Chapter 767
Guanyin, you stinky little sister, does your face hurt?
But she shouldn't have used this incident to embellish her image of compassion, especially not in front of Sun Wukong and Tang Sanzang.
What's even worse is that she didn't mention Lin Zhu at all.
When Ao Lie heard the words "It was I who pleaded with the Jade Emperor on his behalf" at the bottom of the ravine, his dragon teeth nearly ground to powder. He endured it again and again, repeatedly telling himself to prioritize the greater good and not act impulsively, but when Guanyin Bodhisattva said, "We have arranged for you to wait here," that superior and self-righteous tone finally broke him down completely—deceiving the world and stealing a reputation was one thing, but stealing his elder brother's reputation was another; how could he tolerate this?
So Ao Lie exploded.
The way he emerged from the bottom of the ravine didn't resemble a dragon, but rather a javelin shot from a slingshot.
The dragon circled once in mid-air, and the wind it generated blew the pebbles on the bank of the stream all over the place. Tang Sanzang was blown off balance by the wind and almost fell. He quickly grabbed Sun Wukong's tiger-skin skirt to steady himself.
Ao Lie hovered in mid-air, his dragon head held high, his golden dragon eyes fixed on Guanyin Bodhisattva on the lotus platform. The voice that came out of his dragon mouth was filled with suppressed anger and contempt: "Guanyin Bodhisattva, you are too shameless!"
That shout silenced the entire Eagle's Sorrow Gorge.
The Golden-Headed Jiedi's eyes widened, the Five Directions Jiedi were collectively petrified, some of the Six Ding and Six Jia subconsciously covered their mouths, and the Four Duty Officers almost dropped the timebook in their hands.
The White Dragon called Guanyin Bodhisattva shameless? Does this dragon have a death wish? Even if you are the son of the West Sea Dragon King, insulting Guanyin Bodhisattva to her face is a heinous crime. According to the Heavenly Laws, at the very least, you should be skinned alive and cast into the cycle of reincarnation.
The expression on Guanyin Bodhisattva's face at that moment was as brilliant as a landscape painting splashed with ink. First, she was shocked, then bewildered, then confused, and finally her expression settled into an extreme, suppressed anger.
She never expected Ao Lie to rush out at this critical moment, let alone that this little white dragon would open his mouth and call her shameless. She was Guanyin Bodhisattva, one of the Four Great Bodhisattvas, a being respected by both the Heavenly Court and the Western Paradise. When had she ever been called shameless to her face?
"Ao Lie?"
The Bodhisattva Guanyin's voice carried a mixture of disbelief and suppressed anger, "Why did you come up here on your own? Didn't we agree that you would only come out when I called you? Why are you jumping out to scold me now?"
Ao Lie somersaulted in the air, its tail slamming against the stream, splashing water all over Tang Sanzang's face and head. But Tang Sanzang didn't bother wiping the water from his face; his eyes were fixed on the white dragon in the air, his mind still processing what was happening before him—didn't this white dragon just eat my horse? How did it suddenly start arguing with Guanyin Bodhisattva?
Ao Lie didn't even look at Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong; his gaze remained fixed on Guanyin Bodhisattva. Every word he uttered from his dragon mouth seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth: "Why are you cursing me? Don't you know your own limitations? What did you just say—'I pleaded with the Jade Emperor on his behalf'? Say it again and see what happens?"
Guanyin Bodhisattva frowned. She vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but couldn't quite grasp the key point.
According to the information she possessed, she did indeed plead with the Jade Emperor on Ao Lie's behalf back then, and she did indeed save Ao Lie's life—these were undeniable facts. For Ao Lie to now deny this, was he out of his mind and talking nonsense?
But Ao Lie's next words made Guanyin Bodhisattva's face turn completely black.
Ao Lie suddenly turned his head to look at Sun Wukong and Tang Sanzang on the shore. He spoke in human language from his dragon mouth, his voice filled with undisguised reverence and gratitude, a stark contrast to the anger he had shown when he cursed Guanyin Bodhisattva earlier: "Great Sage Sun over there, and Elder Tang, don't listen to this brat's nonsense! Not a word of truth comes out of her mouth!"
Sun Wukong was somewhat bewildered by Ao Lie's sudden change of heart, but he immediately felt a bit of goodwill towards the little white dragon—he had rarely seen anyone in all his years in heaven and earth who dared to curse Guanyin Bodhisattva's "stinky sister." He grinned and smoothly took over the conversation: "Oh? Then tell me, what exactly happened?"
