Chapter 12: Ao Debiao

It is said that the younger sister of Xihai Longwang Ao Run, after marrying Jinghe Longwang, gave birth to nine sons. The first, Xiao Huanglong, currently resides in Huaidu; the second, Xiao Lilong, currently dwells in Jidu; the third, Qingbeilong, occupies Jiangdu; the fourth, Chiranlong, guards Hedu; the fifth, Tulaolong, manages the bells for the Buddha; the sixth, Wenshoulong, guards the ridgepoles of the divine palaces; the seventh, Jingzhonglong, guards the Heaven-Supporting Ornamental Column for the Jade Emperor; the eighth, Shenlong, dwells upon Taiyue. Only the ninth, Aolong, though called a dragon, possessed only a dragon's head and a tortoise's body—what people often call a dragon-tortoise. He was the lowliest among all his brothers, never favored by his kin since childhood, and was only granted Heishuihe to settle in. Who would have expected that Jinghe Longwang would be beheaded by Weizheng for violating the heavenly laws, and his mother would soon die of grief? It was only thanks to the relief provided by his uncle, Xihai Longwang Ao Run, that he could barely scrape by.

Although Aolong had a miserable background, he was a person of ambition. He was determined to achieve something great so that his kin would look at him with new eyes and prove that he was also a member of the dragon clan, no worse than anyone else.

Some time ago, Sun Xingzhe was escorting Tang Seng to Xitian to retrieve the scriptures, and they happened to pass by his Heishuihe. He heard that Tang Seng was a good man who had cultivated for ten lifetimes, and eating a piece of his flesh would grant immortality, worth ten thousand years of bitter cultivation. How could he not be tempted? He set a plan and truly managed to capture Tang Seng. Impatient, he wrote a letter to his uncle: "Your foolish nephew Ao Jie, with a hundred kowtows, addresses my second uncle, the honorable Ao Laodaren; having long received your kindness, I am deeply grateful. Now, having obtained two items—monks from Dongtu—they are truly rare treasures of the world. Your nephew dares not use them himself. Thinking that your birthday is near, I have prepared a humble feast to wish you a thousand years of longevity. I sincerely hope your carriage will arrive soon; I am obliged!"

Aolong thought to himself: "This time, I have done such an earth-shattering deed, capturing Tang Seng and inviting my uncle to enjoy it with me. It shows my capability and fulfills my filial duty; surely, from now on, no one will look down on me again."

Who would have expected that instead of his uncle, he was severely reprimanded by his own cousin. Not only was there not a word of praise, but he was told he had brought a great disaster upon them. The Tang Seng he had worked so hard to capture was just let go, and he was placed under house arrest for half a year. His uncle Ao Run even often called him by his childhood name to scold him: "Debiao! Why are you so wayward? You only know how to cause trouble! Can't you compare yourself to your brothers?"

Every time Ao Debiao heard his uncle's scolding, he felt very aggrieved. He clearly had good intentions, yet he could never gain the recognition of his kin and was still looked down upon. Whenever he thought of this, his mood would be very low. He desperately longed for an opportunity to gain the recognition of his kin, so he began to pay attention to the affairs of the Heavenly Realm and the Buddhist Realm, which only recognized successful people could access. After great effort, he learned from his fifth brother, Tulaolong, that the white elephant, mount of Puxian Pusa, ate a large amount of bananas every day. There was currently a shortage of someone to transport a large quantity of bananas from the mortal world to Lingshan every morning and evening. Ao Debiao thought: "Although it is just a job of transporting bananas, it at least counts as being able to see those Western Bodhisattvas and Arhats. It is said that even the Jade Emperor of Tianting must show respect to the Bodhisattvas of the Buddhist realm. If I can work under a Bodhisattva in the future, I will certainly not be looked down upon again." Thinking this, he pleaded with his fifth brother to speak to the Bodhisattva and ask him to secure this position for him.

Tulaolong said: "The mount of Puxian Pusa has a huge appetite; this job will surely not be easy. Are you really willing?"

