Chapter 766
Guanyin Bodhisattva's Mouth, a Deceitful Ghost: The White Dragon Horse Was Actually
Seeing that the matter had subsided, the Golden-Headed Jiedi quickly flew out from behind Guanyin Bodhisattva and returned to his position among the gods. As he passed by Tang Sanzang, his pace noticeably quickened, and his eyes showed a hint of guilt and evasion, avoiding eye contact with Tang Sanzang.
Tang Sanzang raised his head and glanced at him.
That single glance was so cold that it made Jin Tou Jie Di's back stiffen for a moment.
When Guanyin Bodhisattva saw that Tang Sanzang had lowered his head, she no longer cared whether he was truly convinced or not. In her view, whether Tang Sanzang was convinced or not was not important; what mattered was that the majesty of the Western Paradise was unquestionable. The matter of the Golden-Headed Guardian was now over, and no one could bring up the past again.
She slightly raised her chin, her gaze sweeping over Tang Sanzang's shiny bald head, and a compassionate and dignified smile returned to her lips, as if the accusation of "protecting the murderer" had never happened.
The Western Paradise has no sins, and the people of the Western Paradise cannot make mistakes. This is an ironclad law that no one can shake.
Sun Wukong stood aside, observing Guanyin Bodhisattva's entire demeanor. He sneered inwardly, a sneer like a knife in winter, chilling him from his throat to his heart.
Having been imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain for five hundred years, he had long seen through the true faces of these gods and Buddhas. They talked about being compassionate and saving all living beings, but deep down they were more protective of their own and more hypocritical than anyone else.
When one of his own people makes a mistake, it's considered "no evil deeds, no wickedness"; when someone else makes a mistake, it's considered "a grave sin deserving of hell." He had experienced this double standard countless times when he was the Great Sage Equaling Heaven in Heaven.
He wiped the drool that was still wet on his face, rolled over and stood up, dusted himself off, stuffed the golden cudgel into his ear, looked up at Guanyin Bodhisattva on the lotus platform, and a half-smile appeared on his monkey face.
He had no interest in arguing with Guanyin about the Golden-Headed Jiedi anymore; it wouldn't make any difference anyway—the people of the Western Paradise were always right, and others were always wrong. Instead of wasting his breath, he'd rather ask this old woman what she was there for.
“Bodhisattva,” Sun Wukong spoke, his voice carrying a lazy tone, as if greeting a neighbor he didn’t know very well, “Why don’t you enjoy your retirement in the South Sea, instead of coming to this poor and desolate place? You wouldn’t have come here just to recite the Tightening-Headband Mantra to me, Old Sun, just for me, would you?”
Guanyin Bodhisattva sensed the sarcasm in his words, but she didn't react. The headband had already subdued the monkey, and she didn't need to argue with him over such trivial matters.
She composed herself, her voice regaining its previous cool and calm tone, and said with the air of a bodhisattva, "I was passing by when I saw the chaos below, with you and your disciples making a ruckus and fighting, so I came down to investigate."
She paused, her gaze shifting to the Golden-Headed Jiedi, then back to Sun Wukong, her tone carrying a hint of reproach: "But you, instead of properly protecting Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West, attacked the Golden-Headed Jiedi. What exactly is the reason for this?"
Sun Wukong rolled his eyes dramatically, his entire monkey face radiating an impatient "You're just asking a question you already know the answer to."
He was too lazy to explain the cause and effect to Guanyin Bodhisattva, since he knew that even if he did, the old woman would find a thousand reasons to exonerate Jin Tou Jie Di.
So he just waved his hand, his tone as casual as if he were saying the weather was nice today: "It's nothing serious, it's just that Master's horse is gone, and we're both worried about it here."
Guanyin Bodhisattva was slightly taken aback.
She glanced down at Tang Sanzang on the bank of the stream and found that the brown horse that had been tied to the rock was gone. Only a bitten-off section of the reins remained hanging on the rock, the broken end jagged and covered with a few white scales.
She raised an eyebrow slightly, already guessing seven or eight parts of the story. The horse must have been eaten by the little white dragon Ao Lie at the bottom of the ravine; this was a plot point that was already in her script, so it wasn't surprising.
However, she pretended to have just discovered it, sighed softly, and said with a certainty that she had expected it: "Your mortal horse must have been eaten by the monster at the bottom of Eagle Sorrow Gorge."
Sun Wukong nodded, his expression quite calm: "I know, I went down there to check, it's a white dragon."
