Chapter 37: The Ghost King Pays Tripitaka a Night Visit; Sun Wukong's Magic Lures the Prince

Now Tripitaka sat beneath the lamp in the meditation hall of Bao Lin Temple, reciting a while from the Liang Emperor's Water Repentance and then a while from the Peacock True Scripture. It was already past the third watch when he finally gathered the books into his satchel and was just about to rise and sleep. Then there came from outside the door a sudden crackling sound, followed by a gust of wild wind that rushed and whistled through the hall.

The elder feared the lamp would be blown out and hurriedly sheltered it with the sleeve of his robe. But the flame flickered between bright and dim, and his heart began to flutter. Drowsiness then crept over him as well, and he dozed with his face on the scripture table. Though his eyes were shut and his body half asleep, his mind was still clear.

He heard a thin humming in his ears and the bleak wind sighing outside the window. What a wind it was! Truly:

Whistling and sweeping, drifting and rolling,
whistling and sweeping, it shook loose the leaves;
drifting and rolling, it twisted the floating clouds.
All Heaven's stars grew dim, and all the earth was dust and spray.
Fierce one moment, pure the next.
Purely, it tapped pine and bamboo into a clear tune; fiercely, it churned the rivers and lakes into muddy waves.
It left mountain birds unable to perch, crying out in broken voices,
and sea fish leaping in alarm.
It tore at the windows and doors of halls east and west,
and made gods and ghosts in the corridors front and back bristle with rage.
In the Buddha hall it blew the flower vases to the floor,
and the glass lamps were shaken down so that the lights grew dim.
It overturned the incense burner and scattered the ash,
and slanted the candlesticks so the flames smoked.
Banner and canopy, treasure cover and jeweled parasol all shook apart,
while bell tower and drum tower trembled at the roots.

As the storm of sound passed by, Tripitaka half heard someone outside the meditation hall call softly, "Master." He looked up in his dream and saw a man standing at the door, wet all over, tears hanging in his eyes, crying over and over, "Master."

Tripitaka half rose and said, "Are you some wandering goblin, some demon, or some evil spirit, come here in the dead of night to mock me? I am not one of those who covet or rage. I am a monk of upright and honest heart, sent by decree of Great Tang in the Eastern Land to the Western Heaven to worship the Buddha and seek the scriptures. Under me are three disciples, all heroes who can subdue dragons and tame tigers, all men who can sweep away monsters and kill demons. If they saw you, they would tear your body to shreds and grind your bones to dust. I speak thus only from great mercy and for the sake of convenience. Leave quickly and hide yourself far away. Do not come near my monastery gate."

The man leaned against the meditation hall and said, "Master, I am neither a demon nor a goblin, nor some evil spirit or wild god."

Tripitaka said, "If you are none of those, why do you come here so late at night?"

The man answered, "Master, please open your eyes and look at me."

Tripitaka then fixed his gaze upon him. Ah! He saw a man wearing a towering crown, a jade girdle about his waist, and a deep yellow robe embroidered with flying dragons and dancing phoenixes. On his feet were cloud-tipped, embroidered shoes of carefree ease, and in his hand he held a white jade tablet like a row of stars and a constellation chart. His face was like the Eastern Peak God of Longevity; his bearing like the Lord of Wenchang Opening Culture.

Tripitaka was struck with terror and, bowing low, cried out sharply, "Which emperor are you? Please, sit down."

He reached out in haste to support the man, but his hand met empty air. Turning back, he sat where he was and looked again. The figure was still there. The elder asked, "Your Majesty, what emperor are you? Of what realm are you sovereign? I take it your country is in turmoil, that treacherous ministers have oppressed you, and that you have fled here at midnight to save your life. Speak your mind and let me hear it."

Tears ran down the man's cheeks as he told his old story, and sorrow gathered across his brow as he laid out what had come before.

He said, "Master, I live in the far west, only forty li from here. There stands a city that was the place where my kingdom was founded. Do you know its name?"

