After many twists and turns in Huangfengling, Master Sanzang and his disciples finally put aside the obstacles in their hearts and embarked on the path of learning scriptures again.
As autumn turned to winter, the master and his disciples walked in the wind and snow. The journey was difficult, but they never stopped heading west.
On this day, the three of them were walking along the road when they suddenly saw thick clouds in the sky, and then heavy snow fell, turning the sky and the earth into a vast expanse of white.
Seeing that the snow on the road was getting thicker and thicker, making it impossible to move forward, the master and apprentice could only take shelter under a tree on the roadside.
Seeing Sanzang shivering, Bajie said distressedly: "Senior brother, please change a house to let Master temporarily escape the cold."
Xue Tianqing shook his head: "Why don't you let me rush to Lingshan directly to take the scripture back?"
Bajie said "I" for a long time, and finally stomped his foot angrily and ignored Xue Tianqing.
On the other hand, Sanzang comforted Bajie and said, "This is the suffering that a teacher must go through. Otherwise, even if he reaches Lingshan Mountain, he will not be able to bring the true scripture back to the east."
Xue Tianqing smiled: "Master is right. A scripture that is too easy to obtain is no longer a scripture. However, the road is blocked by heavy snow right now, and I may not be able to move forward for a while. I will see if there is anyone around. Can I stay overnight?"
After saying that, he jumped up into the air, built a pergola with his hands and looked around.
In the blur, I saw a house a few miles to the north on a snowy day. Although it was simple, it could provide shelter from the wind and rain.
Xue Tianqing immediately pressed her head and said, "Master, you are lucky, there is a family five miles north."
Bajie stood up and looked around: "I can't see more than ten feet away now. How do you know there is a house five miles away?"
Xue Tianqing rolled her eyes: "Don't worry about this. Hurry up and help Master get on the horse. Let's go and stay overnight."
Along the forest path, the three masters and apprentices walked north for a full hour before they saw a dilapidated house appearing in the heavy snow.
I originally thought that such a dilapidated courtyard would be uninhabited, but I didn't expect that there would be a couple in their sixties inside.
After letting the master and disciples into the house, the old man asked his wife to prepare a fast meal while he chatted with Sanzang.
Looking at the almost open roof, Sanzang frowned and said, "Old man, the house is so damaged, why don't you repair it?"
The old man sighed and said: "To be honest with you, elder, I am old and no longer useful."
Xue Tianqing said: "Old man, even if you can't repair it yourself, why can't you ask your neighbors for help?"
"There is no one else for dozens of miles around except my husband and I, and it is too far from the main road, so few people come, so it has been delayed until now."
Bajie shook his head and said, "That's enough on weekdays. I don't know when the heavy snow will fall now. What if it collapses the roof?"
Seeing the old man lowering his head and sighing, Sanzang couldn't bear it: "Wukong, is there anything you can do?"
Xue Tianqing smiled softly, and then waved her hand. In the blink of an eye, the small courtyard took on a new look, and even the paper on the windows turned into colored glaze.
The old man was shocked at first when he saw this, and then he fell to the ground and called him a god.
Xue Tianqing hurriedly helped the old man up: "Old man, please get up quickly, this is impossible."
After sitting down again, although the old man's face was full of joy, there was a trace of sadness in his eyes.
Seeing this, Xue Tianqing smiled and said: "Old man, just say what you have to say without having to hide it. Don't forget, we will be here to bother you for many days."
The old man sighed softly: "Little old man, we were originally a family of four. Apart from the two of us, there was also a son and daughter-in-law. Who would have thought that more than a year ago, a gust of evil wind took away my son and daughter-in-law. From then on, we were the only ones in the family who depended on each other."
The three masters and disciples were stunned when they heard this, and finally Sanzang said: "Old man, do you know what kind of monster it is?"
The old man shook his head: "I don't know. Although the two of us have inquired in many ways, we have never gained anything."
Seeing Sanzang turning his attention to himself, Xue Tianqing smiled and said, "Master, don't worry, I won't stand idly by."
Then he flashed in front of the old man and said, "Husband, can you tell me the past in more detail?"
Xue Tianqing originally wanted to know more useful information from the old man, but unexpectedly he only remembered that he was working in the fields that day. Suddenly a strong wind came, and then the son and daughter-in-law disappeared.
Seeing that the old man only remembered so much, Sanzang said, "Wukong, is there still a way to find out the news?"
Xue Tianqing frowned: "Only if I go to a distant place and look for it myself."
When the two were talking, Bajie was laughing secretly, and Xue Tianqing grabbed his ear: "Isn't it funny?"
Bajie hurriedly begged for mercy: "My brother is smart and confused all his life. How can such a simple thing be so difficult for you?"
Seeing that Xue Tianqing was puzzled, Bajie reminded: "Have you forgotten about Huangfengling?"
Xue Tianqing shook his head thoughtfully and said: "That's there, this is this. Don't forget, we have some issues with Heaven."
Bajie smiled: "So what about the festival? Monsters occupying one place will always destroy the incense in the world. Even if the heaven does not pay attention to this incense, the land of mountain gods and gods in this area count on it to survive."
Xue Tianqing heard the words and nodded in agreement, and then ducked into the courtyard and pointed a finger, and the Dinghai Shentie turned into a bowl-like thickness and slammed it towards the ground.
The magical iron fell to the ground. Although the small courtyard was intact, the surroundings were shaken.
