Volume 2: The Path That Can Be Told, Chapter 149: A Noble Guest
Ordinary immortals spend their days refining elixirs and meditating, enduring hardships in pursuit of immortality. If they are blessed enough to gain the support of a powerful patron, they can save countless years of effort. Immortals from the Ten Continents and Three Islands, as well as those from the Eight Central Caves, may be considered minor figures at the Peach Festival, but in the mortal world, each of them has thousands of disciples at their command. A single fruit at the Peach Festival can cause rivers of blood to flow among mortals. What seems ordinary in the eyes of celestial immortals can still drive lower-ranked immortals to compete fiercely for it.
Even celestial immortals are dazzled by the splendor of the Peach Festival—filled with exotic flowers and plants, as well as exquisite delicacies, eight out of ten of which they have never seen before.
Hearing that the Buddhists were presenting treasures, everyone hoped to glimpse the secrets of immortality. Though Anuo gave a brief explanation, they still felt unsatisfied, thinking the mysteries were too profound to be shared with others.
Suddenly, an accident occurred—the clumsy gatekeeper accidentally scattered the Buddhist treasures across the floor. Those with sharp ears could hear the sound of things breaking. The gatekeeper knelt down and repeatedly pleaded, “Your Majesty, forgive me! Your Majesty, forgive me!”
Two palace maids came to clean up, picking up the golden plates, glass bowls, and shell cups, but the glass cups were completely shattered. The Jade Emperor’s face gradually turned from pale to green, clearly furious. He growled, “Take him away! After today’s celebration, execute him tomorrow!”
The gatekeeper’s heart sank. This shock was far greater than the broken glass—could the Jade Emperor really execute him? After all, it had been he who ordered this! But no matter how brave he was, he wouldn’t dare say such things in front of everyone.
The Buddha merely smiled silently, as if watching a play.
The Three Pure Ones were right next to the Jade Emperor on his left, while Laozi was on his right. He had seen everything clearly. So he said with a smile, “Jade Emperor, do not get angry. This is the will of heaven.”
Seeing Laozi speak, the Jade Emperor couldn’t easily offend him and pretended to suppress his anger, asking, “What do you mean, Laozi?”
Laozi replied, “Although the Seven Treasures of Buddhism are rare, one was lost as soon as they appeared in the Eastern Lands. Perhaps they are not adapted to this land— isn’t that also the will of heaven?”
The Buddha, hearing Laozi’s double meaning, grew displeased. He thought, This old fellow has always hidden his true abilities, but why has he become so obvious lately? The Buddha then said, “Jade Emperor, do not get angry. Though the Seven Treasures of Buddhism can bring peace to the people, they are merely symbols of good fortune. It’s not a big deal.”
The Jade Emperor found the Buddha’s words ambiguous and unsettling, his expression shifting constantly.
At that moment, the Barefoot Immortal stood up and said, “May the Jade Emperor forgive this old man for speaking rashly. I see that today is the Queen Mother’s birthday banquet, a time of great joy and happiness for everyone. Even if the Curtain-Rolling General made a mistake, it was because he held the seven treasures of Buddhism in such high esteem that he became anxious and fearful, leading to his lapse. Losing a Buddhist treasure surely warrants severe punishment, but considering his good intentions, what do you think?”
By rank and position, it should never have been the Barefoot Immortal’s turn to speak, but as he was always opportunistic, seeing that the Jade Emperor was undecided, he dared to intercede. Being experienced and astute, he thought that if handled properly, this situation could avoid offending either side and might even earn the Jade Emperor’s respect.
Indeed, the Jade Emperor’s expression softened slightly, and he nodded slightly, saying, “That makes sense. In that case, what do the Buddha, the Queen Mother, and you think?”
The Buddha replied, “Our Buddhist sect has always shown compassion for all beings. Since today is a day for guests, we naturally have no objections.”
