Subduing demons at Lion Camel Ridge (Part fourteen)

Meanwhile, Ao Tu led Tang Sanzang and his two companions to the Lion Camel Cave.

Tang Sanzang saw from afar that many Demon were brandishing knives and spears, swaggering and showing off in front of the Demon Cave. He also saw that Ao Tu and laid an ambush. Tang Sanzang felt some worry and said:

"With so many Demon, if we go straight in, we might not be able to handle it safely."

Bajie laughed and said, "Master, don't worry, what are these few Demon?"

Sha Wujing also said, "Master, don't worry, there's no Demon Heads bigger than this Demon Dragon."

Ao Tu, unsure whether Sha Wujing's words were an insult or a compliment, didn't care and led the three straight ahead to the Lion Camel Cave.

The Three Demons were reviewing their troops on the High Platform in front of the battle formation when they saw someone approaching from afar. Green Lion asked, "Third Younger Brother, who is that?"

Golden-Winged Great Peng, with his sharp eyes, recognized Ao Tu and the others. He exclaimed joyfully, "Big Brother, good news! It's that long-snouted, big-eared Zhu Bajie here! The old monk beside him is Tang Sanzang, and the one with the gloomy face is Sha Monk, and there's another one..."

The Green Lion asked, "Who is the other one?"

Golden-Winged Great Peng said, "I don't recognize him. He has two Dragon Horn on his head, and his appearance is somewhat ugly. He's a stranger and doesn't seem to be from our Western Ox Continent. Let's wait for them to come over and ask them."

Green Lion said, "Very well. Minions, sling your weapons over your backs and make way!"

Upon hearing this, the Little Demons quickly made way for them.

Ao Tu led Tang Sanzang and his companions directly over.

Upon seeing this, Golden-Winged Great Peng jumped down from the High Platform and circled around Ao Tu and the other three to examine them.

Tang Sanzang was a little scared and covered his face with his sleeve.

Golden-Winged Great Peng, sporting a hooked nose, exclaimed, "You are Tang Sanzang!"

Tang Sanzang was so frightened by his extreme ugliness that he dared not speak.

Golden-Winged Great Peng then looked at Bajie and said, "You're Zhu Bajie, I recognize you. You were the one who ambushed me earlier!"

Bajie spat and said, "Demon, I'm your Grandfather Pig!"

The Golden-Winged Great Peng chuckled sinisterly, looked at Sha Wujing, and said, "You must be Sha Monk!"

Sha Wujing snorted coldly, stood protectively in front of Tang Sanzang, and remained silent.

Golden-Winged Great Peng turned back to Ao Tu and stared at Ao Tu, finding him to be just like an ordinary Mortal, without any apparent change. He then asked:

"I've heard that Tang Sanzang had three disciples: Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Monk. What are you? Where did you come from?"

Ao Tu, upon hearing this, didn't respond to him, but turned to Bajie and said:

"Bajie, you've led us the wrong way. I told you to lead us to the Lion Camel Cave, where have you led us?"

Bajie said, "That's right! This is the Lion Camel Cave!"

Ao Tu said, "Wrong, wrong! This isn't Lion Camel Cave at all, it's clearly a Medical Hall in the mountains. Look, there are even patients with splints wrapped around their necks!"

Upon hearing this, Golden-Winged Great Peng became angry and said:

"Who are you? If you're a hero, state your name! Don't hide!"

Ao Tu said, "I have never concealed my identity or changed my principles. I am Ao Tu, the Fifth Son of the Jing River Dragon King of Chang'an City. Tathagata Monk the Bell Keeper under the monk Tathagata on Spirit Mountain, but later I went down the mountain to avenge my father and seize Spirit Mountain. Have you heard of me?"

All the demons were startled upon hearing this.

Some of the Little Demon were so frightened that they dropped their weapons on the ground and dared not bend down to pick them up.

The Green Lion cried out in fear, "Second brother, what should we do? The Demon Dragon is coming!"

White Elephant, also frightened, asked, "Big Brother, quick, which flag is the one that surrendered from?"

The Little Demons were terrified and at a loss for what to do. Some said it was the Blue Flag, some said it was the Black Flag, and some said it was the Green Flag.

Golden-Winged Great Peng was also afraid, but he forced himself to stand firm and shouted, "Wait!" He carefully examined Ao Tu and couldn't see that he was as powerful as rumored. He had descended from Spirit Mountain to eat people Five Hundred Years Ago and had never seen Ao Tu Tathagata the Buddha's side, so he didn't recognize Ao Tu's appearance. He then asked, "Are you really Demon Dragon?"

Ao Tu said, "Of course."

Golden-Winged Great Peng stared at it for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing.

Green Lion said, "Third Younger Brother, what are you laughing at?"

White Elephant said, "Third Younger Brother must have been terrified, that's why he's laughing."

