Chapter 25: Quicksand Hard To Cross
Tang Sanzang and his disciples finally passed Yellow Wind Ridge, and the Ao Tu System’s rewards were updated accordingly.
There is nothing noteworthy about the Three-Revolutions Soul-Returning Pill, which was the reward for three days, nor the Six-Thousand-Year Immortal Peach, which was the reward for seven days.
The reward for half a month was an Acquired Spiritual Treasure, the Headache Gourd.
Ao Tu knew this treasure; it was a tool used by the disciples of Lü Yue, the God of Plague, to spread plague. A single strike could cause people to contract plague qi and suffer unbearable headaches.
After he obtained this gourd, he would occasionally strike Tang Sanzang twice with it, causing Tang Sanzang to have frequent headaches and be unable to travel.
The reward for one month was the Acquired Spiritual Treasure Dragon-Binding Rope. Although it was also an Acquired Spiritual Treasure like the Headache Gourd, there was a distinction in quality among Acquired Spiritual Treasures.
During the Investiture of the Gods, when the two sects clashed, Huang Long Zhenren, one of the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan School, challenged him on the battlefield. Zhao Gongming of the Jie School summoned this treasure, and in an instant, he bound Huang Long Zhenren from thin air and hung him from a banner pole.
Clearly, the Dragon-Binding Rope and the Five-Fire Divine Flame Fan both belonged to the top-tier Acquired Spiritual Treasures. Although they were Acquired Spiritual Treasures, their power was not inferior to ordinary Innate Spiritual Treasures; they simply couldn’t aid in comprehending the Great Dao like Innate Spiritual Treasures could.
Finally, Ao Tu’s gaze fell upon the reward for one season: the Five-Colored Divine Light.
Spiritual Treasures are good, but they are not as good as having supernatural powers.
The Five-Colored Divine Light can brush away anything. No matter how many spiritual treasures you have, once the divine light appears, it will seize both you and your treasures.
If he could possess this supernatural power, even if Tathagata Buddha himself came, Ao Tu would dare to exchange a few moves with him.
However, obstructing for one season was too long.
One season is three months.
Even counting the remaining thirty-four days at Yellow Wind Ridge, Ao Tu would still need to obstruct Tang Sanzang and his disciples for nearly two more months to obtain it. Ao Tu was uncertain if he could succeed and could only do his best.
Since Tang Sanzang and his disciples had already passed Yellow Wind Ridge, they would likely arrive here soon.
Ao Tu instructed Sha Seng to build a wooden house on the riverbank of the Flowing Sand River to receive the arriving Tang Sanzang and his disciples.
He intended to stage a play to delay them.
Ao Tu commanded Sha Seng, “Drive away the people living nearby, so that when the pilgrims arrive, there won’t be any flaws revealed.”
Sha Seng replied, “Venerable God, there’s no need to drive them away.”
Ao Tu asked, “Why?”
Sha Seng said, “I was punished by the Jade Emperor and have been suffering in this Flowing Sand River, enduring hunger and cold. Every two or three days, I emerge from the waves to find a person to eat. When woodcutters encounter me, they perish; when fishermen see me, they die. Over time, no one has lived on the banks of the Flowing Sand River.”
Ao Tu laughed and said, “That’s excellent. ‘Put down the butcher’s knife and become a Buddha instantly.’ Your way of acting is perfectly suited to being one of our Buddhist followers! You shall transform into a fisherman and wait here. When you encounter the pilgrims, do this and that…”
Sha Seng remembered all of Ao Tu’s words.
Since Ao Tu’s plan was only to obstruct the pilgrims and not to harm them, Sha Seng, upon hearing this, believed even more firmly in Ao Tu’s identity.
Meanwhile, after Tang Sanzang and his disciples passed the eight hundred li of Yellow Wind Ridge, they entered a plain area to the west. Time flew by, autumn turned to winter, the north wind blew fiercely and bitterly cold, and a light frost descended with the declining yin energy.
After a month or two, as they were traveling, they saw a vast, surging river with turbulent waves.
Tang Sanzang called out from atop his horse, “Disciple, look at the wide water ahead. Why do I not see any boats? How shall we cross?”
Ba Jie saw it and said, “It is indeed a raging torrent, and there is no boat to ferry us across.”
Wukong leaped into the air, cupped his hands to shade his eyes, and looked. He was alarmed and said, “Master, it is truly difficult, truly difficult! If it were Old Sun crossing this river, I would only need to twist my waist once and I’d be across; but for Master, it is truly a thousand times difficult to cross and ten thousand years to travel.”
Tang Sanzang asked, “My view here is boundless. How many miles wide is this river?”
Wukong replied, “It is about eight hundred li in distance.”
Ba Jie asked, “Senior Brother, how do you know it is eight hundred li?”
