SIXTY-THREE
Two monks, quelling fiends, disturb the dragon palace;
The sages, destroying deviates, acquire the treasures.
We were telling you about the king of the Sacrifice Kingdom and the various officials, both great and small. When they saw how the Great Sage Sun and Eight Rules mounted the wind and fog and glided away, each holding one of the little fiends, all those dukes and marquises bowed toward the sky, saying, “It’s indeed the truth! Not until today did we realize that there are such immortals, such living Buddhas!” When the two disciples vanished from sight, the king then turned to thank Tripitaka and Sha Monk, saying, “This Solitary One is of fleshly eyes and mortal stock. We only thought that your worthy disciples had sufficient power to capture the fiendish thieves. Little did we realize that they are actually superior immortals who can ride the fog and mount the clouds!”
“This humble cleric,” said Tripitaka, “has hardly any magic power, and he’s dependent on these three lowly disciples throughout the journey.” Sha Monk said, “To tell you the truth, Your Majesty, my Big Brother happens to be the converted Great Sage, Equal to Heaven. Once he caused great havoc in Heaven, using a golden-hooped rod, and among one hundred celestial warriors there was none who could withstand him. Even the Jade Emperor and Laozi were intimidated by him. My Second Elder Brother is none other than the Marshal of Heavenly Reeds who has embraced the right fruit. He used to command a mighty force of eighty thousand marines of the Celestial River. Compared with them, this disciple has very little magic power, but I, too, happen to be the Curtain-Raising Captain who has received the commandments. We brothers may not be very good at doing other things, but if you want something like catching fiends and binding monsters, seizing thieves and arresting fugitives, taming tigers and subduing dragons, kicking down Heaven and pulling up wells—including even stirring up seas and overturning rivers—we know a little of these. As for activities such as mounting the cloud and riding the fog, calling up rain and summoning wind, moving the stars and changing the dipper, poling the mountains to chase after the moon, they are simple matters, hardly worth mentioning.”
When the king heard this, he became even more respectful toward them; asking the Tang Monk to take the honored seat, he addressed him as “Venerable Buddha,” while Sha Monk and his companions were given the title, “Bodhisattva.” The civil and military officials of the entire court were all delighted, while the people of the whole kingdom paid them homage, and we shall leave them for the moment.
We now tell you about the Great Sage Sun and Eight Rules who, astride the violent wind, brought the two young fiends to the Green Wave Lagoon at the Scattered-Rock Mountain. After they stopped their clouds, the Great Sage blew a mouthful of divine breath onto his golden-hooped rod, crying, “Change!” It changed at once into a ritual razor, with which he cut off the ears of the black fish spirit and the lower lip of the sheat fish spirit. After casting the fiends into the water, Pilgrim shouted to them, “Go quickly and make a report to that All Saints Dragon King. Tell him that his Venerable Father Sun the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, has arrived. Tell him to bring out immediately the original treasure taken from the top of the Golden Light Monastery in the Sacrifice Kingdom, and the lives of his whole family will be spared. If he but utters half a no, I’ll clean out this lagoon, and everyone in his household, both old and young, will be executed!”
Those two little fiends were only too glad to have their lives back. Enduring their pain and dragging along their iron chains, they fled by darting into the water. The spirits of fishes, shrimps, crabs, sea turtles, iguanas, and huge tortoises were so startled that they swarmed around them and asked, “Why are you two draped with ropes and chains?” One of the two, hands still hugging the sides of his head, kept wagging his tail and shaking his head; the other one, holding his mouth, stamped his feet and beat his breast. In a noisy throng, they went up to the palace of the Dragon King and the two made this report: “Great King, disaster!”
The All Saints Dragon King was just drinking wine with Nine-Heads, his son-in-law. When he saw them dashing in, he put down his glass and inquired about the disaster. “We were on patrol last night,” said one of the two fiends, “when we were caught by the Tang Monk and Pilgrim Sun, who happened to be sweeping the pagoda. We were, in fact, bound by iron chains. This morning we were taken to see the king, after which that Pilgrim and Zhu Eight Rules hauled the two of us back here; one of us had his ears cut off and the other, his lower lip. They then threw us into the water and told us to make this report. They are demanding from us the treasure taken from the pagoda top.” When they gave a thorough account of what had happened, and when the old dragon heard the name Pilgrim Sun, the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, he was so terrified that his spirit fled his body and his soul floated up to the Ninefold Heaven. Shaking all over, he said to Nine-Heads, “Oh, worthy son-in-law! It may be all right if another person shows up, but if it’s he, then we’re in a bad situation!”
