Viewing the Lanterns in Jinping Prefecture (5)

Meanwhile, Wukong interrogated the three old demons.

First, they ask where the Mount, then they ask which sect it belongs to —Buddhist Sect or Daoist School? Who are its ancestors? Does it have any brothers? Is it a reincarnation of a virgin, and has it ever stolen elixirs?

The three old demons, whose legs had been broken by Wukong, were afraid of the Monkey's ruthlessness and revealed their origins in detail.

Wukong was skeptical, but pressed them for details. The three old demons dared not hide anything and confessed in detail how much wealth they had amassed and how many lives they had harmed over the years.

Only then did Wukong believe that these three people had no special background.

They then rescued Tang Sanzang and had three old demons carry him.

The three old demons looked strange, and Tang Sanzang dared not sit on them. Wukong saw the somewhat dull-witted Little Ox Spirits from before, and taught him to transform into his Original Form so that he could carry Tang Sanzang.

Then, remembering something, he asked the Little Ox Spirits, "You don't have any Grandmaster, do you?"

The Little Ox Spirits bellowed twice and said, "I've never paid homage to the Patriarch, but I have paid homage to my grandfather. If it weren't for my grandfather, how could I exist?"

Hearing this, Wukong was relieved. He then ordered the remaining Little Demon to carefully search the cave for valuables, which included coral, agate, pearls, Pearl, Tridacna, jade, and fine gold, totaling one stone. They carried all of these on their backs, burned the Demon Cave, and returned to Jinping Prefecture.

After returning, Wukong first escorted Tang Sanzang back, then instructed Bajie and Sha Wujing to collect the valuables from the Demon Cave. He then grabbed the three old demons, rode on Auspicious Light to the clouds, and called out:

"Listen, officials and commoners of Jinping Prefecture! I am the disciple of the Holy Monk Imperial Envoy Imperial Younger Brother the Great Tang Eastern Land. Last night, during the Lantern Viewing the Lanterns, I encountered this monster who impersonated a Buddha, tricking Incense Oil into offering incense and oil, and then abducted my master. I have now Yaoguai these three Rhinoceros Demon. From now on, your prefecture and county need not offer Incense Oil and oil anymore, lest you waste the people's money!"

Upon hearing this, Bajie soared into the sky and said to Wukong:

"Brother! You're standing on the clouds, so those Mortal can't see you clearly. Why not push these three Yaoguai down and let them see clearly!"

Wukong listened and thought it made sense, so he pushed the three Rhinoceros Demon down, and they landed outside the gate of the city hall.

The officials and common people were both delighted and afraid when they saw them. They dared not approach the three old demons and instead walked around them, thanking Wukong and his companions profusely.

Bajie asked, "Brother! Where are these three rhinoceros monsters from? Has anyone claimed them?"

Wukong said, "No one claims it!"

Bajie said, "In that case, we've rid the people of this scourge!"

Wukong said, "That horn is a treasure, don't break it."

Bajie then killed the three Rhinoceros Demon and cut off their heads.

Wukong transformed his Golden Cudgel into a saw and sawed off the horns of the three Rhinoceros Demon.

The three Rhinoceros Demon each had two horns, for a total of six horns.

Bajie exclaimed happily, "This horn is a treasure; it's worth a lot of money!"

Wukong wrapped up the six horns and kept them, saying, "I can't sell these horns; I have a use for them."

Bajie asked, "What use is it?"

Wukong said, "Take this as a gift."

Bajie asked, "To whom are we sending this?"

Wukong said, "One pair for the Jade Emperor, one pair for the Buddha, and one pair for the Demon Dragon Ao Tu."

Bajie laughed and said, "Brother! How come you're good at this too?"

Wukong said, "There are countless hardships and dangers along the way. It would be difficult to overcome them with Supernatural Ability powers and martial arts alone. Let alone me, even several immortals Bodhisattva would not be able to get through. Master often gets trapped in Demon Cave, sometimes for half a year, sometimes for several years. If he wanted to eat, he would have died long ago. Only with the help of three people— the Jade Emperor in Heaven, the Demon Dragon on the road, and the Buddha in the Western Heaven —can we survive countless tribulations and reach Spirit Mountain. That is why we must send gifts!"

Bajie said, "That's right! That's right!"

