The Journey To The West

Journey to the West ordered that the monk be arrested. At the word \"arrest\" the officers standing to either side of the prince all seized Sanzang at once and got ropes ready to tie him up with. Monkey was now silently praying in his box: \"Heavenly Kings who protect the dharma, Six Dings and Six Jias, I have a plan to subdue a demon, but this prince doesn't know what he's doing, and he's going to have my master tied up. You must protect him at once. If you allow him to be tied up you'll all be in trouble.\" None of them dared disobey the Great Sage's secret instructions, and they did indeed protect Sanzang. The officers could not even touch Sanzang's shaven pate; it was as if he were surrounded by a wall, and they could get nowhere near him. \"Where are you from, and how dare you insult me with this self−protection magic?\" asked the crown prince. Sanzang went up to him, greeted him respectfully, and said, \"I have no self−protection magic. I am the Tang Priest from the East going to worship the Buddha, fetch scrip−tares and offer treasures in the Thunder Monastery.\" \"Your Eastern lands may be in the central plains,\" replied the prince, \"but they are extraordinarily poor. What treasures could you possibly have? Tell me.\" \"The cassock I am wearing,\" said Sanzang, \"is the third−grade treasure. I also have treasures of the first and second grade that are much better things.\" \"But that cassock only half covers you,\" objected the prince. \"It can't possibly be worth enough to deserve being called a treasure.\" \"The cassock may not cover both shoulders,\" replied Sanzang, \"but there is a poem about it that goes: Of course a monk's habit leaves one shoulder bare, But it covers a true Buddha free from worldly dust. This was the True Achievement of thousands of needles; Nine Pearls and Eight Treasures formed its spirit. Fairies and holy women sewed it reverently As a gift to a dhyana monk to purify his body. Failure to greet Your Highness may be overlooked, But what use is a man who avenges not his father?\" Hearing this put the crown prince into a fury. \"You're talking nonsense, you impudent monk,\" he shouted. \"You can use your gift of the gab to overpraise your tatty little garment if you like. But you'll have to tell me what wrongs to my father I've failed to avenge.\" Chapter 37 525

Journey to the West Sanzang took a step forward, joined his hands in front of his chest, and said, \"Your Royal Highness, how many great kindnesses does a man receive on earth?\" \"Four,\" the prince replied. \"What are they?\" Sanzang asked. \"There is the kindness that heaven and earth show by covering and supporting him,\" said the prince. \"There is the kindness of the sun and moon in giving him light. There is the kindness of his monarch in giving him land and water. And there is the kindness of his parents who rear him.\" \"Your Highness is mistaken,\" said Sanzang with a smile. \"People are only covered and supported by heaven and earth, lit by sun and moon, and provided with land and water by their monarchs. They are not brought up by fathers and mothers.\" \"Monk,\" roared the prince in anger, \"you shaven−headed food−scrounging tramp, you rebel, where would people come from if they did not have parents to rear them?\" \"That is something, Your Highness,\" said Sanzang, \"that I do not know. But I have in this box here a treasure called the King−maker who knows everything that has happened or will happen for five hundred years long ago, five hundred years in the present era, and five hundred years in the future after that, making fifteen hundred years in all. He will be able to tell us all about not knowing the kindness of being reared by parents. He has made me wait here for a very long time.\" \"Bring him out and let me see him,\" said the crown prince. As Sanzang opened the lid of the box Brother Monkey jumped out and started rushing around on both sides of it. \"A tiny speck of a man like that couldn't possibly know anything,\" said the prince. As soon as Monkey heard this objection to his size he used his magic powers to stretch himself till he was three feet four or five inches tall, to the amazement of the soldiers, who said, \"If he went on growing at that rate it would only be a day or two before he smashed through the sky.\" Once Brother Monkey was back to his original size he stopped growing. Only then did the prince address him: \"King−maker, this old monk says that you know all the good and evil things of the past and the future. Do you use tortoise−shell or milfoil for your divinations? Or do you do it by interpreting sentences from books.\" \"I don't use anything,\" said Monkey. \"All I need is my three inches of tongue to know everything about everything.\" \"You're talking nonsense again,\" said the prince. \"Even since the olden days the Book of Changes has been the best book for predicting the good and bad things that will happen in the world. It tells you what to avoid. That's why predictions can be made with tortoise−shell or yarrow. Why should I believe a word you say? You'll be making unfounded predictions of blessings and disasters to stir up trouble.\" \"Be patient, Your Highness,\" said Monkey, \"until you've heard what I have to say. You are the eldest son of the monarch of Wuji. Five years ago there was a disastrous drought in your country that caused your people terrible suffering. The king your father and his ministers prayed devoutly for rain, but not a drop fell until a Taoist wizard came from the Zhongnan Mountains who could summon up winds and rain and turn stone into gold. Because the monarch was too fond of the wizard he took the wizard as his sworn brother. Is this all true so far?\" \"Yes, yes,\" said the crown prince, \"go on.\" \"When the wizard disappeared three years later who was then on the throne?\" Chapter 37 526

Journey to the West \"You're quite right that there was a wizard,\" said the prince, \"and that His Majesty my father took him as his sworn brother. They slept in the same room and ate from the same table. Three years ago they were enjoying the beauty of the palace gardens when he used a gust of magic wind to seize my father's gold−bordered white jade scepter and carry it back with him to the Zhongnan Mountains. My father still misses him. Without him my father has no interest in any relaxation, and the palace gardens have been completely shut for the last three years. If the king isn't my father I'd like to know who else he could be.\" Monkey smiled, and kept on smiling without answering when the prince asked more questions. \"Damn you,\" said the furious prince, \"what do you mean by just grinning at me?\" \"I have a great deal more to say,\" Brother Monkey finally replied, \"but this is hardly the place to talk with so many people around.\" Realizing that there must be something behind this remark the prince dismissed his soldiers with a wave of his sleeve. The officers in attendance passed the order on at once, sending the three thousand soldiers and their horses to pitch camp outside the monastery gates. Now that there was nobody else in the hall of the monastery the prince took the best seat. The venerable elder stood beside the prince with Monkey standing next to him. All the monks of the monastery withdrew. Monkey then stopped smiling as he stepped forward and said. \"Your Highness, it was in fact your very own parent that was carried away by the wind, and it is the rain−making wizard who now sits on the throne.\" \"Nonsense,\" said the prince, \"nonsense. Ever since the wizard went away my father has kept the weather well regulated, the country strong and the people contented. But you say that he isn't my father. As I'm of such tender years I'll spare you; but if His Majesty my father heard you uttering such treason he'd have you arrested and hacked into ten thousand pieces.\" He then shouted at Monkey to go away. \"What did I say?\" Monkey asked the Tang Priest. \"I said he won't believe me. Oh, well. The only thing I can do now is to give him that treasure in the hope of obtaining a passport so that we can carry on towards the Western Heaven.\" Sanzang handed the red box to Monkey, who took it, shook himself, made it disappear−−it was, after all, one of his own hairs transformed−−and put it back on his body. He then presented the white jade scepter with both hands to the prince. \"A splendid monk you are, I must say,\" exclaimed the crown prince on seeing it. \"Five years ago you came here as a Quanzhen wizard to trick my family out of its treasure, and now you've come back as a Buddhist monk to present it to me.\" \"Arrest him,\" the prince shouted, and as the order was passed on Sanzang pointed to Monkey in his terror and panic and said, \"You wretched Protector of the Horses. All you can do is cause gratuitous trouble in which you get me involved.\" Monkey rushed forward to stop him. \"Shut up,\" he said, \"or you'll give the game away. I'm not called King−maker. I have a real name.\" \"Come here,\" shouted the angry crown prince. \"I want your real name so that I can hand you over to the legal authorities for sentence.\" \"I am this elder's senior disciple,\" said Monkey. \"My name is Sun Wukong. As I'm going with my master on his way to fetch the scriptures from the Western Heaven, we took shelter here last night. My master was reading sutras late last night, and he had a dream in the third watch. In this dream His Majesty your father told my master that the wizard had murdered him by pushing him into the eight−sided well with glazed tiles in the palace gardens. The wizard then turned himself into such a good likeness of your father that none of the officials at court could tell the difference. You were too young to know any better and banned from the harem. The garden was closed. This was because he was afraid that the truth would get out. His Majesty your father Chapter 37 527

