But to return to Tang Seng, who heard someone crying out in pain inside the house, their voice filled with agony. He did not know the reason.
Hearing this, Ao Tu covered his face and sighed sorrowfully. “Holy Monk, this is all because of those damned bandits. They injured my brother and left him crippled, so he is in unbearable pain!”
Tang Seng said, “Amitabha. How can there be such vicious bandits in these mountains?”
Ao Tu said, “These mountains were once a place of outstanding people and blessed land. Who knows why, but bandits suddenly appeared.”
When Bajie heard this, he hurriedly pulled Sha Seng and walked outside.
Sha Seng said, “Second Senior Brother, what are you doing?”
Bajie said, “Junior Brother Sha, haven’t you figured it out yet?”
Sha Seng asked in confusion, “Figured out what?”
Bajie lowered his voice. “The bandits they’re talking about are us!”
Sha Seng was startled. “That can’t be!”
Bajie looked around, then pulled Sha Seng to sit in a corner outside the house and whispered,
“Look, someone in this family just died, which matches the woman Eldest Senior Brother beat to death. And there’s someone inside groaning in pain—doesn’t that fit the hunter Eldest Senior Brother crippled?”
After hearing this, Sha Seng said, “Th-then what are we supposed to do?”
“What are we supposed to do?” Bajie set down his rake and said,
“Eldest Senior Brother was the one who killed the person, and Master was the leader. At most, we count as accomplices. If the authorities come, Eldest Senior Brother will use an escape art and leave, and they’ll seize Master to pay with his life. You go back to your Flowing Sand River, I’ll go back to my Gao Village. The kasaya goes to me, and the monk’s staff goes to you. Don’t complain it’s too little—I’m your senior brother, so I ought to take more.”
Sha Seng said after hearing this,
“Second Senior Brother, how can you be like this? If Master really gets taken away, as his disciples, we should be thinking of how to save him!”
Bajie tucked his hands into his sleeves. “Save Master? How? His family member was beaten to death. No matter what dynasty or era you put it in, that’s a capital crime!”
Inside the house, Tiger Vanguard was still shouting as if his bones were splitting with pain.
Ao Tu rose and said, “Holy Monk, excuse me. I must first go take care of my brother.”
Tang Seng said, “Benefactor, since your younger brother is in unbearable pain, allow this poor monk to recite a passage of scripture for him, to ease his suffering a little.”
Ao Tu said delightedly, “Then I must trouble you, Holy Monk!”
Thus, he invited Tang Seng into the inner room.
Wukong followed closely behind Tang Seng.
In the inner room, Tiger Vanguard lay on the bed wrapped in a thick quilt. His face was as pale as gold paper, and one wounded leg was exposed, its flesh torn and raw. He cried out in pain.
Tang Seng chanted “Amitabha” and stepped closer to look. When he saw Tiger Vanguard’s appearance, his face changed drastically in shock.
The moment Tiger Vanguard saw Tang Seng, he was instantly terrified beyond measure, his acting penetrating to the bone. He cried, “Bandits! Bandits!”
Ao Tu said, “Brother, what bandits are you talking about? This is a holy monk from the Eastern Land. He has come to recite scriptures and pray for blessings for you.”
When Tang Seng heard this, he felt so ashamed he wished he could sink into the ground.
Tiger Vanguard pointed at Tang Seng with a trembling finger. “Elder Brother, run! They are the bandits! They’re the ones who blocked the road, robbed travelers, killed Little Sister, and then wanted to kill me to silence me, beating me into this state! This man dressed like a monk is the leader of the bandits!”
Ao Tu pretended to be horrified and looked at Tang Seng as he asked,
“What? You—you are actually bandits? It was you who killed my little sister?”
Hearing this, Tang Seng kept retreating, his face deathly pale, without the slightest trace of blood.
Weeping, Ao Tu grabbed Tang Seng and cried, “Heavens! Pity me, who have loved monks and revered Buddha all my life, yet my family died at the hands of Buddhists! Monk, how will you repay my family’s lives?”
Tang Seng’s lips trembled, and he could not utter a single word.
Wukong stepped forward, shoved Ao Tu aside, and placed the golden cudgel horizontally between the two of them. “Monster, don’t use flowery words to deceive my master. Take a beating!”
Seeing this, Tang Seng hurriedly said, “Impudent monkey, do not harm anyone again!”
