abnabooks Chapter 19: Admitting He Can't Win! Manjushri Urgently Calls for Help, Jade Emperor and Laozi U
Chapter 19: Admitting He Can't Win! Manjushri Urgently Calls for Help, Jade Emperor and Laozi U
Manjushri stood there.
His complexion changed from white to green, from green to red, and from red back to white.
He didn't know whether to be angry or scared.
Angry? Angry about what? Angry that this mortal is wrong? But everything he said is right. Angry that he shouldn't have said it? But if the other person knew, why couldn't he say it?
Fear? Fear of what? Fear of the power behind this mortal? But both the Taoist and Buddhist sects have investigated, and this mortal has no background whatsoever. So what is he afraid of?
He was afraid he wouldn't understand.
He feared that there existed something in this world that he completely did not understand.
"This humble monk..."
Manjushri's lips moved.
Hoarseness.
"This humble monk takes his leave."
After saying those four words, he turned and left.
They walked very fast.
It was practically an escape.
The white robe fluttered in the air currents.
The two attendants hurriedly followed, but for a moment they couldn't keep up with Manjushri's speed.
Sun Wukong stood there, watching the white light disappear into the distance.
Soon, not even a tiny dot could be seen.
He scratched the back of his head.
Then he turned to look at Lu Chen.
"Feed".
"Um?"
"Just who are you?"
Lu Chen picked up the ceramic bowl, scooped out another bowl of soup, and slowly took a sip.
He smiled.
No reply.
Sun Wukong stared at him for a long time.
He finally sighed.
"Fine." He slung the golden cudgel over his shoulder, turned and walked away. "Tell me or don't."
He took two steps out, then turned back.
"Oh, right."
"Um?"
"Could you please not say those things in front of Lao Sun next time?"
Why?
Sun Wukong bared his teeth.
"What you said makes Old Sun blush for those bodhisattvas."
Lu Chen smiled.
Sun Wukong laughed too.
The two people, separated by dozens of feet, laughed like two children sharing some secret in that devastated valley.
---
Lingshan Side Hall.
King Puji is reviewing a new progress schedule for the pilgrimage.
He thought that this time, Manjushri's trip would bring good news upon his return.
At least it can't get any worse, right?
Manjushri Bodhisattva. One of the four great masters of Buddhism.
Footsteps could be heard outside.
King Puji didn't even raise his head.
"Who?"
"This humble monk."
King Puji paused in his writing.
This sound.
It is Manjushri.
But it's not right.
No, it was Manjushri himself who came.
According to the rules of Mount Ling, when a Bodhisattva-level figure needs to convey a message, they usually send a subordinate. A personal visit indicates that the matter is extremely important.
And this sound...
King Puji raised his head.
Manjushri stood at the door.
The white robe was covered in dust. One of the prayer beads was missing. Cold sweat still clung to his forehead.
His eyes held a look that King Puji had never seen on Manjushri's face before.
It was shock. It was confusion. It was an inexplicable sense of unease.
King Puji stood up.
"Buddha……"
"Vidyaraja," Manjushri said as he entered the meditation room, "Sit."
Manjushri found a futon and sat down first.
He wasn't used to sitting on a meditation cushion—he preferred to sit cross-legged on a lotus platform. But now he was sitting on an ordinary meditation cushion.
It felt like my legs were weak.
King Puji also sat down.
"Bodhisattva, what exactly...?"
"I can't beat them."
Manjushri gets straight to the point.
Just these five words.
There was no embellishment, no preamble.
King Puji's expression froze.
"What does 'Bodhisattva' mean?"
"The literal meaning." Manjushri raised his head and looked at Universal Salvation King. "I couldn't defeat him. I used the Wisdom Sword, the Seven Treasures Tree, and the Great Power Bodhisattva Mudra. The result was a draw."
"It's not that I didn't use my full strength."
"Even using all my strength, I still couldn't win."
The meditation room remained quiet for a long time.
The expression on King Puji's face changed from doubt to shock, and from shock to deathly pale.
"Bodhisattva, is this person merely bluffing?" His tone held a final struggle. "While there are secrets within Buddhism, given the passage of time, leaks are inevitable..."
"Wisdom King," Manjushri interrupted him.
His tone was calm, but every word he spoke was like a nail.
"I'm asking you."
"Do I need to bluff when I can't win?"
King Puji was taken aback.
That's a very direct question.
Manjushri is one of the Four Great Bodhisattvas. His fight with Lu Chen took place in the valley. Even if there was an element of deception involved, after Manjushri returned to Mount Ling, he had no reason to lie and claim that he "couldn't win."