Journey to the West came last night specially to ask me to put the fiend down. I was worried in case the present king wasn't really an evil spirit, but when I took a look from up in the air I saw that he definitely is. I was just going to grab him when you rode out of the city to go hunting. The jade hare you hit with your arrow was me. I led you to this monastery to meet my master. Every word I have told you is the truth. You can recognize that white jade scepter; so why don't you bow in gratitude to the father who reared you and avenge him?\" At these words the crown prince was deeply distressed, and he said to himself in his grief, \"Perhaps I shouldn't believe what he says, but it does seem to be rather convincing. But if I do believe him, however can I face my father in the palace?\" He was indeed Caught upon the horns of a dilemma, Wondering what on earth he ought to do. Seeing that he was unable to make up his mind, Monkey went up to him and said, \"No need for all these doubts, Your Highness. Why don't you ride back to the capital and ask Her Majesty the queen how the love between her and your father is compared with three years ago. That's the only question that will prove that I'm telling the truth.\" That changed the prince's mind for him. \"That's it,\" he said, \"I'll ask my mother.\" He sprang to his feet, put the scepter in his sleeve and was just about to go when Monkey tugged at his clothes and said, \"If all your men and horses go back it'll give the game away and make it much harder for me to succeed. You must ride back alone and not draw attention to yourself or make a fuss. Don't go in through the main gate; use one of the back gates instead. And when you enter the women's quarters in the palace to see your mother, don't shout or make a lot of noise. You must keep your voice down and talk very quietly. That fiend probably has tremendous magical powers, and once the cat is out of the bag your mum's life won't be worth tuppence.\" The crown prince accepted these instructions with great respect, then went outside the monastery gates to give these orders to his officers: \"Stay encamped here and do not move. I have some business to attend to. Wait till I come back and then we shall all return to the capital together.\" Watch him: Giving his orders to the army to encamp, He rides back to the city as if on wings. If you don't know what was said when he met the queen, listen to the explanation in the next installment. Chapter 38 Questioning His Mother, the Boy Sorts Right from Wrong When Metal and Wood Join in the Mystery, Truth and Falsehood Are Clear Chapter 38 528

Journey to the West If you speak only of the causation arising from birth, You can be present at the Buddha's assembly. The Buddha of the dusty world thinks only peaceful thoughts; People of all quarters watch while the spirit is subdued. If you wish to know who is the true monarch, You must ask the mother who bore you. You have never yet seen another world; At every step a new flower appears. Soon after taking his leave of the Great Sage, the crown prince of Wuji was back in the city. As instructed, he did not make for the main palace gates or announce his arrival, but went straight to a back gate that was kept by some eunuchs. Not daring to stop him, they let him in. The splendid prince rode his horse straight to the foot of the Brocade Fragrance Pavilion, in which sat the queen attended by some dozens of consorts and concubines holding fans. The queen was in tears, leaning against a carved balustrade. Do you know why? It was because she half remembered but had half forgotten a dream she had had in the small hours of the morning. Now she was deep in thought. The prince dismounted, knelt at the foot of the pavilion and called, \"Mother.\" The queen forced herself to look cheerful and called to him, \"What a pleasure to see you, my child, what a pleasure. I've been worried about you for two or three years. Despite all my requests to His Majesty your father in the hall of audience I haven't been able to see you. How ever were you able to get leave to see me today? I'm so, so happy. But why do you sound so sad, child? Your father is getting on now. One day the dragon will have to return to the jade−green sea and the phoenix to the crimson clouds. Then the throne will be yours. So why be so miserable?\" To this the prince replied with a kowtow, \"Mother, who is it who now occupies the throne? Who is it who uses the royal 'we?'\" \"The boy's gone mad,\" exclaimed the queen. \"It's your father who's king. Why do you ask?\" \"I beg you, Mother,\" said the prince, kowtowing again, \"to forgive your son's crime so that I may ask once more. If you can't pardon me, I can't ask.\" \"There can't be criminal proceedings between mother and son,\" the queen said. \"You're forgiven. Now, hurry up and ask.\" \"Mother,\" said the prince, \"I want to ask you whether there is any difference in the affection between you and my father now compared with three years ago.\" Chapter 38 529

Journey to the West The moment the queen heard this her souls went flying and she rushed down to the foot of the pavilion to hug the prince close to her. \"Child,\" she said as tears flowed from her eyes, \"why do you come to the harem after we've been kept apart for such a long time to ask me this?\" \"Mother,\" said the prince in great anger, \"tell me at once what you have to say or you will ruin everything.\" The queen ordered her attendants to withdraw, then said in a low and tearful voice, \"If you hadn't asked me about it I would have taken the secret to the grave with me. Now that you have asked, listen while I tell you: He used to be so passionate and tender, But three years later on he's turned to frost. If I whisper to him warmly on the pillow He pleads old age and says the urge is lost.\" At this the crown prince broke away from his mother's embrace and remounted his horse. \"What's up, child?\" the queen asked, holding on to him. \"Why are you off before we've even finished our conversation?\" The prince then knelt before her and said, \"I hardly dare tell you, Mother. When I went out hunting this morning with the falcons and hounds His Majesty kindly lent me I happened to meet a holy monk who was on his way to fetch the scriptures. His senior disciple is Sun the Novice, or Brother Sun. He is very good at exorcising demons. It appears that His Majesty my father is dead in the eight−sided well with glazed tiles in the palace gardens, and that the wizard turned himself into my father's double in order to usurp the throne. In the middle of last night my father came to him in a dream. He asked the priest to come here to capture the fiend. I came to ask you that question because I couldn't quite bring myself to believe them. From what you have just told me, Mother, I'm now sure he is an evil spirit.\" \"You shouldn't believe what strangers tell you, my son,\" said the queen. \"I wouldn't have believed him at all,\" replied the crown prince, \"except that His Majesty my father left proof with him.\" When the queen asked what it was, the prince produced the gold−bordered white jade scepter from his sleeve and handed it to her. The queen saw it and recognized it as the king's treasure. She could not hold back her tears. \"My lord,\" she cried out, \"why did you never come to me in the three years since you died? Why did you appear to the holy monk and then to the prince first?\" \"What do you mean, Mother?\" the prince asked. \"My child,\" said the queen, \"I too had a dream in the small hours of the morning. I saw your father standing soaking wet in front of me. He told me himself that he had been killed and that his ghost had called on the Tang Priest to ask him to capture the impostor on the throne and rescue him. I can remember him saying all this, but only very vaguely. I was just wondering about it when you came, asked that question, and showed me the scepter. I'll keep it, and you go and ask that holy monk to be as quick as possible. Then the evil mists can be swept away, truth can be separated from falsehood, and you can repay His Majesty your father for his Chapter 38 530

