Chapter 160: Buddhist Disciple 20

Qian arrived at Bodhi Mountain in late spring and early summer, and left again in the same season the following year.

“Venerable Master Wuxin, are you really going to take Qian away?”

“Yes.”

“Where are you going?”

Wuxin didn’t answer Mingzhen, but only patted Qian’s head.

Because he could see many things, there were times when his actions seemed without reason to others, and even when asked, he rarely answered.

Like now, when he suddenly decided to take Qian away from Bodhi Mountain, he only said that the time had come.

Mingzhen didn’t understand what he meant by “the time” being right.

“I’ll go with Master and Mingde,” Mingzhen decided after a brief hesitation.

When their master had left, he was instructed to follow Wuxin for cultivation, so now that Wuxin was leaving, he of course would follow. Plus, he couldn’t bear to part with Qian.

It wasn’t just Mingzhen who couldn’t bear to part with her; many young monks, knowing Qian was leaving, secretly came to talk to her. All day long, her head was almost rubbed bald.

Venerable Master Yinhe probably didn’t want to part with her either. Though his expression didn’t show it, he personally made many delicious things for her and packed a bag of puffed rice candy for her to eat on the road.

With half a piece of candy in her mouth, Qian clung to Venerable Master Yinhe’s leg, crying loudly. Of course, a child would feel extremely reluctant to leave their little stove master, their provider of food and clothing.

She wept, clutching his robe, shouting, “Come with me, sob, come with us!”

The next day, as they were about to depart, Venerable Master Yinhe came carrying his bag.

Mingzhen: “?!”

Mingzhen: “Venerable Master Yinhe, are you going down the mountain with us?”

Venerable Master Yinhe’s expression was calm, “I haven’t been down the mountain for a long time. I’ll go take a look.”

Mingzhen glanced at Qian, who was unusually happy, uncertain as to why Venerable Master Yinhe had decided to go down the mountain. Surely, it wasn’t because Qian had clung to his leg and cried yesterday.

As for Qian, seeing the four bald heads around her, all familiar faces, she wasn’t as sad to leave anymore.

When they arrived at the marketplace at the foot of the mountain, Qian, having not seen so many people for a long time, excitedly dived into the crowd. But because she was surrounded by four monks, people naturally stepped aside for them, and with Qian in tow, they became quite noticeable.

Before long, Qian was holding several little trinkets and snacks— all bought by Venerable Master Yinhe.

Although Venerable Master Yinhe appeared indifferent, Mingzhen had long known that he was especially fond of children, even more so than Wuxin.

Today was the big market day, and people were packed like sardines. After letting Qian run around for a while, Wuxin called her back, intending to carry her.

The child sat on his shoulder, refusing to let go of the pile of things in her hands. Her things were draped over Wuxin’s shoulders, and she even leaned over to munch on biscuits, crumbs falling onto his head.

Now, Wuxin looked like a teenager in his teens, not as tall as Mingzhen, and his shoulders weren’t particularly broad. With a child sitting on him, it looked like he was carrying a large weight, making people a little concerned.

But Wuxin still walked steadily through the varied gazes of onlookers, not even raising an eyebrow as crumbs continued to fall on his head.

Mingzhen, unable to watch anymore, fashioned a carrying pole, letting Mingde and Qian each sit on one side, and carried them along.

Qian, swaying on the pole, suddenly exclaimed, “Journey to the West, going to the West for the scriptures!”

She looked at Venerable Master Yinhe’s round belly and immediately declared, “Zhu Bajie!”

Looking at Mingde carrying the pole: “You’re Sha Wujing!”

The palest, of course, was Venerable Master Wuxin: “Tang Seng!”

After pondering for a moment between Mingde and herself, she announced, “I’m Sun Wukong, and I have a staff!”

She waved Wuxin’s Magic Staff around wildly, and Mingzhen angrily said, “Qian, stop hitting me!”

She had already hit him on the backside several times.

Then, Qian started shouting for a white dragon horse.

She kept repeating it for two days, and Mingzhen was getting tired of hearing it, wondering where she came up with such strange stories.

Venerable Master Yinhe, in fact, somehow managed to find a white horse.

Qian happily ran around the horse’s legs a few times, then shouted, “Fight monsters! A monster is coming to capture the master!”

