Journey to the West: Starting with the Hunting of the Three Demons of Twin Fork Ridge

Chapter 75 The Arrival of Tang Sanzang at the Five Villages Temple

Now, let's talk about Li Fa, who settled down at the Wuzhuang Temple.

Tang Sanzang traveled for a long time, enduring hardships and sleeping in the water, until he finally arrived at the territory of Longevity Mountain.

That mountain was truly magnificent: towering and majestic, its roots reaching the Kunlun Mountains, its summit touching the heavens. White cranes often came to roost among the cypress trees, and black gibbons sometimes dangled from the vines. Wild birds cried out in disarray among the green bamboo, and golden pheasants fought amongst the wildflowers. It was truly a blessed mountain, a paradise on earth, a fairyland.

Tang Sanzang said happily, "Disciple, I have been traveling westward and have passed through many mountains and rivers, all of which are rugged and dangerous places. We must be near Thunderclap Temple. Let us be solemn and respectful when we meet the World-Honored One."

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Good morning! Good morning!"

Sha Wujing asked, "Brother, how far is it from Leiyin Temple?"

Wukong said, "One hundred and eight thousand li. We haven't even stopped once out of ten stops."

Pigsy asked, "Brother, how many years will it take to get there?"

Wukong said, "These roads, if it were up to you two virtuous brothers, could be covered in ten days or so; if it were up to me, I could make fifty trips a day and still see the sun; but as for Master to travel, don't even think about it! Don't even think about it!"

Tang Sanzang asked, "Wukong, when will we arrive?"

Wukong said, "You can go from childhood to old age, and from old age to childhood again, and it will still be difficult to go through a thousand years of going from childhood to old age; as long as you see your true nature and are sincere, the place you look back to every time is the Vulture Peak."

Sha Wujing said, "Brother, although this is not Leiyin Temple, judging from this scenery, there must be a kind person living here."

Wukong said, "That's true. There are definitely no evil spirits here; it must be the home of holy monks and immortals. Let's take our time and enjoy ourselves."

So the four of them walked and stopped, enjoying the scenery, and as evening approached, they arrived at the Wuzhuang Temple.

They entered the temple and went all the way to the second gate, where Qingfeng and Mingyue came out to greet them and invited Tang Sanzang into the hall.

On the wall, in the middle, hung two large characters, "Heaven and Earth," decorated in five colors. There was a vermilion lacquered incense table with a golden incense burner on it and a convenient place to put incense next to it.

Tang Sanzang stepped forward, took incense with his left hand, poured it into the incense burner, and bowed three times.

After bowing, he turned back and said, "Immortal boy, your Wuzhuang Temple is truly a Western celestial realm. Why do you not worship the Three Pure Ones, the Four Emperors, or the various rulers of the Heavenly Realm, but only offer incense to the two characters 'Heaven and Earth'?"

Qingfeng Mingyue laughed and said, "I do not worship gods here because the Three Pure Ones are my master's friends, the Four Emperors are my master's old friends; the Nine Luminaries are my master's juniors, and the Yuan Chen are my master's guests."

As for the words "Heaven and Earth," the one above is acceptable according to custom; but the one below is unworthy of our incense offerings. It was my master who flattered and sycophantically produced them.

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong laughed so hard he almost fell over.

Pigsy said, "Brother, why are you laughing?"

Wukong said, "I only knew how to play tricks, but it turns out this young Taoist can bind the wind!"

Tang Sanzang said, "Amitabha, your Western Paradise is indeed wondrous. Why do you all only offer sacrifices to Heaven and Earth?"

Upon hearing this, Qingfeng Mingyue was somewhat surprised and asked, "Elder, have you seen any other temples that only worship Heaven and Earth?"

Tang Sanzang nodded and said, "I once passed by an unnamed temple in the east, where they only worshipped heaven and earth."

Qingfeng scratched his head and said, "Nameless Temple? Never heard of it. It must be some kind of Ono Taoist temple!"

Tang Sanzang then asked, "Where is your master, you two celestial boys?"

Qingfeng Mingyue said, "My master, Yuanshi Tianzun, has sent a decree to invite me to the Shangqing Tian Miluo Palace to listen to the lecture on 'Hunyuan Daoguo'. He is not at home."