Journey to the West kindness in raising you.\" The prince quickly remounted and went out through the back gate of the palace to get away from the city. Indeed: With tears in his eyes he took leave of his mother; Bowed down with grief he returned to Sanzang. He was soon out of the city and back at the gate of the Precious Wood Monastery, where he dismounted amid the greetings of the whole army. It was now almost sunset. The crown prince ordered that the soldiers were to make no unnecessary movements. He then went back into the monastery, neatened up his clothes, and went to pay his respects to Brother Monkey just as he was swaggering out of the main hall. The prince fell to his knees and said, \"Master, I'm back.\" Monkey went over to him to raise him to his feet and said, \"Please get up. Who did you question when you went into town?\" \"I questioned my mother,\" the crown prince replied, going on to tell him everything that had happened. Monkey grinned slightly as he said, \"If he's that cold he must be a transformation of something icy. Never mind. It doesn't matter. I'll wipe him out for you. The only trouble is that it's a bit late to do anything today. Go back now and wait till I come to see you tomorrow.\" The prince knelt down again, kowtowed and said, \"Let me stay here to be at your beck and call till I go in with you tomorrow.\" \"No,\" said Monkey, \"that would be no good. If we two went into town together the fiend would have his suspicions. He wouldn't think that I'd just met you by chance. He'd say that you'd asked me to come, and then be angry with you.\" \"But−−he's going to be angry with me anyhow if I go back to the city now,\" replied the prince. \"Why?\" asked Monkey. \"Because I'll have no way to face him when I go back without having caught a single thing after taking out so many men, horses, falcons and hounds on his orders this morning,\" said the prince. \"If he punishes me for incompetence I'll be thrown into jail and you'll have nobody to help you when you go into town tomorrow. And in this whole force there isn't a single friend of mine.\" \"No problem,\" said Monkey. \"If you'd told me earlier I'd have a good bag ready for you now.\" Splendid Great Sage. Watch him as he shows off his powers in front of the prince, leaping up into the clouds with a single bound, making the magic with his fingers, and saying the esoteric words, \"Om ram Pure Dharma World.\" Chapter 38 531

Journey to the West He made the mountain gods and local deities of the place bow to him in mid−air and say, \"Great Sage, what orders do you have for us humble deities?\" To this Brother Monkey replied, \"I've escorted the Tang Priest this far and now I want to capture a demon. The trouble is that the crown prince has caught nothing on his hunt, so he doesn't dare return to the palace. I'd like to ask a favour of you all. Will you fetch some river−deer, antelopes, deer, hares, other birds and beasts to send him back with?\" None of the mountain gods or local deities dared not to accept this order. When they asked how many of each were wanted the Great Sage replied, \"It doesn't matter. Just get some.\" The gods then mustered their invisible soldiers and made a magical animal−gathering wind blow. They caught hundreds and thousands of pheasants, deer, antelopes, river−deer, foxes, badgers, raccoon dogs, hares, tigers, leopards and wolves, which they presented to Monkey. \"I don't want them,\" he said. \"I'd like you to hamstring them and set them out on both sides of the fifteen miles of the road back so that the hunters can take them to the capital without having to use their falcons or hounds. That will redound to your credit.\" The gods did as they were told, put their magic wind away, and set the prey out beside the road. Only then did Brother Monkey bring his cloud down to land and say to the prince, \"You may go back now, Your Highness. Your bag is set out by the road for you to collect.\" After the mid−air display of Monkey's amazing powers the prince was utterly convinced that this had happened, so he could but kowtow and take his leave. He then went out of the monastery and ordered the soldiers back to the city. There were indeed no end of wild animals by the road that the soldiers could catch with their bare hands, not needing the falcons or dogs. They all cheered the prince and said that this was due to his very good luck, not realizing that it was Monkey's magical achievement. Just listen to the triumphant songs as they swarm back to the capital. Monkey, meanwhile, was guarding Sanzang. Seeing how well the two of them were getting on with the prince, the monks of the monastery had to treat them with great respect. They provided them with vegetarian meals and looked after the Tang Priest, who was still resting in the meditation hall. For nearly a whole watch, or about two hours, Monkey was too troubled to sleep. He jumped up, went over to the Tang priest's bed and called, \"Master.\" Sanzang was still awake too, but he pretended to be asleep because he knew that Monkey was someone who caused alarms and trouble. So Monkey rubbed Sanzang's shaven pate and shouted wildly, \"Why are you asleep, Master?\" \"Wicked creature,\" said the Tang Priest angrily, \"what are you shouting for at this time of night when you ought to be asleep?\" \"But Master,\" said Monkey, \"there's something I want to talk about with you.\" \"What?\" Sanzang asked. \"I can't sleep,\" Brother Monkey replied, \"because when I was boasting to the crown prince yesterday about how my magical powers were higher than mountains and deeper than the sea I said that I could catch that fiend as easily as taking something out of a bag. I'd only have to stretch out my hand to grab him. Thinking about it I realize it would be difficult.\" Chapter 38 532