Golden-Winged Great Peng said, "Big Brother! Second Brother! Don't be fooled by him! I heard that the Demon Dragon just fought with the Buddhas and suffered heavy casualties. How could it have time to come here? Besides, that Demon Dragon has a grudge Tathagata, so it won't help Tang Sanzang! This Demon Dragon is clearly just that Monkey in disguise! That Monkey just left us and must have seen us mustering our troops. He didn't dare to fight us, so he's using the Demon Dragon's reputation to disguise himself like this and ask us to escort his master over the mountain!"

Upon hearing this, the Green Lion and White Elephant finally understood and said:

"It's thanks to my Third Younger Brother's Wisdom that he saw through the change; otherwise, we would have almost been fooled by this Monkey!"

Golden-Winged Great Peng said, "Big Brother, Second Brother, why aren't you making a move!"

Upon hearing this, the two demons drew their precious swords and Long Spear and charged forward to attack.

Golden-Winged Great Peng also took out his Heavenly-Painted Halberd and stepped forward to attack.

Upon seeing this, Ao Tu unleashed Five-Colored Divine Light, which swept away the Three Demons weapons in a Divine Light.

The Three Demons stopped abruptly, looked at their weapons, and were stunned to find their hands empty.

Wukong laughed so hard on the cloud that he did Dragonfly handstand and somersaults.

The three demons below reacted, and Golden-Winged Great Peng stared in astonishment, exclaiming:

"Five-Colored Divine Light! It really is Demon Dragon! Eldest brother, Second Brother, Big Brother's go!"

Having said that, he transformed into Golden-Winged Great Peng and flew away.

The Green Lion and White Elephant quickly transformed back into their Original Form and rode away on the clouds.

Ao Tu revealed his Sixteen-Foot Golden Body with eight hands. Four of his hands held the Elephant Tusk, Elephant Trunk, Elephant Leg, Elephant Tail, and he suddenly threw the White Elephant to the ground, slamming it three times. The White Elephant couldn't help but shed tears and beg for mercy.

The other four hands grabbed the Green Lion, but the Green Lion was spineless and knelt down to beg for mercy before it could even react.

On the other side, the Golden-Winged Great Peng spread its wings and soared, first riding the wind to the North Sea, but then feeling it was not safe, it rode the wind to the Southern Sea.

Seeing this, Ao Tu smiled, revealed a large hand, and grabbed the person from outside Luo Tian.

No matter how far the Golden-Winged Great Peng, it was no more than a fish in a jar or a bird in a cage. It swam from the left side of the jar to the right side, and flew from the west side of the cage to the east side. In the end, it could not break free. Ao Tu grabbed it from the outside, caught it in his hand, and brought it back to the ground.

Seeing that the three Great King had been captured in just a few rounds, the Little Demons dared not fight any longer. They quickly threw away their weapons and armor and fled in all directions.

At Ao Tu's command, the demons surrounded them from all directions, trapping all the Little Demons, none of whom could escape.

Upon seeing this, the three demons knelt before Ao Tu, begging for mercy, and said:

"Third Great King! Please spare our lives! We are truly willing to surrender! It was only because Sun Wukong disguised himself as one of your Tiger Vanguard to deceive us that this misunderstanding occurred! We beg for your lives! We beg for your lives!"

Ao Tu listened and laughed:

"Don't beg me. I have no grudge against you. I'm only here to do what I'm paid to do. If you need something, go ask Tang Sanzang!"

Upon hearing this, the Three Demons immediately knelt down before Tang Sanzang again and said:

"Master Tang, spare our lives! Spare our lives! We're willing to escort you across the mountain, please have mercy and spare our lives!"

Bajie said, "Master, we can't let them get away with this!"

Sha Wujing said, "Master, we cannot forgive him!"

Tang Sanzang said to Ao Tu, "I beg the Buddha to manifest the Buddhist Dharma and vanquish the Demon!"

Ao Tu nodded and said, "Alright." He was about to cast a spell to exorcise the demon.

The Three Demons panicked upon seeing this.

Green Lion hurriedly said:

"Tang Sanzang, I am the Green Lion under the seat of Manjushri Bodhisattva. Even if I have committed wrongdoings, it is Manjushri Bodhisattva who should punish me, not you!"

White Elephant Road:

"Tang Sanzang, I am the White Elephant under the seat of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. Even if I have committed sins, it is Samantabhadra Bodhisattva who should judge me. You cannot touch me!"

Golden-Winged Great Peng said:

"Tang Sanzang, I am the Golden-Winged Great Peng of the Western World. Even the Tathagata Buddha of the Western Heaven Paradise would have to call me 'Uncle'! You dare to hire someone to kill me? Aren't you afraid of breaking the Precepts and failing to obtain the True Scriptures?"