Interesting Journey to the Dharma-Extinguishing Kingdom (VI)
Meanwhile, the Patriarch Styx led his band of thieves to the shop and broke down the door.
The shopkeeper peeked through the crack in the window and saw a group of masked men carrying torches and Steel Saber. Knowing they were not good people, she dared not go out, hoping they would take the money and leave without harming anyone.
The thieves had all conspired together. Once inside the courtyard, they first led away the White Dragon Horse. One-Eyed Dragon said, "Putting everything else aside, just looking at the horse's quality, this deal will surely be worth a fortune!"
"That's right," said the Ground-Digging Tiger. "Let's go back and sell them, then we'll split the profits!" He then asked the waiters who had conspired with him, "Where are those merchants staying?"
The waiter said, "Follow me!" and led the group to the counter.
"What is this?" Ground-Digging Tiger.
The waiter said, "These merchants are all ill; they're sensitive to wind and light, so they're sleeping in the counter!"
Upon hearing this, the Ground-Digging Tiger tried to pry open the cabinet, but he couldn't.
Because Wukong was afraid that someone would open the cabinet from the outside while he was asleep and see that he and his disciples were monks, he cast a spell on the cabinet door so that it could not be opened from the outside.
After struggling for a while but failing to open the cabinet, the Ground-Digging Tiger said, "This is made of good wood; you can't pry it open with Steel Saber. Use Hemp Rope to lift it up and carry the cabinet away!"
Upon hearing this, the thieves went to get wooden poles and Hemp Rope to lift the cabinet.
There are four living people in this cabinet. Leaving aside Tang Sanzang and Wukong, let's just talk about Bajie and Sha Wujing. The two of them are tall and big, and each of them weighs as much as four or five people.
Two thieves couldn't lift it, four thieves still couldn't lift it, and six thieves barely managed to sway it, but still couldn't lift it.
"A bunch of cowards! You can't even lift a cabinet! You've made me lose face in front of our Big Brother! Get out of the way!" said the Ground-Digging Tiger.
Upon hearing this, the thieves parted to make way.
Ground-Digging Tiger called One-Eyed Dragon, and the two of them went to lift it.
Both men were skilled in martial arts, and with a shout, they lifted the cabinet, which wobbled as it went. However, they couldn't hold it for long; soon they ran out of strength and had to put it down again.
Tang Sanzang and his companions were shaken awake.
Bajie asked, "Brother, who's carrying us?"
Wukong recognized the thieves and laughed, "Tathagata Arhat under the Buddha's command, about to carry us to the Western Heaven!"
Outside, the Ground-Digging Tiger said, "This cabinet weighs several thousand pounds. It's probably not the people inside that are heavy; it must be filled with a lot of valuables. We'll need a few more people to carry it."
So twelve thieves boarded the cabinet, each carrying a wooden pole.
Because it was dark, the thieves couldn't exert themselves properly, and shouting slogans would be inconvenient. They tried to lift it several times but failed.
The Patriarch Styx said, "A bunch of useless trash."
He then reached out and lifted the cabinet with one hand.
The thieves all exclaimed in admiration, "Big Brother, your skills are superb! Big Brother, your skills are superb!"
Lifting anything requires the most effort, especially the lifting and lowering. The Patriarch Styx lifted the cabinet, and the thieves carried the weight evenly on their shoulders, which saved them a lot of effort. So they left the shop and headed straight out of the city.
Upon reaching the city wall, the bandits faced another dilemma. They had easily scaled it with a grappling hook on the way in, but now, armed with horses and a chest, how could they possibly get over?
The bandits, having exhausted their options, looked to the Patriarch Styx and said, "Your Great King, we simply cannot scale the city wall with this cabinet. Your Great King is renowned for your abilities, perhaps...?"
The Patriarch Styx said coldly, "What, you expect me to carry it over?"
The thief was frightened and dared not speak.
"We're in this line of work," said the Ground-Digging Tiger." "There's no rule in our line of work where the Great King has to carry our valuables! I think we should kill the guards, open the city gates, and go out!"
The thieves exclaimed, "That's good!"
One-Eyed Dragon said, "It's good, but I'm afraid it will alert the Troops. Although we're not afraid of them, we won't be able to take the goods. Wouldn't that be a wasted effort?"
The thieves were now undecided.
The Patriarch Styx said, "No need to argue. Go to my house and hide there for a while. We'll disguise ourselves and leave the city tomorrow morning!"
The bandits were overjoyed upon hearing this, and so they followed the Patriarch Styx home.
Inside the cupboard, Wukong thought to himself, "This thief actually had a home!"
