PART ONE
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◎ CHAPTER 1 ◎

THE BIRTH OF THE MAGIC MONKEY

Long, long ago, in the land of the East, there was a high mountain, on top of which was a large stone. The stone had the dimensions corresponding to the universe, and cavities that corresponded to those of living beings: seven for the eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth; and three for the navel, urinal and anal orifices.

Over thousands of years, this stone received the spirit of the universe, and started to show the characteristics of a living being. One day the stone exploded, and a stone monkey leaped out of it. The stone monkey quickly learned to walk and leap and its eyes emitted golden rays, which shot all the way up to the sky and was seen by the Jade Emperor in Heaven, who was the head of all gods. The Jade Emperor said, "This is a newly-born creature, and as long as he remains harmless, let him be."

◎ CHAPTER 2 ◎

THE STONE MONKEY BECOMES KING

The stone monkey joined the other monkeys in the mountain, playing, cavorting, feeding on the fruits, jumping from tree to tree, and having great fun. One day, as they roamed around their mountain, they came upon a waterfall. The monkeys cried in unison, "Wow, what is this? We have never seen this before. What could be behind the water?"

The waterfall was very wide and there was a huge torrent of water rushing down the cliff. The monkeys said, "Well, we don't know what is behind this waterfall. If one of us is brave enough to go find out, then why don't we accept him as our King?"

One day the stone exploded, and a stone monkey leaped out of it.

When the stone monkey heard this, he said, "I will go there." So he closed his eyes, and leaped through the screen of water, and landed in a dry cave behind the waterfall.

The stone monkey found stone tables and chairs, and other furniture. There was also a big sign at the entrance of the cave, saying 'Water Screen Cave'. The stone monkey was delighted, and he leapt out of the cave through the waterfall, and shouted, "Hey! I found quite a nice living place for us!"

Now that the other monkeys had seen the stone monkey go through the water and return unscathed, they all followed his example and leapt into the cave. The cave was large enough to accommodate everyone. Everyone was happy, and they decided to accept the stone monkey as their king. Now the stone monkey called himself the 'Magnificent Monkey King'.

◎ CHAPTER 3 ◎

MONKEY KING IS STRUCK BY THE NOTION OF MORTALITY

Those in the monkey kingdom, with the Magnificent Monkey King at its head, were living in comfort and happiness for a long time. Then one day, after a few hundred years, the Monkey King realized that all living things must die, and that he was no exception. He became sad and depressed, and the other monkeys asked him what was troubling him.

He replied, "I realize that I must die one day, but I don't know how to escape that fate. I have decided to leave you and go search for a way to be immortal." Everyone was saddened, but they agreed that their King should have the opportunity to look for immortality. So they helped their King prepare for his voyage.

◎ CHAPTER 4 ◎

THE MONKEY KING SEEKS IMMORTALITY

The Monkey King embarked on his voyage, and after a few months, he hit the shore of a magic continent. He went into the town, asking for the master who can teach him immortality, and eventually came to an ashram (hermitage). He asked to be accepted as a disciple.

He was admitted as a novice, and was given the name Sun Wukong. As a novice, he had to take on a servant's work, such as cooking, sweeping, woodcutting, washing, and serving the master and the higher disciples. After a few years, he was able to learn some of the teachings by listening to the lectures while sweeping outside of the classrooms.

A few years later, he was slowly admitted to the lectures. When he heard the first lecture, and understood its profound meaning, he was overjoyed, and jumped with joy. The Master chided him for frivolity, but Sun Wukong explained that he was so happy to hear the truth that he could not contain himself. The Master then asked him what he wanted to learn. Sun Wukong said he wanted to learn the way to achieve immortality.

The Master said, "How about 'Shu' (craft)?" Sun asked what it does. The Master said it involves witchcraft and medicine. Sun asked if this would help with immortality and the Master said, "No." Sun said, "Then I do not wish to learn it."

The Master said, "How about 'Liu' (scholarship)? It would enlighten you on many schools of thought such as Confucian, Taoist, Sophist, Political Scientist, and so on." Sun said he wondered if it would help gain immortality and the Master said, "No." Sun said, "Then I do not wish to learn it."

After a few more suggestions, the Master was fed up, and he hit Sun with his rod three times and left the classroom holding the rod behind his back.

That night, Sun went to the Master's house at 3 a.m., entering through a backdoor. The Master was still up, and Sun knelt in front of him. The Master asked, "Why did you come at this hour?"

Sun replied, "You hit me three times, and held your rod behind your back, so I knew you wanted me to come to you at 3 a.m. and enter through the backdoor."

◎ CHAPTER 5 ◎

SUN WUKONG LEARNS IMMORTALITY

The Master was impressed by Sun's understanding of the riddle, and decided to teach him the way to achieve longevity. The Master gave him the secret mantra (invocation) and instructions to follow through. This, said the Master, would make him immune to sickness and ageing. Sun gratefully accepted these, and worked very hard to memorize and to follow all the instructions.

After a few months, the Master asked Sun how he was doing. Sun said he was pretty sure he had succeeded in achieving immortality. The Master chuckled, and said, "You have achieved longevity, but not immortality. Because there will be three shocks that will come upon everyone who has lived for several hundred years. They all kill, and no one can avoid them, unless one knows the way."

Sun asked what these three shocks would be. The Master said, "The first one is a thunderbolt that visits you after five hundred years. It is not a natural thunderbolt. It comes from the depth of the universe, and unless you can avoid it in advance, it will burn up your bones and cause you to explode." Sun was frightened, and begged to hear about the second shock.

The Master said, "After another five hundred years, there will be the fire, which will burn your soul." Sun was in deep distress, and asked the Master to tell him about the third shock.

"The last shock, after another five hundred years, is the death wind. Again, it is not a natural wind, but it comes from the depth of being. Unless you know how to avoid it, it will blow you into pieces."

Now Sun was in a real panic. He knelt in front of the Master and begged him the save his life. The Master said, "Very well. There are two sets of supernatural tricks that you can learn that will counter the effects of the three shocks. One is a set of thirty six tricks, and the other is a set of seventy two."

Sun thought about it and, and decided, "I prefer more tricks to less, so please let me learn the set of seventy two." The Master agreed, and taught him the tricks.

Sun worked very hard, and over the period of a year, mastered the seventy two tricks. He was so good that now he could manage to levitate and fly about. The Master asked him how he was doing. Sun told him that he could now fly. The Master told him to show how he flew. Sun levitated himself and moved about in the air.

The Master laughed, and said, "This is not flying! You know that fairies can fly thousands of miles in an instant. What you are doing is just crawling around in the cloud."

Sun begged, "Master, please do not leave me imperfectly trained. Please teach me how to fly for real."

The Master said, "Well, you are a monkey, so I will show you a flying technique that befits a monkey. It is called 'somersault fight'. It will enable you to fly one hundred and eight thousand miles with one somersault." The Master gave the magic chant that enabled the flight, and Sun diligently memorized it. After a while he was able to fly in a flash.

One day Sun was talking with his fellow disciples, when they asked him to show what he had learned. Sun said, "Just tell me what you want me to be." One of his friends said, "Why not turn yourself into a pine tree?" Whoosh! Sun turned himself into a huge pine tree.

His friends were very impressed and they applauded loudly. When the Master heard the commotion, he came out to see what was going on. He scolded everyone for the noise, then took Sun aside and told him, "You should now leave here. What you have done is not good. It inspires envy, and envy can lead to jealousy. You will no longer be safe here."

Sun protested, "But Master, I have spent more than twenty years here. Where can I go?"

The Master said, "Remember where you have come from? Go back there."

Sun suddenly remembered his mountain and his cave and his kingdom. He knelt to the Master to thank him for all he had taught, and took one somersault to return to his mountain, crossing two continents in a second, a distance that earlier took him several months to travel.

◎ CHAPTER 6 ◎

SUN WUKONG REESTABLISHES HIS KINGDOM

When Sun arrived in the mountain, and reached the Water Screen Cave, he noticed the place was in disorder. He shouted, "Everybody! I am back."

The monkeys came out of the cave and from behind trees to greet him. "Sire, you have been away for so long, leaving us unprotected. There is a monster king in the north that raids us, and has taken many of our monkeys hostages," they said.

Sun replied "I am now immortal, and have learned 72 supernatural tricks. Let me go north and fix everything."

Sun took one somersault to get to the cave where the monster king was living, and shouted, "I am the king of the Monkey Kingdom. Return the hostages and all you have robbed from us, or I shall destroy you."

The monster king came out of the cave, and started to laugh. "Look at you, only four and a half feet, and you talk as if you were a giant."

Sun pulled a few strands of his own hair, and blew it towards the monster king, shouting, "Get".

The strands turned into hundreds of monkeys who descended on the monster king and pinned him to the ground. Sun then took the monster king's sword, and chopped him into half. He then sucked in his breath and all the monkeys turned back into strands of hair, and came back to him.

Sun said to the several hundred monkey hostages in the cave, "I am going to take you home. Close your eyes while I fly with you." He flew back to the Water Screen Cave and said, "Now you can open your eyes."

Sun Wukong pulled a few strands of his own hair and blew them towards the monster king, shouting "get!"

The strands turned into hundreds of monkeys...

Everyone was delighted, and said, "Wow, we are so lucky to have our King back, with such amazing supernatural skills."

◎ CHAPTER 7 ◎

SUN WUKONG'S KINGDOM THRIVES

In organizing his kingdom, Sun wanted to have a good army, but he did not have weapons for his monkey soldiers. One of his monkey advisers suggested, "Why not go and buy some swords and bows and arrows from the kingdom nearby?" Sun thought it was a good idea and decided to go to the neighboring kingdom and see.

Once he was there, he saw big towns and small villages. The capital had a big population, and streets were filled with people going about their business. He decided to play a trick; he took a deep breath, and blew out in the direction of the Wind God, and there was a huge gale that churned up a sand dust which sent everyone scurrying inside their houses.

With the streets deserted, Sun went to the armory, where there were thousands of swords, spears, bows, arrows, armors, saddles, and many other weapons. He pulled out his hair and, once more, said, "Get." The hair turned into hundreds of monkeys who promptly went and gathered up various weapons and followed Sun as he flew back to the Water Screen Cave.

The weapons started to drop from the sky as Sun retrieved his hair, and the monkeys excitedly collected the weapons and played with them. Now the kingdom was well armed, and the monkeys trained avidly under the instruction of Sun, whose supernatural tricks included martial arts.

The monkey kingdom grew stronger with good government under Sun, and with military training for his monkey army. The other animals in the mountain and around became aware of this, and they all came to Sun, wanting to be on a friendly terms with his kingdom. These included other monkey species such as gorillas, chimps, baboons, as well as owls, sparrows, eagles, falcons, snakes, lizards, deer, bears, wolves, leopards, tigers, even lions. Soon, Sun was presiding over not only his own kingdom, but a large alliance of many smaller kingdoms.

◎ CHAPTER 8 ◎

SUN WUKONG ACQUIRES THE WEAPON OF HIS CHOICE

But Sun did not like any of the weapons: they were too flimsy and lightweight. One of the old monkeys told him that the Dragon King of the Sea had the most wonderful treasures in his palace, no doubt including some super excellent weapons. "But can you go into the water?" asked the adviser.

Sun said, "I have achieved immortality, and have seventy two supernatural tricks that allow me to get into the heavens, the sea, into the earth, everywhere. Of course I can go into the water."

So Sun decided to pay the Dragon King a visit. From his cave, the waterfall flowed down to the sea. Sun went downstream, and when he arrived at the sea, he used his trick to part the water, and went down to the depths of the sea. There he ran into the Dragon Patrol, who asked who he was.

Sun said, "I want to see the Dragon King. Take me there."

When the Patrol asked, "Who are you?" Sun replied, "I am the Divine Fairy, King of your neighboring kingdom. You ought to know me."

The Patrol took Sun to the palace and presented him to the Dragon King. The Dragon King said, "Respected Divine Fairy, is there anything I could do for you?"

Sun said, "Yes. I am looking for a weapon that is suitable for me, as the ordinary weapons are too light and flimsy. I hear you have some excellent weapons, so I would like to request one such weapon."

The Dragon King decided not to be rude, so he ordered for a large sword to be given to Sun. Sun brandished it around and said, "No. This is too light, too."

The Dragon King, surprised, then ordered for a trident. Again, Sun said it was too light. The Dragon King was now truly frightened by Sun's strength. He said, "But, Divine Fairy, this trident weighs three thousand six hundred kilograms."

Sun said, "You must have something better than this." Then, the Dragon King's wife remembered something, and said to the Dragon King, "You see, this Divine Fairy must be someone special. Remember the magic stick in our special vault? It has been giving out a strange light the last three days. Maybe this Divine Fairy is destined to have it."

The Dragon King explained to Sun that the stick was used by the Emperor Yu, long time ago, as the measuring rod when the rivers of China were flooding the country, with millions drowning, and no one able to do anything about it. Yu took on the task of regulating the rivers and bringing them under control. Yu was so successful, and the people of China so grateful, that he was enthroned as the Emperor of China. When Sun heard the story, he asked for the rod to be brought to him. The Dragon King replied, "No. It is too heavy and no one can move it. I am afraid you are going to have to go where it is kept."

So the Dragon King took Sun to the special vault where the magic stick was housed. It had a note attached to it: "The stick that complies with the wishes of its rightful owner. Weight: 13,000 kilograms."

Sun took the rod in his hand and said, "It's a little too fat," and to everyone's astonishment, the stick immediately became thinner. Then Sun said, "It would be nice if it is a little shorter," and to his delight, the stick shortened.

The Dragon King felt resigned over the prospect of giving up the stick to Sun. Sun was the only one who could handle it, and, even more remarkable, the stick obeyed Sun's commands, just as the note said it would. When Sun commanded the stick to shrink to the size of a needle, so he could put it inside his ear, the stick obeyed.

Sun then asked the Dragon King for armor. The Dragon King said, "I have nothing in my storage to offer, but I am only the Dragon King of the Eastern Ocean. My brothers, the Dragon Kings of the Western, Northern and Southern Oceans might have some treasured armor that you might like." Sun said, "It is better to bother one host than two. Why don't I stay here, and you can ask your brothers to come and offer their wares."

The Dragon King had no choice, so he sounded the magic bell to summon his three brothers, who came in an instant. They could each fly and swim at supernatural speeds. They asked, "Brother, what has happened that's so urgent?"

When The Dragon King of the Eastern Ocean explained what happened, the three brother Dragon Kings said, "This is outrageous. Why don't we arrest him and put him in the dungeon?" Their Eastern brother shuddered at this. "No, no, no," he said. "He is very strong. He can wield the Magic Stick like a bamboo staff. It would be impossible to fight him." The three brothers said, "All right. Why don't we offer him what he wants, and then go to the court of the Jade Emperor to complain. That way we will have some satisfaction."

So decided, the Dragon King of the Northern Ocean offered a pair of magic boots, the Dragon King of the Western Ocean offered a set of golden armor, and the Dragon King of the southern Ocean offered a golden helmet. Sun was satisfied, and he put on the paraphernalia and shouted, "Hooray!" as he left the palace of the Dragon King.

When Sun emerged from the water at the shore, his monkey advisers were waiting for him. Seeing him emerge without getting wet, and dressed in brilliantly shining armor, they all applauded.

Sun said, "Look at the weapon I got." He pulled the magic stick out of his ear. It was the size of a sewing needle. He commanded, "Longer, longer, and thicker." It grew to be 8 feet long and 2 inches in diameter. He planted it on the ground, and the monkeys all tried to pick it up. Of course no one could budge it. They marveled. "How come we could not even budge it?" they asked. "It is so heavy." Sun replied, "No wonder. It weighs thirteen thousand kilograms." Then he pulled it up and showed them the art of manipulating the stick. Everyone gazed with fascination, delighted that their King was now so well equipped.

◎ CHAPTER 9 ◎

SUN WUKONG RAIDS THE UNDERWORLD

Sun's kingdom thrived and many neighboring kingdoms paid Sun tributes. There was feasting everyday. The time of peace and prosperity lasted for decades and decades.

One day, after one of the feasts, Sun was dozing off when he saw two messengers approaching him. They quickly put handcuffs on him and started dragging him. Sun was surprised, and asked, "What are you trying to do?" At this, one of the men showed him a document that read, "Warrant for taking Sun Wukong, whose time of death has come."

Sun said "How dare you? I have achieved immortality and have the supernatural ability to counter anything that might harm an ordinary and even an extraordinary man. You cannot take me to the Underworld." The two dispatchers ignored him and continued to drag him towards the Underworld.

Sun was sleepy and drunk and did not put up a fight for a while. But when they arrived at the gate of the Underworld, he realized that this was the entrance into the realm of the dead. He protested, "No. I am not going in," but the two dispatchers continued to tug at him.

This time, Sun was really angry. He tore apart the handcuffs like he was shredding paper, pulled out his magic stick from his ear, shouted, "Longer," and beat the two dispatchers into pulp. Then he decided to confront the King of the Underworld and settle the issue once and for all.

He entered the gate, beating up all the guards into meatballs, and came to the main palace building. He shouted, "Where is the King of the Underworld!! How dare you come to take me into the realm of the dead!! I am an immortal. Explain why you sent for me."

Sun had been causing such havoc by this time, killing hundreds of angels of death, that the King was well and truly scared. He came down from his throne, trembling, and said: "Please, there must be a mistake."

