Staring at the staff pressed onto his pack, Big Knife Wang Wu slowly raised his head, grinned fiercely, and said, "Are you looking to die?"
The distant monk immediately burst out laughing, while Manjusri beside him merely narrowed his eyes slightly.
Tripitaka showed no fear. He slowly raised the hand gripping his staff and turned to look at the two bandits approaching his pack.
The two bandits acted unconcerned, glancing toward their chief.
"Heh heh heh, not bad—got guts. I'll oblige you," the big-bearded chief snarled, waving his hand. "Kill him!"
At the order, the two bandits grinned viciously, rolled up their sleeves, and staggered toward Tripitaka with knives in hand.
Buddhism, like Daoism, is a path of pushing one's limits, but the methods of cultivation are vastly different.
Daoists cultivate techniques that preserve youth and strengthen the body; it's not uncommon for the young to be powerful. But Buddhism is not like this.
Buddhist cultivation relies mainly on sudden enlightenment and developing the heart, requiring one to endure hardship and let go of everything. Except for a rare few monks with extraordinary talent, most only achieve results at a great age, after much experience.
So-called eminent monks are usually gray-haired elders, and it's not unusual for some to have lived through several reincarnations.
But this lone monk before them clearly wasn't one of those rare prodigies who attained Buddhahood at a young age. In their eyes, he was just another frail wandering monk.
They kill people like him by the dozen every year.
Seeing the two bandits approaching, Tripitaka swiftly drew back his staff and calmly assumed a defensive stance.
"Hey, he actually looks like he knows what he's doing." One of the bandits laughed, pointing at Tripitaka.
Before the words faded, Tripitaka's eyes flashed. In a burst of movement, his staff struck hard against a bandit's belly.
A scream of pain stunned everyone present.
For a moment, the bandit could only gape in agony.
Before the rest could react, Tripitaka spun and leapt up.
His fiery red robe billowed in the air.
In his rapid spin, the staff smashed into another bandit's face.
Blood and teeth flew everywhere.
Almost simultaneously, both bandits collapsed to the ground, kicking up dust. One clutched his stomach, rolling and howling like a slaughtered pig; the other fell unconscious.
Landing, Tripitaka leaned on his staff, made a single-handed salute, and said expressionlessly to the bandits, "Well then, I've meted out a small punishment today. I hope you will repent and forsake your evil ways."
The remaining four bandits gaped, their eyes nearly popping out.
Even the distant monk widened his eyes: "Is that... just basic body training?"
Manjusri slowly withdrew his gaze and smiled faintly. "He really did come prepared."
It took a while for the four bandits to recover from their shock.
"You've got some moves, monk..." The big-bearded chief twitched at the corner of his mouth, glaring at Tripitaka. "But two fists can't beat four hands. Hand over the golden bowl, or I'll have your head!"
"Are you still hoping to spar with me, sir?" Tripitaka said mildly, stepping forward. The bandits immediately shrank back in fear.
Big Knife Wang Wu swallowed hard, staring at Tripitaka, but was unwilling to retreat. For a moment, both sides were at a standoff.
The distant monk turned to look at Manjusri and asked quietly, "Is he hiding his true cultivation?"
Manjusri tilted his head, thought for a moment, then shook it. "Right-Dharma Radiance Tathāgata did mention that in his tenth life, Golden Cicada disliked scriptures and often trained with the temple's warrior monks—just simple martial arts for fitness. Still, even basic techniques become powerful in the hands of those with resolve."
With that, he gave a soft laugh, but the monk beside him could no longer smile.
Manjusri glanced at him, then sighed softly. "This journey is a test for both him and you. Tripitaka stands calm in the midst of danger, while you panic at every turn."
Startled, the monk understood Manjusri's meaning and quickly pressed his palms together, bowing. "I lost my composure. Thank you for the guidance, venerable one."
Manjusri nodded silently and said no more.
Elsewhere, a henchman sidled up to Big Knife Wang Wu and whispered, "Boss, what now?"
"What now... what now?" Big Knife Wang Wu panted deeply, gripping his blade. "Since my grandfather appeared to me in a dream, that golden bowl is already mine. No way I'm letting it slip away."
"Then..."
"You, go back and bring more men... No, get everyone who can fight!"
"Uh... okay."
The henchman turned and scrambled up the mountain, while the other three bandits nervously gripped their weapons and kept their eyes fixed on Tripitaka.
Noticing their six trembling knees, Tripitaka sighed helplessly and stepped aside.
As he moved, one bandit hurried over to the white horse.
Tripitaka immediately stopped and said, "I won't run, but you must not touch my horse."
Big Knife Wang Wu waved for the bandit near the horse to step back.
"Boss, do you really think he won't run?"
"With skills like his, could you stop him if he tried?"