Journey to the West \"If it is difficult,\" said the Tang Priest, \"then give up the idea of catching the monster.\" \"He's certainly got to be caught,\" said Monkey, \"but it isn't right.\" \"You're talking nonsense, ape,\" said the Tang Priest. \"The fiend has usurped a throne. What do you mean by 'it isn't right?'\" \"All you know about is reciting sutras, worshipping the Buddha, sitting in contemplation and seeking religious instruction,\" said Monkey. \"You've never seen the Legal Code. As the saying goes, 'You can't arrest someone for theft without the loot as evidence.' That fiend has been king for three years now without giving the game away. He sleeps with the consorts and concubines in the harem and shares the pleasures of the civil and military officials at court. I have the power to catch him all right; but it'll be hard to make the charges against him stick.\" \"What do you mean by that?\" asked the Tang Priest. \"Even if he normally kept his mouth as shut as an unopened gourd,\" said Monkey, \"he'll brazen it out with you and say, 'I'm the monarch of Wuji. What crime have I committed against Heaven that you should come to arrest me?' What written documentation have you got to back up your case against him?\" \"How would you cope?\" asked Sanzang. \"My plan's already made,\" said Brother Monkey with a laugh. \"The only thing is that it affects Your Reverence and your favoritism.\" \"How do I show favoritism?\" the Tang Priest asked. \"Because Pig is so stupid he's rather a pet of yours.\" \"What do you mean by that?\" the Tang Priest asked. \"Well, if he's not your favorite, be a bit bolder today and agree to stay here with Friar Sand while Pig and I go ahead to the capital of Wuji, find the palace gardens, open up the glazed−tile well, fish out the remains of the dead king, and wrap them up in a carrying−cloth. Then when we go into town tomorrow never mind about the travel documents−−as soon as I see the fiend I'll have my cudgel out to kill him. If he tries to argue, show him the remains and the clothes and say, 'This is the man you murdered.' Then bring the crown prince in to mourn his father and the queen to identify the remains of her husband. Let all the civil and military officials see their true lord, and then Pig and I will set to. That's the only way we'll be able to win a contested lawsuit afterwards.\" On hearing this the Tang Priest concealed his delight and said, \"But Pig might not be willing to go.\" \"There you are,\" said Monkey, \"I said you showed favoritism. How do you know he won't want to go? It's just like the way you refused to respond for a whole hour when I kept trying to wake you. My three inches of tongue could make Pig come with me even if he were a Pig−and−a−half.\" \"Very well,\" said Sanzang, \"call him if you like.\" Monkey then took his leave of the master, went straight to Pig's bed, and called his name. The idiot was lying with his head hanging down, snoring heavily after his exhausting journey. Mere calling was not going to wake him. Monkey grabbed him by his ears and his bristles, pulled him up, and shouted \"Pig!\" again. The idiot was Chapter 38 533

Journey to the West still fast asleep. When Monkey called him again Pig said, \"Go to sleep, and stop fooling around. We've got to be on our way again tomorrow.\" \"I'm not fooling,\" said Monkey. \"There's a piece of business for us two to do.\" \"What sort of business?\" Pig asked. \"Didn't you hear the prince telling us?\" said Monkey. \"I didn't even see him,\" said Pig, \"let alone hear him say anything.\" \"The prince told me that the fiend has a treasure that makes him a match for ten thousand men in a fight,\" said Monkey. \"When we go into town we'll have to fight him, and if he has that treasure he'll beat us. That would be terrible. I reckon that if the other side is stronger than you the best thing to do is to strike first. Wouldn't be best if the two of us went and stole his treasure?\" \"You're trying to trick me into thieving, brother,\" said Pig. \"I'll come in on this bit of business, and I'll be very useful to you too, but first I want to get something clear with you. When we've stolen the treasure and captured the demon I won't stand for any mean, small−minded sharing out of the treasure. I want the lot.\" \"Why?\" Monkey asked. \"I haven't got your gift of the gab. I can't wheedle food out of people. I'm clumsy and rough−spoken, and I can't recite sutras. When I'm really on my uppers I can always swap it for food.\" \"All I'm interested in is fame,\" said Monkey. \"I don't care about treasures. You can have it if you like.\" The idiot was so happy to be promised the treasure that he rolled himself out of bed, dressed, and set out with Monkey. It was a case of Clear wine makes the cheeks go red; Gold turns everybody's head. The two of them opened the door very quietly, left Sanzang and took an auspicious cloud straight to the city. They were soon there, and as they brought their cloud down to land they heard the drum on the tower being beaten twice. \"It's the second watch, brother,\" said Monkey. \"Just right,\" said Pig, \"just right. Everybody's fast asleep.\" The two of them avoided the main gate and went round to the back gate of the palace, where clappers and bells were being sounded. \"Brother,\" said Monkey, \"it sounds as though there's an alarm at both front and back gates. How are we going to get in?\" \"Who ever heard of burglars going in through the gates?\" said Pig. \"Let's go over the wall so that nobody sees us.\" Monkey accepted his suggestion, and with a bound he was on top of the inner wall. Pig jumped up too, then the pair of them crept inside and tried to find their way to the palace gardens. Chapter 38 534

Journey to the West As they walked along they saw a gate−tower in front of them with triple eaves and white ornaments. On it were two huge words, gleaming bright: ROYAL GARDENS. Going up to it for a closer look Brother Monkey saw that layer after layer of sealing paper had been pasted over the gates, and the locks on them had rusted hard. He then told Pig to get moving. The idiot raised his iron rake and brought it down with all his might on the gates, smashing them to splinters. Monkey was just going to step inside when he was seized with an irresistible urge to leap about and shout, to the horror of Pig who went up to him, grabbed him and said, \"You'll be the death of me, brother. Who ever heard of burglars yelling like that? You'll wake them up and get us arrested and handed over to for trial. Then it'll be either a death sentence or being sent home as convicts.\" \"Brother,\" said Monkey, \"do you know why I'm so upset? Just look! Carved and painted balustrades all in a mess, Precious pavilions leaning awry. The sedge and nutweed on the bank are buried. The peonies and raspberries have been ruined. Gone is the fragrance of rose and jasmine; Tree peony and wild lily flower in vain. Hibiscus and rose of Sharon are overgrown, And all the precious flowers choked. The hillocks built from strange−shaped rocks have collapsed; The fish are dead in the dried−up ponds. Dry as tinder the pine and bamboo; Mugwort and wormwood carpet the paths. Broken the branches of peach and osmanthus, Twisted the trunks of pomegranate and kerria. Moss grows on the zigzag way to the bridge: A desolate garden scene.\" \"What are you getting so upset about?\" Pig asked. \"Let's get on with our bit of business.\" Despite his distress Monkey remembered how in his dream the Tang Priest had been told that the well was under a plantain. As he went further he did indeed see a plantain that was most luxuriant, unlike all the other flowers and trees. Indeed: Chapter 38 535

Journey to the West It was a divine shoot Born with an empty nature. Papery strips came from every branch, And all the leaves wrapped up fragrance. A thousand fine stands of emerald green, A touch of red at the heart. It grieved in the cold of autumn rain; It withered with fear of the autumn winds. It was grown through the efforts of the gardener, Raised through the Creator's work. Wonderful its value as writing paper, Marvellous its use for dripping water. Would that phoenix feathers could have compared; A phoenix tail was no match for its leaves. When the ample dew dripped gently The tree was lightly wreathed in mist. Its green shade covered the window, Its jade shadow fell on the frame. The wild goose could not perch in its fronds, Nor the charger be tethered to its trunk. On a frosty day it looked withered; It was dim in the moonlight. It could only refresh one in summer's heat And offer some shelter from the blazing sun. It lacked the beauty of peach or plum, Chapter 38 536

