"Hmm~" Sun Wukong immediately turned around to look at the empty sky, chuckling mischievously, "Yang, you also came to welcome Old Sun’s departure?"
Yang Jian clasped his fist and smiled, saying: "Congratulations Great Saint on regaining your freedom!"
The Three Pure Ones hastily bowed and said: "Paying respects to the Heavenly Court’s Justice God, Erlang, revealing his divine truth!"
Tang Sanzang tightened his clothes and bent down, quietly hiding behind Sun Wukong, feeling that this divine being was too frightening; the sight of him sent shivers down his spine accompanied by an uncontrollable fear as if he was looking at a ruthless assassin, a bloody butcher with no sense of security.
Erlang God extended his hand, a scroll appearing in the palm of his hand saying: "Sun Wukong, receive the decree!"
Sun Wukong scratched his head and chuckled, "Old Sun doesn’t respect human kings or abide by the Jade Emperor’s rules, take it! Take it! I won’t be receiving any holy decree."
"This is Emperor Gouchen’s imperial will!"
"Hmm~" Sun Wukong’s eyes lit up, and he hastily bowed, saying: "Old Sun will receive the imperial will of Emperor Gouchen."
Yang Jian unfolded the holy scroll and read solemnly: "Sun Wukong, you are a stone monkey born from Heaven and Earth, untaught by anyone, thus although you have acquired Divine Skills, you have not entered the Taoist path. Having the intention to cultivate, yet unable to detach from greed and desires; reaching sainthood, still unable to rid of wrath.
Because of rage, you brought disasters upon yourself, sinking in the sea of suffering unable to escape; moved by pity, I suppressed you under the Lianhua Mountain, using Taoist Scripture to refine your nature until today you are liberated.
Your cultivation has made some progress, now I appoint you as an Outer God of the Heavenly Court’s Justice, to supervise good and evil in the Mortal World, to report the deeds across the Three Realms. With meritorious deeds, you shall be promoted in order. Adhere to the grand rules, do not indulge in personal folly which attracts missteps that bring grief to others. Thus, heed this decree!"
Yang Jian put away the scroll, asking: "Sun Wukong, do you understand?"
Sun Wukong repeatedly nodded, exclaiming excitedly: "Understood, understood, Old Sun understood! Old Sun is now a Justice God of the Heavenly Court too," gesticulating excitedly with his hands.
Yang Jian smiled and nodded, his hand extended, a tray appeared in his palm, on which lay a set of black Justice God uniform neatly folded with a shiny golden token on top.
Yang Jian said gravely: "Sun Wukong, come forward and receive your uniform."
Sun Wukong, filled with excitement, immediately flew upwards like a golden flash across the sky, instantly arriving before Yang Jian, rubbing his hands with a look full of anticipation.
Yang Jian handed the tray to Sun Wukong, saying solemnly: "As a Justice God, you are to uphold the Heavenly Rules, patrol the Three Realms, and bear great responsibility. You must be cautious in your words and deeds, and not disgrace the title of the Justice God." Official source is novel~fire~net
"Understood! Old Sun understands!" Sun Wukong continuously nodded.
Sun Wukong took the tray, spun around, and the sound of rustling could be heard. When he stopped, he had already changed into the Justice God uniform, his cape fluttering, with a golden token hanging at his waist.
"Hehe~" Sun Wukong excitedly patted and grabbed here and there!
Yang Jian showed a slight smile, saying: "Great Saint, wearing this uniform you are a Law Enforcer of the Heavenly Court, with the power to call upon Heaven and Earth, wielding the token you can marshal ten thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, enter the Underworld, and can also command the Yin Gods. These are the authorities granted by Emperor Gouchen.
Of course, if you encounter any issues in the future, you can come to the Judicial Temple for help. Since we are colleagues now, we should help each other."
Sun Wukong laughed heartily, "Alright, alright, Old Sun won’t be shy."