At that, the bandit could only swallow hard and retreat to Wang Wu's side.
Arriving at his pack, Tripitaka put down his staff and reached up to remove his Ten Thousand Buddhas Crown.
"You... What are you doing?" The bearded bandit pointed at Tripitaka and shrieked.
Tripitaka turned his face and glanced at him.
Under the gaze of all the bandits, Tripitaka set his monk's crown on his pack, then slowly removed his kāṣāya, folded it neatly, and placed it alongside the crown.
Next, he bent over to tighten the straps on his feet, sat cross-legged with his staff in hand, closed his eyes, and said softly, "This humble monk has only this one presentable kāṣāya. If it gets bloodstained in the coming fight, it will be hard to explain myself at any temple later. I beg your indulgence."
His words were understated, but they made the bandits' eyes twitch uncontrollably.
This was contempt—pure, unadulterated contempt.
The bearded bandit, now both furious and humiliated, shouted at Tripitaka, "You... Don't be so arrogant! Do you even know how many men I have back in my cave?"
"How many men... does it matter?" Tripitaka lifted his head and gazed at the bearded chief, giving a gentle, serene smile—a smile so kindly it sent a chill through every bandit present.
The bearded chief's mouth twitched, his expression growing more vicious.
Aren't monks supposed to eat vegetarian and chant scriptures all day? Was this really the kind of monk they thought they knew?
So this was what they called a 'smiling tiger.' Today, they'd finally seen it for themselves.
...
On the surface of the Eastern Sea, two splashes rose as Monkey and Tina Ao hovered in midair.
Before their eyes stretched a gray, hazy expanse—howling wind and swirling dust everywhere. Even the distant main peak of Blossom Mountain was reduced to a mere shadow.
The moment Monkey saw it all, he froze, his expression shifting multiple times.
"What happened here?"
Behind him, Tina Ao replied in a low voice, "There was an order—no rain is allowed to fall on Blossom Mountain. So it hasn't rained here in six hundred and fifty years."
"Whose order? The Jade Emperor, or Lord Lao?"
"Strictly speaking, neither."
"Then who?"
"It's the joint will of both the Heavenly Court and the Buddhist establishment." After speaking, Tina Ao cautiously glanced at Monkey.
She could faintly sense Monkey's breathing grow much more rapid.
Monkey closed his eyes, floating silently in the air.
After a long while, when he opened his eyes again, he turned and descended toward the ground.
Seeing this, Tina Ao quickly lowered her head and followed him down.
On the ground, Monkey bent down, scooped up a handful of yellow earth, and gazed at it in his palm for a long time before releasing it to the wind. Softly, he said, "The tree wishes to be still, but the wind will not rest."
Tina Ao's hand tightened unconsciously as she looked at Monkey, uneasy.
Monkey lifted his head, gazing blankly at everything around him.
Six hundred and fifty years had passed. The ruins left by that ancient war were now mostly buried beneath the earth; even what remained exposed had been eroded beyond recognition by centuries of wind.
Perhaps future generations could guess that this was once a vast city, but surely no one could imagine the day when warships blotted out the sky.
"They forbade you to bring rain—did the Azurewave Dragon King also refuse to send rain here? Or did something happen to them?"
"Nothing happened to them."
"Then... did they betray us?"
Tina Ao lowered her head slightly, remaining silent.
"If they didn't betray us, yet still refused to bring rain to Blossom Mountain, then what does it mean?" Monkey drew a deep breath and gave a low, bitter laugh. "Back in the earliest days of Blossom Mountain—before I ever went to Heaven as the Keeper of the Imperial Horses—I always thought you were the cleverest of all, and even considered making you my strategist. Today, analyze this for me: when it comes to rain, what is really going on here?"
After a long hesitation, Tina Ao spoke quietly: "Buddhism, in truth, never regarded Blossom Mountain as a serious matter. To them, without the Great Sage, Blossom Mountain was just a minor detail—if they could deal with it easily, they would; if not, leaving it alone did no harm. After the war, Buddhism withdrew from Blossom Mountain and never returned."
Monkey slowly turned his head, listening in silence.
"But Heaven was different. Heaven and the demon race—even now, things have changed somewhat, but they're still enemies... Even after the split, the various demon clans kept declaring they were searching for the Great Sage and swore loyalty only to you. Even now, six hundred and fifty years later, I believe that if you stood atop a height and called, all the demons under Heaven would gather at Blossom Mountain again. Because you did what they could not do in ten thousand years—you are the banner of the demon race. And Blossom Mountain is also a banner. If Blossom Mountain hadn't fallen into ruin, the demon race might never have truly fractured."
Gazing at the swirling dust, Monkey murmured, "What I want to know now is—did the Azurewave Dragon King and Nine-Headed Wyrm betray me?"