At this mont, Tang Sanzang was hanging on the wall, his eyes brimming with tears as he raged, "What in the world is going on? Why did a pit suddenly appear while we were walking? And out of nowhere there’s oil on top of it... a huge mountain on my head... and fire under my feet!"
Several azures nearby could clearly see that a group of old demons had passed by and added insult to injury.
However, they decisively chose to keep it to themselves; they feared that if Tang Sanzang beca so enraged that he gave up on the quest for scriptures, and the Buddha blad them, they would not escape the charge of failing to protect him.
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra arrived, lifted several mountains, drove away several demons, extinguished the fire in the pit, and took Tang Sanzang up.
Samantabhadra had expected Tang Sanzang to scold him, but upon eting him, Tang Sanzang asked very seriously, "Does this count as one of the tribulations?"
Samantabhadra was stunned and looked at the resolute Tang Sanzang before replying, "It counts..."
"That’s good..." Tang Sanzang smiled happily, then shook his sleeves, picked up his travel bag from the ground, and continued his journey westward.
Looking at the resolute face and chiseled features of the muscular Tang Sanzang, Samantabhadra muttered to himself, "This... doesn’t seem quite like the Golden Cicada I know!"
"You’ll grow to like it."
So said the eighteen azures.
...
anwhile, on Fla Mountain.
Tang Sanzang had arrived at Fla Mountain with his disciples, and Sha Wujing wielded his banana fan to blow three tis at Fla Mountain.
Indeed, with one fan ca wind, the second extinguished the fire, and the third brought rain.
As torrential rain poured down, the villagers beneath Fla Mountain cheered...
The old man who had erged earlier saw Tang Sanzang and his group and laughed heartily, "Honorable monk, we really owe you one this ti, for enjoying this sweet rain ahead of ti, what a relief!"
Tang Sanzang asked, "You’re relieved just like that?"
The old man replied contentedly, "Relieved!"
Tang Sanzang questioned further, "Are you satisfied, then?"
The old man said, "Satisfied... that’s impossible. Who doesn’t desire perfect weather, a pleasant climate? Alas, conditions don’t allow it. We are content all the sa..."
Tang Sanzang nodded and said, "That makes sense."
Zhu Ganglie, who had just returned, said, "Master, the fire has been put out. We can continue our journey westward now."
However, Tang Sanzang yawned and asked, "How are we supposed to go? The mountain is steep, and the roads are winding. You don’t really expect to jostle all the way, do you?"
Zhu Ganglie replied with so difficulty, "Master, even if it’s bumpy, we have no choice. The road is what it is."
Tang Sanzang gave him a look and then hopped off his horse, stretching lazily before saying, "A winding road? That’s not the style of this poor monk."
The old man, curious, asked, "If you don’t take the detour, how will you get across? This mountain is too big to bypass!"
Tang Sanzang laughed and said, "Then, let it get out of the way!"
Finishing his sentence, Tang Sanzang raised his fist and threw a punch forward, yelling, "Split the mountain!"
Boom!
With one punch, Tang Sanzang’s blow landed on the body of Fla Mountain, and a trendous noise echoed; heaven and earth shook!
The massive mountain range rumbled ominously, was filled with cracks, and then with a thunderous blast, burst apart, turning into a sky full of ash...
With a single punch, the once towering Fla Mountain on the path to the Western Heaven, which had troubled countless travelers, vanished into nothingness!
Tang Sanzang turned, mounted his horse, and patted its head, saying, "Little White, let’s go!"
The White Dragon Horse neighed softly and then began galloping away furiously.
Sun Wukong and the Six-Eared Macaque soared into the air, closely following behind, while Sha Wujing and Zhu Ganglie hurriedly lifted their loads and followed.
Watching the departing figures, the old man took a long ti to react. Then, with a thud, he knelt on the ground and cried out in a kowtow, "Thank you, noble monks, thank you, noble monks! Thank you... Thank you!"
The old man had never dread that the towering Fla Mountain, whose length was beyond asure, would disappear...
And that the climate would return to normal.
Now that it had happened, he was in utter disbelief, pinching himself hard several tis, and only when it hurt and he grimaced did he confirm that he wasn’t dreaming.
The old man then relayed Tang Sanzang’s feat of shattering the Fla Mountain with a single punch to the villagers, and before long, a bald statue was erected, becoming an object of perpetual worship in the village.
...
It was just half a year in a flash, as the end of autumn neared and the first hints of winter erged, withered chrysanthemums fell and new plum buds blossod; the great river flowed from the east, and the great fire stread to the west...
The setting sun hung on the branches, casting its red glow upon the earth.
Tang Sanzang sat astride his white horse, while Sha Wujing fanned himself and humd a tune contentedly, gazing into the distance.
From afar, Tang Sanzang saw a city stretching across the horizon.
"Wukong, what place is that?" asked Tang Sanzang.
Sun Wukong squinted into the distance and said, "Master, with its formidable towers and high gates, it should be a capital city!"
Zhu Ganglie chuckled, saying, "Eldest brother, there you go talking nonsense again. Although the city is not small, how can you be so certain that it’s the abode of an emperor?"
The Six-Eared Macaque laughed, saying, "Second brother, that’s what you don’t know. Can an imperial capital be the sa as the cities we saw the day before yesterday?
This great city has more than a dozen gates, stretches for hundreds of miles, has towering pavilions, and mist enveloped in ethereal clouds; fortune hovers without dispersing, and the aura of the Purple Forbidden encirclent lingers. If such a place is not an imperial capital, what else could it be?"
Zhu Ganglie was speechless.
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Sun Wukong said, "Master, there’s sothing odd about this city; there are no plaques on the city towers, nor does it have a na. I wonder what place it is."
The Six-Eared Macaque inclined his head and listened for a mont before saying, "Master, this place is called the Jisai Nation, one of the ten great countries, surrounded by many smaller countries that are its vassals, paying tribute year after year."
Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang nodded slightly and said, "Hmm... Your keen ears are indeed useful. Let’s go and take a look."
As they were walking, a group of monks with shackles erged from the diagonal.
Seeing these monks, Sun Wukong curiously asked, "Fellows, what cri have you committed to suffer such punishnt?"
One monk replied with a pained expression, "Sir, we are monks from the Gold Light Monastery, and as for the reason we suffer this punishnt... it’s a long story."
"Gold Light Monastery? And what place is that?" inquired Sun Wukong again.
The monk glanced at the several people and asked in a low voice, "Could you be the monks from the Great Tang on a pilgrimage to the Western Heavens to obtain scriptures?"
Tang Sanzang’s eyes brightened as he asked, "You know of us?"
The monk replied, "Not personally, but a long ti ago, soone appeared in our dreams and told us that after enduring for a while, once the monks from the Great Tang arrived, we would be able to escape our troubles. Seeing that you are dressed differently and look extraordinary, I asked. I didn’t expect you to truly be the monks from the Great Tang. Please, noble monks, save us!"
With his cry, the other monks also knelt on the ground and began kowtowing vigorously.
Sun Wukong looked at Tang Sanzang, who said, "This is interesting. Tell us exactly what’s going on?"
The monk replied, "That would be a lengthy tale, elder. Please, co sit at our monastery, and we will explain it slowly."
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