His nature’s perfect: thus he knows the Way.
Turning, he leaps clear of the net and snare.
To learn transformation’s no easy thing,
Nor is it common to achieve long life.
Luck changes him to things pure and impure;
Free of fated kalpas he moves at will.
For countless aeons he is fancy-free—
A ray divine fixed always on the void.
The meaning of this poem, you see, subtly corresponds to the wonders of the Dao attained by the Great Sage Sun. Since he had acquired the true treasure from that demon, he concealed it in his sleeve, saying happily to himself, “Though that lawless demon tries so hard to capture me, his efforts are no better than the attempt to fish the moon out of water. But when old Monkey wants to catch him, it’s as simple as melting ice over fire!” Hiding the gourd, he slipped out the door and changed back into his original form. “Monster spirits,” he shouted, “open the door!” A little fiend said, “Who are you that you dare make noises here?” Pilgrim answered, “Report at once to those old lawless demons that a Sun Pilgrim has arrived.”
The little fiend dashed inside to make the report, saying, “Great King, there is a so-called Sun Pilgrim showing up outside our door.” “Worthy Brother,” said the old demon, deeply shaken, “that’s bad! We have stirred up a whole nest of pestilence! Look! The yellow-gold rope has caught a Pilgrim Sun, while the gourd has stored up a Grimpil Sun. How can it be that there is another Sun Pilgrim? It must be that they have several brothers and they have all arrived.” “Relax, Elder Brother,” said the second demon. “This gourd of ours can hold up to a thousand people, and we have only one Grimpil Sun inside. Why worry about another Sun Pilgrim? Let me go out and take a look. I’ll store him up also.” “Do be careful, Brother,” said the old demon.
Look at that second demon! Holding the specious gourd, he walked out the door as resolutely and confidently as before. “Who are you,” he cried, “that you dare make noises around here?” Pilgrim said, “So, you don’t recognize me!
I lived at Flower-Fruit Mountain.
My home: the Water-Curtain Cave.
For disturbing Heaven’s Palace
I ceased to strive for a long time.
Lucky to be freed of my woes,
I left Dao and followed a monk
To reach, obedient, Thunderclap,
To seek scriptures and right knowledge.
When I meet wild, lawless demons,
I work with my mighty magic.
Return my monk of Great Tang
That we go West to see Buddha.
Our conflict will then be ended,
And each one can enjoy his peace.
Don’t stir up old Monkey’s ire,
Or your stale life will expire!”
“You come over here for a moment” said the demon, “but I’m not going to fight with you. I’m about to call your name once. You dare answer me?” “If you call me,” said Pilgrim, chuckling, “I’ll answer you. But if I call you, will you answer me?” “I call you,” said that fiend, “only because I have a treasure gourd which can store up people. What do you have that makes you want to call me?” Pilgrim said, “I, too, have a little gourd.” “If you do,” said the fiend, “take it out for me to have a look.” Pilgrim took the gourd out of his sleeve, saying, “Lawless demon, you look!” He waved it once and stuffed it immediately back into his sleeve, for he was afraid that the demon might want to snatch it away.
When the demon caught sight of the gourd, he was greatly shaken, saying, “Where did that gourd of his come from? How is it that it is exactly like mine? Even if it grew from the same branch, there ought to be some difference in size or shape. How could they be exactly alike?” With complete seriousness, he said, “Sun Pilgrim, where did your gourd come from?” Pilgrim, of course, did not know the history of the gourd, but he turned the question around and asked instead, “Where did yours come from?”
Not realizing that it was a trick, the demon thought that it was an honest query and he proceeded to give a complete account of its origin, saying, “This gourd of mine came into existence during the time when chaos divided and Heaven and Earth were created. There was then a Supreme Primordial Old Patriarch,1 who through death changed himself into Nüwa and took on her name. She melted stones in order to repair the heavens and save the mundane world. When she reached a crack in the northwest region at the base of the Kunlun Mountain, she discovered a strand of immortal creeper on which was formed this red gourd of purple gold. It is, therefore, something handed down by Laozi until now.” When the Great Sage heard this story, he at once used it as a model for his own account, saying, “My gourd also came from the same spot.” “How so?” asked the demon. “Since the division of the pure and the turbid,” said the Great Sage, “Heaven was incomplete at the northwest corner, and Earth was incomplete in the southeast corner. The Supreme Primordial Daoist Patriarch through death changed himself into Nüwa.2 After she had repaired the heavens, she journeyed to the base of the Kunlun Mountain, where there was a strand of immortal creeper on which two gourds had formed. The one I have is a male, while yours is a female.” The fiend said, “No need to distinguish the sexes; if it can store up people, it’s a good treasure.” “You are right,” said the Great Sage, “I’ll let you try first.”
