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01 Water Curtain Cave

Back at Flower-Fruit Mountain, Wukong drilled the apes in the arts of war each day. One day an old ape said to him, ‘Our weapons are nothing but bamboo spears and wooden knives. If an enemy should come, how shall we withstand him? Better that our king go to the kingdom of Aolai and fetch us proper weapons, so that we may long be safe.’ Wukong nodded in agreement. With one somersault Wukong came to the skies above the kingdom of Aolai. Seeing the markets and lanes below crowded and gay, he muttered a spell and breathed out a puff of immortal breath. At once sand flew and stones rolled; the people of the city fled home in panic and every door was bolted. Wukong brought his cloud to earth, sought out the royal armory, pushed open the door, and found within a store of armor and weapons of every kind. Wukong plucked a tuft of hair and turned it into hundreds of little monkeys. Some carried, some shouldered, and between them they made off with every piece of armor and every weapon in the armory. From that day Flower-Fruit Mountain had swords and spears, shining helmets and bright armor. They drilled their troops, and the fame of their might spread far. The demon kings of the seventy-two caves round about, seeing how strong Flower-Fruit Mountain had grown, came one after another to pay homage. Some brought banners, some brought drums; all were willing to take Wukong's commands, and the Handsome Monkey King became king of all the beasts. In a little while Flower-Fruit Mountain was made as secure as a drum of iron, a rampart of gold — a sight most grand. For all his joy, Sun Wukong was troubled that he himself had no weapon that suited his hand, and he asked the others what might be done. An old ape said, ‘May it be asked whether our king can go beneath the water?’ Said Wukong, ‘This old Sun has seventy-two transformations; he can climb to heaven or plunge into the earth, and there is nothing he cannot do. Why should the water bar him?’ The old ape said again, ‘Beneath this iron-plate bridge the way runs straight to the Eastern Sea. Why does our king not go to the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea and ask him for a weapon?’ At this Wukong's mind was suddenly clear. He took leave of them all, leapt down from the iron-plate bridge, parted the waters before him, and made straight for the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea.

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