Journey to the West Standing lonely to the East of the whitewashed wall. \"Set to, Pig,\" said Monkey. \"The treasure's buried under the plantain.\" The idiot raised his rake in both hands and sent the tree crashing down. Then he rooted in with his snout to a depth of three or four feet, revealing a stone cover. \"We're in luck, brother,\" exclaimed the idiot with delight. \"There really is a treasure here under this stone cover. I wonder whether it's inside a jar or a box.\" \"Lift the cover and we'll see,\" said Monkey. With another root of his snout the idiot prized it open. There was a glow of multicolored light, and a bright, white vapor. \"We're in luck, we're in luck,\" chortled Pig. \"The treasure's shining.\" Going nearer for a closer look they saw that it was in fact the starlight and the moonlight reflected by the water in a well. \"Brother,\" said Pig, \"you ought to think ahead.\" \"What do you mean, think ahead?\" asked Monkey. \"This is a well,\" said Pig. \"If you'd told me back in the monastery that the treasure was hidden in a well I'd have brought a couple of the luggage ropes along with me and we could have worked out a way of letting me down the well. But how am I going to go down there to fetch the thing empty−handed?\" \"Are you willing to go down?\" Monkey asked. \"I would if I could,\" said Pig, \"but there's no rope.\" \"Take that garment off−−I know what to do,\" said Monkey with a grin. \"I've got nothing good enough to be called a garment,\" said Pig. \"The only thing I could take off is this tunic.\" The splendid Great Sage brought out his gold−tipped cudgel, pulled it at both ends, and said, \"Grow!\" It grew seventy or eighty feet long. \"You hold one end, Pig, and I'll lower you in,\" said Monkey. \"Let me down till I reach the water, brother, and then stop,\" said Pig. \"Understood,\" said Monkey. As the idiot clung to the tip of the cudgel Monkey lightly lifted him up and lowered him into the well. Before long Pig had reached the water. As soon as Monkey heard him call out that he was there, Monkey thrust the cudgel down, making the idiot let go of it and tumble in with a splash. \"Heavens, I'm being murdered,\" Pig mumbled in the water. \"I told you not to let me go when I got to the water, but you pushed me in.\" Monkey pulled his cudgel out and asked with a laugh, \"Can you find the treasure, brother?\" \"What treasure?\" said Pig. \"There's only a wellful of water.\" Chapter 38 537

Journey to the West \"The treasure's at the bottom,\" said Monkey, \"so go down and have a feel around.\" The idiot, who really was a good swimmer, did a surface dive and plunged down. Wow! The well was extremely deep, so he thrust himself even further down, and was suddenly gazing in astonishment at an ornamental arch on which were written the word WATER CRYSTAL PALACE. \"That's enough of this,\" said Pig with horror. \"I've taken the wrong turning. I must have blundered into the sea. There are water crystal palaces in the sea, but there couldn't possibly be one in a well.\" What Pig did not realize was that this was the water crystal palace of the Dragon King of the Well. As Pig was talking to himself a patrolling yaksha opened the gates and shot straight back inside again at the sight of him to report, \"A disaster, Your Majesty. A monk with big ears and a long snout has just fallen into the well. He's dripping wet and stark naked. He's still alive and is talking for all he's worth.\" The news was a great shock to the Dragon King of the Well, who thought, \"This must be Marshal Tian Peng. Yesterday evening the Patroller of the Night came with an edict ordering me to send the soul of the king of Wuji to visit the Tang Priest and ask that the Great Sage Equaling Heaven be sent to capture the fiend. I suppose that the Great Sage and the Marshal must be here now. I must be very polite to them and go straight out to welcome them.\" The dragon king neatened up his clothes and went out through the gates at the head of his watery tribe. \"Please come in and take a seat, Marshal Tian Peng,\" he called at the top of his voice. This made Pig feel a great deal happier. \"So it's an old friend,\" he thought. Without any further thought the idiot went straight into the water crystal palace. He really had no sense of proper behavior, and sat, stark naked as he was, in the place of honour. \"Marshal,\" said the dragon king, \"I hear that you have been given a new life, been converted to the Buddhist faith, and are escorting the Tang Priest on his journey West to fetch the scriptures. What bring you here?\" \"It's just as you say. My senior fellow−disciple Monkey sends his respects and has told me to come here to ask you for some kind of treasure.\" \"Oh dear,\" said the dragon king, \"we don't have any treasure here. I'm no match for the dragon kings of the Yangtse, Yellow, Huai or Ji rivers, who can fly around, do transformations, and get treasure that way. I've been stuck here for ages, and not been able to broaden my horizons for many a long month, so how could I possibly get any treasures?\" \"Stop trying to fob me off,\" said Pig. \"Bring out whatever you've got.\" \"It's true I do have one treasure,\" admitted the dragon king, \"but I can't move it. Perhaps you would like to come and see it for yourself, Marshal.\" \"Splendid, splendid, splendid,\" said Pig. \"I really must have a look.\" The idiot followed as the dragon king led the way. As they left the halls of the water crystal palace they saw a body six feet long lying in an open corridor. \"There's the treasure,\" said the dragon king, pointing to it. When Pig took a closer look he saw to his astonishment that it was the body of a king stretched ramrod−straight and wearing a heaven−touching crown, a robe of yellow ochre, no−worry shoes and a belt of Lantain jade. Chapter 38 538

Journey to the West \"This is no good at all,\" chuckled Pig, \"no good at all. Can't call that a treasure. I remember that when I was an ogre in the mountains I often used to make a meal out of things like that. Never mind how many of them I've seen−−I've eaten a lot. There's no way you could call that a treasure.\" \"There are some things you don't know, Marshal,\" said the dragon king. \"It's the body of the king of Wuji. When he fell into the well I put a face−preserving pearl on him and he has not decomposed. If you were to carry the body up to see the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, and if it could be brought back to life, then you'd get anything you asked for, never mind just treasures.\" \"If what you say is right and I carry him up for you, tell me how much you'll pay me for arranging his funeral,\" Pig said. \"Honestly, I don't have any money,\" the dragon king replied. \"So you like making people work for nothing, do you?\" said Pig. \"No money, no carriage.\" \"If you won't, then please be on your way,\" replied the dragon king. Pig left with two hefty yakshas who carried the body outside the palace gates, where they put it down and removed the water−repelling pearl. At once there was a watery noise. Pig turned straight back to look, but the water crystal palace had disappeared. After feeling the king's corpse he floundered around until he was weak from exhaustion, then surfaced and took hold of the wall of the well. \"Brother,\" he yelled, \"lower the cudgel and rescue me.\" \"Got a treasure?\" asked Monkey. \"No way,\" said Pig. \"All I found under the water was the Dragon King of the Well who wanted me to carry a corpse up. When I refused he saw me out and the water crystal palace disappeared. I could only grasp that corpse. I was in such a panic that I went weak all over and I can't move it. Brother, for goodness' sake rescue me.\" \"But that is the treasure,\" said Monkey. \"Why didn't you bring it up?\" \"I knew he'd been dead for ages,\" said Pig, \"so what would have been the point?\" \"If you won't bring it up I'm going back,\" said Monkey. \"Where to?\" Pig asked. \"Back to the monastery and our master to go to bed,\" replied Monkey. \"Can't I come?\" said Pig. \"You're welcome if you can climb out, but if you can't, tough luck,\" said Monkey. This threw Pig into a panic as he could not climb out. \"Just think,\" he called, \"a city wall is hard enough to climb. This well narrows towards the top. It's got round, overhanging walls, all overgrown with very slippery moss because nobody's drawn water from it for years. How d'you expect me to climb it? Brother, don't forget we're good friends. I'm going down to get it.\" \"Good,\" said Monkey. \"Bring it up quick and we'll go back to bed.\" The idiot then did another surface dive and plunged straight down. He groped around till he found the body, dragged it over and carried it up till he Chapter 38 539