Admitting defeat would be shameful for Manjushri.
He had no motive to lie.
Unless he really can't beat them.
"I witnessed it myself." Manjushri looked at him. "It's not secondhand information from the monkey. I, Manjushri, personally fought that person for half an hour. My conclusion is: I couldn't beat him."
There is absolutely no need for any bluster in this matter.
"Furthermore," Manjushri paused, "I can tell you. Sun Wukong wasn't acting for the past six months."
"He really can't beat him."
The fingertips of the Bodhisattva of Compassion began to feel cold.
He sat in the chair for a long time.
He was speechless for a long time.
"So... what does the Bodhisattva mean...?"
“This person is no ordinary being,” Manjushri said. “All our judgments about him over the past six months have been wrong. He is not an ordinary mortal. He is a being we cannot comprehend at all.”
"We need to redefine him."
"Then we'll decide how to deal with him again."
King Puji remained silent.
He actually still had some reservations.
He understood every word Manjushri spoke. But he had never seen that mortal with his own eyes, nor had he personally experienced being fought to the death. Some things can only be truly believed through personal experience.
His feeling after hearing Manjushri recount all this was like someone who had never fought a war listening to someone who had described the horrors of war—you might nod, you might frown, but there's always a voice in your head saying, "Maybe it's not that serious."
His first reaction was still, "Maybe sending a few more bodhisattvas to work together can solve the problem."
He didn't say it.
But Manjushri saw it in his eyes.
Manjushri sighed.
"Your Majesty, you don't believe me."
"Buddha……"
"It's alright," Manjushri stood up. "I'll go again."
"Bodhisattva!" King Puji exclaimed in surprise, "Bodhisattva, what...!"
"I will bring Puxian with me."
The meditation room fell silent once more.
Samantabhadra.
One of the Four Great Bodhisattvas.
Manjushri's senior brother.
Those fellow disciples who betrayed the Chan Sect together back then.
The alliance between Manjushri and Samantabhadra is a rare occurrence in the history of Buddhism. The last time they fought together was at the end of the Investiture of the Gods, when they joined forces against one of the Three Immortal Maidens under the Tongtian Sect Master.
Manjushri himself suggested bringing Samantabhadra into the arena.
This shows that he took it seriously.
They really got serious.
"This matter can't be delayed any longer." Manjushri looked at Samantabhadra. "If even if Samantabhadra and I join forces, the outcome is still even, then this matter will no longer be a matter of 'delaying the journey to the West'."
"This is a question of whether Buddhism can remain stable."
King Puji gripped the armrests of the chair tightly.
He seemed to want to say something; his lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.
Manjushri bowed to him with his palms together, then turned and left the meditation room.
Only King Puji remained in the meditation room.
He sat there, staring at the progress chart of the pilgrimage on the table for a long time.
He picked up a pen, wanting to add something to the schedule.
My hands are shaking.
The pen tip paused on the paper a few times, and ink dripped down, staining a large area of the paper.
He sighed and put down his pen.
The first crack inside Mount Ling opened silently.
At the same time, all the forces in the Three Realms received a message that made them pause for a moment.
Taiqing Palace.
Lao Tzu is brewing tea.
Qingfeng Daotong rushed in from outside.
"Master! What about Lingshan...?"
"Um?"
"Manjushri Bodhisattva himself has intervened."
Laozi paused for a moment while holding his teacup.
"Manjushri?"
"Yes."
"And the result?"
Qingfeng Daotong swallowed.
"Like Sun Wukong. A 50/50 chance."
Click.
The teacup in Laozi's hand fell onto the table.
The tea splashed out.
Laozi's hand, which was twirling his beard, trembled slightly.
He didn't speak.
Just sitting there.
a long time.
The Heavenly Palace of Lingxiao.
At that moment, the Jade Emperor also received the news.
He sat on the dragon throne, remaining silent for the duration of an incense stick burning.
Venus stood below, not daring to breathe.
"Venus".
"Your subject is here."
"Send the Day Guardian God and the Night Guardian God," the Jade Emperor said slowly. "Go personally."
"Stop using body doubles, stop using long-distance observation."
"Go see for yourself."
"I... obey your order."
For the first time, the spies of various forces have upgraded from "remote surveillance" to "personal on-site observation."
The broken rock in the valley, and the young man roasting sweet potatoes.
For the first time, it became the focus of attention for all the highest-level forces in the Three Realms.