“Relax, great father-in-law!” said the son-in-law with a laugh. “Since his youth your foolish son-in-law has mastered the rudiments of the martial arts. Within the four seas he has, moreover, met quite a few stalwart warriors. Why fear him? Let me go out now and fight three rounds with him. I promise you that that fellow will bow his head in submission, not daring even to look up!”
Dear fiend! He leaped up at once and put on his armor, picking up a weapon which had the name of crescent-tooth spade.1 Striding out of the palace, he opened a path in the water and rose to the surface, crying, “What sort of Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, is here? Come over quickly and yield your life!”
Standing on the shore, Pilgrim and Eight Rules stared at the monster-spirit to see how he was attired.
He wore a bright silver helmet,
Its luster whiter than snow;
He had on a cuirass of steel
Luminous as autumn’s frost,
Which topped a damask martial robe
Patterned like colored clouds enfolding jade.
His waist had a belt of rhinoceros grain,
Which seemed like a python spotted with gold.
His hands held the crescent-tooth spade
Flashing with beams of light;
His feet wore two pigskin boots
Which parted water and waves.
Seen from afar he had one head and one face;
Drawing near, he seemed human all around.
Eyes in front,
Eyes behind,
He could see all eight quarters.
A mouth on the left,
A mouth on the right,
Nine mouths talking at once!
One shout he gave and it shook the distant void,
As if a crane’s cry had punctured the stars.
When the monster-spirit found no reply, he shouted once more: “Who is the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven?” Giving his golden fillet a pinch and his iron rod a bounce, Pilgrim replied, “Old Monkey’s the person.”
The fiend asked, “Where do you live? Where did you come from originally? How did you get to the Sacrifice Kingdom to become the guard of the pagoda for that king? How dare you capture my captains and work further violence by provoking battle on my treasure mountain?”
“You thievish fiend!” scolded Pilgrim. “So, you don’t recognize your Grandfather Sun! Come up here and listen to my recital.
Mount Flower-Fruit’s where old Monkey once had lived,
At the great ocean’s Water-Curtain Cave.
I’ve wrought a perfect body since my youth;
Emperor Jade made me Sage Equal-to-Heav’n.
When I caused great havoc in the Dipper Hall,
The gods in Heaven found me hard to beat.
The Buddha, asked to lend his wondrous might,
Used his boundless wisdom transcendently.
In a somersault wager—a test of might—
His hand formed a mountain to have me pressed
Beneath it till now, a full five hundred years.
My life was spared when Guanyin intervened:
Great Tang’s Tripitaka would go to the West
To seek on Spirit Mountain the Buddhist verse.
To give him protection I found release
And cultivation, purging imps and fiends.
At Sacrifice Kingdom of the West we met
Priests wrongly blamed, three generations all.
In mercy we inquired about the cause
And learned the pagoda had lost its light.
My master swept it to get to the truth:
The night reached third watch when all sounds had ceased,
We caught two monsters who at once confessed.
You all, they claimed, had the treasure stolen;
The gang of thieves e’en had a dragon king,
To which a princess added her name, All Saints.
By raining blood on the pagoda’s beams,
She took someone’s treasure for her own use.
That true statement before the court obtained,
We sped to this place by the king’s command
That we might find you and provoke a fight.
There’s no need to ask for Father Sun’s name.
Return the treasure quickly to the king
And we’ll spare your kin’s lives, both old and young.
If you’re so foolish as to want to strive,
I’ll drain your water, topple your mountain, and stamp you out!”
