Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 330: The Desire to Leave

At the height of passion, the Scorpion Spirit heard the cave entrance being broken open. Gritting her teeth in fury, she snapped, “Which damned fool dares disturb my pleasure?”
Hearing Sun Wukong’s voice, Tang Seng rejoiced, “It’s my disciple!”
Upon hearing Tang Seng speak, the Scorpion Spirit’s anger flared. She produced a rope and tied up Tang Seng, saying, “After I poison your disciple, I’ll deal with you, you careless monk!”
After putting on her clothes, she suddenly realized the purple veil was gone. Alarmed, she remembered that the veil was a precious gift from Ran Deng—wearing it allowed her to become invisible, even beyond detection by spiritual senses. Thinking that with it, no one could find her, she didn’t expect Sun Wukong to be such a perceptive monkey. Even if she captured Tang Seng, he could foresee the next disaster.
Searching everywhere for the veil, she found it nowhere and blamed Sun Wukong. Drawing three steel spears, she stormed out of the cave in anger.
Seeing her, Sun Wukong smiled. The Scorpion Spirit snapped, “What’s there to laugh about, you monkey?”
Sun Wukong replied, “I laugh at your ignorance—using your monstrous form to try to deceive my master’s pure essence!”
She shouted, “Stop talking nonsense!” She charged forward, spewing smoke and fire from her nose and mouth, aiming her spears at him. If he wanted to kill her, it wouldn’t take much effort. But having seen her nine tails, he knew this demon was no ordinary creature.
He remembered the Bodhisattva saying the Scorpion Spirit also came from the Spirit Mountain and had once poisoned Buddha Tathagata at the Thunder Sound Temple—though the reason for that was unknown.
Sun Wukong swung his iron rod, engaging her in a fight. His rod was long, while her spears were short. Though she wanted to kill him, she lacked the strength—let alone use poison; she couldn’t even get close.
Meanwhile, Sun Wukong pondered: Since the Scorpion Spirit had nine tails, how could Tathagata not know? Why hadn’t he captured her when his hand was stung? Could it be that he spared her out of respect for Ran Deng? If he killed her now, he might never uncover the truth. He recalled in *Journey to the West* that after being stung by her, Guanyin told him to seek help from the Star Official Mao Ri and capture her. What should he do now?
After dozens of rounds, the Scorpion Spirit sensed that Sun Wukong was playing with her, only defending without attacking. She shouted, “You monkey, show me what you’ve got!”

Wukong was in a dilemma. If he won, he could rescue Tang Seng and continue on his journey west; but if he lost… would he have to endure that painful sting again? The scorpion demon only wanted to seize Tang Seng’s vital energy. If not for someone’s orders, how would she dare anger Buddha? There must be someone backing her up. With this thought, Wukong made up his mind—only by losing could he uncover the relationship between Buddha and Ran Deng. So he feigned weakness, deliberately using outdated moves. The scorpion demon, pleased, extended her three-pronged fork to stab Wukong’s arm.

Wukong immediately felt searing pain in his arm and stepped back several feet, shouting, “What a fierce demon! You’re quite skilled indeed!”

The scorpion demon sneered, “Now that you know I’m strong, don’t bother me again, or I won’t spare you!”

The pain, along with a tingling sensation, was undeniably real. Wukong thought to himself that the scorpion demon was indeed covered in poison. But since she had hidden her tail, it was her most powerful attack. Compared to that, being stabbed by her fork wasn’t much of a threat.

Wukong soared into the clouds, intending to seek guidance from the Goddess of Mercy in the South Sea. As soon as he reached the clouds, he saw the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara flying over on a cloud. Surprised, Wukong went to greet her and said, “Bodhisattva, you’re truly wise and foresighted. How did you know I was in trouble?”

Avalokiteshvara didn’t answer him but asked, “What form did that demon take?”

Wukong replied, “I don’t know either. She just stabbed me with her fork; it seems I’ve been poisoned.”

Avalokiteshvara examined Wukong’s arm and said, “It’s scorpion venom. Go challenge her, and I’ll capture her!”

Huh? Avalokiteshvara wanted to fight personally? Why didn’t she send the Star Official Maoshi to capture the scorpion demon? Wukong sensed something was off but still returned and stood in front of the cave, shouting, “You vile demon, come out and face your doom!”

The scorpion demon had just returned to the cave, catching her breath. Hearing Wukong’s voice again, she snapped, “That monkey really won’t give up!” She came out of the cave and faced Wukong without saying another word.

Wukong pretended to be overwhelmed and gradually lured the scorpion demon into the air. Unsuspecting, she pursued him closely. Suddenly, a large green net descended from above, trapping her inside.

The scorpion demon cursed, “What a cunning trick! Who’s capturing me?”

Avalokiteshvara appeared and said, “You wretched creature! How dare you hinder Tang Seng on his pilgrimage?”

The scorpion demon wasn’t surprised to see Avalokiteshvara and shouted, “Avalokiteshvara, how dare you capture me?”

Hearing this, Wukong thought to himself that things were turning in his favor. Even after being captured by Avalokiteshvara, the demon remained defiant. It seemed he was right—Ran Deng must be behind this.

Avalokiteshvara frowned and tightened the net, binding the scorpion demon tightly. She said to Wukong, “I’ll take this wretched creature to Mount Ling to hand her over to Buddha. You go and rescue your master.”

