"Or else, shall I just declare Spirit Mountain disbanded, and you all return to your respective territories, so he won't be able to affect you? Would that satisfy you?"
"Now you're not even asking for the Journey to the West merits. When the heavenly tribulation arrives, we'll all perish together. Will you feel comfortable and happy then?"
Seeing the five only chuckling at his embarrassment and offering no constructive suggestions, Patriarch Tathagata bellowed with all his might.
It was as if he had returned to the days of the Investiture of the Gods, as the senior disciple of the Inner Sect of Jie Teaching.
Instantly, the five Buddhas, including Burning Lamp, were too scared to laugh at him any longer.
After a simple draw of lots,
As expected, the designated guide for the Journey to the West was chosen: Guanyin, the foremost of the Four Great Bodhisattvas!
"Buddha, Vice-Buddha, esteemed colleagues, I have no problem inviting the Jade Emperor. However, I hope that after I leave, you will all look after my disciples, the young boys and girls."
"Ever since the Buddha's call last time, I brought them from the Purple Bamboo Forest. They were lively and energetic when they arrived, and I can't have them casually harmed by that Sun Monkey."
"These past few days, their lives depend on your help. I implore you!"
"Though they are humble and not highly cultivated, they are not strange beings like Sun Monkey, born of a mother but not taught by one."
"I raised them with great care... cough, cough, with a bottle of water and a bottle of leaves from my Jade Vase. They have karmic connections to the Journey to the West in the future, so something must not happen to them!"
No one could have imagined.
Before Guanyin left Spirit Mountain for the Heavenly Court, her thoughts were not on other matters, nor on grand aspirations or promises to complete the mission.
Instead, it was about such trivial matters.
In an instant, including Tathagata, Burning Lamp, Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and Maitreya, all five were speechless!
If gods and Buddhas could have dark lines appear on their foreheads like mortals.
The five would surely have trillions of dark lines on their foreheads at this moment.
It would be enough to scare anyone to death.
But then again.
Ever since Sun Monkey refused to be the Stable Keeper and refused to act according to the original script, he had made more and more people speechless and lose their composure step by step.
Guanyin was not the only one. m..oΓg
If nothing else.
Take Patriarch Tathagata himself. Given his usual calm demeanor, he would never have been angered and lost his composure by a third-generation disciple of Buddhism.
Nor would he have had any situation where he couldn't control or discipline a third-generation disciple of Buddhism.
In the end.
It all came down to that saying.
If the reason why Sun Kong became a strange being, when he became one, why he became one, and how he became one, were not investigated, then not only the Buddhas of Spirit Mountain, but even the immortals of the Heavenly Court.
Would not be able to properly obtain their due merits in the Journey to the West, nor resolve the karma that needed to be resolved!
"Sister Guanyin... Oh no, pfft! Damned Sun Monkey, because of him, I, this Buddha, almost broke the rules and caused chaos."
"Bodhisattva Guanyin, you have worked hard. Travel safely. Your disciples, this Buddha will surely look after them properly and ensure no harm comes to them."
Seeing that at this critical juncture, Burning Lamp and the other three were adopting the style of conduct from the Investiture of the Gods, they wisely retreated, pretending to look at the sky, pretending to look at the ground.
They just didn't want to help Guanyin with her affairs.
Patriarch Tathagata let out a sigh in his heart. After correcting his slip of the tongue, he quickly and earnestly agreed with Guanyin and personally saw her off from Spirit Mountain.
For a moment, how he wished he could replace Guanyin and leave Spirit Mountain for a few days.
Even for such a short period of a few days.
Being able to avoid being influenced by Sun Kong was still a good thing!
"The wind whistles and the Yi River is cold... Uh, no, isn't this famous quote supposed to appear in the late Warring States period of the mortal world many years from now? I, this Buddha, almost leaked heavenly secrets prematurely."
"The wind rises, the clouds fly... Ugh, damn it, this quote is supposed to appear as a famous quote from an emperor in the mortal world many, many years from now. How am I so abnormal today, almost leaking heavenly secrets twice."
"Alas!"
"This Sun Monkey, who courts death to the heavens and is damned yet I find it hard to let go of, what the hell do you want? You've even swayed me, this Buddha, off course. Will you really screw us over in the future?"
"This Journey to the West, I initially thought it was a great cause for Buddhism, with the Heavenly Court hitching a ride, and other saints envying and hating us."
"But now, thinking about it, what kind of good thing is this? Could it be that even I, the foremost beneath the saints, have been tricked by the Way of Heaven?"
Not to mention Patriarch Tathagata, who was on the verge of doubting life and babbling incoherently, leaking heavenly secrets, and incurring heavenly punishment due to Sun Monkey's influence.
Let's talk about the other side. Guanyin, carrying the expectations of the Buddhas of Spirit Mountain, soon arrived at the Heavenly Court, entered the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, and explained her purpose.
As soon as he heard that Spirit Mountain, the dignified Spirit Mountain, had actually come to him to discuss important matters, and that their attitude was so humble and their words so respectful, even more stimulating than the original script.
The Jade Emperor on his throne immediately forgot the embarrassment of being counter-killed by Sun Kong some time ago, and instead couldn't help but laugh heartily three times!
"Good, good, good! Good deed, good deed! A thousand miles of good deeds!"
"I never thought that you and I, joining hands for the Journey to the West, would be the ones to suffer the most, and the ones to put in the most effort. Yet, it has turned out the other way around."
"It's truly hilarious."
"That Tathagata, oh no, I should call him by a more affectionate name, 'Little Lai Lai,' the dignified Buddha, the foremost beneath the saints, would actually come to me for help?"
"Should I record this, or record this, or record this? Forget it, I won't record it, lest I embarrass Patriarch Tathagata. After all, we are partners."
It seemed that when the script for the Journey to the West was finalized years ago, the Jade Emperor had some displeasure in his heart, but he didn't express it, so he was venting some of it today.
But despite his words and laughter, he still remembered his cooperation with Spirit Mountain and dared not offend Tathagata over such a small matter.
Moreover, during the Jade Emperor's laughter that sprayed out immortal peaches, Guanyin's expression from the mortal world was so grim, so displeased.
How could the Jade Emperor continue to insult the Buddhist sect of Spirit Mountain like this?
He quickly sat up straight.
And regained his solemnity.
"The four questions Tathagata asked, I have prepared for them long ago, and with Little Jin, you don't understand? That's Taibai Jinxing, calling him Little Jin makes it seem more intimate."
"Returning to the main point."
"Regarding the answers to these four questions, my investigation is not one hundred percent clear, but I have learned some preliminary information."
"This matter, well, it all started with recruiting Sun Monkey to be the Stable Keeper, which was when Little Jin missed his morning urine..."
As the Jade Emperor was answering.
Guanyin below couldn't stand it and interrupted.
"Your Majesty, my Buddha said that it would be best if you went there in person for a face-to-face meeting."
Hearing this, the Jade Emperor laughed instead of getting angry, and with one sentence, he made Guanyin agitated as well!
"Face-to-face meeting?"
"What kind of prehistoric joke is this?"
"Don't you remember how that Sun Monkey of yours beat up both our families last time? I'll be damned if I go! I'll talk here."
"If you like it, listen. If you don't, you can get lost!"