Chapter 163: Evil will invade if the heart is not right, Zuo Liang follows

It is said that the Monkey King rode on his somersault cloud, left Baoliang State, and crashed into the Senluo Palace. The ten Yama Kings were so panicked that they came out of the palace to greet him. The five ghost judges kowtowed to greet him, and all the ghost soldiers fell to their knees in worship. The Monkey King showed his might, and divine light illuminated the underworld.

The traveler landed in front of the Senluo Palace and asked the Ten Kings of Hell to invite him into the palace and serve him tea. After the ceremony, the Ten Kings said, “Great Sage, you have made great progress in your practice. We congratulate you.”

The traveler waved his hand and said, “Don’t say such empty words.”

The Ten Kings said, “Please tell us clearly why we are here, Great Sage. We will serve you.”

The traveler said, “Who captured the prince of Baoliang State in Hezhou, Xiniu? Find out for me quickly.”

Upon hearing this, the Ten Kings immediately ordered the Five Ghost Judges to conduct a thorough investigation. Not long after, the Ghost Judges came back with a report, saying, “Great Sage, the prince of the Baoliang Kingdom is not among the five categories. There is no such person.”

The traveler asked, “The Book of Life and Death of Naked Worms cannot be completed without this person?”

The Ten Kings said, “There is no such person. The Book of Life and Death is right here, Great Sage, you can check it yourself.”

The Monkey King waved his hand and said, “I have been correcting myself lately and don’t do such things. The Prince of Baoliang was born on the ninth day of the ninth month. I know his appearance very well. How can I not find out?”

The Ten Kings said, “Great Sage, there are five categories in the Zhoutian, namely naked, hairy, feathered, invertebrate, and scaled. Those who are not seen in these five categories are mostly disciples of immortals, and they have been given Dharma names, so they are not recorded in the Book of Life and Death. Our Book of Life and Death has been revised every year since the arrival of Master Guangxin, and there has never been any omission. Therefore, the prince of Baoliang Kingdom is not here, most of them are disciples of immortals.”

The Monkey King said, “You are just kidding me. The Lord of Baoliang State told me that the Crown Prince of Baoliang State was given poison to be killed and his corpse was burned. How could he become a disciple of an immortal?”

The Tenth King said, “We don’t know.”

Suddenly, a ghost judge said, “My lords, I have some impressions of Baoliang State.”

The Monkey King stepped forward, grabbed the Ghost Judge, and said, “Tell me what’s going on.”

The ghost judge said, “A few years ago, someone who summoned the dead said that a prince of Baoliang country was about to die, but he failed to summon his soul. I asked him about it and learned that Master Guangxin took him as his disciple, so he didn’t care when he failed to summon his soul.”

When the Monkey King heard this, he thought to himself, “Is it my senior brother who is accepting a disciple? My senior brother only has one disciple, and that is my nephew Chongyang. Could Chongyang be the prince of Baoliang Kingdom? Wait until I get home to ask him.”

The traveler did not stay in the underworld any longer, and rode his somersault cloud back to Fangcun Mountain. In a moment, he arrived at Lingtai Fangcun Mountain.

When the traveler entered the Sanxing Immortal Cave, he realized that his eldest senior brother was not at home. He went into the mansion to pay his respects to the master, explained his purpose, and only after the master nodded did he go to look for Chongyang.

The traveler walked in the mansion and called out once or twice in front of the door of Chongyang’s quiet room.

It didn’t take long for the door to open.

Chongyang met the traveler and bowed, saying, “Disciple Chongyang, I pay my respects to my uncle-master.”

The Monkey King helped Chongyang up and said with a smile, “You, my nephew, are very similar to my elder brother. Why are you so polite? When you see me in the future, you don’t need to use these formalities. Just say that you are thinking of your uncle in your heart. That will be enough.”

Chongyang said: “Etiquette cannot be abolished. If the uncle does not care about etiquette, there is no need to return the gift. The nephew should just pay the tribute.”

