Chapter 151, "Luring the Tiger from the Mountain," Second Volume

After the funeral of Chijingshi, Yuanshi Tianzun has not yet recovered from his grief and is trapped in hatred. The more he thinks about it, the more he hates Gre Ertwo. Everything is caused by Gre Ertwo. If it wasn't for Gre Ertwo, our Causal School would not have been involved in this conflict. Huanglong wouldn't have died, and Chijingshi wouldn't have died either. It is precisely because of Gre Ertwo that my two beloved disciples died in this conflict. Therefore, he wants revenge, and first he must seek revenge on Gre Ertwo, to kill him. And then it's Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, the Eight Immortals, and Chiyou. To kill them all is the only way to alleviate the hatred in his heart.
However, it is easier said than done, as even Sun Wukong cannot defeat him. After a fierce battle, they can only end up in a draw at best, but definitely not surpass Sun Wukong. With Sun Wukong's protection, it is just empty talk to try to harm Ge Erlang. The Primordial Heavenly Sovereign pondered over it but couldn't come up with a good solution. With a furrowed brow, he fell into extreme distress.
Originally, I thought that with the arrival of an old general, one could handle two tasks at once. When I, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, stepped in, I expected instant success, an unstoppable force, and the completion of great achievements. However, the reality proved otherwise, as my first battle ended in defeat. Not only did I lose face, but my beloved apprentice, Red Boy, also perished. As for Sun Wukong, I have known about him for a long time. I was aware of his strength when he caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace, but I never had a chance to fight him until now. Now that I have, I realize just how formidable he truly is, living up to the reputation he gained from his past adventures in the Heavenly Palace.
Guangchengzi, Yunzhongzi, Cichang, Wenshu, Yuding, Puxian, and others disciples came to visit Yuan Shi Tianzun and saw that he still had a distressed expression. Guangchengzi comforted him, saying, "Master, don't worry. A gentleman takes revenge for ten years. We will surely avenge this grudge sooner or later."
Primordial Heavenly Lord said, "I can't swallow this breath! I didn't expect Sun Wukong to be so powerful, and I actually fought him to a draw. It seems difficult to kill Ge Erlang with Sun Monkey's protection!"
Yun Zhongzi said, "Master, we can think of other ways to kill Ge Erlang."
Primordial Heavenly Venerable asked, "What good ideas do you have?"
Yun Zhongzi said, "I just want to find a different way to get rid of Ge Erlang. I haven't come up with any specific ideas yet."
Cihang Dao: "Master, I agree with Second Junior Brother's words. There's a saying that goes 'When facing the strong, use wisdom; when encountering the weak, capture alive.' Can we think of a way to use wisdom in this situation?"
Upon hearing Cihang's words, Wen Shu had a brilliant idea and immediately said, "I have a solution."
The gazes of Heavenly Lord of the Origin, Guang Cheng Zi, Yun Zhong Zi, Ci Hang, Yu Ding, Universal Virtue, and Ju Liu Sun all fell upon Manjusri. Heavenly Lord of the Origin asked, "Manjusri, do you have any good ideas? Speak up."
Wenshu Avenue: "Divide and conquer. Ge Erliang, Sun Wukong, and Zhu Bajie are all formidable. It would be difficult to deal with them if they stick together. If we use the strategy of luring the tiger out of the mountain and send Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie away, then it would be much easier to handle only Ge Erliang. Once Ge Erliang is defeated, we can use the same method to send Sun Wukong away and eliminate Zhu Bajie. In the end, only Sun Wukong will be easy to deal with."
Upon hearing this method, everyone nodded in agreement, including the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, who also wore a long-lost smile on his face. "Yes! Let's use the strategy of drawing the tiger out of the mountain and then attack them separately."
Yuding raised another question: "Although the strategy is good, how can we get them to leave?"
Yuan Shi Tianzun replied: "I already have a solution."
Upon hearing that their master had a solution, all the disciples became happy and said: "Master, please share."
The Grand Primordial Heavenly Sovereign said, "I heard that Zhu Bajie has been dissatisfied with the title given to him by the Messenger of the Pure Altar. Since he is not satisfied, let's make him satisfied. Cihang and Manjusri, the two of you will disguise yourselves as Ah Nuo and Qieye and bring the golden edict of the Tathagata to Chi You's camp, and announce to Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie that the Tathagata wants to retitle them and wants them to quickly come to the Ling Mountain to receive their titles."
Cihang and Wenshu transformed themselves, Cihang became Anuo, and Wenshu became Gaye. When Yuan Shi Tianzun saw them, he found them identical to the real Anuo and Gaye. All the brothers laughed and applauded, saying, "It's so alike."
Primordial Heavenly Venerable said, "Don't delay, go now."
Sun Wukong was still immersed in the joy of battling Primordial Heavenly Venerable. His mischievous nature unchanged, he scratched his ears and cheeks and hopped around, enthusiastically telling Zhu Bajie about how he fought against Primordial Heavenly Venerable, "It was so cool! I haven't had this much fun in a long time, not since our journey to the Western Heaven. That Primordial Heavenly Venerable is really powerful, the perfect opponent for me. It's like meeting a worthy opponent, a meeting of talents. I, Sun Wukong, love challenging strong opponents, and that old man Primordial is indeed a worthy adversary. That's why fighting him is so satisfying, so exhilarating."