Ao Debiao hurriedly said: "I am willing, I am willing! Please, fifth brother, help me!"

With the help of Tulaolong, Ao Debiao successfully took over the job of transporting bananas. Tulaolong instructed him: "There is a banana plantation in Dongsheng Shenzhou, guarded by an old man who will prepare the bananas every day. You must deliver the bananas to Lingshan on time every morning when the sun rises and every evening when the sun sets; you must never be late."

Ao Debiao said: "The journey is so long, and my body is clumsy, always having to carry this heavy tortoise shell. It would be fine in the water, but in the sky, although I know some methods of riding the clouds and mist, I can only travel ten thousand miles a day. Lingshan is one hundred and eight thousand miles away from the mortal world; I fear I am not up to the task."

"Rest assured, here is a magic treasure bestowed by the Bodhisattva, named 'Daba'. Ride it, and you only need to chant the spell 'Pull the bananas', and in less than two hours, this treasure can carry you to Lingshan." As Tulaolong spoke, a thing with two wheels appeared on the ground.

Ao Debiao looked around the treasure, rode it, and shouted: "Pull the bananas!" That Daba truly lifted Ao Debiao's heavy body and flew toward the west at high speed. Riding on it, Ao Debiao found it fast and effortless. He couldn't help but love this treasure. Ao Debiao rode the Daba, enjoying the feeling of galloping in the sky, and soon mastered the method of controlling the magic treasure. He returned to the ground and said to Tulaolong: "It is truly a good treasure, worthy of being the Bodhisattva's item."

Tulaolong reminded him: "The activation spell only needs to be chanted once. If you chant it a second time, the speed of this treasure will be ten times faster than before, and it will be difficult to control then. Remember, remember!"

Ao Debiao said: "Don't worry, I've remembered!"

Just like that, Ao Debiao arrived at the banana plantation on time every morning and evening, and the old man would fix large bunches of bananas onto his tortoise shell. Afterward, Ao Debiao would ride the Daba and shout loudly: "Pull the bananas!" The Daba would then soar into the sky and head straight for Lingshan, never late, regardless of wind or rain.

The old man often praised Ao Debiao's diligence, complimenting him: "Nowadays, there are not many young people who are so steady and willing to endure hardship!"

Ao Debiao always responded with a kind smile and thanked the old man for his help.

One day, Ao Debiao arrived at the banana plantation as usual, but he did not see the old man. Usually, by this time, the old man would have already prepared the bananas waiting for him. Ao Debiao looked for the old man everywhere, only to see him lying in his small wooden hut, groaning in pain. Ao Debiao hurriedly stepped forward and asked: "What is wrong with you?"

The old man pointed to the bananas in the room and said: "It's nothing, an old ailment. The bananas are already prepared; just take them away."

Ao Debiao said: "Your complexion is very bad; I think it would be better to find a doctor for you."

The old man turned around and said: "No need, it's too much trouble. Your time is very precious; don't waste time for me."

Ao Debiao ignored the old man's objection, placed him on his back, rode the Daba, and shouted: "Pull the bananas!" The Daba soared into the sky. Ao Debiao controlled the Daba and sent the old man to the Gui Chengxiang of Xihai. Gui Chengxiang was proficient in medicine, and after the old man took the medicine, he was indeed much better. Ao Debiao checked the time and dared not delay; he hurriedly rode the Daba back to the banana plantation, gathered the bananas, and tied them to his back. He shouted "Pull the bananas! Pull the bananas!" twice in a row. The Daba flew into the sky, and the speed was indeed much faster than before. Ao Debiao used all his strength to struggle to control the flight of the Daba, but it still deviated from the western route. The Daba carried Ao Debiao, and he did not know where he was flying. He heard a voice screaming in his ear: "Who is it? What are you doing here?"

Ao Debiao subconsciously replied: "Pulling bananas!" Who would have expected that as soon as these words were spoken, the Daba carrying him accelerated again, and he did not know how far he had flown in an instant. This time, Ao Debiao completely lost control of the Daba and began to crash around, unable to stop. Ao Debiao had no choice but to shrink his head into his tortoise shell and let the Daba carry him crashing through the Three Realms.