When the son-in-law heard these words, he smiled scornfully and said, “So, you’re a monk on your way to fetch scriptures. Don’t you have anything more important to do than to meddle in someone’s affairs? You’re to seek your scriptures from Buddha, and I am the one who steals treasures. What has that to do with you? Why must you come here to fight with me?” “This thievish fiend,” said Pilgrim, “has very little understanding! Of course, I’m not a recipient of the king’s favor, nor do I feed on his water or rice, and thus I’m not obliged to serve him. But you stole not only his treasure and defiled his pagoda, you also brought suffering to the priests of the Golden Light Monastery. They belong, after all, to the same community as we. How could I not exert my strength on their behalf and bring their injustice to light?” “In that case,” said the son-in-law, “you must want to do battle. As the proverb says, ‘War is an unkindly act.’ When I raise my hands, I fear I’ll not spare you. I may take your life all of a sudden, and that may upset your scripture enterprise!”
Enraged, Pilgrim shouted, “You brazen thievish fiend! What power do you have that you dare mouth such big words? Come up here and have a taste of your father’s rod!” Not in the least intimidated, the son-in-law parried the blow with his crescent-tooth spade; a marvelous battle thus broke out on top of that Scattered-Rock Mountain.
Monsters stole treasures and the stupa grew dark.
Pilgrim caught fiends and informed the king.
Into the water two little fiends fled;
The old dragon took counsel, all in dread.
His son-in-law, Nine-Heads, would flaunt his might;
He armed himself to go to show his power
And roused the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven’s ire,
Whose iron rod, upraised, was hard and strong.
That fiend
Had on nine heads eighteen eyes
All ablaze both back and front;
This Pilgrim,
Whose steely arms could raise a thousand pounds,
Did spread auspicious rays around.
The spade looked like the moon at the first stroke of yang;2
The rod seemed like frost flying o’er ten thousand miles.
The rod met the spade as both strove to win,
But none had yet won on this battlefield.
Charging back and forth, the two of them fought for more than thirty rounds but no decision could be reached.
Zhu Eight Rules was standing all this time before the mountain slope; he waited until the battle had reached its sweetest moment before he lifted high his muckrake and brought it down hard on the back of the monster-spirit. The fiend, you see, possessed nine heads, and on each one of them he had eyes that could see clearly. When he saw Eight Rules coming at him at the back, he immediately used the lower part of the spade to block the rake while the upper part parried the iron rod. They fought thus for another six or seven rounds when the monster could no longer withstand the double offensive, front and back. He somersaulted at once into the air and changed into his original form: it was a nine-headed insect, exceedingly ugly and ferocious. Look at his appearance! You’d be scared to death! He had
Feathers like brocade spread out,
A stoutish body with curly fleece.
His size, at least twelve feet in length—
A shape like the turtle’s or iguana’s.
His two feet were pointed and sharp like hooks;
Nine heads joined together to form a ring.
He could fly so well when he spread his wings
That e’en the roc was no match for his strength.
Crying out he could shake the Heaven’s edge,
Able to call louder than a mythic crane.
With eyes flashing beams of golden light,
Not like the common bird’s his was a proud sight.
Horrified by what he saw, Eight Rules cried, “Elder Brother! I’ve never seen such a vicious thing in all my life! Which creature of blood and breath would bring forth a beast like this?” “It’s rare! It’s rare, all right!” replied Pilgrim. “Let me get up there to strike him.”
Dear Great Sage! Quickly mounting the auspicious cloud, he leaped into the air and aimed a blow of his iron rod at the creature’s heads. To display his abilities, that fiendish creature spread his wings and flew to one side. Rolling over, he suddenly darted down the side of the mountain as another head popped out from the middle of his torso. A huge, gaping mouth like a butcher bowl caught hold of Eight Rules’s bristles with one bite. Tugging and pulling his victim, he hauled him into the water of the Green Wave Lagoon. When he reached the dragon palace, he changed back into his previous form and threw Eight Rules on the ground. “Little ones, where are you?” he cried. Those spirits of mackerels, culters, carps, and perches along with the turtle, iguana, and sea turtle fiends all surged forward, shouting, “We’re here!” “Take this priest,” said the son-in-law, “and tie him up over there. I want to avenge our soldiers who were sent on patrol.” The raucous mob of spirits carried Eight Rules inside as a delighted old dragon king came out saying, “Worthy son-in-law, you’ve made great merit! How did you manage to capture him?” After the son-in-law gave a thorough account of what took place, the old dragon immediately ordered a banquet to celebrate this victory, and we shall leave them for the moment.