Journey to the West surfaced again. \"I've brought it up, brother,\" Pig called as he supported himself at the side of the well. When Monkey took a good look and saw that Pig really had brought the body up he lowered the gold−banded cudgel back into the well. Pig was so angry that he opened his mouth and bit on the cudgel while Monkey gently lifted him out. Pig put the corpse down, retrieved his own clothes, and put them back on. Monkey examined the king's face and saw that it was exactly as it had been in life. \"Brother,\" he said, \"he's been dead three years. Why is his face so well preserved?\" \"You wouldn't know about that,\" said Pig. \"The Dragon King of the Well told me that he'd used a face−preserving pearl to stop the body from decomposing.\" \"What luck,\" said Monkey, \"what luck. He hasn't had his revenge yet, and we're going to succeed. Put him over your shoulder, brother.\" \"Where shall I take him?\" Pig asked. \"Take him to see the master,\" Monkey replied. \"What a way to treat me,\" grumbled Pig, \"what a way. I was fast asleep when that baboon used his slippery tongue to fool me with that talk of a bit of business. Now I've done it for him I've got to carry this dead body. All this dirty water is dripping down on me and making my tunic filthy. There's nobody to wash it for me. The patches on the shoulders will get damp on overcast days. I won't possibly be able to wear it.\" \"You carry him to the monastery,\" said Monkey, \"and I'll give you something else to wear instead.\" \"You're shameless,\" said Pig. \"You have well−nigh nothing to wear yourself and you talk of giving me something else.\" \"If you're going to moan like this then don't carry it,\" said Monkey. \"I won't then,\" said Pig. \"Then put your ankles out for twenty strokes of the cudgel,\" said Monkey. \"But, brother, your cudgel hits very hard,\" protested Pig in panic. \"Twenty strokes and I'll be like this king.\" \"If you don't want a beating then get on with carrying him,\" said Monkey. As he really was afraid of a beating Pig dragged the body over, put it across his shoulder and walked out of the palace gardens with an ill grace. The splendid Great Sage made magic with his hands, said a spell, and blew towards the direction of the wind trigram. At once a tremendous gust of wind plucked Pig out of the palace grounds and over the city wall and moat. The wind then fell, dropping the pair of them on the ground to continue on their way more slowly. The idiot, who was still feeling very hard done by and wanted to get his own back on Monkey, said to himself, \"That ape put one over on me, and when we get back to the monastery I'm going to get my own back on him. I'll tell the master that Monkey can bring the body back to life. When he fails the master will say the Band−tightening Spell and all the brains will be squeezed out of that ape's head. That's the only way I'll be satisfied. No, that's no good,\" he went on to think as he walked along. \"If I ask him to revive the body that'll be too easy for him. He'll only have to call on the King of Hell and ask for the king's soul back. The best way will be to ban him from going to the Underworld. He'll have to bring the king back to life in the world of the Chapter 38 540

Journey to the West living.\" While he was still thinking these thoughts he arrived back at the monastery gates. He went straight in, flung the corpse to the ground right in front of the doors to the meditation hall, and shouted, \"Master, come and see a freak.\" The Tang Priest, unable to sleep, was talking to Friar Sand about how Monkey had tricked Pig into going and how long they'd been gone when he heard Pig's shout. The Tang Priest got straight out of bed and said, \"See what?\" \"Brother Monkey's grandpa, and I've had to carry him back,\" said Pig. \"You dreg−guzzling idiot,\" said Monkey. \"I've got no grandpa.\" \"Well, brother,\" replied Pig, \"if he isn't your grandpa, why did you make me carry him? It was damned hard work.\" When Sanzang and Friar Sand opened the doors to look they saw that the king's face was quite unchanged from what it had been in life. \"Your Majesty,\" said the Tang Priest sorrowfully, \"who knows in what earlier life you earned the wizard's hatred? That must be why when you met in this one he murdered you and snatched you from your wives and children unbeknown to any of the civilian or military officials. What a pity it was that in their ignorance your wives and children should never have burnt incense and offered tea to your spirit.\" He broke into sobs and his tears poured down like rain. \"What's his death to you?\" asked Pig, laughing at Sanzang. \"He's not your father or grandfather, so why weep for him?\" \"Disciple,\" sighed Sanzang, \"compassion is the fundamental quality of a monk, and helping others is a monk's way. How can you be so hard−hearted?\" \"I'm not hard−hearted,\" said Pig. \"Monkey told me that he could bring this body back to life. Otherwise I wouldn't have carried it here.\" The venerable elder, as easily swayed as ever, was taken in by the idiot. \"Wukong,\" he called, \"if you have the power to bring this king back to life, it would be a case of saving a single human life being better than building a seven−storied pagoda. For us it would be even better than worshipping the Buddha on Thunder Peak.\" \"Don't believe that idiot's nonsense, Master,\" said Monkey. \"By the time people have been dead for three weeks, then five weeks, and finally for seven hundred days, they've paid for all their sins in this life and go off to be reborn. He's been dead for three years now. He's beyond saving.\" At this the Tang Priest said, \"Oh well, forget it.\" Pig was still burning with a sense of injustice. \"Master,\" he said, \"don't be taken in by him. He's talking rubbish. You just recite your spell and I guarantee he'll bring the king back to life for you.\" The Tang Priest did indeed say the Band−tightening Spell, which squeezed Monkey so badly that his eyes bulged and his head ached. If you don't know how the king was revived, listen to the explanation in the next installment. Chapter 39 A Pill of Red Cinnabar Is Brought from Heaven Chapter 39 541