Highly pleased, the fiend leaped into the air, held up the gourd, and cried, “Sun Pilgrim!” When he heard the call, the Great Sage replied in one breath eight or nine times without stopping, but nothing happened to him at all. Dropping down from the air, the demon beat his breast and stamped his feet, crying, “Heavens! And we say that only human life has not changed in the world! Even a treasure like this is afraid of her mate: when the female meets the male, it ceases to be effective!”
“Why don’t you put yours away,” said Pilgrim, laughing, “for it’s old Monkey’s turn to call you.” Swiftly somersaulting into the air, he turned the gourd upside down and took aim at the demon, crying, “Great King Silver Horn!” Not daring to close his mouth, the fiend made his reply, and instantly he was sucked into the gourd, which was then sealed by Pilgrim with the tape bearing the words, “May Laozi Act Quickly According to This Command.” Secretly pleased, Pilgrim said, “My child, you are going to try something new today!”
He descended from the cloud, holding the gourd, and headed straight for the Lotus-Flower Cave, every thought of his set on rescuing his master. The road on that mountain, you see, was pockmarked with holes, and he, moreover, was somewhat bowlegged. As he scurried along, the gourd was shaken repeatedly, and soon there came from within a loud swashing sound continuously. “How is it that it swashes already?” you ask. The Great Sage, you see, had a body which had been so thoroughly refined that he could not be dissolved speedily. On the other hand, the fiend might know some such paltry magic as mounting the clouds and riding the fog, but he had not been completely delivered from his mortal constitution. The moment he was sucked into the treasure, he was dissolved. Pilgrim, however, did not quite believe that that had been the case. “O my child,” he said, laughing, “I don’t know whether you are pissing or gargling! But this sort of business is most familiar to old Monkey. Not until after seven or eight days, when you have become thin liquid, will I lift the cover to look. Why hurry? What’s the rush? When I think of how easily I got out, I wouldn’t spy on you for a thousand years!” As he held the gourd and talked to himself like that, he soon arrived at the entrance of the cave. He gave the gourd a shake and it was swashing even more loudly. “This sounds like the rattle of a fortune-telling tube,” he said. “Old Monkey should make an inquiry to see when Master can come out of this door.” Look at him! He shook the thing in his hand constantly
while reciting, “The Classic of Change of King Wen, Great Sage Confucius,
Master Zhou of Lady Peach-Blossom,3 Master Ghost Valley.”4
When the little fiends in the cave saw that, they cried, “Great King, disaster! Sun Pilgrim has stored up our Second Great King in the gourd and he’s using that for fortune-telling now.” When the old fiend heard these words, he was so horrified that his spirit left him and his soul fled, his bones weakened and his tendons turned numb. He fell on the ground and began to wail, crying, “O Worthy Brother! When you and I left the Region Above in secret and found our lives in this mortal world, our hope was to enjoy together riches and glory as permanent lords of this mountain cave. How could I know that, because of this monk, your life would be taken away and our fraternal bond be broken?” The various fiends of the entire cave all began to wail aloud.
When Zhu Eight Rules, hanging there on the beam, heard the wailing of the whole family, he could not refrain from calling out, “Monster, don’t cry! Let old Hog tell you something. The Pilgrim Sun who arrived first, the Grimpil Sun who came next, and finally the Sun Pilgrim who came last—all three of them are in fact a single person, my elder brother. He is very versatile, knowing seventy-two ways of transformation. It was he who stole your treasure and had your brother stored up. Since your brother is now dead, there is no need for you to mourn like that. You should clean up your pots and pans quickly and fix up some dried mushrooms, fresh butt on mushrooms, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, soybean cakes, wheat glutens, wood ears, and vegetables. Invite us master and disciples
for a meal, and we will be pleased to recite for you once the Receive Life Sūtra.”
