The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 81 The 36 Vows of Buddhism

Seven days later, General Rolling Curtain had once again endured the torture of being pierced by a hundred swords. As he lay panting on the stone, he heard the sound of his takeout being delivered, just as he always did.

He stood up blankly, his face numb, and climbed ashore, shouting in utter despair, "You monk, what exactly do you want to do?!"

In front of the Liusha River, Jiang Feng sat in front of a campfire with a few bottles of spices, too lazy to explain to him, "What flavor of wood do you want to eat this time, cumin or pepper? We'll roast it fresh and eat it right away."

General Rolling Curtain glanced at Jiang Feng, then felt a sudden nausea and vomiting.

Jiang Feng said disdainfully, "Why can't it be like this? I've developed more than a dozen flavors of wood, and you haven't even tried them all yet. Just choose a flavor obediently; this is your good fortune."

"I'm not a monster that eats wood, I really can't enjoy this blessing..."

The general, now feeling nauseous at the mere sight of Jiang Feng, pleaded tearfully, "Please leave! I swear, I'd rather starve than eat a monk again! Please, just leave!"

Jiang Feng glanced at the surging river before him: "I'd like to leave, but I need to get across the Flowing Sand River first."

General Rolling Curtain gritted his teeth: "You step on my back, and I'll carry you across, okay?!"

Jiang Feng laughed heartily: "Why didn't you do this sooner? You've wasted so many of my puppets!"

General Roll Curtain lay flat on the water and floated on the surface, saying, "Come on, I'll carry you across the river."

Jiang Feng stepped on his back and said, "Hold on tight, I can't swim."

The Curtain-Rolling General carried him easily to the center of the Flowing Sand River and asked, "Elder, where did you come from, and where are you going?"

Jiang Feng said, "This humble monk comes from the Great Sui Dynasty in the East, intending to go to the Western Paradise to seek the true scriptures. I encountered you, you monster, as soon as I left Tuyuhun."

The Curtain-Roller General chuckled awkwardly twice, then asked, "Elder, you really can't swim?"

Jiang Feng sighed, "I was put into a wooden basin and floated downstream in the river as soon as I was born. I was so frightened that I have never dared to go into the water since."

"Oh, I see. I didn't realize the elder had such a pitiful past. In that case, elder, you may leave now!"

After saying that, the Curtain-Rolling General's face instantly turned ferocious. He suddenly flipped over, and Jiang Feng on his back fell into the water with a splash.

Seeing Jiang Feng thrashing about in the water, General Rolling Curtain laughed triumphantly, "Haha, you wicked monk, you've finally fallen into my hands!"

After saying that, he opened his blood-red maw, grabbed Jiang Feng's head, and bit down.

With a snap, the general's ferocious smile froze. He opened his mouth, released Jiang Feng's head, and revealed a look of utter despair.

"It smells like a stinky sewer..."

As he spoke, the puppet in his arms turned into black wood that had been soaked in a stinking ditch.

At the same time, Jiang Feng ran anxiously to the bank of the Liusha River and shouted, "Don't eat it! This puppet was soaked in a cesspool. I suddenly remembered it and came here specifically to retrieve it!"

Curtain-Rolling General: "Ugh—"

After a while, General Rolling Curtain, who had been vomiting profusely, finally recovered and came to the shore, feeling weak all over.

Looking at his weak appearance, Jiang Feng suddenly slapped his forehead and said apologetically, "I made a mistake. I burned the puppet that was soaked in the cesspool a long time ago. This one was just soaked in an ordinary stinking ditch. What a close call!"

"You did it on purpose..."

General Rolling Curtain trembled with rage, glaring fiercely at Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng looked helpless: "How could I have done it on purpose? If you hadn't had bad intentions, you wouldn't have eaten it."

General Rolling Curtain sighed, completely abandoning his idea of ​​eating Jiang Feng. He lay on the ground, gazing at the starry sky above, reminiscing about his glorious past.

