Practicing Medicine in Zhu Zi Kingdom (Part Thirty-Three)

Meanwhile, outside the city of the Zhu Zi Kingdom...

The King of Zhu Zi Kingdom is hunting in the mountains.

The practice of Monarch hunting has existed since ancient times, and there is nothing inherently wrong with it.

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The King of Zhu Zi Kingdom had been ill for many years, unable to implement either civil administration or military strategies. Now that he had finally recovered, he naturally wanted to put his skills to use.

Thus, the story told by the merchant came about.

However, the King of Zhu Zi Kingdom was not a dictatorial person.

Seeing the public outcry, he realized he had acted too hastily, so he corrected his course and restored the old policies.

But as the ruler of a country, he always needs to find something to do.

Since it's inconvenient to change the affairs of state now, Queen is difficult to approach, the only option left is to go hunting.

In addition, the King of Zhu Zi Kingdom had been bedridden for many years, and now that he could finally move around, he was very happy.

We shot all day yesterday and caught a lot of prey.

Undeterred by the loss of enthusiasm, they went hunting in the mountains again.

Wukong, with Bajie by his side, flew to the mountains and saw the King of Zhu Zi Kingdom riding a horse, searching for prey under the protection of many Royal Guards.

Wukong then instructed Bajie, "You idiot, go hide in that ditch over there, and transform back into your Original Form in a moment to scare that King!"

Bajie was unwilling, saying, "I'm not going. Who will be responsible if I frighten the King?"

Wukong said, "It's alright, this is what your master ordered. If he gets scared, it's his fault."

Bajie scoffed, "Master would order you to do this? I don't believe it!"

Wukong grabbed Bajie's ear and said, "Are you going or not? Are you going or not?"

Bajie hurriedly begged for mercy, "I'll go, I'll go, okay?"

Only after seeing Bajie Wukong had agreed did Wukong let go.

Bajie covered his ears, muttered "Bimawen" (a title for a stable boy), crouched down, and hid in the ravine.

Wukong plucked a hair from his body, which transformed into Little Mountain: covered in fluffy brown hair, resembling a small, Little Mountain boar.

The Little Mountain, with its short legs, darted in and out of the forest.

Upon seeing this, the King of Zhu Zi Kingdom nocked an arrow and shot.

The Little Mountain twisted its body and dodged away.

The King of Zhu Zi Kingdom exclaimed in surprise, nocked an arrow, and shot again.

The Little Mountain darted away again.

The King of Zhu Zi Kingdom, driven by his competitive spirit, led his people in a hunt.

More than twenty imperial Royal Guards, each skilled in archery, lined up on the left and right, chasing after the prey. Not to mention a Little Mountain, even a large tiger with bulging eyes and a white forehead would only meet its end in death.

Little did they know that the Little Mountain was actually transformed from Wukong's hair.

More than twenty people exerted all their strength, shot out all their arrows, and ran until their horses were exhausted, but they still couldn't catch him.

The Little Mountain darted into a ravine in a flash.

The King of Zhu Zi Kingdom dismounted and led his men to investigate.

Upon seeing this, Bajie transformed back into his Original Form and suddenly burst out of the ravine.

What a Pig Ogre!

It has a long snout, short hair, and a bit of fat; it has been eating medicinal herbs in the mountains since childhood.

His face was dark with bright, round eyes like the sun and moon; his head was round and his ears were large, like banana leaves.

Cultivate strong bones to live as long as heaven, forge rough skin stronger than iron.

It makes nasal, guttural noises, and guttural whistles.

With four white hooves reaching a thousand feet in height, and a sword-like mane a hundred feet long, it was a magnificent sight.

I've never seen such fat pigs and goats in the world before, but I've never seen Pig Ogre today.

Upon seeing this, the King of Zhu Zi Kingdom was so frightened that he fell to the ground, scrambling and crying out, "Pig Demon! What a huge Pig Demon! Protect me!"

"Protect the Emperor!"

Upon hearing this, Bajie spat out a mouthful of sticky saliva in dissatisfaction, which landed on the crowd, causing them even greater fear.

Wukong then cast a spell, conjuring a strange voice that echoed from all directions, saying, "King of Zhu Zi Kingdom, I am the Mountain God of this mountain, and this is the guardian pig of my mountain. Do you know where you have gone wrong?"

The King of Zhu Zi Kingdom hurriedly said, "Mountain God above, I know my mistake, I shouldn't have provoked the divine pig!"

Wukong said, "No, your mistake wasn't in provoking the divine pig. Do you know why you and your Queen are facing such a difficult separation?"

The King of Zhu Zi Kingdom knelt and said, "I am ignorant; I beg the Mountain God for guidance."