We tell you now about Pilgrim Sun, who was quite dismayed when he saw how Eight Rules had been captured by the monster-spirit. “This is a formidable fellow!” he thought to himself. “I would like to go back to see Master in the court, but I’m afraid the king would laugh at me. If I make noises to provoke battle again, I’ll have to face them single-handedly. Moreover, I’m not used to doing business in water. I’d better transform myself to go inside and see what that fiend is going to do to Idiot. If there’s a chance, I’ll smuggle him out again so that we may proceed with our business.” Dear Great Sage! Making the magic sign with his fingers, he shook his body, changed into a crab to splash into the water, and went before the towered gateway. This was a familiar way to him, you see, for he had traveled it before when he spied on the Bull Demon King and stole his golden-eye beast. After he crawled sideways through the arch, Pilgrim saw inside the old Dragon King drinking merrily with the nine-headed insect and other members of their family. Not daring to go near them, Pilgrim crawled over to the east corridor where there were several shrimp and crab spirits frolicking. After he had listened to their chatter for awhile, Pilgrim imitated their manner of speech and asked, “That priest with a long snout caught by our venerable son-in-law, has he died?” “Not yet,” the spirits replied. “The one tied up in the west corridor and moaning, isn’t he the one?”
On hearing this, Pilgrim crawled silently over to the west corridor, and indeed he discovered our Idiot bound to a pillar and moaning. “Eight Rules,” whispered Pilgrim as he approached him, “you recognize me?” When Eight Rules heard the voice, he knew it was Pilgrim and said, “Elder Brother, what shall we do? I’ve been caught by this fellow instead!” When Pilgrim glanced around and saw no one, he snapped the ropes with his claws and told Eight Rules to leave. After he was freed, Idiot said, “Elder Brother, my weapon was taken by him. What are we to do?” “Do you know where he has put it?” asked Pilgrim, and Eight Rules replied, “It must have been taken up to the main hall by that fiend.”
Pilgrim said to him, “Go beneath the towered gateway and wait for me.” Fleeing for his life, Eight Rules slipped out quietly, while Pilgrim turned and crawled up to the main hall once more. A luminous object he saw on the left side was actually the rake of Eight Rules. Using the magic of Body Concealment, he stole it and went to the towered gateway. “Eight Rules, take your weapon,” he said. After Idiot took the rake, he said, “Elder Brother, you leave first and let old Hog fight his way into the palace. If I win, I’ll seize their entire family. If I’m defeated, I’ll flee outside and you can come to my assistance by the edge of the lagoon.” Highly pleased, Pilgrim told him to be careful. “No fear,” said Eight Rules, “for I do have some abilities in water.” Pilgrim left him and swam back to the surface of the water.
Straightening out his black cotton shirt and gripping his rake with both hands, our Eight Rules gave a shout and fought his way into the palace. Those aquatic relatives, both young and old, were so startled that they dashed up to the main hall, screaming, “It’s terrible! That long-snout priest has broken out of the ropes and he’s attacking us!” The old dragon, the nine-headed insect, and their family members were hardly prepared for this; jumping up, they scattered in every direction and tried to hide themselves. Our Idiot, however, had no regard for life or death; crashing into the main hall, he wielded his rake to fracture doors, demolish tables and chairs, and shatter all those drinking utensils. We have for him a testimonial poem, and the poem says:
Wood Mother was caught by a water fiend;
Mind Monkey, unyielding, searched hard for him
And used a clever trick to pick the lock.
They then displayed their power and deepest ire.
The son-in-law with his princess quickly hid;
The Dragon King fell silent in fear and dread.
As palatial arches and windows broke up,
Dragon sons and grandsons all lost their wits.
This time the tortoise-shelled screens were pulverized by Eight Rules and the coral plants were smashed to pieces. After he had safely hidden the princess inside, the nine-headed insect grabbed his crescent-tooth spade to rush back to the front palace, shouting, “Lawless swine! How dare you be so insolent as to frighten my kin?” “You thievish fiend!” scolded Eight Rules. “How dare you capture me? It’s not my fault now! It’s you who have invited me to bust up your household. Return the treasures quickly so that I can go back to see the king. That’ll be the end of it. Otherwise, I’ll definitely not spare the lives of your entire family!” The fiend, of course, was not about to yield. Clenching his teeth, he plunged into battle with Eight Rules. Only then did the old dragon manage to collect himself sufficiently to lead his son and grandson, armed with scimitars and spears, to mount an attack also. When Eight Rules saw that the tide was turning against him, he dealt a weak blow with his rake before turning to flee, followed by the old dragon and his companions. In a moment, they all darted out of the water, bobbing up and down on the surface of the lagoon.