"I was once the mighty General of the Heavenly Curtain, the Jade Emperor's personal bodyguard. Back then, which deity wouldn't show me any respect? I was so glorious. How did I end up like this today..."

Jiang Feng looked him over a few times and said with sympathy, "You've really fallen so low as to eat wood to fill your stomach, that's quite pitiful."

General Rolling Curtain: "..."

How can you say such a thing without a conscience? Who's behind my eating wood?!

Suppressing his anger, he continued, "It was because I accidentally broke a glass goblet at the Peach Banquet that the Jade Emperor punished me with eight hundred lashes and banished me to the mortal realm, where I became this monster."

The Jade Emperor then ordered his men to pierce my chest and ribs with flying swords over a hundred times every seven days, and forbade me to leave the Flowing Sand River, starving me for eight hundred years. I wonder when this will ever end.

Jiang Feng said with a strange expression, "I don't know when you'll finally make it. I just want to know how many gods immediately drew their weapons after you smashed that cup back then?"

The Curtain-Roller General paused, recalling, and said, "There seem to be quite a few, Nezha, Erlang Shen, and some other deities, but they're too far away for me to notice. Why are you asking about this?"

Jiang Feng said, "The Jade Emperor's magnanimity in not killing you on the spot is truly remarkable. You even used the smashing of the cup as a signal to ambush and assassinate him, yet you still managed to save your life. You should be secretly happy."

General Rolling Curtain: "..."

Is that how it is?

Thank you so much, Barefoot Immortal, for intervening and saving my life!

As the two were talking, a majestic and imposing Dharma protector dressed in embroidered monk's robes descended from the sky, holding a mixed iron rod, and landed in front of them.

"I am Muzha, a Dharma protector under the Bodhisattva Guanyin, with the Dharma name Huian Xingzhe. I have come to find you two on the Bodhisattva's orders."

"General Rolling Curtain, are you willing to convert to Buddhism, take the Sui Dynasty monk Sanzang as your master, and escort him to the Western Paradise to seek Buddhist scriptures?"

The general's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "I'm willing! I'm willing! As long as I can be spared the pain of punishment, I'm willing to serve the Tripitaka Master faithfully!"

Having said that, he bowed deeply to Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng glanced at Mu Zha, sensing an aura of conspiracy.

They actually arranged for Sha Wujing to be his disciple. How could Sui Sanzang receive such good treatment?

Burning newspapers at gravesites—that's just fooling the ghosts!

Seeing that Jiang Feng remained silent, Mu Zha urged, "Sui Sanzang, the Bodhisattva is thinking of you wholeheartedly, why haven't you agreed yet?"

Jiang Feng smiled slightly and said, "I'll accept this disciple. Please thank the Bodhisattva for me."

Mu Zha breathed a sigh of relief, nodded in satisfaction, made a hand seal, and flew away on a cloud.

Jiang Feng took out a razor and said, "Once you join my sect, you will no longer be the Curtain-Rolling General of Heaven. Your master will give you a name; let's call you Sha Wujing."

After saying that, she started shaving his head.

After shaving his head, he took out a single-edged sword and lashed it hard across the back of Sha Wujing, who was kneeling on the ground.

"To enter my fold, one must abide by the Thirty-Six Vows of Buddhism! I will recite them to you; remember them firmly in your heart!"

"First vow: From the moment I enter the Buddhist order, your parents are my parents, your brothers and sisters are my brothers and sisters, your wife is my sister-in-law, your son is my nephew. Anyone who violates this vow will be struck down by five thunderbolts."

"The second oath is that if a brother or parent has no money for their funeral, and is asked for help, he or she will immediately inform them. If he or she has money, he or she will give money; if he or she has no money, he or she will give his or her help. Anyone who pretends not to know will be struck down by five thunderbolts."

Sha Wujing: "???"

These thirty-six vows sound so strange. Is your Buddhist practice even legitimate?