On the western side of Yellow Wind Ridge, jagged rocks jutted everywhere. Though the gale had subsided, a choking, earthy smell still hung in the air.
"Ow... Brother Monkey! What happened to you?"
Zhu Bajie limped over. Though the wind had hurled him far away, his thick hide and tough flesh had kept him from any real harm.
"Idiot, that monster blasted Old Sun with a mouthful of wind. It left my eyeballs aching, and now cold tears won't stop flowing."
Wukong's eyes ached and brimmed with tears. Though he could not see clearly, he recognized Bajie by his voice.
Seeing Wukong in such a state, Bajie hurried closer.
"Brother Monkey! Just bear with it!" Zhu Bajie held up his sleeve, wanting to wipe Wukong's eyes but afraid to touch them. Dejected, he said, "What do we do now? Master's trapped in the cave, and you've gone blind!"
"Shut up, idiot!" Sun Wukong cursed through gritted teeth and gave him a light kick. "None of that defeatist talk! Let's go back and meet up with Little White Dragon. Give me a night to recover, and I'll be fine. We'll come back tomorrow to subdue the monster!"
After taking the kick, Zhu Bajie stopped wailing. With a miserable look, he helped Sun Wukong up and followed the mountain path back.
Before long, in a sheltered hollow, they found Little White Dragon, Ao Lie, anxiously guarding the luggage.
Meanwhile, outside Yellow Wind Cave.
Xuanzang walked out of the cave dwelling alone. The sun sank westward, its dying light red as blood. Standing atop a high cliff, he gazed at the boundless sea of forest below.
He closed his eyes, and the crimson [Red-Blood Buddha Wheel] quietly appeared behind his head, slowly turning.
Humm-
A-Hu, Xuanzang called silently.
Suddenly, A-Hu's round ears twitched sharply. The tiger had been lying unnoticed beside the three frantically busy disciples.
The golden wings beneath the tiger's ribs snapped open. A-Hu sprang into the air, becoming a streak of brilliant color that sped away.
Moments later, A-Hu landed before Xuanzang and affectionately nuzzled his palm.
Xuanzang stroked the scars on the tiger's body, his eyes full of tenderness. "A-Hu, thank you for your hard work!"
A-Hu shook its head, and Xuanzang swung onto its back. "Take your master to find your senior brothers."
With a low growl, A-Hu carried Xuanzang up into the sky.
Meanwhile, among the scattered rocks in the hollow, ripples shimmered between Little White Dragon's brows as Bajie washed Wukong's eyes.
Suddenly, someone approached through the woods, singing loudly: "Before the homestead, pines spread like canopies; behind the ridge, no clouds, yet no path opens. If you ask where a divine physician dwells, this old man draws medicine from his sleeve."
An old man with snow-white hair and beard strolled out of the forest. His clothes were plain, but his spirit was hale and vigorous.
This old man was none other than Taibai Jinxing in disguise.
Old Li was stroking his beard, looking utterly confident, as though the finished bamboo painting already stood in his mind.
Overjoyed at what he heard, Zhu Bajie exclaimed, "Old sir! What was that you sang about a divine physician? Do you know medicine? Or do you have some?"
Taibai Jinxing chuckled without putting on airs. From somewhere, he produced a small agate jar and smiled at them with an unfathomable air.
"My family has treated eye ailments for generations. This is the 'Three Flowers Nine Seeds Salve,' capable of curing every eye ailment in the world. Just apply it to the eyes, and in mere moments..."
"ROAR-!!!"
Before he could finish, a tiger's roar rang out overhead.
A fierce, striped tiger with wings descended from the sky, bearing a monk. It was A-Hu and Xuanzang.
"Master?!" Zhu Bajie cried out.
"Brother Monkey! Master came back on his own!"
Xuanzang dismounted and strode up to Sun Wukong. All his attention was on Wukong; he never noticed the old man beside them, frozen in place with his Immortal Pills held aloft.
"Don't move," he said softly.
Xuanzang held down Sun Wukong as he tried to rise. Looking at those red, swollen eyes, his own filled with anguish.
Beside them, Taibai Jinxing stood awkwardly with the jar in his arms. "Well... I have medicine here..."
Humm-
Before he could finish, Xuanzang raised his right hand and recited:
"Furthermore, Shariputra! When a practitioner enters the samadhi of wind, he sees five-colored winds issuing from the nine apertures of his body as though from great ravines. He also sees the three hundred and thirty-six joints of his body, white as snowy mountains, each joint releasing winds of the various aijizhi."
The white [Nectar Buddha Wheel] quietly appeared.
