Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

Pfft!

As Elder Jinchi finished speaking, the White Dragon Horse at his side nearly burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Feeling Jiang Liu's gaze on him, the White Dragon Horse quickly lowered his gaze, pretending to be serious, as if the laughter had not come from his horse mouth just a moment ago.

But the White Dragon Horse found the current situation quite amusing.

After having received Guanyin's enlightenment and transformed into a white horse to serve as his steed, he had flatly refused, causing the horse no end of trouble and forcing it to shamelessly follow along. And now, to see the Scripture Seeker denied entry and given a meal out of pity, as if he were someone simply seeking free food...

Seeing the displeasure on Jiang Liu's face, the White Dragon Horse felt quite satisfied.

"Master, if they do not welcome us, let's just leave. Why bother staying here and being insulted?" Sun Wukong, feeling irritated, slapped the White Dragon Horse and immediately said to Jiang Liu.

"I see you really don't like eating other people's food," Jiang Liu said to Sun Wukong, irritated.

With his personality, how could he be so agreeable? It seemed that the main reason was that he did not enjoy other people's cooking.

"Ah, a demon, there's a demon..." The believers in the Guanyin Zen Temple gasped in horror when Sun Wukong spoke with the articulation of a human. Without speaking, it would have been fine, but a monkey that could speak human language? If that wasn't a demon, what was?

"Well, well, what have we here? A wild monk associating with demons!" Already quite displeased with Jiang Liu's actions in the Guanyin Zen Temple, several martial monks stepped forward, their faces darkened as they spoke, believing they had seized upon a fault.

"Wait... wait a moment..."

However, at this point, Elder Jinchi once again spoke up. Squinting through aged eyes, he scrutinized Jiang Liu, mainly focusing on the Vidyaraja Crown on his head, and said, "Our Buddhist disciples are devoted to self-cultivation and cleanliness; it's impossible for them to consort with demons.

I see that you, little monk, wear the robes and the monk hat, but your behavior hardly resembles that of our Buddhist sect. Could you be an imposter?"

Elder Jinchi cared greatly about his own reputation and that of the Buddhist Sect. He had assumed Jiang Liu was simply a wandering monk and thought nothing of offering him a meal; after all, it was a matter of Buddhist compassion.

But now, seeing him in the company of a demon, Elder Jinchi began to doubt Jiang Liu's identity.

If it turned out that he was an imposter, and with the demon present, they couldn't let today's events—where both the demon and the monk who tarnished the reputation of the Buddhist Sect—go unpunished.

As a highly revered monk with eight Incense Scar Initiations and two centuries of life, Elder Jinchi's authority was naturally immense, as could be inferred from the fact that people referred to him as Holy Monk.

At his words, the worshippers around began to view Jiang Liu with suspicion; indeed, with such behavior, he scarcely resembled a disciple of the Buddhist Sect.

"The Abbot speaks the truth!"

Two martial monks of the Guanyin Zen Temple, also in agreement, nodded their heads, saying, "Judging by his actions, he is indeed unruly and aggressive, which completely contradicts the serenity of our Buddhist teachings. Furthermore, by associating with a demon, it's obvious he is not a disciple of our sect."

"Hey, you monk, if you've got the guts, take off your monk hat and let us see if you have the Scar of Precepts on your head," the Martial Monk said loudly to Jiang Liu at the end of his taunt.

"Exactly, you say you're a monk, let's see you remove that monk hat and show us!" At the same time, other monks from Guanyin Zen Temple and even the devotees, all spoke up in unison, raising their voices.

For a moment, Jiang Liu became the target of everyone's accusations.

"You bald donkeys, aren't you too full of yourselves? Just because you tell my master to take off his hat, should he just do it?" Jumping off the back of the White Dragon Horse, Sun Wukong, catching the condescending gazes, glared at everyone with an untamed look and retorted.

While speaking, Sun Wukong turned his head to Jiang Liu, "Master, let's go. There's no need to lower ourselves to their level, a bunch of ignorant fools. And they think we're here to freeload a meal? How good could their food possibly be?"

"Monkey, that last part of what you said is the real reason you want to leave, isn't it?" Jiang Liu cast a sideways glance at Sun Wukong and said, not hiding his irritation.

After making a sarcastic remark about Sun Wukong, Jiang Liu didn't pay him further attention but looked over all the present company before his gaze settled on Elder Jinchi. "Holy Monk Jinchi, I think there's been some misunderstanding. Wukong is not a demon; the reason he's following this poor monk on the Journey to the West is that he was enlightened by Bodhisattva Guanyin."

"Hahaha..." Jiang Liu's words might have been better left unsaid—as soon as he finished, the monks around them burst into laughter as if they had heard something ridiculous.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Little Monk, open your eyes and look carefully. What is the name of our temple? Guanyin Zen Temple. Do you think that by invoking the name of Bodhisattva Guanyin, you can scare us?" a monk said pointedly to Jiang Liu.

"I see this Little Monk truly has a knack for telling tall tales. One moment he claims to be on a scripture-seeking mission by the order of the Emperor of Tang, the next he says this demon has been enlightened by Bodhisattva Guanyin. What next? Will he claim to be a disciple of Tathagata himself? His exaggerations are getting more and more outrageous," another monk sneered with a scoffing tone.

"Amitabha, say less, everyone, cough cough... Monastics should refrain from speaking falsely..." Hearing the monks of his Zen Temple getting more and more exaggerated, and indeed feeling that it was rather embarrassing, Elder Jinchi coughed a few times to silence them.

Then, Elder Jinchi's gaze once again fell upon Jiang Liu, saying, "Monastics should not speak untruths; I see you spouting nonsense and behaving erratically, besides keeping the company of demon kind. You are definitely not a member of the Buddhist Sect. You wish to impersonate a Buddhist Disciple for more than just a simple vegetarian meal, don't you? Speak, what is your real purpose?"

"I must say, the ability to let one's imagination run wild is truly frightening, but what's more frightening is that you people take your fantasies for reality and believe them without a doubt."

Seeing how the monks from Guanyin Zen Temple, including Elder Jinchi, looked at him with suspicion, Jiang Liu sighed helplessly.

"Enough talk, if you truly are a Buddhist Disciple, let us see the Scar of Precepts on your head," Elder Jinchi said with finality, not interested in further idle chatter with Jiang Liu.

"So be it. Since you all want to see, this poor monk will let you see."

Jiang Liu shook his head reluctantly, then placed his hands on the Vidyaraja Crown and slowly removed it.

At that moment, Jiang Liu indeed felt very reluctant. All he had wanted was to enter Guanyin Zen Temple peacefully and follow the plot of the original story, spending some days there. Was that too much to ask for?

Why stare down upon me and drive me away?

Isn't this forcing me to show off so I can stay?

As the Vidyaraja Crown was slowly removed, the twelve Scars of Precepts on his head were exposed for all to see...