Chapter 771
Guanyin Bodhisattva's Underwear Was Stripped Naked
Before the White Dragon could answer, Guanyin Bodhisattva stopped and turned around, a cold smile playing on her lips. She looked at Lin Zhu, her tone tinged with probing and defiance: "Since the God of Hell knows everything, why ask?"
Lin Zhu's heart skipped a beat.
Again.
He quickly chuckled and waved his hand, trying to make his expression seem natural: "Haha, just a casual question, just a casual question."
Guanyin Bodhisattva stared at him for two seconds, a complex look flashing in her eyes, which finally turned into a low snort. She then turned around and continued walking towards the Lishe Temple.
Lin Zhu breathed a sigh of relief and followed along.
Guanyin Bodhisattva stood in front of the courtyard gate, raised her hand and knocked three times on the door. The sound echoed through the mountains and carried far away.
After waiting for a while, the courtyard gate creaked open from the inside.
An old man stood behind the door, dressed in a blue cloth robe, with white hair and beard, a thin face, a gray cloth belt around his waist, and cloth shoes on his feet.
His expression was originally very calm, with a faint smile on his lips, a kind of certainty that "he's finally here," as if he were waiting for a guest who had made an appointment long ago.
But when he saw who was standing outside the door, his composure shattered instantly.
The old man's gaze first fell on Guanyin Bodhisattva, and he nodded, about to say something polite.
Then his gaze shifted to behind Guanyin Bodhisattva, where he saw Lin Zhu, the black robe of the Prison God on Lin Zhu's body, and Lin Zhu's expressionless face.
In the blink of an eye, the old man's face went from rosy to deathly pale, then from deathly pale to ashen, and finally to a deathly ashen. His mouth was wide open, his lips trembled violently, and a gurgling sound came from his throat, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Then he knelt down with a thud.
His knees slammed against the threshold with a dull thud, and he almost collapsed, his upper body sprawling on the ground after his knees hit the ground, his forehead pressed against the wood grain of the threshold, trembling like a leaf. His voice, high-pitched and choked with sobs, echoed in the courtyard: "God of the Three Realms! I was wrong! I know I was wrong! I deserve to die! It's not my fault! I was forced into it!"
Lin Zhu was so startled by the shout that she took half a step back.
what's the situation?
He hadn't even entered the door yet, so why was this old man kneeling down?
Guanyin Bodhisattva's face instantly turned extremely ugly. She stood at the doorway, her lips pressed into a straight line, the muscles at the corners of her eyes twitching slightly. She wanted to say something, but before she could utter a sound, the old man had already raised his head, tears streaming down his face, pointing at Guanyin Bodhisattva, his voice cracking with emotion: "Lord Prison God! It was Guanyin Bodhisattva who forced me to do these things! She even threatened me not to report this to the Heavenly Court! I am innocent! I am just a lowly mountain god, how dare I disobey the Bodhisattva's decree! Lord Prison God, please investigate!"
Lin Zhu stood there, completely bewildered.
A line of words slowly floated through his mind—it seemed like he had stumbled upon something exciting by accident.
Guanyin Bodhisattva forced the mountain god to do things by pressing his head down, and wouldn't let him report to the Heavenly Court? Something about this doesn't sound right at all. A Bodhisattva forcing a mountain god to do something shady—if there's nothing fishy going on here, he should write the character "林" (Lin) backwards.
But the problem is, he wasn't there to investigate a case at all.
He just came here to take a nap, and then the little white dragon dragged him here, and he stumbled into this whole mess without even knowing who this mountain god was, or what the Lishe Temple was, and he only just found out that there was a mountain god on Mount Luojia.
The little white dragon stood behind Lin Zhu, looking down at the old man kneeling on the ground, and let out a cold snort.
His dragon whiskers swayed slightly in the wind, his scales gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and his tone was icy and resolute: "Little mountain god, you think you can deceive the heavens? You may be able to deceive the secrets of heaven, but you can't deceive the eyes of the great god of the prison."
Lin Zhu's lips moved slightly.
He really wanted to say that he didn't know anything and that it was just a coincidence.
But he also knew that no one would believe him if he said that now.
The mountain god, kneeling on the ground, trembled all over. His knees shrank back half an inch, and he curled up into a ball. He dared not look up at the little white dragon or at Guanyin Bodhisattva. He could only steal glances at Lin Zhu out of the corner of his eye, his eyes filled with fear and pleading.
He was waiting for Lin Zhu's decision.
