The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 126 The Heinous Hou Yi

Chapter 126 The Heinous Hou Yi

Jiang Feng and his companions had been traveling for a month straight, and now it was the height of summer.

The sun was high in the sky, and the earth beneath our feet was cracked from the heat.

Jiang Feng walked on the scorching road with a dried lotus leaf on his head, eating the sugar water that Bai Suzhen had magically conjured into popsicles. He couldn't help but complain, "This damn weather! If I hadn't seen any flames, I would have thought we had arrived at the Flaming Mountain."

Thank goodness Pigsy didn't come along, or I could be eating roast pork right now.

Sha Wujing asked in confusion, "Who is Pigsy?"

Jiang Feng glanced at him and said indifferently, "Your second senior brother."

Sha Wujing scratched his bald head, completely bewildered: "Master, are you out of your mind from the heat? Aren't I your eldest disciple?"

Jiang Feng said, "Stop dreaming about becoming the first disciple. You're currently the third oldest. It's just that your two remaining senior brothers haven't been accepted into your sect yet."

Sha Wujing: "————"

Is there really such a thing as taking on three apprentices first? You'd better not be so ridiculous!

Bai Suzhen smiled and said, "It's a good thing I didn't become your disciple, otherwise wouldn't I be the fourth one?"

Jiang Feng rested his chin on his hand, pondering, and said, "Actually, I'm still missing a mount."

Bai Suzhen's eyebrows shot up: "Don't even dream about it! I'll never let you ride me in this lifetime!"

Jiang Feng rolled his eyes: "I wasn't talking about you. I wonder if there's still Eagle's Sorrow Gorge on the way. The order of the journey to the West was disrupted by the gods in heaven. I bet they're exhausted just from moving mountains and seas."

While they were chatting, a temple appeared about ten miles ahead.

The temple was surrounded by a large crowd, numbering at least three thousand, seemingly for some kind of temple fair or similar event.

Jiang Feng quickened his pace and reached the back of the crowd. He found an old man squeezed to the side and asked, "Sir, I'm a monk from out of town. What are you all doing?"

The old man said angrily, "We were whipping the statue of Hou Yi! For so many years we thought he was a good god, but now we know he's an evil god!"

Jiang Feng was slightly taken aback: "Hou Yi? Is that the Hou Yi who shot down the suns?"

The old man nodded: "That's him. We used to think he was the hero who shot down nine suns, and we would worship him every year."

We recently discovered he was a complete fraud. There's only one sun in the sky right now, and it's already scorching our crops to ruin; how could there possibly be ten suns at the same time!

Jiang Feng, indignant, said, "Old man, you're right. I'll go over there and give him a few lashes to vent my anger later!"

'

Bai Suzhen quickly stopped him, saying solemnly, "Don't do anything reckless! I've heard Master talk about Yi shooting down nine suns before; he was a true hero!"

Jiang Feng gritted his teeth and said, "Of course I know it's true. Back then, that bastard Yi was bored and shot down nine good days, including holidays, weekends, and weekends, with his bow and arrow. This is known in history as Yi shooting down the nine suns!"

From then on, people were plunged into an endless hell of working long hours; his actions were utterly heinous!

Bai Suzhen: "???"

Is it true that Yi shot down nine suns? How come it's completely different from what my master said? Who is telling the truth?

Jiang Feng continued, "Yi did more than just this one bad thing. He broke Buzhou Mountain, causing floods, built a wine pool and meat forest, making King Zhou excessive, helped Bai Qi dig a pit to bury prisoners alive, and bewitched Ying Zheng into burning books and burying scholars alive!"

The evil deeds he committed were so heinous that they aroused the wrath of both heaven and man; his crimes were simply too numerous to recount!

Bai Suzhen stared in shock, her mouth agape. Even the old man beside her was dumbfounded, stammering, "Were all these terrible things done by Hou Yi?"

Jiang Feng rolled his eyes: "I made it all up."

Old man: "—You're fucking making fun of me!"

Under the old man's angry gaze, Jiang Feng squeezed into the crowd and quickly arrived at the front.

He glanced at the statue of a deity being whipped in front of the temple and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

It wasn't that I was amused by their beating of the idol, but rather that they had hit the wrong person!

The statue in front of us is wearing an ancient robe and a crown. It is clearly the leader of the Youqiong clan in the Xia Dynasty. It is not the same person as Yi who shot down the sun!

Standing next to the statue was a girl in a white dress and a veil. When she saw Jiang Feng chuckling to himself, she frowned and took a few steps closer to him.

"Who are you, and why are you laughing?"

"This humble monk comes from the Great Sui Dynasty in the East, on his way to the Western Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures. He is passing through this place and would like to ask for some alms."

Seeing you whipping the idols was quite a novel experience. Upon closer inspection, it looked similar to street performers, except you were missing a basket for collecting money. I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The girl said unhappily, "We are breaking up this illicit worship, so don't cause trouble! After we demolish this temple, we will hold a banquet to celebrate, and then you will be able to eat."

Jiang Feng gave a knowing look and then asked, "I think this temple is at least several hundred years old. Why are you only now concluding that it's a place of immoral worship?"

The girl snorted proudly, "Of course it's because I'm only here now! If I had come any earlier, it would have been a lewd ritual long ago!"

Jiang Feng: "————"

So you were the culprit!

Jiang Feng carefully examined her for a few moments and flattered her, saying, "Madam, you are intelligent and kind-hearted, with the appearance of an immortal. I think there's no need to demolish the temple. Why not just enshrine your statue there directly? It would save us from wasting manpower and resources."

The girl paused for a moment, then a glint of light flashed in her eyes: "You're so clever! Let's do it this way! But forget about making a statue of me; I'll have them move Hou Yi out and let Chang'e move in!"

Jiang Feng pondered her words and figured she was probably a crazy girl who felt indignant on behalf of Chang'e. He shook his head helplessly and continued to watch the show from the side.

Sha Wujing stared blankly at the girl in front of him, and said hesitantly, "Master, this girl looks familiar, but I can't remember where I've seen her before."

Jiang Feng clicked his tongue and said, "What a boring way to start a conversation. Wujing, you should move a rock over there and ask if she dropped it. That would definitely leave a more lasting impression on her than your suggestion."

Sha Wujing was speechless.

Bai Suzhen said irritably, "Won't that scare the girl? Wujing, don't listen to him. You should take a brick and throw it at her."

Sha Wujing:

I'd be so grateful to your ancestors for eight generations! If you two really don't want to be human anymore, I wouldn't mind if you became something else!

As the sun set and a cool breeze blew by, Jiang Feng felt as if he had finally come back to life.

The villagers lit torches, carried the newly sculpted Chang'e statue into the temple, and set up a feast in front of the temple.

Jiang Feng randomly found a table, grabbed a couple of large bones from the bowl, gnawed on them, licked his fingers, and said to the old man beside him, "Old man, what a coincidence, we've run into you again!"

The old man was the same one Jiang Feng had fooled during the day. He snorted at him and said, "Eat quickly, we still need to watch the Goddess pray for rain!"

Jiang Feng asked curiously, "Where did this goddess come from? How do you know she can pray for rain? What if she's a fraud?"

The old man said with a look of disdain, "Do you think all of us are fools? The reason we can follow her orders to demolish the temple is naturally because she can bring us benefits."

The goddess came to our area a month ago. She had already prayed for rain once before, and rain can't be faked!

>