Sun said, "No. You must have a record book. Bring it to me so I can examine it". The King reluctantly showed Sun the Book of the Dead, and Sun was able to find entry No.1350 which read: "Sun Wukong, stone monkey, life span 342 years."

Sun took a big brush, and obliterated his entry by brushing over it, and he obliterated all the entries on the monkeys he could see. Finally, Sun threw down the brush, saying "Now we are out of your control." He then took out his magic stick, and smashed the furniture and the walls on his way out.

As he returned to the Water Screen Cave, he was met by his four senior advisers. They said, "Sire, you have slept for a long time. What was going on?" Sun explained what happened, saying, "From now on we are no longer subject to the inevitability of death."

Down in the Underworld, there was chaos and commotion, and the King of Underworld decided to report this disturbance to the Jade Emperor.

◎ CHAPTER 10 ◎

SUN WUKONG GETS A JOB IN HEAVEN

At the Heavenly Palace, the Jade Emperor received two complaints, one from the Dragon King of the Eastern Ocean complaining about Sun's behavior and his taking of the magic stick and armor, helmet, and boots. The other was from the King of the Underworld complaining about Sun's raid.

The Emperor said, "This kind of unruly conduct cannot be tolerated. We should send an army to capture him and bring him to justice."

The God of the North Star advised, "Your Majesty, why not summon this monkey to come here, and give him a small position in the Heavenly Palace. This would save bloodshed, and keep him under control, without too much expense." The Emperor decided to take this advice, and asked the God of the North Star to be his envoy and bring Sun to the Heavenly Palace.

The God of the North Star left the Heavenly Palace, and came down to the Water Screen Cave. He told the guards, "I am God of the North Star. I come from Heaven. Your king has been invited to come to Heaven. Take me to him."

When Sun heard of this, he came out to greet his guest. "I have always wanted to visit Heaven," he said, "so your invitation is very welcome. Let us proceed at once."

In the Heavenly Palace, Sun was presented to the Emperor. Instead of kneeling, as everyone else did, Sun only gestured with his hand in greeting, scandalizing everyone in the court by his behavior. The Emperor asked where a minor position could be found, and he was told that there was one at the Imperial Stable looking after the Heavenly Steeds. So Sun was offered the position of the Imperial Stabler. Not knowing the status or significance of the position Sun was happy, and started to work at the stable. He was by nature hard working, and the Heavenly Steeds were very well looked after.

Everything was good, and everyone was happy, till one day, about half a month into his job, when Sun was having a drink with his colleagues. Sun asked them how exalted his position was. They laughed and said his position was so low it did not even appear in the register of officials. When he heard this, Sun was furious. "I am a King, and I am an Immortal. How dare they put me to work as a horse servant?" He took out his magic stick, made it to its usual size, and charged out of the Heavenly Gate, damaging a lot of fixtures on his way. With one somersault he returned to his Water Screen Cave.

His monkeys said, "You have had quite a visit, fifteen years. You must have had a very good time." Sun said, "I was only there for half a month, not fifteen years." He did not realize that a day in heaven is a year on earth. When he explained his humiliating experience, his monkeys were outraged. They said, "Sire, with your ability and your position, it would not be too much if you were to be given the title of Heavenly Grand Fairy."

Sun liked that title, and had banners made with that title on them, and the banners fluttered all over his kingdom.

◎ CHAPTER 11 ◎

SUN GETS HIS TITLE OF HEAVENLY GRAND FAIRY

In the Heavenly Palace, they reported to the Emperor that Sun had left his job, smashing things as he left. This time, the Emperor decided that a harsher approach was needed, and assigned the famous father-and-son heroes named The Tower King and Vedic Prince to lead an army to capture Sun.

The Heavenly Army came down to the Water Screen Cave, surrounding it. The Tower King shouted, "Hey, Stabler, come out and surrender." Sun put on his armor, helmet and boots, took out his magic stick, and came out.

One of the Heavenly centurions said to the Tower King, "Let me go and capture this monkey," and he took on Sun. Within a few seconds, Sun hit the Centurion's shoulder, and forced him to retreat in pain. Vedic Prince then volunteered to fight Sun, and he used his supernatural trick to turn himself into a monster with three heads and six arms, wielding six different weapons to attack Sun. Sun saw this, and also turned himself into a three-headed, six-armed monster, with three magic sticks, to fight. They were fighting for a while, when Sun decided to play a further trick. He pulled one of his hairs, turned it into the three-headed and six-armed monster, while he himself sneaked behind Vedic Prince and hit him on his arm with the magic stick. The prince also retreated in pain.

The Tower King decided to report the situation. He told the Emperor that Sun was really very strong, and it might be difficult to subdue him. He also reported that Sun wanted the title of Heavenly Grand Fairy.

It was the God of North Star again, who advised, "Why not give him the title. It is just an empty name without any power or responsibility. Give him the title, a nice mansion, and he would be happy. If you agree, I will go and talk him into accepting this Heavenly offer." The Emperor agreed, and the envoy was on his way.

The envoy arrived in Sun's cave and said, "I managed to persuade the Emperor to offer you the title of Heavenly Grand Fairy. Why don't you return to the Heavenly Palace with me to receive this title?" Sun was happy, and together they went back to the Heavenly Palace.

The Emperor told Sun, "I will confer upon you the title of Heavenly Grand Fairy, with a nice mansion in the palace complex. Be at peace." Sun said, "All right," but did not kneel.

From that time on, Sun was content. He lived in the Heavenly Palace, making friends with other gods and fairies.

◎ CHAPTER 12 ◎

SUN STEALS THE HEAVENLY PEACH AND LONGEVITY PILLS

After a few months, Sun was roaming around the Heaven carefree and happy, but some of the fairies and gods were a bit worried about Sun's idleness. They suggested to the Emperor that Sun be given a job to occupy him, so he would not be driven by boredom to create mischief.

The Emperor summoned Sun, who came happily, asking whether the Emperor had good news for him. The Emperor said, "I see that you have work to occupy you, so I have decided to give you an assignment. You should be in charge of the Heavenly Peach Orchard."

Sun happily accepted the job, and went to the orchard. He summoned the god in charge of the orchard and told him of his new assignment. The god bowed, and asked what instructions Sun might have for him. Sun said, "Explain to me what the orchard has."

The god said, "There are three thousand six hundred trees of Heavenly Peach. The first twelve hundred trees bear smaller fruits, and they ripen every three thousand years. If one eats the fruit, one would achieve health and longevity. The second twelve hundred trees bear larger and sweeter fruits, and they ripen every six thousand years. He who eats the fruit is immune to illness and ageing. The last twelve hundred trees bear super purple and red fruits, which ripen every nine thousand years. If one eats it, one would live as long as the universe."

Sun was delighted to hear this, and proceeded to inspect the orchard as well as the pavilions and landscapes surrounding the garden. He would come to the orchard every other day or so to inspect the work of the gardeners, and everyone was happy.

Sun felt tempted to try eating the peaches. One day he told his gardeners that he was a little tired, and wanted to take a nap in one of the pavilions. After they had left, he climbed up the trees - as a monkey he was expert in tree climbing - and picked some of the peaches and ate them. He had all three varieties, and felt very good.

This continued for some time, and the ripened fruits were beginning to get scarce. One day, there came the occasion of the Heavenly Empress's annual Peach Party. The Empress sent a team of fairies to fetch the peaches. When they arrived at the orchard, the god in charge of the orchard told them that now the Heavenly Grand Fairy was in total command and his permission had to be obtained. The god went into the orchard and informed Sun of the visitors, and Sun was nowhere to be seen. The fairies said they could not wait for Sun, and started to pick the peaches.

Sun was awakened from his sleep by the commotion and, jumping down from a tree, shouted, "Who dares steal my peaches?"

The fairies said the Empress had sent them to fetch Heavenly Peaches for her annual peach party. Sun asked if he was invited. They said they were not aware of it. Sun decided to find out, so he told them, "Ladies, wait a while here." Whereupon he cast a spell to freeze them, leaving them standing stiff like logs.

Sun Wukong picked some of the peaches and ate them.
He had all three varieties and felt very good.

Sun flew to the garden of the Empress, where he ran into the Barefoot Grand Fairy. Sun told him that the party would start soon, but not at the usual garden; instead, it would open at the palace and then move on to the garden.

The Barefoot Grand Fairy, being a straightforward person, believed Sun, and turned towards the palace. Sun then used his trick to turn himself into the Barefoot Grand Fairy and went into the garden.

Inside the garden, he saw preparations going on for the party. There were sumptuous food, wine, and sweets. He smelled the wine, and was immediately intoxicated by the aroma. But the wine vats were guarded by the workers. Sun then took a few of his hairs and blew them towards the workers. The hair turned into sleeping bugs, and bit the workers, who fell asleep. This allowed Sun to get to the wines, which he drank to his heart's content.

After eating and drinking and making a mess of the preparations, Sun suddenly realized that he was in trouble. He decided to get out of the garden, but in his drunken state he lost his way, and ended up at the Temple of Tao, where Laotse, the founder of Taoism, lived.

Sun thought to himself, "I hear that Laotse makes longevity pills. Maybe I can find some to eat." He wandered into the oven room, where the pills were made, and found five jars of pills. He ate them like one would eat peanuts.

Then, suddenly, Sun was alarmed by the enormity of his offence. He groped his way out of the Heavenly Palace complex, exiting through the gate. The gate keepers were well-known to him, and did not prevent him leaving.

Sun returned to his Water Screen Cave, shouting, "Hey, everyone, I am back."

◎ CHAPTER 13 ◎

HEAVENLY ARMY ATTACKS SUN

Meanwhile, there was commotion in heaven. The frozen fairies in the peach garden unfroze after an hour. They immediately reported on Sun's activity and the fact that there were very few ripe peaches to be picked. The Barefoot Grand Fairy went to the palace and was told by the confused guards that the party was indeed to start at the garden and not in the palace, exposing Sun's deception. The workers at the garden told that Sun, disguised as the Barefoot Grand Fairy, had stolen the wine and the food. Then Laotse reported the loss of longevity pills, but could not identify the culprit.

It was clear that it was Sun who had done all this, and this time there was no question about the need to bring Sun to justice.

The Tower King again commanded the army, this time with greater numbers. They were now aware of Sun's strength and very wary. The army numbered one hundred thousand. As the army arrived and surrounded the Water Screen Cave, Sun led his own army of monkeys, wolves, tigers, bears, and others to confront them. The God of the Nine Planets led the Heavenly Army, and the fighting was fierce.

While the two leaders battled each other, the Heavenly Army attacked, capturing the wolves, tigers, bears, and other allies of Sun. While engaged in fighting the God of the Nine Planets, Sun was startled to notice the capture of his allies. So he took out some of his hair, turned them into an army of monkeys, and chased his opponents back to their camp. By now, the two sides were exhausted, and decided to call it a day.

As the battles were going on, the Jade Emperor was anxiously waiting for reports from the front. Just then, the Bodhisattva Kuanyin arrived at the Heavenly Palace, accompanied by her senior disciple, Hui-an, to attend the annual peach party. Instead of the party, she saw the place in disarray, and asked what had happened. The Emperor explained, and Kuanyin offered to send Hui-an, who turned out to be the second son of the commander-in-chief, the Tower King, to help. Hui-an went down to the army's camp, and reported to his father.

After being briefed about the situation, he decided to go out and challenge Sun. Sun took one look at Hui-an, and said, "You look young and delicate. Why don't you go home? I have nothing against you and do not wish to hurt you."

Hui-an said, "You insolent monkey. Here comes my sword!" This annoyed Sun, and he used his magic stick to attack Hui-an. After an hour or so of fighting, Hui-an started to feel weak in his arms, and decided to retreat. He went to his father, the commander-in-chief and said, "This monkey is really very strong. Even with my level of strength and skills, I am no match." This was duly reported to the Heavenly Palace, and the Emperor started to grow very anxious.

Kuanyin suggested that the famous hero, the Emperor's nephew, the Second Prince, be asked to come and deal with Sun. An envoy was immediately sent to the Second Prince with the Emperor's request, and he proceeded to the scene of battle.

When Sun saw the Second Prince, he said "Hello, who are you?" The Second Prince said, "You ignorant and blind monkey. don't you know the great hero, the Second Prince? Surrender quickly and you may be spared." Sun scoffed at this, and the two engaged in a very fierce fight.

The Second Prince turned himself into a towering giant a thousand feet tall, with arms like huge trees, attacking Sun. In response, Sun also turned himself into a giant of the same size. The fight was dramatic and heroic. As it was going on, the Heavenly Army moved in on the Water Screen Cave, capturing thousands of monkeys.

Sun wanted to save his monkeys, so he stopped his fight, and tried to go back to his cave. The Second Prince chased after him, so Sun turned himself into a sparrow perching on a small branch. Everyone thought Sun was lost, as no one could see where he was. The Prince, however, had superior supernatural power, and his eyes could distinguish the real and the unreal, so he was able to see where Sun was hiding.

The Prince then turned himself into a falcon, and charged towards Sun. Sun quickly jumped into the water, and turned himself into a catfish. The Prince then turned himself into a pelican, and diving into the water, attempted to catch Sun. Sun turned into a snake, hiding in the grass. The Prince turned into a crane, pecking at Sun, who then turned into a partridge. The Second Prince then returned to his own form, and took a bow and arrow to shoot at Sun. Sun then turned into a temple, with two windows and a door.

The Prince said, laughing, "You think you can fool everyone. Not me. I will smash your eyes by shooting at the windows, and I will tear our mouth by pulling apart the door." Sun quickly changed himself and, flying over to the Prince's own home temple, turned himself into the Prince and sat on the Prince's seat in the temple. But the Prince quickly came to his temple, and Sun had to escape again, flying back to his cave. The Heavenly Army surrounded the cave very tightly.

In the Heavenly Palace, the Emperor was getting impatient over Sun's capture. Kuanyin said, "Well, the Second Prince did defeat Sun. Now all that remains is his capture. Why don't I throw my jade vase at him? It would at least knock him out, if not kill him." Laotse, who had come to join them, suggested that he had a platinum bracelet with magical abilities, which would be sturdier. So it was decided that Laotse's bracelet should be tried.

Laotse went to the Heavenly Gate, and threw down the bracelet at Sun, hitting him in the head, knocking him out. The Heavenly Army swarmed over him and captured him, tying him with the magic rope to prevent him from playing any tricks.

Sun was taken to the Heavenly Palace, where the Emperor decided to execute him. He was taken to be beheaded, but because he had eaten the magic peaches and the pills, swords could not harm his body. Then they decided to burn him at the stake, but again, fire could not burn his body. They were at their wit's end, when Laotse suggested that maybe his pill-making oven could destroy Sun because the wind blowing in the oven was not ordinary wind but a wind of special magic power, which would probably burn Sun into ashes. So Sun was taken to the oven, and put inside it. Laotse then started the fire, and kept it burning for seven times seven days, forty nine days in all. At the end of that, convinced that Sun could not survive this, they opened the oven door. Sun, who was hiding in the corner of the oven near the wind intake and where the fire was not very strong, had survived, and he leapt out of the oven as they opened the door, dislodging a red-hot pile of bricks which fell on earth to form the Flaming Mountain of Xinjiang, China.

◎ CHAPTER 14 ◎

THE BUDDHA VANQUISHES SUN WUKONG

When Sun broke out of the oven, he took out his magic stick and started attacking everything in sight, smashing things and injuring the Heavenly Horde as he went. No one could stop him, and soon he was approaching the Emperor's Palace. The Divine Guardian God came forward to confront Sun, and they were engaged in a violent fight. The thirty-six Thunder Gods also came to fight Sun, but Sun was undaunted. He became three-headed and six armed, with three magic sticks, to take on all his adversaries. Other gods and heavenly warriors joined, surrounding Sun in a tight, heavy circle. They were able to confine him, but could not subdue him.

The Emperor decided to request the assistance of the Holy Sage Buddha. An envoy was sent to the Western Heaven where the Buddha resides and teaches his great truth, and the envoy presented the message from the Emperor. The Buddha came to the Emperor in an instant, flying one hundred and eight thousand miles. The Emperor explained the situation, how Sun had robbed from the Dragon King, messed up the Underworld, abandoned his job, stolen the peaches and longevity pills, and finally broken out of Laotse's oven. The Buddha said, "Let me speak to this monkey and see what should be done."

The Buddha went to the battle site, and said, "Do not fight. Speak to me." Sun asked, "Who are you?" The Buddha replied, "I am Siddhartha Buddha, the one who achieved ultimate enlightenment and Nirvana. Tell me, why are you fighting like this?" Sun said, "I believe that I am great enough to replace the Emperor. If he abdicates, and gives me the throne, there will be peace."

The Buddha laughed and said, "The Emperor has achieved his position by going through one thousand seven hundred and fifty trials, each lasting one hundred twenty nine thousand and six hundred years. What merit do you have to even dream of taking over from him?"

Sun said, "I have seventy two supernatural tricks and vast strength. I can match anyone in the universe."

The Buddha said, "I tell you what. If you can fly out of my palm, I will ask the Emperor to let you have a turn with the throne. If not......"

Sun interrupted, "Ha, I can fly one hundred and eight kilometers with one somersault. Fine, I agree." With that, Sun leaped onto the Buddha's palm, and somersaulted away. After a few somersaults, he saw five pillars ahead of him, each in the color of flesh. He thought this must be the end of the universe. So he stood at the foot of the pillars, and pulled out one of his hair, turned it into a paint brush, and wrote, "Sun Wukong was here." He relieved himself at the foot of one of the pillars, then flew back to the Buddha.

