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20 The River That Reaches Heaven

When the demon heard the report, he immediately donned his full armor, took up his nine-petal copper hammer, and led his host of lesser demons out of the palace. Bajie cursed, "You defeated general, quickly send our Master out! Otherwise, I will let you taste the nine-toothed rake again!" The demon cursed, "Last time I had not brought my weapon, so I suffered a loss. This time you will not get the better of me!" He raised his copper hammer and struck at Bajie's head. Bajie parried with his rake, and the two fought together. Sandy saw that the two were evenly matched, so he gave a loud shout and swung his staff at the demon. The three of them fought back and forth underwater for two full hours, with neither side gaining the advantage. Bajie realized it would be hard to win. He gave Sandy a meaningful look, and the two pretended to be defeated. Each dragging his weapon, they turned and fled, and the demon pursued them. Meanwhile Wukong was on the eastern bank, staring fixedly at the river. Suddenly he saw waves surging, and Bajie and Sandy came out of the water onto the bank, shouting, "He's coming! He's coming!" The demon shouted after them, "Where are you going!" As soon as he stuck his head out of the water, Wukong shouted, "Take this!" and brought his staff down on the demon's head. The demon hastily dodged. The demon wielded his copper hammer and engaged Wukong. One churned the waves at the river's edge, the other displayed his might on the bank. Before three rounds were over, the demon could not withstand the attack. He feinted a move and dived back into the water. The demon fled back to the water palace and told the spotted fish hag about the fight. The hag was greatly alarmed and said, "When I was in the Eastern Sea, I heard the Dragon King speak of that monkey. He is Sun Wukong, who once made trouble in the heavenly court. His magic powers are vast, Your Majesty; do not fight him again!" At this moment Bajie and Sandy came again outside the water palace to challenge him to battle. The demon simply held fast and refused to come out, ordering his water creatures to move stones and block the gate with mud. Bajie and Sandy had no choice; they came ashore to see Wukong. Wukong instructed them, "Patrol here and don't let the demon escape. Wait while I go to see Guanyin and find out this demon's origins." With that he mounted his cloud and left. Wukong landed on Potala Cliff and met Sudhana. Wukong remembered that he was Red Boy, and asked with a smile, "Where is the Bodhisattva?" Sudhana answered, "The Bodhisattva entered the bamboo grove early this morning and forbade anyone to follow. Please wait a moment, Great Sage." Wukong was impatient; he strode into the bamboo grove. He saw Guanyin without her hair dressed, not wearing her plain blue robe, barefoot, cutting bamboo bark with a knife. Before Wukong could speak, Guanyin said, "Go out and wait!" Wukong had no choice but to leave the bamboo grove and wait patiently. Before long Guanyin came out of the grove carrying a purple bamboo basket and said, "Wukong, I will go with you to rescue the Tang Monk." Wukong hastily knelt and said, "Your disciple dares not hurry you. Please dress and take your seat first, Bodhisattva." Guanyin said, "There is no need. Let us go as I am." When Guanyin finished speaking, she rose into the air on auspicious clouds, and Wukong followed. In an instant they reached the Tongtian River. Bajie and Sandy saw them from below and said, "Our elder brother is so impatient; he must have shouted and made a fuss in the Southern Sea and brought the Bodhisattva here before she could dress." Guanyin reached the riverbank, untied a silk cord from her waist, fastened the bamboo basket to it, and cast it into the river.

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