Infuriated by what he heard, the old demon said, “I thought Zhu Eight Rules was a guileless person, but he’s actually most sassy. He dares to make fun of me at this moment! Little ones, stop mourning. Untie Zhu Eight Rules and steam him until he’s soft and tender. Let me have a full stomach first, and then I’ll go catch Pilgrim Sun to avenge my brother.” Turning to Eight Rules, Sha Monk chided him, saying, “Isn’t that nice? I told you not to talk so much! Now your talking means that you’ll be steamed and eaten.” Idiot himself became somewhat alarmed, but a little fiend then spoke up, saying, “Great King, it’s not good to steam Zhu Eight Rules.” “Amitābha Buddha!” said Eight Rules. “Which elder brother is trying to pile up secret merits? I’m indeed no good if I’m steamed.” Another fiend said, “After he’s skinned, he’ll then be good to steam.” Horrified, Eight Rules said, “I’m all right! I’m all right! Though my bones and skins are coarse, I’ll be tender the moment the water boils.”
As they were speaking, another little fiend came from the front door to report, “Sun Pilgrim is reviling us at our door!” “This fellow,” said a startled old demon, “abuses us because he thinks there is nobody here.” He then gave the order, “Little ones, hang up Zhu Eight Rules as before, and find out how many treasures there are still in the house.” A little fiend, who was the housekeeper, said, “There are three treasures yet in the cave.” “Which three?” asked the old demon. “The sword of seven stars,” said the housekeeper, “the palm-leaf fan, and the pure-jade vase.” “That vase is useless!” said the old demon. “It was supposed to store up anyone who answered when his name was called, but the formula was somehow passed on to that Pilgrim Sun and now our own brother has been put away. I won’t use the vase; leave it here at home. Bring me the sword and the fan, quickly.” The housekeeper handed over the two treasures to the old demon, who stuck the fan into his collar behind his neck and held the sword in his hand. He then called up about three hundred monsters, young and old, and told all of them to arm themselves with spears, clubs, ropes, and knives. The old demon himself also put on helmet and cuirass, covered with a flaming red silk cape. As the monsters rushed out the door, they lined up in battle formation, intent on catching the Great Sage Sun. Knowing by now that the second demon had been dissolved in the gourd, the Great Sage fastened the gourd to the belt around his waist while his hands held high the golden-hooped rod to prepare for combat. As red banners unfurled, the old fiend leaped out the door.
How was he dressed?
His helmet’s tassle shimmered on his head,
And from his belt fresh, radiant colors rose.
He wore a cuirass knit like dragon scales,
Topped with a long red cape like crackling flames.
His round eyes opened wide and lightning flashed;
Wiry whiskers flared up like turbid fumes.
His hand held lightly the seven-star sword,
His shoulder half-hidden by the palm-leaf fan.
He moved like clouds rushing past the ocean’s peaks;
Like thunder his voice shook mountains and streams.
An awesome Heaven-defying warrior,
Leading many monsters, he stormed out of the cave.
After ordering the little fiends to take their battle stations, the old demon shouted, “You ape! You are utterly wretched! You murdered my brother and broke up our fraternal bond. You are truly despicable!”
“Monster, you are the one who’s asking for death!” replied Pilgrim, “Do you mean to tell me that one life of a monster-spirit is worth more than those of four creatures like my master, my younger brothers, and the white horse? You think that I can bear the thought of their being hung up in the cave at this moment? That I would agree to that? Bring them out at once and return them to me. You can add also some travel expenses and send off old Monkey amiably. Then I might spare this cur-like life of yours!” The fiend, of course, would not permit any further exchanges; lifting his treasure sword, he slashed at the head of the Great Sage, who met him with uplift ed iron rod. This was quite a battle outside the entrance of the cave. Aha!
The seven-star sword and the golden-hooped rod
Clashed, and sparks flared up like lightning bright;
The spreading cold air brought oppressive chill
As vast dark clouds concealed the peaks and cliffs.
This one because of his fraternal bond
Would not let up a bit.
That one on account of the scripture monk
Would not slow down one whit.
Each one hated with the same kind of hate;
Both parties cherished such hostility.
They fought till Heaven and Earth darkened, scaring gods and ghosts;
The sun dimmed, the smoke thickened, as dragons and tigers quaked.
This one ground his teeth like filing down jade nails;
That one grew so mad that flames leaped out his eyes!
Back and forth they showed their heroic might,
And kept on brandishing both sword and rod.
