Beak Buddha

The monk Qihui is reborn, and the moment he opens his eyes, he's stunned.

"May I ask who you are, benefactor?"

Wu Powang is so excited his feathers fly everywhere. He spins and leaps, then cups his face, bashful: "Your husband in your last life, and your boy-friend in this one~"

"...May I ask what you just did?"

Wu Powang spreads his pair of black wings. In an instant, they blot out the sky, dark as ink and streaked with blood. He winks at himself:

"...It's a rule of the Wu clan: the down at the base of your wing bones is only given to your fated one. The feather I gave you even glows!"

'At the base of the wing bones... Isn't that just armpit hair?'

Holding the glowing feather in his hand, Monk Qihui dares not show too much disdain. He thinks, Buddha is merciful! and decides to put it more tactfully:

"...May I ask if you have a chronic ailment of the mind, benefactor?"

Wu Powang leans forward and pecks him. "Darling, you're so mean~ I wasn't the one who was just reborn~"

--Previous life--

Wu Powang: "Between me and Buddha, who do you believe in?"

Qihui: "Buddha."

Wu Powang: "Between me and Buddha, whom do you follow?"

Qihui: "Buddha."

Wu Powang: "Between me and Buddha, whom do you hold sacred in your heart?"

Qihui: "Buddha."

Wu Powang laughs maniacally, profanes Buddha, abandons the Dharma, and slaughters monks. His red feathers blot out the sun as he pecks the Buddha bones from Qihui. Yet, as Qihui nears death, he hears him say:

"I cultivate selflessness and let go. I can let go of Buddha, but I can't let go of you."

--Present life--

The demon king Wu Powang carries the Buddha bones he took from Qihui in his beak. He slays the Golden Crows, imprisons the Sun Mother, forges a blood pool and heavenly chasm, and throws the natural order of heaven and earth into chaos.

The Three Realms and Six Paths suffer beyond endurance. A handpicked suicide squad of bird-catchers charges toward Xihe Palace.

But the demon king simply smiles and lies flat. In front of all the gods and demons, he pecks out his own red feathers, becoming a bald quail, then jumps into the Five Aggregates Pool. His cultivation is completely wiped out, and he turns into a wisp of vermilion smoke.

The gods and demons sigh: "In the Five Aggregates Pool, deluded passions vanish and all filth is cleansed. This demon bird must have been so reckless that even the Heavenly Dao could no longer tolerate him."

That day, the little novice blushes, his shiny bald head glowing, and peeks through his hands. "Little bird, if you're going to take human form, why didn't you make yourself some clothes?"

The demon king looks aggrieved and innocent. "Sob, sob, the gods and demons all bully me. They burned my nest, plucked my feathers, and ruined my cultivation. I can't make clothes. Please take pity on me, little monk."

Demon king versus Buddha bones,

A dramatic red-legged raven versus a little novice who sleepwalks all the time,

The red-beaked, red-legged mountain crow spirit who brags he's the fiercest under the sun versus a lazy, listless cultivator with a head and heart as empty as each other.

Hoarding, chatterbox versus homebody who loves throwing things away

Theme: Build a strong country together, and strive tirelessly.