Monkey had no choice but to return the greeting and said with a smile, “Nephew, please don’t accuse me of being ignorant of etiquette.”

Chongyang asked, “What do you want to see me about, uncle?”

The traveler said, “I have come to ask you something.”

Chongyang invited Monkey into his room and said, “May I ask what you are asking? If I know the answer, I will tell you.”

The monk then explained the previous events and asked, “Is your nephew the crown prince of Baoliang State?”

Chongyang shook his head and said, “Uncle Master, I was indeed the prince of Baoliang Kingdom in the secular world, but the prince of Baoliang Kingdom is dead. I am Chongyang now.”

The traveler asked, “My nephew, do you not want to see the king?”

Chongyang said, “Uncle Master, I am Chongyang now, what is my relationship with that king?”

The traveler said, “If you are willing to go, then the throne of king will be within your reach, and you will have endless wealth and splendor.”

Chongyang was about to say something.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew and the voice of the master was heard.

“You monkey, just ask clearly, why are you instigating? Leave immediately.”

The traveler left in a panic, not daring to ask any more questions.

Chongyang looked at the traveler and said, “Uncle Master, please tell the Lord of Baoliang that I am devoted to cultivation and have no second thoughts.”

The traveler responded from a distance and walked out.

……

The traveler went to the underworld and Fangcun Mountain successively before returning to Baoliang Kingdom.

Wait until he enters the palace of Baoliang State.

Zhu Bajie came forward and said, “Brother, you are finally back.”

The Monkey King grabbed Zhu Bajie and walked inside, saying, “You fool, why are you so unmotivated to sit? Practice sitting well. How can you become a Buddha without sitting?”

Zhu Bajie opened his mouth and said, “Brother, please don’t make fun of me. I don’t like sitting.”

The traveler did not want to say more and walked into the hall.

The king was full of expectation and asked, “Elder, what’s going on?”

The traveler said, “You, old man, are destined not to have such a wise prince.”

The king was puzzled.

Tang Seng approached and asked, “Disciple, what is the truth? Please explain it clearly, otherwise Your Majesty will be worried and sick.”

The traveler said, “The prince is not dead.”

When the king heard this, he said, “How is this possible? I have heard that someone saw the prince drink poison and die.”

The Monkey King said, “The prince is indeed dead, but he was brought back to life by an immortal and accepted as a disciple. I went to the underworld to look for him, but ten generations of Yama Kings could not find him. They only told the immortal to accept him as a disciple. I searched for a long time before I finally found the prince. The prince was a disciple of the immortal, cultivating his nature and practicing the truth. He was truly free. He said that he practiced with all his heart and had no second thoughts. The prince had already died.”

The king heard this and was heartbroken.

Tang Seng couldn’t bear it, so he stepped forward and said, “Disciple, is there really no way?”

The Monkey King said, “Master, there is a saying that goes ‘You who bring evil upon yourself will suffer’. If he had not harbored evil thoughts, how could the demon dare to enter the palace? It is because he did not correct his ways and had many evil thoughts during the day, such as lustful thoughts or thoughts of incense and flowers, which caused the righteousness in his body to disappear, allowing the demon to target him.”

Tang Seng said: “He is really pitiful.”

The Monkey King said, “Master, you should know that there must be something hateful about pitiful people. Besides, there are so many pitiful people. Can you take care of them all?”

Tang Seng replied, “If you see it, you can take care of it.”

The Monkey King laughed and said, “If Master says so, how can you not see the pitiful people in the world? It’s just that you don’t want to see them. If you wanted to see them, you would see pitiful people everywhere.”

Tang Seng remained silent.

The traveler said no more to the king, exchanged the pass, and was about to set off on his journey westward again.

……

The story goes that Jiang Yuan returned to the Zuo family’s house in the city of Nanzhanbuzhou on a auspicious cloud.

The Bull Demon King and the old man from the Zuo family came to greet them.

