Slaying Demons at Lion Camel Ridge (33)

Meanwhile, Red Boy steamed the Buddha's body.

Steamed for Half a Month, the whole city is filled with its aroma.

After steaming for Half a Month, it developed a lot of cooked aroma, as if it were done steaming.

The Little Demons had never steamed Buddha Flesh before, and they didn't know how long it had been cooked, so they couldn't make a decision.

The Green Lion then opened the steamer basket to check if the food was cooked.

When the steamer lid was opened, a lifelike Buddha statue lay on its side inside, startling the Green Lion so much that it quickly retreated, not daring to offend it.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng was bolder; it raised its claws to pull at the Buddha's hands and feet, but after several pulls, it couldn't budge them. It cried out:

"It's not cooked yet. The outer skin is cooked, but the meat and bones inside aren't done. Steam it over high heat! Steam it over high heat again!"

The Little Demon were already craving it, and when they heard Golden-Winged Great Peng say the skin was cooked, they said, "If the skin is cooked, let's peel it off and make some Buddha Gelatin to eat!"

Golden-Winged Great Peng said, "The two Great King haven't eaten yet, how dare you eat first? Put the lid back on and steam it again! Steam it again!"

The demons then put the lid back on and continued steaming.

On the other side, Tang Sanzang and his disciples were performing Vengeful Souls to appease the wronged souls in the city. These Vengeful Souls had been dead for hundreds of years and harbored deep resentment, making them extremely difficult to appease on ordinary days.

For the past Half a Month, a strange fragrance has been spreading throughout the city. The Vengeful Souls who smelled the fragrance have all let go of their obsessions and become easier to be released from their suffering.

Tang Sanzang was overjoyed.

On this day, after the four travelers had performed a ritual to appease the Vengeful Souls, it was noon, and they were preparing to return for their meal. On the way, they encountered Ao Tu, and Tang Sanzang asked:

"Amitabha Buddha, I wonder if our Buddha has recently begun constructing Buddhist Temple in the city?"

Ao Tu asked, "What do you mean?"

Tang Sanzang said, "These past few days, there has been a constant stream of blue smoke rising from the city, accompanied by the fragrance of incense. This must be due to the worshippers burning incense, which has helped to release the Vengeful Souls of those who have suffered injustice for years."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "No! No! That incense isn't the Incense Offerings for temple sacrifices."

Tang Sanzang asked, "What kind of incense is that?"

Ao Tu said, "It's because four Buddha came here a few days ago: Buddha Well-Praised, Buddha Solemn Light, Jewel Light Buddha, Buddha Without Worries. Do you recognize them?"

Hearing this, Bajie asked Wukong, "Brother! Have you heard of these four Buddha?"

Wukong said, "When I was young, I traveled all over the Four Continents and Three Islands, but I've never heard of him before. He must be Buddha from somewhere else. Junior Brother Sha, have you heard of him?"

Sha Wujing said, "I've never heard of it either."

Tang Sanzang said, "I do know that."

Bajie said, "Master, please tell us about it."

Tang Sanzang then said, "I have seen the names of these Four Buddhas in Buddhist scriptures. They are the four of the Seven Medicine Buddhas. Whenever one suffers from illness, Prisons, trouble, or danger on a long journey, reciting the names of these four Buddhas will release one from shackles and prevent one from falling into evil realms."

Bajie said, "Master knows so much!"

Tang Sanzang smiled and said, "Since Four Buddhas have arrived, we should go and pay our respects."

Wukong said, "Yes! Yes!"

Sha Wujing said, "Let us ask for your magical protection to ensure our safe journey Journey to the West!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu laughed and said, "There's no need for a formal visit. If you really wish to see them, I'll send someone to bring some to you in a few days."

Tang Sanzang asked in confusion, "Bring some over?"

Ao Tu said, "A few days ago, those four monks came to fight me for no reason. In a fit of anger, I killed them. Now I've had some Little Demon steam and boil them. The smell in the city these days isn't the smell of Incense Offerings, but the smell of meat."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang was so frightened that he fell to the ground, exclaiming in fear, "The smell of meat! Is it the smell of the Four Buddhas ' meat?"

Ao Tu said, "That's right."

