Chapter 596: Bodhisattva Descends

"You guys beat him up first, find out his background, then withdraw." Tang Luo said.

"Okay." Zhu Bajie agreed.

After another half incense stick's time, the Tongtian River calmed down, and suddenly, two splashes shot up into the sky.

Sun Wukong and Sha Seng (Zhu Bajie) leapt out of the water and landed.

"Amitabha." Zhu Bajie chanted a Buddhist phrase, "Don't worry, benefactors, the river god is a demon, already converted by me and my elder brother, he has decided to turn to goodness, and from now on, no more sacrifices of boys and girls to demons are needed."

The villagers looked at each other in bewilderment.

They had no idea the boys and girls had been swapped; this early ceremony was actually for this reason?

Before the villagers could get angry, the village chief shouted loudly: "Good! Good! Good! Thank you, great masters, I've prepared a feast, please stay a few more days."

Upon hearing this, many villagers immediately understood.

Old ginger is spicier, no wonder you can inherit your father's business and still be village chief.

We'll show deep gratitude on the surface, first keep the people here; if the river god gets angry, we'll send them out and add a few more boys and girls to appease his wrath.

If the river god doesn't get angry and there's no further punishment, then it proves what these monks said is true.

Let them put in extra effort, directly kill the river god, and everyone will be happy.

You're happy, we're happy too.

If we now turn face and scold, we'll have no choice; if they leave and the river god gets angry, the village will still suffer.

A group of villagers broke into smiles, full of enthusiasm.

The air was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

The riverside village was indeed relatively prosperous; noon's feast wasn't enough, so they held another grand feast in the evening.

The village chief took the lead, many villagers drank until drunk, even their daily most important work halted tonight.

But some villagers stayed sober, closely watching Tang Luo and the others.

To prevent these monks from taking the chance to flee.

One night passed peacefully, just quietly spent.

Early the next morning, some villagers cried out in alarm; they saw the vast Tongtian River, forever shrouded in white mist, actually frozen over.

A thick ice layer covered the riverbank, five or six meters thick; striking it hard with stones only left tiny dots on the ice.

What's going on?

Why is the Tongtian River frozen? Could it be the river god's anger?

Before the villagers' panic could spread, the village chief stepped forward again, comforting them: this is actually the river god's goodwill gesture.

Know this: though the Tongtian River looks calm, it's actually extremely turbulent; drawing water and washing clothes by the bank is still possible.

But if you want to cross the river, launch a boat, slightly leave the bank, after ten or so meters, the downstream drift speed is so fast even a galloping horse can't catch up.

Such a rapid current naturally means no docks, small boats, or boatmen, let alone building any bridge.

Crossing the river is impossible.

Now the river surface is frozen, meaning the river god has bowed his head, allowing these monks heading west to cross safely.

But the ice is extremely slippery; horse hooves can't walk on it. The enthusiastic village chief lent the monks a large door plank for the white dragon horse to step on, so it can be pulled forward.

Sun Wukong walked in front, looking carefree and unrestrained.

Zhu Bajie and Zhu Wuneng were pulling the white dragon horse forward.

Tang Luo walked wearing shoes tied with hemp rope, stepping carefully, afraid of falling, just like the useless original Tang Sanzang.

A group of villagers gathered around the village chief on the bank: "Village chief, just let them go like this?"

"Exactly, what if they leave and the river god gets angry—what then?"

Village Chief Chen has already taken refuge in the Buddha, so he naturally won't pay attention to the villagers' noise.

Seeing the village chief so firm, the villagers for a moment had no good ideas.

But if the river god really settles scores later, they might have to throw this village chief out to bear the wrath.

This matter went wrong—you're responsible!

On the Tongtian River, after walking a distance, the white mist that had originally disappeared reappeared around them.

"Not good!"

Sun Wukong pretended to shout loudly.

The thick ice layer underfoot shattered and melted in an instant.

A group of people immediately fell into the calm yet turbulent Tongtian River.

Terrifying chaos swept everyone away.

When Sun Wukong and the others escaped the Tongtian River and flew into the sky, Tang Luo's figure was already gone beside them.

"Master!"

Zhu Wuneng's voice was sorrowful: "Where are you! Third junior brother, you're good at water, go find him quickly! This monkey is useless in water!"

Sun Wukong re-entered the Tongtian River, kicking up splashes like in a martial arts film, but couldn't find the missing Tang Luo.

In the Tongtian River, a giant red-and-white carp swam beside Tang Luo.

Tang Luo, in the guise of Tang Sanzang, lay flat and suspended parallelly in a bubble, appearing to have fallen into a coma.

The giant carp's seemingly dull fish eyes flashed with cunning and disdain as it wrapped Tang Luo and disappeared into the deep Tongtian River.

After a while, Sun Wukong and the others returned to the bank, having found no trace of Tang Luo.

Several returned to the village to rest briefly, and soon two streaks of light shot up into the sky.

It was Zhu Wuneng and Sha Seng (Zhu Bajie) heading to the South Sea to seek Guanyin Bodhisattva's help.

In yesterday's battle, they had already "learned" that this so-called "Spirit Inspiration King" was originally a carp in the lotus pond of Guanyin's South Sea Dao field.

