Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 355: Calming the Storms
Hearing this roar, Wukong felt a chill in his heart—it was the Qilin! It seemed another fierce battle was inevitable today. He was deeply conflicted; he certainly didn’t want Qi Tianling to fight against Ran Deng. One was his brother, the other his master. In his eyes, whichever won, it would still be a case of brothers killing each other. And since he himself was in the body of Zhuanxu, he couldn’t reveal his true identity unless absolutely necessary, leaving him in a dilemma.
Ran Deng raised his eyes eastward, then glanced at Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng, and said with a bitter smile, “As expected, father and son fighting side by side!” It turned out that Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng’s earlier low roar was meant to convey a message to the Qilin. Due to their shared bloodline, they could warn each other even across vast distances.
The Qilin arrived in no time, landing majestically in front of Ran Deng. His red robes fluttered, his red hair stood on end as he shouted at Ran Deng, “Is it you who wants to capture Wukong?”
“Capture Wukong! Capture Wukong! Capture Wukong…”
Hearing the Qilin’s blunt words, Wukong dived headfirst from the clouds and landed right next to the Bull Demon King. The Bull Demon King laughed heartily, while Wukong snapped, “Laugh at your master!” The Bull Demon King burst into tears, nodding repeatedly, then pointed at the Great Peng and said, “Laugh at his master! His master!”
Even the calm Ran Deng could hardly control himself. Hearing the Qilin call Zhuanxu Wukong, he was stunned, not knowing what to say. The tense standoff between the two vanished instantly.
Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng stepped forward in front of the Qilin and timidly called, “Dad!” The Qilin slapped him, sending him flying, and snapped, “Wasn’t it you who said someone wanted to capture Wukong?” Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng pointed at Wukong and stammered, “It’s… Zhuanxu Wukong, not Monkey Wukong.”
Dayu let out a long sigh. If the Western Heaven learned of this secret, all of Wukong’s years of hard work might be ruined in an instant. If the Buddha found out that Wukong still kept in secret contact with Qi Tianling after his journey and even took on Zhuanxu’s form to kill the Buddha, one could imagine his fury.
A single shout from the Qilin today might mean the end of Wukong’s quest—he might never be able to reach the Western Heaven again. Although Wukong could turn to Qi Tianling for support, he had sacrificed so much for his journey—being suppressed under the Five Elements Mountain for decades, constantly protecting Tang Seng on his way west. Giving up now would surely hurt him deeply.
But the Qilin had come solely for Wukong, his loyalty as clear as the sun and the moon. How could he be blamed for this?
If they wanted to cover up today’s incident, there was only one way.
Dayu gave Hou Yi a deep look. Hou Yi naturally understood his intention. Even though Ran Deng possessed divine powers, they had no choice but to try. First, they had to eliminate Ran Deng. As for the consequences… who had the time to think about them now?
The Qilin spread his hands and called to Wukong, “Come up!” Wukong leaped up, but didn’t forget to send a message to the Bull Demon King: “Be careful of that Red Qilin Python—don’t let anything slip!” The Bull Demon King was stunned. If even the Ancient Lamp-Burning Buddha knew, who else could he hide it from? But he still pressed the Red-Scaled Giant Python to the ground and shouted, “Say nothing!” The python spirit spent great effort cleaning up Xi Shi Gou and had just transformed into human form to rest. He was completely confused by what everyone was saying. Suddenly, the Bull Demon King held him down, and he exclaimed in bewilderment, “Elder, why not say anything?” The Bull Demon King roared, “Shut up! Pretend to be mute!” The python spirit quickly nodded, cursing inwardly—what a backstabber.
Wukong stood in front of the Qilin. Thinking about it, he couldn’t help but laugh. The Qilin pointed at Wukong and scolded, “I told you before—changing forms like this will eventually cause trouble!” Wukong looked helpless, filled with exasperation. Could this really be my fault?
The Qilin said, “But I was also somewhat at fault in this matter. Now, apart from silencing you, there’s no other way! Don’t you think?” Wukong was shocked. He turned around, speechless. You can’t just say ‘silence you’ outright, can you?
Suddenly, the Lamp-Burning Buddha laughed loudly, “What a great performance by you, monkey!” Wukong could hold back no longer. He leaped in front of the Lamp-Burning Buddha, bowed deeply, and cried out, “Master! I’ve longed for you so much!”
A strange howl was heard as the Roc collapsed from within out, roaring, “Monkey, what are you doing?” Dayu and the Qilin looked at each other, as if witnessing the end of the world. With the Qilin’s cultivation level, his hands began to tremble. He was too shocked to express his feelings. Three huge fireballs were fired, crashing onto the ground.
Seeing the situation turn bad, the Bull Demon King pulled the python spirit and fled, cursing inwardly, “He’s gone mad! This old fellow’s gone mad!”
Hou Yi was distracted. Unconsciously, he released the bowstring. An arrow once released can’t be recalled. This arrow of time passed by Wukong and the Lamp-Burning Buddha. The light in the air seemed to freeze, and Wukong bowing low created a truly beautiful scene.
Wukong felt time stand still. In that moment, his surroundings turned into the scene of the Sloping Moon and Three Stars Cave. Memories flashed through his mind. It turned out his admiration for the Lamp-Burning Buddha had never diminished; instead, it grew stronger due to its mystery. Moreover, because of Laojun’s words that they shared the same aspirations, he had no doubts.
The Lamp-Burning Buddha paused for a moment, but in an instant, he returned to normal. He reached out to help Wukong up and said, “I know where you came from, and I know where you’re going.”
