Chapter 15: Winds Rise At Dusk
However, the Yellow Wind Great Sage was exposed by Ao Tu’s one sentence about his past, and his momentum weakened by three parts involuntarily.
That day when he stole oil, he hadn’t carefully observed the surroundings, so he didn’t remember whether Ao Tu was present or not.
However, he had never mentioned this matter to outsiders, and since Ao Tu knew about it, it must be somewhat true.
Looking closely at Ao Tu’s appearance, he was dignified and imposing, with divine light in his eyes; dragon horns grew on his head, and golden scales were on his forehead; he wore a brocade immortal robe embroidered with gold threads, and a flying dragon crown with a pearl held in a dragon’s mouth, clearly not an ordinary mortal.
Sensing carefully again, he found that Ao Tu’s cultivation was equal to his own, so the Yellow Wind Great Sage believed it seven or eight parts in his heart, and cupped his hands saying:
“So that’s how it is. That day I was only focused on stealing oil and didn’t remember Brother’s kindness. I hope Brother can forgive me!”
Ao Tu laughed heartily and said, “No harm, no harm!”
The Yellow Wind Great Sage then invited Ao Tu into the cave mansion for a talk.
After Ao Tu entered the Yellow Wind Cave, the Yellow Wind Great Sage asked about various scenes at Spirit Mountain, and Ao Tu answered fluently.
The Yellow Wind Great Sage thus believed even more, was greatly delighted in his heart, and ordered the Tiger Vanguard to catch a few mountain cows, wild boars, fat deer, and hu sheep from the mountains to enjoy here.
After receiving the order, the Tiger Vanguard soon caught the wild animals, and the Yellow Wind Great Sage brought wine to share with Ao Tu.
After enjoying some, the Yellow Wind Great Sage asked Ao Tu:
“Brother is not at Spirit Mountain as the Bell Ringer, why do you have time to come to my place?”
Ao Tu said, “I came here to give Virtuous Younger Brother a big business deal!”
The Yellow Wind Great Sage asked, “What business deal?”
Ao Tu said, “Not long from now, a monk journeying to the Western Heaven for sutras will pass through here. Virtuous Younger Brother can just rob him.”
The Yellow Wind Great Sage laughed, “One monk what kind of business deal is that? If Brother wants to eat monks, I’ll send the Tiger Vanguard to catch ten or eight for Brother to enjoy. Tiger Vanguard!”
The Tiger Vanguard said, “Here!”
The Yellow Wind Great Sage said, “Quickly go catch ten monks.”
The Tiger Vanguard said, “Yes.”
Ao Tu hurriedly stopped him and said, “Wait. Virtuous Younger Brother doesn’t know, that monk is not an ordinary monk!”
The Yellow Wind Great Sage said, “Oh, what kind of monk is he?”
Ao Tu explained, “This monk is the reincarnation of Golden Cicada, a good man who cultivated for ten lifetimes. If you eat a bite of his flesh, you can achieve immortality! Even though Virtuous Younger Brother has already obtained the Dao Fruit of immortality, eating him can greatly increase your cultivation!”
The Yellow Wind Great Sage said in surprise, “Is there really such a thing?”
Ao Tu said, “That monk will arrive soon. Virtuous Younger Brother will know at a glance.”
Hearing this, the Yellow Wind Great Sage pondered.
The little demons in the cave heard they could achieve immortality and impatiently said:
“Great King, let’s catch that monk, eat his flesh, and achieve immortality together to be happy immortals!”
“Yes, Great King!”
“A rare opportunity once in a thousand years!”
The Yellow Wind Great Sage did not agree immediately, but asked:
“Brother has such a good business deal, why not go catch Tang Sanzang yourself?”
Ao Tu said, “Virtuous Younger Brother doesn’t know, Tang Sanzang has two disciples by his side. One is Sun Wukong who caused the Great Havoc in Heaven five hundred years ago, the other is the Heavenly River Water God descended to the mortal realm. I alone am no match for them, so I specially came to ask Virtuous Younger Brother for help.”
The Yellow Wind Great Sage said, “So that’s how it is. I’ve heard of that Sun Wukong who caused the Great Havoc in Heaven five hundred years ago; he’s not someone to be trifled with!”
Ao Tu laughed, “Virtuous Younger Brother, you have the supernatural power of the Samadhi Divine Wind, are you still afraid of a little Sun Wukong?”
The Yellow Wind Great Sage said in surprise, “You even know this?”
