153: Tang Sanzang, the Untouchable

Clang!

Mahākāśyapa only felt golden stars swirling before his eyes, and then he fell like a meteor, crashing heavily into the courtyard.

Boom!

The force of the fall created a large pit in the ground, and the stirred-up dust rolled like waves, more blinding than a thick fog.

Brick stared in astonishment at the vast and imposing figure in mid-air, his eyes filled with envy.

Although he didn't recognize who the newcomer was, the Aura emanating from him was all too familiar—wasn't it the powerful wild boar from earlier?

What a majestic and domineering figure!

“Hmph, I’ve long since found you an eyesore, you bald thief! How dare you bully Old Pig’s Master!”

With his rake slung over his shoulder, he patted his belly. His corpulent body, round head, flapping large ears, and slightly protruding tusks—this was the legendary Marshal Tianpeng, originally named Pig Ganglie, also known as Pig Wuneng. Later, when he followed Tang Sanzang on the journey to the West to retrieve Buddhist scriptures, Tang Sanzang gave him an even more familiar name: Pigsy!

If one were to describe his appearance, he resembled a gentle domestic pig rather than a wild boar, but the shrewdness in his small eyes was completely different from the familiar image people usually had of him.

“Bajie, are you done showing off? Hurry and help your Master, I can’t see!”

In the dust, Tang Ku coughed incessantly.

“Oh, oh, oh… coming, coming!”

Pigsy shrunk his rake and, like Sun Wukong, directly threw it into his ear. Then, he quickly flew over to Tang Ku, using his wide sleeves to fan away the dust. Suddenly seeing a moon-white figure, Old Pig’s eyes immediately welled up. He rushed forward, hugged Tang Ku, and wailed loudly, “Master, ah…”

His appearance was truly heartbreaking to those who heard and tear-inducing to those who saw. Pigsy cried incessantly: “Master, ah, you don’t know what kind of life I’ve been living all this time. Damn it, I could see, I could hear, but I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move! This pig body of mine was almost entirely acting on instinct, and I nearly harmed my wife and her family… Wuwuwu… You… why did you only just arrive? Senior Brother’s blow was truly ruthless, it almost… almost killed me… Damn it, when we find that monkey, you can’t let him off the hook, you must recite the Tightening-Fillet Spell on him… Master, Old Pig… Old Pig missed you so much!”

Tang Ku struggled in exasperation: “Let go, let go… What kind of behavior is this… Damn it… Don’t wipe your snot on your Master! Alright, alright, Wu Neng, ah, Bajie… Bajie… Alright, alright, calm down for a bit… Damn it, let go, if you don’t let go, your Master will get angry!”

“Wuwuwuwu…”

Pigsy acted as if he hadn’t heard, clinging tightly to Tang Ku, refusing to let go.

Tang Ku suddenly narrowed his eyes and said to the mischievous Pigsy, “Bajie, stop acting here, alright? Don’t I know your temperament? You’re probably secretly delighted while complaining. Among you Senior Brothers, you’re the most cunning! If you don’t let go, your Master will turn you back into a wild boar… You know, your Master’s current Cultivation can do it!”

Pigsy immediately fell silent, released his grip, and sniffled, “I’m just happy… it’s truly like being reborn! I thought I’d never see Master again!”

Tang Ku pouted, brushed off the dirt and dust from his body, and then wiped the snot back onto Pigsy’s black robe before saying, “Alright, I know what you’re thinking. No need for pleasantries in front of your Master… Hmm, how are your injuries? Have they healed?”

Pigsy patted his belly and said cheerfully, “Thanks to Master’s great fortune, I’m about eighty percent recovered. In a few more days, I’ll be able to clear my Meridians, and my strength will return to its peak state!”

“That’s good, it wasn’t in vain for me to make this trip…”

Tang Ku smiled.

It turned out that at the very moment Mahākāśyapa ambushed Tang Ku, Tang Ku had already completely finished the work of sorting out those two energy masses. However, because it had just concluded, Pigsy’s soul had only just taken over this body, so he hadn’t fully gained control yet.

After all, his body and soul had been separated for a long time, and it required time to recover.

And in that instant, Mahākāśyapa had the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. However, the smug Mahākāśyapa had no idea that Pigsy would recover so quickly.

In fact, as Tang Ku had thought, since the Seventy-Two Transformations could grant seventy-two lives, then the Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations should grant thirty-six lives. In other words, there was no reason for Pigsy to be completely finished after being hit by one blow; he must have had a life-saving secret technique. Now he finally understood that as long as his soul was not annihilated, he would have a chance to recover as before. This was the power of the Eight Nine Arcane Art and the Sixty-Six Arcane Art.

It could be said that the words “shelter from disaster” were not just empty talk, but truly meant being able to protect oneself from various life-threatening calamities.

Moreover, thinking about it now, although Sha Wujing’s reputation wasn’t prominent before, the Cultivation Technique he practiced must also have been related to these two Cultivation Techniques. Otherwise, his soul wouldn’t have been able to survive, nor would it have been preserved after taking a blow from Sun Wukong’s Golden Cudgel.

“These disciples, each one is more extraordinary than the last…”

As Tang Ku thought this, Pigsy had already looked down at Mahākāśyapa, who was struggling to climb out of the pit, and couldn’t help but curl his lips, saying, “Master, Old Pig found this fellow an eyesore ever since we were in the West. This is perfect; this guy actually dared to commit such acts of murder and arson. He truly deserves to be called a disgrace to Buddhism… Watch Old Pig kill this guy and rid the people of a menace…”

Saying this, he took out his Nine-toothed Rake again, aiming for the bald head, ready to strike.

“Wait!”

Tang Ku stopped Pigsy with his hand and said helplessly, “Your Master recently promised Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva not to harm the lives of those in Buddhism. Although he has committed many evil deeds, heaven will eventually punish him. It’s better not to kill him!”

“Master, you promised, but Old Pig didn’t. I’m the one acting, it has nothing to do with you…”

Pigsy gritted his teeth, “He harmed many lives in Gao Family Village, and killed so many people in this county. He truly deserves his punishment…”

“You are your Master’s disciple. If you kill him, it’s no different from your Master killing him…”

Tang Ku shook his head and sighed.

Pigsy couldn’t help but curl his lips: “Master, you’re just too soft-hearted. But we can’t just let this menace go, can we? With his character, he’ll definitely harm people again in the future!”

Tang Ku suddenly smiled and said, “There might be a solution that satisfies both. Hmm, Bajie, come down with your Master first and see what he has to say.”

Seeing his Master’s strange smile, Pigsy inexplicably shivered… “Damn it, I only felt this way when I fell out with that monkey back then… This Master of ours…”

Pigsy swallowed hard, thinking, “Can’t afford to provoke him, can’t afford to provoke him…”