Encountering a Monster at Zhenhai Temple (VIII)

Now, Wukong, disregarding right and Right and Wrong, summoned the Mountain Gods and Earth Gods, asking them about the whereabouts of the Demon.

The two old gods, having heard of Wukong's name, were terrified and hurriedly said, "Great Sage, you have misunderstood us. That Demon is not here, nor has she colluded with us. We only know a little about her dwelling place."

Wukong said, "Stop keeping me in suspense, tell me quickly!"

The Mountain Gods and Earth Gods said, "It's a thousand miles south of here. There's a mountain there called Xiankong Mountain, and inside it is a cave called Bottomless Cave. That's the Demon's dwelling place."

Upon hearing this, Wukong, along with Bajie and Sha Wujing, took to the clouds and headed south. After traveling a thousand miles, they came upon a mountain that was rugged and difficult to enter, shrouded in strange fog and eerie winds. They realized it was the dwelling place of Demon, and the three of them entered the mountain to search for its Cave Abode.

After entering the mountains, the three split up and searched on their own.

Bajie walked down a secluded path and saw two Demon approaching, a Wolf Spirit and a Weasel Spirit. He jumped forward, raised his rake, and said, "Demon, where have you taken my master?"

The two Demon sized up Bajie and laughed, "Big ears, long snout, you're Elder Zhu Bajie!"

Bajie asked, "You recognize me?"

The two Demon replied, "We recognize them! We're here on the Great King's orders to deliver a message to the elder!"

Having said that, he took out three invitations, one for Wukong, Bajie, and one for Sha Wujing. He handed one to Bajie in one go and pointed out the way, saying, "Elder, go another twenty li in, and you will find my Cave Abode."

After saying this, the two demons turned back.

Bajie was timid and dared not go in rashly, so he went back to find Wukong Sha Wujing and told them what had happened.

Wukong took the post to check, and saw that it said:

"I now wish to invite Dao Companion, and have specially invited the Handsome Monkey King of the Water Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain to my Cave Abode for a banquet. A gift will also be presented. Ao Tu."

Bajie asked, "Brother, is this post real or fake?"

Wukong said, "That female Demon is quite cunning. I don't know if it's true or not. Let me go and find out first. If it's true, I'll call you two over; if it's false, I'll go and fetch Ao Tu myself to question that Demon about impersonation, so that her Dispersed Soul and Scattered Spirit and she can never harm anyone again!"

Bajie and Sha Wujing were overjoyed upon hearing this, and the two followed Wukong to the cave entrance the Demon had mentioned, where they saw the six characters "Xiankong Mountain Bottomless Cave". Bajie and Sha Wujing watched from outside, while Wukong leaped into the cave.

The cave was a vast and blessed place. When Wukong landed, he saw a gatehouse where many demons were waiting. Among them were familiar faces, none other than Ao Tu's subordinates.

The gatehouse was decorated with colorful ribbons and flowers, creating a festive atmosphere; it truly was Demon Dragon seeking Dao Companion.

Wukong had misunderstood. Ao Tu was actually inviting the Patriarch Styx, a fellow cultivator, so that they could work together to hinder the Journey to the West to the West.

However, Ao Tu was born a few years later and was not of the same generation as the Blood Sea Minghe, so he would not easily submit to him. Therefore, he invited Wukong to come and be his helper. He also used this as an excuse to delay Tang Sanzang from staying in the Bottomless Cave.

As for the festive decorations on the gate tower, they were not hung by Ao Tu, but were ordered by the Rat Spirit to tempt Tang Sanzang into marriage.

Wukong, unaware of the details, naturally thought of the female Demon. The Female Monster was extremely beautiful, a stunning beauty, Wukong assumed that Ao Tu wanted to become her Dao Companion.

The Little Demon at the gate bowed to Wukong and said, "Great Sage, our Great King invites you!"

Wukong nodded. Now that he knew it was Ao Tu was responsible, he felt more confident and strode inside.

Upon entering, Ao Tu came out to greet them.

Wukong said, "You Demon Dragon, why did you bring your Dao Companion to capture my master?"

Ao Tu thought that directly saying it was to obstruct the Journey to the West would be too blunt and inappropriate, so he made an excuse:

"Since this matter is a good one, I have invited your master to come and witness it together. However, my younger sister's methods were somewhat abrupt and impolite; I hope the Great Sage will forgive her."

Wukong asked, "Is that Female Monster your sister?"

Ao Tu invited Wukong inside, saying as they walked, "She's my sworn Sworn Younger Sister."

Wukong understood, thinking to himself that this Demon Dragon was good at "this kind of thing," not only wanting to form Dao Companion, but also calling each other "Older Brother" and "sister."

Once inside, Ao Tu invited Wukong to sit down, poured him some fine Great Sage, and said, "Besides the banquet, I have another matter to ask of you, Great Sage."

Wukong was quite familiar with Ao Tu, so he didn't stand on ceremony and asked while drinking his Fine Wine, "What is it?"

Ao Tu said, "I'm inviting that Dao Companion, but I want to make a proper ceremony. Could you please, Great Sage, deliver a few invitations on my behalf?"

Wukong laughed, "You Demon Dragon, you even made me, your old man, run errands and deliver invitations for you. Whom do you want to invite?"

