Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

Human struggle must not only consider individual efforts but also the course of history.

It’s a pity that the shopkeeper, Old Wei, of Guangfufang didn’t know this sentence. If he knew, he would definitely treat the speaker as a close friend.

The old Wei was the shopkeeper who had to help his father out when he was the young Wei. Although the Wei's restaurant was famous for several signature dishes at that time, it was only a small name in the neighborhood, far from the grandeur and scale it has today. The reason why it has the current three-room frontage and three-story restaurant is because 27 years ago, a diner loved to order the signature dish of the restaurant, soft beef intestines.

That diner was none other than Yin Wenjiao, the demon-conquering goddess who later became the head mage of the Xuanmen sect of the Tang Dynasty and ascended to heaven and accomplished countless great deeds.

When Empress Yin returned from her cultivation, drove away the dragon spirit and saved the emperor, the then shopkeeper Wei took advantage of this opportunity to publicize the relationship between his family and Empress Yin, which successfully made him famous in Chang'an. After Empress Yin ascended to the immortal world, the business of Wei's restaurant became more and more popular. When the princes and princesses entertained guests, they would order a dish of Wei's soft beef intestines as a garnish. Literati and scholars also gave this dish an elegant name, "Amber Wrapped in Nectar".

The son of the old shopkeeper Wei, now the young shopkeeper Wei, was smart and launched a set menu of celestial flavors, claiming that it was carefully selected by the demon-suppressing goddess Yin Niangniang. As expected, it was in short supply as soon as it was launched, and was highly sought after by people in Chang'an - anyway, no one could find Yin Wenjiao to verify whether she really liked these dishes.

The old shopkeeper Wei was very proud of his son. The way he looked at the young shopkeeper Wei was the same as the old shopkeeper Wei looked at the old shopkeeper Wei.

On this day, the Wei Family Restaurant had just opened. The waiter on the first floor was lazily arranging the tables and chairs inside and outside when he saw his companion slow down. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and set the table. Even though it's quiet now, in half an hour, it will be busy as hell."

His companion did not say anything, but pulled his elbow. He was about to retort, but when he looked up, he saw the situation outside the door and was immediately stunned.

Outside the door of Wei's Restaurant, there are several old crabapple trees, each of which is more than three meters tall, with thousands of flowers in full bloom, just like thousands of pink clouds flowing among the green leaves, elegant and charming. On weekdays, many pedestrians often stop to admire them. At this moment, a young girl is standing under the tree, looking up to admire the flowers.

Standing between the two waiters, they couldn't see her face clearly. They could only see a clear green silhouette, like the indigo of distant mountains or the green waves. The pink petals of the crabapple flowers fluttered around her, as if they also contained a hint of graceful attachment and reluctance, refusing to fall to the ground for a long time.

Like poetry and painting.

She must have sensed their gazes, she suddenly turned her head, the jade bamboo leaf pendant on her ear twitched lightly, she looked back at the two of them, then nodded slightly, and walked in: "Two young men, do you have any soft beef intestines for sale now?"

The two of them replied dumbly, "Are you talking about amber wrapped in nectar, girl? Yes, yes."

The girl smiled and said, "Please pack two for me, and two more pheasant wontons. I want to take them away."

The two rushed to the kitchen and shouted, then ran back quickly. Seeing that the girl had already sat at a small table in the corner, they went over to clean the table and move the chairs. "Since the girl likes the amber-wrapped nectar, I think you have heard of the fairy-flavored dishes in my house? They are all the favorite dishes of Empress Yin, and they are famous in Chang'an."

The girl was not annoyed by the two people's nonsense, and her expression was very warm: "Really? I just like those dishes in general, but the beef intestines and pheasant wontons are my husband's favorites. I didn't do something well recently, and I was afraid that he would be unhappy, so I brought these two foods to apologize."

The two of them hurriedly said, "With a good wife like you, which husband would have the heart to be angry with you?"

The girl lowered her eyes and smiled when she heard that: "Then, I'll borrow your good words."

