usatvline Chapter 188 Choosing to Keep to One's Own Business
Chapter 188 Choosing to Keep to One's Own Business
The next day at noon, looking at the three brothers who were calm and composed, Chen Yi finally couldn't help but ask, "Great Sage, Pigsy, Wujing, shouldn't we go and rescue Brother Jiang?"
Upon hearing this, Pigsy immediately lay back down on the bed and shouted, "No, no, I'm not going. I'm still injured. Let my eldest brother go."
Chen Yi: ...He applied the medicine to the dog yesterday?
Sha Wujing: "We don't know where that monster is, so why don't we go and find out first?"
Sun Wukong said lazily, "I have already inquired about the origins of the monster from the Duty Officer."
"Not far away is Qinglong Mountain, and in the mountain is Xuanying Cave, where those three monsters live."
"The eldest is called King Bihan, the second is called King Bishu, and the third is called King Bichen. They have been in Jinping Prefecture for more than a thousand years."
"Those three demons love to eat styrax oil from Jinping Prefecture. When they cultivated themselves into demons, they came here and pretended to be Buddha statues to fool the officials of Jinping Prefecture. So every year on the Lantern Festival, they would turn into Bodhisattvas and come here to collect the oil."
“Those three monsters have never killed anyone, so they wouldn’t dare to do anything to Master.”
Sha Wujing suddenly realized: "No wonder my senior brother is so calm."
Pigsy: "Since it's a good monster, let's go fetch Master in a few days."
Sun Wukong nodded, agreeing with Zhu Bajie's words.
Chen Yi: ...Is this really okay?
……
Meanwhile, the three demons, after capturing Tang Sanzang, were also unable to eat or sleep properly.
When they came to this place a thousand years ago, they made a solemn vow not to harm any living beings, not to offend Heaven or Earth, and only hoped that one day they could attain enlightenment and ascend to Heaven.
Now, things have gotten complicated; they've run into Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, who wreaks havoc on the heavens and the earth.
The third brother, King Bichen, said: "Second brother, it's all your fault. You said you wanted to teach that monkey a lesson, but why did you end up capturing Tang Sanzang instead?"
The second son, King Bishu, complained, "Who told that monkey to poke my hand with a stick? Should I let him hit me for nothing?"
The third brother suggested, "That Tang Sanzang is a good man who has cultivated for ten lifetimes. Why not eat him and save him from the hardship of cultivation?"
Upon hearing this, the eldest brother, King Bihan, was the first to disagree: "If it gets stained with blood, all our previous efforts will have been in vain."
Second brother: "Big brother, what do you suggest we do?"
The eldest brother said, "Why don't we find an opportunity to have a proper discussion with Sun Wukong about this matter?"
The third brother said, "Okay, then I'll listen to my eldest brother."
The three brothers waited for Sun Wukong to come to them, but five days passed and they still hadn't seen him.
Since Sun Wukong didn't come, the three demons went to persuade Tang Sanzang.
The eldest brother said, "Elder Tang, we brothers have never eaten people. We have been cultivating in Qinglong Mountain for a thousand years, and the people of Jinping Prefecture have always worshipped us as Buddhas and Bodhisattvas."
"Capturing Elder Tang this time was a last resort."
The third brother chimed in, "That's right, that's right. Since we came here, we've never harmed the people. Instead, we've brought good weather and abundant harvests to Jinping Prefecture every year, and the people live in peace and prosperity."
"As the saying goes, it is a blessing to benefit the people, and what we are doing is a good thing."
Jiang Liuer disagreed, retorting, "You are monsters, yet you pretend to be bodhisattvas to deceive people. This is wrong."
The second brother said, "We brothers just want to continue our cultivation on Qinglong Mountain and don't want to cause trouble."
“We can send you back, as long as you and your master turn a blind eye and don’t meddle in other people’s business, then this matter will be over.”
Seeing Jiang Liuer remain silent, the eldest brother said helplessly, "Isn't it better if we just keep to ourselves?"
Jiang Liuer remained silent.