A refreshing coolness instantly spread through the air, seeping into heart and soul.
Taibai Jinxing's eyes went round. "Nectar Dharma?!"
Xuanzang gently laid his left hand over Sun Wukong's eyes.
Sun Wukong slowly opened his eyes. The redness and swelling faded at a visible pace.
A moment later, Xuanzang withdrew his hand, his face slightly pale.
Sun Wukong blinked, then opened his eyes wide. Two beams of golden light shot out, brighter than ever, his gaze full of vigor. "They're healed! Completely healed! I can see even better than before!"
Taibai Jinxing watched silently, then looked down at the agate jar in his arms. For some inexplicable reason, his teeth began to ache.
Wonderful. Another wasted trip.
He quietly put the jar away, thinking, I knew things couldn't possibly go that smoothly.
Seeing that Sun Wukong's eyes had healed, Xuanzang took a deep breath, stood, and looked west.
The sun was already low in the western sky. Only an hour remained before sunset.
"Master, let's hurry and leave! That monster's powers are strange, and he's hard to handle! If he attacks again, I might not be able to protect you!"
With his eyes healed and his master safely back, Sun Wukong spoke in a rush.
"No." Xuanzang shook his head and turned toward the direction he had come from. "I must go back."
"What?" This stunned not only his disciples, but also Taibai Jinxing, who had been preparing to slip away quietly again.
"Master! Have you got a fever?"
Zhu Bajie reached for Xuanzang's forehead. "That's a monster's den! You escaped, and now you want to go back to your death?"
Xuanzang brushed Bajie's hand aside, his gaze firm as iron. "I made an agreement with that king. Before sunset, I will return and teach him the Dharma. A monk does not speak falsehoods."
With that, Xuanzang said no more and mounted A-Hu. "A-Hu, take your master back."
A-Hu growled softly but did not move. Xuanzang gave the tiger a gentle pat. "A-Hu, be good. Even if you won't take me back, I will still return."
Only then did A-Hu prepare to fly back.
Sun Wukong and the others held A-Hu down while pleading with Xuanzang, but he remained adamant. It was clear they could not stop him.
At last, Taibai Jinxing could bear it no longer. He, too, was utterly baffled. Guanyin Bodhisattva, you Buddhists really do play some elaborate games.
Then another thought struck him. Though he had failed to deliver the medicine, here was his chance to earn merit by pointing the way to subdue the monster.
"Ahem. Everyone, please wait."
Taibai Jinxing stepped forward and blocked their path.
With a turn, he revealed his true form.
"Greetings, holy monk. I am Taibai Jinxing. My respects to you and your companions."
Anxious, Sun Wukong said hastily, "Old fellow, don't make things worse."
Taibai Jinxing took no offense. Chuckling, he pointed at Xuanzang and said meaningfully, "Though the holy monk has cured the Great Sage's eyes, the Yellow Wind Monster's Samadhi Divine Wind is a wondrous wind from time immemorial."
"If you return just like this and the monster turns hostile, I fear you still won't be able to subdue him."
Zhu Bajie said sullenly, "Jinxing, stop keeping us in suspense. Tell us how to subdue him!"
Taibai Jinxing pointed due south. "Only one thing can quell that wind. Three thousand li due south of here stands Lesser Mount Sumeru. Lingji Bodhisattva lives there, and he possesses a Flying Dragon Staff bestowed by the Buddha himself. It is the very bane of that wind."
Sun Wukong's eyes lit up. "So that monster does have a nemesis!"
"Master, old Jinxing is right! Old Sun will be back in a flash! You can go once I have it. At least we'll be prepared if a fight breaks out!"
But to everyone's surprise, Xuanzang gently shook his head.
He pressed his palms together in acknowledgment. "Xuanzang thanks you for your kindness, Jinxing."
"But Wukong, there is no need to seek the Bodhisattva's aid."
"My agreement with that king was not a ploy to buy time."
"To act thus would be to break my promise. I must never do so. This is my path."
"All great undertakings must be rooted in hearing the Way. I hope you will forgive me, Jinxing."
Sun Wukong froze where he stood.
Beside him, Taibai Jinxing, whose smile had only just begun to form, tugged at his beard and asked, "Holy monk, what if you go and never return?"
Xuanzang pressed his palms together and bowed. "On the vast sea of life and death, who will serve as boat and oar? Through the long night of ignorance, who will be the lamp and torch? May I spend my whole life walking the Way, holding this body lightly and giving it for the Dharma."
Xuanzang gently patted A-Hu and flew toward Yellow Wind Cave.
Sun Wukong immediately rose on a cloud and followed close behind.
Before you continue