Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 327: The Innocent Arrow
The Great Roc urgently pulled the Bull Demon King aside, but the Bull Demon King stubbornly resisted, breaking free from the Roc and charging forward with his horns raised.
The gray-robed old monk showed no fear at all. He stretched out his palm and pointed with his finger—a finger that seemed both real and illusory—as he pressed it against the Bull Demon King’s forehead.
With such muscular strength, the Bull Demon King was not only impervious to swords and guns but even Manjushri’s Vajra Sword could only scratch his skin. Yet under the old monk’s single finger, it seemed as if he had been struck at a vital point, unable to lift his head again.
He retreated rapidly, but the gray-robed monk followed closely, his finger always resting on the Bull Demon King’s forehead. Soon, both fell to the ground. The Bull Demon King dug his hooves into the earth, finally gaining some leverage to hold back the monk. But with just one finger, the monk matched the Bull Demon King’s full strength—whose was stronger was obvious at a glance.
The Great Roc hurried to rescue him, its iron wings flaring out like two walls of blades as it rushed at the old monk. The monk waved his hand, sending a gust of wind from his sleeve, forcing the Roc to retreat. Moving like a shadow, he flashed through the air and landed on the Bull Demon King’s back, his right wing swinging toward the monk’s arm.
The monk frowned slightly—the Roc’s speed exceeded his expectations. He exerted force through his finger, pressing the Bull Demon King half a foot deeper into the ground, then used the momentum to float back.
“The Great Roc shouted, “Still not leaving?”
Having experienced the monk’s power, the Bull Demon King turned and fled. The three other monks did not press him further, merely following behind. Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and the others naturally dared not fall behind. Capturing these two giant demons would be a great achievement.
The Great Roc and the Bull Demon King returned to Thorny Ridge, where Dayu, Hou Yi, and the Nine Sacred Saints were watching from the top.
The Bull Demon King landed on the ground, panting heavily. “What a terrifying old baldy! You guys didn’t even try to help me—I almost got captured.”
Dayu smiled. “It’s fine. Even if you were captured, the Great Roc would return to report.” What he really meant was that the Great Roc was unlikely to be captured, but the Bull Demon King was another story.
The Bull Demon King snorted. “Emperor Dayu is unfair. That Benbo Country in the west has already been destroyed, and you’re still laughing!”
Dayu was stunned. “I only saw flames rising. I don’t know what happened.”
The Great Roc briefly recounted everything it had seen. Hearing this, Dayu was both shocked and angry—how could such a cruel act occur?
The Great Roc said, “I checked carefully. The people had no wounds, and their faces were peaceful. Clearly, it wasn’t caused by weapons or plagues. It was most likely done by immortals. The two of us have been framed by those from the Western Heaven.”
Dayu said, “They’re coming.”
The Bull Demon King roared, “It’s almost certainly those three old baldies who did this. They have unknown origins, strange looks, and seem utterly peculiar at first glance.” Just then, the three old monks, along with Manjushri and Samantabhadra, arrived above Thorny Ridge. One of the old monks shouted sternly, “Hand over those two evil demons!” Dayu stepped forward and asked calmly, “What are demons, and where lies their evil?” The old monk was stunned; he rarely spoke, and he didn’t know how to answer Dayu’s question. Manjushri stepped forward quickly and said, “The demon ox and the demon roc caused great destruction in Benbo Country to the west. Do you still intend to protect them?” Dayu said, “Great Roc, you explain it.” The Great Roc stepped up beside Dayu and said, “During a break from drinking in the cave earlier, the old ox and I went out for a stroll. When we saw fires in the west, we went to check. By the time we arrived, there were corpses everywhere—no one alive. Manjushri, why frame me?” Manjushri sneered, “What clever words! I saw with my own eyes you and the demon ox casting spells to kill and set fires. Still denying it?” Hearing this, the Bull Demon King grew angry and shouted, “You liar and butcher! With which eye did you see it?” Manjushri, instead of getting angry, laughed and said, “Since the real culprit has been caught, you’re just angry out of shame. What more do you have to deny?” Dayu frowned and said, “Without solid evidence, stop talking nonsense!” Dayu hated wronging others the most; he had once been provoked into killing the Spirit Ape, a pain that would haunt him for life. He already knew the nature of the Bull Demon King and the Great Roc—although they were demons, they had never harmed mortals since entering Qitian Ridge. Moreover, there was no reason at all for such destruction, so it was impossible they could be the culprits. Manjushri was rebuked by Dayu and felt resentful but dared not retort. An old monk in gray clothes stepped forward and asked, “Who are you?” Dayu replied, “I am the ancient Dayu. What is your name and title?” The old monk shook his head, looking puzzled, and said, “I’ve never heard of you. Is your surname ‘Shang’?” Seeing that the monk wasn’t pretending, Dayu said, “My name is unremarkable. It’s fine if you’ve never heard of me. But it’s absolutely impossible for you to come here to arrest people without reason.” The old monk replied cheerfully, “Good! Since you won’t hand them over, then we’ll take them by force! Anyway, all demons should be killed!” The Bull Demon King gritted his teeth in anger but couldn’t defeat them. He cursed inwardly, thinking, “I think those baldies are the ones who should be killed!” Manjushri, aware of Dayu’s strength, warned the old monk, “This man is extremely powerful. Be careful, Venerable One.” The old monk glanced at Manjushri and said, “I am the abbot. Call me Abbot Buddha, not Venerable One.”
“The Abbot Buddha?” Wenshu was greatly puzzled. An abbot was a monk in charge of miscellaneous tasks—how could someone in such a role claim to be a Buddha? It seemed the hierarchy of monks in the Stupa Tower was very different from that in Ling Mountain. With his own abilities, he should have been worthy of being called an “infinitely victorious Buddha” or at least a Bodhisattva, yet here in the Stupa Tower, he was merely an abbot.
