Purging the Demons of Lion Camel Ridge (16)

Meanwhile, Wukong told Tang Sanzang that wearing the old Kasaya would allow him to reach the Western Heaven, but it wouldn't allow him to enter Western Heaven.

Tang Sanzang, not understanding the meaning, asked, "Wukong, what does it mean that 'one can reach the Western Heaven, but cannot enter Western Heaven '?"

Wukong said, "Master, although you are old, you have never been to Spirit Mountain and do not know Spirit Mountain rules. There is a saying that it is easier to get past King of Hell than to deal with his underlings. You are wearing a Brocade Kasaya, which means you are a disciple of Buddha, and no one will dare to stop you; if you were only wearing a tattered Kasaya, you would be blocked by Bhikkhu going up the mountain and guarded by temple Sangharama at the entrance, and I am afraid you would have difficulty walking and would not be able to enter the Great Thunderclap Temple."

Tang Sanzang said, "This..."

Wukong looked at Ao Tu and said, "Dragon Brother, you are also from Spirit Mountain, so you naturally know the rules of Spirit Mountain. It is absolutely impossible to do this without the Kasaya and Buddhist Staff, so please don't make things difficult for me. Please tell me how you would be willing to return the Kasaya and Buddhist Staff to me."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Great Sage, you underestimate me. Do you think I brought this Kasaya Buddhist Staff specifically to make things difficult for you and your disciples? Actually, no. These two treasures are truly useful. If I sincerely want to keep you and your disciples here, I have a hundred ways to do so."

Wukong asked, "What is it for?"

Ao Tu said, "Because I am compassionate by nature, I saw several dead people and wanted to perform a ritual to help them pass on to the afterlife, but I didn't have the proper equipment. By chance, I saw your master pawning his Kasaya and staff, so I bought them to perform a virtuous Cultivation Technique for the deceased."

Upon hearing this, Wukong was momentarily puzzled as to what Ao Tu was up to.

Bajie exclaimed happily, "I see! What's the big deal? My master is skilled in performing rituals; just have him perform the rites for you, and it'll save us a lot of trouble!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "That's excellent. If it can really be done that way, I will return the Kasaya Buddhist Staff to you after the ritual is completed."

Tang Sanzang exclaimed joyfully, "May Buddha have mercy!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Don't thank me yet. If you really agree to this, you can't give up halfway because of difficulties!"

Tang Sanzang replied, "This disciple dares not."

Ao Tu said, "Very good."

Upon seeing this, the Three Demons stood up and offered their congratulations.

The Green Lion said with a fawning smile, "Third Great King, since you've already reached an agreement, how about you release the three of us?"

The White Elephant said, "Yes! Yes! It's all a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "I'm just doing this for money. Since Tang Sanzang isn't going to pursue the matter, I naturally don't care."

The Three Demons were overjoyed and thanked them repeatedly.

Golden-Winged Great Peng said, "In that case, Third Great King, please untie the Rope binding me."

Ao Tu said, "Don't rush to explain. On the way here, I heard someone say to be careful of me, and that I am the most ruthless, the most vicious, and the most venomous person. Is that true?"

Upon hearing this, the Three Demons were terrified and shook their heads vigorously, saying, "Absolutely not! Absolutely not! It's all nonsense from the Little Demon below!"

Ao Tu stepped forward, stared at the three of them, and threatened:

"I'm not one to make enemies, I only make friends. If someone accidentally offends me, I won't get angry. But there's one thing: if anyone dares to deceive me, I will shatter their Fleshly Body and bind their Divine Soul to the Nine Hells, where they will be torn apart by the Yin Wind!"

Upon hearing this, Green Lion was the first to break down, admitting, "It was all said by Third Younger Brother, it has nothing to do with us!"

White Elephant said, "It was my Third Younger Brother who said he was afraid you would attack Lion Camel Ridge, and then none of us would have a good time. That's why he told us to be careful!"

Upon hearing this, Golden-Winged Great Peng angrily said, "Big Brother, Second Brother, how could you disregard our sworn brotherhood and betray me?"

Green Lion said, "Third Younger Brother! It's not that we're betraying you. It's just that if we don't tell, the three of us will suffer; if we do, only you will be punished. Isn't it better for you to suffer alone than for all three of us to suffer?"

