Chapter 162: Many Illegal Things, Water Ape Great Sage (asking for monthly votes)
But Jiang Yuan entered the city and asked the old man from the Zuo family to stop him and invite him back to the mansion.

Jiang Yuan rode the white deer and approached the mansion. He saw that the mansion was rich and magnificent, just like “blue bricks built into colorful cloud walls, green tiles built into high buildings”. He was touched by what he saw, and knew that this old man had some connection with him. In the past, when Zuo Shi came down the mountain, he sent the white deer to follow and protect him. He didn’t expect to meet his descendants here today.

It was indeed fate. Although we hadn’t seen each other for so many years, I was able to stop him at the city gate and ask him questions.

Jiang Yuan got off the white deer, and a servant came up and took the deer away to eat grass at the back.

The old man from the Zuo clan instructed his servants to open the middle door and said, “Sir, please follow me in.”

Jiang Yuan readily agreed.

The old man from the Zuo family welcomed Jiang Yuan and Niu Mowang into the mansion, sat them in the central hall, served them tea and fruit, and treated them with courtesy.

After the ceremony, the old man from the Zuo clan asked, “Sir, you are a wise man. I dare not deceive you. I really feel uncomfortable in my body, but I don’t know what to do. I often wake up in the middle of the night. I want to change, but I can’t do it.”

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, “I see that your home is magnificent and I guess you have a lot of property. Is it possible that you can be at ease with this?”

The old man shook his head and said, “No.”

Jiang Yuan asked: “Why not?”

The old man said, “To be honest, sir, when I was young, I also felt that there was nothing in the world that gold and silver could not buy. If there was something that could not be bought, then gold and silver were not enough. Someone had advised me that I would wake up when I was old, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to be rich and enjoy a life that others didn’t have. That was enough.”

Jiang Yuan asked again: “How is it now?”

The old man replied, “I have come to my senses and know that wealth and honor cannot bring me freedom. It is too late to regret, so I asked you what the city gate said and came to ask you how to get true freedom.”

Jiang Yuan said: “Be at ease in the practice.”

The old man asked, “If I practice cultivation, can I be free?”

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, “Freedom is not something you get from practicing. Only by looking within yourself can you find freedom. Practice is the way.”

After hearing this, the old man pondered for a long time, stood up and bowed deeply to Jiang Yuan, saying, “Sir, you are very talented. Some time ago, I was also troubled by this matter. I visited the master of the Fu Luan Temple in the city and talked to him about my troubles. The master only said that ghosts and gods were harassing me and I needed some gold and silver to get rid of it. Now I hear your words, I know that what you say is the right way.”

Jiang Yuan said: “How about you take me to Fuluan Temple later?”

The old man from the Zuo clan said, “Of course it’s fine. But please teach me, sir, how can I be free now?”

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, “You have always known how to do it, but you just don’t want to expose it.”

Upon hearing this, the old man from the Zuo family fell into deep thought and said nothing.

Jiang Yuan sat in the middle hall, looking around, and sighed in his heart. The Zuo family had been living in the mountains for who knows how many generations, and they only thought of accumulating firewood and returning to Jambu Continent one day to become rich men.

When Zuo came down the mountain at that time, he had no firewood to bring down, yet he became a rich man. It was a matter of time and fate.

The Zuo family had done great things for him and had helped him many times. Now that he had met their descendants, he would certainly lend a helping hand if they could.

Seeing that the old man Zuo was still in deep thought, Jiang Yuan said, “You stay here and think about it. I will go to the Fuluan Temple for a walk.”

Upon hearing the voice, Bull Demon King picked up his iron rod and was about to walk out.

The old man from the Zuo clan said, “Please wait a moment, sir. I will go with you.”

Say it.

The old man asked someone to prepare a sedan chair, but Jiang Yuan politely declined, saying that he had enough strength to walk.

The old man had no choice but to give up and walked towards the Fuluan Temple with Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan smiled without saying anything, letting the old man follow him. He did not ride the white deer, but walked on the road and went out.

The Fuluan Temple is in the north of the city, and the Zuo family’s house is in the south of the city. After walking for a long time, through the streets and alleys, we finally arrived at the north of the city.

When they reached the north of the city, old man Zuo was trembling, unable to move, and sweating profusely.

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, “If you are tired, why not rest here? The Fuluan Temple is just ahead, I will go there.”

Zuo Liang shook his head and said, “Sir, I’m not tired.”

Jiang Yuan said: “Since you are not tired, then come with me.”

Zuo Liang followed behind Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan walked into the Fuluan Temple and saw that it was very lively with people coming and going. There was a Taoist in a robe, chanting something in front of an incense burner. There was smoke rising from the incense burner and it seemed that the Taoist was performing some kind of ritual.

The Bull Demon King poked his head out and looked around, saying, “Master, what are you doing?”

The old man said, “Sir, they are asking for help from the gods. The best thing about Fuluan Temple is asking for help from the gods. It is said that they have a long history with the gods.”

The Bull Demon King said: “I have also seen the Fu Luan Sect, but I don’t remember it being like this.”