Guanyin Bodhisattva stood to one side, her face ashen, her hands clenching and unclenching repeatedly. She looked at the mountain god kneeling on the ground, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
She had put a lot of effort into setting up this chess piece, thinking it was well hidden, but it was betrayed as soon as Lin Zhu arrived. This mountain god was as timid as a sesame seed; he was so frightened by the sight of the prison god that he spilled everything. What could she possibly expect from him?
She gritted her teeth and made a decision in her heart.
Abandoned pawn.
This move is useless now. Since Lin Zhu has already grasped the mountain god's weakness, she can no longer have any involvement with him. As long as Lin Zhu agrees to let the little white dragon wear that item, whether the mountain god lives or dies is none of her business.
Lin Zhu stood outside the threshold, glancing at the trembling mountain god kneeling on the ground, then at the ashen-faced Guanyin Bodhisattva. His mind grew increasingly clouded. He desperately wanted to ask what was going on, but as an "omniscient and omnipotent prison god," wouldn't asking a question expose his true nature?
So he could only grunt.
The sound came from his nose, neither loud nor soft, expressing neither anger nor satisfaction; it was just a pure, neutral hum.
But this hum has completely different meanings to different people.
Upon hearing the snort, the white dragon immediately understood its meaning. He took a step forward, slammed his claw on the ground, and roared in a booming voice, "You're about to die, so hurry up and talk! Tell me everything, the cause and effect, not a single word is left out!"
The mountain god, kneeling on the ground, trembled violently. He stole a glance at Guanyin Bodhisattva, hoping to get some guidance from her. But Guanyin Bodhisattva stood aside, not even lifting her eyelids, her whole being like an emotionless statue.
The mountain god instantly understood his predicament.
He was abandoned.
Guanyin Bodhisattva no longer cared about him; his life was now entirely in the hands of the prison god in black. If he didn't confess honestly, he would face dire consequences.
“The villain says, the villain says it all.”
The mountain god's voice was hoarse and dry, like sandpaper scraping against stone. He took a deep breath and slowly opened his mouth, each word seeming to be squeezed out from his throat, "This is the border of the Western Fan Hafei Kingdom, and this temple was built by a family in a village behind the temple."
I am no important person, just an unknown nobody, temporarily staying at this temple to tend to the incense.
Little White Dragon frowned and interrupted him coldly: "The Prison God can't stand this nonsense."
The mountain god was startled, beads of sweat trickling down his forehead and dripping onto the ground. He dared not utter any more of the irrelevant background information, took a deep breath, and lay prostrate on the ground, his body beginning to change. His bones creaked, his form began to swell, a layer of grayish-brown patterns appeared on his skin, and the hem of his robes fluttered even without wind.
A few breaths later, his body fully revealed its true form. His robe transformed into an earth-yellow divine robe, with mountain patterns embroidered on the hem. A token was tied to his waist, engraved with the five characters "Mountain God of Mount Luojia".
He raised his head, tears streaming down his face, and kowtowed three times to Lin Zhu, his forehead hitting the floor tiles with a dull thud: "Lord Prison God! I am the mountain god of Mount Luojia! Guanyin Bodhisattva instructed me to wait here for Tang Sanzang to pass by, and gave me something to bestow upon him!"
As he spoke, he turned back, his finger trembling as he pointed at Guanyin Bodhisattva. "I had intended to secretly report this to the Heavenly Court, but Guanyin Bodhisattva coerced and tempted me, pressing my head down to prevent me from doing so! How dare a mere mountain god like me defy the Bodhisattva! I beg the Lord of Hell to have mercy and spare my life!"
Lin Zhu stood there, completely bewildered.
Guanyin Bodhisattva arranged for a mountain god to wait here to deliver something to Tang Sanzang, and she even did it behind the back of the Heavenly Court? This plot seems increasingly off. Tang Sanzang is a pilgrim on a pilgrimage, and the journey to the West is a major undertaking. Why would he need to resort to such sneaky methods?
Guanyin Bodhisattva was identified by the mountain god, and her expression changed repeatedly, but she never spoke in defense. She knew that saying anything now would be useless; Lin Zhu's eyes had already seen through everything, and any further words would only humiliate her.
She simply stood there, her lips pursed, her fingers clenching her sleeves so tightly that her knuckles turned slightly white from the force.
The mountain god of Mount Luojia took something out of his bosom, held it high above his head with both hands, and respectfully presented it to Lin Zhu.
It was a saddle and bridle.
The saddle is predominantly dark brown, polished to a mirror-like smoothness, with a silver trim around the edge that shimmers like stars in the sunlight.
