Chapter 463: Chapter 463

Everyone thought that Sun Wukong was merely joking, and although Xuanzang knew of his disciple’s prowess, he quickly said, "Wukong, if you can revive the honored Kou Hong, it would indeed be a good deed."

"Master, rest assured, Old Sun will do his utmost. Please wait, Old Sun is off!"

With that, Sun Wukong vanished on the spot with a whoosh, heading straight for the Underworld.

Sun Wukong barged into Yama’s Palace and shouted loudly, "Where are the Ten Yama Kings? Old Sun is here."

Knowing it was Sun Wukong who had arrived, the Ten Yama Kings dared not neglect him. Shaken, they hastily came out to greet him, fearing that if they somehow offended this monkey, he might wreak havoc in the Underworld again. Even if the monkey tore down the Hall of Yama, they feared there would be nowhere to argue their case.

When the Ten Yama Kings saw Sun Wukong, they quickly bowed and said, "We did not know the Great Saint was coming and failed to meet you from afar. We hope the Great Saint will forgive us! Forgive us!"

Sun Wukong waved his hand and said, "Spare me the formalities, and don’t talk nonsense. I am here to ask about the honored Kou Hong from the Tongtai Prefecture of Tianzhu Country; which one of you took him? Quickly find out and tell me."

The Ten Yama Kings hurriedly replied, "This good man Kou Hong wasn’t taken by any ghost envoy; he came here on his own accord."

"He encountered Ksitigarbha Pusa’s Gold-clothed Acolyte and was led to see Ksitigarbha Pusa."

"Oh?" Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow and asked, "Does that mean Kou Hong’s soul is currently with Ksitigarbha Pusa?"

"Exactly!" replied the Ten Yama Kings.

"In that case, Old Sun will go find Ksitigarbha Pusa."

After speaking, Sun Wukong left the Hall of Yama and in a blink, he had arrived at the Emerald Cloud Palace.

When Sun Wukong reached the Emerald Cloud Palace and explained his purpose, Ksitigarbha Pusa said with a smile, "Kou Hong’s time under the sun had come to an end; he was untouched by the bed or mat at the end of his life and departed from the world."

"Since he made offerings to the monks, and being a good man, I accepted him as the case head to manage the ledger of good connections."

"Since you, the Great Saint, have come for him, I shall extend his lifespan by a hundred years and let him follow you. It is his good fortune."

Ksitigarbha Pusa then instructed the Gold-clothed Acolyte to summon Kou Hong.

Sun Wukong expressed his gratitude promptly, "Thank you, Bodhisattva! Old Sun is endlessly grateful."

Ksitigarbha Pusa, with a smile, said, "You monkey head, you’ve become rather well-behaved lately."

With a chuckle, Sun Wukong responded, "As the saying goes, ’one should regard an old friend with new eyes if three days have passed.’ Old Sun is no longer the Sun Wukong of the past."

"Very good! Very good!" Ksitigarbha Pusa nodded with a smile.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Ksitigarbha Pusa, the Gold-clothed Acolyte led the soul of Kou Hong back. Kou Hong, seeing Sun Wukong, hurriedly knelt on the ground and pleaded, "Elder Sun, save me! Save me!"

Clearly, the old man was not yet ready to die; indeed, who would choose death if they could still live!

Laughing, Sun Wukong said, "You were killed by robbers, and now you are at Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s place in the Underworld. Old Sun has specially come to take you back to the World of the Living.

Ksitigarbha has shown mercy and granted you another hundred years of life. After twelve years, you shall come here again to serve Ksitigarbha Pusa. This fortune is yours as well. Should you not thank Ksitigarbha Pusa?"

Overjoyed, Kou Hong quickly kowtowed to Ksitigarbha Pusa and said, "Thank you, Bodhisattva, for this rebirth. Your disciple is eternally grateful."

Hastily, Sun Wukong bowed to Ksitigarbha Pusa and said, "Bodhisattva, my master is still waiting for us to return to the World of the Living, so Old Sun must bid farewell."

"Go on! Go on!" Ksitigarbha Pusa said with a smile.

After parting with Ksitigarbha Pusa, Sun Wukong blew a breath on Kou Hong’s soul, turning it into a stream of air, which he sucked into his sleeve. Then Sun Wukong left the Underworld and returned to Kou’s family home.

Back at the Kou family’s home, Sun Wukong loudly commanded, "Bajie, quickly pry open the coffin."

Zhu Bajie grumbled, "Good deeds never fall to Old Pig, but it’s always me who gets stuck with the burdensome tasks." Despite the complaints, Zhu Bajie did not refuse and promptly flipped the coffin lid open.

Sun Wukong shook his sleeves and pushed Kou Hong’s ghost into the coffin. Then, he gently blew a breath of immortal Qi, and after a while, Kou Hong slowly opened his eyes. He suddenly sat up from the coffin, gasping for air, and said, "I was almost suffocated to death!"