A moment later, Wen Jiao appeared outside the Xuanji Pavilion, carrying a large lunch box. The gate in front of her was not much different from the one 27 years ago, except that the paint was peeling off a little. Yuan Tiangang and Fengji were probably very busy after returning to Chang'an, and they didn't have much free time. Otherwise, with Yuan Tiangang's meticulous spirit, how could he tolerate such a flaw on his own door?

She lifted the food box in her hand, and for a moment, she felt as if she was still the Lady of Guichuan County who was almost driven to desperation by Chen Guangrui twenty-seven years ago. She was holding the food box and knocking on the door of a certain physiognomist named Yuan with a fierce posture of seeking revenge.

She shook her head and smiled, then snapped her fingers and the door knocker rose up by itself and closed.

"Bang, bang, bang", the crisp flapping sounds woke up several morning birds.

Fengji quickly came and opened the door. Wen Jiao waved the lunch box at him and asked, "Have you eaten?"

"I've been busy for a whole day and night, and I haven't had time to eat breakfast." Feng Ji looked a little sad, "Li Chunfeng is here too."

Wen Jiao followed him inside and asked as she walked, "He's here too? What are you guys busy with?"

Fengji paused for a moment and said, "Mrs. Yin, Xuanzang has returned from his pilgrimage. You know about this, right?"

Wen Jiao nodded.

"Taichang Cheng Lu Cai took the lead and brought in a group of great scholars, high-ranking Taoist priests, and Yin-Yang masters to debate with Xuanzang, but was defeated miserably. You also know about this, right?" Feng Ji looked solemn.

"I don't know, but it's not unexpected." Wen Jiao sighed.

Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism each have their own strengths, but if there is one thing that Buddhism is the best at and Confucianism and Taoism are not good at, it is the Buddhist logic. In layman's terms, it is logic. Taoist logic has not made any progress since the ascension of Zhuangzi, the Taoist of Nanhua. Confucianism is not good at logic. When the two meet Buddhism, which has a tradition of debate for thousands of years, no matter how hard they struggle, they will have no chance of winning.

Feng Ji sighed, "Lü Cai has also worked hard on the study of logic. He borrowed Xuanzang's translation of "Introduction to the Theory of Logic" from the Buddhist monk Qi Xuan, and studied it carefully. He listed more than 40 flaws and consciously made sufficient preparations. Who would have thought that Xuanzang would calmly refute them one by one? At the end of the debate, not only Lü Cai was at a loss for words, Li Chunfeng was speechless, and the other old gentlemen were also refuted and speechless. In addition to Xuanzang and his four disciples, the only one who was very happy in the hall was Jin Shang.

"Although Lü Cai lost the debate, he was very dissatisfied. After leaving the hall, he sneered at Xuanzang, left a word and walked away."

"What did he say?" Wen Jiao asked curiously.

Feng Ji said, "He said, 'The holy monk has a noble character, a compassionate heart, and a kind mouth. Why is it that on the journey to the west, the closer we get to Mount Lingshan, the more demons and monsters there are, while in the East, we are not enlightened by the Buddha's teachings, but live in peace and contentment without seeing demons and monsters?' In one sentence, he made Xuanzang pale."

Wen Jiao praised: "This gentleman has great insight. The three religions have their own strengths. Buddhism is good at thinking and debate, but not good at governing the world. The excellence of Confucianism and Taoism is not in the victory or defeat of verbal debate. Although Buddhism has gained the upper hand for a while because of Xuanzang and others, who knows what will happen in the future after a long time?"

Feng Ji said, "He also said so. But after listening to this debate, he and Li Chunfeng had another flash of inspiration. It is said that Buddhism has three thousand worlds, and Taoism also has the saying that 'the four directions and the up and down are called the universe, and the ancient system from the past to the present is called the universe'. With the two confirming each other, it is true that the current vision of the Shuzi Sect is only confined to the fortune of a country and the good and bad luck of a hundred years. It is too narrow and needs to be innovated. If a new path can be opened up, it can also boost the spirit of the current sluggish Dongtu Xuanmen."

As they were talking, the two of them had already walked to the small pavilion in the middle of the bamboo forest in the backyard. Feng Ji pointed at the two people who were concentrating on deduction in the pavilion and said, "Look, they are still calculating!"