Wukong then instructed the local officials to dispose of the Rhinoceros Demon's corpse. They skinned it to make armor and War Drums to intimidate Demon Evil, and cut up the meat, stewed it in a large pot, and distributed it to the people of the city.

The whole city was filled with its fragrance.

On the other side, Ao Tu Incarnation descended from the Heaven and arrived in Jinping Prefecture. He was greeted by the aroma of meat filling the city, which made him wonder.

I remember this ordeal was caused by three Rhinoceros Demon who were offering Incense Oil to Jinping Prefecture. But why can't we smell the oil in the city? Only the aroma of meat fills the air.

Following the aroma, Ao Tu went to investigate and found many rhinoceros bones and meat stewing in a large pot, with people gathered around the pot waiting to receive their share of the meat.

Wukong and Bajie stood aside, surrounded by many people. These were families from Mintian County who produced oil. They had heard that Holy Monk had rid them of a scourge and that they would no longer need to offer Incense Oil. So they came to express their gratitude and wanted to hold a banquet to invite Tang Sanzang and his disciples to eat!

Ao Tu then realized he was late.

Wukong acted swiftly, without seeking reinforcements from the Heavenly Court as in the original story, and captured and eliminated the three Rhinoceros Demon all by himself.

Ao Tu exclaimed, "Congratulations! Congratulations!"

Upon hearing the sound, Wukong jumped up and looked over. Seeing it was Ao Tu, he quickly pushed through the crowd and greeted him, "Dragon Brother, what brings you here?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "I've come to congratulate the Great Sage on successfully eliminating the demon scourge of Jinping Prefecture and overcoming another tribulation. Soon the Great Sage and his disciples will arrive at Spirit Mountain and attain Right Fruit!"

Upon hearing this, Wukong laughed and said to Ao Tu, "Dragon Brother, how could I not know? Whether we can overcome this calamity or not is not Old Sun, but up to you. I have a gift for you!"

After saying this, he presented the pair of rhinoceros horns.

Ao Tu said, "How can I accept this gift?"

Wukong said, "Dragon Brother, why be so polite? Leaving aside your help along the way, these three ferocious monsters couldn't have been subdued Old Sun Dragon Brother! Please accept this small gift; otherwise, I won't be at peace with myself!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu had no choice but to accept the treasure.

This Monkey has made further Diligence of Buddhist Dharma.

He originally thought it wouldn't matter if the three Rhinoceros Demon died, since Tang Sanzang disciples hadn't left Jinping Prefecture yet. He could just come up with a plan to slightly hinder them and continue delaying their Journey to the West.

Now that Wukong has brought him a gift, he feels a little embarrassed to stop him anymore.

Wukong said, "There are still many Little Demon here that haven't been dealt with yet. Dragon Brother, do you have a way to deal with them?"

Ao Tu thought for a moment and said, "Spare their lives, I'll take them to plow the fields!"

Wukong agreed.

Ao Tu immediately took in those Little Ox Spirits.

Wukong then took out a pair of rhinoceros horns from his robes and said, "Old Sun, intend to present these to the Jade Emperor. Since Dragon Brother is here, why don't you return to Heaven and help Old Sun deliver Jade Emperor?"

Ao Tu glanced at it, thinking that although he couldn't openly obstruct it, delaying it for a few more days would be good, so he said:

In my opinion, it would be best if the Great Sage himself delivered this item!

Wukong asked, "Why?"

Ao Tu said, "His Majesty rules over the Three Realms and is the master of the Three Realms. What treasures does he not have? Only when the Great Sage personally delivers them will His Majesty be pleased upon seeing them."

After listening, Wukong thought about it carefully and felt it made sense. He said, "In that case, I, Old Sun, will personally deliver it!"

Ao Tu said, "This matter should not be delayed. As the saying goes, 'A long night is full of dreams.' If we delay any longer, the treasure may be lost!"

Wukong said, "That makes sense! That makes sense! I Old Sun, will inform my master first, then send the other pair to the Jade Emperor, and then give the other pair to the Buddha!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Excellent! Excellent!"

Wukong then told Tang Sanzang about the matter.

After hearing this, Tang Sanzang agreed.

Over the years, he has become well-versed in Buddhist Dharma and knows the importance of this matter.

Wukong then took the rhinoceros horn, Somersault Cloud, and rushed up to the Heaven.