14 Becoming a Yokai Legally

I look at Sun Wukong's palms and flick his palms away. I say: 'Oh? Didn't you look prestigious when you lent that fire-proof cover in the Heavenly Southern Gate? You went to show off the treasure in front of a villain and caused him to grow greedy, and you blew the fire bigger. How could such a powerful Qitian Dasheng be incapable of beating a black bear yokai thief?'

He realizes that I know the past and the future and the details of this incident. He changes his face immediately and chuckles: 'Good bodhisattva, I was joking. My shifu's kasaya was stolen by that black bear. He said if I can't get the kasaya back, he will cast that headache spell to kill me. Didn't you say that you will come and help me if I am in a hopeless situation? Now I am in this hopeless situation. If I cannot find that kasaya, my shifu will cast that spell.'

I remind him: 'I know that spell as well.'

Sun Wukong gets hasty and says: 'You are the reasonable one unlike him. Also, that is your temple. I thought that leading monk was a good guy because he worshiped you, so I showed the kasaya to him. Who knows that you don't have a requirement for your believers and you let such a person worship you. Do you need incense so desperatly that you blessed this leading monk to live to over two-hundred years?'

...This monkey's mouth needs a beating.

Yes this old monk lived long but it wasn't me. Can't you allow him to live well and live long by himself?

I say: 'We the buddhas are willing to save anyone who has kindness in their mind. Although the old monk was greedy about your shifu's kasaya, he also has done many good deeds. Now he has smashed himself on a wall and you are here to pick my fault again? I have countless believers in the mortal world. Which one is a perfect one? Do you not allow those imperfect to worship you or give them a chance to correct themselves?'

Sun Wukong is lectured once by me and he swallows back his words, but he doesn't feel reconciled and mutters: 'That old monk ganged up with the yokai. You know he has lived for two-hundred and seventy years. He must have learned a way to lengthen his lifetime. Also, he has the sin of killing. He is not someone who just has a few shortcomings. He is not a good guy at all. He deserves death!'

I sneer: 'My Sun Dasheng, you are really the disciple of the scriptures taker now. Weren't you a yokai in the past? The number of humans you killed is probably more than the rice grains that old monk has eaten! Shouldn't you die beneath the Five Element Mountain and never be freed?'

It is easy to fool this monkey but the things behind my words aren't easy.

According to Western Paradise, everything is equal. All yokais and humans can cultivate legally. At the beginning, Xian, buddhas, and Daoists all cultivated to rank up. There is no reason to allow humans to cultivate and ban yokais from cultivation. Yet, yokais are different from humans. Humans cultivate to become Xian because they do good deeds. Yokais cultivate to be Xian because they absorb the essence of nature in the wild.

There are always people who say that yokais who eat humans do not deserve to achieve Dao and those who have eaten humans deserve death. Yet, as we change our perspective, the structure of the food chain is not our business. We allow humans to eat animals so how come animal yokais cannot eat humans? This is not fair. Although buddhas don't eat meat, we don't kill those who eat meat. As a result, we cannot ignore the fact that yokais eat humans, but we cannot regulate this.

Should we just take those yokais to Western Paradise to work? How many yokais will there be? They will be immortal here and Western Paradise will explode one day due to overpopulation.

Also, the East and the West have different rules. Beings who can go to Western Paradise should have done an extraordinary big good deed. We assign a position to those who have loving-kindness. Heaven accepts those who have led troops in wars and who killed all residents in a conquered city. Jade Emperor seeks those who are good at wars or those who are good at causing political conflicts to be his generals or his employees.

As a result, Tathagata colludes with Jade Emperor and comes up with an evil method. They let that Sun Wukong kill any yokais on his way to Western Paradise. If the yokai has potential, they will bring it to Heaven. If it doesn't have potential, they will watch Sun Wukong killing it. Then, the sin of killing will not be landed on either Western Paradise or Heaven. No one can judge us because this monkey likes to kill. He is a yokai anyway. A yokai killing other yokais is none of our business.