The white horse trembled, not daring to capture a Buddhist Cultivator from Bodhi Mountain! How could it be accused of being a demon!

Qian and Mingde chattered about fighting monsters, and since there were no real monsters, Mingde had to pretend to be one.

When they took a break, Qian used the Magic Staff to draw a circle around Wuxin and seriously told him, “You can’t leave this circle, or the monsters will capture you.”

Wuxin nodded, “Okay, I won’t leave.”

Mingzhen, who was lighting a fire nearby: “…”

Master, are you really going to cooperate?

Qian then told Mingde, “Now you’re a monster, and you have to trick the master into coming out and capture him.”

Mingde scratched his head, “How do I trick him out?”

“Ah!” Qian stomped her foot and demonstrated.

She stealthily ran up to Wuxin, bent down like an old lady, coughed twice, and took out a piece of puffed rice candy from her pocket, shaking her little hand, saying, “I have delicious candy here, come over and I’ll give you some.”

Wuxin, sitting cross-legged, cooperated by walking out of the circle. Qian grabbed him, “Gotcha!”

Mingde nodded, indicating that he had learned, and then used the same method to “catch” Wuxin.

Qian continued her lessons: “Now you have to take him here.”

Wuxin was dragged to another stone by the two children, and Qian told Mingde, “Now you have to tie him up, so he can’t run away.”

The two couldn’t find any ropes, so they went to Venerable Master Yinhe for help, who, as expected, pulled out a long hemp rope for them to play with.

Qian wrapped the long rope around Wuxin again and again.

Mingzhen, watching from the side, couldn’t help but laugh, realizing that the scene had unexpectedly turned to him.

Qian ran over and said to him, “Now you have to say: ‘Venerable Master, Master has been captured by a monster!'”

Mingzhen: “…”

All eyes were on him, and Mingzhen had no choice but to follow Qian’s request. She still complained that his voice wasn’t loud enough.

Then came the scene where Qian rushed to fight the “monster” and save the master. Qian and Mingde each held a stick and made noises as they fought off to the side.

She was very interested in this role-playing game, never tiring of it. Over time, Mingzhen also got used to it.

He not only had to play the role of Sha Wujing, but sometimes he had to play demons, gods… and all sorts of characters.

They arrived at Wanxi County, and although there were several villages nearby, the fields they passed through were barren and overgrown with grass, with no one working the land. Every household had their doors closed, and there were very few pedestrians on the roads.

Wuxin planned to find a family to stay with, and also to ask someone to help wash Qian properly. She had been running through mountains and forests, rolling around in the dirt, and was now covered in dust. If she washed herself, she would only play in the water and couldn’t get the dirt off her arms.

However, as they approached a farmhouse that hadn’t locked its door, before they could speak, the household quickly locked the door.

They then went to the nearby town, where they finally saw some people. However, no one was willing to speak to strangers. Even the children sitting by the door were quickly pulled inside by their parents as soon as they got close.

It wasn’t until they passed a pharmacy that they found someone willing to talk.

An elderly man, just leaving the pharmacy, trembled and stared at their bald heads, saying in fear, “Nearby… there’s a small hill, West Mountain. On top of it, there’s a West Mountain Temple. There’s a group of bandits living there.”

He refused to say anything more, and, holding his herbs and leaning on a cane, he slowly walked away.

“The people here all have a sallow complexion and appear to be unwell,” Venerable Master Yinhe said.

“Let’s go to the West Mountain Temple.”

Wuxin and the others passed through vast, desolate fields, gradually approaching a small hill. The closer they got, the more often Qian turned her head to look around.

She gazed around in confusion and wonder, feeling that the scenery was somewhat familiar.

When they saw the long steps leading up to the West Mountain Temple, she suddenly remembered, “I’ve been here before!”

Wuxin patted her forehead and had her lie on his back, carrying her up the steps.

The West Mountain Temple seemed to have been built not long ago, with new bricks and tiles. The temple doors were wide open, and the guardian statues that had originally stood on either side had been smashed to pieces. Only their broken, painted halves remained.

“Mingzhen, you stay with Qian and Mingde at the door,” Wuxin said.

From inside the temple came the smell of incense and the sound of noise. A group of burly men, with fierce expressions, were cooking meat in a cauldron in the courtyard. A crowd of people were drinking and eating, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Among them were several men with shaved heads who, at first glance, looked like monks, but they weren’t wearing monk robes, and there were large knives placed beside them.