The Queen Mother smiled and said, “This is quite unexpected, but since the Buddha doesn’t hold it against him, our heavenly court shouldn’t be petty either. We should only punish him for dereliction of duty and overstepping his bounds.” This charge of dereliction and overstepping was rather far-fetched, as the Curtain-Rolling General’s duty was to serve the Jade Emperor’s chariot, with nothing to do with receiving guests. He had acted only because the Jade Emperor ordered him to take the blame. If there was any overstepping, it was due to the Jade Emperor’s poor judgment in assigning tasks. But since he had been spared death, he could consider himself lucky.
The Jade Emperor asked, “What punishment should be imposed for dereliction of duty and overstepping?”
An official present at the banquet stood up and said, “For dereliction of duty, he shall be beaten eight hundred times and banished to the mortal world. For overstepping his bounds, he shall have a flying sword pierce his side 108 times every seven days until his punishment is pardoned.”
The Jade Emperor said, “Good! Then let it be dealt with according to the law.”
As the Curtain-Rolling General was taken away to be punished, the other immortals raised their cups to toast the Jade Emperor, the Queen Mother, and the Buddha, praising their merciful hearts.
※ ※ ※
In the far north of the Northern Sea, near the Sea Eye,
dozens of dragons swam up and down, playing in the huge waves.
A green dragon said, “Recently, the Divine Water Power has grown greatly. Let’s fight again!”
A red dragon laughed heartily, “You keep losing, yet still dare to be arrogant!”
The green dragon said, “Don’t be presumptuous. Watch this—eh, what’s that?”
The red dragon followed the green dragon’s gaze and saw a monstrous creature flying in the distance—with a lion’s head and a dragon’s mouth, covered in scales, carrying a person on its back, as it staggered into the sea.
The green dragon said, “Go check it out quickly!”
The dozens of dragons circled and flew after it.
The dragon moved through the water at lightning speed, catching up to the monster in no time. The Green Dragon shouted, “This is a forbidden area of the Northern Sea! Where do you think you’re going?”
On the back of the beast sat a man about ten feet tall, with broad shoulders and a round waist, carrying a bull’s head on his shoulders—none other than the Bull Demon King.
The Bull Demon King said, “Heh heh, you dare to stop me even here! Let me ask you—are you under the command of the Dragon King of the Northern Sea?”
The Green Dragon replied proudly, “We are jiaos, not dragons. The Dragon King has no control over us!”
The Bull Demon King laughed, “That’s right. Since you’re not under the Dragon King’s command, you must be under my fifth brother’s. Go and call your master out—just say the Bull Demon King has arrived!”
The Green Dragon said, “Stop talking nonsense! Our leader is of such high status—how could he possibly be on equal terms with you?”
The Bull Demon King wondered, “Has he never mentioned the Eight Great Saints to you?”
The Green Dragon shouted, “Stop talking nonsense! Leave immediately, or you’ll lose your life!”
The Bull Demon King laughed, “Fine. I haven’t fought in ages. Since you won’t call him out, I’ll fight my way to get him out!” With that, he urged his Water-Piercing Golden-Eyed Beast forward and threw a punch at the Green Dragon.
Confident in his strength, the Green Dragon swung his giant tail to meet the attack.
As the two clashed, the sea water surged violently, sending many jiaos flying far away. Soon, only the Bull Demon King remained in the area, while the Green Dragon had been thrown dozens of feet into the water. Its once-mighty tail hung limp, clearly broken.
The jiaos were terrified. Seeing that he was no match either, the Red Dragon said, “Don’t go! I’ll go find our leader to subdue you!”
The Bull Demon King laughed, “You keep calling for him, but he doesn’t show up—only when beaten does he appear. Why go through the trouble?”
The Red Dragon dived deep into the sea. The jiaos surrounded the Bull Demon King to prevent him from escaping, but he ignored them completely.
After a while, two figures emerged from the depths. In front was the Sea-Submerging Saint, the Sea-Submerging Jiao, followed by Wu Zhiqi. The Red Dragon had long been thrown far away.
Seeing the Bull Demon King, the Sea-Submerging Jiao rejoiced, “Second brother! How did you come here?”
The Bull Demon King said, “Tch! You won’t come to see me, but you won’t let me visit you either!”