Tripitaka asked, "What is it called?"

"To tell the truth, Master," he said, "it is the kingdom that I myself established in former years, and its name is Wuji Kingdom."

Tripitaka said, "Your Majesty is in such distress. What matter has brought you to this?"

The man said, "Master, five years ago we were struck by a terrible drought. The grass and grain would not grow, and the people were starving to death. It was a pitiful sight."

Tripitaka nodded and smiled. "Your Majesty, as the old saying goes, 'When the state is in good order, Heaven's heart is in accord.' I take it you had not shown mercy to the people, and when famine struck, you fled the capital. Why not open the granaries, relieve the common folk, confess your former faults, and set about a new and better course? Release the men who were wrongly condemned. Then Heaven's heart will naturally be at peace, and wind and rain will come in due season."

"My stores were empty," the man said. "All the grain and silver were gone. Both civil and military officials went without pay, and even my own meals had no meat in them. I followed the example of King Yu, who regulated the floods, and shared the hardships of the people. I bathed, fasted, and burned incense day and night in prayer.

After three years of this, the rivers ran dry and the wells were exhausted. Just when matters were at their worst, a Perfected One came from Zhongnan Mountain. He could summon wind and rain and turn stone to gold. First he was received by my civil and military officers, and afterward by me. I invited him onto the altar to pray, and truly his response came at once. The moment his tablet was struck, the rain came pouring down.

I had only wanted three feet of rain, but he said the drought had lasted too long for the earth to be refreshed and brought two more inches. Seeing how righteous he was, I exchanged eight bows with him and called him my brother."

Tripitaka said, "Then this was a great blessing for your Majesty."

"How could it be a blessing?" the man replied. "I lived and ate with him for only two years. Then spring came, with red apricots and tender peaches in bloom, every household full of nobles and every road full of ladies and gentlemen all going out to enjoy the season. At that time the civil and military officers returned to their offices, and the consorts went back to their chambers. I walked with that Perfected One arm in arm into the imperial garden, and when we came to the octagonal glazed well, I do not know what he slipped down into it, but from within there suddenly blazed ten thousand shafts of golden light. He lured me to the well and told me to look at some treasure. Then, with one sudden rush of evil intent, he shoved me into the well, set a stone slab over the mouth, piled earth on top, and planted a banana tree above it.

Poor me. I have been dead three years now, a wronged ghost slain in a well."

When Tripitaka heard that it was a ghost, the sinews of his body went slack and the hair all over him stood up. Still, he had no choice but to ask again, "Your Majesty, what you say makes no sense at all. If you have been dead three years, why did none of the civil and military officers or the three palaces of the queen, when they came to court on those three occasions, search for you?"

The man said, "Master, when you speak of his powers, they are indeed seldom seen in the world. After he harmed me, he changed at once in the garden into my own appearance, with not the slightest difference. He occupies my throne and secretly takes my kingdom. My two courts of civil and military officers, my four hundred court officials, the three palaces of queens, and the six courts of concubines all belong to him now."

Tripitaka said, "Your Majesty, you are far too weak."

"How am I weak?" the man asked.

Tripitaka said, "That monster does indeed have some powers. He can change into your likeness and seize your kingdom, while your civil and military officers cannot tell, and your queens and concubines do not know. But you alone know your own death clearly. Why did you not make a complaint in the underworld before the King of Hell and plead your case there?"

The man said, "His powers are vast, and his friendships are close. The City God drinks with him all the time, the Dragon Kings of the sea are all his kin, the Eastern Peak Great Emperor is his good friend, and the Ten Kings of Hell are his sworn brothers. How, then, could I have found any way to lodge a complaint?"

Tripitaka said, "If you could not bring him to account in the underworld, why come to me in the world of the living?"