Seeing the monk who was half-dead, the second brother's anger surged. He held back for a while, but finally snorted coldly and stormed out of the cave.
He feared that if he stayed any longer, he would lose control of his impulse and beat Tang Sanzang up.
"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! Sun Wukong is here!"
Upon hearing the little demon's report, the eldest brother stood up as if struck by lightning, and strode out of the cave. Before leaving, he did not forget to instruct the third brother to take Tang Sanzang with him.
Upon meeting Sun Wukong and his companions, the eldest brother behaved quite politely and treated Sun Wukong with utmost respect.
The eldest brother said, "Great Sage, you go your way, and we'll go ours. Let's keep to ourselves and do what's best for each other."
Third brother: "That's right, Great Sage, we can talk things over."
Sun Wukong: "Bah! You made this Great Sage lose face in front of those people, and you still want to... um..."
Sun Wukong's mouth was covered again, and he turned to glare at the culprit.
Upon recognizing Chen Yi, he took a deep breath and shut his mouth.
Chen Yi shouted loudly at the three rhinoceros demons, "Fine! As long as you release the people, we'll leave each other alone!"
“We will pursue our scriptures, and you will cultivate your immortality, but you must explain to the people of Jinping Prefecture that our Great Sage was not wrong; the three bodhisattvas we saw on the Lantern Festival were indeed demons in disguise!”
The Great Sage wanted to capture these three demons and display them to the public. His purpose was simple: to let the people of Jinping Prefecture know that he had not lied and that what he said that day was the truth.
Upon hearing Chen Yi's words, the eldest brother readily agreed: "What's so difficult about that! The three of us brothers will go to Jinping Prefecture tonight and tell the people that what appeared on the night of the Lantern Festival was not a real Bodhisattva, but three monsters!"
If they stage another demon-catching performance, their prestige among the people will likely rise even higher.
Upon hearing this, Chen Yi said, "Then it's settled! In that case, please be lenient and release them quickly."
The eldest brother nodded without hesitation, then turned to the third brother behind him and shouted, "Third brother, quickly release Elder Tang!"
Upon hearing this, the third brother immediately replied, "Yes, eldest brother!"
Then, he slowly walked towards Jiang Liuer, who was being held captive by the little demons, and ordered the two little demons, "Hurry up and let go!"
"Yes, Third King!"
With that, the two little demons released Jiang Liuer.
Jiang Liuer lifted her leg and walked towards Chen Yi.
Chen Yi stepped forward and asked with concern, "Brother Jiang, are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Jiang Liuer shook her head slightly and replied with a smile, "Don't worry, I'm fine."
Strangely enough, although the three demons captured him, they did not commit any violence against him; on the contrary, they treated him with courtesy.
After rescuing the person, the master and his disciples returned to the temple.
That night, the three rhinoceros demons kept their word and clarified to the people that what Sun Wukong had said that day was true, and that it was indeed three demons who came on the Lantern Festival.
Afterwards, the three of them even performed a demon-catching act in front of the people.
Of course, the three captured monsters were their subordinates.
As a result, the people's hostility towards Sun Wukong and his companions dissipated, and they became even more respectful towards the three fake bodhisattvas.
Looking at the three demons who had transformed into bodhisattvas, Jiang Liuer hesitated several times before finally holding back.
Oh well, let them be monsters. Although they were disrespectful to the Bodhisattva, they have indeed done good deeds for hundreds of years.
Upon hearing that the three rhinoceros demons were demanding that the people of Jinping Prefecture build a temple for Sun Wukong and make offerings to him every year, Chen Yi turned to look at Sun Wukong, whose eyebrows were slightly curved, and laughed, "Are you happy now?"
Sun Wukong: "It's alright."
Those three monsters were smart enough to know their place.
Pigsy muttered under his breath, "He hasn't even become a Buddha yet, and he's already accepting offerings. Isn't the eldest brother afraid of the Buddha's wrath..."
Sun Wukong shrugged, indicating that he didn't care. He wasn't afraid of Buddha, and Buddha wouldn't do anything to him over such a small matter; at most, he would be annoyed with him.