The old demon fought with the Great Sage for twenty rounds, but neither could gain the upper hand. Pointing with his sword, the old demon shouted, “Little fiends, come up together!” Those three hundred monster-spirits rushed up together and completely surrounded Pilgrim. Dear Great Sage! Not in the least afraid, he wielded his rod and lunged left and right, attacking with it in front and protecting himself in the rear. Those little fiends, however, all had some abilities; the longer they fought, the more ferocious they became—like cotton floss sticking to one’s body, they tackled Pilgrim at the waist and tugged at his legs, refusing to be beaten back. Alarmed, the Great Sage resorted to the magic of the Body beyond the Body. He plucked off a handful of hairs from under his left arm, chewed them to pieces, and spat them out, crying, “Change!” Every piece of the hair changed into a Pilgrim. Look at all of them! The tall ones wielded rods, the short ones boxed with their fists, and the tiniest ones grabbed the monsters’ shanks and began to gnaw on them. They fought till all the fiends were scattered in every direction, crying, “Great King, we’re finished! We can’t fight anymore! The mountain is full of Pilgrim Suns!” The magic of the Body beyond the Body thus sent the flock of monsters into a hasty retreat: only an old demon was left in the middle, surrounded on all sides, sorely pressed but with no way to run at all.
Terribly frightened, the demon switched the treasure sword to his left hand; with his right, he reached behind his neck and pulled out the palm-leaf fan. Facing the direction of due south (which is the direction of fire), he made a sweeping motion with the fan from the left and fanned at the ground once. Flames leaped up instantly from the ground. The treasure, you see, could produce fire just like that. An unrelenting person, the fiend fanned at the ground for seven or eight more times, and a fierce fire raged everywhere. Marvelous fire!
The fire was neither the fire of Heaven
Nor the fire of a brazier;
Neither the wild fire on the meadows
Nor the fire inside an oven.
It was a spark of spiritual light taken naturally from the Five Phases.
The fan also was no common thing in the mortal world,
Nor was it made by any human skill.
It was a true treasure formed since the time chaos parted.
When the fan was used to start this fire,
Bright and brilliant,
It was like the red bolts of lightning;
Clear and ablaze,
It seemed mists iridescent.
There was not even a strand of blue smoke,
Only a mountain full of scarlet flames.
It burned till the summit pines became fire trees,
And cedars changed into lanterns before the cliff.
The beasts of the caves, eager to live,
Dashed to the east and the west;
The birds of the woods, zealous for their feathers,
Flew high and retreated wide.
This divine, air-filling holocaust
Burned till rocks broke, rivers dried up, and all the ground turned red!
When the Great Sage saw how ferocious the fire was, he, too, became quite shaken, crying, “It’s bad! I can stand it myself, but my hairs are no good. Once they fall into the fire, they will be burned up.” Shaking his body once, he retrieved all his hairs except one piece, which he used to change into a specious form of himself, pretending to flee the fire. His true body, making the fireresisting sign with his fingers, somersaulted into the air and leaped clear of the blaze. He then headed straight for the Lotus-Flower Cave with the intent of rescuing his master. As he sped up to the entrance of the cave and lowered the direction of his cloud, he saw a hundred-odd little fiends outside the door, every one of them with head wounds or broken legs, with lesions and bruises. They were the ones injured by his magic of the Body beyond the Body, all standing there whimpering and in pain. When the Great Sage saw them, he could not suppress the savagery in his nature; lifting up the iron rod, he fought all the way inside. How pitiful it was that he should bring at once to nothing
The fruits of bitter exercise to acquire human forms!
They all became again old pieces of hair and hide!
After the Great Sage had finished off all the little fiends, he raced into the cave with the intent of untying his master. Just then he saw again a fiery glow inside, and he became terribly flustered, crying, “Undone! Undone! If this fire is starting again even at the back door, old Monkey will find it hard to save Master.” As he was thus in alarm, he looked again more carefully. Ah! It was not the glow of fire, but actually a beam of golden light. Composing himself, he walked inside to have another look and found that the source of the glow was the pure mutton-jade vase. Filled with delight, he said to himself, “What a lovely treasure! This vase was glowing also when the little fiends took it up the mountain. Then old Monkey got it, only to have it taken away again by the monster. It’s hidden here and today it’s still glowing.” Look at him! He stole the vase at once and turned quickly to walk out of the cave, not even bothering to try to rescue his master. As soon as he came out the door, he ran into the demon returning from the south, holding the treasure sword and the fan. The Great Sage did not have time to hide himself, and the demon lifted his sword instantly to slash at his head. Mounting his cloud somersault, the Great Sage leaped up and vanished immediately.
