Teaching disciples in Jade Flower Prefecture (X)

Meanwhile, the Taoist Taiqian entrusted Bai Ze with his final instructions.

Bai Ze understood the will of Heaven and went down to make preparations.

Taoist Taiqian called him back and bestowed upon him the Ruyi and the Precious Seal as well, instructing him on how to protect himself.

Bai Ze was extremely grateful.

Meanwhile, the Third Prince and Sha Wujing returned to the city, arranged for their soldiers to guard it, and then went to the palace to pay their respects to the King.

When the Old King saw the Third Prince return, he was somewhat surprised and said, "My son, your Big Brother is brave and skilled, and your Second Brother is fierce and strong-willed. You are the youngest, and I thought you couldn't compete with the two of them, but I didn't expect you to be the first to return!"

The Third Prince bowed and said, "Father King, you have misunderstood me. Although I was the first to return, I have not accomplished anything."

The Old King asked in surprise, "My son, you have not accomplished anything, why have you returned? Do you no longer wish to inherit my Throne?"

The Third Prince kowtowed again and said, "Father King, what you say is true. I followed my Big Brother and Second Brother to Leopard Head Mountain and saw that Big Brother Second Brother had good plans. One attacked the mountain from the front, and the other attacked it from the Back Mountain with fire. I have no plan of my own, and my skills are far inferior to those of my two brothers. If I were to forcibly seize the Throne, I fear it would hurt our brotherly bond, and I have no chance of winning. If I make a mistake, wouldn't that just benefit the Demon and make the world laugh at us? Therefore, I discussed with Sha Wujing and we decided to lead our troops back to the city. First, to guard the city and prevent any escaped Demon from escaping down the mountain and harming the people; second, to stay by Father King's side to fulfill my filial duty; and third, to prepare a victory banquet to celebrate the return of my Big Brother and Second Brother, which will show the depth of our brotherly affection."

Old King was delighted upon hearing this and said:

"My son, though you are not as shrewd as your two elder brothers, you are truly a filial and virtuous person. I will bestow upon you abundant gold, silver, and land, ensuring you a life of comfort and wealth."

The Third Prince bowed deeply twice and said, "Your son thanks you Father King!"

The Third Prince then went down to arrange for restaurants and eateries in the city to prepare fine Fine Wine and a feast, instructed the women in the city to pick fresh flowers and the Cloth Shop to cut Red Cloth, and set up gongs, drums, bells and chimes at the city gate to await the triumphant return of his Big Brother and Second Brother.

As evening fell, seeing the dust billowing on the Main Road, the crowd quickly called out to the Third Prince, "Your Highness, look! Perhaps the First Your Highness and the Second Your Highness are returning!"

Upon hearing this, the Third Prince looked into the distance and indeed saw troops hurrying towards them. He quickly said, "Quickly sound the drums and gongs to welcome the victorious army!"

For a time, the city gate was filled with the sounds of gongs and drums, singing and dancing, and a joyous atmosphere.

The Eldest Prince and Second Prince came running, sweating profusely, and shouted:

"Who's beating the drums and gongs! Stop it immediately! Don't attract the Demon!"

The Third Prince said, "Big Brother, Second Brother, it was I who ordered the drums and gongs to welcome you. What's wrong? Is the battle going badly?"

The Eldest Prince said, "Don't mention it! Don't mention it! It's utterly shameful!"

The Third Prince asked, "What's wrong?"

The Second Prince said, "I thought our three masters were divine beings descended to earth, but I never imagined there could be someone even stronger. Two of them defeated one of us, and we lost our treasure. We were forced to flee down the mountain in a sorry state, achieving nothing and suffering heavy losses. How can we face our Father King now? It would be better to die outside the city and preserve the dignity of our royal family!"

The Eldest Prince wept and said, "My second brother is absolutely right! Now, death is the only option left!"

The Third Prince, seeing this, could not bear to see the two speak of death, and quickly advised them:

"Big Brother, Second Brother, you mustn't! Father King is already in his twilight years; how can he bear the pain of losing his son? If you two die, although you may preserve your own reputation, it would be the greatest act of filial impiety!"

The Eldest Prince, with tears in his eyes, said, "My Third Younger Brother is absolutely right! In that case, I have no choice but to shamelessly go and apologize to Father King!"

The Second Prince said, "Indeed! Indeed! Let me take a black cloth to cover my face, so as not to be ridiculed by the people."

The Third Prince then welcomed the two into the city and asked, "Where are Master Sun and Master Zhu?"

