RNP Page 529
Page 529
Chenxiang inherited his beloved uncle's will and became the second generation of the man who split the mountain to save his mother.
"Um... Brother Yang, what I mean is, isn't it possible that something bad might happen to Miss Yang Chan, who's all alone outside?"
Bai Zhi thought for a moment and decided to subtly remind Yang Jian.
It's not that Bai Zhi looks down on Chen Xiang; that child is actually a very good person. It's just that Liu Yanchang is a bit... well, a complete waste, a burden to his wife and son.
Yang Jian, however, did not seem to understand Bai Zhi's meaning. He chuckled and said, "It's alright, little sister Bai Zhi. Although Yang Chan's magic power is not as good as mine, she has the treasure of the Lotus Lantern. Even I am afraid I cannot easily capture her, let alone other demons and monsters."
Bai Zhi sighed and said nothing more. It wasn't appropriate to talk about this now. She couldn't very well tell Yang Jian that his sister would repeat the same mistake, marry a mortal man, and have a child.
Moreover, Bai Zhi suspected that even if she spoke about it, it probably wouldn't make any difference.
Because in this world, there truly is a clear natural order, where minor trends can be altered, but major trends cannot be reversed.
"I wonder if I'll be able to come back to this world at that time?"
Bai Zhi shook her head and decided to ignore the matter. At this point, the Journey to the West storyline probably only had a short time left. She could probably go back and stay in the sky for two days to witness the scene of Tang Sanzang and his disciples becoming Buddhas.
At that time, the Journey to the West world had ended, and it was still unknown whether the system would grant her the permission to return to this world, so there was no need to consider anything else.
Since things have come to this, let's go get something to eat first.
……
Meanwhile, on the other side of the pilgrimage group...
"Master, look! The Kingdom of Bhikkhu! I wonder how far it is from the Western Paradise."
Standing before the massive city gate, the monkey looked up at the gate and called out.
"It's not far, it's not far. We're only a few steps away from the Western Paradise."
Tang Sanzang nodded with satisfaction. "Wukong, let's hurry and go to the local government to exchange for the travel permit."
"Eldest brother, don't forget to go beg for alms again. My master and I haven't had a proper meal in a long time."
"Okay, okay, you idiot, all you ever think about is eating."
The monkey waved impatiently, "Let's find a place to rest first, so I don't come back from my errands and not be able to find you."
"Too."
Tang Sanzang nodded, and the group entered the capital city of the Kingdom of Bhikshu together.
As soon as they entered, they saw a strange scene: in front of many houses, there were cages piled up.
Inside that cage, there were actually children locked up one by one.
"This... old man, why are these children kept in cages? Is it a special custom here?"
Seeing this, Tang Sanzang couldn't help but ask an old man who seemed to be praying.
"Ok?"
Hearing voices, the old man turned around in confusion, looked at Tang Sanzang and the others, and then suddenly realized, "Are you all from out of town?"
"Indeed, this humble monk comes from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East, and is on his way to the Western Paradise to worship Buddha and seek scriptures."
As if triggered by a DNA memory, Tang Sanzang put his hands together and recited this passage.
"Hey, so you're a monk. I say, why don't you skip worshipping Buddha and come worship the real immortals instead? They're more effective than Buddhist scriptures."
The old man spoke warmly to Tang Sanzang.
"Old man, I am a Buddhist..."
“You monk, what’s wrong with studying Buddhism? The true immortals we worship are probably much more effective than your Buddhist scriptures. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you come and try it?”
After saying that, the old man took out a bronze statue and said, "Look, this is the true immortal we worship."
"This is... Xiaobai?!"
Upon seeing the bronze statue clearly, the monkey couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Little White? What nonsense are you spouting? How dare you address the Venerable God like that? This is the Abundant and Vast Lord, who is incredibly generous. As long as we pray sincerely, he will bless us and keep us free from illness."
"You don't know, ever since we believed in the True Lord Baizhi, our Bhikkhu Kingdom has become a famous land of longevity, and many people come here to learn from our teachings."
The monkey scratched his head. He thought these people believed in some evil god, but it turned out to be Bai Zhi. Oh well, it's alright now.
"Ahem, old man, it's our fault. We really appreciate the worship of Bai Zhi Zhenjun. I'd like to worship her too."