Ao Tu said, "There aren't many people. There's Third Prince Nezha of the Heavenly Realm, the Twenty-Eight Mansions, Elder Li Chang Geng, and the Bull Demon King. If anyone else wants to come, just give their invitations to Li Chang Geng and ask him to make the arrangements. He understands human relationships and will handle it properly. Besides that, there's Guanyin Bodhisattva of the Guanyin of the South Sea, and the two Bodhisattva Manjushri and Samantabhadra. We originally intended to invite Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, but he's in the Netherworld Realm, so we can invite him later. If the Eighteen Arhats are at Spirit Mountain, we won't invite them for now, to avoid disturbing the Great Monk."

Wukong, upon hearing this, found it troublesome and said, "Inviting so many people one by one will take a long time. I still need to go to the Journey to the West to obtain the scriptures. If this continues, not only my master, but even the King Tang will die of old age."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Don't worry about that. The Great Monk has already arranged for someone to extend the Tang Emperor's life. The Tang Emperor will be happier if the Great Sage goes on his pilgrimage later. Besides, I will give the Great Sage a gift so that he won't have made a wasted trip."

As he spoke, Ao Tu took out a Alms Bowl from his bosom. It was the color of crystal, and the Six-Character True Words was embedded inside, emitting light. The rim of the bowl was inscribed with Sixty-Four Verses of the Spirit Mountain King Buddha's Protective Spell, which were now hidden beneath the bowl.

When Wukong saw it, his eyes lit up. He took the Alms Bowl and used its magic by heart. He shouted "Big!" and the Alms Bowl became as big as a bucket; he shouted "Big!" again and it became as big as a vat; he shouted "Big!" again and it became as big as a giant cauldron; he shouted "Big!" again and it became as big as a house. He then shouted "Small!" and it kept shrinking until it fell into his hand like a grain of rice.

Overjoyed, Wukong jumped around excitedly and chanted "Om Mani Padme Hum." The Alms Bowl then revealed Sixty-Four Verses of the Spirit Mountain King Buddha's Protective Spell, emitting Golden Light and possessing boundless power.

Wukong exclaimed, "What a treasure! What a treasure!" He carefully put the Alms Bowl into his robes, his face beaming with joy, and cupped his hands to Ao Tu, saying:

"Dragon Brother, I will never forget your kindness in refining this treasure. As the saying goes, 'He who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding, and he who takes another's gift is bound to do his bidding.' This invitation is mine, truly mine."

Ao Tu then laughed and offered him wine to drink together.

Wukong drank three cups in a row, his face still beaming with joy, and said, "I'll go and call Bajie Sha Wujing over later, and then I'll go deliver the invitation."

Ao Tu said, "No need to rush, let's have the feast before we leave."

Wukong said, "We can have the feast after we've invited everyone over. By the way, where is my master? I'll explain things to him before I leave, so he won't worry."

Ao Tu said, "It's behind there; Great Sage, you can go there yourself."

After hearing this, Wukong drank two more cups with Ao Tu, and then went to the Rear Hall.

Further inside, the house became even more festive. Wukong heard some whispers inside, so he pushed the door open a crack to peek. He saw that the Rat Spirit inside was dressed very beautifully, and was peeling grapes for Tang Sanzang with her slender fingers. The two were very close, and their words were full of flirtatious intent.

Wukong was horrified, realizing something was wrong. He thought to himself, "Master, oh Master, why did you have to fall for that Demon Dragon's Dao Companion?"

If that Demon Dragon finds out about this, you monk will surely lose your life, and I will also be implicated, Journey to the West our great pilgrimage to the West to be in vain!

Wukong looked again and saw that Tang Sanzang showed no interest in getting close, his actions were evasive, and he didn't speak to the Yaoguai, only chanting scriptures incessantly. He thought to himself, "That's it! Master is a true Buddha's Disciple, how could he be moved by that Demon? This must be because that Female Monster is fickle and seduced my master. I should quickly go and tell Dragon Brother about this!"

Thinking this, Wukong was about to leave, but suddenly stopped, thinking to himself:

"We can't go. If I expose this, that Female Monster will definitely turn around and blame it on my master. How will we explain ourselves then? I'm afraid Dragon Brother Long will get angry and kill both of us!"

As Wukong pondered, he grew increasingly troubled and carefully considered a solution.

After a long while, Wukong came up with a plan.

"As the saying goes, it's better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage. I suppose things aren't settled yet, so I'll quickly invite the guests over, hold the wedding, and then my master and I will Journey Westward the Main Road. After that, we'll have nothing more to do with that Female Monster, and then we'll be safe!"

The more Wukong thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, and he gradually made up his mind. However, because he lingered outside the door for too long, the Rat Spirit became somewhat aware of his presence.

The Rat Spirit asked, "Who's outside?"

Upon hearing this, Wukong dared not reveal himself and hastily found a place to hide.

The Rat Spirit came out to look around, but saw no one, so it went back.

Seeing this, Wukong breathed a sigh of relief, but then smelled a wisp of smoke. Turning around, he saw a Dragon-Mouth Carved-Lacquer Offering Table opening behind it, and on the altar was a Gilded Incense Burner. On the burner was a large gold plaque with the inscription "Revered Father Heavenly King Li's Seat," and slightly below it, "Revered Elder Brother Third Prince Nezha's Seat."

Wukong thought to himself, "So that Female Monster is Nezha's sister. No wonder the Demon Dragon wanted to invite Nezha, but why didn't he invite Heavenly King Li? Could he have forgotten? Oh well, I'll invite him on his behalf!"