Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 719 - 718: Guanyin Disguises as Mr. Lingxu
"The elixir, ah." Daoren Xiong extended his hand, originally intending to pick it up for a closer look, but he stopped just as he was about to touch the elixir, "Why have you come so suddenly? Weren’t you supposed to wait until the Buddhist Robe Assembly to come over?"
Mr. Lingxu paused for a moment and said with a smile, "I have just finished making this elixir, and I don’t even have anyone to share it with; I just couldn’t contain my excitement. So, I brought it over for you to see, big brother. What do you think of the elixir I made?"
"Elixirs are meant to be ingested; what can I tell just by looking at it?" Daoren Xiong found Mr. Lingxu strange as he said, "Why do I feel that you are different from before today?"
"Is that so?" Mr. Lingxu’s face still wore a smile, without any slip-ups, "Maybe it’s because I have just completed the elixir today, I am a bit too excited and am not sure how to speak properly. Come, big brother, try my elixir. I guarantee that after you take it, it will save you ten years of striving."
Although his logic seemed to make sense, Daoren Xiong always felt something was not quite right. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
This Mr. Lingxu always loved to show off. With the grandeur of the Buddhist Robe Assembly, it was out of character for him not to wait and showcase his elixir then, but instead choose to show it now when it’s just the two of them.
"I think you’re a bit strange today," stated Daoren Xiong.
Without hesitation, Mr. Lingxu responded, "What’s the matter? Why do you feel I am different?"
"I don’t know, but it just feels different somehow," Daoren Xiong harbored some doubts about the identity of Mr. Lingxu.
Not only did his speech seem too smooth, but also, he had previously speculated that Six-Eared Macaque would definitely not face off against Sun Wukong.
Tomorrow was the Buddhist Robe Assembly, and the Six-Eared Macaque hadn’t shown up yet. He was wondering when Six-Ears would come, but now Mr. Lingxu had come first, making it difficult not to be suspicious.
"Big brother, you are really overly suspicious," Mr. Lingxu chuckled, "Could it be that the origin of your Buddhist Robe is dubious, and you’re feeling guilty? That’s why any little movement makes you scared?"
"Nonsense, what.." Daoren Xiong started to retort but suddenly stopped, his tone changed, and his face took on an embarrassed smile.
"Oh well, we’ve known each other for so long, so I won’t beat around the bush with you. Indeed, the origin of this Buddhist Robe is somewhat improper," admitted Daoren Xiong.
Mr. Lingxu was planning to coax more words out of Daoren Xiong, but unexpectedly, before he even started, Daoren Xiong had already let it slip.
"The other day you didn’t tell me the story behind the Buddhist Robe. What’s really going on with it?" Mr. Lingxu inquired.
"Didn’t the Guanyin Temple catch fire that day? I was planning to go put out the fire. By the time I got there, one room was unusually bright," Daoren Xiong slowly recounted to Mr. Lingxu the details of the day of the fire.
"I thought the fire was intense in that spot, and yet no one was attempting to extinguish it, so I hurried over, only to find out that there was no fire inside at all, just a Kasaya emitting light," he continued.
Mr. Lingxu, who was actually Bodhisattva Guanyin in disguise, had been investigating Little White Dragon’s whereabouts on that day and hadn’t paid attention to the situation inside the Taoist temple.
Naturally, he wasn’t aware of the cause of the great fire; he had assumed that Black Bear Demon took advantage of the fire to rob the place, unaware that he had come to fight the flames.
Though he didn’t manage to put out the fire, his initial intentions were good. With some proper guidance, he had the potential to achieve great things in the future.
"I really liked that Kasaya, and since there was no one around, I took it," declared Daoren Xiong, "I truly didn’t expect that because of that Kasaya, such grave consequences would follow, even causing Jinchi Elder to lose his life because of it. Now, I regret it more than I can say."
Bodhisattva Guanyin remained silent. He wasn’t entirely sure what Black Bear Demon meant by remorse. If his regret was merely lip service, then it truly meant nothing.
While speaking, Daoren Xiong observed the expressions of the person across from him, "I’ve actually been wanting to return this Buddhist Robe, but I’ve already sent out the invitations for the Buddhist Robe Assembly. I just don’t know how I can correct my mistake."
"Since you are aware of your mistake, it is timely to repent sooner rather than later," Bodhisattva Guanyin said. "You can still return the Buddhist Robe to the other, and it will suffice."
"It is timely," Daoren admitted. "However, I was thinking, since the Buddhist Robe Assembly is tomorrow, I want to wait until after it ends to return the robe to him. The Buddha once said, ’To be aware of one’s faults and to mend one’s ways is of the utmost virtue.’ After I return it to him, it shouldn’t be considered a sin."
Bodhisattva Guanyin had originally planned to capture the Black Bear Demon with that elixir, but had not expected the demon to have such an awakening.
And according to his understanding, the Black Bear Demon indeed hadn’t committed any acts of killing and had been cultivating the Dharma.
It seemed excessive to punish him merely for the Kasaya, especially since he intended to return it to Xuanzang. That made it even more inappropriate to punish him rashly.
"It’s not considered a sin, but since you intend to return it, you should promptly do so without delay," Bodhisattva Guanyin advised. "If you procrastinate, that itself would be a knowing error."
Daoren sighed. "I suppose you are right."
Bodhisattva Guanyin looked at the Black Bear Demon with some satisfaction, thinking that the demon was indeed benevolent. Now, all that remained was to persuade him to return the Kasaya to Xuanzang as soon as possible, and he could be spared.
"What are your thoughts now?"
"What can I think? I believe what you said is correct. Since I’ve already thought about returning the Kasaya to them, I should expedite it and not linger any longer."
Following the person opposite him, Daoren continued, "But I do care about face, and having taken it, it’s somewhat awkward to return it to them."
"So what you mean is, you won’t return it?" Bodhisattva Guanyin was confused about the intentions of the Black Bear Demon, who kept finding excuses not to return the robe despite saying he would.
However, from his perspective, it was understandable why the Black Bear Demon would behave this way.
Having obtained a treasure by chance, it was indeed difficult to part with it and return it to someone else.
"No, I will return it, I most certainly will," Daoren immediately reassured.
"It’s just that I thought they would come to ask me for the Kasaya. I had prepared to wait for them to come so I could return it, but no one has come to ask for it. I felt too embarrassed to return it voluntarily."
"Well then, brother, I think you’re quite decent. How about you help me return the Kasaya to them?"
After saying that, Daoren immediately took out the Kasaya and placed it on the table.
Bodhisattva Guanyin looked at the Kasaya. There was no mistake, it was indeed his own.
It turned out the Black Bear Demon had indeed intended to return the Kasaya to Xuanzang. Since that was the case, there was no need to punish him.
"Brother, you trust me a great deal," Guanyin said in Mr. Lingxu’s tone to Daoren. "Given the temptation of this Kasaya is so great that even you couldn’t resist it, aren’t you afraid I might just run off with it as soon as I get it?"
"Would you run away with it?" Daoren countered.
Guanyin laughed. "That’s really uncertain. If I get it in my hands, and seeing how powerful its spiritual energy is, I might be blinded by its benefits and sneak away with it. It really could happen."
