Interesting Journey to the Dharma-Extinguishing Kingdom (III)

Meanwhile, Ao Tu devised a plan to test Tang Sanzang.

He transformed himself into an Old Man; what did he look like?

He was dressed in Confucian robe, with white hair and beard, a thin face, and jade-like lines on his forehead. He leaned on a dragon-headed cane, and although he walked somewhat slowly, he exuded an air of refined elegance.

Upon seeing this, Guanyin Bodhisattva also transformed herself into an Old Granny. What did she look like?

Her hair was white as snow, her face as bright as the autumn moon, her brows and eyes kind and gentle, her complexion as fair as jade. Dressed in simple, plain clothes, she possessed a gentle demeanor. She stepped forward and took Ao Tu's arm, smiling as she said, "Old man, take it easy!"

Upon seeing this, the Patriarch Styx, though extremely unwilling, had no choice but to transform himself. What did he become?

He had sword-like eyebrows that reached his temples, Divine Light eyes, a straight nose, and even lips and teeth. He had a short beard under his chin, was seven feet tall, with a slender waist and broad shoulders, and a tall and upright posture. He wore a blue silk warrior's headband inlaid with pearls, a narrow-sleeved arrow robe, a jade belt around his waist, a white shirt underneath, and fast boots on his feet. He also had a sword and a knife hidden at his waist.

Seeing that the three had all changed, the Rat Spirit couldn't resist transforming herself into a young woman with a full, rounded back and a rosy face, saying in a sweet, coquettish voice:

"Brother, one son is not enough. Teach me to transform into a daughter so I can serve Father!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu sneered, "If I were to teach you to serve me, you'd surely be involved in some immoral act within three days, and your mother would beat you to death!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva said, "I will send her back to Mount Luojia."

The Rat Spirit was very unwilling and pleaded with Ao Tu repeatedly, but Ao Tu ignored her. In the end, Guanyin Bodhisattva sent her to Mount Luojia.

While Guanyin Bodhisattva was away, the Patriarch Styx asked Ao Tu:

"Cult Leader, wasn't the plan to establish a religion under the guise of this state? How come you're saying the King of Buddhist Dharma?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "If Tang Sanzang and his disciples can guide you to goodness, then Buddhist Dharma is useful, and you will naturally believe in Buddhist Dharma. If Tang Sanzang and his disciples cannot guide you to goodness, then Buddhist Dharma is useless, and it will be our turn to establish our own religion!"

The Patriarch Styx then suddenly realized what was going on.

After waiting for a while, Guanyin Bodhisattva returned, and the family of three left the restaurant.

Ao Tu said, "From now on, the three of us will change how we address each other and adopt new names."

The Patriarch Styx said, "Then I shall be called the Blood Sea Hermit!"

Ao Tu said, "Change someone's name."

Guanyin Bodhisattva couldn't help but laugh.

Patriarch Styx retorted angrily, "Why isn't it a person's name? 'Blood Sea Hermit' won't do; ' Netherworld Venerable' would also be acceptable."

Ao Tu said, "Forget it, how can a father let his son name himself? Let me, as his father, name him!" After saying that, he thought for a moment and said, "Let's call him Hua Yunlong." This is the name of a great thief in later generations.

When the Patriarch Styx heard it, he thought it was alright. Although it wasn't as good as the name he had chosen himself, it was at least better than the common names like "Hua Da" or "Hua Er" among Mortal, so he agreed.

Ao Tu said, "My name is Hua Shan." Then he looked at Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Guanyin Bodhisattva smiled and said to Ao Tu, "Just call me Madam."

The three then decided on how to address each other.

Ao Tu first went to the government office and used silver to register his residence. Then he went to Broker to buy a small house. He set up a school in the front yard to teach elementary school students, and used the back yard as his residence.

Ao Tu was not well-known in the city, so naturally, the school was not very popular at first.

Fortunately, Ao Tu's school was free, so in less than a month, its reputation spread, and hundreds of children from the surrounding area came to study there. Ao Tu only accepted fifty students because the courtyard was not large enough to accommodate a hundred.

On the other side, the Patriarch Styx also followed the plan, going out to mingle in the streets every day, practicing kung fu with some local thugs.

Those thugs and hooligans were no match for him. Soon after, rumors spread that the newly arrived Teacher Hua had an unfilial son, Hua Yunlong, who was idle and disgracing the family.