Wukong said, “I won’t hide it from you, Virtuous Younger Brother. My eyes can see good and bad fortune a thousand li away during the day. Just now, from the air, I saw that the upstream and downstream of this river are of an unknown distance, but its width is a full eight hundred li.”
Tang Sanzang heard this and was filled with anxiety and distress, not knowing how to cross the river. He turned his horse around and suddenly saw a stone tablet on the bank.
On it were three seal script characters, “Black Water River,” and below them, four lines of verse: “Rolling like a sheet of ink, surging for a thousand miles like ash. No human shadow is seen up close; its form is hard to discern from afar.”
Ba Jie remarked, “So this river is called Black Water River. It’s true, the water here is rather murky. It’s not as clear as the Heavenly River I once managed, Old Pig.”
Wukong said, “The name of this river sounds somewhat familiar.”
Ba Jie said, “Senior Brother, you once occupied a mountain as your king and gathered heroes from all over the world. You must have heard the name of this river from someone.”
Wukong recalled his past glory and said, “Indeed! Indeed!”
Tang Sanzang said, “Disciples, stop chattering about irrelevant matters. The current in this river is swift and difficult to cross. Can either of you carry me across this river?”
Wukong said, “Ba Jie, you carry Master across.”
Ba Jie replied, “Master’s mortal flesh is as heavy as Mount Tai. How can I, who rides the clouds, be worthy? It must be your Somersault Cloud that can do it.”
Wukong said, “Since ancient times, it is said: ‘Mount Tai can be light as a mustard seed, but carrying a mortal is difficult to escape the red dust.’ My somersault is also riding the clouds, just farther. If you cannot carry him, how can I?”
Tang Sanzang became somewhat angry upon hearing this and said, “You two are usually highly skilled and claim to have the ability to subdue dragons and tigers. Now, neither of you is willing to carry me across the river?”
Ba Jie lowered his head and remained silent.
Wukong laughed and said, “Master, subduing dragons and tigers is easy, but crossing the river is difficult. On this Westward Journey, one must experience foreign lands to transcend the sea of suffering. Ba Jie and I can only act as escorts, ensuring your life is safe, but we cannot replace you in enduring these hardships. Otherwise, I fear we will not be able to obtain the scriptures, and the Buddha Ancestor will not deign to transmit them; this is why it is said, ‘If it were easily obtained, it would be taken lightly.'”
Tang Sanzang said anxiously, “What should we do! We just passed the dangers of Yellow Wind Ridge, and now this great river obstructs us. When will we ever reach the Western Heaven?”
Wukong said, “Master, do not worry. Let Old Sun see if there are any people nearby and inquire about the local conditions.”
Wukong rode his cloud and leaped up, looking around. He saw a house only four or five li away, and besides that, there were no other households within a thousand li.
When Wukong descended, Tang Sanzang impatiently asked, “Disciple, are there any people?”
Wukong replied, “There are, but it’s not a good place.”
Tang Sanzang asked, “Since there are people, why is it not a good place?”
Wukong said, “Within a thousand li of this place, there is no human habitation. There is only one family five li to the south. I suspect it is a monster in disguise.”
Tang Sanzang said, “Perhaps they are hermits living here.”
Wukong said, “No, no. Even a true hermit would occasionally go to populated areas to exchange for wine. How can someone live alone in seclusion for a thousand li?”
As they were speaking, a person emerged from the surging river water.
The person had a dark, somewhat unlucky complexion, a large build, wore a straw cloak, and a bamboo hat. He was alone in a small boat, standing barefoot on the deck, holding a fishing net.
Tang Sanzang was overjoyed to see him and said,
“Excellent, it’s a fisherman! Let’s go ask him to ferry us across the river!”
Wukong quickly stopped him and said,
“Master, don’t go. I just looked, and there are no people for a thousand li around here. How did one person suddenly appear? It must be a monster!”
Tang Sanzang hesitated, his mind wavering.
Just then, they heard the fisherman singing loudly:
“A small boat follows wherever it drifts, through ten thousand layers of misty waves without fear. I cast my line and net to catch fresh scales; though not seasoned with sauce, they are exceptionally flavorful. I use my straw cloak as a blanket to sleep by the autumn river, snoring contentedly, without worry, not longing for worldly honor or wealth.”
Tang Sanzang was greatly pleased and said, “What an elegant gentleman!” He was about to step forward.
Wukong stopped him again and said, “Master, don’t go. That’s a monster!”
Tang Sanzang said, “Nonsense! How could a monster compose such elegant poetry? This is clearly a recluse living here!”
Wukong said, “Master, monsters are cunning and deceitful. You have mortal eyes and cannot discern the truth or falsehood. Do not go!”
At this moment, the fisherman poled his boat and was about to move away.
Tang Sanzang saw this and said, “My mind is made up. Do not stop me any further. If you delay my important task, be warned, I will recite the Golden Fillet Spell!”