"Hey, you may seem a bit inhuman, but you know the power of a true god."
Upon hearing the monkey's words, the old man, feeling as if he had imparted his teachings to a stranger, beamed with joy.
In that case, Bai Zhi Zhenjun will surely bestow more blessings upon me for doing this.
"Then, old man, what is the reason for keeping these children in cages?"
The monkey pointed to the children crying loudly in the cages and asked, puzzled.
"Oh, these children are sacrifices offered to Lord Baizhi."
The old man answered casually.
"What!!"
The monkey opened its mouth wide and almost immediately replied, "That's impossible, she's not that kind of person!"
"What do you mean, 'not that kind of person'?"
The old man frowned and gave the monkey a disapproving look. "Do you understand Bai Zhi Zhenjun better than I do?"
The monkey took a deep breath. "Old man, Bai Zhi Zhenjun is a righteous god of the Heavenly Court. How could she possibly want a child as a sacrifice? That doesn't make sense at all."
The old man looked puzzled. “You, Bai Zhi Zhenjun, must have paid a price for this blessing. The good health of everyone in my Biqiu Kingdom is the result of exchanging this child.”
"Moreover, this is not only what I said, but also what our national advisor said. He said that our king has fallen ill in order to ask the White Angelica True Lord for blessings, and we need to offer up more children in order to save the king."
"Once the king recovers, we will hold a grander ceremony to pray to the White Angelica True Lord so that the people of our Biqiu Kingdom may be healthier."
"Although it is indeed a pity that the child is lost, it is not that we cannot have another child... As long as the able-bodied men do not get sick, how much food can they get in return? It is all worth it."
Chapter 945 Nezha: This is no ordinary monster!
Upon hearing the old man's words, the monkey's face turned completely red. If he hadn't known that the old man wasn't deliberately slandering Bai Zhi, but was just an ordinary citizen, he would have been furious.
If a knowledgeable person who was aiding and abetting evil had come, he would have surely pulled out his golden cudgel and smashed that person's body to ashes and shattered their soul.
Even so, he was still furious.
What is Bai Zhi's relationship with him? It's a friendship that spans hundreds or even thousands of years, from when she became his disciple to when they went on their pilgrimage. Not to mention how many times she saved him from dire straits.
Let alone the fact that Bai Zhi, as a disciple of Laozi, would never use such a low-level demonic method as cannibalism to increase her strength, even if she did eat people, he wouldn't say anything.
Of course, it's possible for Angelica dahurica to eat people, but it's highly unlikely.
The monkey forcibly suppressed his emotions and forced a smile: "Old man, did the Grand Preceptor really say these words? You really believe the Grand Preceptor so much?"
The old man nodded matter-of-factly, “Otherwise, if the Imperial Preceptor hadn’t arrived, how would we have known that there was such a generous true god as Bai Zhi Zhen Jun in this world?”
"Moreover, the Grand Preceptor possesses unparalleled magical power, ensuring favorable weather and abundant harvests for our Bhikkhu Kingdom. Such a divine being must be an envoy of the True Lord, sent to save our Bhikkhu Kingdom."
The old man picked up his water cup, took a sip, and continued, "You know, in the past, our Bhikkhu Kingdom was constantly plagued by minor disasters, and there were also many major ones."
"After these major and minor disasters pass, plagues are inevitable. Since I started believing in the White Angelica True Lord, even if there are disasters, plagues generally won't occur. Many diseases that would have killed people in the past can now be cured by just letting them linger."
“Countless strong laborers survived because of this, and our Kingdom of Bhikkhu has now cultivated more wasteland, and the whole country has become several times richer.”
"True Lord Baizhi has truly saved countless lives. Compared to the kindness of the True Lord, we are merely children, and we are willing to offer them up."
The old man stroked his beard and even hummed a little tune.
These days, the infant mortality rate is already high, but after believing in Bai Zhi, under the healing light of the idol, the mortality rate has dropped significantly. Even if they were to sacrifice their children, the population growth would still be much faster than before.
A very good deal, isn't it?
The monkey remained silent, feeling that the imperial advisor was no ordinary monster and that a powerful blow was necessary.
After leading the group away from the old man for a while, the monkey finally spoke up: "Master, and Pigsy, I hope you can understand me about this. I might have gone a little too far."
"This……"
Tang Sanzang hesitated for a moment, but the words of advice that were on the tip of his tongue remained unspoken.