The Sea-Submerging Jiao replied, “I’ve been busy searching for heroes of our clan all day long and haven’t had time. I also didn’t know where you lived, so I didn’t come to see you.”
The Bull Demon King laughed heartily, “Just joking! I’ve wanted to come for a long time. It’s just that my water skills aren’t good enough. Last year, my eldest brother came to see me and gave me a strange beast called the Water-Piercing Golden-Eyed Beast, which allows me to walk across the waves as if on solid ground. With it, I finally dared to come to your Northern Sea!”
The Sea-Submerging Jiao said, “Second brother, you’re joking. Just let me know anytime, and I’ll have the Vast Blue Sea clear a path for you.”
The Bull Demon King glanced at the dragons in the sea, chuckled, but said nothing negative.
Wu Zhiqi’s first question was, “Has my second brother heard anything from Wukong?”
The Bull Demon King retorted with a laugh, “You don’t ask me first but go after that guy.” He looked around at the surging blue waves and said, “I’m not used to talking underwater. Why don’t you invite me to your home?”
Fu Haijiao hurriedly said, “I was rude. Please, second brother, come!”
Wu Zhiqi was even more anxious. He quickly used his water-control powers to create a path through the water, and the three of them rushed beneath the sea, leaving behind dozens of confused dragons staring at each other on the surface.
Fu Haijiao originally had a palace underwater, which he had to destroy during his battle with Wukong. Now, back in the Northern Sea with Wu Zhiqi’s help, his palace was even more magnificent than before. It contained many rare treasures brought by dragons from various places, far from its once poverty-stricken state.
Seeing the palace, the Bull Demon King’s eyes narrowed in admiration as he said, “To build such a palace underwater—what a remarkable achievement.”
Fu Haijiao replied, “Someday, I’ll build a crystal palace too and invite my eight brothers to stay there.” The Bull Demon King said, “That would be quite troublesome. It’s better to just take it by force to save effort.” Both were speechless for a moment.
Having not seen each other for so long, the brothers drank heartily.
After several rounds of drinking, the Bull Demon King noticed that Wu Zhiqi was still worried about Wukong’s whereabouts. He said, “I won’t keep my fourth brother in suspense any longer. Wukong is fine. I came here today just to say goodbye to you two.”
“Say goodbye? Where are you going, second brother?” Fu Haijiao asked.
The Bull Demon King replied, “That I can’t say.”
“When will you return?” Wu Zhiqi asked.
The Bull Demon King frowned. “That’s hard to say too.”
Fu Haijiao threw his ivory chopsticks on the table and said, “If you don’t know where you’re going or when you’ll return, what kind of goodbye is this?”
The Bull Demon King said, “I’m going to see Wukong. When I return, I’ll come back with him.”
Wu Zhiqi clapped his hands and said, “That would be perfect!”
The Bull Demon King said, “If you two have anything to talk about, I can take it to them.”
Fu Haijiao and Wu Zhiqi exchanged glances and shook their heads simultaneously. “Nothing,” they said.
The Bull Demon King pretended to be angry. “You all say you miss each other, but not a word—where’s any brotherly affection?”
Fu Haijiao replied, “We are men of integrity—how could we act like children?”
The Bull Demon King laughed heartily. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear!”
The three of them drank heartily, pouring out everything they hadn’t said in two hundred years. Naturally, they also reminisced about their carefree days on Flower-Fruit Mountain and their heroic battles against hundreds of thousands of heavenly soldiers.
And of course, the most talked about topic during the meal was Wukong. Wu Zhiqi talked so much that his eyes turned red, and in the end he threw away the wine jar and collapsed drunk on the spot. The Bull Demon King and the other knew that Wu Zhiqi wasn’t drunk but rather, out of deep brotherly affection, chose to avoid the topic. The next day, the Bull Demon King mounted his Water-Parting Golden-Eyed Beast, rose from the depths of the sea, soared straight into the heavens, and headed straight for the Jade Pure Palace in the Clear Subtle Heaven.