We tell you now about Pilgrim Sun, who stood waiting on the shore. When all at once he saw Eight Rules leaving the water, chased by his opponents, he quickly rose on cloud and fog and wielded his iron rod, crying, “Don’t run away!” One blow and the old dragon’s head was all smashed up. Alas!
As blood spilled in the lagoon, red water swelled.
The corpse floated on the waves with dying scales.
The dragon son and grandson were so terrified that they all fled for their lives. Only the son-in-law, Nine-Heads, retrieved the corpse and retreated to the palace.
Pilgrim and Eight Rules, however, did not give chase immediately; they went back to the shore instead to talk about what had happened. “This fellow’s will to fight has been blunted now,” said Eight Rules. “With my rake, I fought my way in and caused tremendous wreckage. They were frightened out of their wits. I was just fighting with that son-in-law when the old dragon chased me out. It was a good thing that you beat him to death. When they get back inside, they will undoubtedly prepare for mourning and the funeral, and they certainly will not come out again. It’s getting late also. What shall we do?”
“Why worry about the time?” said Pilgrim. “You should make use of this opportunity and go down to attack them once more. We must recover the treasure before we can return to the court.” Our Idiot, however, had turned slothful and indolent, refusing to go with all sorts of excuses. “Brother,” urged Pilgrim, “there’s no need for all your deliberations. Just entice them to come as before and I’ll attack them.”
As the two were conversing like that, they suddenly saw a vast expanse of dark fog moved by a churning, violent gale from the east toward the south. When Pilgrim took a more careful look, he found that it was Erlang of Illustrious Sagacity traveling with the Six Brothers of Plum Mountain.3 Leading hawks and hounds, they were also poling foxes, hares, deer, and antelopes. Each of them had a curved bow dangling from his waist and a sharp blade in his hand as they sped forward astride the wind and fog. “Eight Rules,” said Pilgrim, “those seven sages happen to be my bond-brothers. We should detain them and ask them to help us do battle. If we succeed, it’ll be a wonderful opportunity for us.” “If they’re your brothers,” replied Eight Rules, “we should indeed ask them to stay.” “But they have in their midst Big Brother Illustrious Sagacity,” said Pilgrim, “who once defeated me. I’m a little embarrassed about showing myself abruptly to him. Why don’t you block the path of their clouds and say, ‘Lord Immortal, please stop for a moment. The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, is here to pay you respect.’ When he hears that I’m here, he will certainly stop. When he settles down, it’ll be easier for me to see him.”
Our Idiot indeed mounted the clouds and rose quickly to the peak of the mountain. “Lord Immortal,” he cried with a loud voice, “please slow your horses and chariots. The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, wishes to see you.” On hearing this, that holy father gave the order for the six brothers to stop. After they met Eight Rules, he asked, “Where is the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven?” Eight Rules said, “He awaits your summons below there in the mountain.” “Brothers,” said Erlang, “please invite him to come here.” The six brothers, being Kang, Zhang, Rao, Li, Guo, and Zhi, all ran out of the camp and cried, “Elder Brother Sun Wukong, Big Brother requests your presence.”
Pilgrim went forward and, after he greeted each of them, they went up the mountain together. He was met by the Holy Father Erlang, who extended his hands to him and said, “Great Sage, you were delivered from the great ordeal and received the commandments in the Gate of Sand. The days may be counted when your merit will be achieved and you will ascend your lotus throne. You are to be congratulated!” “Hardly,” said Pilgrim. “I received great kindness from you in the past, and I have yet to repay you. Though I have been delivered from my ordeal and am now journeying toward the West, I have no idea what sort of merit I shall accomplish. We are passing through at this moment the Sacrifice Kingdom, and in order to rescue some priests from their calamity, we have come here to capture fiends and demand the return of a treasure. By accident we saw the noble entourage of Elder Brother, and we make bold to request your assistance. We have no knowledge as to where you have come from or whether you will be pleased to grant us our wish.”
