Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

Wen Jiao took out a handful of Han Palace chess from the snack box and gave it to Xuanzang: "You must be tired after sitting there and preaching all day. Here, have some snacks."

When she thought that since the water and land temple had been opened, there would only be a few days left until the day when Guanyin transformed into an ordinary monk to offer treasures and showed her true self to invite the pilgrims to go to the West to seek the true scriptures, Wen Jiao rarely felt some real warmth towards this adopted son, and said in a gentle voice: "This Han Palace chess was made for mother by hand. From the mixing of the dough to the cooking, there is no smell of meat. The patterns on it were all drawn by mother by hand."

Anyway, she has already mastered the Taoism now, so making a simple snack is just a matter of setting up the alchemy furnace, shaking her fingers a few times, and it will take only a blink of an eye.

Xuanzang looked at the snacks that were as big as round chess pieces, and the vivid and lifelike Baoxiang flower patterns painted on them, and said in disbelief, "Mother, you called me here just to eat these snacks?"

Wen Jiao glared at him, her eyes were very intense: "Why? No? When you first came to Jingye Temple to stay, your father gave you a piece of Hu Bing with added ingredients, and you could chew it. Now that you are a high-ranking monk, you have become powerful, and you don't even look down on the snacks made by your mother?"

Whenever she is unhappy, she starts looking up old scores from more than a decade ago. This is probably how it feels to have a mother. Xuanzang said with difficulty: "Of course... It's not impossible."

Fu Yi, who was watching from the sidelines, finally regained control of his brain. His fingers were shaking as he pointed at Xuanzang: "You, are the son of Master Jingrong?"

With shaking hands, he pointed at Wen Jiao and said, "You are Master Xuanzang's biological mother?"

Wen Jiao shrugged and said in a relaxed tone: "Yes, this great Chandu monk is my biological child."

Ethical joke, just asking you if it’s fun?

Fu Yi's beard twitched, and he suddenly burst into laughter that shook the roof beams.

Although Xuantian Temple has not been completed, the preparations for Luotian Dajiao still need to be done. In recent days, there has been an endless stream of Taoists coming in and out of Wanhua Tower where Wen Jiao lives. In order to facilitate their movement, Madam Yin simply opened a corner door near the street in Wanhua Tower.

The old couple had been waiting for their daughter to come back with great difficulty. They thought that they could live a happy and loving life as a family. However, they did not expect that their daughter was even busier than them. Mrs. Yin had to be on time to serve soup or water to Wen Jiao. She had to wait until the previous Taoist priest had left and the next one had not arrived before she could go in to ensure that Wen Jiao could eat the food.

"My daughter commands all the Taoists in the world, and my grandson rules all the monks in the world. They all say that they hope their children and grandchildren will bring honor to the family, but they have never thought of such a way to bring honor to the family. Now when I go out to socialize with those old sisters, I can't say more than three sentences before they ask me for talismans and water. I have no words to suffer." Mrs. Yin complained to Yin Kaishan.

Yin Kaishan patted his belly, which had swelled rapidly after being unemployed, and said sadly, "I have also encountered many people who came with rosaries and statues to ask for help in consecrating them. I heard from Yuan that now no one believes him when he tells people that he doesn't know magic."

Speak of the devil, here comes the devil. Yin Yuan strode in like a gust of wind, and shouted from a distance: "Something big has happened, Jiang Liuer is going to the West to obtain the scriptures!"

Madam Yin was at a loss: "What is the Journey to the West? Who wants to go to the West to obtain the scriptures? What scriptures are they going to obtain?"

Yin Yuan sat down and panted, "Let me catch my breath, then we can talk slowly."

Seeing that there was wine on the table, he poured himself a bowl and gulped down several mouthfuls of wine. Only then did he recover and took out a piece of paper from his pocket to show his parents: "Dad and Mom, look what this is?"

Yin Kaishan took it, and Madam Yin leaned over to take a look at his hand. She saw the words: "Gift to the Great Tang Emperor, there is a wonderful text in the West. The journey is 108,000 miles, and the Mahayana is diligent. If you return to the country with this sutra, you will be able to surpass ghosts and stand out from the crowd. If anyone is willing to go, you can seek the golden body of the Righteous Fruit."

"Who wrote this, asking people to travel 18,000 miles to the West to obtain the Mahayana Sutra, and guaranteeing that they can achieve enlightenment? What a arrogant tone! Could it be that Jiang Liuer even believes this?" Yin Kaishan asked in surprise.

"It was written by Guanyin Bodhisattva." Yin Yuan said.

Yin Kaishan spit out the tea he had just taken: "Use the family rules to punish this unfilial son who doesn't speak human language!"

Yin Yuan quickly jumped three feet away, covering his head and said, "Father, I didn't lie to you. This was really written by Guanyin Bodhisattva! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it."

"Today, my nephew was giving a lecture as usual, when suddenly an old monk presented him with a robe and a staff that were both precious, saying that he had volunteered to give them to a great monk. Your Majesty ordered my nephew to put them on, and he looked so impressive that everyone cheered."

"The old monk didn't leave either. When he saw my nephew preaching, he said that what he preached was only Hinayana Buddhism, not Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism is more profound than Hinayana Buddhism, but the Mahayana Sutra is hidden in the Great Leiyin Temple in the West Heaven. He asked our nephew if he was willing to go and get the Sutra. After he finished speaking, he jumped into the clouds and turned into a bodhisattva. Even the little monk he brought with him turned into a fairy who looked like an attendant. Everyone hurried to worship, and then they saw a note floating down from the sky, which said these words."

The more Yin Kaishan listened, the more unbelievable it seemed to him. However, he knew that Yin Yuan would not lie about these things, so if he could tell the truth, he must be telling the truth. He could not help but ask in a trembling voice, "After seeing these, did Jiang Liuer decide to go to the West to obtain the scriptures?"

"We didn't decide to go right away. It was His Majesty who asked, 'Who is willing to go to the West to seek the Mahayana Sutra?' None of the civil and military officials in the court responded, so my nephew volunteered to take on the task. His Majesty was so happy that he became sworn brothers with him on the spot, and we agreed to set off tomorrow." Yin Yuan said.

"Nonsense!" Yin Kaishan was so angry that his beard was shaking. "The Great Leiyin Temple in the West is more than 100,000 miles away from our Great Tang. Not only are the mountains and rivers dangerous, but there are also countless monsters and demons. With his little martial arts, won't he just be able to fill the teeth of monsters? There are so many capable people in the court, how can he get ahead?"

Madam Yin also complained, "My cousin from my mother's family relied on his martial arts to take his family to the west to explore the world. They had not walked more than 300 miles when they were robbed by monsters. The family's soldiers were eaten up, and he fought his way out with all his might, and even broke an arm. You know all this, why didn't you stop your nephew?"

Yin Yuan made a bitter face: "By the time the kid reacted, he had already rushed out and agreed. How could he stop me? Your Majesty accepted him as your younger brother in just two sentences. There is no room for maneuver in this matter!"

Madam Yin stamped her feet and said, "What shall we do? If Mantangjiao knew about this, she would be heartbroken."

Yin Yuan touched his nose and said, "My sister, I'm afraid she already knows it. Since ancient times, monks and Taoists have been at odds with each other. Now she is the leader of the Taoists in the world. As soon as there is a little disturbance in Buddhism, the Taoists can't wait to report it to her immediately. The news that Xuanzang is going to obtain the scriptures must have reached her ears as soon as possible."

Madam Yin sighed and said, "I'll go see her."

But she came back empty-handed.