The Eldest Prince and Second Prince said, "They've already flown back to the city on clouds."

The three Prince then returned to the palace together, met with the King, and explained the situation.

Old King did not blame the two Prince for their losses, but upon hearing of the Demon's power, he was very worried and hurriedly sent someone to invite Tang Sanzang and his disciples to the palace.

Before long, Tang Sanzang and his disciples entered the hall.

Tang Sanzang apologized beforehand, saying, "My disciple led the three Prince out of the city to Subduing Demons, but we were unable to achieve victory. I hope Your Majesty will forgive us."

Old King said, "My son said that there are many Demon in the mountains, and they have treasures for protection, making them extremely dangerous. It is not the fault of the three elders that we could not defeat them. It is just that I am worried, so I invited the Holy Monk and his disciples to the palace."

Wukong asked, "What troubles Your Majesty?"

Old King said, "We failed to capture the Demon today. Now that it has rested Demon recuperated, it will surely gather poisonous monsters and monstrous creatures to descend the mountain for revenge. At that time, it may harm the people of the city and ruin my family's fortune! I beg the Holy Monk and his disciples to save us."

Wukong said, "Your Majesty need not worry, I, Sun Wukong, will certainly clean up the mess and eliminate this menace!"

Old King said, "I heard from Wang'er that the Demon is extremely powerful and has treasures for protection. I wonder how Elder Sun plans to eliminate it?"

Wukong laughed and said, "This is nothing. Although that Demon has many treasures, his skills are mediocre. Today, I, Old Sun, underestimated him and was careless, hence my defeat. After a day of rest, tomorrow I will use my transformation technique to investigate that Demon's true nature and I will surely be able to win."

Old King and immediately arranged for a banquet to be held in the palace for Tang Sanzang and his disciples. Afterwards, he arranged for the four of them to recuperate.

The next day, Wukong, having rested and regained his strength, rode the wind to the Tiger's Mouth Cave to investigate.

Upon reaching the cave entrance, one sees: the jade-like Yao Grass in front of the cave have all been cut down, and the exotic flowers behind the cave have been crushed into mud. Tall pines and old cypresses have been uprooted and broken; ancient trees and bamboo groves are withered, black, and cracked. Mountain crows and magpies have perished in pairs, and wild deer and roe deer have died in pairs. Below the cliff, corpses are piled up; before the precipice, there are mounds of graves.

There were two Wolf Spirit, Diao Zuan Gu Guai and Gu Guai Diao Zuan, walking down the mountain path, their words Diao Zuan Gu Guai manner:

"The Great King's theft of those three weapons has indeed brought disaster upon him, resulting in the deaths of many brothers. Now we are sent to buy pigs and sheep to invite the Great King to a feast. We must buy some fine, fat pigs and sheep so that the Great King will be pleased and thus be able to avenge us!"

He said in Gu Guai Diao Zuan, "That's right! That's right! Let's take advantage of this opportunity and buy more good wine! Some for the deceased! And we brothers can have some too! So that when we die, we won't have to tell people in the afterlife that we've never had a good drink!"

He said Diao Zuan Gu Guai, "Don't use it all. Keep some for yourself, and buy a cotton coat to keep warm!"

Wukong overheard the two demons discussing buying pigs and sheep to entertain some kind of Great King, and a plan formed in his mind. He used a Immobilization Spell to freeze the two demons in place, then searched them, finding forty taels of silver and two waist tokens: one reading "Diao Zuan Gu Guai" and the other "Gu Guai Diao Zuan."

Wukong smiled, took the silver token, returned to the city, met the King, explained the situation, and said:

"Your Majesty, please buy some pigs and sheep. My two brothers and I have transformed ourselves, infiltrated the Demon's cave, retrieved the treasures and weapons, and then subdued the Demon."

Old King was delighted upon hearing this and instructed his purchasing agent to go to the market and buy ten fat pigs and ten fat sheep, as well as some Imperial Wine from the palace.

Wukong then transformed into Diao Zuan Gu Guai, and taught Bajie to transform into Gu Guai Diao Zuan. Sha Wujing, who was not skilled in transformation, disguised himself as a pig and sheep seller.

Bajie asked, "Brother! I've never seen that Gu Guai Diao Zuan before. How does it transform?"

Wukong said, "Come with me."

Wukong led Bajie to the mountains, where the two Little Demon were still standing.

Upon seeing the appearance, Bajie immediately transformed into Gu Guai Diao Zuan creature, perfectly mimicking the original.

After the transformation, he raised his rake to kill the two Little Demon.