Sun proudly declared, "I not only flew out of your palm, I was at the end of the universe where there were five pillars. I left a note on one of the pillars." The Buddha showed him his hand. On one of his fingers, there was Sun's note, "Sun Wukong was here." And it still smelled of Sun's urine.

Startled, Sun tried to escape, whereupon the Buddha grabbed him with his hand, and put him down on earth, turning the hand into a mountain weighing down on Sun. The Heavenly Horde, led by the Emperor, applauded this feat.

He stood at the foot of the pillars and pulled out one of his hairs, turned it into a paint brush, and wrote "Sun Wukong was here."

One of the gods of the land reported that Sun's hands and head were sticking out. The Buddha said, "Do not be anxious. He will not be able to leave this mountain till the time when his master comes to get him. Meanwhile, feed him iron balls and molten copper. It will be five hundred years before his master comes by."

The Emperor thanked the Buddha, and the Buddha went back to his Tranquil Western Heaven.

◎ CHAPTER 15 ◎

THE BUDDHA WISHES TO SAVE THE SOULS OF MANKIND

After the great commotion caused by Sun, there was peace for hundreds of years. The Buddha, giving his sermons to the exalted sages, bodhisattvas, gods and disciples said, "People are constantly fighting, scheming, robbing, and killing each other. I am saddened by that. I want to save their souls. There are three collections of documents that contain my teachings, which, if followed, would bring about bliss and tranquility to the world. These documents, or sutras (literally, thread or rule), fill three sam zong (warehouses), dealing with the truth of the universe, life, and eternity. There are altogether thirty five collections, fifteen thousand one hundred forty four volumes. I would be happy to give these away freely, but they must want to obtain these documents. I wonder if any of you would be willing to go to China and persuade a man of superior morality and learning to come to me for the documents."

Kuanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, said, "I would be willing to volunteer for that task."

The Buddha was very pleased. "You are the best qualified for this task," he replied. "I cannot be more pleased. Now I have five magical gifts for you. One is a monk's robe with gold brocade; the second is a monk's walking stick which has the magic power of helping the holder's walk. Then there are three rings, made of gold, platinum, and diamond. The robe and the stick should be given to the monk who would undertake the journey from China to my residence in the western Heaven, but the three rings should be kept by you. When you encounter someone you wish to recruit for the cause of obtaining the documents, you could put one of the rings on his head, and it would immediately take root on the flesh and he would not be able to remove it until you release it by saying the magic words. So, off with these, and I shall see you after your job is done."

◎ CHAPTER 16 ◎

KUANYIN'S RECRUITMENT TOUR

Kuanyin took the five gifts and left, with Hui-an accompanying her. On her way to China, she saw a wide, dark river of quicksand, which would swallow anything and anyone that tried to cross it. It was flowing with high waves and splashing quicksand sky high, menacing even those standing away from its banks.

Kuanyin was looking at the river in fascination, when a monster with fiery eyes and fangs leaped out of the river, charging towards Kuanyin, wielding a stick with a half-moon tip. Hui-an shouted, "Monster, get a taste of my sword." And the two started to fight.

The monster could not win over Hui-an, and he shouted, "Who are you, so strong?"

Hui-an said, "I am Hui-an, the senior disciple of Kuanyin, the Goddess of Mercy."

The monster said, "Oh, I am sorry, I did not know. Can you take me to her?"

Hui-an pointed to Kuanyin who was standing above a cloud in the sky. The Monster went to her in the sky, knelt, and said, "Forgive me; I did not know it was you. Now I would like to beg for your mercy. I was a fairy serving in the Heavenly Palace, in charge of the heavenly screens. One day I smashed a crystal lamp by mistake, and after receiving eight hundred lashes, I was exiled to this place. They also send sword every seven days to stab me a hundred times. There is nothing to eat, so I came out of the river to capture a man or two to eat. I have been here for hundreds of years, and have been punished enough. Can you have mercy and save me from this ordeal?"

Kuanyin said, "I am on my way to China to recruit a holy monk who will go and obtain the true teaching of the Buddha. He will be passing through here, and you should offer yourself as one of his disciples and escort him to the Western Heaven. This would gain you forgiveness. Will you be willing to do that?"

The monster said, "Yes, but what if the holy monk never shows up?" Kuanyin assured him that the holy monk would definitely pass by.

Before leaving him, Kuanyin gave him a new name, Sha Wujing - Sha meaning Sand (family name, based on the fact that he was from the river of quicksand); Wu meaning to know; and Jing meaning Serenity. Wujing together means 'to understand serenity'. He would be known later as Sandy.

Kuanyin continued on her way, and came to a craggy and deep mountain. Suddenly, a monster with a pig's head came charging, wielding a rake with nine teeth. Hui-an again stopped him and they fought for a while. Seeing that he could not win, the monster asked Hui-an who he was.

When the monster discovered that Hui-an was Kuanyin's senior disciple, he also said, "Oh! I am so sorry. I did not know. Can you please take me to her?" They flew up to where Kuanyin was standing, above the clouds, and the monster knelt down, saying, "I beg for your forgiveness. I am not a monster from birth. I was a fairy in the Heavenly Palace in charge of the heavenly canopy. One day I was caught teasing one of the female fairies, and as punishment, I was hit two thousand times with a hammer, and banished to the world below. By some mistake, I was put inside the womb of a sow, and was born with the head of a pig and the body of a man. I killed the mother pig, and am living here eating animals and man. I would like to ask for your mercy to relieve me from this predicament."

Kuanyin asked, "Will you be willing to escort a holy monk on his way from China to the Western Heaven to obtain the true teachings of the Buddha? If so, the merit of such action would redeem whatever offence you've committed."

The monster said yes, but he too was worried that the holy monk might not pass by his mountain. Kuanyin assured him the monk would come by, and gave him a new name, Zhu Wuneng - Zhu meaning Swine (surname, based on the fact he had the head of a pig); Wu meaning Know; Neng meaning Capability. Wuneng together means 'to know the potentials'. Kuanyin also gave him the nickname Bajie, ('of Baggai') in Taiwanese. He would be known as Zhu Bajie, Di Baggai in Taiwanese (Pig Eight Taboos), or Swiney.

Kuanyin continued on her way, riding the clouds and mists. On their way, they came upon a jade dragon hanging in the air. The jade dragon pleaded with Kuanyin for mercy. He cried, "I am the youngest son of Dragon King of the Western Ocean. One day I burned the palace and a crystal ball. My father reported my unruly disobedience, and I was whipped three thousand times and left hanging here. An execution will soon follow. I beg for your mercy. Please save my life."

Kuanyin said, "If you are willing to serve as the animal of burden for the holy monk on his journey to the Western Heaven, I would ask the Jade Emperor to spare your life." The dragon promised he would be willing to turn himself into a horse to carry the holy monk to the Western Heaven. Hearing this, Kuanyin went up to the Heavenly Palace to ask the Emperor for a special dispensation.

As Kuanyin and Hui-an continued to fly east, they noticed brilliant lights of many colors shooting up from a mountain that looked like a clenched fist. Kuanyin stopped at the mountain, where all the gods of the soil came to kneel in front of her. They told her, "Some five hundred years ago, the Buddha imprisoned a trouble-making monkey here. It has been pretty quiet here, but for some reason in recent days these lights have started to shoot up from the chamber where the monkey is imprisoned."

Kuanyin said, "It must be because the time has come for me to offer him a chance to be free." She went down to where Sun Wukong was imprisoned, and heard him shout, "O Goddess of Mercy! Help me get out of this. It's been almost five hundred years." Kuanyin said, "If you are willing to serve as a disciple to the holy monk and escort him faithfully all the way to the Western Heaven, you may get out of this predicament. He will come by and lift the spell that has kept you imprisoned here."

"Yes, but how can I be sure that he will come by?"

"He will come by, all right."

Sun swore that he would serve faithfully. Kuanyin was going to give him a new name, but Sun said he already had one - Sun Wukong. Kuanyin was delighted, because she had given the letter Wu to the two sworn disciples before. Sun means grandson, but is also part of the word 'husun' which means monkey. Wukong (Gokong in Taiwanese) means 'to understand the vanity of all things worldly'.

◎ CHAPTER 17 ◎

BIRTH OF THE HOLY MONK

A young man named Chen, who studied very hard, left his mother at home to take part in the Imperial Examination for scholars and won the first place. The prime minister was impressed by him, and decided to marry his daughter to Chen. Chen was then given a post as a Magistrate in South China.

Before his departure, Chen wanted to have a banquet, and so he purchased a carp. He noticed that the carp had an extraordinarily brilliant eye that emitted a golden glance. Deciding to let the fish live, he released him where he was caught. On his way back, a pirate killed him, tossing his body into the river. The pirate then took over his household, masquerading as Chen.

The river where Chen's body had been dumped was the one where Chen had released the carp with extraordinary golden eye. It turned out that the carp was the Dragon King himself, and he wanted to repay his savior.

Chen's bride, grief-stricken, was pregnant. She wanted to give birth to the child, so she did not kill herself. After the baby boy was born, to prevent the pirate from killing him, she cast him into the river in a basket, with a letter explaining the whole story, begging whoever found the baby boy to care for him.

The baby was picked up by the resident monk of an old temple, and raised as a monk. When the boy was about eighteen, the old monk gave him the letter, whereupon he asked for leave to go and seek out his mother. He found her living in the Magistrate's mansion, and went to see her and explained who he was, showing the letter she had written.

The mother had written another letter to her father, the prime minister, who was shocked to learn of the crime. He organized an army to capture the pirates. These pirates were executed at the riverside. As they gave their final offerings to the spirit of Chen, in repentance, Chen's body floated up from the bottom of the river, and he woke up and rose, to everyone's amazement. He explained that he had once saved the life of a Dragon King of the River, and in return he had been saved.

The young monk Chen grew up to become a famous scholar and a virtuous sage. He had a temple in the capital.

◎ CHAPTER 18 ◎

CHINESE EMPEROR TOURS THE UNDERWORLD

In China, it was a period known as the Tang Dynasty (618-907), during which China had extended its territory beyond the Great Walls and South China Sea. This was also the period during which China opened itself to a vast number of foreigners and accepted their cultures.

During the early Tang Dynasty, the most illustrious period was when Emperor Taizong was on the throne (626 - 649). The entire Chinese Empire was at peace, and people enjoyed unprecedented prosperity.

At the time, there was a wood-cutter and a fisherman who were friends. They would meet every evening when the fisherman came back from the sea and the wood-cutter from the mountain. They enjoyed their drinks and conversations together. One evening, as they were about to part after the daily drinks, the fisherman said, "Well, good night and have a nice day tomorrow, though I know your mountain is not quite as nice a place as my sea."

The wood-cutter replied, "Why! I think your sea is not as nice as my mountain."

The fisherman said, "My sea is beautiful, where one can see the sun rise and set on the horizon, and the moon casting its romantic rays; where one can feast on fish and shrimps and octopus; where the scenery is wide open and makes one forget the trivial things of the world."

The wood-cutter said, "But my mountain is infinitely variable; in the summer's heat, it provides cool respite; the sun gives life to the trees, and the moonbeams inspire one's meditative mood; the meats of animals taste better than fish, shrimps or octopus; and the cloud-shrouded mountain tops make one feel other-worldly."

The two continued arguing about the virtues of their places for another hour. And at the end, the wood-cutter said, "All right, my friend, we just agree to disagree. Good night and take care. I don't want to experience one less friend's face amongst the crowd." The fisherman said, "What an inauspicious thing you say! But don't fear, I am fully informed about the weather so there is no danger of being struck by unexpected storms."

The wood-cutter asked, "How so?"

The fisherman replied, "There is a fortune-teller of great wisdom who can predict the weather precisely, so I consult him every morning before putting out to the sea." And the two parted.

This conversation was overheard by one of the retainers of the Dragon King of the River Jing. He went and reported it to his master, who decided to teach the fortune-teller a lesson.

The Dragon King went to the fortune-teller's stall and asked for the forecast for the next day. The fortune-teller gave him 3,348 points of rain at 3:00 p.m. The Dragon King was taken aback. He himself did not know about it. He asked the fortune-teller, "Are you quite sure?"

The fortune-teller said, "Of course." The Dragon King answered, "I will come and take down your sign if your forecast is wrong." And he went back to his river palace.

As he arrived, there was an imperial instruction ordering him to provide 3,348 points of rain at 3:00 p.m. the next day. He was in a panic. One of his advisors suggested that he provide 3,340 points at 2:00 p.m., so he would have carried out the instruction but with a slight alteration. He took that advice and provided 3,340 points at 2:00 p.m.

The next day he went to the fortune-teller and tore down the sign, saying, "You are a charlatan. I am here to teach you a lesson."

The fortune-teller answered, "I am not worried. You are the one that should be worried. I know you are the Dragon King of River Jing in disguise. You have modified the imperial instruction and will be beheaded in a few days."

The Dragon King was terrified, and begged the fortune-teller to save his life. The fortune-teller told him that the minister Wei would be designated to execute him, so if he begged the Emperor Taizong, maybe his life could be saved.

The Dragon King appeared in the Emperor Taizong's dream, and said to him, "Your majesty, you are the real dragon, while I am only an animal dragon. I have violated the instruction I received from the Jade Emperor and am about to be executed. Your Minister Wei will be designated to behead me tomorrow at noon. I beg you to save me."

Taizong said, "Very well, I will invite him to my palace at noon. That should prevent him from beheading you?" The Dragon King thanked Taizong, and left.

The next day Taizong invited Minister Wei to the palace and proposed they play a game of chess. During the game, Minister Wei dozed off. But then he started to perspire.

Taizong knew how hard working Minister Wei was, so he did not mind that he was dozing off. When he saw Wei perspiring, he took a fan to help Wei cool off.

Suddenly, Wei shouted, "Kill!" And then he woke up. He was mortified that he had dozed off in the presence of the Emperor, and apologized. Taizong said, "don't worry." Then the palace guard reported that a dragon's severed head had dropped from the sky. It was the head of the Dragon king of the River Jing, beheaded by Minister Wei even as Wei had dozed off and completed his task in his dream.

When Taizong went to bed that night, he dreamed of the Dragon King of the River Jin coming to him and accusing him of breaking his promise. The dead Dragon continued to haunt him every night, and nothing the Emperor could do would help. He even arranged to have Minister Wei stand guard at his bed chamber door, but nothing helped. Finally, exhausted, the Emperor died and went to the Underworld.

Yanlo, the King of the Underworld, received Taizong and introduced him to the Keeper of the Book of the Dead. The Keeper turned out to have been one of the Emperor Taizong's ministers, and when he saw Taizong, he decided to help. He added twenty years to Taizong's life by changing the entry in the Book of the Dead. Yanlo saw that the book entry allowed another twenty year of life to Taizong, apologized for his 'mistake' and sent Taizong back.

Having seen the Underworld and how large numbers of people were suffering there because of the evil deeds they had committed, Taizong decided to organize a religious service to console those suffering souls but also to try to teach civility to the living so they could avoid a similar fate.

◎ CHAPTER 19 ◎

MONK CHEN VOLUNTEERS TO GO WEST

Meanwhile, Kuanyin had arrived in China's capital, Chang-an. The gods of the city paid her homage, and put her up in their palace. When Taizong's religious service took place, Monk Chen was asked to preside over it.

Kuanyin decided to test the sincerity of the Emperor's devotion. She and Hui-an changed their shapes into two leprous beggar monks and, going to the main street near the place of the religious service, announced that they were selling the two items that the Buddha had given Kuanyin as the gift for the monk that would make the journey - the robe and the walking stick. People felt quite revolted at their sight, but the beauty of the robe and the walking stick attracted them.

When asked the price for the items, Kuanyin, the older leprous monk, said, "Five thousand ounces of gold for the robe, and two thousand for the walking stick." Everyone laughed, saying, "This is crazy. How can anything like these be worth so much?"

Kuanyin said, "These could cost as much as I said, or they will be given away for nothing to the right person."

The Emperor's guards heard the commotion and came out to see what was going on, and they were struck by the magnificence of the two items. They asked the two monks to come into the hall of religious service and present themselves to Taizong the Emperor. Taizong saw the beauty of the two items, and decided to give them to Monk Chen.

He asked for the price, and Kuanyin again said, "It could cost five thousand ounces of gold for the robe and two thousand ounces of gold for the stick, but it could also cost nothing, for I am prepared to give them away to the right person."

Taizong said, "I want to give them to Monk Chen, who is presiding over this religious service." Kuanyin then said, "In that case, I will be happy to present these two items to him free of cost." Taizong said, "I will pay you. Do not think that I am the Emperor and therefore you should not ask for money or gold."

Kuanyin said "No, I am presenting these items to Monk Chen, that's all. Whether or not you are the Emperor has nothing to do with that." Kuanyin then put down the two items in front of the Emperor and left.

The day of the service arrived, and Kuanyin and Hui-an went to attend. Monk Chen was clad in the robe Kuanyin had given him, and he started to give a sermon which was very profound and enlightening. Suddenly, Kuanyin, still in the shape of a leprous old monk, jumped up and shouted at Monk Chen, "What you are preaching is the Hinayana, the Small Vehicle. That is not good enough. You need the teaching of the Mahayana, the Great Vehicle."