No wonder the villagers nearby had been frightened at the sight of their bald heads—it must have been because of them.

Wuxin, holding his Magic Staff, led the way, with Venerable Master Yinhe following behind.

When the group of rough men drinking and eating saw the two monks entering the temple, they were momentarily stunned.

But whether they were the fifteen or sixteen-year-old monks or the large, round-bellied monks, none of them paid the newcomers much mind. Several of the men, using their drunkenness as a shield, stepped forward with knives.

Wuxin took a step forward, his staff moving like the wind, knocking the knife out of one man’s hand and driving it into an old tree nearby.

A burly man, two heads taller than Wuxin, cried out in pain as his neck twisted, and collapsed onto the ground. The other attackers didn’t even have time to react before they all collapsed together.

In the blink of an eye, half of the twenty-odd men had fallen. The remaining ones finally realized the danger and some turned to flee inside the temple.

With Wuxin’s cultivation, no ordinary mortal could withstand a strike from his staff. On the path leading to the main hall, bodies of the fallen littered the ground, and only one man succeeded in running inside, where he threw himself at the statue and began to worship it frantically.

“Great Immortal, save me!”

After shouting, he slammed his forehead to the ground, fainting.

Wuxin’s Magic Staff was resting on the man’s head as he looked up at the statue in front of him.

The original Buddha statue had been pushed to the side and smashed into pieces. Now, in its place was a strange-looking idol with two horns growing from its head, glowing with a golden light, as if it had been coated in gold.

“So it’s a demon that has come here to drain people’s essence,” Venerable Master Yinhe also entered and examined the statue.

Mingzhen, standing at the door of the West Mountain Temple, listened intently to the sounds from inside. He could hear a series of screams and muffled groans.

Just as he was concentrating, a sudden cry from one of the children playing behind him startled him. The child disappeared in an instant. With Mingzhen’s cultivation, he could only sense a faint trace of demonic energy around the area.

Mingzhen blurted out, “Not good! Master, Venerable Master Yinhe has been captured by a demon… No, wait! Master, Qian has been captured by a demon!”

The one occupying the temple and having a golden statue made was a demon bull.

It had been bullying and terrorizing the area for years, raising a group of bandits to collect offerings for it. It forced the nearby villagers to come and worship it, absorbing their essence to cultivate. It was fearless even against ordinary cultivators. However, today it encountered someone formidable and didn’t dare to show its face, trying to flee.

But before it could escape, it sensed the Buddha bone relic on Qian’s body and, driven by greed, kidnapped her as well.

The demon bull thought it could find a place to hide and swallow the Buddha bone relic to increase its strength, and then spend a hundred years cultivating, making it invincible. However, just as it reached the desolate fields at the foot of the mountain, it suddenly felt a heavy pressure.

The tall grass around it bent down, and the demon bull’s form reverted to its original shape. It knelt on all fours and was forced to stay in place, unable to move.

Wuxin walked up to the demon bull, reached up, and took Qian down from its horns. Her hair was messy, but her eyes were sparkling.

“Whew! You run really fast. Let’s do it again!” she shouted.

——————
Names mentioned are Main Characters from Journey to the West
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1. Tang Seng (Tang Sanzang)

A devout Buddhist monk on a sacred mission to retrieve scriptures from India. He is the leader of the group—kind, wise, but often helpless in danger.

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2. Sun Wukong (Monkey King)

A powerful, rebellious monkey with magical powers. He protects Tang Seng from demons and dangers. Clever, fierce, and loyal, he is the group’s strongest fighter.

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3. Zhu Bajie (Pigsy)

A half-pig, half-man former heavenly general. Gluttonous, lazy, and flirtatious, but good-hearted. Provides comic relief and helps with fighting and chores.

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4. Sha Wujing (Sandy Monk)

A calm and reliable former celestial general turned river demon. He is the quietest and most loyal of the group, often carrying the luggage and supporting others.

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5. White Dragon Horse

The transformed third son of the Dragon King of the West Sea. He serves as Tang Seng’s faithful horse throughout the journey, rarely speaking but always present.

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Together, they travel westward, overcoming 81 trials on a quest for spiritual enlightenment.