Hei Wuchang's weird smile not only made Xue Tianqing feel abnormal, but Qingyue did the same.
On the way, she kept asking Xue Tianqing what happened in the side hall.
Although Xue Tianqing told everything truthfully except what was agreed upon, Qingyue still looked suspicious.
Zhenhaizhu is indeed extraordinary. Even if the group has been hundreds of miles away from the Crystal Palace, the underwater path is still as stable as Mount Tai.
Three days later, the three masters and apprentices and Qingyue finally landed on the west bank of Liusha River.
Looking at the endlessly flowing river, Xue Tianqing sighed: Who knows how many innocent souls there are in the river?
Qingyue snorted when she saw this: "What? I've only been away for a few days and you already miss me?"
Xue Tianqing looked helpless: "What nonsense are you talking about in front of Master?"
"He is your master, not mine. Tell me the truth, what did that woman say to you?"
Hearing this, Xue Tianqing laughed harder than crying: "Sister-in-law, what I regret most now is that I didn't take you in with me, otherwise there would be so much trouble."
Qingyue said doubtfully: "Well, even if you didn't hide it, I believe you."
After saying that, I helped him tidy up his clothes and said, "It's a long way to the west, so be careful."
Before Xue Tianqing could nod, Qingyue whispered: "If your life is in danger, you don't need to pay attention to the old monk and just run for your own life."
Under Xue Tianqing's surprised eyes, she said with a troubled expression: "How about you swear again?"
But as soon as the words came out, I felt it was inappropriate, so I changed my words and said, "When you return from studying for Buddhist scriptures, you must come back to me first, otherwise you will never see me again in this life!"
Seeing Xue Tianqing's promise, Qing Yue rode up the clouds and rushed into the sky.
Looking at the direction Qingyue left, Sanzang asked: "Wukong, who is this?"
"My nephew, as I told my master before, before I followed you, my disciple had a master."
"Wukong, as a monk, you need to have six pure roots. You must not be greedy for women in the mortal world, otherwise it will be difficult to see the face of the Buddha."
Xue Tianqing smiled bitterly and said: "Master, Qingyue is my nephew, don't think too much about it. Besides, Bajie and I are just protecting you as you go west to Lingshan, but we have not converted to Buddhism. We can only be regarded as followers."
Sanzang smiled and said, "If you two don't mind the simplicity of this place, how about my master tonsuring you?"
Xue Tianqing waved her hand quickly: "No need, I guarantee you that going to Lingshan and escaping into Buddhism are two different things."
Seeing that Bajie also didn't nod, Sanzang looked slightly disappointed but didn't say anything more, but took the lead and headed west.
Looking at Sanzang's back, Bajie turned around and said, "Senior brother, did you just break Master's heart?"
Xue Tianqing smiled: "If you have a Buddha in your heart, there will be spiritual mountains everywhere; if you don't have a Buddha in your heart, you won't be able to see the spiritual mountains even if they are right at your feet."
Bajie blinked and said, "Then do you have a Buddha in your heart?"
Xue Tianqing smiled: "I always have Buddha in my heart, but there is no Tathagata on Lingshan Mountain."
Seeing that Bajie was puzzled, Xue Tianqing smiled again: "Master is gone, hurry up and catch up."
Bajie murmured: "There is a Buddha in my heart, but there is no Tathagata. So what kind of Buddha is the Buddha in my heart?"
After leaving Liusha River, the three masters and apprentices headed west without stopping, covering thousands of miles.
While walking that day, I suddenly saw a dense forest ahead.
Although it is late autumn, the trees are still lush and green, and the forest is full of flowers.
Sanzang reined in his mount and said, "Disciples, the scenery here is beautiful."
Xue Tianqing smiled and said: "Coming west, the scenery along the way is full of merits. Why does Master love this?"
Unexpectedly, Sanzang sighed: "This place reminds me of the woods behind Huasheng Temple. It's just as dense, just as prosperous, and just as blooming."
Xue Tianqing said: "When we reach Lingshan and see the Buddha, you and I will return to the Tang Dynasty immediately and build a separate Zen temple for you behind Huasheng Temple."
Sanzang shook his head: "You have misunderstood me. When I left Chang'an, His Majesty once asked me when I would return. My teacher replied that it would take as little as three years, or as many as five years to return to the country. Now I have been away from Chang'an for more than a year, but Lingshan We still don’t know where he is, so there is no talk of returning to the Tang Dynasty.”
Xue Tianqing laughed: "Master, as the saying goes, if there is a Buddha in your heart, there are spiritual mountains everywhere; if there is no Buddha in your heart, the spiritual mountains will not be visible at your feet. If master's heart is shaken, I may not be able to see the spiritual mountains for the rest of his life."
Although Bajie sneered at Xue Tianqing's old words and new theories, Tang Sanzang was enlightened: "Thank you Wukong for your advice." After saying this, he dismounted and prepared to pay homage.
Xue Tianqing hurriedly supported Sanzang: "This can't be done. If you bow down to me with just a few words, wouldn't I have to sacrifice my life for you for all the teachings I've received along the way?"
After lifting Sanzang up, Xue Tianqing said again: "Since Master thinks the scenery here is very beautiful, let's rest for a while. I will go to the vegetarian food and eat before setting off."
After saying that, he asked Bajie to take good care of his master, and Xue Tianqing rode up the clouds to go and pray for the two of them.
Seeing Xue Tianqing leaving, Bajie helped Sanzang sit down on the stone, and then stood aside with a rake in hand, like the Buddha's Dharma Protector.
Seeing this, Sanzang smiled bitterly and said, "Bajie, the scenery here is beautiful, and there won't be any monsters or ghosts here. Don't worry."