The man said, "Master, how would I dare come to your door with nothing but this wronged ghost? Before the mountain gate stand the Dharma-protecting heavens, the Six Ding and Six Jia spirits, the Five Directions' Five Jiedi, the Four Duty Gods of the Watches, and the eighteen guardian-gods of the teaching, all escorting the horses and saddle. Just now the Night-Wandering God sent me in on a gust of divine wind. He said my three years of flood-stricken misery were due to end, and so he bade me come and pay you a visit. He said you have one great disciple under you, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who is most skilled at cutting down monsters and subduing demons. I have come now with all sincerity to beg you, and to ask you to send that disciple to my kingdom to seize the monster and distinguish false from true. I shall then repay your kindness even if I must carry grass in my mouth and rings in my hand."

Tripitaka said, "Your Majesty, you have come to ask my disciple to go with you and destroy that monster?"

"Exactly so, exactly so," said the man.

Tripitaka said, "My disciples are not much good at anything else, but if the matter is catching demons and subduing monsters, that is precisely where he is at home. Yet though I can have him capture the fiend, I fear the matter will not be easy in principle."

"How so?" asked the man.

Tripitaka said, "Since the monster has such broad powers and can change into your very self, the civil and military officers of the court all think the same as he does, and the three palaces of consorts all share his intent. Even if my disciple has the power to subdue him, I would not dare to raise weapons lightly. If he were seized by the officials and accused of plotting to overthrow the state and destroy the kingdom, and if he were trapped inside the city, would that not be like drawing a tiger with a cat and carving a phoenix from wood? It would not do."

"There is still someone in my court," the man said.

Tripitaka asked, "Good, good. I suppose you mean some hereditary prince or favored minister, sent away to garrison a border post?"

"No," the man said. "In my palace there is a crown prince, my own son and heir."

Tripitaka said, "Then I suppose the prince has been kept from court by the monster?"

"Not at all," said the man. "He stays in the Golden Chime Hall and the Hall of the Five Phoenix Towers, where he studies with the scholars or sits with the Perfected One on the throne. For the past three years he has been forbidden to enter the inner palace and has not been allowed to see the queen."

Tripitaka asked, "Why is that?"

"The monster set it all up," the man said. "He feared only that mother and son might meet and, in private talk, reveal the truth. So he kept them from seeing one another, and by that means he could remain forever."

Tripitaka said, "Your calamity is a hard one, and it reminds me of my own. My father was once slain by river bandits; my mother was seized and defiled by river bandits, and after three months she gave birth to me. I escaped with my life on the water and was fortunate to be raised by my master at Gold Mountain Temple. I remember that I had no parents in my childhood. Since the prince here has been parted from both his mother and his father, how pitiable that is!"

Then he asked, "Even if you have a prince at court, how am I to meet him?"

"Why could you not meet him?" said the man.

Tripitaka said, "He is under the monster's control and cannot even see the mother who gave him birth. How can a monk like me hope to see him?"

"He will leave court early tomorrow morning," said the man.

Tripitaka asked, "What will he be leaving court for?"

"Tomorrow morning," said the man, "he will lead three thousand troops, with hawks and hounds, out of the city to hunt. You can surely meet him then. If you tell him what I have said, he will believe you."

Tripitaka said, "He is only flesh and blood. He has been fooled by the monster in his own hall. Every day he must call that thing father. Why would he believe my words?"

"If you fear he will not believe you, I will leave you an object as proof," the man said.

Tripitaka asked, "What object?"

The man set down the white jade tablet mounted in gold that he had been holding and said, "This may serve as proof."

Tripitaka asked, "What is this thing good for?"

The man said, "Since the Perfected One changed into my form, he could not quite change this treasure. When he came to the palace, he said the rain-making Perfected One had tricked this tablet away. Ever since then, for three years now, the object has not been seen. If my prince sees it, he will think of the man and remember the wrong. Then he will surely seek revenge."

Tripitaka said, "Very well. Leave it with me, and I will have my disciples deal with the matter. But where will you wait for word?"

The man said, "I dare not wait here. I shall go and once again beg the Night-Wandering God to send another gust of divine wind and carry me back into the inner palace. I will then enter my queen's dream and tell her the truth, so that mother and son may be of one mind and your master and disciples may be of one mind as well."