When the fiend arrived at his own door, he saw corpses lying everywhere, all the monster-spirits under his command. He was so stricken that he lifted his face toward Heaven and sighed loudly before bursting into tears, crying “O misery! O what bitterness!” For him we have a testimonial poem, and the poem says:
Hateful are the sly ape and the froward horse!
The seeds divine who came to the world of dust,
For one erring thought of leaving Heaven,
Fell on this mountain and destroyed themselves.
What bitter grief when flocks of birds break up!
How tears flow when monster troops are wiped out!
When will the scourge end, the chastisement cease,
That they may return to their primal forms?
Overborne by grief, the old demon wailed step by step into the cave; he saw that the furniture and other belongings remained, but not even a single person was in sight. In this total silence, he became sadder than ever: as he sat all by himself in the cave, he placed his head on a stone table, his sword he leaned against the table, and the fan he stuck back into his collar. Soon, he fell into a deep sleep, just as the proverb says:
Your spirit is full when you are happy;
Once dejected you tend to be sleepy!
We tell you now about the Great Sage Sun, who turned the direction of his cloud somersault around and stood before the mountain, thinking again of trying to rescue his master. Fastening the vase tightly to his belt, he returned to the entrance of the cave to see what was happening. The two doors he found wide open, but not a sound could be heard. With light, stealthy steps he slipped inside and discovered the demon sleeping soundly, leaning on the stone table. The palm-leaf fan was sticking out of his collar, half covering the back of his head, while the sword of seven stars was placed against the table. He tiptoed near the demon, pulled out the fan, and turned at once to flee outside. The fan, however, scraped against the hair of the fiend when it was pulled out, rousing him from his sleep. When he lifted his head to look and found that his fan had been stolen by Pilgrim Sun, he gave chase at once with the sword. The Great Sage leaped out the door and, having stuck the fan into his waist, met the fiend with both hands wielding the iron rod. This was a marvelous battle!
The maddened demon king,
His cap raised by angry hair,
Wanted to swallow with one gulp his foe—
But e’en that was no relief!
He reviled the monkey thus:
“You mock me far too much!
You took our many lives.
You steal my treasure now.
This time I’ll not spare you,
I’ll see that you are dead!”
The Great Sage rapped the demon:
“You don’t know what’s good for you!
A student wants to fight old Monkey?
How could an egg smash up a rock?”
The treasure sword came,
The iron rod moved:
The two would no longer cherish kindness.
Again and again a contest they waged;
Over and over they used their martial skill.
Because of the scripture monk
Who sought at Spirit Mount a place,
Bringing discord to Metal and Fire,
The Five Phases, confused, lost their peace.
They showed their awe-inspiring, magic power;
They kicked up dust and stones to flaunt their might.
They fought till the sun was about to sink:
The demon grew weak and retreated first.
The demon fought with the Great Sage for more than thirty rounds; when the sky darkened, the demon fled in defeat and headed for the southwest in the direction of the Crush-Dragon Cave. We shall speak no more of him for the moment.
Lowering the direction of his cloud, the Great Sage dashed into the LotusFlower Cave and untied the Tang Monk, Eight Rules, and Sha Monk. After they were freed, they thanked Pilgrim while asking, “Where did the demons go?” “The second demon has been stored up in the gourd,” said Pilgrim, “and he must be completely dissolved by now. The old demon was defeated by me just now and he fled toward the Crush-Dragon Cave in the southwest. Over half of the little fiends of the cave have been killed by the body-division magic of old Monkey, and the rest who were defeated have also been wiped out by me. Only after that could I come in here to rescue and free all of you.” Profoundly grateful, the Tang Monk said, “Disciple, you must have worked awfully hard!” “Indeed,” said Pilgrim, laughing, “though all of you had to bear the pain of being hung up, old Monkey hasn’t been able even to rest his legs! I had to be on the go even more frequently than the postal messenger: coming in and getting out, there was never a moment’s pause. Only after having managed to steal his treasures could I defeat the demons.” “Elder Brother,” said Zhu Eight Rules, “take out the gourd and let us have a look inside. The second demon, I suppose, must have been dissolved by now.” The Great Sage first untied the pure vase; he then took out the gold rope and the fan before he held the gourd in his hands. Then he said, “Don’t look! Don’t look! Just now he had old Monkey stored up, and only after I deceived him into opening the lid by feigning some gargling noise did I escape. We must not, therefore, lift up the lid, for he may still pull some tricks and escape.” Thereafter master and disciples happily searched the cave and found some of the monsters’ rice, noodles, and vegetables; after heating and washing some of the pots and pans, they prepared a vegetarian meal and ate their fill. They rested in the cave for the night and soon it was morning again.