After a while, once Kou Hong had caught his breath, he quickly climbed out of the coffin and knelt down before Sun Wukong and his companions, continuously shouting, "Master, master! Kou Hong died an unjust death; blessed by the Master’s rescue in the Underworld is a grace of rebirth! This humble one will never forget this great kindness."

Xuanzang quickly helped Kou Hong to his feet and said with a smile, "Excellent! Excellent!"

Upon turning his head, Kou Hong saw that the Prefect and a group of officials were all present. He hurried forward to greet them, and after understanding the situation, the Prefect told Kou Hong the whole story of how Lady Kou had falsely accused Xuanzang and his disciples, leading to their wrongful capture.

Kou Hong, upon hearing this, became furious and immediately called over Lady Kou and their two sons, scolding them loudly, "That night, there were more than thirty bandits with flaming torches who robbed our home. It was my attachment that made me reason with the thieves, not expecting to be kicked to death by one foul kick. What has that to do with these four Holy Monks?"

"The four Holy Monks reclaimed the stolen property from the bandits and kindly returned it to us, yet you repaid kindness with enmity, accusing the Holy Monks of being thieves..."

Lady Kou and her two sons kowtowed nonstop and begged for forgiveness, "My lord (father), pardon us! We have wrongly blamed the Holy Monks."

After scolding his wife and sons, Kou Hong turned to Xuanzang and the others and said, "Their false accusations caused the Holy Monks undeserved suffering; indeed, it’s an unforgivable sin. Today I hand them over to you to deal with as you see fit."

The mother and her three individuals kept kowtowing to Xuanzang and his companions, begging for mercy. Xuanzang brought his palms together and chanted, "Amitabha Buddha, knowing one’s mistakes and correcting them is most commendable. Since Lady Kou and the two young masters have recognized their error, let’s consider the matter settled."

On hearing this, Kou Hong immediately knelt down and said, "Thank you, Holy Monk, for your magnanimity."

The entire family was immensely grateful.

Subsequently, Kou Hong quickly ordered the ancestral hall to be dismantled and instructed the servants to prepare vegetarian meals to entertain Xuanzang, his disciples, and the officials. The Government Office also returned the gold and silver stolen by the thieves to the Kou family. Seeing none of their belongings missing, the members of the Kou family were even more grateful.

The Kou family laid out a lavish feast to entertain the guests. Afterward, the Prefect also set a feast to apologize to Xuanzang and his companions, inviting them to another day of dining.

After another two days of delay in Tongtai Prefecture, on the third day, Xuanzang firmly asked to leave. Unable to persuade him to stay longer, everyone had no choice but to see them off. Hence, the Government Office and the Kou family organized a grand farewell ceremony and sent Xuanzang and his disciples off from Tongtai Prefectural City in a glorious fashion.

Xuanzang and his companions took to the main road and truly, the Western Buddhist Land was different from other places.

They saw exotic flowers, precious herbs, ancient cypresses, and green pine trees. Everywhere they passed, households were benevolent, and families offered alms to monks. Every time they reached the foot of a mountain, they saw people practicing their faith, and amidst the forests, there were guests reciting scriptures.

The disciples traveled by night and journeyed at dawn. After another six or seven days, they suddenly came upon a range of high towers and several magnificent pavilions. Truly —

A hundred feet piercing the sky, soaring above the Han into the heavens.

Lowering their heads to view the setting sun, reaching out to pluck the stars.

Through the spacious windows and galleries, the universe was devoured; towering eaves and beams connected to the clouds.

Yellow cranes bring news when autumn trees are old, colorful phoenixes send letters when evening winds are cool.

This was indeed the Spiritual Palace Treasure Pavilion, Gems Pavilion and Pearl Courtyard.

There, in the true halls, the Tao was discussed, and the universe was passed on through scriptures.

Flowers bloomed more beautifully come spring, and pines remained vibrant after the rain.

Each year, the Purple Ganoderma Immortal Fruits flourished; the Phoenixes’ rites soared, touching all spirits.

Xuanzang gestured with his whip and pointed, exclaiming, "Wukong, isn’t this a fine place?"

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Master, back then at the Mini Thunder Monastery, when you saw the fake Buddha realm and Buddha statues, you insisted on dismounting, and even I, Old Sun, couldn’t stop you! Now that we’ve reached Mount Meru and seen the true Buddha statues, why not dismount?"

Upon hearing this, Xuanzang hurriedly leapt down from the horse, excitedly saying to Sun Wukong, "Wukong, have we truly arrived at Mount Meru?"

"Yes, we have! Yes, we have!" Sun Wukong nodded and said, "This place is Mount Meru; today, we will meet the Buddha Ancestor and obtain the True Scriptures."

Hearing this, Xuanzang said excitedly, "Ten thousand and eight hundred miles, fourteen years in the making, and now we have finally arrived at Mount Meru!"

Xuanzang believed Buddhism to be false, and now he finally had the chance to prove his thoughts.

At this moment, Zhu Bajie joined them, laughing and saying, "Master, it took us fourteen years to get here, and it will take another fourteen years to return!"