The Monk was very pleased to hear that, and asked, "Thank you for your suggestion. But where can I get the Mahayana?" By this time Taizong had recognized the old leprous monk, and said, "Are you not the monk who gave the robe and the walking stick?" Kuanyin said yes. Taizong said, "You spoke about Mahayana. Can you explain it?" Kuanyin said yes.

Taizong then asked her to get up to the podium to lecture the congregation. Kuanyin went up and, on the podium, she revealed her true form, the Goddess of Mercy, with her full regalia and brilliant halo emanating from her body. Disciple Hui-an, also in all his princely grandeur, wielded his magic golden sword.

Everyone was filled with awe and everyone, including Taizong, knelt and said, "Praise the Goddess of Mercy!"

Kuanyin then said, "The true teaching of the Great Buddha, the Great Enlightened One, is available. But someone must go to the Western Heaven to get it. These documents fill three warehouses dealing with the truth of the universe, life, and eternity. Altogether there are thirty five collections, fifteen thousand one hundred forty four volumes. It would be given freely by the Buddha himself. But someone has to go there to get them. The journey will be arduous and perilous, with many monsters hindering the way. But for the truly devoted, it is possible to complete the journey." With these remarks, Kuanyin and Hui-an rode the cloud and rose to heaven, leaving behind the congregation in a trance.

After everyone had recovered their senses, Monk Chen said to Taizong, "I would like to volunteer to journey to the West and obtain the sutras." Taizong said, "I shall be grateful if you do so. I will recognize you as my own brother."

All the provisions, food, money, escort and horses were given, and Monk Chen went off on a long, hard and perilous journey.

◎ CHAPTER 20 ◎

SANZANG'S (MONK CHEN) JOURNEY STARTS

Before leaving, Monk Chen was given a new title - Sanzang, meaning Three Warehouses (full of sutras). He said farewell to his staff at the temple, telling them that it might be ten years before he came back, but they were to keep the temple open.

Sanzang left the capital of Chang-an with two able-bodied young men to serve as his escort and servants, and headed west. Soon they were in a thick forest where there was no clear paths, so they had to slowly grope their way forward. Suddenly, they fell into a trap, and heard a shout, "Get them, get them."

A group of a dozen or so little monsters came and grabbed the three, bound them up, and took them to their cave. Once there, they said to their master, "We got three men who look like they are travelers." The master, with a thunderous voice coming out of his red mouth from which protruded white fangs and his face covered with wiry hair, said, "Good. We can have a feast tonight."

As they were unbinding the three captives, there arrived two visitors, Bear Spirit and Buffalo Spirit. They and their captors decided to eat the two young men first, leaving Sanzang for the next day. After they had eaten the two young men, feeling full and drunk, they went to bed. Sanzang was kept in a cage and, resigned to his fate to be eaten the next day, he prayed all night.

Near dawn, he heard a voice, "Sanzang, I have come to your rescue. Come with me." He walked out of the cave, and the voice said, "Your luggage is there, along with your horse. You were captured by a tiger monster, and the two guests of his were a bear monster and a buffalo monster, but you are now free." Sanzang thanked him. The voice continued, "As you are on a holy mission to obtain the sutras, I will be watching over you. I am the Golden Star of the Dipper." Sanzang knelt in the direction of the Dipper to thank the god, and continued his journey, alone with his horse.

Sanzang was still in the mountain, traveling as quickly as his horse would go. Suddenly, there was a gale of wind, and a huge tiger appeared, roaring and menacing. Sanzang realized that there was no escape and, once again prepared to accept his fate, he started to pray. But soon the tiger became fearful, turned around, and ran away. From the other side of the forest, a fierce-looking man with weapons on the ready emerged. Sanzang pleaded, "Please, I am a poor monk. Take whatever I have, but spare my life so I can fulfill my duty."

The man smiled and said, "Please do not be alarmed. I am neither a monster nor a bandit. I am a hunter. My name is Liu. Since I have been hunting here for a long time, the tigers, leopards, boa constrictors and other wild beasts are scared of me. That was why the tiger ran away when I came."

Sanzang explained who he was, that he was going to the Western Heaven by order of the Emperor. Liu showed his respect, and invited Sanzang to his home for the evening. Liu's wife offered him meat, but Sanzang said, "I have been a vegetarian since my infancy. I have never tasted meat in my life. Please do not worry about me. I can fast for a few days."

Liu's mother said, "We have some vegetables and fruits. So please have them." Then she said, "Today is the anniversary of my husband's death, Liu's father. Will you be kind enough to say a few prayers for him?" Sanzang put on his magic robe and prayed for the soul of Liu's father.

The next morning, Liu's mother said, "Last night, in my dream, my husband showed up and told me that he had been saved by your prayer. Yanlo, the king of Underworld, revealed that you are a sage of the highest order, and your prayer carries special power. He is now going forward to be reincarnated in a well-to-do family in China. Thank you very much."

Sanzang was glad to have helped, and bid the Liu family farewell. Liu said, "The way forward is still teeming with wild beasts. I will escort you to the border between China and Tatary." Sanzang thanked the family, accepted some provisions, and departed with Liu.

◎ CHAPTER 21 ◎

SUN WUKONG JOINS SANZANG

They came to a mountain called Two Border Mountain. Liu said, "This is as far as I can go. Let me wish you good luck for your journey ahead." Almost before he could finish his sentence, they heard a loud cry, "Master, Master, let me out, Master!" They were startled, and Liu said, "This mountain was formed some five hundred years ago, and it imprisons a magic monkey. I have heard people say that this monkey disturbed the Heavenly Palace and was imprisoned here by the Buddha himself."

Sanzang asked, "Where is the monkey? Let's go and see him." Liu was afraid that the monkey would get out and harm both of them. Sanzang said, "If he was imprisoned by the Buddha, he will not be able to get out. Let's go." So, the two went down to the prison.

There they saw Sun Wukong who stuck his head and hands out of the cell. He said, "Master, aren't you the sage on your way to the Western Heaven to obtain the sutras? What took you so long to come? But it is good to see you. Please get me out of this prison so I can serve you as a disciple and protect you on your journey to the Western Heaven."

Sanzang said, "But I don't know how to get you out." Sun answered, "It is easy. You have only to go to the top of this mountain and you will find a sign with the magic command of the Buddha. No one can destroy or remove that sign. Only someone who is properly designated by the Buddha can lift it. You are that person."

Sanzang believed Sun to be sincere. So he climbed to the top of the mountain. As he approached the top, suddenly he saw a wondrous rainbow of light. He went to where the light was, and saw a sign, which had been left by the Buddha to imprison Sun Wukong.

The sign said "Om Mani Peimeihong (magic chant)." Sanzang knelt in front of it, saying, "Holy Buddha, your humble disciple Sanzang is here on his way to you. If Sun Wukong is indeed destined to be my disciple and escort, let me lift this sign. If not, let me not."

Thus he stretched his hand to lift the sign, when suddenly there came a whiff of fragrant wind, blowing the sign off into the sky. Sanzang saluted and came down to the cell where Liu was still waiting. He told Sun, "The sign that imprisoned you for five hundred years is no longer there now. You are free. Now you can get out and be my disciple."

Sun said, "I am going to burst out of this cell. You should go some distance away so my breaking out will not hurt you."

Liu and Sanzang rode away from the cell. They stopped at about five miles, but Sun shouted, "Further, further!" At ten miles, Sun still cried, "Further, further!" Finally, they travelled for twenty miles, when Sun said, "All right, I am getting out!"

There was a huge explosion, and Sun flew out of the cell, leaping thousands of feet high, eventually landing in front of Sanzang. Sun knelt in front of Sanzang, calling him Master. Sun also saluted Liu and thanked him for having escorted the Master. Liu took leave of Sanzang, and Sanzang told him, "Please give my regards to your mother and wife. I shall see you on my way back."

Sun took charge of Sanzang's luggage and horse and they continued on their journey. Suddenly, a big tiger appeared and charge at them. Sanzang was frightened, but Sun said, "don't worry. Here comes my clothing."

He took out the magic stick from his ear, changed it into his preferred size of three inches in diameter and six feet in length, and went up to the tiger and shouted, "don't you dare move!" The tiger trembled in fear and froze. Sun hit it over the head, killing it instantly.

Changing his magic stick into a sharp knife now, Sun skinned the tiger and cut the skin to make his loin cloth. Once he had cut the skin to size, he changed the magic stick into a needle, and sewed up the skin into a pair of trousers.

Sanzang asked, "Why did the tiger suddenly become so afraid? What did you do?"

Sun said, "My power is such that not only tigers, but even dragons are scared of me. Not only that, no animal or monster can be my match." Sanzang was very happy to hear that, feeling that he was now able to journey to the West with good protection.

They continued their journey for another few days, and one evening six bandits suddenly blocked their path, shouting, "Stand and deliver. If you leave everything here, we will let you go."

Sanzang started to shake with fear, but Sun said, "don't worry. These bandits have brought their money and treasure for us."

Sanzang asked, "Are you hard of hearing? They want us to give them our money and treasure, and you say they were bringing us theirs?"

Sun went up to the six bandits, and said, "You scum, you cannot harm me. Come and try your hands on me." The six came up to him, and started to cut and spear him, but they could not harm even a hair. They were incredulous, and Sun said, "Now let me try my magic stick on you."

He pulled the needle-shaped stick out of his ear, changed it to his favorite size, and beat the six into meatballs as they tried to flee in panic. Sun then took their wallets and chests, and gave them to Sanzang.

Sanzang was not pleased. He said, "Even though these were bandits, their crime did not merit death. What you did is cruel and contrary to the virtue of mercy as taught in our religion. With such conduct and such temperament, you will not make a good monk, and neither will you make it to the Western Heaven."

Sun was annoyed. He said, "You and your mercy business. If I did not kill them, they would have killed you." Sanzang replied, "I would rather die than commit such a grievous sin. Unless you change your ways, you will not make it."

Sun said, "Very well. So I don't qualify. Then I quit. I am gone!" In an instant he flew off, leaving Sanzang all by himself, frightened and lonely.

Sanzang thought to himself, "This little monkey! He cannot take a little criticism and advice. Well, maybe I am not destined to have a disciple. In that case, I shall go it alone if necessary." Still, he felt miserable, tired, frustrated and confused.

Then an old woman appeared, and she asked Sanzang who he was. He explained who he was and told her what had just happened. She said, "I am sure he will come back, as his error were serious and he will not be permitted to forget."

She had a package of handsome clothing and a hat with a golden rim. She said to Sanzang, "When your disciple comes back, give this to him to wear. The golden rim will attach itself to his skull, and only the Buddha or Kuanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, can remove it. I will teach you a 'ring-tightening mantra'. When you say the mantra, the ring will squeeze the skull with excruciating pain. This should help keep your disciple in line." So she taught Sanzang the mantra, and flew off with a breath of fragrant wind. Realizing that this was Kuanyin in disguise, Sanzang knelt and paid his homage in the direction of Kuanyin's abode.

After he flew off from Sanzang, Sun planned to return to his kingdom of Water Screen Cave. On his way he passed the Dragon King's palace and decided to pay him a visit. The Dragon King said, "I heard your ordeals were over. Congratulations. But why are you roaming around like this? Are you not supposed to be escorting the Sage on his journey to the West?"

Sun said, "Yes, but I killed six bandits who were trying to kill him, and he said such action was not acceptable and that I would never make a monk. Also, that I would never make it to the West. So I left him."

The Dragon King said, "But you are mistaken. Killing should be avoided if at all possible, and the teaching of mercy is one of the most important principles of Buddhism. If you do not escort the Sage to the West, you would end up being just another monkey monster. This is your chance to achieve true salvation. You should go back to the Sage."

Sun was impressed by the argument. He sipped some tea with the Dragon King, then took leave of him and started to fly back. Along the way, he ran into Kuanyin in the sky. Kuanyin asked, "What are you doing here, flying around?" Sun told her about his dispute with the Sage, and the advice of the Dragon King, and that he was on his way back to the Sage.

Kuanyin said, "Go back quickly. And do not leave again. Be steadfast." Sun saluted her and went back to the Sage. He said, "Master, I am back. We had a bit of a tiff. Let bygones be bygones. I will never leave you again."

Sanzang asked him where he had been, and Sun said he was having tea with the Dragon King in the Eastern Sea. Sanzang said, "Wukong, we are monks. We must be truthful and not exaggerate or boast. The Eastern Sea is thousands of miles away. You had been away for only an hour. How can you have gone that far and back?"

Sun said, "I am not boasting. I can fly one hundred and eight thousand miles in an instant, so it is nothing for me to go that far in a very short time. I also know seventy two supernatural tricks that allow me to do all kinds of impossible things." Sanzang was very glad that he now had a super hero as a disciple.

They decided to eat their supper, provided by the hunter Liu and, during the process of unpacking, Sun noticed a robe and a very smart hat with golden rim. He asked Sanzang what these were. Sanzang said they were given him by an old woman, but if they fit him, he could have it all. Sun put them on himself, and when Sanzang saw the hat securely fitting on Sun's head, he started to say the 'ring-tightening mantra'.

Immediately, Sun started suffering a crushing pain in his head, and began rolling on the floor in agony. Sanzang stopped saying the mantra, and the pain was gone.

Sun saw this and realized that he had been tricked. Furious, he took out his magic stick to attack. Sanzang quickly started saying the mantra again, and Sun rolled on the floor in pain once more. After a while, Sun said, "Master, I've learnt my lesson. Please do not say the mantra, and I will be obedient."

Sanzang told him that the robe and hat had been given to him by Kuanyin. Sun said, "The old foxy Goddess! All right, I am committed to escorting you to the Western Heaven. So I will stick it out with you no matter what."

◎ CHAPTER 22 ◎

SANZANG COLLECTS MORE DISCIPLES

Sanzang and Sun entered a valley and arrived at the Falcon's Anguish Pond, so called because the pond's water was so smooth and clear that birds, attracted by their own reflected images, would fall into the water. They were enjoying the beautiful landscape when a dragon leaped out of the pond and charged at the two.

Sun quickly helped Sanzang down from the horse and tried to hide him away from the dragon. The dragon could not catch up with them, instead he swallowed the horse that they had left behind.

Sun then rushed to face the dragon, taking out the magic stick and attacking, and in a matter of moments, the dragon was defeated and it crawled back into the pond. Sanzang looked around and asked, "Where is the horse?" Sun went up to the sky, and cast his magic eye to look for the horse, but could not see it anywhere. Sanzang said, "It may be behind a hill or a rock, and you cannot see it."

Sun replied, "Master, you do not know my abilities. My eyes have supernatural vision and, within a radius of a thousand miles, I can see everything, even a dragonfly opening its wings. A big animal like a horse cannot escape my eyes. I suspect the dragon ate it." Sun said he would go back and find the horse, but Sanzang was afraid. "If you leave me here alone, and if the dragon should attack me, what would I do?" he asked. But there were voices in the sky, saying, "Sanzang, we will protect you while Sun goes about his task. We are the heavenly officials and minor gods sent by the Goddess of Mercy to watch over you. Do not be concerned, let Sun go."

Sanzang knelt down, hearing the voices, but Sun said, "Cha! These minor characters! I was going to punish them for not coming sooner. Master, you need not kneel to them. They are like my servants."

So Sun went back to the pond, and using his magic stick as a huge stirring stick, muddied the water so much that the dragon could not breathe, and had to come out again. Sun shouted, "You miserable little snake. Give me back the horse!"

The dragon said, "So I did eat your horse. How do you expect me to spit it out?" Then, afraid of Sun's powers, he turned into a small grass snake and hid under a rock.

Sun was exasperated, and he summoned the gods of the area. They came to pay him obeisance, and Sun said, "You bunch of useless little gods. Let me hit you with my magic stick to amuse myself." They trembled, and begged for mercy. Sun said, "The dragon in the pond has eaten my horse. What do you know about the dragon?" The chief god said, "A few years ago, Kuanyin, the Goddess of Mercy saved the life of a dragon, who was the third son of the Dragon King of the Western Oceans, and told him to await the Sage on his way to the Western Heaven to collect sutras. If you asked Kuanyin to come you would resolve all problems."

Sanzang said, "But Kuanyin is so far away. How long will it be before she arrives?" One of the gods protecting Sanzang volunteered to go and ask Kuanyin to come, and in an instant, there were beautiful, mysterious rays of light, and Kuanyin arrived.

When he saw Kuanyin, Sun asked, "What kind of Goddess of Mercy are you? You have tricked me into wearing this golden crown on my head that causes me unspeakable pain!"

Kuanyin said, "You ignorant, red-buttocked wild monkey. You don't know what a favor I granted you. With this crown you are assured an orderly conduct, and also success in your task of escorting the Sage to the Western Heaven. The crown will liberate you from being an ordinary monster with some supernatural abilities and place you in the ranks of the holy gods."

Sun understood, and knelt to thank Kuanyin. Kuanyin flew over with Sun to the pond, and the local god called out, "Third son of the Dragon King of the Western Ocean! Come out. The Goddess of Mercy is here." The dragon immediately showed up, and paid his homage to Kuanyin.

Sun asked the dragon, "If you were given the task of escorting the Sage to the Western Heaven, why did you attack us?"

The dragon said, "But you never mentioned anything about the Sage." Kuanyin removed the magic crystal ball from the dragon's chin, and commanded, "Change!" The dragon turned into a white horse, and followed Sun back to Sanzang.

Sanzang said, "Oh, our horse is back, and it now looks even sturdier than before."

Sun said, "Master, this is not our horse. This is the dragon that the Goddess of Mercy turned into a horse to take you the Western Heaven. An ordinary horse would not be able to sustain the hardship, but this horse has supernatural strength and would have no problem going through the hardships."

