Chapter 774
Guanyin was so angry she bristled, and Lin Zhu turned around and gave her another piece
The treasure that the Western Paradise relied on to subdue the White Dragon instantly turned into powder and scattered in the air.
Guanyin Bodhisattva froze completely.
She stared wide-eyed at the drifting golden powder, her face draining of all color in an instant, turning ashen white.
Her lips trembled, and a gurgling sound came from her throat, as if she had a thousand words stuck in her throat but couldn't utter a single one.
How much effort did she put into getting this magical artifact out of Mount Ling? The talisman was personally blessed by the Buddha, and the seal was meticulously woven by eminent Buddhist monks. Every step of the process was a labor of love.
Although this saddle and bridle are not top-tier magical artifacts, they are unique in their specific uses, and it would take at least three years to make a new one.
Now, not even three years are left. The journey to the west has already begun, and the White Dragon is about to return to his place. There is no time to go to Mount Ling to ask for a new foundation.
What made her even more desperate was Lin Zhu's attitude.
He destroyed it without hesitation, without even blinking, and even laughed as he crushed it. Not only did he accept 100,000 units of merit water and do nothing, but he also crushed a magical treasure from the Western Paradise right in front of him—this kind of behavior is utterly unheard of.
Shameless is an understatement to describe him.
Guanyin Bodhisattva grabbed her hair with both hands, pulling hard on the strands with her ten fingers, pacing back and forth as if she had gone mad.
Her hair was pulled askew, with a few stray strands falling and sticking to her cheeks. Coupled with that distorted expression, she no longer resembled Guanyin Bodhisattva at all.
"You're not a human being!"
Guanyin Bodhisattva's voice cracked with excitement, sharp and piercing, startling a flock of birds in the forest. "Lin Zhu, you are truly inhuman! You accepted 100,000 merits of divine water and still committed such a heinous act! How could you be so shameless! So despicable! So shameless!"
Lin Zhu clapped his hands.
The powder fell from his hands, and after wiping it on his clothes, he looked up at Guanyin Bodhisattva with a lazy expression and an innocent tone that seemed to invite a beating: "Actually, I just wanted you to bring something else in exchange."
Guanyin Bodhisattva was stunned.
“But you reminded me to destroy this harmful magic weapon,” Lin Zhu shrugged, his smile deepening. “I couldn’t very well refuse.”
Guanyin Bodhisattva stood there blankly, staring straight at Lin Zhu, her mind replaying Lin Zhu's words: "Actually, I just wanted you to give me something else in exchange, but you reminded me to destroy this harmful magic weapon."
Did she remind you?
Was it she herself who reminded Lin Zhu to destroy the magic weapon?
Guanyin Bodhisattva felt her blood pressure spike, and her vision went black.
She carefully recalled the scene just now—Lin Zhu picked up the saddle and asked her, "Guess what I'm going to do next?" Then she shouted, "If you dare to destroy my Western Paradise treasure, the Western Paradise will never let you get away with it."
Then Lin Zhu crushed the saddle, claiming it was because she had reminded him.
what is this?
Did she dig a hole for herself?
Guanyin Bodhisattva almost spat out a mouthful of blood. She had cultivated for thousands of years and considered herself to be quite shrewd, but in front of Lin Zhu, she was like a three-year-old child, completely fooled.
This person is terrifying. Not only can he predict every move you make, but he can also make you finish the game for him and then make you feel like a fool.
The little white dragon stood aside and witnessed the entire process of the saddle being crushed.
He saw the composure with which Lin Zhu picked up the saddle, the mournful sound of the incantation as Lin Zhu exerted force with his fingers, the horror on Guanyin Bodhisattva's face when Lin Zhu smiled slightly, and every detail of the golden dust drifting between Lin Zhu's fingers as the saddle turned to dust.
He was deeply moved.
That saddle was specially prepared for him; it was used to seal his dragon aura, sever his karmic ties with the Heavenly Court, and erase his original consciousness.
If Lin Zhu were not here today, Guanyin Bodhisattva would give this saddle to Tang Sanzang, who would then put it on him. He would then transform from a dragon offspring into a mount for the Western Paradise, losing himself, losing the glory of the dragon race, and even forgetting his own name.
Lin Zhu saved him.
Not only did they save him, but they also crushed the cage into powder right in front of Guanyin Bodhisattva, leaving no room for mercy and showing no consideration for the Western Paradise. This courage, this sense of responsibility, and this debt of gratitude to the Dragon Clan were so heavy that he didn't know how to repay them.
The White Dragon stepped forward, his voice trembling slightly with excitement, his tone full of sincerity and piety: "I have no way to repay the great kindness of the God of Hell. From now on, I will follow your lead! You have protected the dignity of the Dragon Clan. From now on, if anyone in the Three Realms dares to disrespect you, I, the White Dragon, will be the first to object!"