Tripitaka nodded and agreed. "Go then."

The wronged ghost kowtowed and took leave. As he stepped forward to escort him out, he stumbled somehow, fell flat, and awakened Tripitaka. It had all been a dream of one night.

In alarm, Tripitaka turned to the dim lamp and hurriedly called, "Disciples, disciples!"

Bajie woke and grumbled, "What is this now, 'disciples, disciples'? In the old days I was a good fellow who made my living eating men and enjoying rich meat and fat, and I was truly content. Yet after you took the tonsure, you made us all your escorts. We carry the baggage by day, lead the horse, and at night we fetch the urinal and do all the footwork. And now, at this hour, you will not sleep but keep calling for your disciples. What do you want?"

Tripitaka said, "Disciple, I was dozing on the table just now and had a strange dream."

Wukong sprang up and said, "Master, dreams come from thoughts. Before you had even climbed the mountain, you already feared monsters; you worried that the road to Thunderclap Monastery was too far to reach; you longed for Chang'an and did not know when you would return. That is why you dream so much. As for Old Sun, I am single-minded and true. I only want to go west and see the Buddha; not one dream has ever come near me."

Tripitaka said, "Disciple, this dream was no homesick dream. The moment I shut my eyes, a wild wind blew by, and outside the meditation room door stood an emperor who said he was the King of Wuji Kingdom. He was soaked through and through, and tears were running from both eyes."

Then he told Wukong the whole dream from start to finish, not missing a single word.

Wukong laughed. "There is no need to say more. He came to dream you because he was clearly looking after Old Sun's business. There must be some monster there usurping the throne and plotting the state. Leave it to me and I will tell truth from falsehood. When that demon swings his staff, he will find his career has come to an end."

Tripitaka said, "Disciple, he says that monster is exceedingly powerful."

Wukong said, "What is there to fear in some monster's power? If Old Sun had known earlier that I was coming, I would have made him flee without knowing where to turn."

Tripitaka said, "I also remember that he left a treasure behind as proof."

Bajie said, "Master, do not talk nonsense. It was only a dream. How can you take it so seriously? What has that fellow not done to play tricks on people?"

Sha Wujing said, "As the saying goes, 'If you would not believe what is straight and upright, you must guard against what is not.' Let us light a lamp, open the door, and see what is what."

Wukong opened the door at once, and when the three of them looked out together, there in the moon and starlight on the steps and eaves was indeed a white jade tablet mounted in gold.

Bajie went up and picked it up. "Brother, what sort of thing is this?"

Wukong said, "This is the treasure the king held in his hand, called a jade tablet. Master, since this object is here, the matter must be true. Capturing the monster tomorrow will be entirely Old Sun's responsibility. Only, I will need to borrow your bad luck in three ways."

Bajie said, "Good, good. It was only a dream, and you had to tell him. What trick can he not play at people? Why should I have any bad luck?"

Tripitaka went back inside and asked, "What three ways?"

Wukong said, "Tomorrow you must be the one to take the blame, endure the anger, and suffer the illness."

Bajie laughed. "Even one of those is hard enough. How could I bear three?"

Tripitaka was a clever elder and asked, "Disciple, what do these three things mean?"

Wukong said, "There is no need to explain them yet. First let me give you two things."

The Great Sage plucked a single hair, blew on it with immortal breath, and cried, "Change!"

It became a red-and-gold lacquered box. He placed the white jade tablet inside and said, "Master, carry this object in your hands. At dawn put on the brocade cassock and sit in the main hall reciting scriptures. I will go and look over that city. If it is truly a monster, I will kill him and win a merit here; if it is not, then we will avoid a disaster."

Tripitaka said, "Exactly so, exactly so."

Wukong said, "If the prince does not leave the city, so be it. But if he does come out in response to the dream, I will surely lead him here to see you."

Tripitaka asked, "And when he sees me, how should I receive him?"

