Chapter 43: The Dark Forest
Garuda was afraid that the Heavenly Demons would see their whereabouts, so he flew very low, his colorful figure shuttling through the dark jungle.
Pan'er lay on Garuda's broad back, and she couldn't see her fingers around her, and she couldn't see anything. However, although there was no breeze in the night sky, the trees around were sighing slightly. Behind the jungle, you can faintly hear the terrifying howls of the demons and the screams of people fighting on the battlefield.
Garuda said: "I don't know how many days the Western Regions can last? Although that little monk has magical powers, he can only save people, not kill people, and I don't know if he can save his life in this scene of thousands of troops and horses." ”
Pan'er wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and now she couldn't delay for a moment, her chest was boiling with blood, and she said firmly: "He won't die! A good man won't die! Let's go full speed! Arrive at the Central Plains a moment earlier, and have a better chance of winning!"
Garuda shook his head and said, "Even if the army from the Central Plains is moved, even if they defeat the Heavenly God Kingdom, can they fight against the Heavenly Lord of the Desire Realm?"
Pan'er's heart sank, and she said: "That * realm heaven, please do not move the great bodhisattva, the emperor and the king of heaven, to defend the world together." ”
Garuda snorted and said, "The gods of the * heavens live so happily that they won't care about the affairs of the world." ”
Pan'er was cold and at a loss when she heard this.
They had been flying for several hours in a row, and they had long since moved away from the blazing battlefield of the Western Regions.
However, the never-ending darkness around them began to weigh on their hearts. Garuda couldn't help but wonder if he was on the right path, in the middle of this dark forest, it was like a ghost hitting a wall.
"Why haven't you crossed this forest yet?" said Garuda, muttering incessantly, becoming anxious.
In the midst of this boundless darkness, they can't help but feel small, insignificant, and very lonely.
Garuda said in frustration, "It's over...... Finished...... The whole world is dark, where is the road...... Let's surrender......"
Pan'er held her trembling hand and said, "Let's not look back! Keep walking towards the east! We will definitely go out!"
Pan'er raised her head and stared into the distance, longing for that glimmer of light. But she heard the sigh again, like the voice of an old man echoing through the dense forests and hills.
She listened carefully, secretly surprised and surprised, just listening to the voice, but it was not like the evil voice of a group of demons.
"Who is it?" she raised her voice.
Garuda was also stunned, and said in a loud voice: "Where did the demons and monsters come from?
A distant voice from the depths of the jungle replied, "It's obvious that you are disturbing my peace!" Pan'er and Garuda listened to this voice, like an ancient elf, deep and ethereal.
Garuda spread his wings and shouted, "What are you? Do you recognize me?"
The voice said, "I know everything in the heavens and the earth." You are a kind of divine beast born from heaven and earth, and I naturally know you. ”
Garuda took a big breath, spat a ball of fire into the dark front, and said sharply, "Come out evil spirits, what do you want to do with us hiding in the shadows?"
The voice said angrily, "Don't burn it anymore! I am this forest, not an evil ghost! I was about to ask you, I have been here for 10,000 years, and I can see what you beings are doing. It was sunny a few days ago, but why did the black clouds block the sun? I also know that an evil spirit is quietly following you. ”
When Garuda and Pan'er heard him say this, their backs were cold, and Pan'er couldn't help but say loudly: "Who is following us? Immortal, who are you?"
They became more and more nervous, only to hear the voice suddenly "huh" and say, "Someone is coming......
"Who's coming?" asked Pan'er again, but the voice didn't answer.
After a while, Pan'er seemed to smell the scent of horses in the darkness, and could hear them pacing on the ground covered with pine needles.
She whispered, "There are indeed people!"
They sped toward the sound of the horses, when they saw a flash of fire not far away. Pan'er looked intently and was surprised to see that it was a human army. Dressed in armor, they set up camp on the edge of the forest, where soldiers lit bonfires to keep warm in the cold, dark jungle.
At the same moment, I saw Pan'er's eyes shining brightly, as if she was looking forward to the dawn in the dark night.
She was overjoyed and said, "That's the Central Plains! That's the Central Plains!"
Garuda was also overjoyed, and hurriedly swooped away, and with a "whew", he stopped in the crowd.
When the guards were shocked to see Garuda's huge and strange figure, they all raised their spears and torches in panic, surrounded him nervously, and shouted: "Youkai!"