White Elephant said, "Third Younger Brother, Eldest Big Brother is right! It's not that we're betraying you. It's just that if we didn't speak up, we would be implicated, and you would be put in a wrong position. Now that we've spoken up, we're both saved, and you won't be put in a wrong position."

Upon hearing this, Golden-Winged Great Peng said, "Very well! I said it, so what's wrong with admitting it? But Third Great King, if you punish me for this, aren't you afraid that the Demon of the world will be disheartened?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "How can the Demon of the world be disheartened?"

Golden-Winged Great Peng said, "The three of us had already decided to pledge allegiance to the Third Great King, yet the Third Great King is punishing us for such a trivial matter. Who would dare to pledge allegiance to us in the future!"

Ao Tu asked, "When was this discussed, and what proof do you have?"

Golden-Winged Great Peng said, "That Monkey disguised himself as Tiger Vanguard, one of the Third Great King' subordinates, to persuade us to surrender. The three of us brothers agreed and decided to join the Third Great King. Half the Little Demon in the Cave Abode heard it and can all be witnesses. If the Third Great King don't believe me, feel free to find people to verify!"

Ao Tu was watching from the sidelines and naturally knew that these things were true, so he didn't seek anyone to verify them and laughed:

"Since that's the case, I'll trust you this once. But there's one more thing you can't avoid."

The Three Demons, upon hearing this, asked what it was about.

Ao Tu said, "You are the Green Lion and White Elephant under the command of Manjushri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and the Tathagata Buddha. Everyone in the world knows I have a grudge against the monks of Spirit Mountain. Killing you now will be a perfect way to establish my authority and demonstrate my determination for revenge!"

The Three Demons were terrified upon hearing this. They racked their brains but could not come up with a plan.

If they don't acknowledge their background, Tang Sanzang will eliminate them; if they do acknowledge it, the Demon Dragon will kill them. Both paths lead to certain death. What should they do?

Ao Tu asked, "Any last words? If not, Tiger Vanguard, listen to my command: kill all three of them!"

Golden-Winged Great Peng hurriedly said, "Wait a minute."

Ao Tu said, "What else do you have to say?"

Golden-Winged Great Peng said, "Third Great King, it is true that we have a connection with the Bodhisattva and Buddha, but now that we have descended from Spirit Mountain and become demons, we are Demon. To be honest, we have long been unwilling to be under the control of Spirit Mountain and have harbored rebellious intentions for a long time! From now on, we will be at the beck and call of the Third Great King, and we hope that the Third Great King will grant us our lives!"

Ao Tu was pleased to hear this. This Golden-Winged Great Peng was still somewhat useful to him, and he didn't truly want to kill it, so he said:

"Is this what you truly believe?"

The Three Demons out, "It's the truth! It's the truth! We would never dare to deceive the Third Great King!"

Ao Tu said, "I have some work for you to do. I wonder if you'd be willing?"

The Three Demons dared not refuse and hurriedly said they were willing.

Golden-Winged Great Peng asked, "I wonder what tasks the Third Great King has to perform?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "This job isn't difficult; it's just feeding you."

The Three Demons were Yun Liwu.

Feeding them? What kind of errand is that?

Regardless, the Three Demons managed to save their lives.

Then Tang Sanzang asked Ao Tu where to perform rituals to help the dead find peace.

Ao Tu then led Tang Sanzang to the Lion Camel Cave.

Tang Sanzang had never seen such a place of the Mountains of Corpses and Blood Sea.

Inside the cave, there were still some Little Demon tending fires, who would capture living people, skin them, and cook them fresh. There were also Little Demon gathering firewood, who would break people's bones to make firewood and charcoal.

Human skin, tendons, and hair were scattered all over the ground.

Tang Sanzang was so frightened that he fell to the ground. He wanted to run away but his legs went weak. Tears streamed from his eyes, but he couldn't make a sound. He was so frightened that he lost his voice.

Bajie Sha Wujing were not exactly virtuous people, but they were so frightened that they froze, and it took them a long time to recover.

Tang Sanzang stayed in the Lion Camel Cave for half a month before daring to open his eyes to look at the Corpse Mountain and Bone Forest. He stayed for another half month before daring to start chanting sutras to help the dead find peace.

With this chanting of sutras, tens of thousands more Vengeful Souls will be present, and it will likely take at least a year or two to complete the deliverance process.

Little did Tang Sanzang know, this was still just the beginning.