Wukong said, "Bajie, don't do it, spare them!"

Bajie said, "Brother! When did you become so merciful? It's easy to let them go, but wouldn't we be exposed?"

Wukong said, "These two Little Demon are pitiful and foolish; they are not capable of evil. My Immobilization Spell will not be lifted until tomorrow at Chen Hour, so there's no need to worry about it being exposed."

Upon hearing this, Bajie put away his Rake, grabbed the belts of the two Little Demon, lifted them up one in each hand, and threw them into the bushes to prevent passersby from seeing them.

The two then transformed into Little Demon demons, took their waist tokens, and entered the mountains, with Sha Wujing following behind, herding pigs and sheep.

Upon reaching the cave entrance, several Little Demon were waiting outside. One had a blue face, one a red face, and two had hairy faces. All of them had injuries to their hands and feet, burned noses, and burned ears.

Upon seeing Wukong and Bajie, the little Little Demon called out:

"You two are so Diao Zuan Gu Guai and Gu Guai Diao Zuan! You're back so quickly! Where are the pigs and sheep you bought?"

Wukong exclaimed, "They're back! They're back! Aren't they the ones behind?"

The little Little Demon looked back and saw someone herding a lot of pigs and sheep over.

The man with the blue face asked, "Who is that person?"

Wukong said, "Those are customers who sell pigs and sheep. They owe us a few taels of silver, so they came to collect it."

The blue-faced man nodded.

Wukong said, "Why don't you bandage up your wound and apply some herbal medicine? Leaving it exposed like this, won't it ooze pus?"

The blue-faced man said, "You don't know, it was the Great King who instructed us to expose our wounds and greet the Great King here. Once the Great King sees our miserable state, he will surely avenge us!"

Wukong realized that's how it is, so he greeted them and entered the cave with Bajie and Sha Wujing.

After passing through the second gate, I encountered many Yaoguai.

The Yaoguai were all hungry because of the previous battle.

Seeing Sha Wujing driving over with fat pigs and sheep, they all rushed forward to seize them, preparing to slaughter them.

The Yellow Lion Spirit inside came out upon hearing the sound, and seeing the Diao Zuan Gu Guai Gu Guai Diao Zuan, said:

"You two are quite efficient; how many pigs and sheep did you buy?"

Wukong said, "I bought ten pigs, ten sheep, and five jars of Fine Wine. The pigs cost twenty-five taels of silver, the sheep fifteen taels, and the Fine Wine five taels, totaling forty-five taels of silver. We're still five taels short. This is the guest who came to my house to find the missing silver."

Upon hearing this, the Yellow Lion Spirit pulled the Diao Zuan Gu Guai Gu Guai Diao Zuan closer and whispered, "You scoundrels! How did you two buy those pigs and sheep? A single pig costs more than two taels of silver, that's incredibly expensive!"

Wukong hurriedly said, "Not expensive! Not expensive! Your Great King, please look, these are all top-quality fat pigs and sheep! The price is a little high, but they are very juicy!"

Below, a Raccoon Dog Spirit was grabbing a fat pig, being dragged around by it, and laughing, "Your Great King! It really is a fat pig! What a bargain!"

The Yellow Lion Spirit was delighted and said, "You've done a good job! Go and get five taels of silver to send that man away."

Wukong said, "Your Great King, that guest has two reasons: first, he's looking for silver; second, he wants to see Your Great King's treasures!"

Upon hearing this, the Yellow Lion Spirit angrily retorted, "You cunning and despicable fellow! I brought those treasures to ask our Grandfather to avenge us. If he sees them and the news leaks out, the monk will be on guard. What will become of us then?"

Wukong said, "Your Great King, this person is from out of town, not from the city. The news won't leak out."

Just then, a Little Demon brought over five taels of silver.

Wukong gave the silver to Sha Wujing and said to the Yellow Lion Spirit:

"Your Great King, let me take him to the back to have some food with us!"

The Yellow Lion Spirit agreed.

Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Wujing went to the back hall, each took some food, and squatted down to eat. On the table in front of the hall were three weapons: the Golden Cudgel, the Nine-Toothed Rake, and the Subduing Demons Staff.

The Yellow Lion Spirit approached and said, "Guest, those three items are treasures. Take a look, but once you leave, never tell anyone."

Sha Wujing nodded his thanks.

When Bajie saw this, he went to fetch it.

Wukong stopped him, saying, "Bajie, don't be rash! That monster still has treasures he hasn't taken out yet!"

The three of them then waited in the hall.