Pigsy was a bit embarrassed because during the battle, he abandoned Ge Erlang and ran away. Although he came back with Sun Wukong's help and put on a fierce performance, he couldn't escape Ge Erlang's scolding. Luckily, he quickly came up with a solution to smooth things over, or else who knows what would have happened. But he still couldn't help but boast a bit: "Monkey Brother, you haven't experienced real excitement yet. You only dealt with Yuan Shi Laoren. Ge Erlang and I took on twelve! Outnumbered and still fearless, I jumped around inside and outside the circle, wielding my big iron rake to fend off the attacks of the twelve old daoists multiple times. If it weren't for me, Ge Erlang would have been finished long ago. Don't you think that's awesome?"
While they were bragging about themselves, a soldier came in and reported, "Honorable Sun Immortal and Honorable Pig Immortal, there are two monks requesting an audience."
The two of them were surprised, monks? Where did the monks come from? Before Sun Wukong could say "please," the two monks had already walked in swaggeringly. When they saw each other, they recognized each other. It was Ananda and Kasyapa. Pig Bajie stepped forward with a smile and said, "Hey, two old monks, why are you here? What brings you here?"
阿傩、伽叶没理猪八戒，手捧如来金旨径直走进前来，高声叫道：“孙悟空猪悟能接旨。”
Zhu Bajie knelt down on the ground with a "thud", while Sun Wukong stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest, without even looking at or paying any attention to Ah Nuo and Jia Ye. He had a disdainful expression. Ah Nuo asked, "Why doesn't Wukong kneel?"
Wukong said, "Why do I have to kneel?"
Gaya exclaimed angrily, "In front of the golden decree of the Tathagata, there is no reason not to kneel!"
Wukong shouted, "Even in the Lingxiao Palace, in front of the Jade Emperor, I never kneel. So why do I have to kneel only in front of your golden decree?"
Pigsy stood up when he heard it and said, "I, Pigsy, won't kneel. Do whatever you want."
Ananda and Mahakasyapa looked at each other helplessly and had no choice but to unfold the decree from Tathagata and recite, "Commanding Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie to immediately go to the Ling Mountain of the Western Heaven and accept the reward. That is all!"
Reward? This is great! They are both very happy, and Sun Wukong asks, "Avalokitesvara, what reward does the Tathagata have?"
Zhu Bajie also hurriedly asks, "Does this mean I will be re-crowned as a Bodhisattva?"
Sun Wukong sneered at Zhu Bajie, saying, "You think you're so beautiful, always fantasizing about beautiful things."
Ananda said, "We don't know either, you two will find out when you go."
Zhu Bajie, hearing this, became defensive: "I won't go, I don't care about any rewards. Back when we went to the Western Heaven to retrieve the scriptures, I accomplished such great feats, yet they only appointed me as a Clean Altar Messenger. They really treated me like a pig. It really pisses me off."
Wukong said, "If the idiot won't go, then neither will I."
Both of them refused to accept the order.
Cihang and Wenshu listened and realized that if these two guys won't go, their plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain will be ruined, and all their plans will be in vain. In order to make them go, they pretended to be mysterious and said, "According to my sources, the Buddha wants to promote you two to higher positions. Whether you want to go or not, it's up to you!" After saying that, Ajnatakaundinya turned around and left.
When Zhu Bajie heard that Buddha wanted to grant him a higher title, he was certain that it must be something like a Bodhisattva. This was what he had always dreamed of and what he deserved. If Buddha really wanted to make him a Bodhisattva, that would be fantastic! His heart was filled with excitement, like waves in the ocean. He immediately ran over and grabbed A Nuo Qie Ye, his face beaming with a smile, and said, "Two venerable monks, two esteemed beings." Zhu Bajie didn't even know how to address the two of them. "Please stay, please stay." He held onto them and wouldn't let them leave.
Avalokitesvara intentionally took a weapon and struggled desperately, while saying, "Go away, go away."
These two guys are quite powerful. Seeing that he couldn't hold on, Zhu Bajie knelt in front of Avalokitesvara and said, "I'll accept the order."
Arhat Ananda stood still, but upon seeing that Sun Wukong showed no response and stood by watching the commotion, as if it had nothing to do with him, he asked, "Are you the only one receiving the edict?"
Pig Bajie got anxious and shouted at Monkey King, "Brother Monkey, come and receive the edict."
Monkey King saw that Pig Bajie received the edict, so he couldn't insist on not receiving it. He walked over slowly, still standing instead of kneeling, and said absentmindedly, "Wukong also receives the edict."
Ananda handed the Buddha's decree to Bajie, Bajie took it and looked at it, and his face was full of smiles as he said, "Elders, does the Tathagata really want to give us higher titles?"
In order to make Zhu Bajie quickly fall into the trap, Sun Wukong mysteriously whispered to him: "All the benefits are in it, go quickly! There are many wolves and little meat, if you go late, you won't get anything. But under no circumstances should you say that it was Ah Nuo Jieye who told you. Divine secrets must not be revealed, revealing divine secrets will result in punishment."
Bajie guarantees: "Please rest assured, two venerable monks, Bajie will never tell anyone."
Having said that, Bajie didn't care whether Anuo Qieye would leave or not. He grabbed Sun Wukong and flew high in the sky, driving the cloud towards the Western Heaven. Cihang and Wenshu smiled at each other and left the great tent, flying back to Lishan to report.