Sanzang knelt in gratitude, and before she left, Kuanyin pulled Sun aside and told him, "Now you must do your duty without wavering or hesitating. To help you in especially difficult situations, I will give you three special hairs. When you are in a truly difficult situation, use them." She took three leaves from the willow branch she was carrying and planted them at the back of Sun's head. Sun thanked her, and she parted. Sun then dismissed the gods, and the two continued on their journey.

They came upon a river, and were wondering where to find a ferry, when they saw an old man coming down the stream. Sun called out to him, and he came ashore to take Sun, Sanzang, and horse on board to cross the river.

After they had crossed the river, Sanzang wanted to pay the old man, but he declined to accept, and sailed away. Sun said, "don't worry about thanking him. He is the god of this river. If he had not come, I would have punished him."

Then they traveled through the mountains, and as the sun went down, they saw a cluster of houses ahead of them. They decided to ask for a night's lodging, and Sun went and knocked at the door.

An old man came to the door and invited them in. He saw their horse, and said, "Your horse looks as though he was stolen, because there is no saddle on him."

Sun said, "No. this is the changed form of the dragon from the Falcon's Anguish Pond. He ate our original horse, saddle, strap and all. But then Kuanyin appeared and brought him in line." The old man said, "We have a saddle that no one is using. I would offer it to you when you depart tomorrow morning." Sanzang thanked him, and the next morning, they received the saddle, which fitted the horse as if designed for it. They took leave.

When they looked back, there was no house where they had spent the night. A voice in the sky said, "We have been sent by the Goddess of Mercy to offer you a saddle. Have a good journey." Sanzang wanted to pay homage, but Sun said, "These little gods! I was going to punish them for not coming forth sooner. They are lucky that I didn't beat them up. don't pay them homage."

◎ CHAPTER 23 ◎

THE THEFT OF THE ROBE AND THE SUBMISSION OF THE BLACK BEAR

Now the three of them traveled through several forests and countries, and a few weeks later they came upon a temple. It looked like a shrine for Kuanyin, so they decided to ask for a night's lodging. The chief monk received them, and Sanzang explained his journey and how he had adopted Sun and the dragon as his companions.

The old monk told them that he was two hundred seventy years old, and Sun said, "You are just a young lad. I have been around for a thousand years." The old monk said that he had lived all his life in the temple, unlike Sanzang who had traveled so far. He said that one of his pleasures was the collection of robes. And he showed his one hundred twenty pieces of superior quality robes. Then he said, "Since you are from the capital of China, you must have wonderful treasures. Can you show us some?"

Sanzang replied, "No, we are sworn to poverty. Besides, we are traveling. Even if we had treasures, we could not carry them." But Sun added, "Well, we do have a robe that makes your robes look like rags."

At this, Sanzang said sternly, "Sun, do not show off. It is no good to tempt people. You might invite jealousy and greed which could harm everyone." Sun said, "Nah! don't worry. I can handle it." And he opened the package to reveal the robe given to Sanzang by Kuanyin.

The old monk was struck by its magnificence. He started to weep, saying, "I am so unfortunate. I have never seen anything so wonderful." He begged to borrow the robe overnight so he could have a good look. Sanzang could not say no, and blamed Sun for all this. Again, Sun said, "don't worry. I can handle it."

The old monk took the robe back to his room, and sighed and lamented that he could not have it to himself. One of his junior monks said, "Why not set fire to the pavilion where they are sleeping, and you can keep the robe." The old monk decided to follow that advice.

The junior monks then piled up dry wood around the pavilion, and the sound aroused Sun's curiosity. Sun, as an immortal, slept with his consciousness intact. So he was aware of the goings-on around him. He realized that there was a conspiracy afoot to burn the pavilion. He took one flight up to Heaven Gate, where the guardian gods, startled, cried, "Look who is here! The big trouble maker!"

Sun said, "I am not here to make trouble. I simply want to see Big Eye Fairy King." They let him in, and he went to the palace of the Big Eye Fairy King and asked to borrow his fire repellent net.

The King was concerned that this well-known trouble maker would take off without returning the net, but Sun assured him, "I am now a disciple of the Sage. I will of course return it as soon as I am done with it." So the net was given to Sun, and he flew back to the pavilion and covered it with the heavenly fire repellent net just before the monks set fire to the dry wood.

Sun sat at the top of the pavilion, and to add to the commotion, he used one of his supernatural tricks to cause a gale of wind to blow the fire over to the rest of the temple complex. The fire was fanned by the wind, and the flames rose hundreds of feet up. This caught the attention of a monster that lived some twenty miles away. He decided to go and help.

When the monster flew over to the temple, he saw Sun sitting on top and blowing a gale of wind at the fire. He then went to the old chief monk's pavilion to see what he could do to help. But then he saw a package that was emitting a rainbow of brilliant rays, and he promptly forgot about helping.

The monster grabbed the package and flew back to his cave. After a few hours, the fire burnt out, and Sun took the net and flew back to Heaven and gave the net back to the Big Eye Fairy King, who was relieved to get it back.

The next morning, Sun woke up Sanzang, who said he had had a good sleep. Sun said, "Aha, you were oblivious to what went on last night! The old monk decided to steal the robe, and kill us by setting fire to our pavilion. But I got the heavenly fire repellent net to save us. Let us go and ask for the robe back."

They went to the main complex and found the chief monk, and asked for the robe back. The old monk was distraught because the robe was nowhere to be found. In desperation, the old monk said, "I have not only committed a sin, I do not have the robe. I am truly damned." Then he rammed his head against the stone wall to kill himself. Sun addressed the rest of the monks, "Now tell me, where is the robe?" But nobody knew where the robe was.

Sun then asked if there was any monster living nearby, and the monks said, "Oh yes, there is a Black Wind Cave in the Black Wind Mountain where there is a monster who calls himself the Black Wind King." Sun said, "This must be the one who took away the robe," and he immediately flew off to the cave. The monks saw Sun fly, and were awestruck and said, "We never knew that you were supernatural. Our chief monk was ignorant. No wonder he had to die."

Sun arrived at the cave, and saw a monster servant carrying a message on his way down the mountain. He killed it in one stroke, and read the message, which said, "Dear chief monk, I want to invite you to a party to celebrate my acquisition of a magnificent robe." Sun realized that the monster was a friend of the chief monk, so he decided to go to the cave in the form of the chief monk. He was invited in, and the Black Wind King was about to offer him tea when one of his little monsters came reporting that the messenger had been found dead on the roadside.

The Black Wind King realized that the chief monk in front of him was someone else, so he challenged him to a fight. Sun took on his actual form and the two started to fight. The fight lasted till dusk, when the Black Wind King decided to call it a day. So he turned into a black wind and disappeared to his cave.

Sun returned to the temple, narrated what had happened, and decided to go back the next day. The fight continued, and Sun found out that the Black Wind King was as strong as him. He told Sanzang, "I should ask Kuanyin to help. After all the theft happened in the temple dedicated to her." Sanzang asked how long he would be gone, and Sun said, "No more than a few minutes."

He flew quickly over to Kuanyin's abode at South Sea Mountain and asked her to help. Kuanyin said, "This monster is the spirit of a black bear. He has achieved immortality, like you, and he is not evil. So I will tame him and have him come and serve me. Kuanyin then flew with Sun to the Black Wind Mountain, where Sun went ahead to challenge the monster to a fight."

The monster came out, and Kuanyin took out a gold crown and threw it at the monster, saying, "Change! And attach!" The crown changed into five crowns, and attached themselves to the monster's head and four limbs. But the monster disappeared.

As they approached the cave, they saw a Taoist priest walking towards it, with a small plate carrying two pills. Sun hit him with his magic stick, turning him into a meatball. Kuanyin scolded him for such cruelty, and Sun said that this is a friend of the monster. Upon his death, the Taoist priest turned into a wolf.

Sun suggested that Kuanyin take on the form of the Taoist priest, and he, Sun, would turn into one of the pills. "And offer the pills to the monster," said Sun. "I will turn myself into the larger pill which you should offer to the monster. I will then rip apart his guts from inside. We can take it from there."

Kuanyin agreed and turned herself into the form of the Taoist priest. Sun said, "Ah! The Goddess of Mercy, you look just like the Taoist Priest!"

Kuanyin said, "Goddess, Monster, Sun Wukong. In the end, all is an illusion." Sun felt a sudden enlightenment upon hearing this, and he kowtowed in gratitude.

Now, Kuanyin, as the priest, went to the cave and met the monster. After greetings, she offered the pills to the monster. He thanked her and took the larger pill, which was Sun's disguise. Sun quickly went into the monster's stomach and started to jump around, causing the monster great pain. As the monster rolled on the floor in agony, Kuanyin revealed her true form and took out one of the golden crowns and placed it on his head. Then she told Sun to get out of the monster's body.

Sun leapt out through the nose, and revealed his original form. The monster got up to attack when Kuanyin chanted the mantra and the monster rolled on the ground in pain. Sun laughed in glee as the monster was writhing in agony, and said, "Now will you submit to the Goddess of Mercy and return the robe?"

The monster cried, "Yes, yes. Save me!"

Sun went into the cave and recovered the robe, and the monster followed Kuanyin back to her abode in the South Sea Mountain.

◎ CHAPTER 24 ◎

ZHU BAJIE (DI BAGGAI) JOINS

Sun and his Master traveled for a few days in sunny and warm weather and they came upon a village. They decided to seek lodging there, and Sun went to the village square to find a suitable place for the night.

He saw a young man hurrying on, and asked him if there was a devout household. The young man ignored him and hurried on. Sun, a bit annoyed, grabbed his arm. He tried to get away, but of course he could not escape from the magic grip of Sun. In desperation, he asked, "What do you want? I am on my way to find a good witch doctor so I can avoid being punished by my employer. Now you have stopped me. I am going to be in trouble."

Sun Wukong quickly went into the monster's stomach and started to jump around, causing the monster great pain.

Sun said, "We are on our way to get the Buddha's sutra, and want to find a place to stay the night. You only need to tell me where I could find a devout family. But why are you looking for a witch doctor?"

The young man said, "My employer is a devout man, so you can go to his place. His name is Gao, and his place is well known. I am looking for a good witch doctor because my boss wants to get rid of his third son-in-law."

Sun said, "But why do you need a witch doctor?" The young man replied, "My boss has three daughters, and the first two were married out. The third daughter was intended to have a husband marrying into the Gao family. They were seeking a suitable man, and one day a man came, claiming to be single without family burdens. Old Gao was impressed and took him in as son-in-law. At first he was behaving himself, working hard on the farm. But soon he started to show his true colors, eating vast amounts of food, coming and going as he rode on a cloud. Eventually, his face turned into that of a black pig. Old Gao decided to get rid of him, but this person was very resourceful and powerful. No witch doctor could do anything. So I am being dispatched to look for a really good witch doctor to deal with the situation."

Sun said, "Ha, that is just what I am very good at. Take me there and I will help get rid of the pig monster." The young man was delighted, and offered to lead Sanzang and Sun to the Gao home.

Old Gao invited them in, and scolded the young man for not going about his task. The young man explained what had appened, and Old Gao bowed to Sanzang and Sun, saying, "I will be eternally grateful to you if you can rid me of this monster."

Sun said, "Tell me more about this son-in-law of yours." Old Gao said, "When he came to us, he looked like an ordinary young man and he worked very hard at the farm, more than doubling the production. But soon he started to change his looks, and now his head is that of a pig, with large ears and a long snout. He eats mountains of food, and treats my daughter like a prisoner, locking her in a room and not allowing her to have any contact with us. He can fly, rides clouds. I persuaded several witch doctors to exorcise him, but all of them were killed and eaten by him. We are at our wit's end. If you can help us, we shall be eternally in your debt."

Sun said, "This is right up my alley. Let me help you. First, let me take a look at the room your daughter is imprisoned in. Meanwhile, look after my Master well." Old Gao ordered his servants to prepare for food and bath for the Sage, and took Sun to the room. Sun said, "It seems your son-in-law is not in. Take your daughter back home. I will stay in the room to deal with the monster."

Sun turned himself into the daughter and lay in bed. After a few hours, the pig monster came in the room and tried to kiss Sun who had assumed the appearance of his wife. Sun grabbed the snout and threw him on the floor. The pig monster said, "Hey, what's the matter? I just wanted to show my affection."

Sun used the woman's voice and said, "There's bad news. They will try to get rid of you." The pig monster said, "Your father is being unreasonable. After all, I work very hard at the farm and production is up. Sure, I eat a lot, but nothing to put a dent in the overall production. But don't worry. They have tried many times but no one is my match because I am not an ordinary monster. I am the reincarnation of the Heavenly official."

Sun said, "But this time, they've got someone called Sun Wukong, who was a great trouble maker in Heaven, to come and deal with you." The pig monster was startled, saying "That is bad news. I know this Sun to be very strong and resourceful. Maybe our days as a married couple are over and I should return to my mountain cave."

As he rose to go, Sun returned to his original form and shouted, "Stop, you miserable monster. Here I am, the Heavenly Grand Fairy Sun Wukong. Surrender and you will be forgiven."

The pig monster ran out and started to fly away, riding a cloud. Sun chased him to the sky. The pig monster said, "Why are you meddling in my business? Here is my trusty rake!" Sun said, "That weapon of yours! You are not going to do any damage to me. Why don't you try it. I will stand still and let you have a swing at me."

The pig monster hit Sun's head hard with his rake. There was a loud noise and sparks flew, but no damage was done to Sun. Startled, the pig monster commented, "What a tough head. Is it made of some supernatural material?"

Sun said, "Now you see. My head has been tempered in the magic oven of Laotse and with my eating of the heavenly peaches and Laotse's pills."

The two resumed their fight, Sun using his magic stick and the pig monster using his rake of nine teeth. The pig monster was no match for Sun, and turned into a gale of wind and escaped into his cave.

Sun went back to the Gao home and reported what happened. Old Gao said, "He may have run away, but if he is not gotten rid of, there will be no peace for us. Please go tomorrow to finish him off." The next morning, Sun went to the cave and hit the door, smashing it to pieces. The pig monster came out and said, "I have done nothing to you. Why do you want to trouble me like this? Besides, I thought you were mostly living in the east. What are you doing here?"

Sun said, "So you don't know everything. I am now the disciple of the Sage who is going to the Western Heaven to collect the sutra of ultimate teaching of the Buddha." When the pig monster heard this, he threw his rake away, and knelt down, saying, "I am sorry. I did not know you are now working for the Sage. I was converted by the Goddess of Mercy and had sworn to follow the Sage when the time came, escorting him to the Western Heaven."

Sun said, "If that is the case, let me bind you up and take you to the Master." Presently Sun took the pig monster, pulling him by the ear. They went to the Gao home where Sun presented the pig monster, explaining what happened. The Sage asked, "Are you sure you want to escort me all the way, fighting the monsters and demons who will surely try to harm us?" The pig monster replied, "Yes, yes. Please accept me as your disciple."

Sanzang then shaved his head, and said, "I should give you a name." The pig monster replied, "The Goddess of Mercy has already given me a canonical name. It's Zhu Wuneng." Sanzang was delighted. He said, "That is good. Sun Wukong and Zhu Wuneng. Both with 'wu' as the common signature. Very fitting."

Old Gao suggested a farewell send-off, offering wines and food. Sanzang said, "I cannot drink, even if the wine is not related to meat." Sun also said he would not drink. But Zhu Wuneng said he would like permission to drink. Sanzang agreed. "All right," he said, "as long as in moderation. I will give you another name, a name to be used as a daily reminder of the need for moderation and virtue. It is Bajie (Baggai in Taiwanese, meaning Eight Taboos)." Thus, Zhu Wuneng joined in the journey, with the informal name of Bajie.

The quartet continued their travel to the west, and the season turned pleasant. It was spring, and as they went on they came upon a large house, where they asked to stay the night. An old man invited them in, and offered them food and accommodation. Before Sanzang could finish saying his grace for the meal, Bajie swallowed a fowl full of rice. Before Sanzang and Sun could finish their first bowl, Bajie finished three more bowls. The old man realized Bajie's extraordinary appetite, and brought out more food. In all, Bajie finished more than a dozen bowls.

They then chatted about their mission to go west, and Sanzang asked the old man how far the Western Heaven was and how hard it would be to go. The old man said, "It is very far, and very difficult because there are many demons and monsters on the way. Just some thirty miles from here, there is a Yellow Wind Cave occupied by a monster who calls himself the Yellow Wind King. He eats people."

The next day, they approached the mountain, where they ran into a blowing gale. Sanzang said, "This wind is strange, not at all like the natural wind. Could this be the so-called Yellow Wind?" Sun said, "Let me catch the wind and smell it." Bajie asked, "How will you catch the wind?" Sun said, "One of my seventy two skills is to capture wind. Let me now try it."

So Sun stretched his arm and grabbed at the wind. Then he brought his fist to his nose and smelled it. "Hum, it is fishy. I believe it is not a natural wind. It must have come from the monster. Let's be careful." Suddenly a tiger charged at them, and Bajie said, "I've got him," and charged at the tiger.

The tiger stripped his skin, revealing a human form. He shouted, "I am the vanguard for the Yellow Wind King. Who are you to attack me?" Bajie said, "You ignorant beast! We are the monks on our way west to get the sutras. Do not obstruct our way, and we will leave you alone."

