Chatting about Journey to the West (Part 1)

Wasn't Black Goku very popular a while ago?
I suddenly remembered a passage in Journey to the West written by Wu Chengen of the Ming Dynasty that I was quite moved by. This passage is Chapter 13 of Journey to the West. The title of the chapter is: Falling into the Tiger's Den, Venus Solving the Troubles, Bo Qin Liu Monk at Shuangcha Ridge.

(Everyone must have a concept. This is a Ming Dynasty novel, not a true historical fact. Xuanzang in history was smuggled out, while Tripitaka in Journey to the West was sent out with the approval of the emperor.)
At that time, Tang Sanzang had just left the Tang Dynasty, and was sent out of Chang'an Pass by the Tang King and many officials. The ones accompanying him were not the white dragon horse and the three monster disciples, but normal horses and two attendants given by the Tang King. .

Sanzang and his party passed Famen Temple on horseback and rested here for the night.
The monks in the temple asked Tripitaka why he went to the West to obtain scriptures.
It's dangerous to go that far! Some people advised Tripitaka that it was far away, some people advised Tripitaka that there were wolves, tigers and leopards outside, some advised Tripitaka that the road was difficult, and some advised Tripitaka that there were many demons and monsters on the road and it was difficult to subdue him.
Sanzang knew that everyone meant well, so he didn't refute, just pointed his finger at his heart and nodded a few times.

The monk asked Tripitaka what he meant?
Sanzang said: Demons arise from the heart. If there is no demon in my heart, there will be no demon. The disciple has made a wish in Huasheng Temple that he must go to the Western Heaven to seek the true scriptures so that the Dharma Wheel can always turn.
As for Tripitaka's words behind him, "May the Holy Lord and His Majesty's Pictures Be Forever", just listen to it. It's similar to this trip. The government subsidizes it. Naturally, I need to say a few words to express my gratitude to the sponsor. It's a display of human sophistication~

When he left Famen Temple, it was the late autumn season of the ninth month of the lunar calendar. Sanzang rode westward and passed several villages along the way. There were dots of reed flowers on the banks of the stream. The leaves on the trees had turned red. There were few people. The yellow chrysanthemums were blooming just right, and there were residual lotuses. There are scattered lotus leaves, and swan geese and solitary herons occasionally fly over the sky. The lonely autumn scenery has turned cold, and there are traces of frost in the early morning.

But at this time, Sanzang had not encountered much danger yet, and when he passed through Gongzhou City, he was received and stayed for one night by the officials in Gongzhou City. After the establishment of Gongzhou, there will be Hezhou Guard, which is already the border of Tang State. This is also the last supply point for Sanzang and his party. Next, Sanzang...will start to encounter monsters...

Because Sanzang and his group had to be on the road, they set off at around three o'clock in the morning on the fourth watch, and the moon had not yet set.
The three of Sanzang and the four members of the Ma Clan had just walked dozens of miles when they encountered a mountain. There were no people here, which meant there was no obvious path. The group of them could only dig grass to find the way, and they all had to dig grass to find the way. , naturally could not see clearly the road ahead, just like that, accidentally, the three of them and their horse lost their footing and fell into a pothole.
Sanzang was panicking when he heard a voice: "Caught! Caught!"
As soon as the sound fell, sand and dust were seen everywhere, and fifty or sixty monsters ran out. As soon as they appeared, they grabbed Sanzo and his attendants out of the pit and brought them straight to the Demon King's throne.

This demon king is so scary! The eyes are wide open, the roar is like thunder, the mouth is big, the fangs are still exposed, the body is covered with muscles, and the claws are as sharp as iron.
Sanzang had never seen a monster before, let alone the two attendants. The three of them had weak legs and could not win. They could only be tied up with ropes by the monsters. Just when they were about to be eaten by the monsters, a little monster outside announced: " Mr. Xiong Shan and Special Officer are here."