Jiang Yuan said, “Don’t worry, the matter will be handled by the people in heaven. Niu’er, come with me to subdue the Great Water Ape Sage.” The Bull Demon King said, “Yes, sir. I haven’t met him for many years. I didn’t win the bet I made with him back then, but I should let him know that I, the old bull, have returned to the right path and my cultivation has greatly improved. This time I will definitely defeat him.”

Jiang Yuan turned around and bowed, saying, “Thank you, Master Zuo, for hosting us. I am very grateful.”

The old man from the Zuo family panicked and said, “Sir, are you leaving now? Why don’t you stay in my house for a while longer so that I can show my hospitality as a good host.”

Jiang Yuan said, “No need. I am grateful that you allowed me to wait for all this time. I will leave now.”

The old man Zuo said, “But I don’t know how to be at ease.”

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, “You know it in your heart. If you don’t want yourself to know, then you don’t know. If you are willing to let yourself know, you will know it at any time. Master Zuo, how old are you this year?”

The old man from the Zuo clan said, “Sixty-three.”

Jiang Yuan said: “At this age, you are no longer ignorant.”

The old man from the Zuo clan suddenly knelt down and said, “Sir, you are so talented. I would like to practice with you, but I only ask for your permission.”

Jiang Yuan said with a smile: “It is very hard to practice with me. You are rich now, why do you want to practice with me? Do you know that if I practice with you, I will walk from south to north, from west to east, and it will take several decades. How can you bear it?”

The old man from the Zuo clan was a little horrified when he heard this, but he still said, “I am willing to practice with you, sir. Sir, freedom can only be found in practice.”

Jiang Yuan said: “If this is the case, the wealth and prosperity here will have nothing to do with you anymore.”

The old man from the Zuo family said, “That should be the case. I will only leave the family to my children, and I will have nothing to do with them anymore.”

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, “Tell your children what you heard. If you are still determined to practice, I will allow you to practice with me.”

Upon hearing this, old man Zuo called his sons and daughters to come into the central hall. Soon, all the sons and daughters came and paid their respects to old man Zuo.

Jiang Yuan took a closer look and found that the old man of the Zuo family had seven or eight sons and countless grandchildren.

The Bull Demon King whispered, “Master, this guy really has many children and grandchildren.”

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, “I am blessed, so it is like this.”

The Bull Demon King said, “Master, aren’t you saying that I, the old bull, am unlucky?”

Jiang Yuan pointed at the Bull Demon King and scolded him with a smile: “You bull, you are so self-satisfied. You have a virtuous wife, and your child is even more intelligent. He will become a great man in the future. If you don’t have good fortune, who will?”

After hearing this, the Bull Demon King smiled happily.

Jiang Yuan said: “Don’t say anything more, just follow me to bring the deer here, and we will set off to the Huai River.”

Niu Mowang and Jiang Yuan left the hall.

In the central hall, the old man from the Zuo family said that he was leaving to practice Taoism. His descendants all tried to persuade him, saying that it was out of filial piety and would not allow him to practice Taoism.

Zuo Liang looked at his descendants who were persuading him and sighed in his heart, no wonder his master told him to talk to his descendants and tell them that they could only follow him if they still practiced cultivation wholeheartedly. With such persuasion, how could he not be moved?

Zuo Liang said, “I have lived to be over sixty years old this year, and have enjoyed all the wealth and splendor. Now that I have you in my family, I feel very at ease. I just want to devote myself to spiritual practice. If you are truly filial, please help me and don’t stop me.”

The eldest son advised, “Father, why do you have to suffer? There is no such thing as cultivation in this world, no such thing as freedom. You are already free right now. Listen to my advice, stay home, and I will serve you.”

Zuo Liang said: “Why don’t you practice?”

The eldest son asked, “How can I practice cultivation?”

Zuo Liang said: “Since there are sun and moon, there are yin and yang. Since there is heaven, there is hell. There is absolutely no reason for non-existence in the world. You are just ignorant. I have made up my mind and will find a place to practice. I don’t need you to show your filial piety. Just think of me as dead and stop making a fuss. The eldest son will take care of everything in the family.”

