Vanquishing demons at Lion Camel Ridge (VII)
Wukong's boast terrified the Little Demons of Lion Camel Ridge, who nearly dropped their weapons and fled.
Fortunately, a few brave Demon stepped forward and shouted, "Quickly, Little Drill Wind, go and report to the Great King!"
Upon hearing this, Little Drill Wind hurriedly rushed into the cave.
The ancient Cave Gate was deep, Little Drill Wind ran all the way, shouting as he went, "Great King, something terrible has happened! Second Great King, something terrible has happened! Third Great King, something terrible has happened!"
The noise was so loud that all the Little Demon in the cave poked their heads out to watch, wondering what had gone wrong.
Little Drill Wind rushed through three layers of doors and entered, where three old demons were sitting high on their thrones.
Green Lion scoffed, "Little Drill Wind, what's wrong with you! You're making such a racket, you're keeping us from drinking!"
Little Drill Wind knelt down abruptly, crying and shouting:
"Great King! Second Great King! Third Great King! This is terrible! The Demon from the east has sent a Tiger Vanguard to demand our surrender! He said if we don't surrender, he'll raze our Cave Abode to the ground and kick us all to death!"
Upon hearing this, the Green Lion smashed his wine bowl with a "crack" and exclaimed, "Such a thing is true! Who dares to be so bold!"
Little Drill Wind said, "It's the one you, Your Great King, always told us to be wary of: the Blood Sea Old Monster from the east, and the Golden Crow Spirit and the Demon Dragon Spirit."
Upon hearing that these were the three Demon, Green Lion felt a surge of fear. Although he had never witnessed their abilities firsthand, he had heard many tales about them over the years. He had even heard that Manjushri Bodhisattva was no match for these Demon Demon! Therefore, he had long instructed his men to be on guard and not to provoke them lightly, but he never expected them to actually come today.
The Green Lion plopped back down on its throne, drenched in sweat. After a moment of silence, it asked the White Elephant and the Golden-Winged Great Peng beside it:
"Second brother, Third Younger Brother, what are we going to do now? I heard those Demon are really ruthless; they even dared to attack Maitreya Buddha!"
White Elephant said, "Big Brother, if you ask me, we should just surrender. We're all Demon, and we don't have any grudges against each other. They don't Malice; they just want to unite the Demon Clan and consolidate their territory. If we surrender, we can still lead an army and become kings, right? It'll just be more strictly controlled, and we can't eat people at will."
Green Lion nodded and said, "Second Brother is right."
Upon hearing this, Golden-Winged Great Peng said angrily, "Big Brother, Second Brother, how can you surrender before even fighting? If word gets out, it will be incredibly shameful!"
Green Lion said, "Third Younger Brother, what do you want?"
Golden-Winged Great Peng said, "If you ask me, seeing is believing! Why not fight him? If we can't win, we can surrender later! I heard that of those three Demon, the Great Sun Demon King, the Golden Crow Spirit, has already been killed. Now only the Blood Sea Old Monster and the Demon Dragon remain. We have three brothers, are we afraid we can't defeat them?"
Upon hearing this, the White Elephant and the Green Lion exchanged a glance. The White Elephant said:
"Third Younger Brother, I heard that the Blood Sea Old Monster has hundreds of demon generals and three to four hundred thousand Demon Soldier under his command. How about this: my Big Brother and I will suffer some losses. I'll deal with the hundreds of demon generals, and my elder Big Brother will handle the three hundred thousand Demon Soldier. Third Younger Brother, you lead the brothers in the cave and capture the Blood Sea Old Monster and the Demon Dragon!"
Upon hearing this, Golden-Winged Great Peng's face turned pale with anger, then blackened. He stood up and said angrily:
"Big Brother, Second Brother, why are you so heartless? Neither of you are willing to help me deal with the Blood Sea Old Monster or the Demon Dragon?"
White Elephant said, "Third Younger Brother, it's not that my Big Brother and I are unfaithful, but tell me, which one is easy to deal with, the Blood Sea Old Monster or the Demon Dragon? Even Manjushri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva couldn't defeat the Blood Sea Old Monster Demon when they joined forces. How could my Big Brother and I be his match?"