Wukong said, "When he comes, I will tell you first. Then you will open the lid of the box a little. I will transform into a little monk two inches high and sit inside. Carry me in your hands. When the prince comes into the temple, he will surely bow before the Buddha. No matter how he bows, you must not pay him any mind. When he sees you do not move, he will certainly have you seized.

Let him seize you. Let him beat you, bind you, or even kill you if he wishes."

Tripitaka cried out, "But if his orders are so harsh that he truly kills me, what then?"

Wukong said, "Do not fear. I will be there. When things become critical, I will protect you naturally. If he asks, you tell him you are a monk from the Eastern Land, an imperial envoy sent west to worship the Buddha and seek the scriptures, carrying treasures with you.

If he asks, 'What treasure do you have?' then tell him about the brocade cassock and say, 'This is only the third rank of treasure. There are better things of the first and second rank as well.'

Whenever he asks, say that there is a treasure in this box that knows the past five hundred years, the next five hundred years, and the five hundred years between, and that it understands all matters of past and future through a total span of fifteen hundred years. Then I will come out. I will tell that prince what happened in the dream. If he believes, he will go and seize the monster. That will both avenge his father and win us a name. If he does not believe, we will show him the white jade tablet.

It is only that he is still young and may not recognize it."

Tripitaka was overjoyed. "Disciple, this plan is wonderful! You say the treasures are called the brocade cassock and the white jade tablet. What are you going to call the treasure you transform into?"

Wukong said, "Let us call it the Emperor-Setter."

Tripitaka accepted the name and memorized it in his heart. The master and disciples did not sleep at all that night. They waited for dawn with such impatience that they would have gladly called out to the Fusang tree by name and blown away the stars with a breath.

Before long the east began to whiten. Wukong again gave instructions to Bajie and Sha Wujing, telling them, "Do not disturb the monks, and do not wander about. When I have succeeded, I will go west with you all."

After saying farewell he gave a whistle, somersaulted once, and sprang into the sky. Opening his fiery eyes and looking west, he indeed saw a city. Why could he see it so clearly? Because the city was only forty li from the temple, so from a high place it could be seen at once. When he drew near and looked carefully, he saw only a thick mass of strange mist and sorrowful cloud, with demon wind and grievance-ridden vapor swirling everywhere.

Wukong sighed in the air. "If a true king sits upon the throne, there will naturally be five-colored clouds of auspicious light. Because a monster has seized the dragon seat, black vapor rises and locks the golden gate."

As he was lamenting, he suddenly heard the boom of cannon fire. Then the east gate opened, and out came a line of riders and troops, truly a hunting force of great vigor. See them:

They came at dawn from the eastern gate of the forbidden city,
divided into drives across the short grass.
Colored banners opened in the sunlight,
white horses leaped into the wind.
Crocodile drums beat thunderously,
and spearheads faced spearheads in the charge.
The hawk-handlers were fierce and bold,
and the dog-handlers gallant and brave.
Cannon shook the sky,
while the vermilion bird-bamboo poles flashed red in the sun.
Every man carried a crossbow,
every man wore a carved bow at his side.
Nets were spread below the mountain slopes,
and ropes were laid across the narrow paths.
One peal of thunder startled the heavens,
and a thousand riders gathered like fierce beasts.
Clever rabbits could not save themselves,
and crafty deer were at the end of their wit.
Foxes were due to lose their lives,
and elk and deer fell in the midst.
Mountain pheasants could not fly free,
and wild chickens could not escape disaster.
They had chosen the hillsides to seize the beasts of prey
and ravage the woods in hunting down flying creatures.

The company left the city and moved out across the eastern fields. After some twenty li, on the high open ground, there in the middle of the escort Wukong saw a small general: helmeted and armored, with a floral body-cloth and eighteen plates of mail, a green-edged sword in his hand, a yellow horse beneath him, and a full-drawn bow at his waist. Truly he looked like this:

A faint kingly bearing, a lofty imperial presence.
Such measure is no petty thing; such motion shows a true dragon.