Before Wukong could respond, a voice came from the air: “Avalokiteshvara, it’s been a long time.” A female Taoist priestess flew over from afar. She was of middle age, wearing a colorful brocade hat and a gold-embroidered robe. Her face was lined with wrinkles, giving her an aged appearance, yet her voice sounded like that of a young woman. Upon seeing her, Avalokiteshvara’s expression changed, and she quickly bowed, saying, “Bhairavi Bodhisattva has arrived. Avalokiteshvara pays her respects.” Wukong was slightly surprised by Avalokiteshvara’s deference. But then he remembered two lines from Journey to the West praising Bhairavi Bodhisattva: “Realizing emptiness leads to true enlightenment; attaining purity brings true freedom.” The second line was understandable, but the first… Could realizing emptiness truly lead to enlightenment? Judging from Avalokiteshvara’s attitude, did Bhairavi Bodhisattva hold a higher status? Why, as a Bodhisattva, was she dressed in Taoist robes? “Buddhism is originally Taoism,” Wukong thought again. Why had Bhairavi Bodhisattva come here? Why at such a timely moment? Bhairavi Bodhisattva didn’t even look at Wukong and said to Avalokiteshvara, “This scorpion demon was raised in my cave. It ran away a few days ago and started causing trouble here. Fortunately, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva stepped in to subdue it, sparing it many more sins.” Hearing this, Wukong realized someone was coming for the scorpion demon. But as he knew from Journey to the West, after the scorpion demon was captured by the Star Official Maoshri, Zhu Bajie smashed it to pieces with his halberd. At that time, neither Bhairavi nor her son Maoshri said a word to stop him. Wukong concluded that Bhairavi Bodhisattva must be part of the Randeng lineage, and Randeng did not always align with the Tathagata in matters of supreme authority; in fact, he seemed to oppose it. Hearing that Bhairavi Bodhisattva wanted the scorpion demon, Avalokiteshvara felt conflicted. The scorpion demon was one explicitly demanded by the Buddha, and she had just captured it—how could she hand it over now? Moreover, Bhairavi Bodhisattva was someone who constantly practiced the Three Vehicles and the Four Truths and had subtle ties to Taoism. She couldn’t afford to offend her. Sigh, she would have to report this to the Tathagata. With quick thoughts, Avalokiteshvara smiled and said, “Even if it belongs to Bhairavi Bodhisattva, it should be returned.” Then she retracted the giant green net, which was actually made of willow branches. Seeing Bhairavi Bodhisattva arrive, the scorpion demon stopped talking and curled up into a ball. Bhairavi Bodhisattva took the scorpion demon and said with a smile, “Thank you, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva.” Avalokiteshvara replied, “Since Tang Seng is safe now, I’ll return to the South Sea.” With that, she bowed again and bid farewell to Bhairavi Bodhisattva. After Avalokiteshvara left, Bhairavi Bodhisattva said to Wukong, “The desire to leave the world, the mind of bodhi, and wisdom through the realization of emptiness.”

She said only these ten words before riding away on clouds.
Wukong stood there in stupor. He didn’t fully understand those words, but he remembered what Master Wuchao had once said, “Emptiness is not emptiness; it is perfection!”
Wuchao, Bodhi, Bodhisattva Vimalaprabha, Nagarjuna, Wukong… What connections existed between them? Why would Bodhisattva Vimalaprabha say those words to him? Was it referring to Patriarch Bodhi?
Although Master Wuchao and Patriarch Bodhi each appeared only once, Wukong had already identified them as the same person. That voice, that realization—he would never forget them even if his body perished. And it seemed that Bodhisattva Vimalaprabha also recognized him. Wukong really wanted to chase after them to find out who his true teacher was, why they had taught him such great powers, and then disappeared from the world.
But when he calmed down and thought about it, how could Patriarch Bodhi do something useless or pointless? Anything he shouldn’t know must mean the time was not right.
Wukong murmured to himself, “You truly cannot understand the causes and conditions of emptiness, nor the true meaning of emptiness; hence, annoyance arises.” These words were spoken to him by Tang Seng before entering Gao Laozhuang, and they were said to be the words of Bodhisattva Nagarjuna. Wukong had felt strange feelings at that time, and now, reading these four sentences, his mind was completely clear.
At that moment, he suddenly remembered many things about the mysteries of “emptiness.” It turned out that his troubles arose because he didn’t understand the true meaning of emptiness. There were as many as eighteen interpretations of “emptiness” in Buddhism—internal emptiness, external emptiness, internal and external emptiness, emptiness of dharmas, emptiness of non-dharmas, emptiness of non-existence, emptiness of nature…
All these concepts of emptiness combined formed what could be called an “emptiness gate,” leading people inward. No wonder Buddhism called itself the “Gate of Emptiness.” No matter how much was said, emptiness remained the foundation.
If that was the case, as King Ksitigarbha had said, Bodhisattva Nagarjuna’s ability to realize the nature of emptiness was unparalleled in the world. Logically, he should have been a leading figure in Buddhism. Then why didn’t the Buddhist community step in to stop the Nine Heavens Maiden from killing him? If all the Buddhas in the Western Heaven sided with Nagarjuna, even the Nine Heavens Maiden, no matter how powerful, probably couldn’t have killed him.
All these matters of cause and effect were closely related to the divine ape, connected to the past era as well, involving the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism in this era, the efforts of the two major forces to refine the heavens, the mysteries of the Golden Heaven and Silver Earth, and the entanglements of grudges among the five kinds of kings… Wukong felt his head spinning from thinking about it all.
He faintly felt that he was becoming more and more like a puppet—created by Bodhi, manipulated by the Three Pure Ones, and then by Tathagata. He busied himself around, not knowing who was using him. As for the quest for the scriptures, it was unclear who would ultimately benefit from it.

Leaving the world is so difficult; since one has entered the world, how can one speak of leaving it? Bodhicitta, the cultivation of both Buddhism and Taoism—the supreme path—who can truly penetrate it? Wisdom through understanding emptiness… The realization of emptiness, myriad interpretations, the mysteries and subtleties—actually, it’s just a difference of one word.