I think this method is evil. I know nothing good will happen when Tathagata and Jade Emperor get together. I don't know what else they will come up with. Now this thing has become my responsibility.

*Sigh* Monkey, you are still too young!

I say to that monkey kindly: 'Don't beat or kill yokais in the future as you want to. You will have to pay for those killings in the future. If you are violent toward anyone you see, you will be a tool for others.'

However, that monkey doesn't listen to me and he says: 'Who dares stop my way to the scriptures? I will not make him easy! Bodhisattva, you are feeling pity for that black bear who stole the kasaya for you, aren't you? You are afraid that I will kill him!'

*Sigh* Only because you have such a personality, you have become the tool for others!

All my kindness is treated like trash by him. I don't want to care for him anymore. I will let him beat and kill. This thing is calculated by Tathagata and Jade Emperor together. Even when he kills, Heaven will not punish him any. Heaven will even reward him. This looks like a good deal.

That Sun Wukong pulls my sleeve and says: 'Bodhisattva, my shifu is waiting for me in the temple to bring that kasaya back! Come with me and surrender that black bear yokai and I will not bother your cultivation!'

I have no other solution but to go with him to take down that black bear yokai. My disciple hurries to follow with his besom in his arms as he hears that we can beat a yokai now. After two steps, he hurries back to find his rod and walks after Sun Wukong happily.

Sun Wukong looks back and sees Huian behind. He is confused: 'Bodhisattva, has your disciple started weaning? Why does he follow you everywhere you go?'

I say to myself that he is coming to look for a fight. He thinks he can add a few hits if Sun Wukong doesn't kill the yokai.

I look back at Huian and I truly believe that he is really happy right now, but Sun Wukong says to me: 'Never mind him coming with us, he is making this despondent face. Do I owe him?'

I check Huian again and I think he is not only very excited today, but also his eyes are shiny. How did Sun Wukong think he was not happy?

I say to Sun Wukong: 'Nonsense. My disciple is obviously happy. If you couldn't tell that, then there must be something wrong with your eyes.'

Sun Wukong glares his Eye of Truth big at Huian for a while and he asks dejectedly: 'How could you tell that from him?'

I say: 'See, his eyes are bigger than usual by one millimeter. If you look close enough, you can find that the corners of his mouth are raised a tiny little angle although they still look like a straight line. These have proved that Huian is happy and actually very happy.'

Sun Wukong: '...'

He says to me: 'Bodhisattva, being his shifu is a hardship, isn't it?'

Nonsense. I get along well with my disciple. Do not cause trouble, monkey.

I say: 'You the troublemaker monkey don't believe me, do you? I will let Huian prove this.' Therefore, I look back and ask Huian: 'Huian, shifu is taking you to a gang fight. Are you happy?'

Huian holds his black rod in his arms and says: 'Can I kill them?'

I say: 'Be satiable. Having a gang fight to join is enough. Why do you ask for so much?'

Huian says: 'Yes I am happy as long as I can fight. Who said I was not happy?'

I turn to Sun Wukong: 'See? My disciple is happy. He is not only very happy, but also he almost smiles.'

I don't know what's wrong with Sun Wukong but he hits himself with his cudgel after our conversation and becomes quiet.

I say to Huian: 'People in the world always misunderstand you, but that's okay. Shifu understands you.'

We appreciate each other, and our relationship is tougher than a gold bar. It is only that Sun Wukong is hitting his stone head with his cudgel as if he was jarred by something. Poor kid, he might have been pounded silly by the Five Element Mountain and even today he hasn't recovered.

We arrive at the bottom of the Black Wind Mountain and we are looking for the Black Wind Cave in the mountain. On the way in front of the hillside, a Daoist walks to us.

The Daoist is holding a transparent plate on which there are two Xiandan (Daoist elixir). He is walking forward and bumps into Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong staggers a little and that Daoist doesn't stand still either. He immediately covers his plate and checks if his Xiandan has dropped or not. Then he is relieved.

