It is said that Tang Seng had been struck by the Headache Chime, and the pain in his head was unbearable. Unable to continue on the road, he could only stay in the White Bone Spirit’s home.
That White Bone Spirit fabricated many more slanders against the king of Baoxiang Kingdom, and Tang Seng and his disciples did not verify any of it, but took it all as true.
Sha Seng invited a physician to come and examine Tang Seng.
After looking him over, the physician diagnosed him with head wind and prescribed medicine for Tang Seng to decoct and take each day.
Tang Seng had eaten the ginseng fruit, and his body was also robust. After half a month, the pestilential qi dispersed on its own.
The group set out once more. After another five or six days of travel, they saw a city.
As the saying goes: clouds vast and misty, roads long and far; though the land lay a thousand li away, its scenery was just as abundant.
They saw that the city, too, was shrouded in auspicious haze, with clear breezes swaying through it. Distant mountains served as its screens, flowing waters as its defenses; the fields were linked ridge to ridge and path to path, all golden ears of wheat and fragrant grain.
Its outer wards were outer wards, its inner city an inner city, secured as if by walls of metal and moats of boiling water; each house was a house, each household a household, neat and orderly. Ninefold palace halls rose high, bells and drums sounded in the forbidden gardens, jade steps and golden stairs gleamed. Along the streets and willow lanes, pipes and strings rang out, and graceful beauties passed in splendor.
Seeing the auspicious haze, Ao Tu called it demon mist; seeing the clear breeze, Ao Tu called it monster wind. The fields linked ridge to ridge and path to path, Ao Tu called lands seized by demons; the golden stairs and palace halls, Ao Tu called the demons’ extravagance and excess.
Tang Seng trusted Ao Tu without the slightest doubt. No matter what Ao Tu said, he did not suspect him in the least. He only hated all the more that demon for usurping the imperial seat and bringing such misery upon the common people.
After the group entered the city, they arranged their luggage and horses, settled down in the posthouse of Baoxiang Kingdom, and had the posthouse official report their arrival.
The next day, Tang Seng and Ao Tu went up to the palace hall.
Tang Seng walked to the outside of the court gate and said to the ambassador of the pavilion gate:
“There is a monk from the Tang Empire who has come specially to seek an audience and exchange his travel documents.”
The eunuch memorial official hurried to the white jade steps and reported:
“Long live Your Majesty. An eminent monk from the Tang Empire seeks an audience and wishes to exchange his travel documents.”
The king of Baoxiang Kingdom had already received the posthouse report the day before and knew that a holy monk from the great Tang Empire had come to visit. Thus, today he had specially opened court to receive him. Hearing this now, he was delighted and at once approved the report, saying, “Summon him in.”
Tang Seng entered the hall. Ao Tu, disguised as his disciple, followed at Tang Seng’s side.
The two stood in the palace hall without offering any salute.
The civil and military officials whispered among themselves:
“This monk from the Tang Empire is indeed a man of a superior state. Seeing our king, he does not even bow!”
Seeing this, the king of Baoxiang Kingdom was somewhat angered. He had half a mind to seize this monk and have him beheaded, but because he came from the Tang Empire, he dared not act rashly.
This was only because the Tang king, Li Shimin, had proclaimed himself emperor, unified the realm, and yet was not satisfied in his heart, often raising armies to cross the seas and wage campaigns. If he beheaded this monk, he feared Li Shimin would use it as a pretext to raise troops and dispatch horses. Baoxiang Kingdom was small, its people weak, its soldiers few and generals insignificant. By then, regret would come too late.
Therefore, the king of Baoxiang Kingdom endured it and said, “Elder, for what matter have you come to our kingdom?”
Tang Seng said, “This poor monk serves under the Tang king of the Eastern Land. By imperial decree of our Son of Heaven, I am journeying to the West to obtain scriptures. I have travel documents for passing through the lands and have come here to exchange them.”
The king of Baoxiang Kingdom said, “Since you have the documents of the Great Tang’s Son of Heaven, bring them up for us to see.”
Tang Seng took out the travel documents and placed them on the imperial desk. The document read:
“Document issued by the Tang Son of Heaven, by Heaven’s mandate and fortune, of the Great Tang Kingdom in the Southern Jambudvipa Continent:
We humbly reflect that, with our meager virtue, We inherited the great foundation, serving the spirits and governing the people as though standing at the edge of an abyss and treading on thin ice, anxious morning and evening.
Previously, having failed to save the old dragon of the Jing River, We incurred censure from the august Lord on High; Our three hun souls and seven po souls were in an instant sent to the underworld, and We had already become a guest of impermanence.
Because Our allotted span in the yang world had not yet ended, We moved the Lord of the Netherworld to release Us and send Us back to life. We broadly established assemblies of merit and built rites for the deliverance of the dead.
By the compassionate grace of the Bodhisattva Guanshiyin, Savior from Suffering, who appeared in golden form, We were instructed that in the West there are Buddhas and scriptures that can deliver the dead and free lonely souls.