Having been by his side for so long, he was well aware of the relationship between the monkey and Bai Zhi. If he were to advise the monkey to say something like "lay down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot" or "forgive others when you can," he didn't know if the monkey would listen, but it would most likely offend the monkey.
Then think about those children. If the Imperial Preceptor were a monster, there must have been quite a few children who were devoured.
"Enough, Wukong. Even the Buddhist sect has its wrathful Vajras. As for this matter, I will not interfere."
Tang Sanzang sighed and didn't mention anything else.
"Thank you, Master. I will not go alone on this matter."
The monkey stretched its limbs. This guy who dared to use the name of Angelica dahurica to swindle and cheat people everywhere, and even harm people's lives, if we just kill him like this, who knows what will happen next.
He also remembered that Bai Zhi had a very good relationship with Erlang Shen Yang Jian and the Third Prince Nezha. If he were to mention this matter to those two…
"Master, Pigsy, and Brother Sandy, you all rent a room here and don't move around. I, Old Sun, will be right back."
Having said that, without waiting for Tang Sanzang and the others' reply, he somersaulted and flew to the Heavenly Court.
Just as they arrived at the South Heavenly Gate, coincidentally, Nezha was leisurely making his way back.
"Third Prince, Third Prince."
"Oh, isn't this the Great Sage? I've heard that your journey to the West is going well. You'll probably be arriving at Mount Ling soon."
Nezha smiled broadly.
"Yes, we are not far from Mount Ling. The monk and I happened to arrive at a place called the Kingdom of Bhikkhu. There... I encountered a monster who was devouring young boys and girls under the guise of Little White."
"what?"
Upon hearing this, Nezha's smiling face immediately turned serious. "What kind of monster dares to do such a thing in the name of the True Lord?!"
If it were just ordinary demonic acts, he would let it go, since he was well aware of the tricks and schemes on the Journey to the West.
But this demon actually used Bai Zhi's name to eat young boys and girls, which means it's no ordinary monster.
If he hadn't fired six shots in a second and made this guy scream, he wouldn't be Nezha!
"I don't know either, but such audacity must mean it's no ordinary monster. Since the Third Prince, Brother Yang, and Little White are on good terms, I thought we should go and see what kind of monster it is."
After saying this, the monkey recounted in detail what he had encountered in the Kingdom of Bhikkhu to Nezha.
After hearing these descriptions, Nezha immediately stood up.
"No doubt about it, Zhenjun's affairs are my affairs. Coincidentally, I just returned from Brother Yang Jian's banquet. I suppose Brother Yang Jian has arrived at his Judicial God Palace by now."
“This kind of monster harms living beings and should be punished by me and Brother Yang.”
"Hey, monkey, and Third Prince, what are you doing here?"
Bai Zhi, who had also returned from Guanjiangkou, looked at the angry monkey and Nezha with some confusion, completely baffled.
Logically speaking, after the three monsters of Lion Camel Ridge, the monkey shouldn't have encountered any threatening opponents.
"Oh, it's Xiaobai. It's nothing, just chatting with the Third Prince. I heard you went to a banquet, you must be very tired. Go back and rest first."
The monkey chuckled and kept giving Nezha meaningful glances.
Some people have taken advantage of Angelica dahurica's name to prey on many children; it's best not to tell Angelica dahurica about this.
They can handle it secretly.
"I'm fine, just eating and drinking. Monkey, are you really okay? If you need any help, just let me know."
Bai Zhi was a little suspicious; she felt that the monkey was hiding something from her.
"It's really nothing. It's just that when we got to the Kingdom of Bhikkhu, we encountered monsters harming children. I was thinking of asking someone in heaven for something that could take away the children's treasures."
The monkey rolled its eyes and decided to tell part of the story, as long as it didn't reveal the core information.
"Oh, I see."
Bai Zhi nodded. It seemed that there was no problem with the matter in Biqu Kingdom. However, was there a plot in the original work where the monkey went to heaven to borrow such a treasure?
Bai Zhi was a little puzzled, but didn't think much of it, since it really wasn't a major calamity.
"Speaking of which, monkey, here you go."
Bai Zhi pulled a small bag out of her pocket. "This is a magical artifact I made. It can be used to store a lot of things, even people. Here, it's yours."