Journey to the West After Three Years the Monarch Is Revived The story tells how the Great Sage Sun, his head aching unbearably, pleaded with his master: \"Stop, stop, I'll bring him back to life.\" When Sanzang asked how, Monkey replied, \"The only way is to go to the Underworld, find out which of the kings down there has his soul, and ask for it back to revive him with.\" \"Don't trust Monkey, Master,\" said Pig. \"He told me earlier there'd be no need to go to the Underworld because he could get him brought back to life in the world of the living. He thought that would be a good way of showing off his powers.\" The venerable elder, taken in once again by this breath of evil, started reciting the Band−tightening Spell, which threw Monkey into such a desperate state that he accepted the condition gladly: \"I'll cure him within the world of the living, I really will.\" \"Don't stop,\" said Pig, \"carry on saying the spell.\" \"You stupid, evil beast,\" railed Monkey, \"inciting the master to say that spell.\" Pig was falling about with laughter. \"Brother, brother, you thought you could put one over on me, but you never imagined I'd put one over on you.\" \"Stop, Master, stop,\" pleaded Monkey. \"I'll bring him back to life without leaving the world of the living.\" \"And how are you going to do that?\" Sanzang asked. \"With a single somersault of my cloud I can rush in through the Southern Gate of Heaven,\" said Monkey. \"I won't go to the Palace of the Dipper and the Bull or to the Hall of Miraculous Mist, but straight up to the Tushita Palace in the Lihen Heaven above the Thirty−third Heaven to see the Supreme Lord Lao Zi. I'll ask him for one of his Nine−cycle Soul−returning Pills and that, I guarantee, will bring him back to life.\" \"Off you go then,\" said Sanzang, delighted to hear this, \"and be as quick as you can.\" \"It's the third watch now; it'll be after dawn by the time I get back,\" said Brother Monkey. \"But it's an awful shame to see that king lying there dead and cold. There ought to be a mourner watching over him and weeping.\" \"Don't tell me,\" said Pig, \"that ape wants me to be the mourner.\" \"You most certainly will be,\" said Monkey. \"If you don't weep for him I won't be able to bring him back to life.\" \"You go, brother,\" said Pig, \"and leave the crying to me.\" \"There's more than one way of crying,\" said Monkey. \"Just yelling with your mouth is what they call wailing. Squeezing some tears out is weeping. What we need is sobbing and tears together, and sobbing as though your heart is broken, for really proper weeping and wailing.\" \"Shall I give you a demonstration?\" asked Pig. He tore a strip of paper from somewhere, twisted it into a spill, and pushed it up his nose twice, which made him sneeze several times. Just watch as the tears come streaming down and his nose runs as he starts to wail. He sobbed and sobbed uncontrollably, talking all sorts of Chapter 39 542

Journey to the West nonsense as if someone really had just died. It was so distressing a performance that the Tang Priest started to cry, so upset was he. \"That's just the sort of grief I want,\" laughed Monkey, \"and you're not to stop crying. It was you who tricked the master into sending me off, you idiot, and I'll hear if you stop wailing. Carry on like this and you'll be fine; but if you stop for even a few moments I'll give you twenty blows of my cudgel on your ankles.\" \"Off you go,\" laughed Pig. \"Once I get crying like this I can keep it up for a couple of days.\" Hearing all this fuss and bother, Friar Sand fetched some incense sticks and lit them as an offering. \"Very good,\" said Monkey. \"As you are all being so respectful I'll be able to do my best.\" Thus the Great Sage left his master and two fellow−disciples in the middle of the night and shot up on a somersault cloud. He went in through the Southern Gate of Heaven, and was as good as his word: he did not go to the Hall of Miraculous Mist or the Palace of the Dipper and the Bull, but took his shining cloud straight up to the Tushita Palace in the Lihen Heaven. No sooner was he inside than he saw the Supreme Lord Lao Zi sitting in his elixir laboratory where immortal boys were using a plantain−leaf fan to fan the furnace where elixir was refined. When the Supreme Lord saw that Monkey was there he told the boys who were looking after the elixir, \"Be very careful: the elixir thief is back.\" Monkey paid his respects with a smile: \"How dreary of you, old man. No need to be on your guard against me. I don't do things like that any more.\" \"Ape,\" said Lord Lao Zi, \"you stole a lot of my magic pills five hundred years ago when you made havoc in Heaven. The Little Sage Erlang captured you and brought you up here to be refined for forty−nine days in my elixir furnace. Goodness only knows how much charcoal we used up. Since you've been lucky enough to escape and be converted to Buddhism, you've been escorting the Tang Priest on his journey to the Western Heaven to fetch the scriptures. When you subdued those monsters on Flat−top Mountain the other day you were very wicked; you refused to give me back my treasures. What are you here for now?\" \"I really wasn't being late with them,\" protested Monkey. \"When the time came I gave you back your five treasures. What are you being so suspicious of me for?\" \"Why have you come sneaking into my palace when you ought to be on your journey?\" Lord Lao Zi asked. \"Since last I saw you,\" said Monkey, \"we've come to a country further West called Wuji, where an evil spirit disguised as a Taoist called up wind and rain, murdered the king, and turned himself into the king's double. Now he's sitting in the palace. Last night my master was reading sutras in the Precious Wood Monastery when he was visited by the king's ghost, who begged me to subdue the fiend for him and sort right from wrong. I didn't know whether to believe this, so I went with my fellow−disciple Pig into the palace gardens that night. We smashed our way in and found where he was buried in an eight−sided well with glazed−tile walls. We fished up his body, and it was in perfect condition. When we went back to the monastery to see my master he ordered me in his compassion to bring the king back to life. He won't let me go to the Underworld to ask for his soul back: I've got to find a way of saving him in the world of the living. The reason I've come to pay my respects to you is because there's no other place I can get him revived. I beg you, great Patriarch, in your mercy to lend me a thousand of your Nine−cycle Soul−returning Pills to save him with.\" \"What outrageous nonsense, you ape,\" said Lord Lao Zi. \"A thousand? Two thousand? Do you want to make a meal of them? They're not just pellets of dirt. Clear off! I've none left.\" Chapter 39 543