A fight was unavoidable, and went on for a while. Sun, becoming impatient, said to Sanzang, "Let me see how Bajie is doing. Just wait here." And he went to help Bajie. The tiger was no match and quickly started to run away. The two pursued him closely. The tiger then used the trick of 'leaving a cocoon and letting the cicada escape', putting his tiger skin on a rock, while his real body slipped away from it. The two attacked the tiger, but they hit the rock. They smashed the rock, but did not see any tiger.

Meanwhile, the tiger went over to where Sanzang was resting, grabbed him, and took him back to the Yellow Wind Cave. He reported to his master what happened. The monster sounded a bit worried. "I only wanted you to go and catch some ordinary people to eat," he said. "Now you've got this Sage. I believe he now has Sun Wukong as a disciple. That fellow is very powerful. Let's not eat the Sage for a while. We'll wait to see whether Sun will come looking for him."

Sun and Bajie went back to where their Master was resting and found him missing. They knew right away it was the tiger who had grabbed the Sage. Hurriedly, they went to the cave and shouted, "You insolent monster! Return our Master or else."

The monster sent his tiger vanguard out to fight, and he was hit by Bajie with his rake, leaving nine holes in his head, and died. Next, the monster himself came out and, after trading insults, started to fight.

The monster was no match for the two, and blew a whiff of yellow wind at them. Sun got hit by the wind head on, and his eyes started to burn. The two retreated, decided to rest overnight and continue the fight the next day.

They went to a small house nearby and asked for a night's lodging. Their host asked what was troubling them, and they explained the day's events, with Sun complaining about his eyes. The host said, "I have a magic drop that will cure you, but you must keep your eyes shut for the rest of the night, opening it only tomorrow morning."

When Sun opened his eyes the next day, he marveled at the effectiveness of the drops. They decided to go for another fight and left the house. When they looked back, there was no house. They worked their way towards the cave. This time, Sun decided to play a trick. He told Bajie to wait. Turning into a mosquito, Sun flew into the cave. He saw Sanzang bound to a chair, flew to his ear and said, "Master, I am Wukong. don't worry, I will get this monster."

The monster was talking to his underlings. "I believe the monkey was either killed by my wind, which does kill, or is going somewhere to ask for help. But no one can help him, except the Bodhisattva of Auspicious Spirit."

Sun immediately flew out of the cave. Changing back into himself, he told Bajie, "Now I know whom to seek help from! But where is the Bodhisattva?" As they were wondering, they saw an old man coming by. Sun greeted him, and the old man said, "You seem to be in some kind of a trouble. What is troubling you?"

Sun said, "I would like to pay a visit to the Bodhisattva of Auspicious Spirit, but I do not know where he lives." The old man said, "I'll tell you where he is - due south three thousand miles." Sun thanked him, and he disappeared in a whiff of fragrant wind, and a sheet of paper fell from the sky, which bore a note: 'I am the God of the North Star. You are cured, so go forward to save the Sage'. Bajie wanted to kowtow, and Sun said, "Go ahead! He was the one who brought me to the Heavenly Palace in the first place."

Sun now flew to the abode of the Bodhisattva, who received him very pleasantly, and Sun told him of the trouble they were in. The Bodhisattva said, "This monster! He is the spirit of a mink. I was supposed to supervise him to ensure he does not harm innocent people. Now he has broken his promise. I will go and take care of him. I have two instruments; one, a 'wind-stilling pill' and the other, a 'golden dragon stick'. These will be enough to take care of him."

The two flew back to the Yellow Wind Cave, riding on a cloud. The Bodhisattva said to Sun, "This monster is afraid of me. So I will wait here in the cloud. Why don't you go and lure him out?"

Sun went down, joined Bajie in approaching the cave, and shouted, "You perverse monster! Here I am back. Return my Master or else."

The monster came out, but before he could fight, the Bodhisattva threw the golden dragon stick at him. The stick turned into a golden dragon and grabbed the monster, which turned into a mink rat. Bajie wanted to kill him, but the Bodhisattva said, "Spare him. I will train him into a good servant for the Buddha." Sun and Bajie then entered the cave, killed all the small monsters, and rescued the Sage.

◎ CHAPTER 25 ◎

SHA WUJING (SANDY) JOINS, COMPLETING THE PILGRIM TEAM

The quartet proceeded in a mild weather with sunshine and soft wind caressing their faces. After a few days they came upon a dark, ominous river of quicksand. They were taken aback, and wondered how they could cross this strange river.

Sanzang said, "This looks much more difficult than any ordinary river of water. I wonder whether there is a boat that can cross this quicksand without being swallowed by the quicksand?" Sanzang wondered how wide the river was, and Sun used his supernatural vision to size up the width.

Sun guessed, "It looks like about eight hundred li (about one hundred kilometers) to me." Bajie said, "I could fly over this in an instant, but I cannot fly while carrying the Master. His body is still that of an ordinary human, and is not suitable for carriage on a flight." Sun also said, "I have the same problem. I cannot carry the Master across. Now what shall we do?"

As they were talking, a fierce-looking monster wearing a big necklace of nine skulls jumped out of the sand and approached them. Bajie shouted, "You ugly monster! Here comes my weapon!" They fought for several hours. Finally, Sun could not contain himself and, taking his magic stick out of his ear, joined the fight.

The monster was already feeling overwhelmed by Bajie, so he turned into a wind and went into the river. Sun said, "Bajie, you were the former Heavenly officer in charge of the Heavenly River (the Milky Way). So you will be better at fighting in a river. Why don't you go in there and lure him out? I will then finish him off."

Bajie went in the river and found the monster's hiding place, where the monster was still panting from the fight. He challenged the monster again and they fought. Bajie pretended to be losing and began retreating to the surface of the river.

As soon as Sun saw them out of the river, he attacked the monster with his stick. But the monster was quick in response, and immediately withdrew back into the river. Now he would no longer respond to Bajie's challenge and come out of his hiding.

Sun asked, "What can we do now? I think we should ask the Goddess of Mercy to come and help." Bajie asked, "Why should Kuanyin come and help us?" Sun reasoned, "Because this business of getting the sutras was her idea, and she was the one that got us all into this journey together. So I hold her responsible for any of our troubles. Let me go and ask her to come." And Sun turned a somersault and, in an instant, was at the South Sea Kuanyin Mountain.

The black bear which stole Sanzang's robe and was tamed by Kuanyin met him and asked, "Now what is your problem?" Sun replied, "Aha, so you are now an apprentice. How do you like your life here? Anyway, take me to the Goddess of Mercy."

They went to the Goddess together. The Goddess, who was all-knowing, said, "Wukong! Why did you not tell the Quick Sand River Monster that you were helping the Sage in his quest for the sutras? That would have immediately solved your problem. Very well, I will send Hui-an with you, and he will take care of your difficulties."

She gave Hui-an a red gourd, and said, "When the monster surrenders, use the nine skulls from his necklace and them put around this gourd. This should serve as the ferry to take the Sage and his team across the quicksand river." Hui-an saluted and left with Sun.

While still in the sky, Hui-an called out, "Wujing! Come out." The monster recognized Hui-an's voice, and came out of the river. He saw Sun and started to retreat in fear, but Hui-an said, "Do not fear. This is the first disciple of the Sage who is on the way to the Western Heaven to get the sutras. You should join them as a member of the pilgrim team."

The monster threw away his stick and knelt before Sanzang, saying, "I am sorry. I did not know you were the pilgrim to the west. Please accept me as your disciple."

Sanzang said, "Very well. I should give you a name." And the monster replied, "The Goddess of Mercy has already given me a canonical name of Sha Wujing." Sanzang said, "That's great. We have Wukong, Wuneng, and now Wujing. You three should work and help each other like brothers. Since Sha means sand, we shall call this new member Sandy."

Hui-an took the nine skulls from Wujing's neck and put them around the red gourd, which then formed a boat. Sanzang and the horse went on it first, followed by Sun, Bajie and Sandy, and the boat sailed smoothly across the river, without incident. When the crossing was done, Hui-an collected the gourd, and the nine skulls disappeared into the air amidst bright light, having found their own peace after serving their divine task. The pilgrims thanked Hui-an, who then returned to the Kuanyin Mountain.

◎ CHAPTER 26 ◎

GODS TEST THE TEAM's INTEGRITY AND RESOLVE

Now the team was complete. The Sage had three disciples and the dragon horse. Sandy and Bajie carried the luggage, and Sun walked the Master on horseback. They journeyed for a few weeks, and one evening they came upon a mansion and decided to seek a night's lodging.

The owner turned out to be a middle-aged woman, who invited the four of them in. The hostess said, "I welcome you. This must be our good luck night. I am a widow. My name is Mu. We own this mansion and quite a substantial piece of land, orchards and forests. I have three daughters, all of marriageable age, named Zhenzhen, Aiai, and Lianlian. Now you seem like decent people. I think it may be a good idea if each of you were to marry one of us."

Sanzang was horrified, and did not reply. The hostess continued, "Our holdings are quite large, and we have been hiring people to work them. But sometimes it is hard to trust people. If we can have our own husbands work on the farms, orchards and forests, that would be infinitely better."

Sanzang remained unresponsive, and the hostess said, "I am forty five, so perhaps I can marry you, Master, and since all my daughters are quite pretty, I believe your disciples would be happy to marry them." Sanzang remained silent, but Bajie could not contain himself any longer, and said, "Master, our hostess is addressing you." Sanzang scoffed at Bajie, and said, "My resolve to go west and complete my task is unshakable. But if you want to remain here and marry one of the pretty ladies, you can stay."

Sun joined in and suggested that Bajie marry, but Bajie said, "Well, let's discuss it further." The hostess, annoyed, said, "Well, if not all of you will marry us, at least one of you should."

Sanzang turned to Wukong and said, "How about you, Wukong?" Sun said, "No, I am not very good at this marriage thing." Sanzang then asked, "And what about you, Bajie?" Bajie answered, "This has not been discussed further." Sanzang finally asked Sandy, "Wujing, how about you?" Sandy said, "I am seeking to release myself from the unending cycle of reincarnations, and I joined you only a couple of months ago. Since then, I have benefited from your teaching. Now how can I give all that up and get married here?"

Seeing she was not likely to get any of them, the hostess shut the door and went back into the house. Bajie said, "I think I want to take the horse to find grass." Sun decided to find out what Bajie was up to, so he turned into a dragon fly and followed Bajie.

As Bajie took the horse to the back of the mansion, he saw the hostess and her three daughters sitting and having tea. The hostess called on Bajie and invited him in, saying, "You really should consider marriage, even though you are quite ugly." Bajie said, "I may be ugly, but I am more useful to you. Some people may be handsome, like my Master, but they are useless."

The hostess said, "Good, then why don't you go back and discuss with your team about your decision." Bajie said, "I am an independent person, and I can make my own decisions." The hostess said, "Still, it is more proper for you to let them know, rather than just disappear."

So Bajie took the horse back to the Master, but before he could do that, Sun the dragon fly flew back and reported to everyone what had happened. They were laughing when Bajie came back with the horse, saying there was no grass. Sun said, "Ah! But instead of grass, you found a new wife." Sanzang and Sandy also teased him, and Bajie felt embarrassed. But then the door opened and the hostess came out to invite him in. Once inside, Bajie said, "Mother, I cannot choose from amongst the three beautiful ladies. Why don't all three of them marry me?"

The hostess said, "No. I will tell you what. I will blindfold you, and put the three shirts of my three daughters on the table. You take one and put it on you. The owner of the shirt will be your wife." Bajie agreed and, blindfolded, he groped around, grabbed a shirt and put on himself. The shirt turned into thick ropes and bound Bajie tightly, leaving him hanging on a branch of a tree.

The next morning, Sanzang, Sun and Sandy woke and saw the mansion had disappeared. They heard Bajie crying out loudly, "Master, Wukong, help me." When they looked around, they saw Bajie hanging on a tree, tightly bound. There was a note on the tree, saying: "Goddess of the Pear Mountain, invited by Kuanyin and accompanied by two Bodhisattvas, have tested the integrity of the pilgrim team. All proved faithful and committed, except Bajie."

Sanzang kowtowed to the Goddess of Mercy. Sun took the note and teased Bajie before taking him down. Bajie said, "I have learnt my lesson now. I shall never stray again."

◎ CHAPTER 27 ◎

ENCOUNTER WITH BABY-SHAPED FRUIT TREE

The pilgrims traveled cheerfully, and the weather was very agreeable. They came to a mountain wrapped in a serene atmosphere. There was a large, elegant temple from where magnificent light was emanating. Sanzang said, "This is so beautiful and serene. Could this be the Buddha's abode in the Western Heaven?" Sun said, "Not a chance. We are not even a tenth of the way." Sanzang asked, "In that case, how much longer do we have to go?" Sun said, "If Bajie or Sandy were to go, they could do it in a day, and if I were to go, I could complete fifty return flights before dusk. But you are still a human and have to go on foot; it would take you years." Sanzang said, "All right. But this place looks noble. It must be the abode of some exalted being. Let us meet him and stay a night." Sun said, "You are right. This looks like the residence of a very noble and exalted god."

The temple belonged to God of Universe's Origin, who was absent that day, having gone to the Heaven to attend a gathering of gods. He had a garden in which there was a divine tree which bore thirty fruits in the shape of human babies, which took three thousand years to flower, three thousand years for fruition, and three thousand years to ripen. Anyone who so much as took a whiff of its smell would gain three hundred sixty years of life, and anyone who ate one fruit would live for forty six thousand years. Before his departure, the God of Universe's Origin told the two junior fairies that he was expecting an old acquaintance to visit. He said, "The Sage on the way to the Western Heaven is the reincarnation of the elder in front of the Buddha, the Reverend Golden Cicada. He was one of the senior disciples, but was found sleeping during one of the Buddha's sermons, and was made to redeem his sin by reincarnating as a monk and seeking the sutra. When he and his three disciples come, treat them with courtesy and offer two of the Rensheng fruits, one for the Sage and the other for three disciples to share among them."

When the pilgrims arrived at the temple and knocked on the door, the two junior fairies opened the door and invited them in. Sanzang asked about the temple, and the two junior fairies said, "This belongs to our master, the God of Universe's Origin. Unfortunately, he is not here today, but he has left instructions for us to receive you. Please make yourselves comfortable, and we would like to offer you our hospitality."

Sanzang thanked them, and the junior fairies went to the garden and picked two of the Rensheng fruits and offered them to him and the three disciples. Sanzang was taken aback, because the fruits looked exactly like human babies. He said, "I've heard of people eating babies during a famine, but what is this? I adhere to the principle of no killing. How can I eat this?" The fairies said, "Please do not be alarmed. These are not babies but fruits in the form of babies." Still, Sanzang would not touch them.

The two junior fairies took the fruits back to their quarters and started to eat them, saying, "Well if he is so ignorant, we might as well enjoy them." Sanzang sent Bajie into the kitchen to prepare their food, and he overheard the fairies' conversation. He told Sun, "Hey, what the Master refused to eat is apparently a rare, very magical fruit. You are a master at stealing fruits. Why don't you find out where they are, and get us some?"

Sun happily obliged. He went to the garden where he saw a tree a thousand feet tall with a trunk fifty feet in diameter, with baby-shaped fruits hanging on its branches. He used his magic stick to hit one of them, which fell to the ground and promptly disappeared. Sun could not see where it had gone and, feeling frustrated, he summoned the local god who was in charge of the area. The god came to him saying, "Local god reporting. What is your command?"

Sun said to him, "How dare you steal the fruit? I could not find it after I knocked it down." The god protested, "No, no. I did not steal. These fruits are formed in accordance with the qi (energy flow) of the universe. They obey the qi and respond to the five elements. They fall when they meet gold, that's why the fruit fell when you hit it. They wither when they meet wood; melt when they meet water; sublimate when they meet fire; and disappear when they meet soil. That's why the fruit disappeared when you let it fall to the ground." Sun understood. He dismissed the god, and went back to the tree.

This time Sun received the fruits with his sleeve and, picking three of them, went back to the kitchen. He asked Bajie what it was, and was told it was Rensheng fruit. Sandy was also familiar with it, as he had seen it when working in the Heavenly Palace.

The three of them enjoyed the fruits, but their conversations were overheard by the fairies who went to the garden to check. They found out that there were only twenty two left. They were alarmed. "There were thirty," they cried. "Our Master gave two for us to share, and offered two for the Sage. So there should be twenty six left. The monkey stole four."

They went to Sanzang to complain. Sanzang did not know anything about it, and asked, "Wukong, what happened? If you stole the fruits, it's not such a grievous matter. Why don't you apologize and be done with it?" Sun replied, "Yes. I apologize. I am sorry I stole the fruits."

But the two fairies were not content. They continued to call Sun names. Sun became annoyed, and pulled out one of his hairs and turned it into himself. Then he slipped away to the back garden and pushed the tree down, uprooting it. The fairies noticed that Sun was strangely quiet, and decided to go and see what was happening in the garden. They were appalled to find the tree uprooted and destroyed. They decided to pretend that they knew nothing, and offered the pilgrims supper and allowed them the night's lodging.

After supper, when the pilgrims bedded down, the fairies closed the doors and locked them in. They were to keep them for the return of their master. Next day, they woke up and found themselves locked in. Sanzang said, "Now how do we get out?" Bajie said, "I know Wukong can get out. He has only to turn himself into a fly and get out. But we are stuck." Sanzang warned, "Wukong, if you get out alone, I will chant the ring-tightening mantra." Sun said, "No, no, no. I will open the door for all of us. I can unlock these locks." He pointed his finger at the lock and it opened. The four of them took the horse and left the place in a hurry.