Sun Wukong was bumped against and he is in a daze. Then he checks the face of this Daoist and picks up his cudgel at him straightly. He is aiming at the head of that Daoist.

Based on Sun Wukong's power, this Daoist wouldn't even have time to save himself from having his brain dashed out by the stoke. Also, he was solely looking at his Xiandan.

However, Huian sees this and he doesn't want this to happen. He hasn't fought any yokai but Sun Wukong has been fighting against yokais for a few days. Huian is not happy so he steps out to stop Sun Wukong.

As a result, that plate-protecting Daoist is left behind, and my disciple goes into the fight against Sun Wukong.

The Daoist holds his small plate in his arms as if that is his child. He opens his eyes big at the fighting between Sun Wukong and Huian.

Sun Wukong is anxious and says: 'Little Xingzhe (Buddhist ascetic), what annoyed you again? Why are you always hitting me?'

Huian says: 'My shifu has said that he brought me to gang fights. You want to go solo, so you deserve these hits.'

...

Sun Wukong hurries and says: 'What gang fight are you talking about? Put your gang fight away and let Old Sun kill this yokai Daoist first!'

Huian doesn't listen to others' words. He has expressed his will to be a part of gang fights, but Sun Wukong wants to solo this Daoist. He decides to talk no more and keeps fighting against Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong gets mad and jumps: 'What a spoiled kid! I talked, and you didn't listen! You aren't saying anything either just like a dummy!'

*Sigh*. Is Huian the kind of person who you ask him to talk and he will talk? He will not talk if he doesn't want to even if you are going to kill him.

You will never know that Huian seldom gets a chance to fight against any yokai since he was born. Every yokai he sees is a treasure to him. He is not like you who was born in the wild and who fight yokais commonly.

They are fighting and that Daoist in white sees me. He is surprised and says: 'Ah! Guanyin sister!'

...????

Huian and Sun Wukong were in the fight, but they are shocked and paused after the Daoist's words. They turn to look at us.

Lingxu Daoren (The Daoist title of this Daoist) bounces to pull my sleeve with his Xiandan in his arms: 'We have met before. Don't you remember me? Ayy, I was not matured and offended bodhisattva several hundreds of years ago. After that day when bodhisattva preached me, although I was first scared away, I think you are right after my reflection! After that, I gave up taking the imperial examination and I stayed home to apprehend and seek the truth of the world. At the end, I gave up all my ordinary knowledge and began to cultivate!'

...

I still haven't recalled who he is.

Several hundreds of years ago?

When?

He says: 'I couldn't find any Buddhist scriptures to study, so I cultivated after Daoism, but those Daoist called me dishonest. After a few thoughts, I think your words have more truth than theirs, so I left the Daoist temple to cultivate with yokais in the wild. Now I have become a small Xian and have made friends with many yokais!'

...

Who are you anyway?!

He says again: 'I was in a temple in Tang recently and found out that Tang Emperor built the Guanyin statue based on the real image of Guanyin. Then I realized that you weren't lying to me. You are the Guanyin bodhisattva!'

...I think I have known who he is.

Aren't you that pendant who was horrified when I preached and was crying out "Help me! There is a madman" and ran away?

Isn't he the one who thought I was gay after I showed him my gender feature to emancipate his mind in order to prove to him the truth?

...Oh my.

The past pendant and current Daoist pulls my sleeve and gives me a satisfied smile: 'I know I can see you again if I cultivate hard enough! I have a friend called black bear yokai and I told him how nice Buddha and Guanyin are. Then he helped a group of monks build a Guanyin temple! Ayy, unfortunately it was burned a few days ago or I could have taken you to visit it, but it is great that you came. He just got a beautiful kasaya yesterday! Let me take you to see it!'

...

Sun Wukong glares his eyes big at that Daoist and then he looks at me. His body suddenly shivers.

Huian also glares his eyes big at me and then at that Daoist. A ray of happiness appears on his face.

How well I have known him. Just by one glance, I know his face is saying—

More yokais to beat? I'M LOVING IT!