Ao Lie took a deep breath, his dragon body trembling slightly in the air—the excitement of emotions finally finding an outlet after being suppressed for so long. His voice echoed between the mountain walls on both sides of Eagle's Sorrow Gorge, each word clear and powerful, as if declaring a fact that must be remembered to all living beings in the world: "Back then, my father accused me of disobedience, and the Heavenly Court sentenced me to death. It was someone who stopped the executioner before I was taken to the Dragon-Slaying Platform; it was someone who talked with me all night when I was in despair, making me suddenly realize the truth; it was someone who took all the blame for me and gave me a glimmer of hope—that person was not Guanyin!"
Ao Lie pointed his dragon claw at Guanyin Bodhisattva, the tip gleaming coldly in the sunlight. His voice suddenly rose, carrying with it a surge of anger and resentment that had been building up for years: "It is Lin Zhu, the God of Law Enforcement of the Three Realms in Heaven!"
When Ao Lie uttered the words "Lin Zhu," the entire dragon's aura changed.
His previous anger was like a giant wave in a storm, crashing fiercely and rapidly; but when he mentioned Lin Zhu, his tone became extremely solemn and respectful, as if he were reciting a name that could only be remembered with gratitude.
“Guanyin, I ask you,” Ao Lie’s voice turned cold, his golden dragon eyes staring straight at Guanyin Bodhisattva. His gaze was not that of a subordinate looking at a superior, but rather like that of a victim questioning an imposter. “Back then on the shores of the South China Sea, I lost my mind due to the burning karmic fire in my heart and almost killed everyone in an entire city. Who stopped me? Who risked their life to enter my malevolent aura when I was in a rage, using great supernatural powers to suppress my karmic fire and restore my clarity?”
Guanyin Bodhisattva's lips moved slightly, her face already so dark it could drip water.
Ao Lie didn't give her a chance to answer and continued, "Who was it that, after I regained consciousness, didn't belittle me or hypocritically advise me to let go, but instead sat down and talked to me all night long, telling me the real reason my father accused me, telling me what the power struggle in the West Sea Dragon Palace was all about, telling me that being framed and betrayed wasn't my fault, and that living was more important than anything else—was it you? Was it you, Guanyin?"
The Eagle's Sorrow Gorge was so quiet that only the sound of the flowing water could be heard. Sun Wukong's playful expression vanished, and his gaze towards Ao Lie became serious and scrutinizing.
Tang Sanzang stood beside the rock, his mouth slightly open. His bald head, wet from the stream, shone brightly in the sunlight, but he was oblivious to it. He just stared blankly at the white dragon in the sky, a deep feeling stirring within him.
Ao Lie's dragon whiskers fluttered in the wind, and his voice suddenly lowered slightly, but every word still landed steadily in the ears of everyone present: "Who stepped forward to mediate for me, to find the Jade Emperor to change my judgment, to plead with the Dragon King of the West Sea, and to help me win a chance to atone for my sins? Who told me that I, Ao Lie, owe nothing to the Western Paradise, nothing to anyone, only my own karma, which I will have to repay step by step with my own two feet in the future—was it you? Was it you, Guanyin?"
He paused, his dragon mouth twitching as if trying to release all the emotions that had been bottled up in his chest for years. In the end, he just gritted his teeth, turned his gaze back to Sun Wukong and Tang Sanzang, and said with a hint of disdain and contempt, "Guanyin Bodhisattva was just someone who showed her face at the last moment after Lord Lin Zhu had done everything, said a few meaningless words to the Jade Emperor, and then shamelessly claimed all the credit for herself. Today, she even dared to show off in front of me, saying that she saved me. What does Guanyin have to do with it!"
Ao Lie spoke these words quickly and urgently, as if he were pouring out all the grievances he had held back for hundreds of years. After he finished cursing, he raised his head and let out a long roar, which reverberated through the valley, carrying an indescribable sense of exhilaration.
Upon hearing these words, Sun Wukong's smile widened, eventually blossoming into an undisguised, gloating grin. He turned to look at Guanyin Bodhisattva, his monkey face displaying an expression as if he had just witnessed a spectacular performance, his eyes gleaming with blatant mockery and sarcasm.
"You got slapped in the face, didn't you?"
Sun Wukong stretched out his hand and made a slapping motion in the air, his tone full of glee as he watched a good show, "Hahaha, Bodhisattva, your face has finally been slapped hard in public today."
What did you just say—'I pleaded with the Jade Emperor on his behalf'? But the White Dragon said that the one who truly saved him wasn't you, but Lord Lin Zhu, the God of Hell."
Guanyin Bodhisattva stood on the lotus platform, her face as gloomy as the darkest cloud before a storm.
Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and her eyes were filled with complex emotions: anger, embarrassment, confusion, and an indescribable sense of powerlessness.
She did indeed participate in rescuing Ao Lie back then, and she did speak to the Jade Emperor; she was confident in her abilities.
