Chapter 52: Three Strikes Against The White Bone Spirit
However, Ao Tu activated the Six-Character Mantra.
“Om Mani Padme Hum!”
Six golden characters flew out from the sky, with Buddhist sounds resounding.
Wukong was disturbed by the Golden Fillet Spell and had no chance to resist. He was struck by the six characters, sending him flying.
Ao Tu said: “Tang Sanzang, unless you remove your sins, you will not reach Spirit Mountain. Take good care of yourself.”
After speaking, the Buddha Statue in the sky dissipated, actually returning to the false body. The Buddha Statue also scattered with the wind.
Wukong flew back, still wanting to hit Ao Tu.
Ao Tu protected Qiao Er and the others behind him.
Tang Sanzang angrily said: “Wretched monkey, you have repeatedly broken the precept against killing, even the Buddha cannot tolerate you. Do you still want to commit violence?”
Wukong said: “Master, I only hit monsters. This person is a transformation of that Demon Dragon. He captured you several times before; do you not remember?”
Tang Sanzang said: “Nonsense! He is a monster? With so many people here, are they all monsters?”
Wukong looked at the people behind Ao Tu.
A woman, an old man, an old woman—all mortals.
Wukong had no choice but to say: “Those three are mortals; only this one is a monster!”
Qiao Er mustered her courage and said: “You are the monster! This is my husband!”
Qiao Er’s parents also said: “You hairy-faced, thunder-mouthed wretch, not only did you kill someone, but you also frame our son-in-law as a monster?”
Wukong truly had no way to explain himself.
Tang Sanzang said: “Wretched monkey! What more do you have to say! Monks do good deeds, like the grass in a spring garden—its growth is not seen daily, yet it increases bit by bit. Those who do evil are like the stone used to sharpen a knife—its wear is not seen daily, yet it diminishes bit by bit.
You do not know good from evil, repeatedly taking lives, causing me to lose all merit and be entangled in karmic debt. How am I to obtain the True Sutras? Go back!”
Wukong said: “Master, with your mortal eyes, you cannot recognize demonic transformations. I eliminate harm for you, yet you wrongly blame me. As the saying goes, ‘things do not go beyond three.’ You have driven me away three times. If I do not go, I will seem like a lowly, shameless person. I will go! I will go! But if I go, I fear you will have no one under you.”
Tang Sanzang angrily said: “You wretched monkey, only you are a person? Wu Neng and Wu Jing are not people?”
Hearing this, Wukong said: “Hardship! Hardship! This Westward Journey is filled with a thousand hardships and dangers, unimaginably fierce. To protect you, I have passed through ancient caves, entered deep forests, captured demons and monsters, recruited Ba Jie, obtained Sha Seng, enduring a thousand pains and hardships.
Back when I caused the Great Havoc in Heaven, it was not this hard. Now I end up with ‘when the birds are gone, the bow is hidden away; when the rabbits are dead, the hounds are cooked!’—Fine! Fine! Fine! Going back is fine, but I fear that《 Golden Fillet Spell》.”
Tang Sanzang said: “Go back; I will not recite it anymore.”
Wukong said: “Hard to say. When you reach that place of venomous demons and bitter suffering and cannot escape, when Ba Jie and Sha Seng cannot save you, then you will think of me and cannot help but recite it again. Even ten thousand miles away, my head will still ache.”
Hearing this, Tang Sanzang grew even angrier. He called Sha Seng to take out paper and pen from the baggage, wrote a Letter of Dismissal, and handed it to Wukong, saying:
“Wretched monkey! Take this as proof! I no longer want you as a disciple! If it is truly as you say, then I will fall into Avici Hell!”
Wukong quickly took the Letter of Dismissal, folded it, hid it in his sleeve, and said:
“Master, no need for oaths; I will go. But after following you this far, now to abandon it halfway without achieving the right fruit—you please sit and receive one bow from me, then I will go.”
Tang Sanzang turned away, ignoring him, and said:
“I am a good monk; I will not accept your bow from a wicked person!”
Seeing this, Wukong used a spell of external incarnation, plucked three hairs from behind his head, transformed them into three clones, and with his original body, four in total, surrounded Tang Sanzang from all sides to bow.
Tang Sanzang could not dodge left or right and received one bow.
