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19 The Kingdom of Chechi

Seeing that Wukong was dead, the Tang Monk despaired of all things. Heedless of the soldiers coming to seize him, he cried aloud, "Stay, Your Majesty! My disciple and I are bound by deep affection; allow this poor monk to burn three paper horses as an offering for him, and then kill me - it will not be too late!" Wukong could not bear it, and stood up and showed his true form. The civil and military officers, seeing Wukong return from the dead, fell to the ground and kowtowed in terror. The king started up in fright and would have fled, but Wukong stepped forward and caught him fast, saying, "Do not run, Your Majesty; it is your third royal preceptor's turn to get into the oil!" Trembling all over, the king said to Goat-Strength, "Third Royal Preceptor, into the oil this instant!" Goat-Strength took off his clothes and jumped into the cauldron, and was as much at his ease there as Wukong had been. Wukong grew suspicious, and putting his hand into the cauldron to test it found that the boiling oil was in fact cold. He thought to himself: some Dragon King must be shielding him here; let me go up to heaven and look into the matter. Wukong leapt up among the clouds and summoned the Dragon King of the North Sea, demanding, "Why did you send out a cold dragon to help that demon Daoist?" The Dragon King pleaded, "Ao Shun would not dare! That cold dragon was trained by the demon Daoist himself. Since the Great Sage commands it, this little dragon will simply take it back!" The Dragon King turned himself into a whirlwind, came to the side of the cauldron and carried the cold dragon off. Then they looked at the Goat-Strength Immortal, who struggled in the oil and resumed his true form: he was an antelope. Before he could cry out twice, he was fried in an instant, his hide scorched and his flesh torn. Seeing that the third royal preceptor too was now dead, the king was overcome with sorrow. Wukong shouted, "How can you be so besotted, king! They were nothing but mountain beasts that had come to life, and sooner or later they would have demanded your throne and taken your life. We have subdued the demons and destroyed the devils for you, and saved your life!" Hearing this, the king awoke as if from a dream. At court early the next morning, the king sent out word for proclamations recalling the monks to be posted everywhere, and at the same time held a banquet for the Tang Monk and his disciples. When the feast was over, he and all his civil and military officers escorted the four of them out through the palace gate, and the five hundred monks outside the gate all prostrated themselves and kowtowed. Wukong told the monks to rise and speak, and the monks said gratefully, "My lord has swept away the demons and lifted the guilt from us monks; we have come to return the hairs to you and to kowtow our thanks for heavenly grace!" Wukong gave himself a shake and gathered the hairs back, and the master and his three disciples went joyfully on their way westward.

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