Who came here to become a demon.

Seeking the master's help at this time is only right and proper.

Sun Wukong, meanwhile, remained by the Tongtian River.

What Tang Luo meant by "making a trip" was to follow the script and personally go to the Tongtian River once, letting events proceed.

In the depths of the Tongtian River, covered by a formation, inside an extremely hidden palace.

The carp spirit wore a fish head atop a half-fish, half-human body, its appearance extremely eerie.

He sat on the throne in the palace; beside him a host of shrimp soldiers and crab generals stared with greedy eyes at Tang Luo inside the bubble.

But without the Great King's order, they dared not move.

"All of you, scram." Soon, the Great King Linggan gave an order — unfortunately not the one these monsters wanted — and the shrimp soldiers and crab generals left helplessly.

Sweeping a greedy gaze over Tang Luo, the carp spirit forcibly withdrew his eyes.

The legendary Tang Monk flesh, said to grant immortality with a single bite — he wanted to eat it very much, but he dared not.

Because his staying here as a monster was by Guanyin Bodhisattva's order, telling him to block the scripture-fetchers here.

Everything else was at his discretion; it was even faintly hinted that he could break precepts here, and being the Great King Linggan was not impossible.

Thus, the carp spirit became the current Great King Linggan.

But Guanyin's order also had a clause: not to let him actually eat this scripture-fetcher; catching him would suffice, and the rest would naturally be handled by the Bodhisattva.

The carp spirit dared not disobey and obediently did his duty.

"Wait five days — no, wait three days..." The carp spirit shook his fish head. "If the Bodhisattva doesn't come, I'll settle it myself."

But a heart already let loose is hard to rein back.

Especially with Tang Monk before him, the carp spirit had already begun to waver.

On the other side, the two currently rushing to the South Sea.

Zhu Wuneng asked, "Has Master caught the carp spirit now?"

"Mm." Zhu Bajie nodded.

"Then why not just beat it to death? We continue forward." Zhu Wuneng found it strange; initially it was to lure out that carp spirit, and now the goal was achieved.

With Tang Luo's strength, one punch to kill it, then everyone crosses the river happily — wouldn't that be the end of it?

Why still go to the South Sea to invite the Bodhisattva, and why must they go?

Speaking of speed, Sun Wukong would be much faster — using his, Zhu Wuneng's, speed as the baseline.

"Because Master thought of a possibility." Zhu Bajie said, "You'll know when the time comes; if you're anxious, we'll speed up."

South Sea, Guanyin's dojo — a bamboo grove paradise on a small island.

Pavilions and towers in the bamboo garden, nine-turning corridors, made Zhu Bajie purse his lips, confirming his guess about Master by several degrees.

Led by a young maiden, Zhu Bajie and Zhu Wuneng soon met Guanyin.

A white robe, handsome features, a cinnabar mole at the brow, gentle bearing, with a touch of androgynous beauty.

Very easy to associate with the three words "female Bodhisattva."

Beside him a pair of boy and girl attendants, but not Longnu and Shancai.

The two "Pigs" bowed respectfully, with Zhu Wuneng recounting the matter.

Guanyin nodded slightly and said gently, "This seat already knows the matter; only, why is it not Wukong who came?"

Zhu Wuneng said, "Eldest Senior Brother is still searching for Master, so he let the two of us come to seek the Bodhisattva's aid."

Inwardly, though, he thought: You put the Golden Headband on him, and now this mess happens; meeting face to face he'd likely greet you with his staff — how could he come ask for help?

"This Sun Monkey, stirs up trouble himself, yet lets his junior brothers come." Guanyin shook her head, tone reproachful, but whether illusion or not, Zhu Wuneng saw mockery on Guanyin's face.

"Since the scripture-fetcher is captured, the matter is also troublesome." Guanyin continued, "This seat will accompany you on a trip."

Reaching to the side, a young maiden handed a bamboo basket to Guanyin.

Guanyin still sat on the lotus dais: "Carry this seat to the Tongtian River."

Zhu Wuneng and Zhu Bajie exchanged a glance, stepped forward and carefully hoisted the lotus dais, like two sedan-chair bearers or strongmen carrying Guanyin toward the Tongtian River.

Zhu Bajie, bearing the lotus dais, twitched his nostrils imperceptibly twice, sneering inwardly.

One day later.

The Tongtian River kept flowing, calm and waveless, no sign of the River God's wrath.

Yet some villagers still smashed many eggs outside the house where Sun Wukong was staying — also a symbol of wealth; ordinary farm families wouldn't smash eggs, too wasteful.

Sun Wukong shut the door and stayed in; those anxious villagers found no better outlet, so could only use this method to prove they weren't in league with these monks.

As for the village head, he's fine for now, his position still fairly stable; just depends on the final outcome.

Suddenly, a golden cloud appeared on the horizon, emitting golden radiance.

Grand heavenly sounds rang from the sky; within the golden radiance, a figure slowly emerged.

It was Guanyin seated on the lotus dais, carried by Zhu Bajie and Zhu Wuneng, her face gentle, benevolent, bearing a lofty aura.

Making those villagers unable to help but kneel and kowtow in worship.

The Bodhisattva descends!