He pointed to the bottom of the ravine, his tone as indifferent as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him. "But this monster doesn't have any major bad deeds. I, Old Sun, have inquired about it. It has been staying at the bottom of this ravine for many years. It has never eaten anyone or harmed the lives of the surrounding people. On the contrary, it helps the nearby villages to receive a few timely rains every year."
Since it's not some great evil demon, I, Old Sun, am too lazy to fight it. My master said if we can't afford to offend it, we should avoid it. Let's not ride our horses; we'll just take a detour."
After Sun Wukong finished speaking, he deliberately glanced at Tang Sanzang, as if seeking his master's approval. Tang Sanzang, standing beside the rock, nodded vigorously upon hearing Sun Wukong's words, the dust on his bald head falling off with his movement.
He had just been stifled by Guanyin Bodhisattva's words about "protecting the murderer," and hadn't recovered yet. But when he heard Sun Wukong say that they should take a detour, he forced himself to cheer up and said, "Yes, yes, take a detour. This humble monk's legs are fine; walking a few steps won't be a problem."
When Guanyin Bodhisattva heard the words "take a detour," her face instantly darkened, becoming as dark as the deep, dark waters at the bottom of Eagle's Sorrow Gorge.
The compassionate smile on her lips froze for a moment, her willow-leaf eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly, and a genuine hint of annoyance flashed in her eyes.
She went to great lengths to arrange for Ao Lie to be here, pleading with the Jade Emperor and currying favor with the Dragon King of the West Sea, all so that Ao Lie could wait for Tang Sanzang at Eagle Sorrow Gorge and then naturally become Tang Sanzang's mount.
Now look what's happened, Sun Wukong's simple "take a detour" is going to get her out of her carefully laid trap? What a joke.
"No."
Guanyin Bodhisattva's voice suddenly turned cold, her previous compassion and gentleness gone, replaced by an unquestionable command: "On the journey to the west, we must clear roads through mountains and build bridges over rivers."
You must subdue all the demons along the way; you cannot take a detour.
Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow. He had only said it casually to see how Guanyin Bodhisattva would react, but the old woman's reaction was even more intense than he had expected.
He immediately made up his mind—it seemed this little white dragon was quite important to the Western Paradise, worthy of Guanyin Bodhisattva's personal intervention to ensure its inclusion in the group. Since that was the case, he certainly couldn't go along with her wishes.
Why can't we take a detour?
Sun Wukong tilted his head, looking completely unfazed. "This ravine is only a few hundred feet wide. I, Old Sun, can carry my master across in one somersault without much effort. Since that monster hasn't harmed anyone, there's no need for us to mess with it. Let's keep to ourselves and go our separate ways. Isn't that better?"
Tang Sanzang listened from the side and nodded repeatedly, feeling that what Wukong said made perfect sense. He took a step forward, stood next to Sun Wukong, looked up at Guanyin Bodhisattva, and wore a somewhat apologetic smile, but his words were anything but soft: "Bodhisattva, you often tell us that monks should be compassionate. Since that monster hasn't done anything wrong, it's not right for us to shout and kill it."
Besides, a wise man avoids dangerous situations; why rush into trouble when you can avoid it? What's wrong with being a little cowardly? I think being a little cowardly is quite good.
Guanyin Bodhisattva twitched the corner of her mouth. Looking at Tang Sanzang's self-righteous face, she suddenly felt that this reincarnation of Jin Chanzi was incredibly difficult to manage. Other pilgrims were brave and diligent, slaying demons and monsters, eager to kill every monster they encountered. Why was Tang Sanzang suddenly described as "it's good to be a little cowardly"? You are, after all, the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi, a disciple of Buddha, and a great cultivator in your previous life. Can't you have some backbone?
But she swallowed the breath that rose to her throat.
She knew she couldn't lose her temper now. She had already lost her composure regarding the Golden-Headed Jiedi incident, and if she argued with Tang Sanzang again, she would truly lose her dignity in front of these deities.
So she took a deep breath, lowered her voice to a calm and gentle tone, and readjusted the curve of her lips to the most suitable angle. She said in a serious tone, "Tang Sanzang, you don't know this."
The demons in Eagle's Sorrow Gorge are not some great evil monsters.
She paused, her gaze sweeping across Sun Wukong and Tang Sanzang's faces as if carefully choosing her words, before slowly saying, "The white dragon in this ravine is the son of Ao Run, the Dragon King of the West Sea, named Ao Lie."
He was accused of disobedience by his own father for burning the pearl in front of the palace, and the Heavenly Court sentenced him to death. It was I who pleaded with the Jade Emperor on his behalf, and he was saved and placed here to wait for you.”
When Guanyin Bodhisattva said this, her tone carried a clear hint of seeking credit.