The old man said, “I don’t know about this.”

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, “No hurry, just wait and see what the trick is.”

Everyone stopped talking and saw the Taoist priest in front of the Fuluan Temple shouting left and right, then taking out a bottle and waving it around. Then a ball of black gas appeared in the bottle and a figure was vaguely seen in the bottle.

The Taoist looked in all directions and said, “The bottle contains the land of Niu Village outside the city. I will bring it out so that everyone can see what the land looks like.”

After saying this, the Taoist took out the bottle and showed it to everyone. Everyone was amazed and cheered, marveling at the Taoist’s power, that he could actually put the land into the bottle.

When the Bull Demon King saw it, he said, “Master, there really is a land god in that bottle. This fellow has some skills. He didn’t learn the skills of summoning immortals to help with the spirit, but the skills of restraining ghosts and gods.”

Jiang Yuan asked: “If it is to capture ghosts and gods, why didn’t the land god report it?”

The old man from the Zuo family said, “Sir, why don’t I go and ask.”

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, “If you ask him, will he tell the truth? Let me call the land god to ask him.”

Say it.

Jiang Yuan flicked his sleeves and saw the little man in the bottle disappear. The little man fell into his palm and he said, “Let’s go back. There is no need to stay here.”

Jiang Yuan and Niu Wang left. The old man from the Zuo family looked at the palm of the immortal’s hand, horrified. He saw the two of them leaving and the chaos in front of the temple. He did not dare to make a sound and followed the two of them closely.

It didn’t take long before he returned to Zuo’s mansion.

Jiang Yuan placed the little man in his palm in front of the courtyard. A three-foot-tall old man fell to the ground, kowtowed and said, “Thank you for saving me, Immortal! Thank you for saving me, Immortal! The land of Niu Village is deeply grateful!”

Jiang Yuan asked, “How did you put it in a bottle and show it off to the world?”

The land god’s eyes were filled with tears. He said, “Master, this is not my wish. That Taoist had some magical powers and forcibly arrested me. I had no magical power to resist, so I could only let him do whatever he wanted.” Jiang Yuan said, “You are a land god. Since you have been arrested, why don’t you report it to the heaven and ask him to make the decision?”

The land god shed tears and said, “The Immortal doesn’t know for two reasons. First, I am a low-ranking official and cannot report to the heavens. Second, the Taoist is related to the Dragon King of a river and is protected by him. No matter how I report, I cannot arrest the Taoist.”

The Bull Demon King put down the iron stick and said, “Dragon King of the River, do you have such ability?”

The land god said, “The Dragon King has some abilities, but he is under the jurisdiction of the Great Sage of the Water Ape. It is precisely because of the Great Sage of the Water Ape that he has become powerful.”

Jiang Yuan asked, “What kind of person is the Great Sage of the Aquatic Ape?”

The Bull Demon King said, “Master, I know something about the Great Water Ape. This monster lives in the Huai River. When it encounters water, it stirs up storms and causes floods. It is a great monster. I heard that King Yu once suppressed the Great Water Ape, but I don’t know why he escaped. This guy has great magical powers and no god can stop him. He has been causing trouble for a long time. I liked to make friends with heroes and met him once, but he looked down on me. I bet with him and was no match for him.”

Jiang Yuan said: “I have already known about this matter. Don’t worry, I will report this matter to the heavens. Someone will come to judge the right and wrong for you.”

The land god kowtowed again and again and said, “Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!”

Jiang Yuan said, “You better stay away and hide. Don’t let that Taoist take you away. When the heaven knows about this, someone will come to deal with this matter.”

The land god said, “When the immortal goes to heaven, please tell the gods to be careful. This Taoist has some magical powers. If ordinary ghosts and gods come, they may not be able to resist him. This Taoist sometimes receives some gold and silver, and even dares to capture the dead in the underworld. He just thinks that the ghosts and gods are wrong, and then captures them back to the temple to save the dying people’s lives.”

The Bull Demon King asked, “Can’t we eat dry food in the underworld?”

The land god said: “First, he has the protection of the Dragon King. Second, he is a Taoist priest after all, and is not subject to many laws. But it is hard to tolerate him.”

Jiang Yuan said: “Don’t worry, I can handle this man, you go first.”

Upon hearing this, the land god bowed several times before disappearing underground.

Jiang Yuan told King Niu to stay in Zuo’s for a while while he went to Wudang Mountain.

The Bull King naturally agreed.

Jiang Yuan had just stepped on the auspicious cloud and headed towards Wudang Mountain.

When the old man from the Zuo family saw Jiang Yuan walking away on the clouds, he bowed down in panic and called him an immortal.

……

Jiang Yuan stepped on the auspicious cloud and used the Qingyun magic. In a moment, he arrived at Wudang Mountain. Five hundred spiritual officials came with auspicious light. When they saw him coming, they hurried to report to the Taihe Palace.

Upon hearing that the Immortal had arrived, Lord Subduing Demons came down from the hall to greet him. The two met in the hall and greeted each other.

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable asked, “Did you make any progress during your visit?”

Jiang Yuan then recounted what had happened previously.