Lin Zhu smiled faintly.
He didn't speak, but simply waved his hand, acknowledging the White Dragon's kindness. But in his heart, he was thinking about something else—it's not like I've been at odds with the Western Paradise for just a day or two.
From the Golden-Headed Jiedi to the current Guanyin Bodhisattva, from exposing the golden headband to crushing the saddle, everything he has done is an insult to the Western Paradise.
The Buddha was forced to drive away the Golden-Headed Jiedi by him, and now he has crushed the magic weapon used to subdue the White Dragon. This grudge has been formed for a long time, so one more saddle won't make a difference.
The more debts you have, the less they weigh you down. Offending someone once is the same as offending them ten times. Anyway, Heaven has already written it down in its little book. So what if you break a saddle? It might even make you feel better, so why not?
Guanyin Bodhisattva does not possess Lin Zhu's composure.
She was so angry she lost her mind.
A fire seemed to burn in her chest, making her tremble all over. She stared at Lin Zhu, her gaze almost burning a hole through his robes. Her voice was forced from the depths of her throat, each word carrying the force of gritted teeth, like the low growl of a wounded beast: "Lin Zhu, the God of Hell, you are provoking the Western Heaven! You have no sense of mortality!"
She took two steps forward, her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles cracked, her voice hoarse and shrill with anger: "You took my merit-giving water but didn't do anything! First you wouldn't let the White Dragon wear a saddle and bridle, then you destroyed the Western Paradise's magical treasure right in front of me. You take my things but do nothing, but you're quick to destroy things! This is outrageous! Outrageous!"
Lin Zhu looked completely innocent.
He shrugged, raised his eyebrows, and gave an expression so sincere that it was hard to tell if he was genuinely innocent or just pretending. His tone carried an air of self-righteousness: "Consider the 100,000 merit points of divine water your payment for letting me destroy this magic weapon. I crushed it for you, and you paid me with the merit points of divine water. It's a fair transaction, a cash transaction. That's not unreasonable, is it?"
Guanyin Bodhisattva's lips twitched violently.
Fair trade?
You call this a fair trade?
The saddle itself belonged to the Western Paradise. When did she ask Lin Zhu to destroy it? It was clearly Lin Zhu who crushed it himself. She kept telling him to stop, so how did it become "you asked me to destroy it" in Lin Zhu's mouth?
Guanyin Bodhisattva took a deep breath, her chest heaving several times. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but each time she swallowed the words back. She had given up on reasoning with Lin Zhu, because she realized that there was no logic in reasoning with this person.
He spouts fallacies and heresies without batting an eye, and arguing with him will only make you angrier.
She turned around angrily. Her footsteps were heavy, each step making a dull thud. Her skirt billowed in the wind as she turned so abruptly, sending grass clippings flying everywhere.
Her back view carried a resolute anger; her shoulders were tense, her back ramrod straight, and she walked out without looking back.
She knew she was completely doomed by Lin Zhu this time.
From Eagle's Sorrow Gorge onwards, every step was within Lin Zhu's calculations. She thought she could counterattack, that taking out the Merit Water would stabilize the situation, and that using 100,000 Merit Waters would at least secure a year of cooperation.
And what was the result? The Divine Water of Merit was gone, the magic weapon was destroyed, and the White Dragon was completely devoted to Lin Zhu. She got nothing and ended up with a mountain of debt.
She can't clean up this mess anymore.
The only solution is to let the Buddha handle this matter. After all, the Journey to the West was initiated by the Buddha; she was merely an executor. Now that the execution has gone wrong, the responsibility doesn't lie entirely with her.
Lin Zhu is too difficult to deal with; she can't handle him alone. Let Buddha personally deal with Lin Zhu.
When Lin Zhu saw Guanyin Bodhisattva turn and leave, he immediately made a judgment.
It seems there's really nothing left to squeeze out.
Guanyin Bodhisattva has already emptied her pockets; there's not even a last bit of room left to squeeze out. The 100,000 merits of the divine water is her bottom line; she can't come up with a single penny more.
Now that there's no longer any possibility of exploitation, it's time to change strategies. We can't push people too hard, since we'll still have to continue on the Journey to the West path.
Be forgiving and forgiving.
Lin Zhu mentally gave herself a thumbs up, feeling incredibly kind. She could have continued to exploit Guanyin Bodhisattva, but instead chose to let her go; such kindness was rare even in the Three Realms.
"and many more."
Lin Zhu called out from behind Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Guanyin Bodhisattva did not turn back, nor did she stop walking.
Now, just hearing Lin Zhu's voice makes her blood pressure spike, and that innocent-looking face keeps flashing through her mind.