Wukong was delighted in secret. "No need to say more. That must be the prince. Let me tease him a little."

The Great Sage lowered his cloud, dashed into the troops, and came up before the prince's horse. Then he changed himself into a white rabbit and ran in circles just before the horse's head. When the prince saw it, it suited him perfectly. He nocked an arrow, drew his bow full, and struck the rabbit cleanly.

Yet this was all part of the Great Sage's plan. With nimble eye and swift hand he caught the arrowhead at once, leaving the feathered end ahead and springing away as though startled. The prince thought he had hit the jade rabbit, so he wheeled his horse and chased after it alone. Whether the horse ran fast or slow, Wukong moved with the wind. He never let the prince fall far behind.

By and by he led the prince, by stages of one li at a time, to the mountain gate of Bao Lin Temple. There he showed his true form. The rabbit was gone, and only an arrow remained stuck in the threshold. He went straight inside and said to Tripitaka, "Master, he is here, he is here."

Then he changed again into a little monk two inches high and slipped into the red box.

The prince had by then reached the mountain gate as well. He found no white rabbit, only a carved-feather arrow stuck in the threshold. Startled, he cried, "How strange! How strange! I clearly struck the white rabbit with my arrow, so why is the rabbit gone and only the arrow left? It must have become a spirit after so many years."

He pulled out the arrow and looked up. Above the mountain gate were five great characters, which read: "Imperially Built Bao Lin Temple."

The prince said, "I understand. Years ago I remember my father, seated on the Golden Chime Hall throne, sent officials with gold and silk to have these monks repair the Buddha hall and images. Never did I expect to come here today. As the saying goes:

Passing by a Daoist temple and meeting a monk, one gains half a day's leisure from the floating world.

I may as well go in and look around."

The prince dismounted and was just about to enter when the officers guarding him and the three thousand horsemen came up behind him and crowded after him into the temple gate. The monks of the temple were alarmed, and all came bowing and kneeling to receive them, then escorted them into the main hall to pay respect to the Buddha images. After the prince had looked around and was about to stroll the cloisters and enjoy the scenery, he suddenly saw a monk seated right in the middle.

The prince was furious. "That monk is rude! I have come here with half the court and the royal carriage, and though no formal message was sent ahead, he still ought to have come out to greet me. Now that the soldiers are at the gate, he should at least stand up. How can he still sit there without moving?"

He called out, "Seize him!"

At the word "seize," the officers on both sides sprang at once and caught Tripitaka. They hastily twisted ropes about him and bound him fast.

Inside the red box, Wukong silently recited a spell and instructed the protective gods, saying, "Dharma-protecting heavens, Six Ding and Six Jia, I am now using a method to subdue the monster. This prince does not know what is what and wants to bind my master with ropes. Protect him at once. If he is truly bound, you will all be guilty."

At the Great Sage's secret command, who would dare disobey? They protected Tripitaka so tightly that the men could not so much as touch his bald head. It was as if a wall stood before them and they could not get near him.

The prince said, "What place are you from, that you can trick me with such a concealment spell?"

Tripitaka stepped forward and bowed. "Poor monk has no concealment spell. I am a monk from Great Tang in the Eastern Land, sent to the Thunderclap Monastery to worship the Buddha, seek the scriptures, and present treasures."

The prince said, "Your Eastern Land may be the middle kingdom, but it is miserably poor. What treasure do you have? Say it and let me hear."

Tripitaka said, "The cassock I wear is one of the third rank of treasure. There are even better things of the first and second rank."

The prince said, "That clothing covers one half of your body and leaves the other half bare. What could it be worth, that you dare call it a treasure?"

Tripitaka said, "Though this cassock is not complete, there are a few verses about it. The poem says:

This Buddha robe is cut off to one side, no need to speak of it;
within it lies true suchness, free from the dust of the world.
Myriad threads and a thousand stitches make the fruit of the right path;
nine pearls and eight treasures join in perfect spirit.
It was made with reverence by immortal maidens and holy women,
then bestowed on monkish bodies to keep them pure and calm.
To fail to greet a ruler is still no great matter,
but to leave your father's wrong unavenged is to fail at being human."