We hereby specially appoint the Dharma Master Xuanzang to travel afar through a thousand mountains and seek the scriptures and verses. If he should arrive in the various kingdoms of the Western Regions, do not sever this good karmic bond; according to this document, allow him passage. This document is hereby issued.
On an auspicious autumn day in the thirteenth year of Zhenguan of the Great Tang, imperial travel document.”
There were nine precious seals upon it.
When the king of Baoxiang Kingdom saw it, he dared even less to be negligent. He took his own kingdom’s jade seal, added his signature mark, and handed it to Tang Seng.
Tang Seng put away the travel documents. Then he said:
“This poor monk has come first to exchange travel documents, and second to ask Your Majesty to distinguish falsehood and preserve truth.”
The king of Baoxiang Kingdom said, “What do you mean by distinguishing falsehood and preserving truth?”
Tang Seng said, “Thirteen years ago, during the Mid-Autumn moon viewing, demons caused chaos, abducted the princess, and a usurper brought disaster to the kingdom. Is the current Your Majesty true or false?”
At these words, the entire hall was shocked.
The king of Baoxiang Kingdom said in alarm, “Thirteen years ago, it is true that the princess went missing, but as for this matter of a usurper bringing disaster to the kingdom, where does that come from?”
Without giving the king of Baoxiang Kingdom any chance to explain, Bajie and Sha Seng flew into the court hall, one on the left and one on the right, surrounding the king of Baoxiang Kingdom.
Bajie said, “Monster, you ate the king and took his throne in his place. Now the prince of Baoxiang Kingdom has come of age and exposed you. How dare you deny it?”
That king was so frightened by the two of them that he fell from the dragon throne and sat on the floor, saying:
“We have only sired three daughters. When did We ever have a prince?”
Ao Tu stepped forward, took out the dragon pearl, and said:
“I am the prince of Baoxiang Kingdom. Now that the national treasure is here, civil and military ministers, why have you not yet seized this demon?”
The dragon pearl shone, and in an instant it seized the hearts and souls of all the civil and military ministers present. Everyone believed Ao Tu’s words without question.
Ao Tu then used a transformation art and turned that king into a vicious tiger.
Bajie stepped forward, swung his rake, and struck the king dead with one blow.
Ao Tu used divine light to secretly collect the king’s soul.
All the civil and military officials cheered, “Well struck, well struck! The evildoer has been eliminated. We request that Your Highness ascend the throne as emperor!”
Thus Ao Tu, the new king, ascended the throne, set chaos right, granted a general amnesty throughout the realm, and held a grand banquet for Tang Seng and his disciples.
Let us not speak of that day’s celebratory feast.
That night, when no one was around, Ao Tu dipped a bit of Divine Water of the Three Lights and touched it to the corpse of the king of Baoxiang Kingdom.
In an instant, the king of Baoxiang Kingdom’s fleshly body was fully restored.
Ao Tu then stuffed his soul back inside and fed him a Three-Turn Soul-Returning Pill. The king of Baoxiang Kingdom was immediately revived.
By now, how could that king not know Ao Tu’s methods? He at once knelt and said:
“Immortal, I do not know when I offended your immortal majesty and caused you to descend to the mortal world to punish me.”
Ao Tu said, “I am not an immortal. I am a monk from the West.”
Hearing this, the king hurriedly said:
“I do not know which Buddha or Bodhisattva Your Reverence may be. Since ascending the throne, I have never dared show the slightest negligence toward the Buddhist clergy—whatever fields and lands are occupied by monasteries, I have not dared collect taxes from them; any condemned criminal in prison, so long as he flees to a Buddhist temple, is pardoned and not pursued. If there is still anything in which I have gone against the Buddha’s will, I humbly request clear instruction, and I shall immediately issue orders to change it.”
Ao Tu said, “This poor monk has descended this time, first because you have ruined the good name of my Buddhist sect, and so I give a small punishment as a great warning; second because that Tang Sanzang is the reincarnation of the second disciple of the Buddha Shakyamuni. This poor monk has come here to borrow your position as ruler of this kingdom in order to test him.”
The king hurriedly said, “Whatever the Exalted Sage requires, this humble king will surely cooperate. It is only that, regarding this matter of ruining your good name, I do not know where it begins.”
Ao Tu said, “Disciples of my Buddhist sect conduct themselves with honesty and integrity. How could they covet fields and lands? From this day forth, all lands additionally enclosed and seized by monasteries are to be reclaimed in full and distributed to the common people and the poor. The lands belonging to the monasteries themselves shall pay taxes according to the law.”
The king hurriedly said, “Yes, yes, yes!”
Ao Tu said again, “Disciples of my Buddhist sect are gentle and mild by nature, sweeping the floor while fearing to harm the lives of ants, cherishing even moths enough to shade the lamp with gauze. How could those who commit crimes and violate the law be allowed to sully the pure name of my Buddhist sect? From this day forth, all those who have committed criminal offenses shall be arrested and brought to justice without exception. They must not be indulged!”
The king hurriedly said, “Yes, yes, yes!”