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12 The Ginseng Fruit

The more Wukong heard, the angrier he grew. His spirit left his body, and his true form mounted a cloud and flew out of the hall. Wukong went straight to the ginseng garden, swung his golden-hooped rod wildly at the tree, and with the strength to move mountains and shift ridges uprooted it entirely. Wukong withdrew his true form and returned to the hall. The boys cursed on, but hearing no reply, they thought, "Perhaps the branches and leaves were too dense and we counted wrong; perhaps we wronged them!" Qingfeng and Mingyue left the hall and went back to the garden. Entering the garden, they saw the tree uprooted, branches broken, leaves fallen, and fruit gone. Their souls flew away in terror, and they collapsed to the ground. Qingfeng wept, "These thieving monks have cut off our immortal root. How can we answer to Master when he returns?" Mingyue said, "Brother, don't panic. This disaster must be the monkey's doing. If we go back and fight them, we may not be a match. Better to placate them first and wait for Master to deal with it." The two forced themselves back to the hall, bowed to the Tang Monk, and apologized, "We counted again and the number is correct. We spoke rashly just now; please forgive us, Master." The Tang Monk said it was well, but Wukong understood perfectly. The Tang Monk asked for the meal. The two boys hurriedly brought seven or eight small dishes and a pot of good tea to serve them. The four had just raised their bowls when they heard a door slam and the outer gate lock. Qingfeng cursed, "You thieving monks! Not content with stealing our immortal fruit, you have also uprooted our immortal tree. How do you deserve to go to the Western Heaven!" Qingfeng and Mingyue cursed until dusk, then locked the front and back mountain gates and went to rest. The Tang Monk blamed Wukong. "You monkey, you stole their fruit and let them curse you, but why did you uproot their tree?" Wukong comforted him, "Master, don't be angry. What's done is done; I have a plan to get away." That night Wukong used an unlocking spell to open the locks one by one and led his master and brothers quietly out of Wuzhuang Temple. Wukong feared the boys might wake and cause trouble, so he returned to their door, took out two sleep insects, and flicked them through the window. The sleep insects flew onto the boys' faces. Qingfeng and Mingyue smacked their lips and soon fell into a snoring sleep. Wukong caught up with the Tang Monk, and they hurried west along the great road all night, stopping only at dawn to rest. Meanwhile the Great Immortal Zhenyuan, having heard the discourse on the Primal Dao, took leave of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable and returned to Wuzhuang Temple with his disciples. The temple gate stood wide open, incense fires were out, and Qingfeng and Mingyue were nowhere to be seen.

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