4 A Pig Yokai

After we pass this river, it is time to go to a mountain. There are so many mountains in the world. Where is that coincidence of meeting the correct mountain? Hence, the second yokai is designated by Buddha as well.

Anyhow, this yokai is not a random yokai. It is a pig yokai.

This pig yokai wasn't a pig yokai at the beginning. He was the Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy commanding 100,000 soldiers. What an impressive power he had! His contribution to heaven is countless. He also met Sun Wukong in heaven at that time.

Yet, this Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy by his contributions and his handsome looking molested Chang'e, Deity of the Moon when he was drunk.

Arguably, he was Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy. Even though he molested Chang'e, he didn't make a huge mistake. He didn't hurt anyone physically or try to harm anyone. It was just that Chang'e was emotionally uncomfortable. He could have apologized with a gift and received education in a prison in heaven to avoid making the same mistake the next time.

Who knows that Jade Emperor would choose to hammerblow him two-thousand times and exiled him down to the mortal world? He fell into a sow's womb and he had no other option but to be a pig yokai.

*Sigh*. I don't feel distressed at all even if he is forced to be a pig yokai because he molested a good girl.

However, as a bodhisattva, I don't think giving the death penalty to a person who made a small mistake can solve problems. Instead, Jade Emperor's judgement will suggest people who have made a small mistake to kill the victims in order to hide their acts.

For example, after the Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy molested Chang'e and got hammerblows two-thousand times, others who got drunk and accidentally touched a girl's hand will be scared of being exiled into a pig yokai. They will not apologize; they will choose to kill this girl and hide her body. Heaven will have another missing girl.

To be honest, heaven really has a lot of missing deities and creatures.

There is no way that a criminal will repent after being imprisoned alone for thousands of years. He will need education. Otherwise, his grievances will accumulate, and a deity will become a demon, which will bring more troubles.

Chang'e pleaded to me for this. She said: 'I just felt uncomfortable at that time, so I reported him. I wanted him to get some punishment for what he did to me. Who knows that Jade Emperor would hammerblow him two-thousand times and exile him? Bodhisattva, if he became a human in the mortal world, I wouldn't feel sorry because he deserved it, but he was exiled to be looking like that. Although I am not a close friend of him, I didn't intend to harm him to this situation. Bodhisattva, you are mercy and you help living things out. Please show fairness back to him.'

*Sigh*. These deities from heaven always look for help and fairness from our Western Paradise, but where can I find fairness in heaven for them?

Even if there is, I assume that Jade Emperor having a good mood is a fairness and Jade Emperor having a bad mood is also a fairness. Anyway, he is the highest in heaven. Every word of him must be listened to and implemented. No one can backtalk about him.

Yet, Chang'e came to beg me and I have to accept her request since she looks so beautiful. Although I am a buddha who is supposed to have no sadness or happiness, I don't like to see a beauty being sad. I said to Buddha that Western Paradise has too much leftover food and why don't we find someone to clear this?

We will waste less and preach good values to followers as well.

In conclusion, since I came across flowing-sand river, I need to go to a mountain.

Right before we are about to hike, a monster which looks like pig and human rushes out with a fierce wind. I didn't have time to speak and he is coming at us to fight.

Then, I am again watching my weird disciple fighting against this pig yokai.

Ayyy! These yokai in the East! Why do they always fight right at the encounter? Will they die instantly if they talk and communicate first?

We in Western Paradise always talk and talk until the other side gets annoyed and we will fight.

I am considering that I shall let Huian talk for a while first because he hasn't given a long talk for many years. He has lots of opportunities to give a long talk during this trip in the mortal world. If he doesn't catch this chance, it will be very unfortunate.

I believe I should hint to him that I want him to talk for a while, but he is into fighting and ignores me.

Actually, you are just following me this time to fight, right? You're a traitorous disciple!

To be honest, this disciple of mine doesn't listen to me. At the time when heaven was going to bring Sun Wukong under control, I was there too. I was considering that their fighting was not good and Huian was going to be a buddha in the future. A buddha will be talkative. We the talkative buddhas are different from those in the East who fight and kill easily, so in order to show our superiority, I asked Huian to help.

I also expressly hinted to him to talk and not to fight.

...Then he went in to help his dad and his brother to fight against Sun Wukong. They even lost.

Great. Now he has fought against all three disciples of the scriptures taker. Now, who is his next target? Is he going to beat that scriptures taker!? Ah!?

I am very mad. A buddha who doesn't like to talk is not a good buddha, so I wonder what I should throw downward at him. I throw a lotus downward and it separates them.

Even though I have thrown my lotus, that yokai didn't recognize me. I am puzzled: do I have such a low level of recognition in the East? Although our Western Paradise has a lot of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and ascetics, I am the only one who is a man dressed in a woman's dress.

The pig yokai looks at the left and looks at the right. He is confused: 'Where did this big flower come from?'

This pig yokai might be an idiot. If my flower landed on him, he might have died.

Huian: 'My shifu threw it.'

After a while, Huian discovers that this pig yokai still doesn't know what happened that he kindly adds: 'There.'

Huian stretches out his hand and points at me as if I am a stone which he brought here.

Then, the pig yokai is still looking at me without saying anything. Huian says his last reminder: 'Guanyin bodhisattva in Nanhai.'

Then, he doesn't talk anymore. He just stands there and waits for the pig yokai to come at him.

The pig yokai maybe thinking that a buddha should talk and talk when he comes out. An incommunicative buddha is not what he expected. After a long period, he accepts this reality and suddenly realizes and says: 'It turns out to be Guanyin bodhisattva who sweeps three disasters and saves eight calamities!'