Soon the God of Universe's Origin returned. He asked the fairies if the Sage had visited. They said, "Yes, and we offered them two fruits. But the Sage would not eat it, because he thought it was a baby. Then Sun Wukong stole four fruits. When we complained, Sun went and uprooted the tree. Now the tree is dead, and we don't know what to do."

"Where are they now?"

"We locked them up," replied the fairies, "but somehow they opened the lock and now they are gone."

The God then took off, to find the fleeing four. He flew a thousand miles but could not find them. When he looked around, he saw the pilgrims moving slowly, barely a hundred miles from his temple. He laughed. "I see that they are proceeding at human speed. This must be because the Sage is a human without supernatural abilities." He went back to meet up with them, and said, "I offered you hospitality and you damaged my treasure. Come back with me, and I shall punish you."

Sun and his two fellow disciples raised their weapons against the God, but the God just lifted his sleeve, and with a trick called 'universe within a sleeve', he captured everyone inside his sleeve and flew back to his temple. "Now I shall punish you with 100 lashes of iron sticks," he said.

Sun thought that Sanzang would be too frail to sustain such punishment. So he said, "Do not punish my Master. I am the one who stole and then destroyed the tree. Punish me."

The God was impressed by Sun's loyalty, and instructed his fairy to give Sun the lashes. Of course it did no harm to Sun's hardened skin. After that, the pilgrims were kept in a room, all bound up. That night Sun again said, "I can unbind us. Let's go." He pointed at each of his team, and the ropes fell down, and they escaped from the temple once more.

It was to no avail. The next day the God again caught up with them, and again brought them back to the temple in his sleeve. This time he decided to put Sanzang into boiling oil. Sun again said, "Please, my Master is innocent. Put me into the oil." The God said, "You are a loyal disciple. I respect that. All right," he told the fairies, "put him in the wok."

When the fairies tried to lift Sun to drop him into the wok, the wok shattered and oil splashed all around. It turned out that Sun had escaped but turned the stone lion next to him into himself. The God said, "You still want to play your little tricks with me. You will never leave this place until the tree is revived." Sun replied, "Ah! Why did you not say so in the first place? For me it's nothing to revive a tree. I will revive it if you will let us free." The God said, "I respect your courage and loyalty. If you can restore my tree, I will not only let you all go, I will acknowledge you as my brother."

Sanzang asked, "How are you going to revive a dead tree?" Sun said, "I will get help." Sanzang said, "Very well. But do it in three days. Otherwise I will chant the ring-tightening mantra." Sun flew off to the south, seeking help.

First, Sun came to the mountain where the three gods - the Gods of Luck, of Prosperity, and of Longevity - resided. They greeted Sun courteously, asking why he was there instead of escorting the Sage. Sun explained his problem and asked if they could help. They did not know how.

Sun said, "You see, I am trouble. If I don't find the tree-resurrecting formula within three days, my Master will chant the ring-tightening mantra and my head will be squeezed in great pain." The three gods volunteered to go and accompany Sanzang and ask Sanzang not to chant the mantra when the three days were up. Then they went off to the temple, where they were received the God of the Universe's Origin. Sanzang kowtowed to them, and they said, "Please do not kowtow. We came at the request of Sun, and would like to ask you not to chant the mantra when the three days are up."

Sanzang said, "I obey you. I will not." Meanwhile, Sun went to a few more gods and fairies, and no one could help. Finally, he found himself near the Kuanyin Mountain. Again, he met the bear spirit, who, after some friendly banter, took him the see Kuanyin. She said, "You are a trouble maker. Why did you waste your time looking for the tree-resurrecting formula?"

Sun thought he had now found his salvation, and quickly kowtowed and asked Kuanyin to help. Kuanyin agreed, and flew with Sun in divine brilliance towards the temple.

The God of Universe's Origin greeted the Bodhisattva, as did the three gods of Fortune, Prosperity and Longevity. Sanzang kowtowed piously, thanking her for her gracing the place. Sun said, "Please, let's not delay. Let's go and revive the tree." They went to the garden, where the tree lay dead, roots exposed and withered away.

Kuanyin commanded, "Wukong, open your palm." She wrote a mantra of resurrection on it. Sun then grasped the roots, and Bajie and Sandy pushed the tree to an upright position. Kuanyin then dipped her willow branch into her jar, and sprinkled the tree. In a few moments, the tree revived, with leaves growing back and twenty three fruits hanging on its branches. The two fairies said, "Strange! We counted twenty two the last time. Where does the extra one come from?" Sun said, "I believe this was the one that disappeared into the ground when I dropped it."

Delighted, the God of Universe's Origin threw a party and plucked five fruits to offer Kuanyin, the three gods, and Sanzang. This time Sanzang was familiar with the fruit, and he ate it without hesitation. Kuanyin and the three gods then took their leave. After a few days, the pilgrims left to continue their journey.

◎ CHAPTER 28 ◎

WUKONG IS BANISHED AFTER KILLING THE DEMON OF BLEACHED SKELETON

Their journey took them through open fields and towns and cities. Then they came to a mountain. Bajie said, "This mountain looks ominous. Maybe there is a monster here." Sun flew up and looked around from the sky, but did not see anything. He then uttered a howl, which sent the tigers, bears, wolves and other animals running for cover.

Sanzang said, "I am famished. Wukong, why don't you go and find some food from devout donors?" Sun took the begging bowl and left. But Sun's howl had aroused the curiosity of the demon in the mountain, who decided to find out who had come into his domain. She saw a monk on a white horse, accompanied by two rather fierce-looking warriors escorting him.

She found the monk appealing to her appetite, but she felt a bit intimidated by the two escorts. So she decided to play a trick. She turned into a pretty young woman, holding a bowl of food, and approached the three.

Bajie was immediately infatuated by her, and said, "Hello, young lady. It is dangerous for a young woman to be travelling alone in this terrain. Who knows what wild beasts and bandits are lurking there?" She replied, "I live in this neighbourhood, and I am used to walking around here. My mother is a devout person, and she prepared this pure vegetarian bowl to offer to monks. Since you are monks, I offer it to you."

Bajie told Sanzang, "Well, this is fortuitous. Wukong is not back yet, but why don't we accept this." Before Sanzang could respond, Sun came back with his bowl of food. When he saw the young woman, his supernatural vision recognized her as the demon. So he flew down, and hit the young woman with his stick.

The demon left behind the corpse of the young woman, and escaped by shedding that body. Sanzang was upset. He said to Sun, "This is outrageous. She was offering us food, and you just killed her." Sun explained, "No, no, no: this was a demon playing tricks on you." Bajie was also upset because Sun had killed the pretty woman. He said, "Master, Sun is just lying. Look, here is the corpse of that lady. Where is the demon?"

Sun said, "But look at the food in the bowl. It is all maggots and rotten meats." Sanzang took a look, but Bajie said, "Aha! This is another of Wukong's tricks. He has turned the food to this state to deceive you." Sanzang was naïve and so he believed Bajie. He said, "I do not condone this violence" and started to chant the ring-tightening mantra. Sun was rolling in pain, and cried, "All right, all right. I will never do this again." Sanzang relented, and they ate the food Sun had brought.

The demon then turned into an old woman, walking slowly towards the pilgrims. Bajie said, "Now we are in real trouble. The young lady's mother is looking for her daughter. What are we to do?" Sun again saw that this was the same demon. He said, "No, this is the same demon." He hit her with his magic stick again. The demon escaped once more, shedding the body of the old woman.

Bajie said, "Wukong is playing his tricks again." This time too, Sanzang naively believed Bajie, and started to chant the mantra. Writhing in pain, Sun swore he would not do it again, and again Sanzang relented.

The demon next appeared in the form of a man.

This time Sun was careful. He summoned the gods of the area, and asked them to prevent the demon from escaping. Then he told Sanzang that this was the demon, and this time it would not escape. He hit the demon again with his magic stick. With the gods surrounding the demon, she was trapped. She could not escape and died, turning into a bleached skeleton, bearing the sign 'Lady White Bones' on its skull.

Sun said, "See, this is indeed the demon. Look at her skull." Bajie continued to insist that this was another of Sun's tricks, and Sanzang said, "Wukong, you are incorrigible. Despite my admonitions, you have killed three people. Such violence cannot be tolerated. I can no longer accept you as my disciple." And again he chanted the mantra, leaving Sun in agony. Sun cried, "All right, if you want to banish me, I will leave. But do not chant."

Sanzang said, "I will not chant it again if you leave." Sun kowtowed to Sanzang and said to Bajie and Sandy, "I am now banished. The two of you must now escort the Master to the best of your abilities. If there are monsters or demons that cause you trouble, tell them Sun Wukong is the first disciple of the Master. That should scare them." With that he flew off to the Water Screen Cave.

◎ CHAPTER 29 ◎

SUN GOES HOME

When Sun arrived home, he saw the mountain denuded and desolate. There was no one around. He called out, "I am home. Where is everybody?" Hesitantly, the monkeys came out and said, "Your majesty. We need your protection." They explained that in recent years, hunters had been raiding the mountain and capturing the monkeys. Some were eaten, some made to play in circuses, and some used as slaves.

Sun was furious, and asked, "Where are they from, and when do they come?" The monkeys said they were from the north, and they came every day. As they were talking, a monkey came and told them that the hunters were approaching. Sun told the monkeys to collect rocks on top of the hills. As the hunters drew near, he blew a breath which created a hurricane-force wind, blowing the rocks on the hunters and killing them all. Sun then ordered the monkeys to tidy up everything, planting trees, fixing the living quarters, and generally make the place comfortable. Soon the monkey kingdom was prospering again, and the other animals again came to pay tribute. These included tigers, bears, deer, wolves, buffalos, snakes, lizards, and birds of all feather.

◎ CHAPTER 30 ◎

YELLOW ROBE DEMON DEFEATS BAJIE AND SANDY

After Sun's banishment, the three of them proceeded onwards. One evening, Sanzang asked Bajie to go obtain some donated food. He went off, but he felt lazy, as usual, so he lay down to take a nap on the roadside. Sanzang and Sandy waited for some time, and when Bajie did not return, Sanzang sent Sandy looking for him.

Left all alone, Sanzang felt bored and lonely. So he decided to take a walk, and walked in a southerly direction. Ahead of him, he saw some light, an agreeable golden colour. He thought to himself that this must belong to a highly virtuous monk, so he decided to pay his respect.

As Sanzang approached the gate, he noticed someone lying there asleep. It was a monster, clad in yellow robe, with blue face, red mouth, yellow hair, and white fangs. Frightened, Sanzang tried to withdraw, but by then he had been noticed by the monster's followers. He was captured and taken inside the cave, named 'Broken Moon'.

The monster was happy to get Sanzang and asked him his identity. Sanzang explained who he was and what he was doing, and the monster asked if he had any disciples. Sanzang was an honest man, so he told the truth. The Monster was happy. "So you have two escorts?" he said. "That would be enough for us to fill our stomachs for a while. Let me get them both before I eat you."

Sandy had gone looking for Bajie and found him sleeping on the roadside. He awakened him and said, "The Master sent you to collect food, and look at you. This is negligence and irresponsibility. It's been quite a while since I left the Master. Come, let's go see whether he is safe. Then you can go get some food."

When they went back, they found only the horse and no Master. Startled, they looked around to see where he could be. They noticed the golden rays in the southern direction, and surmised that the Master might be there worshipping. When they arrived at the Broken Moon cave, they realized that this was not a temple, but a monster's nest. Bajie shouted, "You monster, give us back the Sage, or else."

The monster came out and said, "I do have the monk. Now you two have come to join him on my dinner table." They fought, and Bajie and Sandy could not win. They kept fighting for a long time.

There was a princess in the cave, captured by the yellow robe monster thirteen years before and had borne two boys by him. The princess saw Sanzang and decided to release him. She went to him, and said, "Your reverence. I am princess Baihuaxiu (envy of a hundred flowers). I am the third daughter of the king of Baoxiang kingdom (Precious Elephant). Thirteen years ago this monster kidnapped me and has kept me here since. I will let you go, and would ask you to take my letter to my parents."

Sanzang was happy to oblige. So she unbound him, wrote a letter for him to take, and let him out of the backdoor. Then the princess went to the front where the yellow robe monster was still fighting and called on the monster to come. He abandoned the fight and came to his wife. She said, "I had a dream in which god told me to save the life of a holy man. I see that you have captured such a holy man. Why don't you let him go? This would also save you the trouble of having to fight these two."

The monster said, "All right. I will let him go." He turned to Bajie and Sandy. "It's not that I am afraid of you," he said. "But since my wife asked me to let your Master go, I will let him go. Collect him and go away." They went to the backdoor, found Sanzang, and proceeded to the Baoxiang kingdom.

Once in the kingdom, they sought audience with the king, presenting him with the imperial edict from Taizong, and were treated to a Buddhist dinner of all vegetables. Sanzang gave the king the letter from the princess, which said, "My dear royal parents. I write this letter in great sadness. I have been kidnapped by a monster in yellow robe who has imprisoned me for thirteen years. I have been forced to be his wife and now have two children by him. Fortunately, here is the Sage who is going to the Western Heaven to obtain the sutras. He has agreed to carry this letter to you. I hope you are both in good health. Your suffering daughter, Baihuaxiu."

This caused the king and queen great distress. The king said, "Thirteen years ago my third daughter disappeared, and I mobilized the whole kingdom to look for her. Many heads rolled because no one could find her. Now we know where she is. But my army is no match for the monster with supernatural powers. What am I to do?"

Bajie said, "Your majesty need not worry. I can beat this monster. I have thirty six supernatural tricks, and my weapon is powerful." He stretched, and he grew to be twenty feet tall. Then he called a cloud and rode away towards the monster's cave. The king was amazed. Sanzang told Sandy, "I think you should go and give Bajie a hand." Sandy also stretched himself to a height of twenty feet and flew away. Together, the two went to the Broken Moon cave and called out to the monster, "Now you have kidnapped the princess. Return her or else."

The monster came out and the three started a fierce fight. Half way into the fight, Bajie saw that they could not win, and decided to slip away. He said to Sandy, "Brother, I have to relieve myself. I will be back if you just carry on fighting with this monster. The Heavenly Contingent of gods and fairies assigned to protect the Master will be with you." And he quietly went away.

Sandy, left alone, was not strong enough to fight the monster. After a while, he was captured. The monster took him back to the Broken Moon cave, and went to the princess's room and pulled her out. "How did these pilgrims know that you are here?" he asked angrily. "You must have written a letter for the monk to take to your father when I agreed to let him go." She denied it, and the monster asked Sandy about it. Sandy thought to himself, "I am going to be killed here anyway. So I might as well protect the princess." He replied, "don't talk nonsense. There was no letter. My Master was invited by the king and, during their conversation my Master told him about the princess he had seen here."

The monster was quietened. He apologized. "Sorry for the misunderstanding," he said.

With Sandy captured, Bajie delinquent, and the princess still a prisoner, Sanzang felt helpless.

Back in his cave, the monster decided to visit the princess's parents, the king and queen. He turned into a handsome young man and proceeded to the palace, introducing himself as the royal son-in-law. The king and queen could not see through the monster's disguise but, remembering what the princess had said in her letter, they asked about their daughter and why she was kidnapped.

The monster replied, "I did not kidnap her. We met when she was out picnicking. We fell in love with each other and she decided to come with me to my home. We now have two boys together, and she is living happily." The king had his doubts but, seeing the handsome man, he relented and decided to welcome him into the palace.

When the monster saw Sanzang, he said, "This monk is not really a monk. He is a tiger who has changed his appearance into that of a monk." The king said, "But this is the Sage who is on his way to get the sutra from the Buddha."

The monster then played a trick, changing the Sage into a huge, fierce tiger. Everyone was terrified. The royal guards slashed at him with their swords and spears. Luckily for the Master, the Heavenly Contingent was protecting him, so none of the swords or spears could harm him. Still, Sanzang was now caged as a tiger.

Seeing that both Bajie and Sandy were no longer around, and that the Master had been tricked into the shape of a tiger, the pilgrim's horse felt that he had to do something to help. So the horse changed into a lady-in-waiting and approached the monster, offering to pour wine for him. The monster was taken by this pretty woman, and asked if she could dance. She, now the horse dragon, agreed to do a sword dance. She used the sword to attack the monster. Unfortunately for the horse dragon, the monster was alert and moved quickly. He shouted, "Who are you to dare attack me like this?"

The lady-in-waiting revealed her real form, that of a dragon, and they fought. The dragon was no match for the monster. He was hit in the leg and escaped from the battle in the shape of a small fish in the stream.

◎ CHAPTER 31 ◎

SUN WUKONG REJOINS THE PILGRIM TEAM

Meanwhile, Bajie woke up from another of his naps and went back into the king's palace. He noticed that the horse was all wet, and wondered what happened. The horse suddenly said, "Bajie, Sandy has been captured, and the Master is in trouble because the monster changed him into a tiger. You have to do something to help."

Bajie was startled. "How come you are talking like a human? I thought you were a horse."

The dragon said, "I am a dragon, the third son of the Dragon King of the Western Ocean."

Bajie said, "The monster is quite strong. I don't think I can rescue Sandy." The dragon then suggested to Bajie, "Brother, now we are in a desperate situation. I believe you should go and ask our Senior Brother Sun Wukong to come and help."