The old abbot asked Dayu, “How shall we fight?”
Before Dayu could reply, Hou Yi stepped forward and said, “Let me take on this fight!” Dayu had once been an emperor, and unless it was a critical situation, Hou Yi didn’t want Dayu to fight rashly, so he stepped forward to take on the battle.
Dapeng said cheerfully to the Bull Demon King, “Senior Hou Yi has stepped in!”
The Bull Demon King gave Dapeng a disdainful look and said, “It’s strange because you’ve seen so little.”
Dapeng replied, “Fighting is about skill. Hou Yi’s archery skills are unmatched in the world. It’s better to watch him fight than to watch a stupid ox charging around.” With that, he ignored the Bull Demon King and flew to the other side to watch the battle.
The old abbot glanced at Hou Yi and said, “You are no match for me.”
Hou Yi’s expression remained unchanged as he calmly said, “We’ll see.”
The Bull Demon King whispered to Dayu, “Is this old monk really that powerful?”
Dayu replied, “In terms of cultivation, Hou Yi is slightly weaker, but when it comes to winning or losing—”
Before Dayu could finish, the old abbot exclaimed, “What is this?”
Four small arrows were neatly stuck in his collar, two on each side. Hou Yi still stood in mid-air with his hands behind his back. No one else in the area could see how he had fired those four arrows. Only Dayu and the Bull Demon King, who were behind him, saw a thin string between Hou Yi’s hands. The arrows came from behind him, somehow turning in mid-air with perfect accuracy and force.
The old abbot took out the arrows and examined them carefully before asking Hou Yi, “What are these?”
Hou Yi was momentarily stunned before answering, “Arrows!”
The old abbot praised, “These things are fast!”
The Bull Demon King laughed heartily and asked, “Have you never seen an arrow before?”
The old abbot fiddled with the arrows, then suddenly flicked his finger, sending one arrow shooting toward Hou Yi. Since they were already close together, this was clearly a sneak attack.
At first, Dapeng thought the old abbot, having lived in seclusion in the Western Heaven, might truly not recognize arrows. But seeing that he certainly recognized them, he must have been trying to deceive everyone. He cursed, “What a despicable act!”
Hou Yi remained calm. With just two fingers, he caught the arrow. Who in the world could compare to him in familiarity with arrows? Hou Yi said, “These arrows are merely for warning, not to harm anyone. If you still want to fight, I’ll give you one arrow!”
Hou Yi removed the giant bow from his back, drew it with an empty string, and aimed it at the old monk. As he channeled his magic, an arrow gradually formed on the string, while the old monk stared intently, waiting.
But Hou Yi did not shoot. Instead, he flew back dozens of feet on the clouds and said, “That’s far enough. If you can dodge it, take those two with you. I won’t stop you.”
The Bull Demon King shouted, “Hey! Take this seriously! Don’t just hand me over like that!”
The Great Peng was filled with excitement. Hou Yi moved with confidence, seemingly unconcerned about the old monk at all.
Upon hearing Hou Yi’s words, the old monk somehow produced a large shield and covered himself with it. The Bull Demon King cursed, “What a shameless old wretch!”
The shield resembled a shell, spanning across his front and covering most of the old monk’s body. If the arrow were shot straight, it would never reach him.
Then Hou Yi said, “Be careful!”
He relaxed his hand, and the bright white arrow shot straight toward the shield. The shield was extremely sturdy. With a loud clang, the arrowhead struck the shield and fell powerless to the ground.
Everyone was shocked—Hou Yi had missed!
The Bull Demon King said grimly, “Old Hou, you’re overconfident. Are you just going to hand me over like that?”
The Great Peng was also incredulous. Didn’t Hou Yi know how to use curved arrows? Why not use them?
When the Abbot heard that the arrow’s force had worn off, he removed the shield and laughed heartily, saying, “You’re defeated—”
Just then, the fallen arrow exploded with a “bang,” turning into a dozen small arrows that flew everywhere. This was exactly when the Abbot was most relaxed, and two of the small arrows pierced his legs.
The old Abbot, ignoring the pain, exclaimed in shock and fear, “What kind of archery is this?”
Hou Yi replied, “It’s the Arrow of Purity. Once this arrow is released, there will be no more evil forces in the world!”
Dayu, listening from behind, couldn’t help but laugh. The Bull Demon King asked, “Why are you laughing?”
Dayu said, “Hou Yi can lie too.”
The old Abbot, undeterred by Hou Yi’s mockery, said, “You’ve won. I won’t interfere anymore.” With a blank expression, he stepped back. The two other old monks stepped forward together and said, “Please teach us.”
“Both of you at once?” Hou Yi asked.
The two monks in gray robes bowed and said, “I am Tea Head Buddha and Clean Head Buddha. We seek to learn your archery skills.”
As the name suggested, Tea Head Buddha was the monk responsible for serving tea and water in the temple, while Clean Head Buddha handled chores like sweeping, burning incense, cleaning toilets, and boiling water. Both held very low status, yet they still called themselves Buddhas.
Hou Yi said, “If you two attack together, I’ll need to back away even further.”
Arrows are meant for long-range attacks; the farther the opponent, the greater the advantage. Even an ordinary archer can only shoot two or three hundred paces, but Hou Yi’s shots could reach almost any distance.
The two old monks nodded and retreated five li.
Hou Yi was extremely serious this time—this was not a gamble where tricks could win. In a real fight, no one would stand still to serve as a target.
Hou Yi lifted the arrow quiver on his back; it turned out to be made by sewing several quivers together. With a pull forward, his entire body was covered in arrows. Seeing Hou Yi’s caution, Dayu pulled the Bull Demon King aside and said, “Retreat further!”