This pig yokai has a much better attitude than that honest nice guy. He kneels down with a flop and keeps kowtowing and apologizing that he was not a pig yokai; he was the Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy; he has heard a long time ago that Guanyin goddess looks pretty, and he has always been looking forward to seeing Guanyin's face...

Huian stands aside with his darkened face. He doesn't talk.

When he came to my side, he was just a little boy. Since he was forced by his dad to my Nanhai, he didn't know much. After he became close to me, he always called me Guanyin goddess happily. Maybe he thought I was a pretty girl who wears a white dress daily and was different from other buddhas and bodhisattvas.

I think that this boy grew up in heaven with heaven's values which are different from values in Western Paradise, so I plan to talk about my gender to him when he grows up in case he is too shocked and has all his values broken which will be not good for all.

Then, when he was still little, it took me a long time to correct him.

'Guanyin goddess!'

'...Call me shifu.'

'Guanyin goddess~'

'...Call me shifu!!'

'Guanyin goddess, could you take me to watch lotus?'

'...Only if you call me shifu.'

'Shifu goddess, please take me to watch lotus!'

...

'Call me shifu only. Do not add goddess!'

In conclusion, no matter how careful I am, disciple is like a weed. No matter how carefully you trim him, water him, give him sunlight, a wind from nowhere will blow him and he will grow awry. Even though I had been careful and planned to make things clear to him one day, he accidentally knew the truth.

Then, that little boy who was tripping about happily suddenly became my current weird disciple.

See, even if I am the all-knowing Guanyin bodhisattva, I wasn't born to be a shifu. I don't know how to do all things well that my disciple doesn't act like others' disciples.

As a result, I am distressed when I am taking disciples for the scriptures taker. Why can't I get a disciple again?

Then I think it over: although Huian is weird now, he still looks better than yokais. Probably, nothing is perfect in the world. A pinkish little kid has grown to a handsome teenager and he is weird enough to act not like a deity or a buddha.

I say to that pig yokai: 'You already had guilt and now you are eating humans here. More guilt. Why don't you repent?'

Actually, what I just said is very hypocritical, but what else could I say? Could I say Chang'e asked me to help? This dude might even think Chang'e likes him and will molest her again.

Who knows, pig yokai laughs "HAHA" loudly. I thought he was ugly enough, but his laugh makes him even uglier. He claims aloud: 'The sky convicted my guilt! Where can I go to pray for myself? I don't care about whatever is my second guilt, third guilt, more guilt over more guilt or hundreds of thousands of guilt! I cannot live! I cannot reincarnate! Even in hell's court room or the eighteen floors of suffering, no one can pardon my guilts!'

He pats his full belly of human corpses and says: 'I commanded 100,000 soldiers and killed many evils. How many years I had been guarding the Heavenly River, the mortal world, and the harmony of all? With just one mistake, I have to be punished to be lower than a pig or a dog! Of course I know I shouldn't have molested Chang'e! But, don't you see my current situation? Do I even care what happened in the past?'

He is talking and shaking his ears: 'My good bodhisattva. You have a mercy heart, but you have to know that not everyone has a mercy heart like yours in the world!'

I say: 'What? Are you being yokai for too long and you don't want to be good again now?'

That yokai looks dejected and says: 'How can I not have such a desire? I want to guard that Heavenly River again and protect the mortal world and have all live long without a sudden death; I have my selfishness also: I want to be the leader of these soldiers; I want to look at those beautiful goddesses in heaven; although I cannot touch them, I can look at them. But the sky has convicted me guilty! If humans convict a human guilty, he can beg heaven to give fairness back. How about me? Now heaven wants me to have a life worse than a death and I am not going to let them do whatever they want!'

I say: 'If you can be good again, and follow that scriptures taker to India, I can expiate your crimes by your good deeds.'

That pig yokai is obviously a smart dude. He kept saying how he didn't want to be good again and now once he heard that he could be taken out of the sufferings, he changes his expression immediately. He kneels down with a flop and says: 'I want to! I want to! Let alone guarding the scriptures taker to India! I am willing to go to India for the scriptures taker also!'

I was going to follow the procedure of giving him a family name according to his species, but he is a pig. Am I going to give him a Pig family name?'

Right after I become hesitant, Huian understand what I am thinking. He says to me: 'Shifu, you always say that everything is equal. If you don't give a Pig family name to him, you are being speciesism.'

I: '..."

I: 'Okay, now your last name is Pig. You are Zhu Wuneng now.'

I glance at Huian and finds out that he is smiling. My weird disciple's smile is weird as well. It is the kind of smile that you will think he is smiling when you look at him from a distance, but when you get closer to him, he seems to be not smiling. His smile is weirder than a yokai's smile.

I shall not take this weird disciple to the mortal world again. He learns bad things easily.

I watch that pig yokai swearing that he will be a vegetarian and avoid any meat in the future. I doubt if he will go to eat humans and meat again right after I leave.

Huian says to him: 'You know, Guanyin bodhisattva knows the past and the future of everything from all directions, right?'

Zhu Wuneng takes pause and is shocked.

Telling others that I have such an ability is like pasting a sticker of "Camera installed here" in others' restroom which will easily cause sequela after the shock.

Huian looks at Zhu Wuneng, and he meaningfully points at his eyes and Zhu Wuneng. Then he says stuffily: 'We will be looking at you, always.'

After that, we carefreely and leisurely ride our cloud away in the pig yokai's horrified eyes.