Upon hearing this, the Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable was furious and said, “I’ve heard that there are many lawless people in the world of Yama, but I didn’t expect it to be so rampant! They can arrest the locals at will, and even the soul-stealers in the underworld can be arrested! And they can protect themselves with the laws of the Xuanmen!”

Jiang Yuan said: “Please use this as an example, Emperor Xuan. I think there are many people in the world of Jambu who use this to commit crimes.”

The Heavenly Venerable of Subduing Demons pondered for a long time, and asked a spiritual officer to bring a black book. He then took a pen and wrote a mysterious word “Law” on the book. He said, “To be honest with you, I intend to revise the law and submit it to the Jade Emperor, so that the practitioners can be restrained by this law. Now I have heard what you said, and my subordinates often report such things when they are walking in the human world. So I will take this matter as the main one and make a law. Therefore, ‘Whenever a practitioner practices the law and captures ghosts and gods, he must burn incense to report to the Four Saints of the North Pole, the Three Officials Emperor, and the Emperor of Fengdu, and explain the reason. Then he can ask the gods to conduct an investigation and interrogate. If anyone violates the law, his life span will be reduced by three years. If he commits the same offense again, he will be punished one level higher and will die in the Fengdu Knife Mountain Hell.'”

Jiang Yuan bowed upon hearing this and said, “The Xuan Emperor revised the law, and his merits will last for ten thousand years.”

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable shook his head and said, “It is not my wish to amend the law, but the practitioners of the world are practicing the law, and many do not follow it. The Jade Emperor approached the four great heavenly masters to make the practitioners of the world yearn for it. They use the law for personal gain, and they focus on ascending to heaven. How can there be people with unshakable Taoism?”

Jiang Yuan said: “If this law is promulgated, it will surely deter lawlessness. Emperor Xuan, I recently heard that there is a demon, the Great Sage of the Water Ape, and I intend to capture him.”

The Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable said, “I have also heard of this evil spirit, but I was unable to capture it because I was unable to do so. If you are willing to capture it, it will be a great achievement. I will dispatch soldiers to follow you.”

Jiang Yuan said, “There’s no need to do this. Just wait and see me capture him. If I can’t capture him, then Emperor Xuan can dispatch troops and generals.”

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Lord naturally agreed.

Jiang Yuan did not stay in the palace any longer and returned on a cloud.

……

In the Kingdom of Baoliang, a group of pilgrims pointed out that the queen was a demon, which made the king heartbroken and thought that she had killed his child.

In his grief, the king treated the four pilgrims as honored guests and entertained them with a banquet and all the necessary etiquette.

During the banquet, the king came forward to greet Monkey and Monk Tang.

Tang Seng stood up and helped the king up, saying, “Your Majesty, this is unacceptable, unacceptable!”

The king said, “I was foolish and mistook the goblin for a virtuous queen, which led to the destruction of my country. Fortunately, the elders rescued me and I came to my senses. But my child died because of my fault. I know that the elder has magical powers and is a real god. But please save my child. I am willing to exchange my life for his.”

Zhu Bajie yelled, “You let the demon take half of your life, why do you want to exchange it for a new one? If you are the king, you will know how to calculate.”

Sha Wujing grabbed Zhu Bajie and stopped him from talking nonsense.

The Monkey King asked, “What’s your name there? Is your body still there? If so, I can go to the underworld to look for it for you. To be honest, I have some friendship with the King of Hell.”

Upon hearing this, the king wept and said, “My son’s body is no longer with us. Let someone burn it.”

When the Monkey King heard this, he became very angry and said, “How can you be such a father? As for the country, you will have no successor in the future. The country is going to fall, all because of you. As for the family, you caused the death of your son and burned his body, making the death restless. How could you fulfill your responsibilities as a father? There is a saying that ‘the dead should rest in peace’, so why did you burn your son’s body?”

The king knelt down and wept bitterly.

Tang Seng sighed, “My disciple, now that the king has realized his mistake, why don’t you use your magical powers to help him reunite his family? That would also be a good thing.”

The Monkey King said, “Master, I have no wish. I will burn his son’s body to ashes. I will go there to look for the body. Even if I find his son, how can I revive him?”

Tang Seng asked: “Is it really impossible?”

The traveler blinked and said, “If he gives this body to his son, it may be possible, but he will die.”

The king said, “Elder, I am willing to exchange my life for my son’s life. I only ask you to fulfill my wish and make up for my regret.”

The Monkey King said, “In that case, you stay here for a while. I will go to the underworld and ask the King of Hell if he can make an exception and bring your son’s soul here.”

Say it.

The traveler also asked a lot of information about the prince, such as his name, appearance, date of birth, and time of death.

After hearing this, Monkey King said, “You were born on September 9th, Prince? You are destined to practice cultivation. Interesting. Let me go to the underworld and take a look.”

The Monkey King no longer worried and bid farewell to Tang Monk. He asked Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing to protect him and told the king to take good care of Tang Monk and not let him suffer from hunger or boredom. Then he rode on his somersault cloud and headed straight for the underworld.

(End of this chapter)