Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

Guanyin Zen Temple, in the grand hall, a statue of Guanyin adorned with golden light towered, majestic and resplendent, imparting a feeling of solemnity and nobility.

Although the sky had darkened and the reception of pilgrims at Guanyin Zen Temple had already ceased, Jiang Liu and Jinchi were seated nearby partaking in a vegetarian meal, yet there were still a few monks bustling about in the large hall.

For instance, cleaning, and then there was the large merit box from which all the silver coins had to be taken out.

Tip-tap, tip-tap...

Just when a few monks were in the midst of opening the merit box, suddenly, crisp footsteps echoed from the green rock slabs outside the great hall, as if someone were tapping on the ground with stones, certainly not the sound of ordinary footsteps.

This gave the monks a moment of pause.

As they turned their heads back around, they happened to see an extraordinarily divine white horse appear and then directly lift its legs to stride into the grand Guanyin Hall.

"Eh? Isn't this Master Xuanzang's steed?" the monks in the hall were surprised to see the white horse walking into the Guanyin Hall.

Weren't there other brothers tasked with taking good care of the white horse? Why let it run into the great hall?

Shaking their heads, although feeling it was somewhat improper for their brothers to not even properly look after a horse, since the white horse had barged into the hall, they would simply lead it back to the stable.

"It truly is worthy of being Master Xuanzang's mount, even leaving the stable, it knows to come into this great hall," one of the monks couldn't help but joke as he watched the white horse enter the hall.

"Hahaha, indeed, Master Xuanzang is indeed a high monk who has earned twelve scars of precepts, possessing such a Buddhist affinity. Perhaps in the future, he might indeed achieve Buddhahood or Arhatship in the Western Heaven?" joined in another monk, laughing and nodding along with the jesting remark.

In the midst of speaking, this monk put down the merit box he was holding, preparing to go and lead the horse.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

However, he had only taken two steps when he froze, his expression one of utter confusion.

It turned out that the white horse that walked into the grand hall paid no heed to their words but instead walked on its own accord to the front of the statue of Guanyin. Then, its front legs knelt down, precisely onto the meditation cushion, and it lowered its head, adopting the posture of kneeling and bowing in worship.

"What? Has Master Xuanzang's steed also become enlightened?" watching the white horse bow in front of the statue of Guanyin, the monks at the side murmured to each other in bewilderment.

If it had become enlightened, that would be the end of it, for as Buddhist disciples, who hasn't seen a few demons? The Black Bear Demon on the nearby Black Wind Mountain was a longtime good friend of the Temple Master.

Yet, an enlightened being with such a deep understanding of Buddhism, coming on its own to bow to the Bodhisattva, was something they had never seen before, right?

The White Dragon Horse, quietly kneeling before the statue of the Bodhisattva, its head lowered, knew all too well the struggles it faced within.

Having been enlightened by Guanyin Bodhisattva, it was supposed to join the scripture-seeking team. But as things stood, it had become nameless and shamelessly followed the scripture seeker instead. Only Guanyin Bodhisattva could resolve such a predicament, and to her, the White Dragon Horse appealed for help.

The White Dragon Horse knelt before the statue of the Bodhisattva, head bowed, silent.

It also understood that there was no need for words; the Bodhisattva would surely know its current plight, as well as the purpose for which it knelt here. Believing the Bodhisattva understood, it felt no necessity to speak.

In the great hall, the monks of the Guanyin Zen Temple looked at one another, all with expressions of astonishment on their faces. Evidently, they were all at a loss as to how to deal with this white horse kneeling before the statue of Guanyin.

After some thought, they pondered whether they should inform Master Xuanzang about the matter.

"Hey, Xiaobai, what are you doing here?" However, before these monks from the Guanyin Zen Temple could look for Jiang Liu, Sun Wukong had already found his way over. He looked at the White Dragon Horse kneeling in front of the statue with a curious question.

Why would he kneel down before the statue of Guanyin for no reason?

"Big brother, I... I want to pray for the Bodhisattva to manifest and explain to the Scripture Seeker..." Raising his head, the White Dragon Horse turned to glance at Sun Wukong and confessed honestly.

Since passing by the Guanyin Zen Temple, naturally, he ought to earnestly plead with Bodhisattva Guanyin for favor.

Hearing the conversation between Sun Wukong and the White Dragon Horse, the monks in the hall were startled. Was this monkey a demon, and this horse as well?

They exchanged glances; being alone in a room with these demon kind made them feel unsettled. Immediately after, the monks quickly turned and left the great hall one after another, leaving only Sun Wukong and the White Dragon Horse inside.

"Is your earnest wish to gain our master's recognition because you want to be honored at Spirit Mountain?" Sun Wukong, ignoring the monks who had hurriedly left, cocked his head and examined the White Dragon Horse before him. After giving it some thought, he asked the question that had always made him curious.

Logically speaking, as the Crown Prince of the Western Sea Dragon King, Little White Dragon was naturally proud. But in order to seek the Westward scriptures, he seemed willing to sacrifice all his pride. Sun Wukong had always been curious about this, but he had never asked before.

Seeing him coming to the hall alone today to worship the statue of Guanyin, Sun Wukong couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

"Actually, being honored by Spirit Mountain is only part of the reason," replied the White Dragon Horse after a brief hesitation, when asked by Sun Wukong.

"Oh? Are there other reasons? Tell me about them," Sun Wukong asked, now genuinely interested upon hearing the White Dragon Horse's response.

"Actually, I also want to redress the injustice for my maternal uncle," the White Dragon Horse considered and, perhaps trusting Sun Wukong or believing that he could help, confessed sincerely.

"My uncle, the Dragon King of Jing River, is in charge of managing the rain. However, during a rainfall in Chang'an City, he did not follow the Jade Emperor's orders precisely. The timing and amount of the rain were slightly off, leading to his punishment by the Jade Emperor—he suffered a slash…" spoke the White Dragon Horse, his voice low and solemn.

"Hehehe, that old Jade Emperor really is heartless. Just for a slight delay and a little change in the amount of rain, he would go so far as to strike down with such severity," Sun Wukong said, baring his teeth in a sneering laugh upon hearing White Dragon Horse's story.

At that, Sun Wukong paused briefly, then said, "But, although the situation doesn't seem severe, if the old Jade Emperor truly insists on upholding the punishment for this crime, it wouldn't exactly be wronging him, would it?"

"Indeed, if it were just that, it wouldn't be an injustice. But, the matter of bringing rain was within the borders of Chang'an, and my uncle had already received forgiveness from the Human Emperor. Despite that, he was still killed. There must have been something fishy about it," the White Dragon Horse continued.

The words were true; when a task assigned by the Jade Emperor went wrong, it was correct to hold someone accountable. Yet, when the rain was mistaken and Chang'an City suffered, the Human Emperor could be considered a victim. Since forgiveness was obtained from the Human Emperor, the incident could be counted as a fault but not a crime.

As the saying goes, "Without a plaintiff, there is no judge."

The Dragon King of Jing River having received the Human Emperor's forgiveness could largely be seen as a private settlement, yet he was still executed, which is why Little White Dragon found the situation very suspicious.

"Unfortunately, my words carry little weight, and I am also burdened with guilt. Therefore, even though I want to investigate the truth for my uncle, I am willing in spirit but weak in power. That's why, big brother, I am hoping for this Western journey's honor to be cleansed of this guilt, so I might have the power to investigate the truth for my uncle."