At this time, the Jade Emperor was sitting in the Lingxiao Hall, drinking and feasting with the gods. How could he know that in the next moment, a large ball would suddenly burst out from nowhere? He did not know what it was, but it carried a gust of wind, overturning the wine tables in front of the heavenly generals, and the fine wine and dishes were spilled all over the ground. There were even bananas appearing out of thin air. Even the Jade Emperor was blown by the strong wind so that he could not open his eyes, and he hurriedly shouted: "Clairvoyant, Shunfeng Er? Quickly see what happened! Where is Li Tianwang? Quickly use the Demon-Revealing Mirror to see what kind of monster that ball is, daring to disturb Tianting!" Clairvoyant, Shunfeng Er, and Li Tianwang received the order, each showing their magical powers, and all used their magic to look at the rapidly departing ball. However, the speed of that ball was too fast; even with the Clairvoyant's heaven-reaching vision, he could not see it clearly. Even in Li Tianwang's Demon-Revealing Mirror, the image was extremely blurry, and it was impossible to tell what it was. The gods were left speechless, and no one knew what to do.

After the ball left Tianting, it did not know how it headed straight for the Dongyang Dahai. When it entered the sea, it was like a small mountain, shaking away countless fish in the sea. It stirred up the entire Donghai, shaking the earth and mountains, frightening Donghai Longwang Ao Guang into shouting repeatedly: "An earthquake? An earthquake? Where are the sea-patrolling yakshas?"

The group of patrolling yakshas hurriedly approached and reported: "According to the aquatic tribes, a large ball fell from the sky with such fierce momentum that it stirred up the sea."

Donghai Longwang said: "So that's it, it's a meteorite! Nothing strange, tell everyone not to panic. Where is that meteorite now? I will go and check."

The yaksha stammered: "That large ball fell to the bottom of the sea, but its momentum did not stop. It drilled straight into the ground, and now I don't know where it is."

Donghai Longwang heard this and was also puzzled. He called Gui Chengxiang and asked: "What kind of meteorite is this that can even drill into the ground?"

Gui Chengxiang stammered: "This, your humble servant really does not know."

The ball's momentum did not decrease, and it actually drilled a hole in the earth, all the way to the Shibaceng Diyu of the Youmingjie. When had the group of ghost soldiers and the suffering Hungry Ghosts in hell ever seen such a scene? The ghost soldiers performing the execution dropped their whips to watch, and the tortured evil ghosts widened their eyes, forgetting to scream. It shocked the Black and White Impermanence, Niutou Mamian, the Sida Panguan, and the Ten Kings of Hell, who all dropped their work to check. The Hungry Ghosts in the Shibaceng Diyu looked up and saw that the hell, which had always been unbreakable, now had a large opening directly above it. The evil ghosts struggled to climb up one after another, and soon a small mountain formed by the bodies of the ghosts was created. As the evil ghosts trampled on the bodies of their kind and were about to reach the hole, they were blocked by the ghost soldiers. The ghost soldiers brandished their sharp weapons and drove the evil ghosts who were trying to escape hell back down.

Ao Debiao rode the Daba, and he did not know how long it had been before he finally felt the feeling of rapid movement gradually stop. Only then did he dare to slowly poke his head out and shake it. He secretly sighed: "Ever since I was born, I have often felt inferior because I have a tortoise body. Usually, I only felt that this tortoise shell was a burden, but I didn't expect that at the critical moment, it was this tortoise shell that saved my life!" While sighing, he looked up and saw that he was on a deserted island. There were many banana trees on the island, bearing bunches of large bananas. Ao Debiao then remembered and screamed: "Oh no, today's bananas haven't been delivered yet!" He hurriedly gathered the bananas from the trees, tied them to his back, rode the Daba again, and shouted: "Pull the bananas!" The Daba soared into the sky, carrying him once again on the journey to deliver bananas.

At this time, he still did not know that he had truly done an earth-shattering deed this time.

(End of chapter)