Regardless of the majestic talk, Bear Tiger and Special Agent are, to put it bluntly, bear demons and bull demons. By the way, the devil is a tiger demon~

When the three monsters met and politely complimented each other on how majestic the other was, the bear monster asked where the two attendants who were tied up and crying came from.
Tiger King smiled and said, "I delivered it to my door."
The bull demon quickly asked: "Can we give it to the guests?"
The Tiger King replied: "Of course!"
The bear demon said politely: "Why bother to finish all the food? Let's just eat two and leave one for the master."
After the Tiger King said yes, he asked the little demons to come forward, seize the two attendants and disembowel them. The precious things like the heart, liver and head were presented to the bear demon and the bull demon. The tiger king chewed the limbs himself, and chopped the other corpses into pieces. Give the little demon some food.

Sanzang only heard the sound of swallowing and chewing all around, like a tiger eating a lamb. Sanzang's face was as golden as paper and he almost fainted. This was just the first difficulty on his way to obtain the scriptures.

The sky gradually became brighter, and the bear demon and the bull demon had to say goodbye and leave. The bear demon and the bull demon were very satisfied with the hospitality given by the tiger king, and agreed that next time they would bring delicious food to thank the tiger king.
The sun rose, and Sanzang was still tied up and thrown aside, feeling panicked and at a loss in his heart. The little monster and the tiger king didn't care about him. A human being was tied to death and passed out. There was nothing to worry about. The monsters went back to their own homes. After arriving at the residence to rest, an old man suddenly appeared here. He didn't know why, holding a crutch in his hand. The old man stepped forward and waved his hand, and the rope that was originally tied to Sanzang broke on its own!

The old man blew on Sanzang, and Sanzang woke up. He found a charitable old man in front of him, and the rope around his body was untied. Knowing that the other person had saved him, he quickly knelt down and thanked: "Thank you, old man, for saving your life!"
The old man said to Sanzang, "Please get up and check first. Is there anything missing?"
Sanzang replied: "The servant of the poor monk has been eaten by monsters, but I don't know where the luggage and horses were thrown?"
The old man picked up his crutch and pointed: "Is there a horse and two bundles there?"
Sanzang looked back and saw that it was indeed his horse and luggage. Then he felt relieved and asked the old man where they were.
The old man told him that this was Shuangcha Ridge, and explained the transformations of the big and small demons. After explaining, he led Sanzang out of the pit. After Sanzang tied his luggage to the horse, he turned around to thank the old man, but saw the old man. Disappeared into a wisp of breeze.

Do you know who this old man is? He is the Taibai Star King in the sky. He came specially to rescue Sanzang. He also comforted Sanzang to go to the West to learn Buddhist scriptures peacefully. Gods would help him along the way.

Sanzang bowed to the sky to thank him, and then led the horse forward alone. The mountain road was difficult to walk. Although the scenery along the way was quite wild, neither man nor horse was in the mood to appreciate it, so he could only move forward with all his strength. After walking for half a day, he didn't see anything. Wherever there are people, the horse can eat some grass on the spot. Sanzang is hungry but has no place to beg alms. Unexpectedly, something unexpected happens. Two tigers suddenly rush out in front of him. He wants to retreat, but several long snakes come. Sanzang is left alone and blocked. , the horse's legs were weak and it knelt on the ground, unable to be led away. Sanzang thought to himself... He is dead this time...

Just when Sanzang gave up hope, suddenly the snakes crawled away and the tigers fled. It turned out that a hunter appeared from the hillside, holding a fork, a bow and arrow tied to his waist, leopard eyes and a big beard, and he also had herbs and poisons to repel insects and snakes. , one look at it makes people feel safe.

Do you know who he is? He is the Liu Boqin whom Sanzang met in Shuangcha Ridge as mentioned in this chapter.
As for how Sanzang will interact with Liu Boqin? Today's word count is full, please wait for the next time.