Garuda waved his wings, and in an instant he swept everyone to the ground, shouting, "Get out of here! I want to see your emperor!"
Pan'er hurriedly jumped down from Garuda, and hurriedly said to everyone: "Don't be afraid, military masters, this is not a monster, but a divine eagle!
Everyone looked at Pan'er in surprise, in the firelight, but saw that she was dressed in a yellow shirt, her clothes were fluttering, her skirt was flying, and her whole body was faintly shining. Hearing Pan'er say that Garuda was a divine eagle, they looked at him carefully, and saw that this big bird had a human face and a human body, and its body and limbs were no different from humans, and a pair of huge wings behind it were colorful, and there was a big tumor on its head, which was impressively powerful.
They couldn't help but think of Pan'er as a fairy, and immediately all kowtowed, shouting, "Are you an immortal?"
Pan'er hurriedly said: "I'm not an immortal! I'm just like you, I'm a Han person! Excuse me, what are you doing here?"
At this time, I saw a body suddenly straighten. He was wearing a yellow python robe, with a confident and noble demeanor, which showed his noble status. He puffed out his chest and spoke to Pan'er, the clearest voice she had ever heard.
"Back to the great immortals, this celestial phenomenon is strange, there is no sunshine, Xiao Wang is here to check on the will of the Son of Heaven. Xiao Wang is fortunate to meet the great immortal in his third life today!"
When Pan'er saw this person, her face couldn't help but change greatly, and she instantly became extremely respectful, and even a little scared, she immediately knelt on the ground and bowed to the person: "See His Royal Highness the Seven Kings, Chitose Chitose Chitose Chitose!"
The man was stunned, and hurriedly stepped forward and bowed to Pan'er, arching his hand and saying, "Don't dare, don't dare! I don't know which immortal is in the lower realm? How can you recognize Xiao Wang?"
At this time, a dignified and luxurious woman stepped forward and asked, "Lord Wang, what happened?"
Pan'er was even more shocked, and immediately kowtowed to the woman three times with a "bang-bang-bang", and said, "The sinner girl Pan'er meets Her Royal Highness the Princess, do you still recognize me?"
The woman was none other than the Seventh Princess, but strangely, she didn't recognize Pan'er.
I saw that she immediately bowed to Pan'er in a panic, and said respectfully: "This great immortal has tormented me, I am just an ordinary woman in the world, and I don't know you." ”
When Garuda saw Pan'er seeing these two people, he stepped forward to bow and bow, and for some reason, he was very displeased, and raised his voice and said, "Sister, what do you see them kowtowing? They have to kowtow to me!"
Pan'er was stunned, looked up at the Seventh Princess, saw her looking up at herself, and then saw the Seventh Prince, who was also respectful to herself.
Pan'er was panicked and surprised, and she didn't know what the reason was, she guessed, could it be that the Seventh Prince and the Seventh Princess were frightened by Garuda?
In fact, since she went to Wu* Heaven with Likuan that day, long-term diet of the Lotus Fruit, lotus tea, and the Seven Feelings Xiao of Qianmin Po and the Seven Treasures of Emperor Shakti, her voice and appearance have changed dramatically. When mortals see her, they will see a white light emitting behind her, and her every move has a celestial-like voice, which makes people dare not be disrespectful. Coupled with the mighty Garuda beside Pan'er, the Seventh Princess would never have thought that the celestial man in front of her would be her lost personal maid, Pan'er.
She hurriedly stepped forward to help the seventh princess up, and said, "Princess, I am Pan'er, your maid." Do you remember me?"
As soon as she heard the word "Pan'er", the princess was taken aback, and hurriedly raised her head to take a closer look.
She looked at her in a daze and said in surprise, "You...... Are you saying you're my maid, Pan'er?"
Pan'er hurriedly bowed to the Seventh Princess and said, "Pan'er didn't go back that day, she really encountered a lot of things, please ask the princess to give her sin." ”
The Seventh Princess couldn't help but lose color and said, "You...... How did you end up like this......"
The Seventh Prince looked at the Seventh Princess in surprise and asked, "Princess, do you know the immortals?"