After finishing the blow, Xue Tianqing withdrew her magical power and stood quietly in the heavy snow waiting.
After a while, several figures appeared out of thin air, and they all handed over their hands: "I didn't know that I was here, but I hope you will forgive me."
Xue Tianqing smiled softly: "I don't dare to take the word "arrival" seriously, but how do you know me?"
"Since Gao Laozhuang defeated the Curtain General and Huang Fengling bravely defeated Lingji Bodhisattva, the name of the practitioner has spread all over the world."
Xue Tianqing was speechless: It was enough to defeat the rolling curtain. When had he defeated Lingji Bodhisattva?
"I invited you here today to ask if there are any monsters causing harm to the world around here."
Several people looked at each other and then shook their heads together: "Never heard of it."
Before Xue Tianqing could speak, a mountain god said again: "Our jurisdiction is no more than a hundred miles away. If the monsters are farther away, we won't know about them. The traveler allowed me to go back and ask other land and mountain gods to see if they have any jurisdiction. No monsters.”
Another mountain god said: "Why go back? Wouldn't it be better to summon them here? If there are monsters, they will affect us sooner or later. Today, while the travelers are here, we can eradicate them."
After the man finished speaking, he chanted a spell to summon the nearby mountain god land.
Taking this opportunity, Xue Tianqing called out to the local land: "A year ago, were there any monsters running wild here?"
Tutu pondered for a long time and said: "Yes! It seems to be more than once. It's just that the monster is so advanced that the little god can't even see its appearance."
Xue Tianqing scratched her head helplessly: "After all, you are also gods in the sky. When you encounter monsters like this that are causing harm to the world, why don't you take action to capture them?"
Hearing this, the mountain gods and the land all laughed bitterly.
Although they are called gods, their abilities are low. How can they be the opponents of those monsters?
They govern the lower realms in order to ensure that heaven continues to have incense. When monsters cause trouble to the world, people in heaven will deal with it, and it has nothing to do with them.
After a while, I saw silhouettes of people in the courtyard keep flashing, and soon it was completely dark in front of the snowy sky.
Seeing the crowds of people in the courtyard, the old man who was chatting with Sanzang was surprised and said: "Elder, are these all gods?"
Before Sanzang could say anything, Bajie spoke first: "They are all from the land of mountain gods nearby. There are gods the size of sesame seeds. The elderly don't need to make a fuss."
These words almost made the old man's eyes pop out: "If so, what kind of god is Elder Sun?"
Bajie laughed loudly: "Although my senior brother is not a god, he is the ancestor of the gods. Not long ago, he beat the King of Tota and the General of the Rolling Curtain in Heaven and fled. Otherwise, why would these mountain gods be so respectful?"
Sanzang coughed lightly: "Bajie, don't talk nonsense."
"Master, how can you call this nonsense? It is said that the pagoda of King Tota is still being sacrificed in the Bagua furnace. Even if it can be restored to the original state, its power will be far inferior to the original."
The old man clasped his hands together and prayed to the sky: "Master Jade Emperor, Grandpa Buddha! Please bless Elder Sun for rescuing my son and the others. I will burn incense for you every day."
Bajie smiled again: "Old man, you can only worship one of these two, otherwise you will be in trouble. But you'd better worship my senior brother, he is much more effective than those gods and Buddhas."
"You and others are all ascetics. Is it wrong to worship the Buddha?"
"It's true that my master is a Samana, but our brothers and sisters are not. Can't you see that?"
Sanzang frowned when he heard this and said, "Bajie, you can't talk so freely."
"Master, if we really want to save the old man's son and daughter-in-law, it's my senior brother's effort. What's going on with Emperor Guan Yu and Tathagata? As long as they have a trace of compassion for heaven and earth, they won't watch the monsters running rampant and remain indifferent."
Although Bajie's words were unpleasant, Sanzang couldn't refute them, so he could only sigh and remain silent.
While several people were talking, there was news from Xue Tianqing.
According to a mountain god who has just arrived, there is a cave on an unnamed mountain peak about a hundred miles south of the territory under his jurisdiction, and in the cave there is a spirit who has been cultivating for many years.
Although this strange person has high moral standards, he has never harmed the people.
Not to mention the common people, even the birds and beasts were not harmed.
Other than that, no monsters were heard in the area.
Xue Tianqing looked at the mountain god meaningfully and said, "How come you know so much about this demon?"
The mountain god smiled sheepishly: "To be honest with you, I think this monster will become a big deal in the future, so I often sit cross-legged and play chess with him, drinking tea and chatting with him."
Xue Tianqing sighed after hearing this. Although he promised the old man to find his son and daughter-in-law, he actually had no hope in doing so.
Since they have been confirmed to have fallen into the hands of monsters, and since the two of them have been missing for more than a year, it is estimated that not even the bones are left.
At this moment, a man from the land said: "Don't worry, traveler. This demon is a demon clan after all. Even if he has never harmed anyone, he does not necessarily know the whereabouts of the demon that harmed people."
Xue Tianqing nodded when he heard this: "In that case, I will go meet him for a while and see if I can get some useful information."
Then he asked: "Is this place so peaceful?"
The local man said: "To be honest with you, this place is considered a remote place, with far fewer people than you might imagine. If nothing else, I don't know anyone else lives in this courtyard."
Xue Tianqing smiled: "You all burn incense and nod people's heads. You don't care about the disappearance of someone's family. How can you offer incense to you? If you didn't go to your temple and destroy the memorial tablet, you should burn high incense." "
