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16 The Kingdom of Wuji

After the king of Wuji died, his soul went to the Yama king in the underworld to lodge a complaint, hoping to have his wrong redressed and his murderer punished. But the false Taoist had vast powers: the City God of the capital was his acquaintance, the Dragon King of the Sea his kinsman, the Equal of Heaven of the Eastern Peak his good friend, and the ten generations of Yama kings his sworn brothers. Though the wronged soul of the king came again and again to the underworld to complain, he was always turned away at the gate. Three years slipped by. One night, as the king's wronged soul was wandering, the Night-Wandering God suddenly descended before him and told him to go and see the Tang Monk, to seek the destruction of the demon and the redress of his grievance. Then the god raised a divine wind and blew the king's soul to the meditation hall where the Tang Monk was staying. When the Tang Monk had heard the wronged soul's whole story, he sighed with pity and at once promised to destroy the demon for him. The soul thanked him, laid down the white jade tablet he held, and said, "Tomorrow morning my crown prince will leave the city to hunt. Master, you may use this tablet as a token and tell him what has befallen me. The false Taoist has no such tablet; when the prince sees it, he is sure to believe." The Tang Monk took the jade tablet. The soul said further, "I must also beg the Night-Wandering God to send one more divine wind to carry me into the inner palace, so that I may send a dream to my queen." With that he bowed his head and took his leave. The Tang Monk rose to see him off, stumbled and fell, and woke with a start: it had all been a dream. The Tang Monk hastily woke his disciples and told them what he had dreamed. Wukong laughed. "If he sent you a dream, it must be that he wants this old Sun to deal with the monster who usurped his throne and stole his kingdom. Let me sort out the true from the false for him." Then the Tang Monk remembered the token from his dream and told his disciples to open the door and look. Wukong opened it, and there on the step, beneath the light of the stars and moon, lay the white jade tablet. Wukong said, "Master, since this thing is here, the matter must be true. The catching of the demon tomorrow rests entirely upon this old Sun." Wukong plucked out a hair and turned it into a red and gold lacquered box, put the white jade tablet inside, and discussed with his master in detail the plan for meeting the crown prince. Only then did they each go to rest. Early the next morning Wukong rode his cloud alone and came to hover above the city of the Kingdom of Wuji. He saw the east gate open and a hunting troop appear. At their head was a young general in helmet and armour, sword at his side and bow in hand, with something of a king's bearing about him. Wukong thought, "That must be the crown prince. Let me have some sport with him." Wukong brought his cloud down, pushed into the troop before the prince's horse, and changed himself into a white hare that darted about in front of the horse. The prince drew his bow and loosed an arrow that struck the hare squarely, then wheeled his horse to give chase. The wounded hare ran on before the horse: when the prince's horse went fast it went fast, and when the horse went slow it went slow, leading the prince stage by stage until they came before the mountain gate of Baolin Temple. Wukong resumed his true form, stuck the arrow into the threshold and went straight into the meditation hall to see the Tang Monk. "Master, the crown prince is here!" he said. Then he changed himself into a little monk two inches tall and slipped into the red box. When the prince reached the mountain gate, the hare had vanished and he saw only an eagle-feathered arrow stuck in the threshold, which he found most strange. By then the escorting officers and their three thousand troops had caught up and crowded in through the gate with the prince, throwing the monks of the temple into such alarm that they all came to kowtow and welcome him. The prince entered the main hall and finished worshipping the images of Buddha. He was about to stroll the corridors to enjoy the view when he saw a monk seated in the middle of the hall. The prince thought to himself, "How rude this monk is! I have come into his temple with half a court's imperial escort, and he sits there without moving." He ordered his attendants, "Seize him!" The guards on both sides moved at once, but Wukong had already ordered the Dharma-protecting devas and the Six Ding and Six Jia to shield the Tang Monk, so that it was as if a wall blocked the way and no one could get near him. The prince said angrily, "What monk are you, that you dare use such an invisible art to cheat me?"

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