At the fourth watch of the night, the Patriarch Styx arrived at his door and knocked, saying, "Open the door! Open the door!"
Inside the house, Ao Tu was fast asleep.
Hearing the commotion, Guanyin Bodhisattva, who was standing nearby, got up and nudged Ao Tu, saying:
"Old man! Old man! Listen, someone's knocking on the door!"
Ao Tu woke up groggily and said, "Old Woman, are you hearing things? It's so late, who would be knocking on the door?"
So he lay down again.
Just then, someone knocked on the door and said, "Open the door! Open the door!"
Guanyin Bodhisattva hurriedly shook Ao Tu and said, "Listen! Listen!"
Ao Tu exclaimed in surprise, "Oh dear! Someone is really knocking on the door! In the middle of the night, could it be some kind of Demon or demon?"
Guanyin Bodhisattva said fearfully, "Old man, what should we do? Will the Demon eat us?"
Ao Tu said, "Don't make a sound, cover yourself with the blanket, and pray to Guanyin Bodhisattva for protection!"
Upon hearing this, Guanyin Bodhisattva couldn't help but laugh and pinched Ao Tu.
Ao Tu hurriedly exclaimed, "Oh no! Old Woman, Demon is pinching me!"
The Patriarch Styx knocked on the door many times without response, and finally shouted, "It's me! Open the door! Open the door!"
Ao Tu asked, "Who are you?"
The Patriarch Styx cursed inwardly, knowing that Ao Tu was deliberately taking advantage of him, but there was nothing he could do. He could only feel regret, thinking that if he had said "this or that" earlier, he might be the one as the Cult Leader now!
Helpless, he could only grit his teeth and say, "Father, Mother, it's me! Open the door!"
Upon hearing the voice, Guanyin Bodhisattva said to Ao Tu, "Our son has returned!"
Ao Tu said, "I'll go open the door!"
So he changed his clothes, slipped on his sandals, picked up his cane, and went to open the door.
Only then did the Patriarch Styx lead the band of thieves in.
Ao Tu, holding his cane, stepped forward and struck the Patriarch Styx, saying:
"You unfilial son! Didn't you go out to steal? What are you doing back here?"
The Patriarch Styx said, "Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and get some food!"
Ao Tu ignored them and shouted that he wanted to drive them away.
The man who was known for his smooth talk, Ground-Digging Tiger, stepped forward with a fawning smile and said, "Grandpa, we've been starving all day. Please give us something to eat! We'll leave at dawn!"
Upon hearing this, Ao Tu went to prepare some food.
Guanyin Bodhisattva also rose and took Ao Tu's hand.
Ao Tu then asked her to pick and prepare some vegetables in the yard.
He cut two pumpkins, blanched them, mashed them, and used them to cook porridge.
While the food was cooking, I looked back and saw Guanyin Bodhisattva still picking vegetables.
Ao Tu stepped forward to help, saying, "Why are you picking it so carefully? I didn't even peel the pumpkin."
Guanyin Bodhisattva said, "Make more and set them aside, so you won't have to make them in the morning."
Ao Tu said, "I'll make it for you separately this morning; it's hot today, it won't keep well if it sits for too long."
Guanyin Bodhisattva smiled, gathered the vegetables together, put some oil in the pot, and stir-fried them.
The porridge was cooked quickly.
A fragrant aroma wafted out, and Bajie, inside the box, exclaimed, "We must have arrived at Spirit Mountain! I can already smell the food! Truly, this is the Western Paradise; they're serving breakfast at the fourth watch of the night!"
Ao Tu then distributed the food to the bandits.
Those thieves were all lazy and idle people, otherwise they wouldn't have become Thieves. Seeing that the food Ao Tu brought was not very oily, they complained a bit.
Fearing that these people might speak recklessly and anger Hua Yunlong, Ground-Digging Tiger said, "Madam, this dish is very well cooked. What are you looking for? If you want wine and meat, wait until dawn to leave the city, slaughter these merchants, divide the gold and silver, and there will be plenty of wine and meat to eat!"
Hearing this, the thieves dared not complain.
Bajie and the others, who were inside the box, heard the whole thing clearly and exclaimed, "Oh no! It's not some Arhat at all; it's been kidnapped by thieves who are going to kill it!" They were filled with great distress.
By dawn, the thieves had eaten their fill and rested back to back.
Ao Tu and Guanyin Bodhisattva each took a few sticks of incense and went to the cabinet, chanting:
"How pitiful! How pitiful! I don't know which country or place you merchants are from, that you have encountered your unfilial son, who intends to kill you for your money. I am powerless to save your lives, so I can only offer this incense, hoping you will be reborn well in your next life!"