We tell you now about that old demon, who went straight to the Crush-Dragon Mountain and gathered together all the female fiends, to whom he gave a thorough account of how his mother was beaten to death, how his brother was sucked into the gourd, how his monster soldiers were wiped out, and how his treasures had been stolen. The female fiends all burst into tears, wailing for a long time. Then the old demon said, “Stop crying, all of you. I still have with me the sword of seven stars, and I plan to go with all of you, female soldiers, to the back of this Crush-Dragon Mountain to borrow some more troops from my maternal relative. I’m determined to capture that Pilgrim Sun to exact vengeance.”
Before he had even finished speaking, a little fiend came from the door to report, saying, “Great King, your Venerable Maternal Uncle from behind the mountain has led his troops here.” When the old demon heard this, he quickly changed into mourning garments of plain white silk and bowed to receive his visitor. The Venerable Maternal Uncle, you see, was the younger brother of his mother who went by the name, Great King Fox Number Seven. Because he had already received the report from some of his monster soldiers out on patrol that his elder sister was beaten to death by Pilgrim Sun, who then changed into the form of his sister to swindle treasures from his nephew, and that there had been fighting for several days on the Level-Top Mountain, he called up some two hundred soldiers from his own cave to offer his assistance. He stopped first at his sister’s home to find out whether indeed she had died. The moment he walked in the door, however, he saw the old demon in mourning garments, and the two of them burst into loud wailing. After some time, the old demon knelt down to give a complete account of what had taken place. Growing very angry, Number Seven ordered the old demon to take off his mourning garments, to pick up his treasure sword, and to call up all the female monsters. Together they mounted the wind and the cloud, speeding toward the northeast.
The Great Sage just then was telling Sha Monk to prepare breakfast so that they could journey after the meal, when suddenly he heard the sound of the wind. Walking out the door, he found a horde of fiendish troops approaching from the southwest. Somewhat startled, Pilgrim dashed inside, calling to Eight Rules, “Brother, the monster-spirit has brought fresh troops to help him.” When Tripitaka heard these words, he paled with fright, saying, “Disciple, what shall we do?” “Relax, relax!” said Pilgrim, chuckling. “Give me all of his treasures.” The Great Sage fastened the gourd and the vase to his waist, stuffed the gold rope into his sleeve, and stuck the palm-leaf fan into his collar. Wielding the iron rod with both hands, he told Sha Monk to stand and guard their master sitting in the cave, while he and Eight Rules holding the muckrake went out to meet their adversaries.
The fiendish creatures ranged themselves in battle formation, and the one at the very forefront was the Great King Number Seven, who had a jadelike face, a long beard, wiry eyebrows, and knifelike ears. He wore a golden helmet on his head and a knitted cuirass on his body; his hands held a “square-sky” halberd.5 In a loud voice he shouted, “You audacious, lawless ape! How dare you oppress people like that! You stole our treasures, slaughtered our relatives, killed our soldiers, and you even had the nerve to take over our cave dwelling. Stick out your neck quickly and accept death, so that I can avenge my sister’s murder!” “You reckless hairy lump!” cried Pilgrim. “You don’t know what your Grandpa Sun can do! Don’t run away! Take a blow from my rod!” The fiend stepped aside to dodge the blow before turning again to meet him with the halberd. The two of them fought back and forth on the mountain for three or four rounds, and the fiend grew weak already. As he fled, Pilgrim gave chase and encountered the old demon, who also fought with him for three rounds. Then the Number Seven Fox turned around and attacked once more. When Eight Rules on this side saw him, he quickly stopped him with the nine-pronged rake; so, each of the pilgrims took on a monster and they fought for a long time without reaching a decision. The old demon shouted for all the monster soldiers to join the battle also.