Bajie said, "I don't see why he would help. The Master chanted the mantra to torture him three times before expelling him. Besides, I was the one that distorted the truth about the Bleached Bone Demon that caused the Master to expel him. I am sure he hates me and if he sees me now he will beat me up."

The dragon said, "No, I know Sun is not a small minded person. He will forgive you. Besides, his devotion for the Master is unyielding. So I believe if you told him the trouble the Master is in, he will immediately come to the rescue."

Reluctantly, Bajie agreed. He flew to the Water Screen Cave and, as he approached the cave, he saw Sun sitting high up on the mountain, surrounded by thousands of monkeys and other animals. He felt guilty about the lies he had told to cause Sun's expulsion, and did not want to go directly to him. He hid amongst the monkeys, but he could escape Sun's sharp eyes. Sun called out, "Who is out there, with big ears?"

Bajie stood up and said, "Greetings, brother. Look at you. Living so well and having so much fun. No wonder you don't miss us." Sun laughed. "What are you doing here, not escorting the Master?" Bajie said, "The Master sent me for you because he misses you. Come back and join us."

Sun said, "I do not believe you. The Master chanted the mantra three times and expelled me with a curse. I am sure he does not want me back." Bajie did not want to beg for his help, so he insisted that the Master did miss him. Sun remained adamant in his unwillingness to return and Bajie had no choice but to explain that they were in trouble.

Sun said, "Very well. I will help. But only this one time. Afterwards, I am coming back here." The two of them then rode their cloud, and returned to the monster's cave. Sun said, "Let me go in to see what's what." Bajie said, "But the monster is not here."

Sun went ahead anyway and saw two boys playing in front of the cave. He snatched them and was about to throw them down, when the princess, hearing them crying, came out and called to Sun, "Do not harm them. Their father is very powerful. You will regret it if you hurt these children."

Sun said, "I will deal with him." He then went into the cave and told the princess to release Sandy, who was overjoyed to see Sun. Sun told the princess that she should hide herself while he fixed the monster. The princess agreed and went to hide, while Sun turned himself into the princess's form, awaiting the monster's return. Bajie took the two kids to the palace and, from the sky, threw them down onto the front gate of the throne room, shouting, "These are the two monster kids. We have come to get rid of the monster who is deceiving you by taking on the form of a handsome young man."

The monster was drunk and in a stupor, but he heard this and came out to see. When he found his two boys dead, he was angry and flew back to his cave to see what was going on. When he saw his wife, who was really Sun in disguise, he asked, "What happened to our kids?" Sun replied, "They were taken away by your enemy." The monster said, "These pilgrims are no match to me. Let me fix them."

Sun said, "But now they have someone called Sun Wukong who has come to join them." This alarmed the monster. "That is bad news," he said. "This Sun is the trouble maker who made a big mess of the Heavenly Palace. Now I have to be careful."

Sun suddenly revealed his original form, and threw the monster to the ground. Then he pulled out the magic stick, made it into a stick two inches in diameter and eight feet long, and started to beat the monster. The monster also grabbed his weapon and they fought.

Sun managed to hit the monster on his shoulder, and he disappeared. Sun went up to the sky, looked around with his supernatural vision, but he could not find the monster. He concluded that the monster did not belong to the earth. So he flew up to Heavenly Gate where the guardian god and others hurriedly greeted him. He asked them to check and see which one of the heavenly horde was missing. They went through the registers, checking the stars, fairies, and gods of all description.

The register of the 28 Milky Way Stars showed one of them missing, so they sent the head of the 28 to go looking for him. The monster, hearing the call of his boss, came out of his hiding, and was duly arrested. He said, "The princess is not a human. She was one of the Heavenly Ladies-in-Waiting, with whom I fell in love. To be together, we decided to leave Heaven and come to the earth."

Sun thanked the gods, and returned to the king's palace. There, he saw Bajie, Sandy and the horse. They took him to the Master, who was still in the form of a tiger. Sun said, "Ah! Master, how do you feel?" The tiger roared, but rather plaintively, for it was the Master and he could understand what was said. Sun said, "Do not worry, I will help you." He took a sip of water and blew it on the tiger, and the tiger immediately changed back into Sanzang. It was like awakening from a bad dream, and Sanzang said, "O Wukong, thank you for your help. And welcome back. When we succeed in getting the sutras, your merit will be the highest."

Sun said, "Never mind that. I will be happy if you just stop chanting those damned mantras." The pilgrim team was now complete again, and they proceeded on their journey.

◎ CHAPTER 32 ◎

TROUBLES WITH GOLD HORN AND SILVER HORN

The pilgrims proceeded through mountains and rivers, plains and fields, and came upon a massive, craggy mountain. Sanzang said, "This looks like a mountain that might harbour a monster. Bajie, why don't you go and investigate." Bajie was not very keen, but had to obey the Master. So he went ahead of the team to check things out.

Knowing how untrustworthy Bajie was, Sun said to Sanzang, "Bajie may do his usual thing, just go for a nap instead of performing his task. Let me follow him and see what he does." He changed into a dragon-fly and flew right behind Bajie.

Sure enough, Bajie was grumbling to himself, "This old fool of a monk. Why didn't he get the monkey to do it? Well, I am going to have a good nap." He lay down to sleep.

Sun changed into a woodpecker and pecked at Bajie's nose. Bajie groaned, "These days everyone is out to make trouble for me, even the woodpecker. Go away, let me sleep." He hid his nose under his sleeve, and tried to sleep.

But Sun the woodpecker was not going to let him sleep. He pecked away at his ears. Bajie gave up. "Ay ay ay, all right! It's not in my luck to have a nice sleep." He saluted a big rock nearby, as if it was his Master, and said, "Master, I have finished my task. This mountain is known as the Stone Head Mountain. There is a cave called Stone Head Cave, in which a monster lives, with some forty or fifty small elves." Sun quickly flew back to the Master and reported what happened. When Bajie returned, Sun asked him mischievously what his finding was. Bajie said, "This mountain is known as the Stone Head Mountain." Sun added, "And there is a cave named Stone Head Cave? And there is a monster in it, along with forty or fifty small elves? I saw you saluting a rock to rehearse this."

Bajie was mortified and embarrassed. He promised to go again and this time would do an honest investigation. Sun did not follow him, but he was afraid that Sun was somewhere behind following him. Bajie was muttering, "All right, all right, I will not cheat again." So he went, this time in earnest, and soon ran into a monster.

The mountain was occupied by two brother monsters, Gold Horn and Silver Horn, living in a cave named 'Lotus Flower Cave'. They had heard that the pilgrims were on their way to the Western Heaven and that their mountain was on their path. Gold Horn said, "I hear that the Sage is a holy man who is of perfect virtue, and his flesh could bring infinite longevity to whosoever that eats it. Let's not let them pass. We have to catch him and eat his flesh."

Silver Horn was out that day looking for a quarry to hunt and, when he saw Bajie, decided to catch him. Bajie fought him off, but after some time, found it difficult to keep up, and started to run away. The small elves chased after him and, tripping on a root, Bajie fell and was captured and brought into the cave.

Gold Horn said, "This must be Zhu Bajie, for he looks like a pig. It means that the Sage is not far. Why don't you go have a look around?"

The rest of the team was waiting for Bajie to return. When he did not, they began to suspect that he was sleeping again. Silver Horn turned himself into an old Taoist priest who had injured his leg, and approached the pilgrims.

Sanzang asked, "Friend, where do you come from? We are from Tang China, on our way to the Western Heaven to obtain the Buddhist sutras. You are hurt. Let me lend you my horse to carry you, and let us go to your temple." Silver Horn said: "That is very kind of you. But I am unable to ride a horse because my leg is broken."

Sanzang took pity on him and asked Sun to carry him on his back. Sun knew this was a monster, so he agreed to carry him, and was going to throw him hard on the ground to crush him. Silver Horn called for a mountain to come and crush Sun, but Sun was powerful enough to fend off the attack. He carried the mountain on his right shoulder and kept going, still looking for a chance to throw the monster.

The monster then called on another mountain which Sun hoisted on his left shoulder. Finally, the monster called the largest mountain. This time, Sun could not hold up so much weight and was pinned down. Silver Horn then flew into the sky and from there stretched his arm to catch Sanzang, and drew him to the cave.

Gold Horn said, "We have five magic tools. One is a red gourd, another is a jade vase, and then we have a banana-leaf fan, the sword of seven stars, and the golden rope. I know Sun Wukong is very powerful. He will surely escape from the three mountains. So before he does that, why not send one or our elves to go and get him. All he has to do is to put the silver vase upside down, with its mouth facing down, and call his name. The moment he responds to the call, he would be sucked into the vase, and within a few hours, he will turn into a pile of rotten puss." One of the elves was given the vase and told to go get Sun from underneath the mountains.

From below the three mountains, Sun summoned the gods of the mountains. They came hurrying to Sun's presence, saying, "Sir, what is your command?" Sun said, "How dare you pin me down like this." They replied, "The monster's power is so great that when he chants the mantra to pull us, we cannot resist. That's why we moved our mountains here. But we did not know it was you that we were pinning down. We will lift the weight tight away."

The gods removed the mountains, and Sun broke free. Pulling his needle-sized magic stick, shaking it into the usual size, Sun shouted, "Now come and get my stick." The gods pleaded with him, "Sir, we did not know it was you. Please do not punish us for our ignorance." Sun relented, and went to the cave to rescue the Master.

On his way, he saw the elf with the vase coming towards the mountains. Sun changed into a Taoist priest and greeted the elf. He paid compliments on the vase and asked the elf what function it performed. The elf said, "It can capture anyone who responds when his name is called. Once inside, the victim will melt into a rotting jelly of puss."

Sun pulled a hair and changed it into a large gourd. He told the elf, "My gourd is also magical. It can not only contain people, it can contain the universe. Let me show you what it does." He pulled another hair and changed it into himself, and he slipped away and went up the Heavenly Gate looking for the gods of the sun and the moon and the stars.

Sun asked them to help by hiding these celestial luminary bodies. They were reluctant, but the Jade Emperor said, "For the sake of helping in the cause of getting the sutra, I will permit this exceptional act this once." So, as Sun threw the gourd in the air, they pulled a black screen over the sky, and suddenly there was complete darkness. The elf was frightened and said, "I see nothing. Where are you?" Sun said, "I am right in front of you, but in this complete darkness you cannot see."

After a while, Sun thanked the gods and asked them to lift the screen, and suddenly the midday light was back. Sun offered to exchange the gourd with the vase and, impressed, the elf agreed to the exchange. Sun flew up to the sky, leaving the elf wondering what happened. He tried to repeat Sun's performance, but the gourd just dropped like a piece of stone.

In a panic, the elf kept throing the gourd in the air, but nothing happened. Sun was laughing in the air, and collected the hair back to his body, leaving the elf with nothing. He then killed the elf and, changing into a fly, went into the cave. There he heard the two monsters discussing how to deal with Sun. They decided to invite their mother who was the custodian of the golden rope, to come and share in the feast of the Sage's flesh.

Sun flew out of the cave, waited for the messenger bearing the invitation. He changed once again into a Taoist priest and greeted the messenger. "It looks as though you have an important assignment. What is it?" he enquired. The messenger told Sun that he was going to the mother of the two monsters to invite her for dinner. Sun asked where she lived, and the messenger told him. Sun now had no use for the messenger, so he killed him, assumed his form, and went to the cave where the mother lived.

As he met the mother, Sun told her about the capture of Sanzang, Bajie and Sandy, invited her to go to the Lotus Flower Cave for dinner. He requested that she bring the golden rope with her. The mother took out the rope, and got into a palanquin carried by eight people, and proceeded on her way to the cave. Sun took out his needle from his ear and changing it into the usual magic stick, killed the mother and her retinue and took the golden rope. The mother, it turned out, was a huge fox. Sun took eight hairs and changed them into the eight sedan bearers, and he himself changed into the shape of the mother. They were received by the two monsters who told of the benefits of eating Sanzang's flesh. Bajie, who was bound to a stick in the room, said, "Aha, this is Wukong in disguise. I can tell from the tail that sticks out." Sun, in the guise of the mother, said, "The monk is the ultimate treat, but the big ear of the pig must also be very tasty."

Bajie panicked when he heard this. He cursed under his breath, "This damned monkey, he never stops playing tricks on me." Soon afterwards, a guard came in, greatly agitated, and announced, "Master, bad news. Your mother was killed by Sun Wukong. The mother in front of you is none other than Sun himself." The two monsters pulled out their weapons to attack Sun, who now reverted to his original form and flew out of the cave. They fought for a while, and Sun decided to use the golden rope. What he did not realize was that there were two sets of mantras for the rope. One was to tighten, and the other to loosen.

When Sun took it out, Silver Horn immediately chanted the tightening mantra, which resulted in Sun being bound tight. The monster captured Sun, searched him and found the vase that he had taken from the elf. He dragged Sun into the cave. Bajie saw him coming bound and said, "Now you are not going to enjoy eating my ears, are you?" Sun said, "don't worry; I know how to get out. I will rescue you."

He pulled one of his hairs, turned it into himself, and slipped out of the rope. Once outside, Sun shouted, "I am Wu Sunkong. Release the pilgrims and I will forgive you, or else." Silver Horn said, "I will find out who this Wu Sunkong is." Taking the vase with him, he went out of the cave.

There was Sun Wukong, claiming to be Wu Sunkong. Silver Horn asked, "Who are you. What is your business? Get lost or you will be in trouble."

Sun said, "You are the one in trouble. I am the Heavenly Grand Fairy. Release the pilgrims and you can save your skin." They fought for several hours, and Silver Horn was beginning to feel weak. He jumped off, and said "I have a magic vase that will swallow you. Do you dare respond to me when your name is called?"

Sun thought that Wu Sunkong was not his real name. He would therefore be immune to the vase's magic. So he said, "I will respond." Silver Horn called out, "Wu Sunkong!" and Sun said, "Yes!" Unfortunately, the vase would swallow anyone responding to a call, even if the name was false. So, Sun was sucked into the vase.

Silver Horn was triumphant. He took the vase and went back to the cave, and said, "I have Wu Sunkong here. Let's wait for a few hours for him to melt. Sun, inside, tried to break out, but it was too sturdy. He was not worried about melting: after all he had survived the forty nine days in Laotse's oven. But he wanted to get out, and only way to get out was when the vase was open. So he took one of his hairs and changed it to look like himself with legs melted and only the torso remaining."

Then Sun changed himself into a mosquito and waited near the mouth of the vase. He cried out in pitiful tones, "Ah, ah, now my legs have melted. I am soon going to die." Silver Horn heard it and decided to inspect. The moment he opened the cover, Sun flew out. Silver Horn looked into the vase and found Sun with only torso remaining, and said, "He will be finished soon."

Sun, now out, changed into one of the servants and stood near the vase. As soon as everyone's attention had shifted to other things, he took the vase, pulled one of his hair to change into the vase, collected his other hair from inside the vase, and sneaked out of the cave. Now he shouted, "Silver Horn and Gold Horn! Release the pilgrims or Kong Wusun will finish all of you."

The two monsters were puzzled. "Sun Wukong, Wu Sunkong, and now Kong Wusun. What is going on?"

Bajie heard this and cried out, "These three characters are all the one and the same. It's Sun Wukong in various disguises, you better know how powerful he is." Silver Horn went out to see, and Sun attacked him with his magic stick. Soon Silver Horn was feeling not up to it, and jumping off, took out his vase, which was Sun's hair, and said, "Now I have a magic vase that will swallow you, if you dare to answer my call."

Sun, knowing that the vase in Silver Horn's hand was really his hair, said, "Go ahead and call. I will answer." Silver Horn called out, "Kong Wusun!" Sun answered, "Yes!" But nothing happened. Silver Horn was confused and afraid. So he started to run away. Sun called out, "Silver Horn!" Silver Horn, out of habit, answered. "Yes." And he was swallowed into the vase.

The brother's defeat was reported to Gold Horn, and he felt compelled to come out and fight. Sun quickly defeated him. Gold Horn used the banana leaf fan to fan a huge fire that threatened to burn Sun and Bajie. In the confusion, he ran away to another cave, where his mother's brother lived. Sun went into the Lotus Flower Cave to release the Master, Bajie, Sandy and the horse, and pursued Gold Horn to his uncle's cave.

They came out, but were no match for Sun and Bajie. The uncle was struck by Bajie's rake, dying from the nine holes from the rake and turning out to be an old fox. Gold Horn tried to run, but when he answered Sun's call, he too was sucked into the vase. Sun and Bajie went back to the Master and told him that all was well now, with the two monsters trapped in the vase.

Suddenly there was a brilliant light in the sky, and a voice called out, "Now that you have won, you can give back my two servants and five instruments." They looked up, and saw Laotse standing in the sky, on his cloud. The Master kowtowed, but Sun said, "You mean old man. Why did you send these two to harass us?"

"I had no intention to do any mischief but Kuanyin asked me to send someone down to test your resolve. So I sent the two servants, one looking after my Golden Oven and the other looking after my Silver Oven, down to earth, carrying the vase which I use to put water, the gourd which I use to store my longevity pills, the banana leaf fan that I use to fan my fire in the oven, and the gold rope that was my waist band. Now their job is done, so let me collect them." He opened the vase, and the two monsters turned into two breaths of fragrant wind and blew out.

The Master thanked Sun for his feats, and the pilgrims continued on their journey to the west.

The Master thanked Sun Wukong for his feats, and the pilgrims continued on their journey to the west.