Sha Wujing angrily retorted, "You Demon Dragon, your actions are too wicked! How could you kill Four Buddhas for no reason!"

Ao Tu said, "How could I have killed them for no reason? I have been living in the city without moving. It was those four who came to my door to fight me for no reason, and I killed them in a fit of anger. If they were sitting in the mountains chanting scriptures like the Tathagata Monk, why would I have killed them?"

Sha Wujing said, "Then you must have done something evil first, otherwise why would the Four Buddhas come to fight you for no reason?"

Ao Tu thought for a moment, then smiled and said:

"Indeed. The Golden-Winged Great Peng has been eating people for five hundred years, and no one has intervened. It seems that after I arrived, I forbade them from eating people and released the living, which caused the news to leak out. That's why those Buddha came to fight me!"

Upon hearing this, Sha Wujing realized that Ao Tu was once again slandering Buddhist Sect. He was furious but did not know how to refute him.

Tang Sanzang rested on the ground for a while before standing up, his lips trembling slightly, and asked, "You really want to eat?"

Ao Tu said, "I myself will not eat them, but the Tathagata Monk's maternal uncle, Manjushri Bodhisattva's Green Lion, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva's White Elephant, and my group of Demon are all waiting to be eaten!"

Tang Sanzang advised, "Since those Four Buddhas are already dead, let them be buried. Why insist on steaming and eating them?"

Ao Tu said, "They are all Youde Buddha. If we bury them, it would be a waste of Buddha bodies, which is a real pity. Steaming or boiling them would actually bring Merit."

Sha Wujing sneered, "I've never heard of accumulating Merit by eating people. You clearly want to eat them, but you won't admit it and are just using this pretense to fool my master."

Ao Tu ignored Sha Wujing, pulled Tang Sanzang to his side, and said:

"Tang Sanzang, look at that Cooking Smoke. If I didn't tell you, would you know whether it's the smoke from the Incense Offerings in the temple or the smoke from cooking in the back room?"

Tang Sanzang replied, "This disciple does not know."

Ao Tu said, "That's right. It's because the two are the same."

Tang Sanzang asked, "How are they the same?"

Ao Tu said, "The Incense Offerings smoke from those temples is burning Sandalwood Incense, which is made from the oil of sentient beings. The smoke from the steaming in my back room is made from the oil of the Buddha, which I then burn back to sentient beings. How can their incense compare to mine? You see, those Vengeful Souls have all had their attachments dissolved, precisely because of this. If those Four Buddhas knew of this Merit, they would thank me!"

Tang Sanzang listened, gazing at the Cooking Smoke, unsure what to say.

At this moment, Tang Sanzang no longer cared much about the corpses of those Buddha. Even if they were Buddha, they were nothing more than empty shells. If they could help others after death, then for the Buddha, their death would be worthwhile.

What puzzled Tang Sanzang was whether the Sandalwood Incense in the temple could truly be compared to the Cooking Smoke from cooking firewood.

Tang Sanzang had some doubts in his mind. He looked back, but Ao Tu had already left.

Another month passed, and the flesh of the four Buddha was steamed until tender, with an even stronger aroma. Just smelling it would extend one's lifespan, let alone eating it.

Many of the souls of those who died unjustly found Transcendence in the fragrance of incense.

Another month passed, and the bones and muscles of the four Buddha statues finally rotted away.

This pot of Buddha Flesh was steamed for a full three months. It took a month for the skin to become tender, another month for the meat to become tender, and another month for the tendons to become tender. In the end, it only yielded four steamers of Buddha Flesh.

The Buddha Flesh is ready; let's offer it to the Great King first.

Red Boy instructed the cook to cut two plates of Buddha Head Meat, stir-fry two plates of Buddha's heart meat, coat two plates of Buddha's leg meat in flour and fry them, and dismantle two plates of Buddha's ribs, which were then sent to Ao Tu and the Blood Sea King respectively.

Ao Tu wasn't inside, because Golden-Winged Great Peng had come looking for him and, seeing the house was crowded, invited Ao Tu to a secluded spot, saying:

"Third Great King, the Buddha Flesh is ready. Would you like to send a few pounds to my brother?"