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36 The Rake Feast

The yellow lion did as he was told and led the lion demons before the walls to call for battle. Wukong and Sandy were not to be outdone; they marched out and fought them fiercely. Seizing his chance, the nine-spirited sage rode a black cloud into the city. He gave himself a shake, and nine heads and nine mouths appeared; he took up the Tang Monk, the prince and his sons in his jaws, and bore them back to his cave. Wukong heard the uproar in the city and knew he had been tricked. He tore out a great handful of hairs and made of them a thousand Wukongs, who swarmed forward, beat the yellow lion demon to death, and took the other four lion demons alive. When Wukong returned to the palace, the princess wept and besought him to rescue the prince and the three young princes. "Lady, set your heart at rest," said Wukong. "Tomorrow old Sun goes to Bamboo-Knot Mountain to save them." Early the next morning Wukong and Sandy rode their clouds to Bamboo-Knot Mountain. A lesser demon saw them, stumbled away in fright, and ran into the cave with the news. On hearing it the nine-spirited sage strode out of the cave, taking neither armour nor weapon, and made straight for Wukong. At the sight of him Wukong and Sandy swung their weapons and struck. The sage shook himself, and nine heads and nine mouths appeared. He gave one great roar that set the earth rocking, caught Wukong and Sandy in his jaws, carried them into the cave, and bade the lesser demons bind them. "My poor yellow lion grandson is dead!" he said, weeping. He ordered three lesser demons to take willow cudgels and beat Wukong alone. From noon till night they beat him, breaking countless cudgels, but Wukong felt neither ache nor pain and thought nothing of it. Sandy, uneasy at seeing Wukong beaten so long, said, "Old demon, let me take his place for a while." The nine-spirited sage sneered, "There is no need to hurry. Tomorrow it will be your turn." Late in the night the lesser demons, worn out with beating, lay down and slept soundly. Wukong used a spell of escape, shrank his body, and slipped free of his bonds. He drew out his rod and made it thick as a water bucket. "You miserable brutes," he said to the three, "you have beaten your Grandfather Sun with many a cudgel; now taste your Grandfather Sun's power!" He rested the rod on them and pressed lightly, and the three were flattened into cakes of flesh. Wukong untied the ropes on Sandy. Bajie, who could wait no longer, bawled out, "Brother Monkey, my hands and feet are swollen from the cords. Come and loose me!" The shout woke the nine-spirited sage, who scrambled up and cried, "Who is shouting?" Seeing things go ill, Wukong puffed out the lamps, smashed his way through several gates, and got away. Sandy had no time to flee and was caught again. Once out of the cave and down at the foot of the mountain, Wukong could think of no way to rescue his master and the rest, so he called up the local earth god and asked him who this nine-spirited sage was. "This nine-spirited sage," said the earth god, "is the nine-headed lion that carries the Heavenly Worthy of Great Salvation of the Miaoyan Palace. Two years ago he came to Bamboo-Knot Mountain, and all the demons here honour him as their ancient. You must fetch his master, Great Sage, before he can be subdued."

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