathering can't be held! There's a hairy-faced, thunder-mouthed monk outside the door, coming to ask for the treasure!"
The Black Bear Demon had just been chased down by the Monkey King at the edge of the fragrant grass slope, and had barely closed the door and sat down when he heard the little demon report. He thought to himself, "I don't know where this fellow came from, so rude! He dares to come and yell at my door!"
So he dressed in his armor, picked up a black-tasseled spear, and went out the door.
When Sun Wukong saw him, he laughed and said, "You really look just like a kiln worker, a coal miner! You must make a living by shoveling charcoal here, how come you're covered in so much black?"
The black bear spirit shouted angrily, "What kind of monk are you, daring to be so bold here?"
Wukong roared, "Stop talking nonsense! Quickly return your grandfather's cassock and staff! Give them back to me now, and I'll spare your life! If you utter even a single word of dissent, I'll push down Black Wind Mountain, flatten Black Wind Cave, and grind all your evil spirits into dust!"
Upon hearing this, the black bear spirit chuckled coldly, "You scoundrel! Where did you come from? What's your name? What abilities do you possess to dare make such boastful claims!"
The pilgrim said, "Even you wouldn't recognize your maternal grandfather! Your maternal grandfather is the disciple of the Tang Dynasty's Emperor's younger brother, the Tripitaka Master, whose surname is Sun and given name is Wukong the Pilgrim."
Five hundred years ago, I wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace and was suppressed under a mountain by the Buddha Tathagata with great power. Now I have converted to the Western Paradise and am escorting the pilgrims on their journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures. If you ask about my abilities, go and ask anyone in the universe; I am the most famous demon of all time!
Upon hearing this, the black bear spirit laughed and said, "Who do we have here? Aren't you the弼马温 (Bima Wen, the stable boy who caused havoc in Heaven)?"
What annoyed the pilgrim most was being called "弼马温" (Bima Wen, a lowly official in charge of horses). Hearing this, he was furious and cursed, "You thieving monster! You stole the Buddha's treasures and didn't return them, and now you've injured me! Don't run! Take this!"
The black bear demon dodged to the side, then wielded his long spear and met the attack head-on.
The two sides fought for more than ten rounds, with neither side gaining the upper hand.
They fought for a while longer before the black bear demon withdrew and returned to its cave.
Sun Wukong tried to break through the gate but failed, so he turned to leave.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept in from the horizon.
Wukong was a clever monkey, and he immediately felt that the wind seemed a bit strange, so he did two somersaults and hid behind another hill to watch.
Sure enough, the wind swirled and revealed Li Fa's figure in front of the Black Wind Cave.
Li Fa was still impersonating Xiong Shan Jun, and when Wukong saw him, he couldn't help but exclaim "Eh!"
He remembered clearly that this fellow had just fallen from the clouds, so how did he end up here again?
So she transformed herself into a little bee and flew over.
Li Fa knocked on the cave door and called out, "Uncle, Uncle! I'm back!"
Before long, the cave door opened wide, and Li Fa went inside.
Wukong wanted to catch up, but firstly, the bees flew slowly, and secondly, the cave door closed quickly, so he couldn't get in and only bumped into the stone door.
So he simply lay down by the crack in the door and secretly listened to what was happening inside.
Li Fa entered the cave, where the Black Bear Spirit greeted him with a sigh, saying, "My dear nephew, you're finally back. Your uncle thought you..."
Li Fa thought to himself, "That damn black bear is quite the actor; you're the fastest runner, after all!"
But his face remained unchanged as he put on a crying face: "Uncle, don't mention it, you don't know."
That fellow was truly formidable. I was halfway there when I stumbled upon him chasing the scholar in white.
I wanted to step forward to help him, but I was no match for him.
Fortunately, the scholar risked his life to protect me, which allowed me to escape..."
Upon hearing this, the black bear spirit hurriedly asked, "And what about the scholar?"
Li Fa said, "I'm afraid he's already a victim of the rod, used as a belt by that scoundrel!"
Sun Wukong, who was listening outside, almost couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't expected that this monster wasn't telling the truth and was putting all the blame on him.
Upon hearing this, the black bear spirit exclaimed, "How pitiful! How pitiful! I was planning to arrange a banquet to invite him to celebrate my birthday, but I never expected to have to eat at his banquet instead."
Li Fa said, "If we want to have a feast, we have to wait for his funeral. His gang of little monsters were all wiped out by that person, so who will hold a funeral for him!"
"By the way, Uncle, who is that guy? How come he's so powerful?"
Upon hearing this, the Black Bear Spirit pondered and said, "Speaking of this fellow's background, when I fought him just now, I heard him introduce himself."
They say he's the disciple of the Tang Dynasty pilgrim on his journey to the West, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven Sun Wukong who wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago.
Li Fa feigned surprise: "The Great Sage Equaling Heaven? Wasn't he suppressed under the Five Elements Mountain by the Buddha?"
"Indeed," the black bear spirit sighed. "Now, somehow, he has escaped. These two treasures that came last night were his."
Li Fa chuckled inwardly, but his face showed worry: "Uncle, I have also heard of the name of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven."
He once wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, and even 100,000 heavenly soldiers couldn't subdue him. If it really is this person, I'm afraid...
Before he could finish speaking, the Black Bear Spirit interrupted him: "How can you boost the morale of others while diminishing your own! That monkey, although he is called the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, is actually just a stable boy who raises horses for the Jade Emperor."
He may have some skill, but that's all he is. I fought him for dozens of rounds, to a draw, but around noon I grew hungry and had to retreat back to my cave.
Sun Wukong, who was listening intently outside the door, cursed inwardly, "That shameless black-faced coward! He clearly couldn't beat me, so he ran back to his cave, but he still tries to pat himself on the back!"
Li Fa then said, "Uncle is right. But there's something I don't understand. Since Sun Wukong came for the Buddhist treasure, why doesn't Uncle return the treasure to him and avoid this disaster?"
The black bear spirit said, "You don't understand. Those two Buddhist treasures are both acquired treasures, which bring good fortune. I obtained them today, which means that I will soon be blessed with good fortune."
You know what, these past couple of days I've had a feeling I'm about to achieve my goal, how can I easily give it back?
Li Fa chuckled inwardly, "Being subdued by Guanyin must count as achieving enlightenment. This black-faced fellow's intuition is pretty accurate!"
However, a smile spread across his face: "Uncle's birthday is the day after tomorrow, so I'm congratulating you in advance!"