Say it.

Zuo Liang was about to leave.

Suddenly, a young grandchild came, hugged Zuo Liang, and cried and begged him not to leave.

Zuo Liang was silent for a long time, then he picked up Sun Tong and put him next to his eldest son.

The eldest son stepped forward with tears in his eyes and said, “Father, since we cannot keep you, please take one or two followers and some gold and silver with you so that you can live better.”

Zuo Liang smiled and said, “No need for that. I was born without anything, and now that I am leaving, I will leave without anything.”

Say it.

Zuo Liang stood up and left. When he walked outside the mansion, he heard faint crying sounds behind him. He felt sorry for them, but he still walked out.

When Zuo Liang walked outside the mansion, he saw Jiang Yuan sitting on the back of a deer, and the Bull Demon King was leading the deer.

Jiang Yuan saw Zuo Liang walking out and asked, “Have you really made up your mind? Have you ever regretted it?”

Zuo Liang walked up to Jiang Yuan, bowed deeply, and said, “Sir, I am devoted to cultivation and seek freedom. I will never repent.”

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, “In that case, you follow me on the road.”

Zuo Liang said: “Yes.”

The group of three set out on the journey, heading out of the city. As they were on their way, they heard faint cries coming from the Zuo Mansion.

Zuo Liang hesitated for a moment, then continued walking forward without looking back.

After walking three miles, the Bull Demon King turned around and said with a smile: “I thought you would look back every three steps, but I didn’t expect you never looked back. There are many cries in that mansion, and all the rich and powerful descendants are there, why didn’t you look back?”

Zuo Liang said: “Sir, although I am not at ease, I also know that if I make a decision, I should go forward with all my heart and not look back. If I look back, I will fail.”

The Bull Demon King laughed and said, “You are quite sensible. Don’t call me Mr. He. Just call me Lord Bull.”

Zuo Liang bowed and said, “Master Niu.”

The Bull Demon King said: “You are indeed a very insightful person.”

Zuo Liang said, “Master Niu, sir, where are we going?”

The Bull Demon King said, “Go to the Huai River. The Water Ape Great Sage lives in the Huai River.”

Zuo Liang heard this and asked, “When I was young, I also traveled a lot. The Huai River is about 7,000 to 8,000 miles away. How long will it take for us to reach the river?”

The Bull Demon King laughed and said, “For a cultivator, how can one count time? Besides, if you want to fly, it would be easy to travel 240,000 miles in one go, from Beihai in the morning to Cangwu in the evening. Just go to Huaihe River and walk.”

Zuo Liang was shocked, thinking that he had followed an immortal.

When the group reached the forest outside the mountain, they suddenly heard a tiger roar from the forest, as if a tiger was about to pounce. Zuo Liang was terrified, his legs trembled, and he was terrified. He wanted to go back, but he saw Jiang Yuan sitting steadily on the deer’s back and Niu Wang holding a stick to lead the way, without any fear.

Zuo Liang’s mind was filled with mixed thoughts. Such a tiger roar must be from a ferocious tiger hiding in the forest. Why did Mr. and Mr. Niu turn a deaf ear to it? Could they be confused? If they followed them, they would probably be eaten by the tiger.

It would be better to turn back now. If you go back, you will enjoy wealth and honor. If you stay, you will be killed by a tiger.

There is a rumor that if a person is eaten by a tiger, he will become a ghost and will not be able to be reincarnated after death. If he is eaten by a tiger, what should he do?

Zuo Liang didn’t know what to do. He only saw Jiang Yuan and Niu Mowang moving forward. He hesitated for a long time, gritted his teeth, and followed the white deer. He only heard the tiger’s roar getting louder and the tiger’s panting faintly, as if they were getting closer to the tiger.

Zuo Liang followed intently, grasping the white deer’s tail with his hand, and moving forward with his eyes closed, gritting his teeth.

He didn’t know how long he had been walking when the sound of the tiger faded away. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a golden light rising from under his feet and the immortal looked around with a smile.

(End of this chapter)