“Because I had nothing to do,” said Erlang with a smile, “I went hunting with the brothers, from which we were just returning. The Great Sage is most kind in asking us to stop, which is ample proof of how greatly he cherishes an old friend. If you want me to help you defeat some fiends, dare I not obey you? But what fiendish thieves are occupying this region?”
“You must have quite forgotten, Big Brother,” said one of the six sages. “This is the Scattered-Rock Mountain, and below it is the Green Wave Lagoon, the dragon palace of All Saints.” Somewhat startled, Erlang said, “But the old dragon All Saints doesn’t cause any trouble. How would he dare steal a pagoda treasure?” “He recently took in a son-in-law,” said Pilgrim, “a nine-headed insect who had become a spirit. The two of them conspired together as thieves and brought down a rain shower of blood on the Sacrifice Kingdom, after which they took away the śarīra Buddhist treasure on top of the Golden Light Monastery. Not perceiving the truth of the matter, the king bitterly persecuted and tortured the priests of that monastery instead. My master in mercy was moved to sweep the pagoda during the night, during which I caught two small fiends on the top. They were sent there on patrol, and when we took them into court this morning, they made an honest confession. The king therefore asked our master to subdue the fiends, and that was how we were sent here. During our first encounter, Eight Rules was hauled away by that nine-headed insect when an additional head popped out of his torso. I went into the water by means of transformation and managed to rescue Eight Rules. We had another fierce battle when I slew the old dragon, whose corpse was taken away by that fellow and his cohorts. We were just in the midst of discussing how to provoke battle again when you and your noble companions arrived. Hence our imposition on you.”
“If you did smite the old dragon,” said Erlang, “this is the best time to attack them. They’ll not be prepared, and we can exterminate the whole nest of them.” “That may be so,” said Eight Rules, “but after all, it’s getting late now.” Erlang replied, “As the military theorist says, ‘An army does not wait for the times.’ Why worry about how late it is?”
Kang, one of the brothers, spoke up: “There’s no hurry, Big Brother. Since his family members live here, that fellow is not about to run away. Now, since Second Elder Brother Sun is our honored guest, and since Stiff Bristles Hog4 also has returned to the right fruit, we should have a party right now, especially when we have brought wine and food along to our camp. The little ones can start a fire and we can set it up right at this place. We may toast the two of them and enjoy a nice visit together this evening. By morning, we can then provoke battle, and there’ll be still plenty of time.” Exceedingly pleased, Erlang said, “Our worthy brother has spoken well!” and he gave the order at once for the little ones to prepare the banquet. “We dare not decline the noble sentiments of all of you,” said Pilgrim, “but since becoming priests, we have been observing the dietary laws. I hope we’ll not cause any inconvenience.” “But we do have fruits and the like,” replied Erlang, “and even our wines are dietary.” And so, by the light of the moon and the stars, the brothers lifted their cups in friendship, using Heaven as their tent and Earth as their mat.
Truly the lonely watches are long, but a happy night is all too short. Soon, the east turned pale with light. A few goblets of wine had given Eight Rules enormous inspiration, and rousing himself, he said, “It’s about dawn. Let old Hog go into the water to provoke battle.” “Do be careful, Marshal,” said Erlang. “Just trick him into coming out and we brothers will do our part.” “I know! I know!” said Eight Rules, laughing. Look at him! Tightening his clothes and gripping the rake, he used the water-division magic and leaped down there. The moment he arrived before the towered gateway, he gave a shout and fought into the palace hall.
At the time, the dragon son, having draped himself with a mourning gown of hemp, was standing guard over his father’s corpse and weeping. The dragon grandson and that son-in-law were busily preparing a coffin in the back. Shouting abuses, our Eight Rules rushed forward and his upraised hands delivered a heavy blow with his rake. Nine gaping holes at once appeared on the head of that dragon son. The dragon dame was so aghast that she ran madly inside, wailing, “That long-snout monk has killed my son also!” When he heard this, the son-in-law immediately took up his crescent-tooth spade and led the dragon grandson out to do battle. Lifting his rake to oppose them, our Eight Rules fought as he retreated, and soon they arrived on the surface of the water. All at once, the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven and the seven brothers swarmed all over them, and in no time at all, the showering blows of swords and spears reduced the dragon grandson to a few meat patties.