Wukong said, “Master, you are mortal of fleshly eyes and cannot discern truth from falsehood. This man is a false body created by a trick of the eyes; the one on the bed is a tiger spirit. If you do not believe me, watch Old Sun strike him once, and you will know the truth!”
With that, he raised his cudgel to strike.
Seeing this, Tang Seng began chanting the spell without another word.
Wukong’s eyes instantly reddened from the pain, and he knelt on the ground, saying,
“Master, this man truly is a demon. As long as I smash his false body apart, the truth will be known. Why do you refuse to believe me?”
Tang Seng said nothing, only kept chanting the spell.
Wukong’s pain grew worse and worse. He crashed through the window and rolled outside.
Qiao’er and her parents were all frightened out of their wits at the sight.
Ao Tu pulled them along and knelt before the Buddha statue, saying,
“My Buddha is merciful. This disciple has loved Buddha all my life. You told me to wait here for the holy monk, and this disciple waited bitterly. Who would have thought it would be a band of bandits who came, committing murder and killing for wealth. Are people like this the holy monks you spoke of? I beg my Buddha to uphold justice for this disciple!”
When Tang Seng heard these words, the resentment in his heart toward that impudent monkey deepened even more, and so he chanted the scripture over and over.
The pain made Wukong’s eyes turn a searing red, his fangs protruding as he rolled back and forth on the ground, begging for mercy again and again. Tang Seng only pretended not to hear.
Only then did Wukong understand what Ao Tu had meant back at Wuzhuang Temple when he said, “Compensation for making his head hurt.”
The pain was more than Wukong could endure. He forced himself up, intending to strike Ao Tu. He could see that this body of Ao Tu’s was a false body; as long as he dispersed it, the truth would naturally be revealed.
Seeing this, Ao Tu hugged the Buddha statue and said,
“I beg my Buddha to show his divine power!”
As soon as his words fell, the Buddha statue suddenly shone with brilliant golden light, and a figure manifested in the air.
That figure wore a kasaya and sat cross-legged atop a golden lotus. Auspicious clouds crowned his head, Buddhist light surrounded him, and his face bore a look of compassion. His hands formed a Buddhist mudra, incomparably dignified.
It was Ao Tu’s true body.
Tang Seng, with his mortal eyes and fleshly body, could not possibly see through it. Seeing a true Buddha descend, he hurriedly stopped the Tight-Fillet Spell and knelt to pay homage.
Bajie and Sha Seng also kowtowed in worship.
Only Wukong saw that it was Ao Tu’s transformation and shouted,
“Ao Tu, why have you changed into such an appearance to deceive my master!”
Ao Tu did not answer him, but only said to Tang Seng,
“Tang Xuanzang, do not worship me.”
Tang Seng said, “Amitabha. This disciple once made a vow: on the journey west, whenever I encounter a temple, I will burn incense; whenever I encounter a Buddha, I will worship; whenever I encounter a pagoda, I will sweep it. Now that I have seen a true Buddha, how would I dare not worship?”
Ao Tu said, “Tang Xuanzang, blood fiend energy coils around your body, and vengeful souls cling to you. Your sins are grave. You are no member of my Buddhist sect, so how can you worship me?”
Hearing this, Tang Seng kowtowed repeatedly and said,
“This disciple deserves ten thousand deaths. It is all because I failed to discipline and instruct properly, allowing that vile disciple to commit murder and violence, thus staining me with sin!”
Ao Tu said, “He is your disciple. If he kills one person, you bear the guilt of half a life. Now several lives stain your body, and your guilt is unforgivable. Go back.”
Hearing this, Tang Seng said in terror, “Where would you have this disciple return to?”
Ao Tu said, “Return to where you came from.”
Tang Seng said, “But this disciple has not yet completed the great undertaking of obtaining the scriptures.”
Ao Tu said, “You indulge your disciple in violence and repeatedly violate the precept against killing. Even if you reach the Western Heaven, you will not obtain the scriptures. Go back.”
When Tang Seng heard these words, tears filled his eyes.
Seeing this, Wukong gripped his golden cudgel and said, “Stop playing these demonic tricks and deceiving my master. Take a blow from Old Sun!”
With that, he leapt up and struck.
Seeing that Wukong actually dared to strike a Buddha, Tang Seng was so frightened that he hurriedly chanted the spell.
Wukong had just leapt into midair when he felt his head ache as if it would split apart, and he could not steady himself.
Ao Tu pressed his palms together, activated the Six-Syllable Mantra, and chanted,
“Om mani padme hum!”