We tell you now about the Tang Monk, who was seated in the cave when he heard earth-shaking cries coming from outside. “Sha Monk,” he said, “go and see how your brothers are doing in the battle.” Lifting high his fiend-routing staff, Sha Monk gave a terrific cry as he raced outside, beating back at once many of the monsters. When Number Seven saw that the tide was turning against them, he spun around and ran, only to be caught up by Eight Rules, who brought the rake down hard on his back.
This one blow caused nine spots of bright red to spurt out;
Pity one spirit’s true nature going to the world beyond.
When Eight Rules dragged him aside and stripped off his clothes, he found that the Great King, too, was a fox spirit.
When the old demon saw that his maternal uncle was slain, he abandoned Pilgrim and attacked Eight Rules with the sword. Eight Rules blocked the blow with the muckrake; as they fought, Sha Monk charged near and struck with his staff. Unable to withstand the two of them, the demon mounted wind and cloud to flee toward the south with Eight Rules and Sha Monk hard on his heels. When the Great Sage saw that, he swiftly leaped into the air, untied the vase, and took aim at the old demon, crying, “Great King Golden Horn!” The fiend thought that it was one of his defeated little demons calling him, and he turned to give his reply. Instantly he was sucked also into the vase, which was then sealed by Pilgrim with the tape bearing the words, “May Laozi Act Quickly According to This Command.” The sword of seven stars dropped to the ground below and it, too, became the property of Pilgrim. “Elder Brother,” said Eight Rules, coming up to meet Pilgrim, “you’ve got the sword. But where’s the monster-spirit?” “Finished!” said Pilgrim, chuckling, “He’s stored up in this vase of mine.” When they heard this, Sha Monk and Eight Rules were utterly delighted.
After they had completely wiped out the ogres and monsters, they went back to the cave to present the good news to Tripitaka, saying, “The mountain has been purged of all monsters. Let Master mount up so that we may journey again.” Highly pleased, Tripitaka finished the morning meal with his disciples, whereupon they put in order the luggage and the horse and found their way to the West. As they walked, a blind man suddenly appeared from the side of the road and caught hold of Tripitaka’s horse, saying, “Monk, where are you going? Give me back my treasures!” Horrified, Eight Rules cried, “We are finished! Here’s another old monster coming to ask for his treasures!” Pilgrim looked at the man carefully and saw that he was actually Laozi. Hurriedly he drew near and bowed, saying, “Venerable Sir, where are you going?” The old patriarch swiftly mounted his jade throne, which rose and stopped in midair. “Pilgrim Sun,” he said, “return my treasures.” The Great Sage also rose into the air saying, “What treasures?” “The gourd,” said Laozi, “is what I use to store elixir, while the pure vase is my water container. The treasure sword I use to subdue demons, the fan is for tending my fires, and the rope is actually a belt of my gown. Those two monsters happen to be two Daoist youths: one looks after my golden brazier, while the other my silver brazier. I was just searching for them, for they stole the treasures and left the Region Above. Now you have caught them, this will be your merit.”
The Great Sage said, “Venerable Sir, you are not very honorable! That you would permit your kin to become demons should make you guilty of oversight in the governance of your household.” “It’s really not my affair,” said Laozi, “so don’t blame the wrong person. These youths were requested by the Bodhisattva from the sea three times; they were to be sent here and transformed into demons, to test all of you and see whether master and disciples are sincere in going to the West.”
When the Great Sage heard these words, he thought to himself, “What a rogue is this Bodhisattva! At the time when she delivered old Monkey and told me to accompany the Tang Monk to procure scriptures in the West, I said that the journey would be a difficult one. She even promised that she herself would come to rescue us when we encounter grave difficulties, but instead, she sent monsterspirits here to harass us. The way she double-talks, she deserves to be a spinster for the rest of her life!” He then said to Laozi, “If Venerable Sir didn’t show up personally, I would never have returned these things to you. But since you have made the appearance and told me the truth, you can take them away.” After receiving the five treasures, Laozi lifted the seals of the gourd and the vase and poured out two masses of divine ether. With one point of his finger he transformed the ether again into two youths, standing on his left and right. Ten thousand strands of propitious light appeared as
They all drifted toward the Tushita Palace;
Freely they went straight up to Heaven’s canopy.
We do not know what happens thereafter, how the Great Sun accompanies the Tang Monk, or at what time they reach the Western Heaven; let’s listen to the explanation in the next chapter.