The Monkey King

The ruins are broken and the yellow sand is rolling.

Not far away is the almost abandoned Fengxian County.

Xuanzang, whose face was covered with yellow sand, took a sip from a bowl of water and looked back from a distance.

Next to him, an old man was struggling to roll up a bucket of water from the well, panting from exhaustion.

Looking back, Xuanzang sighed: "Old man, how deep is this well?"

"It's about fifty feet. In the entire Fengxian County, this well is the only one with water in it."

"On weekdays, do you always carry water from this well to grow crops?"

"Growing food?" The old man suddenly laughed and said leisurely: "This well is not only deep, but also has a small amount of water. People are almost running out of water, where can they grow crops? The entire Fengxian County was planted a year ago , no one will grow crops anymore.”

Hearing this, Xuanzang was slightly startled, looked down at the precious water in his bowl, and sighed helplessly.

"No crops are grown in the entire Fengxian County, and there are no cattle or sheep, and it doesn't seem like you can hunt... Old man, what should we do about our daily food?"

Wiping his face with the gray towel around his neck, the old man took a deep breath, walked to Xuanzang and squatted down, saying, "Who do I look like to you?"

"ah?"

"Just...what do I do for a living on weekdays?"

"Making a living..." Xuanzang frowned and thought for a while, then sighed softly: "Old man, although you have calluses on your hands, they are not thick, and you don't look like a farmer. Listening to you talk, it sounds like you have been studying for several years. This kind of livelihood...it's really hard for a poor monk to guess."

The old man stood up. He put his hands on his hips and smiled proudly, and said leisurely: "To be honest, I, old man, am the king of the county here."

"Prince?" Xuanzang was slightly surprised.

The king of a county, according to his knowledge. Even if it is an empty title, it should not be reduced to this.

"Yes, Prince of the County." The old man turned his face and raised his hand, and said very proudly: "This hundred-mile radius is the fiefdom of our ancestors. Although it is worthless now, I still have to hold on to it. It must be worthy of it. Ancestor. It hasn’t rained here for several years. Everyone else has gone away, but I still have some. Because I still have a little bit of food left. Although I gave away a lot when I sent my family home, there is still a little bit. A little bit. …”

The old man stretched out his hand and made signs, showing a very playful smile.

"But not much. If it doesn't rain for another three to five years, I will starve to death. Hahahaha."

Looking back, the old man saw Xuanzang staring at the half-bowl of water left in his hand and the pancake beside him, hesitating. He chuckled and said, "Eat. Although this prince is poor, he does not lack this. If God is really kind, If you want to force me to death of thirst or starve to death, I won't be able to survive even if you have just a little more. You're welcome."

Xuanzang managed to squeeze out a smile, nodded and smiled at the old man.

"Besides. I'm still counting on your Buddha to bless me. We've been offended to death in the East Heavenly Court, so we can't count on it. There might be some hope in the West."

"Did the East Heavenly Court offend you to death?"

"yes."

"Old man, aren't you a prince in the mortal world? How come you have anything to do with heaven?"

"This... I can't explain it at the moment. In short, the Jade Emperor issued a decree that there will be no rain in this place for a hundred years. He entrusted the dream to everyone. At first, old man, I thought it was a joke. Now it seems that it is true. ah……"

After saying that, the old man sighed helplessly, glanced at Xuanzang again, and urged: "Master, hurry up and eat. After eating, we should go back. It's cold here at night, so you'd better stay in my house."

In the distance, the monkey was standing in the wind and sand, watching from a distance.

"Is the Bull Demon King back?"

"Not yet, I'm afraid it won't be that fast to go to heaven."

…

At this moment, the Bull Demon King was standing outside the Nantian Gate, looking into Li Jing's eyes.

The Bull Demon King frowned and said with some confusion: "Is it because of Huaguoshan that Fengxian County doesn't have rain?"

"Yes." Li Jing nodded silently: "Destroying the temple of the gods is just an excuse. If it really angered the heaven, how could it be possible to inform the local people in advance through a dream that the rain ban was about to be banned?"

"Why for the Huaguoshan method? I...I don't understand."

"The amount of rainfall in the three realms is constant. If there is too much rain in one place, there will be less rain in another place."

"Then why did Huaguo Mountain ban rain in the past, but it still rained on us? It seems that the Wan Sheng Dragon King and the others can do it with one move, and there are not so many miscellaneous things."

Li Jing straightened his back slightly and said: "The Dragon Clan can call the wind and rain. This is their talent. But it is not endless. Once it is too much, the rain will dry up. Even if the Dragon Clan summons it, it will not be able to summon it. Besides, yours At that time, Huaguo Mountain did not need much rainfall. Now Huaguo Mountain has been in drought for hundreds of years, and there are many things waiting to be done. If we don’t step up the rainfall, I am afraid it will not be able to recover anyway. And this is just one of them."

"The second is..."