When that son-in-law saw that things were going badly, he rolled on the ground immediately and changed back into his original form. Spreading his wings, he soared into the air. Erlang took out his golden bow, affixed a silver pellet, and sent it hurtling toward the insect. The fiend quickly flapped his wings and darted down, wanting to bite Erlang. Just when another head popped out from the middle of his torso, however, the small hound of Erlang leaped into the air with a terrific bark and bit it clean off. In great pain, the fiend fled toward the north sea. Eight Rules was about to give chase, but he was stopped by Pilgrim, who said, “Let’s not follow him. As the proverb has it, ‘The desperate fugitive should not be chased.’ One of his heads has been bitten off by the small hound, and it’s unlikely that he’ll survive. Let me change into his appearance instead, and you open up a path in the water. Chase me into his palace. After we find the princess, we can wangle back the treasure.” Erlang said, “I suppose it’s all right that we don’t track him down. But if this kind of creature remains in the world, it will undoubtedly bring great harm to people in posterity.” Thus we have even today the blood-dripping nine-headed insect, which is, in fact, the descendant of that creature.5
Eight Rules, meanwhile, agreed to what Pilgrim told him and opened up a path in the water. Pilgrim, having changed into the appearance of the fiend, ran ahead while Eight Rules followed behind, shouting and hollering. As they drew near the dragon palace, they were met by the princess All Saints, who asked, “Son-in-law, why are you in such a panic?” “That Eight Rules has defeated me,” replied Pilgrim, “and is chasing me here. I don’t think I can resist him anymore. You’d better hide the treasures quickly.” In such a hurry the princess, of course, could not distinguish truth from falsehood. She immediately took out from the rear hall a golden box to hand over to Pilgrim, saying, “This is the Buddhist treasure.” After that, she took out also a white jade box and gave it to Pilgrim, saying, “This is the nine-leaf divine agaric. You take these treasures and hide them. Let me battle Zhu Eight Rules for a few rounds just to slow him down. After you have put away the treasures, you can come out and fight with him again.”
Having taken over the boxes, Pilgrim gave his face a wipe and changed back into his original form, saying, “Princess, take a good look and see if I’m the son-in-law!” Thoroughly shaken, the princess tried to make a grab for the boxes, but Eight Rules rushed in and one blow of the rake on her shoulder sent her to the ground.
There was only an old dragon dame left; she turned and tried to flee, only to be caught hold of by Eight Rules. He was about to hit her with the rake, too, but was stopped by Pilgrim, who said, “Wait a moment. Let’s not kill her. We should take a live one back to the capital so that we may announce our merit.” Eight Rules, therefore, dragged her up to the surface of the water, followed by Pilgrim holding the two boxes. He said to Erlang, “We’re indebted to the authority and power of Elder Brother. We have recovered the treasures and wiped out the fiendish thieves.” Erlang said, “We owe this rather to the excellent luck of the king in the first place, and to the boundless magic power of you two worthy brothers in the second. What have I done?” His brothers also said, “Since Second Elder Brother Sun has accomplished his merit, we should leave at once.” Pilgrim could not stop thanking them; he would have liked to get them to go see the king, but they steadfastly refused. The sages thus left and returned to the River of Libation.
Pilgrim took up the boxes while Eight Rules dragged along the dragon dame; moving midway between cloud and fog, they reached the kingdom in an instant. Those priests who had been freed in the Golden Light Monastery, you see, were waiting outside the city. When they saw the two of them stopping their cloud and fog, they went forward, bowing, to receive them into the city. At that time, the king and the Tang Monk were conversing. Forcing himself to be bold, one of the monks ran ahead and went into the gate of the court to memorialize: “Your Majesty, the two venerable fathers, Sun and Zhu, have returned, bringing with them the treasures and the thief.” On hearing this, the king left the hall quickly with the Tang Monk and Sha Monk. As he met the two disciples and praised them repeatedly for their divine merit, he also gave the command that a thanksgiving banquet be prepared. “There’s no need for you to bestow on us food and drink as yet,” said Tripitaka. “Let my humble disciples restore the treasure to the pagoda first. Then we may drink and feast.” He then turned to Pilgrim to ask, “You two left the kingdom yesterday. How was it that you did not return until today?” Whereupon Pilgrim gave a detailed account of how they fought with the son-in-law and the Dragon King, how they met the lord immortal, how they defeated the monster-spirits, and how they finally wangled the treasures. Tripitaka, the king, and all his civil and military officials could not have been more pleased.
