Although Sanzang had never experienced such a battle, he did not panic at all.
On the contrary, as soon as the servant was lifted into the air, he screamed in fright, and finally there was a fishy smell coming from his body.
Not long after, the black shadow plunged into the cave at the base of the mountain, first throwing the two of them to the ground, and then putting the horse aside.
"What a blessing. I actually caught two Tang people during my trip. This is a rare blood meal."
Sanzang struggled to raise his head and looked through the firelight in the cave, only to realize that the person who captured the two of them was a monster with the head of a tiger and the body of a human body.
Sanzang did not panic when he saw this: "Your Majesty, I am a monk who went to the West to worship Buddha and seek scriptures under the orders of the King of Tang. If Your Majesty knows that we have been killed by you, he will definitely raise an army and raze your cave to the ground. , so it’s better to let us go west.”
Tang Sanzang originally thought that after moving out of the Tang Dynasty, the monster would let him go.
Who would have thought that the monster would be overjoyed when he heard that he was Tang Seng: "You are Tang Sanzang, the monk Tang Seng who traveled west to seek Buddhist scriptures?"
Sanzang nodded: "Exactly, so please show your respect, Your Majesty."
The monster laughed when he heard this: "What a blessing! What a blessing! Who would have thought that Tang Sanzang would fall into my hands!"
After speaking, he circled around Tang Monk twice more: "I heard that eating your flesh will not only be better than a thousand years of practice, but also lead to immortality. I have practiced practice for nearly a thousand years and have not yet completely transformed into a human body. Since you have come to my door today, That’s God’s blessing for me!”
Tang Monk was shocked when he heard this: "Your Majesty, I am a mortal body, how can I have such ability?"
"Of course you don't have this ability, it's the flesh on your body that does. I heard a few days ago that you are a good person who has practiced cultivation for ten lifetimes. If you eat a piece of your flesh, you can live forever. I don't want such a good thing to happen to me today."
Sanzang was even more surprised when he heard this: "Your Majesty, don't listen to rumors, my meat is not worthy of your taste."
The tiger demon waved his hand impatiently: "Whether you are lucky or not, you have to eat anyway. I will fill my stomach with him today. After you are clean in a few days, steam it and eat it slowly!"
After speaking, he grabbed the servant, opened his bloody mouth and bit off his head.
Seeing the tiger monster eating the servant's body, Sanzang was not afraid. Instead, he gritted his teeth and said, "The monster kills people for no reason. Aren't they afraid of punishment from heaven?"
The tiger demon looked at Sanzang in surprise: "You kill so many animals every year without any harm, but if I eat a few people, I will kill them. How can it make sense? Stop talking nonsense, wait a few days and your belly will be clean. I Enjoy it again!”
After saying that, he put the half-eaten body aside, tied Tang Monk to the stone pillar with a rope, and then walked to the deepest stone bed and fell asleep.
As for the two horses, the monster didn't even care about them and let them walk in the cave.
Looking at the corpse of his servant, Sanzang secretly wept. He originally wanted to take him to Lingshan to achieve enlightenment, but he didn't expect to lose his life just after leaving the Tang Dynasty.
Just when Sanzang was feeling sad, he suddenly saw a figure flashing in front of him, and a man wearing a monk's robe but with his hair tied up appeared in front of him.
The man stretched out his hand and the rope around Sanzang's body broke.
Then he waved to the distance, and the two horses came towards the two of them.
I don’t know if the man used any tricks. Although he struggled in the cave, the tiger-headed monster still slept soundly and did not wake up.
The man led Tang Sanzang and the horses out of the Monster Cave, down the mountain to a small road, and then stopped: "Tang Sanzang, you can go west along this road, and you will reach the main road after dawn."
Sanzang saluted and said, "Thank you so much for saving me. May I ask your surname?"
"I am a Hui'an practitioner under the seat of Guanyin Bodhisattva in Nanhai. The Bodhisattva knows that you are in this difficulty and specially ordered me to come to rescue you."
Upon hearing this, Sanzang bowed again: "Tang Sanzang paid homage to Monkey, but I don't know why Monkey let the tiger demon go?"
Hui'an Walker smiled slightly: "Buddha said that sweeping the floor will not harm the lives of ants, and cherishing moths and gauze covering lamps, let alone living beings who have cultivated human bodies."
Hui'an's words made Tang Seng look shocked: "Walker, the tiger demon has killed countless lives here. If we let him go, he will commit many more crimes."
"Don't worry Sanzang, if the cause and effect comes, he will definitely die. It's getting late, go quickly, there is someone waiting for you ahead."
Sanzang was stunned for a moment. He was about to ask who was waiting for him in front, but he saw that Hui'an Walker had already lifted up the clouds and reached the sky.
In desperation, he had no choice but to bow three times in the air, then get on his horse and continue heading west.
When the sky was twilight, Tang Sanzang finally saw the main road that the Hui'an traveler mentioned. There was also a small village with dozens of households on the roadside.
Arriving outside a small courtyard at the east end of the village, Sanzang tied two horses under a tree to graze while he leaned against the courtyard door and fell asleep.
While sleeping soundly, he felt his body sway suddenly. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the courtyard door was already half open, and a gray-haired old man was looking at him with a surprised look on his face.
Upon seeing this, Sanzang stood up quickly and said, "Old man, this poor monk is being polite."
The old man returned the courtesy and said, "Why did this elder fall asleep here instead of entering the house?"
"It's just dawn. I'm afraid that my husband is still asleep, so I don't dare to disturb him."