"Second, it is the soul. Rain and dew nourish it, and everything revives. But where does this revived soul come from? Even if it is an ant, it must be corresponding to a ray of soul from the underworld. Where there is life, there must be death."

"You mean, the Jade Emperor destroyed the entire Fengxian County for Huaguo Mountain? Would he be that good?"

"First of all, hundreds of years ago, Fengxian County was a piece of loess. A few years ago, due to an accident, everything had already withered. Now it has returned to the loess. There is nothing wrong with it." After a slight pause, Li Jing sighed softly. He said: "In addition, Your Majesty is not doing this to please your Great Sage, but for the sake of the Snail Empress. There is the residence of the Snail Empress in Huaguo Mountain."

After that, Li Jing pursed his lips and said: "You should report this matter to your Great Sage first. Let's see what he says. If he really wants to sacrifice Huaguo Mountain to complete Fengxian County, he will report it to His Majesty then. Make a decision."

The Bull Demon King nodded silently.

This was his first mission on behalf of Monkey. On the way here, he thought countless times about how to scare the gods in heaven. Unfortunately, things were not at all what he thought at first. The Jade Emperor didn't even need to meet him. A few words from the other party had already left him speechless.

Especially once it involves Huaguoshan, it is not his decision.

Sighing helplessly, the Bull Demon King could only turn around and rise into the air.

…

On the way back, Xuanzang clasped his hands together and walked silently with the old man.

Walking through empty streets and pavilions shrouded in darkness.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Xuanzang could only remain silent.

In the past, this town should have been very prosperous, but now it has become a deserted place because of the will of heaven...

In front of heaven and Buddhism, mortals, and even everything in the world, are like ants, with no independent power at all.

Thinking about it now, wouldn’t it be too ridiculous for me to think of myself as a human being to prove the Tao?

Without any external force, perhaps there is only one choice left for all this. Just bear it like the old man in front of you. However, can patience really wait until the dark clouds are cleared and the bright moon is seen?

What is waiting may just be death.

Along the way, the old man didn't speak, and Xuanzang didn't talk much either.

Soon, the two came to the old man's mansion.

It was an extremely dilapidated mansion. The courtyard wall had collapsed due to drought, and the plaque at the door had been eroded to the point where no writing could be seen. There is a sense of impending death in almost every corner.

Pushing open the ajar door, Xuanzang saw a man who looked to be eighty or ninety years old sitting at the door of one of the huts. His face was as wrinkled as the ravines on the loess. It looked like he could no longer even walk. old woman.

"Your Majesty...are you back?"

It was an extremely hoarse voice.

"I told you not to call me Prince. I am no longer a Prince."

As he said that, the two old men laughed.

Xuanzang asked in a low voice: "Who is this?"

"This is...a fellow countryman."

"Fellow?" Xuanzang was a little confused.

The courtyard is very large, and it can be seen that although the old prince is not a luxurious and hedonistic person, he still has some wealth.

It wasn't until he got deep enough and was sure that the old woman could no longer hear him that the old prince whispered: "The young people have all fled. The old people, those who are too old to walk, can only be entrusted to me." There are still four or five people in this yard. Now I am the youngest, and I can still carry water and do some physical work."

"Then... where are your descendants, Prince?"

Hearing this, the old prince hesitated to speak, and finally just sighed.

…

"There is no rainfall in Fengxian County. Is it because of Huaguo Mountain?"

"Yes, that's what Li Jing said."

The monkey burst out laughing: "Will the Jade Emperor die so easily?"

"Li Jing said that the Jade Emperor made this decree not for you, the Great Sage, but for the Snail Empress."

"Fart!" the monkey roared out, scaring the Bull Demon King. "How long ago did this happen, Female Snail Empress? It has not rained in Fengxian County for several years! It had already rained in Huaguo Mountain before. It rains, but it’s just a drop in the bucket. Now let’s be clear, do you think I don’t know anything? They are trying to trick you! If you go again, if you don’t make it clear this time, don’t come back!”

"No...No!" The Bull Demon King turned around and left in fright.

Turning his face, the monkey pointed at Lu Liuguai who was standing by and said, "You! Let's see what the monk said!"

"me?"

"Do you still want me to put my hot face on his cold ass?"

Helpless, Lu Liuguai had no choice but to hold up his trousers and run out of the door.

Everyone else in the room frowned and looked at the angry monkey.

…

In the blink of an eye, Lu Liuguai had arrived at Xuanzang's room.

He rolled up his sleeves and said loudly: "The Great Sage said, Master Xuanzang, you want to practice the path of universal salvation, and he supports it. You want to feel the suffering of all things and be self-reliant, and he will follow you. He will ask you a question now. : The suffering in Fengxian County is caused by heaven. It is not difficult to solve it. Send a letter to the Jade Emperor and everything will be solved. Whether this letter will be sent or not depends on Master Xuanzang. That’s what you meant.” (To be continued~^~)