Journey to the West: Man in heaven, working nine to five

#1587 - The anger of the honest man turned the world upside down

At this moment, the Western Heavens were so bright and clear.

Especially on the face of the Tathagata Buddha, all the shadows and haze on his face dissipated when he heard the news of Bodhisattva Lingji's safe return.

The Tathagata Buddha didn't know how long, how many years, it had been since he had heard good news.

Was it five hundred years ago, or when?

That white robe was forever a cloud of calamity gathered above the Western Heavens; as long as he appeared, no Buddha or Bodhisattva in the Western Heavens would be able to find peace.

The previous Bodhisattva Lingji had already become a pile of white bones between heaven and earth; the person was completely gone.

The Tathagata Buddha originally didn't have even a sliver of hope for this Bodhisattva Lingji; the Tathagata Buddha had even prepared to use Lingji Bodhisattva's death as a foreshadowing for a subsequent ambush.

But now it seemed that Lingji Bodhisattva hadn't died; he didn't even lose a hand or foot; he could actually crawl back to the Western Heavens!

The Tathagata Buddha was so moved, he said excitedly:

"Quickly, invite him in! Is our Western Heaven really about to have a change of luck?!"

It wasn't just the Tathagata Buddha who was so excited; even the other Arhats and Buddhas' faces were full of joy.

Amidst the joyful smiles of the crowd, Bodhisattva Lingji entered, utterly bewildered.

Bodhisattva Lingji had never seen so many Buddhas smiling; at least, he had never received a smile from any high-ranking figure before, let alone the Buddha.

Bodhisattva Lingji was momentarily flattered.

The Tathagata Buddha smiled gently and said:

"Bodhisattva Lingji, weren't you managing Mount Sumeru in that Journey to the West? Why do you have time to come now? Is it that the matter has already been completed?"

Bodhisattva Lingji instantly understood the reason for the excitement of everyone present; they thought he had succeeded? That's why they were being so polite?

Bodhisattva Lingji bit the bullet and said:

"Yes, it's completed, but only half of it is completed."

The Tathagata Buddha revealed a gratified smile on his face.

"Half is good, half is good! Half the work, twice the result! Our merit is greatly increased!"

"By the way, what's the other half?"

Bodhisattva Lingji said faintly: "Compensation."

Originally, everyone thought that Bodhisattva Lingji was bringing good news, but this one sentence awakened everyone's nightmare!

Everyone's faces were filled with disbelief.

The Tathagata Buddha's expression became a bit unsightly.

"Didn't I tell you to give the Wind-Calming Pill to the Journey to the West team as a favor? Why is there an additional item of compensation? What did you do again?"

Lingji Bodhisattva held it in for a long time, only to blurt out a few words:

"Beaten, scolded, and robbed at home."

The faces of the Buddhas of the Western Heavens were extremely unsightly.

"This, this, this Jail God Chu Hao, he doesn't do any proper work! In the past, swindling and deceiving was one thing, but now he can even do things like robbing at home!"

"He's dreaming! Our Western Heavens will never compromise, never!"

"Wait, how did you come back alive? According to that person's character, shouldn't you have had to mortgage your primordial spirit there?"

Everyone stared at Lingji Bodhisattva, their eyes full of suspicion.

Forced by helplessness, Lingji Bodhisattva could only tell the truth:

"He took away all my savings and salary, and told me to ask you, Buddha, to bring the things over, so that I can get my original things back."

"Please, Buddha, take ten demon cores, twenty post-celestial treasures, and six hundred thousand drops of merit divine water to redeem them!"

Lingji Bodhisattva was honest and explained the matter in detail.

In his opinion, he was making sacrifices for the Western Heavens, owing debts for the Western Heavens; the Western Heavens wouldn't eat even a steadfast and devout believer like him, right?

However, when Lingji Bodhisattva raised his head, he saw that the faces of the Buddhas present were so strange.

The Tathagata Buddha leaned back, a hint of emotion on his face.

"Ah, so you gave away the Wind-Calming Pill, right? That's good. Oh, and you have to get back the things you mortgaged, right? Everyone, what do you think about this matter?"

The Buddhas looked at each other, each with an attitude of detachment, as if nothing concerned them.

"My Buddha, since the Wind-Calming Pill has been given, it means that this calamity has been resolved, ahem, what I mean is, we must never agree to that Chu Hao, we cannot condone evil!"

"Yes, everyone knows that Jail God Chu Hao, if we bring the mortgaged items over, I can guarantee that not only will he not return the things, but he will also swallow both portions!"

"Based on our understanding of him, he will definitely do that. However, Lingji Bodhisattva, what we mean is not that your things won't be returned; we will compensate you later."

"We must not let Lingji Bodhisattva feel disheartened; I will express my stance, I will give ten drops of merit divine water."

"I'll give a small piece of bread."

Looking at the people in front of him actually starting to shirk responsibility, Lingji Bodhisattva couldn't help but become exasperated.

"You, you are shameless!"

"It's really too much! I have shed blood for the Western Heavens, and had so many things robbed for the Western Heavens! How can you turn a blind eye?"

However, a Buddha's face darkened, and he said coldly:

"Lingji Bodhisattva, don't be ungrateful, everyone will remember your contributions for the Western Heavens! If you continue to pester and make trouble, you will definitely not get any benefits!"

"When the Journey to the West is completed in the future, you will be in the great calamity of the Journey to the West, and you will have the merit of completing the calamity, that merit will naturally be great, it would be impolite to dwell on these small losses."

Lingji Bodhisattva almost bit his teeth to pieces, not to mention whether he could survive until he could eat this piece of cake, and furthermore, with his status, he estimated that he wouldn't even have 100,000 merits by then.

What he's paying now is not just this little bit, that's a lifetime, no, several lifetimes of savings! It's all completely wasted!

Lingji Bodhisattva panicked and shouted excitedly:

"My Buddha, that Journey to the West team said they won't continue until the mortgaged items arrive, you can't lose the big picture for the small!"

However, what he received was the Tathagata Buddha's wave of his hand.

"Go, tell him, since he accepted the Wind-Calming Pill, he should go to the Journey to the West, the other things will be given to them later."

The Tathagata Buddha was extremely calm in his heart; he knew that with Chu Hao's character, it was already a done deal when he took Lingji Bodhisattva's mortgaged items.

As for Lingji Bodhisattva being sent to ask for an exorbitant price, that Jail God Chu Hao also knew that he would never agree, so regardless of whether Lingji Bodhisattva could get the things back, Chu Hao would continue on his way.

So, this wave is that the Western Heavens can continue to advance the Journey to the West, Chu Hao gets the benefits, a win-win situation.

As for the treasures lost by Lingji Bodhisattva, well... we'll give them to him after the Journey to the West.

Lingji Bodhisattva left, but his eyes were full of sinister anger!

The anger of an honest man is earth-shattering!