The old man laughed loudly: "Where did the elder come from? Please come in quickly and let me entertain you."
After saying that, he pulled Tang Sanzang towards the courtyard and shouted into the room that the eminent monk was here.
Knowing that Sanzang did not eat meat, my husband's wife specially washed the pots and pans again and again, and she was so busy that she prepared a vegetarian meal until three o'clock in the morning.
Looking at the extremely sumptuous vegetarian meal, Sanzang couldn't help but nod: It seems that the people of Xiniu Hezhou are no worse than those of the Tang Dynasty.
After the fast meal, Sanzang wanted to set off immediately, but because he had not slept all night last night, he felt very sleepy.
Knowing that Sanzang was going to Lingshan to worship Buddha and seek scriptures, the father-in-law advised him to rest for a day before leaving. After all, going to the West is not a day's work.
After his father-in-law repeatedly asked him to stay, Sanzang reluctantly agreed.
Just as the old man was about to lead Sanzang to rest, he saw a dark cloud coming from the east, mixed with gusts of strong wind.
About a mile away from the village, the dark clouds stopped coming, and a monster with a tiger's head and body appeared: "Tang Sanzang, come out quickly and return to the cave with me, otherwise the village will be slaughtered!"
Upon hearing this, Sanzang secretly complained to Hui'an Walker. If he had killed this monster last night, how could he have done anything now?
Although this village is not big, there are still more than two hundred people. If the people lose their lives because of him, how can they survive?
Thinking of this, Sanzang stepped out and walked out. Unexpectedly, he was grabbed by his father-in-law: "Where are you going, elder?"
"Old man, this happened because of me. I can't bring harm to the whole village."
The old man laughed loudly when he heard this: "Don't worry, elder, this monster is just bluffing. Don't dare to come near. Just rest in peace."
Seeing that Sanzang was puzzled, the old man pointed to the northwest: "Elder, can you see that mountain peak?"
Following the direction of his father-in-law's finger, Tang Sanzang saw a high mountain in the northwest of the village, but this mountain was so strange, like a human hand.
Thinking of the captain's words before leaving, Tang Sanzang blurted out: "Five Finger Mountain!"
The old man nodded: "Yes, this mountain is also known as the Five Elements Mountain. Twenty years ago, it fell from the sky and pressed down on an unparalleled hero. Although he was trapped under the Five Elements Mountain, he could still intimidate everyone. Now, within a radius of twenty miles of the Five Elements Mountain, No monster dares to enter it, otherwise his soul will be driven away!"
Sanzang was a little puzzled: "Since this mountain fell from the sky, he must have caused the heaven to shake and suppressed it here. So even if he is not a monster, he is also a villain, so how can he be a hero!"
The father-in-law was originally smiling, but when he heard Sanzang say this, his face immediately darkened: "Elder, if you scold me, forget it, but if you want to belittle my benefactor, please leave!"
Seeing his father-in-law's sudden change of expression, Sanzang asked puzzledly: "If this person is not a heinous person, how could he be suppressed here by the Five Elements Mountains sent down by God?"
The old man snorted: "You are such a ignorant monk. You just keep saying that he is a sinner without asking the reason. It is simply unreasonable. You are not welcome here, please leave."
After speaking, the old man pushed Sanzang out of the courtyard, and then slammed the door shut: "What an eminent monk, he can't tell the difference between right and wrong! Thanks to me for treating him so kindly, the best vegetarian food is just for feeding the dogs!"
Looking at the closed door, Sanzang was confused. Why did my father-in-law become like this just because of a few words?
At this moment, the monster standing on the cloud finally saw Sanzang.
He was a little hesitant at first, but he couldn't resist the temptation of immortality, so he finally gritted his teeth and pounced on the village.
He didn't want to move forward until he had advanced about ten feet, when a golden light shot out from the Five Elements Mountain, knocking it off the clouds in the blink of an eye.
The tiger spirit wanted to escape immediately when it landed, but the golden light seemed to have spiritual power and turned into a golden rope to tie it tightly.
The tiger spirit bound by the golden light was in extreme pain. Not only did he look ferocious, but he also screamed repeatedly: "Grandpa, I don't dare to do it anymore!"
Although the tiger spirit repeatedly begged for mercy, there was no response.
After struggling for a while, he lay there motionless and made no sound.
At this moment, a dozen figures flashed out of the village, led by several burly men: "My benefactor shows his power, we have tiger meat to eat today."
Seeing everyone swarming up and carrying the tiger spirit back to the village in its true form, Sanzang wanted to go up and talk to him.
Unexpectedly, the people ignored him and carried the tiger straight into a courtyard in the middle of the village.
When Sanzang walked into the yard, he saw that everyone was setting up a large pot to skin and debone the tiger essence, preparing to steam it.
The tiger's head was cut off entirely and placed on a table in the main hall filled with tributes.
Sanzang bravely walked up to a woman and said, "Sister, who killed the tiger spirit just now?"
The woman glanced at Sanzang and said, "The evil person in your mouth!" After saying that, she stopped talking.
Tang Sanzang also didn't expect that the words he had just spoken to his father-in-law would be lost so quickly. After being embarrassed, he could only sneer and say: "Sister, it's the poor monk's fault for jumping to conclusions. Please tell me the whole story so that the poor monk can understand the situation." I understand in my heart.”
The woman raised her head and looked at Sanzang: "Want to know? First go to the ancestral hall to offer incense to your benefactor and ask for his forgiveness!"
Sanzang asked in confusion: "Who is your benefactor?"
"Human? Our benefactor is the best god in the world!"