Journey to the West \"What about a hundred or thereabouts?\" asked Monkey. \"Not even that,\" said Lord Lao Zi. \"Ten or so?\" asked Monkey. \"Stop pestering me, you wretched ape,\" said Lord Lao Zi. \"None at all. Clear off!\" \"If you really haven't got any,\" said Monkey with a laugh, \"I'll have to ask for help elsewhere.\" \"Get out! Get out! Get out!\" roared Lord Lao Zi, at which Monkey turned away and went. It then suddenly occurred to Lord Lao Zi that Monkey was so wicked that even after he had announced his departure and gone, he might slip back and steal some. So he sent some immortal boys to call Monkey back. \"You're so light−fingered, you monkey,\" he said, \"that I'd better give you a Soul−returning Pill.\" \"Since you know my powers, old man,\" said Brother Monkey, \"bring out all your golden elixir and split it forty−sixty with me. You can consider yourself lucky. I might have taken the lot of them, like scooping up water in a leather sieve.\" The patriarch produced the gourd and turned it upside−down. A solitary golden pill fell out. \"It's the only one I have,\" said Lord Lao Zi, handing it to Monkey. \"Take it. I'm giving it to you to revive the king with and you can take the credit for it.\" \"Just a moment,\" thought Monkey as he accepted it. \"Let me taste it. He might be trying to fool me with a fake.\" He popped it into his mouth, to the consternation of the patriarch, who grabbed him by the skullcap with one hand and seized his fist with the other. \"Damned ape,\" roared Lord Lao Zi, \"if you've swallowed that I'll have had you killed.\" \"What a face,\" laughed Monkey. \"How petty you look. I wouldn't want to eat your pill. It's not worth tuppence, and it's nothing like it's cracked up to be. Here it is.\" Monkey had a pouch under his chin in which he had been keeping the pill. Lord Lao Zi felt it, then said, \"Clear off, and never come back here to pester me again.\" The Great Sage then thanked the patriarch and left the Tushita Palace. Watch him as he leaves the jade gates in a thousand beams of light and comes down to earth amid ten thousand auspicious clouds. In an instant he was out through the Southern Gate of Heaven and back to the land in the East, where the sun was now rising. He brought his cloud straight down to land outside the gate of the Precious Wood Monastery, where Pig could still be heard wailing. He approached and called, \"Master.\" \"You're back, Wukong,\" said Sanzang with delight. \"Have you got the pill?\" \"Yes,\" said Monkey. \"Of course he would,\" said Pig, \"even if he had to steal it.\" \"Brother,\" said Monkey, \"you can go away now. We don't need you to do that any more. Dry your tears or go and weep somewhere else.\" Monkey then asked Friar Sand to fetch him some water. Friar Sand hurried to the well at the back where there was a convenient bucket and fetched Monkey half a bowlful of water. Monkey took the water, spat the pill out, and placed it between the king's lips. Then he prized the body's teeth apart with both hands and spurted the pill with a mouthful of clean water down into the king's stomach. For the next hour wild noises could be heard from the stomach, but still the body could not move. \"Master,\" said Monkey, \"not even fetching my golden elixir is going to save him. Are you really going to torture me to death?\" Chapter 39 544

Journey to the West \"Of course he will come back to life,\" said Sanzang. \"How else could a body so long dead swallow the water? This shows the miraculous power of the golden elixir. Once the golden elixir is in the stomach, the stomach starts singing; and when the stomach sings the blood−pulses move in harmony with it. The only thing is that the vital breath has been cut off and cannot extend itself. Iron would rust if it had been in a well for three years−−how do you expect a human body to react? Now that his own vital breath has gone someone has to give him a mouthful of air.\" Pig stepped forward to do this, only to be grabbed by Sanzang, who said, \"You won't do. Get Wukong to come.\" Why did the master insist on this? It was because Pig had been a vicious man−eater since childhood, which meant that his breath was impure; whereas Monkey had cultivated his conduct since he was young and lived off the fruits of pine, cypress and peach trees, which gave him pure breath. So the Great Sage stepped forward, made a terrible thunder−god face, put his mouth to the king's lips, and blew in. The breath went down the kings mouth, through the High Tower, round the Bright Hall and straight to the Cinnabar Field, then flowed back from the Bubbling Springs to the Mud−pill Palace. With a noisy rush of air the king's vital breath came together and his spirit refunded. He sat up flexed his hands and feet, and called out, \"Master.\" Then he knelt in the dust and said, \"I remember visiting you last night as a ghost, but I never expected to return to the world of the living today.\" Sanzang hastened to raise him to his feet and said, \"Your Majesty, it was none of my doing. You should thank my disciple.\" \"What a thing to say, Master,\" laughed Monkey. \"As the saying goes, 'A house can't have two masters.' It's quite right that you should accept his thanks.\" Sanzang, still uncomfortable about accepting this courtesy, helped the king to his feet and took him into the meditation hall. Here the king bowed in greeting to Pig, Monkey and Friar Sand before taking his seat. By now the monks of the monastery had prepared breakfast, and they were going to bring it in when they saw the dripping wet king to their general alarm and suspicion. Monkey leap out to say, \"Don't worry, monks. This is the king of Wuji, your true sovereign. Three years ago he was murdered by a demon, and I brought him back to life last night. Today we'll be going to the capital to sort right from wrong. If you have any food, bring it in. We'll eat and then we'll be on our way.\" The monks then brought in hot water for the king to wash with and a change of clothes. They took off the king's yellow ochre robe and gave him two of the abbot's cloth habits, with a yellow silk cord to tie around the waist instead of the belt of Lantian jade. They slipped off his no−worry shoes and put a pair of old monastic sandals on his feet instead. Then they all ate breakfast and the horse was saddled up. \"How heavy's the luggage, Pig?\" Monkey asked. \"I've been carrying it for so long that I don't know any more,\" Pig replied. \"Divide the stuff into two loads,\" said Monkey, \"and give one to the king to carry. We must be in town early to get on with the job.\" \"I'm in luck,\" said Pig. \"It took me one heck of an effort to carry him here, but now that he's alive again he's doing my work for me.\" The idiot asked the monastery for a carrying−pole and divided the luggage unfairly. He put all the light things into his load and the heavier ones into the king's. \"Your Majesty,\" laughed Monkey, \"don't you feel hard done by, dressed like that and having to walk with us carrying a load?\" The monarch fell straight to his knees and Chapter 39 545

Journey to the West replied, \"Master, you're the father and mother who have given me a second life. Never mind carrying the baggage−−I'd be your groom to serve you on your journey to the Western Heaven.\" \"No need for you to go there,\" said Sanzang. \"We are bound to by fate. You'll just have to carry the stuff the fifteen miles into town. Once we've captured the fiend you must go back to ruling again and we'll go on to fetch our scriptures.\" Pig's comment on this was, \"That means he'll only carry it for those fifteen miles, and I'll have to continue as the permanent porter.\" \"That's enough of that nonsense, brother,\" said Monkey. \"Hurry out and lead the way.\" Pig then led the way forward with the king while Friar Sand helped the master mount and Monkey brought up the rear. The five hundred monks of the monastery drew themselves up in an orderly procession to see them off to the accompaniment of music. \"There's no need for you to come any further to see us on our way,\" said Monkey with a smile. \"It would be disastrous if any official heard about it and news of what we are going to do leaked out. Please please go straight back. I'd just like you to get His Majesty's clothes clean and tidy then send them into the capital this evening or tomorrow morning. I'll see to it that you're properly rewarded.\" The monks obediently returned, and Monkey hastened his pace to catch up with his master as they pressed ahead. Indeed: In the West there was a magic spell to yield the truth; Metal and Wood together refined the spirit. The Mother of Cinnabar had a mysterious dream, The boy grieved over the useless body. The true ruler had to be found at the bottom of a well, And a visit to Lord Lao Zi in Heaven was required. Realizing that matter is void, he regained his nature; The Buddha indeed saves those who are so predestined. It took master and disciples less than a morning to make their journey, and they were soon near the city. \"Wukong,\" said Sanzang, \"I think that must be the capital of Wuji ahead of us.\" \"You're right,\" said Monkey. \"Let's get there soon and do our job.\" As they entered the city they saw that the people in the streets were well dressed and that there was an air of busy prosperity. The phoenix pavilions and dragon towers of the palace looked most magnificent, and there is a poem to prove it: These palaces resemble those of a great state; The singing and dancing here are like in Tang. Chapter 39 546