The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 48 Buddha Relics

The next morning, as soon as Jiang Feng stepped out of his house, he saw snowflakes falling from the sky.

The rooftops were covered in a blanket of white, and silvery strands of hair hung from the branches of trees in the courtyard. When the wind blew, they fluttered down and landed on Cui Peng's shoulders.

Ao Ying squatted on the snow, rolling a snowball, her big eyes blinking, looking like she was having a lot of fun.

Seeing Jiang Feng get up, Cui Peng quickly walked over: "You're finally awake! Come with me to the palace!"

Lady Zheng, wife of Duke Yang Su of Yue, has fallen ill with symptoms identical to those of the Empress. She has already been summoned to the Jiaofang Palace by the Empress's orders.

Jiang Feng asked in surprise, "When did she get sick?"

Cui Peng said, "Last night at midnight, the person suddenly fell ill, just like when the Empress first fell ill."

Jiang Feng rubbed his eyes and said, "Let me wash up."

Cui Ying took out a talisman and said, "No need for that trouble, I'll cleanse you!"

Jiang Feng instantly snapped out of his daze, clamping his legs together and saying, "There's absolutely no need for that! I'm going to the palace to treat people, not to become a eunuch!"

Cui Ying rolled her eyes at him: "A cleansing talisman to get you clean!"

With that, he flicked his right hand, and the talisman floated above his head. A gentle, warm breeze swept over him, removing all the dust from Jiang Feng's body and smoothing out the wrinkles in his clothes.

Jiang Feng's eyes lit up, and he said, "These talismans are very convenient! Get me a hundred or two when you have time!"

Cui Ying put the talisman back into her hand and said, "They sell them at the Taoist temple, one hundred taels of gold each, the same price as your atonement voucher."

Jiang Feng said with delight, "Isn't this a perfect coincidence? I'll trade you my Indulgence Tickets!"

Cui Ying: "..."

When it comes to scheming, I would call you the strongest in Buddhism!

Before long, the group arrived at the palace in a carriage.

Upon entering the Jiaofang Palace, Jiang Feng saw a beautiful woman lying on a soft couch next to Empress Dugu. This must be Zheng, Yang Su's wife.

Zheng was naturally jealous and strong-willed, with a fierce and straightforward personality. Like Empress Dugu, she could not tolerate other women around her husband. The two had many common topics and had a very deep friendship with Empress Dugu.

Upon seeing Jiang Feng's arrival, Empress Dugu hurriedly stood up, her face filled with urgency, and said, "Jiang Feng, come quickly and see if Zheng's illness was also caused by the cat demon?"

Jiang Feng took out the Vajra Pestle and stepped forward to cast a spell.

Under the light of Buddha, the cat demon manifested on Zheng's body, its eerie red vertical pupils staring at Jiang Feng, its head tilted as if it were wondering about something.

Jiang Feng also curiously examined the cat ghost and found that it was somewhat different from the cat ghost on Empress Dugu.

The cat ghost did not entangle with Zheng's soul; it seemed to treat Zheng's soul as a mouse, with one paw pressing on Zheng's soul and fiddling with it.

Jiang Feng took out some dried fish, clicked his tongue a few times, and the cat ghost meowed twice, its tail slightly raised, and walked gracefully to Jiang Feng.

Compared to the dried fish, it seemed more interested in Jiang Feng, walking over and licking the back of Jiang Feng's hand, then meowing, seemingly quite fond of his scent.

Then it pushed off with its hind legs and pounced straight at Jiang Feng's forehead!

Jiang Feng was prepared; a swastika-shaped Buddhist seal flew out from between his eyebrows and landed squarely on the cat demon's body.

The cat demon crashed heavily to the ground and turned to run away, but Jiang Feng flicked his right hand, and the demon-subduing pestle pierced through its back, pinning it firmly to the ground.

"Meow~"

With a mournful howl, the cat demon's body slowly turned into black smoke and disappeared before everyone's eyes.

The moment the cat demon vanished, Zheng let out a painful groan and slowly opened her eyes.

Zheng looked around blankly, puzzled, and asked, "Empress? How did I get here?"

Empress Dugu explained, "You were secretly cursed, so I brought you into the palace and found a sorcerer to exorcise the evil spirit for you."

Zheng, clutching her dizzy head, struggled to sit up and said with gratitude, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I am deeply grateful."

Empress Dugu smiled and looked at Jiang Feng: "This is Master Jiang Feng, he saved you."

Madam Zheng glanced at Jiang Feng and wanted to get up to thank him, but Jiang Feng stopped her, saying, "You need to rest for a couple more days before you can get out of bed. Also, have the imperial physician prescribe a formula to replenish your qi and calm your mind."

The Empress ordered someone to fetch the imperial physician, while Jiang Feng sat down and asked, "Madam Yang, do you have any enemies, or have you recently offended anyone?"

Madam Zheng frowned in thought, then gritted her teeth and said, "It must be Yang Suqian! He's been dissatisfied with me for a long time; he just wants to kill me and then find someone new!"

Jiang Feng was stunned: "No, has your marital discord reached this point...?"

Madam Zheng stated firmly, "Besides him, I really can't think of anyone else so ruthless as to want to take my life!"

Empress Dugu, sharing the same indignation, said, "That's right, men are all fickle! Last year I executed a palace maid that Yang Jian had taken a fancy to, which infuriated him. He might even be using my illness as revenge!"

Jiang Feng was a little confused and stammered, "Um... why don't you guys continue chatting, and I'll go out for some fresh air?"

The two then remembered there was someone else beside them, their faces stiffened, and they put on awkward smiles.

After a while, Madam Zheng was still unwilling to give up. She said to Jiang Feng angrily, "Master, please help me investigate what Yang Su has been doing lately. I still suspect that he did this. My family, the Zheng family of Xingyang, will owe you a favor in the future."

Jiang Feng immediately put on an unhappy expression: "This is truly unreasonable. I am a dignified Buddhist disciple, and you actually want me to investigate this kind of marital discord?"

Where do you place the reputation of my Buddhist disciples? Where do you place the dignity of my Buddhist community?

However, I am a compassionate person, and I really couldn't bear to see you two having a falling out, so I took pity on you and accepted this business.

"One hundred taels of gold, no credit allowed!"

Zheng: "..."

So, you Buddhist disciples' reputation and the dignity of Buddhism are only worth a hundred taels of gold, right?

[Your compassion and willingness to risk the dignity of Buddhism to help Zheng investigate Yang Su's private life has moved Heaven, and you are rewarded with mastery of "clairvoyance".]

Meanwhile, at Dugu Tuo's residence.

A fat monk with bare chest and exposed breasts was sitting cross-legged opposite Dugu Tuo, looking quite cheerful. He was none other than the monk Tansheng, whom Dugu Tuo had sent to invite.

"Jiang Feng, right? I've heard of him. He's just an ordinary monk with some spiritual cultivation."

With a confident smile on his face, Tan Sheng slowly took out a relic from his pocket.

"This is a Buddha bone relic left by a high monk at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, which contains immeasurable magical power."

Legend has it that this eminent monk was a disciple of Buddha, who was reincarnated and practiced as a monk. On his way to seek enlightenment in the Western Paradise, he unfortunately passed away in the Flowing Sand River.

"I have gone through great hardships to finally obtain this Buddha relic. With its help, whether he is Jiang Feng or He Feng, he cannot escape this humble monk's spell!"