Wukong said, "When you were young, you acted cruelly, shooting two sparrow chicks. Those were the children of the Western Heaven Mahamayuri Bodhisattva, which is why the Bodhisattva taught you to separate from the Queen and suffer from anxiety and worry. Now that your calamities have just ended, why don't you repent? Your camp is already piled high with more than twenty pieces of prey, some of which are already rotten and stinking, yet you still go up the mountain to shoot more, chasing after a piglet that won't let go. This piglet is no bigger than a palm; what use is it to shoot it?"

Upon hearing this, the King of Zhu Zi Kingdom realized his mistake and said, "Mountain God, I know I was wrong! Whether governing a country or hunting, everything should be done in moderation. I should not have acted recklessly and killed indiscriminately."

Wukong nodded and said, "That's very good." After saying that, he prepared to quietly leave with Bajie.

The King of Zhu Zi Kingdom hurriedly asked, "Mountain God, my Queen of the Golden Sage Palace is now covered in immortal thorns, and I cannot approach her. I do not know how to cure this. Please, immortals, grant me a Immortal spell!"

Upon hearing this, Wukong recalled the matter and said, "You should return to the palace, pay homage to Heaven and worship Buddha, and you will see results soon."

Upon hearing this, the King of Zhu Zi Kingdom sighed and returned to the palace with his Royal Guards.

After all this trouble, in the end we still have to use the same method the Divine Physician used to use. If only I had known this would happen, I would have done it in the first place—alas!

Wukong, along with Bajie, returned to the Huitong Guesthouse and told Tang Sanzang about the matter.

Tang Sanzang asked, "Wukong, do you know how to break that spell?"

Wukong said, "Old Sun think the previous Mahamayuri Bodhisattva was actually Demon Dragon in disguise, so the spell must have been set up by the real Mahamayuri Bodhisattva. Once I find him to break the spell, it will work."

Tang Sanzang nodded.

Wukong rode the clouds and arrived at Spirit Mountain, where he inquired about the whereabouts of the Buddha Mahamayuri Bodhisattva.

The Tathagata Buddha said it was on the Snow Mountain.

Wukong then went to the top of the Snow Mountain and met the Mahamayuri Bodhisattva. He explained the whole story, saying that the King had already repented and asked the Mahamayuri Bodhisattva to lift the spell.

After hearing this, the Mahamayuri Bodhisattva understood the reason.

He didn't actually care too much about this matter; the calamity was predetermined, and the King had only just happened to fall into it. However, seeing Wukong's reaction, the Mahamayuri Bodhisattva jokingly asked, "The Kingdom of the Zhu Zi Kingdom? Didn't that kingdom disappear?"

Wukong asked, "What happened to it?"

The Mahamayuri Bodhisattva said, "I have a brother who told me that he has already devoured all the people of the Kingdom of the Zhu Zi Kingdom. With their deaths, the debt is settled, and the revenge for my nephew has been avenged. So why would I need to undo any magic now?"

Wukong laughed and said, "Bodhisattva is joking. The Kingdom of the Zhu Zi Kingdom is now peaceful and prosperous. How could it have been eaten? It seems your brother doesn't know the way and has gone the wrong way."

The Peacock King couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Alright, enough joking. That magic wasn't done by me. It was Ziyang Perfected One, who attended the Buddhist assembly and knew about it, who skillfully performed it. He's already waiting for me in the Zhu Zi Kingdom."

Upon hearing this, Wukong bowed in gratitude to the Mahamayuri Bodhisattva and returned to the Zhu Zi Kingdom.

Sure enough, Ziyang Perfected One was waiting.

Wukong said, "Zhang Ziyang, I've been looking for you everywhere!"

Zhang Ziyang bowed and said, "Great Sage, please don't be offended. It was only because of the matter concerning the Bodhisattva that I dared not disturb you. Now that everything is settled, I have come to dispel the nightmare."

Wukong said, "Please! Please!"

Zhang Ziyang waved his Fly-Whisk, took off the Rosy Cloud Garment from the Consort Jinsheng, and draped it over his shoulders; it was an old Palm-Fiber Garment.

Wukong laughed and said, "So this is what it is."

Zhang Ziyang laughed and said, "That day, on my way back from the Buddhist assembly, I passed by here and learned that the King was facing the difficulty of separating the phoenix, which might violate human ethics. Therefore, I presented this garment to the Demon King for the Queen to wear. The immortal thorns are actually brown hairs."

Upon hearing this, Wukong thanked the old Human Way on behalf of the King.

Zhang Ziyang hurriedly said he dared not, and then rode away on the clouds.

The journey Journey to the West was fraught with peril, and he only dared to emerge at the very end, even then he dared not linger.

Upon learning this, the King of Zhu Zi Kingdom hurriedly led his civil and military officials to the direction where the old immortal had departed to express their gratitude.

After bidding farewell to the King of Zhu Zi Kingdom, Tang Sanzang and his disciples embarked on their journey to the Journey to the West once more.

(And there's more!)