There were groans and moans outside; those were the sounds of pigs and sheep being slaughtered.

After a while, the sound gradually stopped, and hot water began to bubble and boil, releasing a fragrant aroma of meat.

After waiting for a while, the meat was cooked, and then we heard noises outside.

Then, a strange old monster was seen being escorted in by a group of lions, including Bai Ze, Tuanshiang, and Fuli.

Wukong recognized Bai Ze as the Demon who had used the treasure earlier, but he didn't recognize the old monster beside him, guessing it was some kind of Grandfather.

Upon seeing the old monster, the Yellow Lion Spirit immediately stepped forward, knelt down, and wept uncontrollably, recounting all the grievances he had suffered in the past.

Wukong chuckled inwardly; this Yaoguai was even going to complain to her parents.

After listening to the Yellow Lion Spirit's words, the Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage pondered for a moment, then sat down in the Main Seat and said, "My dear grandson, I recognize those two monks you mentioned."

The Yellow Lion Spirit asked, "Grandfather, do you recognize him?"

Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage said, "Those are Tang Sanzang's three disciples. The one with the hairy face Thunder Duke mouth is Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who descended to earth. He once wreaked havoc in the Havoc in Heaven, and even 100,000 Heavenly Soldiers couldn't subdue him. The one with the long snout and big ears is called Zhu Bajie, who was once Marshal Tianpeng in the celestial realm."

Upon hearing this, Wukong pondered to himself, thinking that they must be Heaven Demon, thus knowing their origins.

The Yellow Lion Spirit said, "If there are three disciples, why have I only seen two? Could there be one hiding in the shadows that I haven't seen?"

Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage said, "There's no need to worry about that. The three of them are protecting Tang Sanzang on his Journey to the West, which is the order of the Tathagata Buddha of the Western Heaven Paradise. You're stealing their weapons; aren't you just asking for trouble?"

The Yellow Lion Spirit wept, saying, "I promised to return them, but they insisted on attacking the mountain and burned and killed nearly half of my entire family! Grandfather, how can this grudge not be avenged?"

Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage could only sigh.

The Yellow Lion Spirit immediately ordered wine and dishes to be served, presented the three treasures to the Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage, and then took out Alms Bowl from his robes and offered it as well, saying, "These are all the treasures of those monks. I now offer them to you, Grandfather, and beg Grandfather to avenge us!"

The lions cried out in unison, "We beg our Grandfather to avenge us!"

Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage glanced at the treasures, seemingly unconcerned, and said, "Let's put them aside for now!"

After saying that, he brought out some wine to drink.

The Yellow Lion Spirit then taught the Diao Zuan Gu Guai and Gu Guai Diao Zuan to temporarily take away the treasure.

Upon seeing this, Wukong smiled and stepped forward, pretending to struggle as he moved the three treasures along with the Alms Bowl. He then gave one to each of Bajie and Sha Wujing, collecting them all. He then used his monkey hair to transform into the shapes of the treasures and replace them in their place.

Sha Wujing said, "Elder Brother, let's do it!"

Wukong laughed and said, "Don't rush! There are still two treasures left. Let me, Old Sun, bring them over as well before we start!"

Bajie said, "With so many people around, how can we take it?"

Wukong said, "Watch Old Sun!"

In the hall, all the demons ate and drank together.

The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage wine, accompanied by a host of lions.

Wukong, holding a bowl of wine, pretended to drink it, then moved to Bai Ze's side, observed him, and seeing that the treasure wasn't outside, guessed it must be hidden inside his clothes. He then said:

"Your Majesty... Your Great King, I'll pour you some wine!"

Bai Ze said, "Come! Come!"

Wukong then picked up the wine jar, poured wine, and deliberately spilled it on the table.

Bai Ze said, "You 'Diao Zuan Gu Guai! You're drunk! You've spilled all the wine on the table!"

Wukong hurriedly said, "My hands are shaking! My hands are shaking! Your Great King, please take off your clothes quickly, lest they get stained with wine and grease and won't be clean!"

Bai Ze listened and thought it made sense. Firstly, he liked cleanliness; secondly, if his clothes were soiled, he was afraid the Immortal would be disgusted, so he took off his outer garment.

Wukong, standing nearby, saw that the Ruyi Precious Seal were indeed hanging inside the clothes.

Bai Ze took off his clothes and, seeing that his treasure was exposed and probably stained with oil and wine, took them off as well, handing them to the Diao Zuan Gu Guai, saying, "Take good care of it."

Wukong exclaimed joyfully, "I obey! I obey!"