“Does the dragon dame know human speech?” asked the king. Eight Rules said, “She is the wife of the Dragon King who has given birth to many sons and grandsons. How could she not know human speech?” “If she does,” said the king, “let her give us a complete account of the robbery.”
The dragon dame said, “I know nothing of stealing the Buddhist treasure. It was entirely the work of my deceased husband and our son-in-law, Nine-Heads. When they discovered that the radiance on top of your pagoda was emitted by a Buddhist relic, they brought down a rain shower of blood three years ago and therewith stole the treasure.”
“How did you steal the divine agaric plant?” asked the king. The dragon dame said, “That was the work of my daughter, Princess All Saints, who sneaked into Heaven and stole from before the Hall of Divine Mists the nine-leaf divine agaric planted by the Lady Queen Mother of the West. Nourished by the divine breath of this plant, the śarīra would remain indestructible for a thousand years and luminous in all ages. Even if you just wave it slightly on the ground or in the fields, it will emit myriad shafts of colored rays and a thousand strands of auspicious beams. Now you have seized these things, and moreover, you have slaughtered my husband and my sons, you have done away with my son-in-law and my daughter. I beg you to spare my life.”
“We’re not about to spare you, of all persons!” said Eight Rules. Pilgrim said, “Guilt cannot be borne by an entire family. We’ll spare you. But you are required to be the perpetual guardian of the pagoda for us.” “Even a good death is not as good as a wretched existence!” replied the dragon dame. “If you spare my life, you can do whatever you please with me.” Pilgrim at once asked for an iron chain. After the attendant before the throne brought it out, Pilgrim pierced the lute bone of the dragon dame with the chain before saying to Sha Monk, “Invite the king to witness how we secure the pagoda.”
Hurriedly asking for his carriage, the king left the court hand in hand with Tripitaka. Accompanied by many civil and military officials, they went to the Golden Light Monastery and ascended the pagoda. The śarīra was placed carefully inside a treasure vase on the thirteenth floor of the pagoda, while the dragon dame was chained to a pillar in the center. Pilgrim recited the magic words to summon together the local spirit of the capital, the city deity, and the guardian spirits of that monastery. Food and drink were to be brought to the dragon dame once every three days, they were told, but if she ever dared misbehave, she would be executed at once. The various gods obeyed in silence. The Pilgrim used the agaric plant as a broom and swept each of the thirteen layers of the pagoda clean before returning it to the vase to nourish the śarīra. Thus it was the old had become the new once more, with myriad shafts of colored beams and a thousand strands of auspicious air. Once more the eight quarters could witness the radiance, and the four surrounding nations could wonder at the treasure. After they walked out of the pagoda’s door, the king said, “If the old Buddha and the three Bodhisattvas had not come this way, how could we ever get to the bottom of this affair?”
“Your Majesty,” said Pilgrim, “the two words, Golden Light, are not the best, for neither of these is a thing of permanence. Gold, after all, is an unstable substance, and light is air that flickers. Since this humble priest has already exerted such efforts for you, he would suggest that you change the monastery’s name to Dragon-Subduing Monastery. It will last forever, I assure you.” At once the king ordered the name be changed, and a new plaque, bearing the words Dragon-Subduing Monastery Built by Imperial Command, was hung across the main gate in front. He asked for an imperial banquet also and for the painter to make portraits of the four pilgrims. Their names, too, were recorded in the Five-Phoenix Tower. Thereafter, the king took the pilgrims personally in his own carriage out of the city to see them off. When they were offered gold and jade as a reward, master and disciples refused to take even a penny. Truly it was that
Fiends extirpated, all realms are cleansed;
The pagoda light’s restored, the great earth is bright.
Then they departed. We do not know what their journey ahead will be like; let’s listen to the explanation in the next chapter.