Wukong jumped up, retrieved the hairs, and instructed Sha Seng:
“Virtuous Younger Brother, you are a good person. If any demon captures Master, tell them Old Sun is his eldest disciple, and upon hearing of my prowess, they will not dare harm Master.”
Tang Sanzang said: “I am a good monk; I will not mention the name of you wicked person. Are you not going back yet?”
Hearing this, Wukong somersaulted on his Somersault Cloud and vanished in an instant.
After Wukong left, Tang Sanzang sincerely apologized to Ao Tu.
Ao Tu said: “My younger sister was beaten to death by your disciple, my brother beaten to disability, and you think bending your waist and knee once repays the sins on your body?”
Hearing this, Tang Sanzang said: “This poor monk failed in discipline; this mistake is all my fault. As long as it can offset the sins I have committed, I will do anything.”
Ao Tu said: “You monk at least have the look of admitting fault. Since that is so, first transport my younger sister’s corpse back and bury her.”
Hearing this, Tang Sanzang immediately ordered Ba Jie to carry the corpse.
Ba Jie said: “It was Senior Brother who hit the person; why make me carry it? The person is beaten into a pile of meat mush; I won’t carry it!”
Tang Sanzang ordered Sha Seng to carry it.
Sha Seng packed the baggage and pretended to be deaf.
Ba Jie patted him: “Junior Brother Sha, Master is calling you!”
Sha Seng said: “Ah! Master, what do you need?”
Tang Sanzang said: “Carry back the corpse of that poor woman beaten to death by Wukong, so she can be buried.”
Sha Seng said: “What woman?”
Tang Sanzang said: “The woman we met on the road who was delivering food!”
Sha Seng said: “What about the woman delivering food?”
Tang Sanzang took a breath and said: “For you to carry her corpse back!”
Sha Seng said: “Carry her corpse back?”
Tang Sanzang said: “Yes, go quickly.”
Sha Seng said: “Master, today while walking, this disciple was carrying the load behind the White Horse and does not remember the way we came.”
Hearing this, Tang Sanzang was so angry he was helpless and said: “If you won’t go, I will go carry it myself!”
Seeing this, Ba Jie quickly pulled Sha Seng:
“Master, with disciples here, how dare we let Master move? If word gets out, would it not be said that we two are unfilial? Rest here; Junior Brother Sha and I will go find the corpse.”
Seeing this, Tang Sanzang’s anger subsided somewhat. Watching Ba Jie and Sha Seng leave, he said to Ao Tu: “Benefactor, my two disciples have gone.”
Ao Tu thought to himself that this monk knew how to order people around, and thus said:
“My brother was also injured by your disciples and is now crippled and unable to move. Should you not go care for him?”
Hearing this, Tang Sanzang said: “Benefactor is right; this poor monk will now recite sutras and pray for blessings for him.”
Saying this, Tang Sanzang went into the room to recite sutras for Tiger Vanguard.
Seeing this, Ao Tu gave Tiger Vanguard a look.
Tiger Vanguard said: “Water, I want to drink water.”
Hearing this, Tang Sanzang got up to bring water for Tiger Vanguard.
After Tiger Vanguard drank the water, Tang Sanzang sat down and recited a couple lines of sutras.
Tiger Vanguard said: “Hungry, I want to eat.”
Tang Sanzang then got up and brought food for Tiger Vanguard.
After Tiger Vanguard ate, Tang Sanzang sat down and recited a couple lines of sutras.
Tiger Vanguard said: “It hurts, my leg hurts!”
Tang Sanzang said: “Benefactor, for your leg pain, this poor monk has no way. Wait for my two disciples to return; they have the ability to soar cloud and ride mist. I will send them down the mountain to find a physician for you.”
Tiger Vanguard said: “This leg of mine feels wrong; it hurts badly. Move it for me a bit.”
Tang Sanzang had no choice but to move Tiger Vanguard’s leg.
Tiger Vanguard’s tiger leg was as heavy as a thousand jun; it exhausted the White Flour monk Tang Sanzang, sweating profusely, just to move it a little.
Tiger Vanguard said: “It hurts, hurts even more; move it to the right—then to the left a bit…”
At that time, Ba Jie and Sha Seng arrived in the forest.
Sha Seng said: “Second Senior Brother, are you really going to carry a dead person?”
Ba Jie said: “Carry what? In these barren mountains and wild ridges, let’s just rest here a bit. When we go back, tell the old monk we couldn’t find the bones, and that’s that.”