The saddle surface is engraved with intricate patterns. Upon closer inspection, one can see that they are layers upon layers of runes, densely packed, with each rune shimmering with a faint golden halo.
The metal fasteners on the throne were polished to a shine, and the reflected light cast tiny golden glints on the wall. These rays of light intertwined in the air to form a faint chain shape, which then disappeared in the blink of an eye.
This is indeed a treasure.
But judging from the layers upon layers of runes, this treasure is definitely not a good thing.
“This saddle and bridle have three functions,” the mountain god explained, kneeling on the ground with a trembling voice. “First, it seals the wearer’s dragon aura, making the dragon’s bloodline connection completely ineffective.”
Second, it severs all causal ties between the wearer and the Heavenly Court. The moment the wearer puts it on, there will be no trace of the wearer in any of the Heavenly Court's records. Third, and most importantly..."
As the mountain god spoke, his voice trembled noticeably, cold sweat dripped from his forehead onto the ground, and his voice was almost forced out, “This saddle and bridle contain Buddhist nature. After wearing it, the wearer will lose his original form and convert to Buddhism.”
Regardless of their race, spiritual attainment, or origin, once they put it on, it becomes a Buddhist mount, with no room for regret.
After he finished speaking, the surroundings fell into a deathly silence.
Lin Zhu raised her eyebrows.
He looked down at the exquisitely carved saddle and bridle in the mountain god's hand. The flowing runes slowly became clearer in his eyes. Each rune was like a thread in a net, and together they formed a cage that imprisoned the soul.
He never expected that the Western Paradise would resort to such methods.
This is no treasure; it's clearly a cage.
"Your methods of persuading people to convert," Lin Zhu's voice turned cold, his tone low but each word carrying a chill, "are truly simple and crude."
Lin Zhu was genuinely angry when she said those words.
He is usually too lazy to meddle in other people's business, and he can pretend not to see anything, no matter how big the matter is, as long as it doesn't involve him.
But secretly giving the pilgrims a saddle and bridle that can seal the dragon's aura, sever the karmic ties of the Heavenly Court, and erase the original consciousness is not persuading them to convert; it's deceiving them into a trap.
Moreover, the target is the White Dragon, a descendant of the dragon race. If this matter is really accomplished, the descendant of the dragon race will become a mount in the Western Paradise, and the dragon race will not even receive a word from him.
This is no longer a scheme, this is fraud.
The little white dragon stood behind Lin Zhu, staring at the saddle and bridle in the mountain god's hand, its pupils shrinking into vertical lines with anger.
His scales all bristled, his bluish-white luster became dazzling, and his claws carved three deep grooves in the ground, sending up pebbles that hit the courtyard wall with a crackling sound.
He gritted his teeth, each word seemingly squeezed out from between them, his voice filled with barely suppressed rage: "You actually think you can subdue me with something like this?"
Guanyin Bodhisattva stood still, her entire being like a stone sculpture. Her face was ashen, like a rusty iron plate, her lips were tightly pressed together, and the muscles of her jaw were taut.
All the effort she had put into arranging things was exposed by Lin Zhu, who uncovered everything, even her last trump card.
She wasn't angry about the White Dragon's reaction, but rather that things had been exposed.
The plan for the saddle and bridle was decided by the Ling Mountain side, and she was in charge of its execution. Everything was arranged perfectly. As long as Tang Sanzang arrived here, the mountain god would send out the saddle and bridle, and the little white dragon would obediently put it on, and the journey to the west could proceed as planned.
But now it's all over.
She suddenly remembered that when they were on the mountaintop, Lin Zhu had casually remarked, "It can't be another tight band, can it?" At the time, she thought Lin Zhu was just joking, but now, thinking back, she realized that his words were definitely pointed.
Lin Zhu had long guessed the existence of this saddle and reins, and had seen through her plan.
This person's control is terrifying.
Nothing escaped his arrangement; even a mountain god hidden in the village shrine and a saddle and bridle hidden in the mountain god's bosom were within his calculations.
He stood there, having never even seen a saddle and bridle before, yet he already knew what they were, what they were for, and the whole story.
Guanyin Bodhisattva felt a fear she had never experienced before.
This feeling was different from the fear she experienced under Lin Zhu's God-Slaying Spear. That time it was an overwhelming force, a despair in the face of absolute power.
But this time it was a crushing defeat in terms of strategy, the kind of powerlessness where every step you take is anticipated by your opponent, and every single one of your cards is seen through beforehand. (End of Chapter)