Ao Tu laughed, “I also know that Tathagata sent Bodhisattva Lingji to subdue you, granting you a Wind Settling Pill and a Flying Dragon Treasure Staff, specifically to counter your supernatural power.”
Hearing this, the Yellow Wind Great Sage cupped his hands and said, “Brother is indeed supremely powerful! That’s right, that’s why I dare not act rashly, fearing that Sun Wukong will invite Bodhisattva Lingji to subdue me.”
Ao Tu said, “Virtuous Younger Brother need not worry. There’s a saying one thing counters another; I have a magic treasure to help you defeat Bodhisattva Lingji.”
Hearing this, the Yellow Wind Great Sage was greatly delighted and immediately set up an incense table in the cave, exchanged eight bows with Ao Tu, became sworn brothers, and plotted together for Tang Sanzang’s flesh.
Summer passed into autumn, as the saying goes: the blue sky is bright and clean, the autumn moon perfectly round; flowers gone, butterflies have no tales, trees tall, cicadas no longer noisy.
Tang Sanzang and his disciples passed through the Usshi-Hide region, over a month later, and arrived at the Yellow Wind Ridge area.
Before entering the ridge, Tang Sanzang and his disciples stayed overnight at a household.
That household heard Tang Sanzang and his disciples were heading west, so they reminded Tang Sanzang, “The eight hundred li Yellow Wind Ridge has many monsters in the mountains, extremely difficult to traverse.”
Therefore, after Tang Sanzang entered Yellow Wind Ridge, Wukong and Ba Jie closely followed by Tang Sanzang’s side, never leaving an inch, protecting Master.
Ao Tu and the Yellow Wind Great Sage led a crowd of little demons watching from Soul-Grasping Cliff, and seeing Tang Sanzang and his disciples coming, the Yellow Wind Great Sage said, “No good, no good.”
Ao Tu asked, “Why is Virtuous Younger Brother sighing?”
The Yellow Wind Great Sage said, “Look at that Tang Sanzang, he’s a frail mortal. If I blow my Samadhi Divine Wind, I’m afraid I’ll blow him to ashes too. What to do?”
“This is easy to handle.” Ao Tu looked at the various leaders of Yellow Wind Cave and said, “Whoever has the ability, go draw away Tang Sanzang’s two disciples. After success, reward him with a leg to eat, and achieve immortality together.”
As soon as the words fell, the Tiger Vanguard stepped forward to volunteer:
“This general is untalented, but knows a Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell magic. No need for the two Great Kings to act, I can surely capture this Tang Sanzang!”
Ao Tu said, “Good, you go. Success will bring heavy rewards!”
The Tiger Vanguard received the order, jumped down the mountain, transformed into a striped fierce tiger, and hid in a rocky crevice.
As Tang Sanzang and his disciples came along, the Tiger Vanguard suddenly jumped out with a tiger roar, scaring Tang Sanzang so his soul flew away, falling off the horse onto the roadside.
Ba Jie had committed a mistake before, and now seeing a monster appear, he was eager to make amends. He dropped the luggage, drew out his nine-tooth rake, blocked Wukong and said, “Senior Brother wait, let old pig capture this evil beast!” He shouted “Take rake!” and struck at the head.
The Tiger Vanguard stood straight up, drew two red copper knives, fought Ba Jie for a few rounds, was somewhat no match, retreated into the chaotic rocks under the hillside, and fought again.
Wukong saw Ba Jie entangled with the monster, couldn’t hold back, helped Tang Sanzang up and said, “Master don’t be afraid, sit here safely for now. Disciple will help Ba Jie capture this fellow, then we can continue the journey.”
Only then did Tang Sanzang tremblingly sit up, chanting《 Great Compassion Heart Sutra》 to barely calm his mind.
Wukong drew out his Golden Cudgel and jumped down to strike.
Seeing this, the Tiger Vanguard rode an evil wind to escape.
Wukong and Ba Jie chased together.
The Tiger Vanguard fled over a hilltop, shed his tiger skin and stuck it on a Reclining Tiger Stone, his true body turned into a gust of mad wind, hurrying back via another path.
At that time, Tang Sanzang was sitting at the roadside chanting《 Great Compassion Heart Sutra》, and was grabbed by the Tiger Vanguard.
What a vanguard, he truly didn’t boast. Without Ao Tu and the Yellow Wind Great Sage acting, he alone captured Tang Sanzang.