Upon hearing this, Wukong couldn't help but shout, "You shameless brat! You don't even recognize anyone! What nonsense are you spouting in front of them! Who in the Mi Luo Palace is a Taiyi Celestial Immortal? What are you, you impudent fool, trying to prove anything to!"

But no sooner had he finished speaking than a voice suddenly came from afar: "Amitabha! Why is the Great Sage Sun Wukong so angry?"

It was Li Fa who came out.

Sun Wukong, with his sharp eyes, recognized him at a glance.

He immediately jumped forward and laughed, "Isn't this the old Daoist Ji Huazi? What are you doing here?"

At this moment, Bajie also recognized Jihuazi, but since he had been captured by him before, he was a little shy, so he just shrank to the side and didn't say anything.

But then Li Fa said, "Great Sage Sun, it's been a long time."

Tang Sanzang then saw Li Fa and quickly bowed, saying, "So it is the Venerable Master Ji Huazi. This humble monk greets you."

Li Fa returned the greeting and said, "Elder, there's no need for such formalities. I was meditating in the back room when I heard that the Great Sage was angry. I was afraid that he might clash with the host's attendant and cause a rift, so I came out to mediate. I also wanted to explain the origin of the Nameless Temple to you all."

Qingfeng hurriedly stepped forward: "Does the Master know which temple it is?"

Li Fa said, "That nameless temple is where my junior brother Oujizi lives. However, because my master, Wuji Tianzun, is of extremely high seniority, we disciples dare not make offerings to the sacred deity without permission. Therefore, we only set up the two characters 'Heaven and Earth' to express our respect."

Upon hearing this, Qingfeng and Mingyue were secretly shocked.

Although Li Fa had lived here for several months, he kept a low profile and they couldn't figure out his background.

I never expected that this old Taoist Jihuazi would have a master! And judging from his tone, his master must be unfathomable!

He immediately fell silent, not daring to speak recklessly again.

Li Fa added, "Great Sage, there's no need to be angry. Those two boys are innocent by nature; don't bother with them."

Tang Sanzang also said, "The Taoist priest is right, Wukong, let's stop arguing. It would be impolite to leave so soon after we've come in. As the saying goes, 'Egrets don't eat egret meat.'"

Since his master is not here, why bother him? Go to the mountain gate to release the horses, Sha Wujing to guard the luggage, and teach Zhu Bajie to unpack the bundle.

I'll take some rice and grain, borrow his cooking pot and stove, cook a meal, and before I leave, give him a few coins for firewood, and that's it. Everyone should do their duties, and I'll rest here for a while; I'll leave after the meal."

The group accepted the order and dispersed.

Tang Sanzang chatted with Li Fa for a few more minutes in the hall, then went to sit and rest quietly in the corridor. That's another story.

After the master and his disciples had all left, Qingfeng and Mingyue bowed to Li Fa and thanked him, saying, "Thank you for rescuing us, Daoist. That Tang Sanzang is indeed a holy monk descended to earth, his true essence is not obscured."

However, his three disciples were indeed unruly and mischievous. Fortunately, the Taoist priest had warned them beforehand, otherwise, trouble would have surely ensued today.

Li Fa chuckled inwardly upon hearing this, knowing that more trouble was yet to come, but he dared not show it. So he said, "Two celestial children, there's no need for such formalities. It's fate that we monks meet. Besides, Tang Sanzang and your master have a past relationship, so a little quarrel is nothing."

Qingfeng said, "What you say is true, Master. It's just that the hairy-faced monk is too impatient. He starts cursing as soon as he opens his mouth, which is really frightening."

Li Fa said, "He was originally a stone monkey born from Flower Fruit Mountain. He cultivated to become a Taiyi Golden Immortal. When he made a ruckus in the Heavenly Palace, even the gods of the Nine Heavens gave him some leeway. It's only natural that he's a bit arrogant. You two should just not provoke him."

Mingyue nodded and said, "Disciple has remembered. But... since the True Immortal is an old acquaintance of my master and also knows Tang Sanzang and his disciples, he must be an extremely powerful immortal. Just now, the True Immortal mentioned that there is another junior brother, known as the Pair Pole, who lives in that nameless temple?"

Li Fa laughed and said, "That's right. My junior brother is aloof and doesn't like crowds. He only cultivates in seclusion in a small temple in the desolate mountains, so he is unknown to others."

His temple doesn't enshrine any deities, only the two characters "Heaven and Earth," which is a tradition passed down through generations, and not some obscure temple.