Rescue the Bhikshu Kingdom (XIV)

Meanwhile, Wukong blew everyone away to the Qinghua Manor with a Divine Wind.

The group landed and looked around. Seeing the beautiful scenery, they realized it was a Immortal Household Cave Abode. Believing that they had been saved by Immortal, they all knelt down and kowtowed.

A patrolling Demon heard the noise and came over to investigate.

The crowd was terrified when they saw the many creatures with wolf heads, leopard bodies, eagle beaks, and snake tails, and they fled in all directions.

Those who fled east encountered Demon; those who fled west encountered Demon; those who fled south encountered Demon; those who fled north encountered Demon.

The Demon surrounded the group and reported to Ao Tu.

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu came over to investigate.

The Little Crown Prince followed behind.

Seeing that there was finally someone who looked human, with a child behind him, the crowd felt a little calmer, but still dared not make a move.

Ao Tu asked, "Where are you from?"

No one dared to reply easily. Among them, the Old Chancellor, having held a high position for a long time, was still able to speak despite his age. He dared not utter the word "Demon demon," and only said, "This immortal, we are all from the Bhikshu Kingdom."

Ao Tu asked, "Why have you come here?"

The Old Chancellor said, "It was because the old king had come back to life and was punishing us that we were saved by a Immortal Divine Wind that swept us from the Execution Ground ground to this place."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "I know that Immortal you're talking about."

The Old Chancellor exclaimed joyfully, "We wonder which Immortal it is! We should set up Incense Offerings and a memorial tablet to express our gratitude for saving our lives!"

Ao Tu said, "He is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven from the Heavenly Realm."

Upon hearing this, the crowd discussed among themselves, saying, "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven? We've never heard of that. What kind of official position is that?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "It is the Heavenly Realm's Imperial Equine Stables."

The Human Way, "So it's the Immortal Bimawen! We must pay our respects and thank him!"

The Old Chancellor asked, "May I ask, sir, what celestial abode is this?"

Ao Tu said, "This place is the Qinghua Manor Cave Heaven on Willow Grove Slope outside the Bhikshu Kingdom. I am not Immortal, but a Daoist priest. A year ago, I passed through your country and saw that there was no rightful ruler and the royal bloodline had been lost among the common people. So I took him in as my disciple and occupied this place, intending to raise him to adulthood and, when he grows up, sweep away the world and bring light to the State Altars. These Demon are all under my command and do not harm people. You can build houses and cultivate land here to live in. However, I heard from you that the Old King has been resurrected and the Bhikshu Kingdom has been restored. It seems that I was worrying too much."

Upon hearing Ao Tu's words, the Old Chancellor looked at the Little Crown Prince behind Ao Tu, and was overjoyed. He immediately knelt down and wept, saying:

"Immortal! That old king was a tyrannical and incompetent ruler! In his lifetime, he used human hearts to take elixirs in pursuit of immortality; now that he has returned to life, he has created numerous Prisons, causing widespread suffering among the people. This is not just my opinion; look at the thousands of people behind me—men and women, old and young, officials, farmers, merchants, and Artisans —all yearning for a new ruler!"

Upon hearing this, everyone kowtowed in unison, confirming that the Old Chancellor's words were true.

The Little Crown Prince looked at these people, seeing them weeping bitterly. Because he was too young to understand, he was afraid and hid behind Ao Tu.

Ao Tu stroked the Little Crown Prince's hair and said:

"My apprentice is still young and inexperienced. Whether he can become Creation remains to be seen. You should stay here for now!"

A young man asked, "Immortal, I still have parents, wife, and children at home. May I bring them to live with me?"

Ao Tu said, "First, build the house, carve the tablet of Bimawen Keeper of the Heavenly Horses), burn incense and pray to him, and he will use his magic to send your family here."

Everyone was overjoyed and expressed their gratitude.

Ao Tu said, "Remember, when burning incense, don't call him 'Bimawen Bima Wen), you must call him 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven), otherwise he will get angry."

The crowd agreed again. So they built houses and cultivated land in the Cave Heaven.

Because there were officials, civilians, Artisans, and merchants, the coordination was complete and went very smoothly.

Although the Old Chancellor was old, he managed everyone in a very orderly manner.

Upon seeing this, Ao Tu instructed the Little Crown Prince to follow him.

He doesn't need to do much work; he can just play on the sidelines and observe firsthand how ordinary people build houses and cultivate fields. Just being able to witness the difficulty of building houses and cultivating fields is already better than many monarchs.

Meanwhile, the Old King continued to order the capture of rebels throughout the city.

Whenever he had captured several hundred people and was about to execute them, Wukong would conjure a gust of wind to blow them away.

This was repeated four or five times, and everyone was amazed.

Meanwhile, rumors circulated that some kind of Bimawen, known as the Keeper of the Immortal, was saving people.

The newly appointed officials and soldiers were terrified, thinking it was divine wrath, and tried to dissuade the Old King from arresting any more people.

The Old King thought for a moment, then remembered hearing the name "Bimawen" (Bima Wen) in the Heavenly Realm before; it was the title of that monk Sun. He then said:

"Where is there any divine anger? It must be those monks causing trouble! Quickly capture those monks!"