She just wanted to leave this wretched place as soon as possible, as far away from Lin Zhu as possible. After returning, she would close the door, calm down alone on Mount Luojia, and then send an urgent letter to Buddha, reporting the whole story in detail.
"and many more!"
Lin Zhu shouted again, this time louder than before.
Guanyin Bodhisattva paused for a moment, but immediately continued walking forward, and even walked faster.
"You don't want your horse anymore?"
Lin Zhu's voice came from behind, unhurried, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.
Guanyin Bodhisattva was so angry that she lost her mind.
Her mind was filled with images of the 100,000 merits of the divine water going down the drain, the golden powder that the saddle had turned into drifting between Lin Zhu's fingers, and the devout expression on Little White Dragon's face when he said, "I will follow your lead, sir."
These images, layered together, were like a pot of boiling oil, making her head buzz and leaving her with no extra energy to think about what Lin Zhu had just said.
She whirled around, her face flushed crimson, her hair plastered messily to her cheeks, making her look like a peacock with its feathers ruffled. She pointed a finger at Lin Zhu, her finger trembling violently with rage, her voice so shrill it almost shook the leaves from the surrounding trees: "Outrageous!"
Lin Zhu blinked as she was startled by the shout.
"How dare you become the God of Law and Justice in the Three Realms!"
Guanyin Bodhisattva swallowed back the profanities that were already on the tip of her tongue, but she simply couldn't hold back any longer. All the self-restraint she had cultivated on Mount Ling over the years crumbled at this moment. "Swindlers and cheaters! Taking advantage of others' misfortunes! Extortion! Spreading rumors and misleading the public! What virtue do you possess that makes you worthy of the title of Goddess of Hell! How dare someone like you wield the law of the Three Realms! How dare you wear that official robe!"
Lin Zhu looked utterly helpless.
He stood there watching Guanyin Bodhisattva spew out mantras like a machine gun, feeling no ripples in his heart, even a slight urge to laugh. He was long used to being misunderstood, insulted, and labeled.
In Heaven, every one of his mythical deeds has been embellished and exaggerated beyond belief, a hundred times more dramatic than what he actually did. Let them criticize him; it won't hurt him.
After Guanyin Bodhisattva finished scolding and stood there panting heavily, Lin Zhu slowly spoke, his voice as calm as a still pond: "I mean—you don't want the White Dragon Horse to return to its rightful place?"
Guanyin Bodhisattva suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Her body froze on the spot as if under a spell, all her anger and resentment instantly dissipated by those words. Her expression was frozen on her face, her eyes wide open, her mouth slightly agape, like a fish thrown ashore.
Is the White Dragon Horse back in its place?
Is Lin Zhu willing to let the White Dragon return to its rightful place?
Guanyin Bodhisattva blinked, her mind racing. She thought that after Lin Zhu crushed the saddle, he wouldn't let the White Dragon participate in the Journey to the West anymore. After all, without the means to subdue the White Dragon, how could the Western Paradise control the dragon race's offspring? But now Lin Zhu was actually taking the initiative to suggest that the White Dragon return to its rightful place?
The expression on her face instantly brightened.
Just moments ago she was seething with rage and gritting her teeth, but in an instant, her face lit up with surprise and disbelief. She took two steps forward, craning her neck to look at Lin Zhu, a flicker of hope rekindling in her eyes, her voice tinged with tentative uncertainty and caution: "Are you really willing to let the White Dragon return to its rightful place?"
Lin Zhu did not answer her immediately.
He turned his head and glanced at the little white dragon.
The little white dragon stood to one side, its whiskers fluttering slightly in the wind, its bluish-white scales shimmering softly in the sunlight.
Sensing Lin Zhu's gaze, he immediately raised his head, his dragon eyes revealing a respectful and submissive expression. He lowered his head slightly and spoke with a sincere and firm tone: "I will obey the orders of the God of Hell."
These four words were spoken without hesitation, without any intention of bargaining, completely treating Lin Zhu as their own boss.
Lin Zhu nodded, turned to look at Guanyin Bodhisattva again, and said in a calm voice as if stating a very ordinary fact: "Little White Dragon also needs this job."
Guanyin Bodhisattva was taken aback.
“A gentleman helps others achieve their goals,” Lin Zhu continued, a faint smile playing on his lips. “I am willing to let the White Dragon join the Journey to the West.”
Guanyin Bodhisattva was overjoyed.
Her facial expressions changed so quickly it was like turning the pages of a book. Just a moment ago, her face was clouded with worry, looking like she was about to explode, but in the blink of an eye, it went from cloudy to sunny, the corners of her mouth turning from downturned to upturned, and joy radiating from her eyes and brows. She even subconsciously took two steps forward, rubbing her hands excitedly inside her sleeves, her voice full of surprise and gratitude: "Great! Thank you, Prison God!" (End of Chapter)