The seventh princess was stunned for a long time, looked at Pan'er's face repeatedly, and exclaimed, "It's you...... It's you...... Where have you been? We had incense in the temple that day, and then the palace couldn't wait for you. Hongu is still afraid...... I'm afraid that there will be chaos outside, and you will be plundered by thieves. I've been sending people around to find out about you. ”
Pan'er's nose was sour, and she said in a low voice: "Niang Niang thinks about Pan'er, so that Pan'er feels heartfelt and honest." ”
Seeing that the princess seemed to have a relationship with this celestial man, the seventh prince also stood up and asked, "Princess, ......who is this immortal?"
The seventh princess said: "This is Pan'er, my personal maid." On that day, I went to the folk incense and lost the maid, do you remember the prince?"
However, the seventh prince did not have the slightest impression, there were many maids in his palace, and when he saw the prince, he didn't even dare to raise his head, except for a few maids who served beside him, he didn't even know the names of the rest of the maids. He only felt that the scene in front of him was incredible, the celestial man riding the divine eagle in front of him was actually the maid next to the princess, and he couldn't figure it out.
He still didn't dare to slack off in the slightest, and said in confusion: "The great immortal is here, there must be something important to tell him." ”
Pan'er nodded and said anxiously, "I...... I'm here for the Western Regions. ”
The Seventh Prince said: "The Western Regions are neighbors with our country, and they have always been friendly and trade-friendly. I wonder what instructions the Great Immortal has?"
Pan'er gasped, and for a while she felt that it was difficult to say anything, and thought: "I'm just a maid here, and this matter still needs to be explained to the princess and princess." If I say directly that I want to meet the Holy One, it is too abrupt. But this matter must not be delayed, if we take a slow step on our side, the Western Regions country will be in danger of losing the country. ”
She kowtowed three more times to the princess and said, "Back to the prince's words, Pan'er has had a lot of things happen along the way since she was separated from the princess. It's hard to put into words, by chance, I came to the Western Regions Kingdom, and I happened to encounter the Heavenly God Kingdom attacking the Western Regions Kingdom. When I came, the Kingdom of the Celestials had already arrived in the city. The king of the Western Regions ordered me to come to the Central Plains and ask for help. ”
The Seventh Princess felt very surprised, took Pan'er's hand, and asked, "Pan'er, what is going on? How did you go to the Western Regions Kingdom, and what happened after you left, you can tell me." ”
Although Pan'er was very anxious in her heart, she didn't dare to disobey the princess's will, and she explained the adventures that happened all the way after her encounter with Liku.
Looking at the expression of the seventh princess, she gradually changed from surprise to excitement, and she folded her hands and said: "Nan no Amitabha! It turns out that the ascetic monk I met that day turned out to be a bodhisattva! I faintly felt that his eyebrows were different from ordinary monks that day. In the future, I will chant sutras and worship the Buddha every day and make offerings to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. ”
Pan'er saw her respectful look at Liku, but she felt something else in her heart. At this time, in her heart, renunciation is her relative, the person she cares about the most, and she is not a high-ranking bodhisattva.
The Seventh Princess then said: "Pan'er, you have this adventure, in fact, you have this good fortune. I don't dare and can't let you be a maid in the palace again. Next, are you going to go back to the *day, or do you want to stay on earth?"
Pan'er hurriedly said: "Back to the princess, the little girl's personal stay is small, and the most important thing at the moment is to keep the Western Regions Kingdom." If the Kingdom of the Heavenly Gods captures the Kingdom of the Western Regions, then the next ...... The next one is our Central Plains Dynasty. ”
Seeing her anxious look, the seventh princess could see that the situation was urgent, but although she was a princess, women could not interfere in such military affairs. And Pan'er is just a maid beside her, if she participates in the country's military and politics, she is even more taboo, and she hesitates for a while, and can't help but look back at the Seventh Prince.
The Seventh Prince was skeptical when he heard this, but in broad daylight, the sky was pitch black, and this strange celestial phenomenon had frightened the people of the whole country, so the Holy Lord ordered him to come to this black forest to investigate. And the celestial voices of Garuda and Pan'er in front of him made him feel strange, and he couldn't help but believe it.
He didn't identify Pan'er as an ordinary woman in the world, and was hesitating whether to take Pan'er to face the saint, when suddenly, a cold ghost wind blew in the forest, blowing out the bonfire here. When I looked at it again, I could only hear many officers and soldiers shouting loudly: "Ghost fire! Ghost fire!"
Pan'er and Garuda hurriedly looked around, and clusters of green and faint ghost fires were burning strangely everywhere.
A cold ghost voice said: "There are a lot of living people! Qiqing Xiao is also here!hahaha!"