But she hadn't done any of the things Ao Lie had just mentioned—stopping him from massacring civilians on the shores of the South China Sea, persuading him through the night to make him realize his mistakes, and helping him get a chance to redeem himself.
When did Lin Zhu get involved in Ao Lie's affairs? She vaguely remembered that during the incident on the shores of the South China Sea, it seemed that people from the Heavenly Court had indeed been there, but at that time she was busy negotiating back and forth with the Dragon King of the West Sea and the Jade Emperor, and did not pay attention to what happened there.
Looking back now, if what Ao Lie said was true, then Lin Zhu had already reached into the chessboard of Journey to the West hundreds of years ago. The depth and breadth of this person's schemes sent chills down her spine whenever she thought about them.
Sun Wukong didn't care what Guanyin Bodhisattva was thinking. He jumped from the shore onto the rock where the Golden Cudgel had smashed a large crater, looked up at Ao Lie in the air, raised his hand and patted his chest hard, his voice filled with the excitement and exhilaration of finding a kindred spirit: "Good brother! You also received great kindness from the God of Hell?"
Ao Lie originally didn't have a good attitude towards Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong.
In his eyes, Tang Sanzang was a coward who would howl for half a day if he lost his horse and was not worthy of the title of pilgrim; Sun Wukong was a troublemaker who caused chaos in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago and frightened the Three Realms. Five hundred years later, he was put on a golden headband and became a dog in the Western Paradise. No matter how you looked at it, he was not someone you could get along with.
But when he saw Sun Wukong's excited chest-thumping appearance and heard the words "You have also received great kindness from the God of Hell," the dragon's tail unconsciously flicked, and its long whiskers trembled gently in the mist.
"You also received a great favor from the God of Hell?"
Ao Lie's voice carried a hint of surprise and probing. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Sun Wukong, a sharp, probing glint in his golden dragon pupils, but his tone was noticeably gentler than before. "Great Sage Sun, what do you mean by that? Did Lord Lin Zhu also help you?"
Before Sun Wukong could answer, Tang Sanzang had already leaped over from beside the rock in three strides. He shook his monk's robe, soaked by the stream, and hastily wiped his face with his hands. Glistening water droplets still clung to his bald head. He jumped up excitedly, waving and shouting, "And this humble monk! This humble monk has also received great kindness from the God of Hell!"
Tang Sanzang's shout was urgent and rapid, his voice cracking like a rooster whose tail had been stepped on. But he didn't care how comical his tone was; he just kept waving his arms, as if the higher he raised them, the more qualified he would be: "Lord Prison God told me outside Chang'an that he had seen the Golden-Headed Jiedi refuse to help me when I was dying, and told me not to be afraid when I reached the Western Paradise, because he would back me up! My life was saved by the Prison God, and my grudges are also remembered by the Prison God. Without him, I don't know if I would still be standing here!"
Ao Lie circled in the air, his dragon head slightly turned, sizing up the bald monk on the ground, soaking wet. To be honest, his first impression of Tang Sanzang was really not good.
This pilgrim was cowardly as a mouse. He would cry his eyes out if he lost a horse, and he would hide behind a rock in fear when he saw a monster. He was the complete opposite of Lord Lin Zhu, who had a towering and upright spirit.
But the sincerity and gratitude in Tang Sanzang's words just now were not feigned; the light that shone in his eyes was no different from the look in his eyes when he recalled Lin Zhu.
"Elder Tang, you too..."
Before Ao Lie could finish speaking, Sun Wukong's signature loud voice boomed out.
"And there's me, Old Sun!"
Sun Wukong patted his tiger-skin skirt, his cat-like face becoming incredibly lively with excitement, his fiery eyes shining so brightly they seemed to be burning. "The headband on my head is a good one that Lord Prison God replaced for me beforehand! If it weren't for Lin Zhu, I, Old Sun, would have been rolling on the ground being nagged by that old woman by now!"
Upon hearing this, Guanyin Bodhisattva's face darkened completely. She stood on the lotus platform, her fingers slightly clenched, and the willow branch in the vase swayed gently with her emotional fluctuations, making a soft gurgling sound.
The various clues in her mind seemed to be pieced together like a bunch of fragments—the headband had no effect on Sun Wukong, the White Dragon suddenly jumped out and scolded her, and Tang Sanzang had no respect for the Western Paradise—all of these things pointed to the same person.
Lin Zhu.
Ao Lie, however, paid no attention to the change in Guanyin Bodhisattva's expression.
When he heard Sun Wukong say, "The headband is genuine," his entire dragon body trembled slightly, and his tail involuntarily slapped against the stream, splashing water all over the Liu Ding and Liu Jia on the bank, but no one dared to utter a sound. (End of Chapter)