She straightened her back slightly, and the Buddha's light on the lotus platform became even brighter, as if silently emphasizing, "I saved this white dragon, I arranged everything, you should be grateful to me."
She looked down at Tang Sanzang, her voice carrying a certain certainty: "He's here to be your porter."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong was stunned for a moment, then his mouth slowly grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth, followed by an uncontrollable burst of laughter.
The laughter was sharp and piercing, bouncing back and forth between the mountain walls on both sides of Eagle's Sorrow Stream, causing ripples to spread across the water. He clutched his stomach with one hand and pointed at Guanyin Bodhisattva with the other, laughing so hard he bent over, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Hahahaha—I've lived for thousands of years, and this is the first time I've ever heard anything so funny!"
Sun Wukong laughed and said loudly, "Bodhisattva, you said you saved a wicked dragon that committed a heinous crime and released it into this mountain stream where it became a demon. Now it has eaten my master's horse, and you want my master to ride it? Isn't that just slapping yourself in the face?"
He gestured with his fingers across his face, making a slapping motion, his sarcasm undisguised: "The messengers you arranged ate my master's only horse, so what will my master ride on the road? You?"
Upon hearing this, the Golden-Headed Jiedi standing behind Guanyin Bodhisattva's face instantly changed. His lips moved a few times as if he wanted to reprimand Sun Wukong for his insolence, but remembering the experience of almost having his head smashed by the Golden Cudgel just now, he swallowed back the reprimand.
The six Ding and six Jia, along with the four duty officers, all took a half-step back, fearing they might be affected if Guanyin Bodhisattva became angry.
Guanyin Bodhisattva's brow twitched slightly, but she was, after all, an old Bodhisattva who had lived for tens of thousands of years, and she still had the skill to maintain her composure.
She ignored Sun Wukong's provocative question, "Would you like to ride me?" and instead turned her gaze to Tang Sanzang, explaining in a calm tone, "That dragon did not do anything immoral."
The reason he became a spirit in Eagle's Sorrow Gorge wasn't because I neglected to discipline him, but because this gorge was merely his temporary dwelling place. His waiting for you here was arranged by my own words. As for your horse…”
Guanyin Bodhisattva gently shook her head, as if explaining a very simple truth to an ignorant child: "Ordinary horses from the East are ultimately just mortals and cannot travel across mountains and rivers."
From Chang'an to the Western Paradise, a journey of 108,000 li (approximately 54,000 kilometers), requires traversing countless treacherous mountains, treacherous waters, demon caves, and monster lairs. An ordinary horse would collapse before reaching three thousand li. To reach the Western Paradise, only this dragon horse can do it.
Her words were perfectly succinct, clearly explaining her purpose in arranging for Ao Lie to wait there, and even providing a plausible reason for Ao Lie eating the horse—it wasn't that the horse wanted to eat hers, but that her horse simply couldn't travel far.
He was telling the truth, but something just didn't sound right to him.
Tang Sanzang opened his mouth as if to say something, but before he could organize his thoughts, the water in Eagle Sorrow Gorge suddenly surged violently.
A huge spray of water erupted in the center of the stream, the snow-white foam rising more than three zhang high, and a long, graceful white dragon soared into the sky from the bottom of the water.
Its scales shimmered with a silvery-white luster in the sunlight, each one as smooth as a mirror, reflecting a dazzling light.
The dragon's whiskers danced in the mist, its claws treading on the water, and its entire body soared into the air, the waves it created crashing back into the ravine, stirring up layers of ripples.
This white dragon is none other than Ao Lie.
Ao Lie's original plan was to follow the arrangement of the Western Paradise—to lie in wait underwater, wait for Guanyin Bodhisattva to call him, and then he would obediently come out of the water, turn into a white horse, and carry Tang Sanzang to the Western Paradise.
He had even mentally prepared himself underwater, repeatedly telling himself that this was a necessary path to repaying karmic debts, and that he would get through it by gritting his teeth.
But as he lay lurking at the bottom of the ravine, the more he listened, the more uneasy he felt, and the angrier he became. Every word Guanyin Bodhisattva had said was testing the limits of his patience.
Guanyin Bodhisattva said that he "burned the bright pearl in the palace", that he "was accused of disobedience by his father", that he "was sentenced to death", and that she "intervened to save him".
These words were half true and half false, omitting the beginning and the end, taking all the credit for himself, but not mentioning at all that the person who truly saved his life and helped him through the ordeal was someone else.
If Guanyin Bodhisattva only claimed credit for herself, that would be one thing; Ao Lie had always looked down on the sycophantic behavior of these gods and Buddhas and couldn't be bothered to argue with her. (End of Chapter)