Upon hearing these words, Wukong was deeply shaken. This was exactly the first sentence Bodhi Patriarch had said to him when he first met him in the Cave of the Three Stars under the Slanting Moon. Wukong kowtowed twice and said, “Please guide me, Master!”
At that moment, the Arrow of Time turned back. Ran Deng reached out, caught the arrow with his middle and index fingers, examined it carefully, and praised, “Excellent archery.” He casually threw the arrow back to Hou Yi, who took it in a daze. When the Arrow of Time left, Ran Deng’s body only paused slightly before neutralizing its power. By the time it returned, it had no effect on him at all. How had he broken the power of time?
Ran Deng said, “Time moves slowly when it goes and quickly when it returns. I wonder if you’ve grasped this principle.” These words seemed meant for Hou Yi, yet also served as a warning to Wukong. Slow when going, fast when returning? Wukong’s mind stirred—wasn’t that exactly the case? All past events flowed by, yet one never knew when they would return to haunt one’s mind. They came suddenly and left just as suddenly, with no hint in advance.
Hou Yi held the Arrow of Time, lost in thought, so much so that he didn’t even react when Dayu tried to pull him away. In an instant, everyone in Qitian Ridge retreated. Ran Deng said, “If you were just Zhuanxu, I might have let you go and let Tathagata fight against Qitian Ridge. But since you are Wukong, I must take you back.”
Wukong replied, “I leave it to Master to decide.”
Ran Deng sighed, “I thought we would never meet again, but unexpectedly, you even deceived me. Such fate cannot be avoided.”
Yet Wukong harbored concerns. He asked, “Just now, the qilin let out a loud cry. Did anyone else hear it?”
Ran Deng replied, “Since I’ve come, who would dare to follow and spy?” With that, he used his supernatural powers to cover Wukong in light and shadow, saying, “Do not leave this shadow. No one in the world can recognize or harm you.”
Wukong was filled with excitement—no one in the world could harm him? What boldness it took to say such a thing! Suddenly, Ran Deng looked up and asked, “What are you doing here?” Then there was silence, likely as someone in the sky was communicating with him.
After a while, Ran Deng took Wukong back to Mount Ling.
By then, Tathagata was already seated in the Mahavira Hall. Seeing Ran Deng enter with a gloomy expression, a faint figure could be seen in the dim light. Tathagata got down from his throne and said cheerfully, “The past Buddha has indeed achieved success at once.” The arhats and venerables in the hall immediately praised the fame of the ancient Buddha Ran Deng.
Tathagata added, “Please dispel your supernatural powers so we can see what Zhuanxu looks like.”
Ran Deng reduced his glow, revealing Wukong lying face up on the ground. Tathagata glanced at Anuo, who immediately understood and blinked, signaling that this man was indeed Zhuanxu. Tathagata asked, “What should we do with this man?”
Anuo said cautiously, “Destroying the Buddha… is unprecedented in history. Please, the Buddha—”
Randan said, “This man is from ancient times, possessing extraordinary wisdom. I see he has great spiritual potential. If we could bring him into our sect, wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
As soon as Randan spoke, many people fawned over him. The Tathagata was secretly displeased—there were still those in this hall who didn’t know better. Yet he had no intention of arguing with Randan’s words. Keeping Zhuanxu alive was indeed better than killing him. First, the Buddhist sect forbids killing; second… if Randan could truly convert him, it would surely demoralize the warriors of Qitianling! Whether he joined Randan’s camp or his own sect didn’t really matter. One thing remained unclear: how could an ordinary person break through the secret technique of “transforming relics into a Buddha’s body”?
With his wide sleeves fluttering, Randan led Wukong out of the Mahavira Hall and returned to his own Dingguang Hall.
※ ※ ※
In Benbo Country, everyone returned to their camps as if in a dream.
The Bull Demon King murmured, “When did Wukong get a master?”
Dayu asked, “Don’t you know either?”
The Bull Demon King shook his head. “When I first met him, he was already a Taiyi Golden Immortal.”
Dayu said, “Then it must have been before he met you and me. I guessed his master must be a formidable figure. I never expected it to be Randan. But why would Randan hide this?”
The Bull Demon King shook his head again. “I don’t know. Randan is so powerful—if he admitted Wukong as his disciple, who would dare to touch him?”
Dapeng said, “Not necessarily. You, as a disciple of the Three Pure Ones, are often beaten half to death too!”
The Bull Demon King snorted, “You, as the son of the phoenix and the younger brother of the peacock, were still locked up for hundreds of years!”
Dapeng snapped, “Do you want to fight?”
The Bull Demon King sneered, “Are you taking advantage of my still-unhealed wounds?”
Houyi said, “If you two want to fight, go outside. Stop making noise here!”
The Bull Demon King stuck out his tongue and laughed, “Elder, you were lost in thought. What were you thinking about?”
Houyi was thinking about what Randan had said to him, but the argument between the two disrupted his thoughts. He got up and left the tent to find a quiet place.
Dayu said, “Seeing how close Wukong is to Randan, there’s no need to worry about his safety. Although the Western Heaven is a dangerous place, with Randan around, he’ll be safe.”
Dapeng said, “The quest for the scriptures was initiated by the Tathagata and has nothing to do with Buddha Randan. But once Wukong entered the Spirit Mountain, he can’t escape easily. If Buddha Randan lets him go, he must still consider the Tathagata. To release a great enemy of the Buddhist sect without reason… this is extremely serious.”
The Bull Demon King chuckled. “Idiot! You forgot Wukong’s second transformation!”
In another large tent, Jiuling Yuansheng, seeing that the Qilin’s anger had not subsided, said timidly, “Father, Wukong—he—”
“What does that have to do with me?”