Green Lion said, "As for that Demon Dragon, there's no need to say more. He even dared to fight Maitreya Buddha. Even the three of us combined are no match for him! Third Younger Brother, in my opinion, we should listen to Second Brother and just surrender."
Upon hearing this, Golden-Winged Great Peng knew that the Green Lion and White Elephant were right, but he was still annoyed. So he sat back on his throne, brooding inwardly.
The Little Drill Wind waited for a while, and seeing that the three Great King remained silent, and worried that the Tiger Vanguard might get impatient waiting outside and cause trouble, he cautiously asked, "Your Great King, shall we surrender or not?"
Both the Green Lion and White Elephant were somewhat embarrassed to speak.
Golden-Winged Great Peng thought for a moment and said, "No rush. Let's call that Vanguard in and ask him if he's real, or if he's some Demon from somewhere else impersonating someone else."
The Green Lion and White Elephant nodded in agreement, saying, "That makes sense! Let them in and ask them!"
Little Drill Wind heard this and went to carry out the order.
Once outside, many Demon were eagerly waiting.
Little Drill Wind rushed to Tiger Vanguard, bowing and smiling obsequiously, "Commander Tiger Vanguard, my Great King wants you to come in for questioning."
Upon hearing this, Wukong adopted an arrogant demeanor, puffing out White Qi from his nostrils, and said, "Lead the way!"
Little Drill Wind quickly stepped forward to lead the way.
Upon hearing this, all the demons wanted to know the outcome and what would become of them, so many followed behind, eager to find out what was going on.
Little Drill Wind led Wukong into the Lion Camel Cave.
Wukong entered the cave and looked around. He saw skulls piled up like mountains and bones like forests. Human hair was matted into felt, and human skin had rotted into mud. Human tendons were wrapped around trees, dry and shiny like silver. It was truly Mountains of Corpses and Blood Sea, and indeed, it was stinking and unbearable.
Even though Wukong was already used to bloodshed, he felt somewhat disgusted at this moment. He followed Little Drill Wind inside and walked for about ten miles until they reached the second gate. There, the stench disappeared, replaced by beautiful flowers Immortal Herb, tall bamboos and green pines, and many Palace Pavilion.
After walking another six or seven miles, they reached the third gate, entered, and finally saw the three Demon Heads.
The one in the middle has serrated teeth and a round, square head. Its roar is like thunder, and its eyes are like lightning. This one is the king of beasts, the Blue-Haired Lion monster.
The one on the left is: yellow teeth, thick legs, long nose, silver hair, head that looks like a tail, round forehead, furrowed brows, jade face like Ox-Head demon. This one is Yellow-Tusked Old Elephant that has been hiding its teeth and cultivating itself for many years.
On the right is a golden-winged kun with starry eyes and leopard-like gaze. It is strong and brave, traversing the north and south. This one is Golden-Winged Great Peng across the clouds.
On both sides stood numerous leaders, all fierce and menacing demon generals. Behind them, many Little Demon arrived, having heard the news and come to investigate. Unexpectedly, they trapped Wukong inside the Demon Cave, unable to advance or retreat.
Wukong showed no fear whatsoever. Upon seeing the three Demon Heads, he stood proudly without bowing or kneeling in the slightest.
Golden-Winged Great Peng shouted sternly, "How dare you, you Tiger Spirit! How dare you not bow before the three of us?"
Wukong said, "I am Tiger Vanguard under the command of my Third Great King Ao Tu. Why should I bow to the three of you?"
Upon hearing that the dragon was under the command of the Demon Dragon, Golden-Winged Great Peng's imposing manner immediately weakened by three points. He was actually afraid, but being naturally strong-willed, he didn't show it on the surface and pretended to be indifferent, Earthly Way, "Didn't your Third Great King teach you manners?"
Wukong said, "Of course I have taught you, but I thought there was no need for you three to bow to me!"
Upon hearing this, the Azure Lion's eyes widened, becoming as large as a pair of copper bells, and it roared, "You, a mere Vanguard, dare to look down on us?"
Wukong said, "It's not contempt."
The Azure Lion asked, "Why is that?"
Wukong said, "If the three of you are willing to surrender, we will all work together from now on, so there is no need for worship. If you are not willing to surrender, today is neither Qingming Festival nor Zhongyuan Festival, so there is no need for further worship. We will bring some gifts to burn for you next year!"