The official said fearfully, "Your Majesty, those monks can manipulate the wind; how can we capture them?"

The Old King said, "You need not be afraid. Those monks wouldn't dare to harm anyone. Just say you're hosting a vegetarian feast to lure them into the palace, then capture them, imprison them, and make sure they don't cause any trouble."

Upon hearing this, the official had no choice but to go and make preparations.

Upon hearing the news, Wukong rushed over to Tang Sanzang and said, "Master, disaster has struck! The Old King has guessed that I caused this, and he's coming to capture us! We must leave quickly! Get out of the city!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang hurriedly packed his luggage and horse and fled the Courier Station.

Upon reaching the city gate, they found it already heavily guarded.

It turned out that Qinghua Manor in Willow Grove Slope was only seventy li away from the Royal City. As Wukong brought more people there, the news naturally leaked out, and many people went to seek refuge there. The Old King then sent soldiers to guard the city gates and intercept them. Anyone who brought their family and luggage was not allowed to leave the city.

With their families, luggage, and a conspicuous White Horse, how could Tang Sanzang and his disciples dare to leave the city?

Wukong said, "Master, let's hide for a while and leave when it's dark and no one's around!"

The four men then took their horses and hid under a corner of the city wall. Only when the city gates were closed late at night did they dare to come out.

Tang Sanzang asked, "Disciple, the door is closed, how do we get out?"

Wukong took out his Golden Cudgel, pushed it against the city gate, and used a Lock-Opening Spell to open it.

Just as the four travelers were about to leave, a soldier shouted, "Guards! Guards!"

Many soldiers surrounded them.

It turned out that although it was night, many soldiers were still guarding the city walls. This was because some civilians had taken advantage of the darkness to throw Rope and escape over the walls. When the Old King learned of this, he ordered his soldiers to guard all parts of the city walls and capture the civilians.

Those soldiers also had human feelings. They couldn't stand the King's behavior, so they couldn't disobey him during the day. At night, they pretended to comply but secretly disobeyed, gathering on the city gate to sleep and letting the people escape by climbing over the walls.

Wukong opened the city gate, but his cleverness backfired, and he crashed into it.

Soldiers pursued them, and Tang Sanzang and his disciples fled in panic.

Under the cover of night, the four of them had no idea which street they had wandered into. There was no road ahead, and the sound of pursuers was approaching. Tang Sanzang hurriedly knocked on the door, and an old man came out.

Tang Sanzang said, "Old man, we are monks from the Great Tang Eastern Land. We are being pursued by soldiers. Please allow us to go in and take refuge for a while."

The old man said, "You're from the Great Tang Eastern Land. It was you who saved the King of that Little Children City?"

Tang Sanzang said, "Little Children City? Isn't this the Bhikshu Kingdom?"

The old man laughed and said, "It's the Bhikshu Kingdom!" Then he shouted, "Help! There's a monk from the Eastern Land here!"

Tang Sanzang was greatly alarmed.

Wukong quickly stepped forward and covered the old man's mouth, saying, "Old man, don't shout! Don't shout! Old Sun, am the Great Sage Equal to Heaven Sun Wukong, who wreaked havoc in the Havoc in Heaven Five Hundred Years Ago. These past few days, I've been using the wind to save people, which is why we've attracted the pursuers. Please do me a favor."

The old man exclaimed, "So it's the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!"

Wukong nodded.

The old man cried out, "Quickly! The Great Sage Equal to Heaven is here!"

Bajie quickly covered the old man's mouth and said, "You old man, my senior brother is saving people, why aren't you helping him, but instead you're betraying him?"

The old man said, "Do you think I don't know? I've heard it from outsiders! What Great Sage Equal to Heaven! The Immortal who saves people is actually the Heavenly Realm Imperial Equine Stables, Bimawen Wen!"

Bajie couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this, saying, "My senior brother is the Bimawen, Great Sage Equal to Heaven holds this position concurrently."

Upon hearing this, the old man exclaimed with delight, "So it's Lord Bimawen! Please, come in!"

The four of them then went into hiding.

The pursuers caught up, but seeing that no one was there and that it was late at night, they didn't bother to search the place thoroughly and simply walked away.

Inside the house, the old man lit the lamps only after he heard the pursuers had left.

Bajie said, "I've been running around all day, I'm starving!" He walked to the stove, smelled the aroma of food, opened the pot, and saw some leftovers. He said, "Old man, please give these leftovers to this monk!"

As he was saying this, he reached for it, but suddenly the bottom of the pot was lifted, and a young man crawled out, hitting Bajie on the head with a wooden stick.

Bajie cried out, "Hey old man, if you don't want to give alms, then don't! Why hit me?"

The old man hurriedly said, "It's a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! Son! These four elders are good people who are here to save lives, not to arrest you!"

Upon hearing this, the young man realized he had hit the wrong person, and quickly apologized, preparing tea and food for Tang Sanzang and his disciples.

Tang Sanzang asked, "Old man, what did you mean by 'Little Children City '?"

Bajie said, "Yes! Why did you let your son hide in the stove?"