Yang Jian, with a clasped fist smiling, said: "For now, you go and protect Tang Sanzang in obtaining the scriptures, once you’ve returned from obtaining the scriptures, come and serve at the Judicial Temple.
Then, I’ll hold a feast at the Judicial Temple, where we brothers can drink heartily."
"No returning until drunk, no returning until drunk, thanks a lot, Brother Yang!"
Sun Wukong waved his hand to send Yang Jian away and immediately turned around to fly downwards, standing in front of the four and, with his head held high and chest puffed out, scratched his head and struck a pose, proudly saying, "How about that? Am I now a Judicial Celestial God too? Am I imposing?"
The Three Pure Ones nodded repeatedly, saying: "The Great Saint is imposing indeed!"
Tang Sanzang also nodded, saying, "Imposing!"
"The Great Saint is domineering!"
"Haha~ I, Old Sun, am also a Judicial Celestial God now!" Sun Wukong roared towards the sky, his voice thundering across the mountain ranges, startling countless birds and beasts.
Sun Wukong, with his head held high and chest out, said proudly, "Let’s go, hit the road, Old Sun will take you to the Western Heaven."
"Namo Amitabha Buddha!"
Tang Sanzang relaxed a bit and hurriedly walked towards his Mechanical Car, crawling into it and then, with difficulty, descended the mountain as a Mechanical Man.
Atop the mountain, The Three Pure Ones also breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a sense of accomplishment. Even the Demon King has been taught well by us and was acknowledged by Emperor Gouchen as an honorary Judicial Celestial God, a full achievement indeed!
In the forest, Sun Wukong, still excited, flew in front of the Mechanical Man, looking around.
Unable to help himself, Tang Sanzang asked, "Wukong, who was that Divine being just now?"
"He is Yang Jian, the Judicial Celestial God of the Heavenly Court, the Jade Emperor’s nephew, his abilities are not below mine, Old Sun."
Tang Sanzang murmured, "No wonder he has such a murderous aura, chilling to the bone."
"Haha~ Little Monk, you’re scared of the Judicial Celestial God, aren’t you guilty of something in your daily life?"
Tang Sanzang hurriedly defended, "Not at all! Since childhood, I’ve been cultivating without crossing any boundaries."
"Haha~ Old Sun will trust you for now. Little Monk, what made you think of going to the Western Heaven to obtain the scriptures?"
"To ferry all beings, to guide all beings towards goodness, to free them from the sea of suffering."
"Hehe~ Little Monk, have you ever heard the saying, ’When the world knows beauty as beauty, ugliness arises. When the world knows goodness as goodness, evil arises. Hence, existence and nonexistence produce each other, difficulty and ease complement each other, long and short form each other, high and low lean towards each other, voice and echo harmonize each other, front and back follow each other.’"
Inside the cockpit, Tang Sanzang was taken aback for a moment, looking at Sun Wukong with some surprise. He thought he had a disciple akin to a warrior, yet here he spoke such philosophical words. Shaking his head, he said: "I have not heard of this."
"Therefore, there is no pure goodness, without evil, there can be no good, even if you retrieve the Buddhist Scriptures, it’s useless!"
"Namo Amitabha Buddha~" Tang Sanzang recited a Buddhist scripture, deep in thought. Without evil, there is no good, without short, there is no long, without darkness, there is no light. This was the first time he heard such words, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. Does the purely good Pure Land truly exist?
Boom~ The Mechanical Man suddenly shook, Tang Sanzang swayed from side to side, and suddenly woke up.
Sun Wukong laughed outside, "Little Monk, you can’t even walk the path properly."
Tang Sanzang also laughed a bit. He himself was indeed bewitched, continuing with what he felt was right was sufficient; however, guiding this disciple might be challenging. He has the capability to cause Big Chaos in Heaven, to suppress demons and exorcise evil.
Talented in turning phrases, embodying great wisdom, what can I teach him? Tang Sanzang felt anxious at heart, pondering all the way till noon without a resolution. Should he teach him to read scriptures? He wasn’t sure if he would be willing.