Bajie shook his head: "Although the scenery here is pleasant, there are no homes in front or behind it. It's quite strange, so don't be careless."
Sanzang was startled when he heard this: Yes, why didn't he see anyone along the way?
At this moment, a roar resounded through the mountain forest, causing the birds to scatter in all directions and leaving no trace of the beasts.
The master and apprentice turned around sharply and saw a large insect that was more than ten feet long running towards the two of them, even breaking many trees on the way.
Bajie raised his eyebrows and said, "What a big insect. The strangeness here must be related to it. Master, please sit here and I will go meet this beast."
By the time Sanzang said the words "Be careful," Bajie had already rushed far away with the nine-tooth rake.
Seeing Bajie coming towards him, the big insect roared and leapt into the air, rushing towards him.
Bajie stepped aside to let the big insect pass, handed the rake to his left hand, and stretched out his right hand to grab its tail.
Immediately afterwards, Bajie used his right hand to throw the big insect away, breaking countless trees along the way.
Fortunately, the big insect had rough skin and thick flesh. Although it fell heavily to the ground, its body was not damaged at all.
Even so, the big insect knew how powerful Bajie was, so he ran away into the forest without looking back.
Seeing this, Bajie was willing to let go. He held up a rake and chased after Sanzang, leaving Sanzang alone beside the woods.
Just when Sanzang was feeling uneasy, a gust of wind suddenly rose, and then a monster with a rat head and human body appeared in front of him.
"Are you Tang Sanzang?" After the monster finished speaking, before Sanzang could say anything, he grabbed him and dragged him away to the north.
Just talking about Bajie, after chasing him for several miles, he suddenly saw the opponent transform into a huge man, riding a strong wind and fleeing into the distance.
Seeing this, Bajie was just about to catch up, but suddenly his heart moved, and then he turned around and walked back.
But when they arrived at the edge of the forest, they saw the white horse standing there alone, and Sanzang had disappeared without a trace.
Just when Bajie was at a loss, he suddenly heard a loud shout from above his head: "Bajie, where is the master?"
It turned out that Xue Tianqing was returning from alms.
Looking at Bajie who was dazed on the spot, Xue Tianqing's clouds dropped and he asked, "What on earth happened?"
After hearing what happened, Xue Tianqing said bitterly: "I fell into the opponent's plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain."
Bajie said in confusion: "Brother, that monster is indeed a tiger spirit."
Xue Tianqing looked at Bajie speechlessly: "You guard the horses here, and I'll go find out what kind of monster captured the master."
Bajie asked: "Senior brother, where can I go to inquire?"
Xue Tianqing was stunned when she heard this: Yes, where can I find out?
But he soon came to his senses: "Since they know our whereabouts so clearly, they must not be too far away from here. Please keep an eye on the horses. When I find out the news, I will come back and take you to rescue the master."
After Xue Tianqing finished speaking, she was about to soar into the clouds. But at this moment, a voice sounded: "Wait a minute, traveler."
When the two heard the sound and looked over, they saw a burst of smoke rising more than ten feet away, and then a short old man appeared.
Before Xue Tianqing could speak, Bajie had already raised the rake: "You monster, you are here to harm me again!"
Xue Tianqing grabbed the rake and asked, "What's going on?"
Bajie said angrily: "Senior brother, it was his accomplice who framed me when I was at Wuzhuang Temple. Same short stature, same wretched look."
Xue Tianqing pushed Bajie aside: "Don't talk nonsense, he is an orthodox god, isn't he? The God of the Earth."
The visitor is none other than the land here.
Tutu walked up to the two of them and said with a smile: "In front of the traveler, the young one dare not call himself a god."
Xue Tianqing smiled: "I wonder if the land god is here now, what advice can he give?"
"I don't take advice seriously. I just saw two travelers looking for Tripitaka, so I came here to tell them the news."
Xue Tianqing heard this and held up her hands: "In that case, I would like to thank God first. I wonder where the monster is?"
"Thirty miles north of this is Huangfeng Ridge. There is a Huangfeng Cave on the mountain. There are monsters in the cave who have been here for decades. They were the ones who just kidnapped Master Tripitaka."
After listening to what Tu Di said, Xue Tianqing immediately froze: Wuzhuangguan, Liushahe, and Huangfengling. Did he go the wrong way?
After a long time, he pointed in the direction of the sunset and asked, "Is that the west?"
Tutu smiled and said: "You are just joking, the place where the sun sets is of course the west."
Xue Tianqing became more and more puzzled: How come the itinerary was reversed from what was recorded in the novel?
Seeing the snow and the clear sky, he remained silent. Tu Di called twice and continued: "Walker, the name of the cave owner of Huangfeng Cave is King Huangfeng. Since he occupied Huangfeng Ridge thirty years ago, he has almost eaten up all the people around him."
Xue Tianqing touched her chin: "King Huang Feng? Does he know the three-flavored divine wind? When this wind comes out, the color of the sky and the earth will change, and the ghosts and gods will be frightened?"
Tu Di looked at Xue Tianqing in confusion: "King Huang Feng is a weasel turned spirit, and he has some tricks, but I have never heard that he knows the three flavors of kamikaze."
"If you don't know the three flavors of kamikaze, what magic weapon can you use?"
Tutu shook his head: "Other than the magical power, there is nothing special about this monster. However, his little tricks are nothing compared to the travelers. You just let the heavenly soldiers and generals run away."
Xue Tianqing rolled her eyes: "Since you know that monsters are causing trouble here, why don't you go and eradicate them, or report them to heaven and send heavenly soldiers to strangle them?"