Ao Tu and Guanyin Bodhisattva pretended to be an old married couple every day. Ao Tu taught the children basic education, Guanyin Bodhisattva cooked for them. On holidays, the two would go to Daoist City God and city god temples to pray to the gods and Buddhas, and say things like "I want my son to study well." Soon, everyone knew about it.

As the saying goes, every family has its own troubles, and the two women were dressed so similarly that they looked like an old couple, so no one in the neighborhood suspected anything.

Two more months passed, and the Patriarch Styx had become a local tyrant. One day, he heard that Belongings had acquired a priceless luminous Night-Shining Pearl.

Following Ao Tu's instructions, the Patriarch Styx stole the pearl at night and sold it back during the day, earning five thousand taels of silver.

After the pawnshop kept the beads, they reported it to the authorities.

The Patriarch Styx then displayed his martial arts skills, fighting from the East Market to the West Market, from the South Street to the North Street, injuring countless soldiers. Finally, he scaled the city wall and escaped, carrying five thousand taels of silver on his back.

And just like that, Hua Yunlong became famous overnight.

The government issued a reward notice and sent people to stake out Ao Tu's house.

The Patriarch Styx didn't go back. He fled outside the city and found the bandits he had encountered before. The bandits had a leader called "Ground-Digging Tiger" and a second leader called "One-Eyed Dragon." The two of them led a group of bandits to rob people on the road and usually lived in a Black Inn on the mountain.

Hearing that Hua Yunlong had stolen a lot of silver, the two men harbored evil intentions and led a group of bandits to rob him of the silver.

Little did they know that this was the Patriarch Styx. Soon, they were all beaten into immobility. If the Patriarch Styx hadn't needed these Bandits for a reason, they would have been dead long ago.

Thus, the Patriarch Styx became the Bandits leader, leading his band of Bandits to rob merchants on the road.

The officials waited at Ao Tu's house for Half a Month, but Hua Yunlong did not return. Instead, they heard that Hua Yunlong had gathered Thieves outside the city to rob people on the road. So they quickly arranged for men to suppress the bandits.

Although these officers and soldiers had powerful bows and crossbows, armor, Fast Horse horses, their strength was clearly still somewhat inferior to that of the Patriarch Styx.

The Patriarch Styx pretended to be a master of martial arts, leading Thieves and government troops in a fierce battle. The Dharma-Extinguishing Kingdom government troops were unable to subdue him and instead lost many of their horses.

The matter escalated, eventually reaching the ears of the King of the Dharma-Extinguishing Kingdom, Dharma-Extinguishing Kingdom dispatched his King Imperial Guards to suppress the Thieves, but they were unable to do so.

The Patriarch Styx became increasingly rampant, frequently descending the mountain to rob merchants and even government officials.

Thus, the Patriarch Styx quickly became a major scourge in the Dharma-Extinguishing Kingdom.

Ao Tu was also implicated and spent a lot of money to ask people to speak well of him. Considering that the couple was over seventy years old, they were ultimately not punished.

At that time, Tang Sanzang and his disciples left the Bottomless Cave and Journey to the West. After several months, they arrived in the territory of the Dharma-Extinguishing Kingdom. It was springtime, with the first gentle breezes and the heavy plum rains.

A poem says:

The lush green shade grows thick and dense; a gentle breeze carries swallows to their young.

New lotus leaves float on the surface of the pond, and slender bamboos gradually begin to flourish.

Fragrant grasses stretch to the horizon, and wildflowers carpet the ground.

Swords are inserted into cattails by the stream, and pomegranate blossoms adorn the scene.

Ao Tu saw Tang Sanzang and his disciples approaching from afar and summoned the Patriarch Styx, saying, "Tang Sanzang and his disciples are here. You take men and wait at the Main Road outside the city. Rob Tang Sanzang. You are allowed to lose, but not win!"

The Patriarch Styx said, "At worst, we can pretend to fight to a draw. Why must I lose but not win? Wouldn't that ruin my reputation?"

Ao Tu said, "That Monkey is suspicious. If you fight to a draw, he will become suspicious and won't easily agree to convert you to goodness. You should pretend to be defeated first to lower his guard. After he and his master agree to convert you to goodness, then you can treat the Monkey well."

Upon hearing this, the Patriarch Styx agreed, returned with his men, and waited on the Main Road Dharma-Extinguishing Kingdom City.

Ao Tu then spoke to Guanyin Bodhisattva:

"Teacher, you should go and inform Tang Sanzang and his disciples that the Dharma-Extinguishing Kingdom is capturing monks, lest they be captured by the soldiers before they even reach the Minghe."

Guanyin Bodhisattva smiled and said, "I understand, old man."