The prince was furious at these words. "This foul monk talks nonsense! You rely on that half-cloak and your sharp tongue to boast and blow yourself up. What do you mean my father's wrong remains unavenged? Speak plainly."

Tripitaka stepped forward, joined his palms, and asked, "Your Highness, how many obligations does a person bear between Heaven and earth?"

"Four," said the prince.

Tripitaka asked, "What four?"

The prince replied, "The kindness of Heaven and earth in covering and supporting us, the kindness of the sun and moon in shining upon us, the kindness of the king and his lands, and the kindness of our parents in raising us."

Tripitaka smiled. "Your Highness is mistaken. Human beings have only the covering of Heaven and earth, the shining of sun and moon, and the king's land and water. What is this kindness of parents you speak of?"

The prince was angered. "Monk, you are one of those shaved-headed rebels who wander and live off others. If people are not raised by their parents, where does the body come from?"

Tripitaka said, "Your Highness, poor monk does not know. Only, there is a treasure in this red box called the Emperor-Setter. It knows the past five hundred years, the future five hundred years, and the middle five hundred years - fifteen hundred years of all past and future events. It can therefore tell you that there was no kindness of parents in this matter, and it has kept poor monk waiting here for a long time."

The prince, hearing this, ordered, "Bring it here and let me see."

Tripitaka opened the box lid. Wukong sprang out and darted about on both sides.

The prince said, "What can this tiny fellow know?"

Wukong disliked being called small, so he used a spell and stretched himself once, growing to three feet and four or five inches tall.

The troops cried out in surprise. "If he grows so fast, in a few days he will burst the sky open!"

When Wukong had grown to his full form, he stopped.

Then the prince asked, "Emperor-Setter, this old monk says you know the good and evil of the future and the past. Do you use a tortoise for divination? Do you use yarrow stalks for casting lots? Do you rely on written signs to tell men's fortune?"

Wukong said, "I use none of those. I rely entirely on this three-inch tongue, and by it I know everything."

The prince said, "This fellow is talking nonsense again. Since ancient times the Book of Changes has been a profound and subtle thing, able to determine all good and bad fortune under Heaven and let men know what to seek and what to avoid. That is why the tortoise is used for divination and the yarrow stalks for casting lots. On what ground do you speak? You talk carelessly of fortune and misfortune and mislead the hearts of men."

Wukong said, "Your Highness, do not be hasty. Let me tell you. You are the crown prince of the King of Wuji Kingdom. Five years ago your land suffered severe drought and all the people were in misery, and your emperor together with his ministers prayed with all their hearts. Just when no rain had fallen at all, a Daoist came from Zhongnan Mountain. He knew how to summon wind and rain and turn stone into gold. Your monarch was too fond of small things, so he exchanged bows with him and made him his brother. Did that happen or not?"

"It did, it did," said the prince. "Go on."

Wukong said, "And three years later, when that Perfected One was no longer seen, who was the sole ruler?"

The prince said, "Indeed there was such a Perfected One. My father exchanged bows with him and treated him as a brother. They ate together and slept together. Three years ago, while they were enjoying the imperial garden, a sudden divine wind seized the gold-cased white jade tablet from my father's hand and carried it back to Zhongnan Mountain. To this day my father still misses him. Because he has not seen him since, he has lost all heart for pleasure and has kept the garden locked for three years. If not my father, then whose emperor could it be?"

Wukong only smiled and smiled. The prince asked him again, but he gave no answer, only kept smiling.

The prince grew angry. "You rascal! If you have something to say, say it. Why do you only smile like that?"

Wukong said, "There is still plenty more to say, but with all these people around us it is not the place."

The prince saw that his words had a basis and spread his sleeve to have the soldiers withdraw. The officers in charge quickly passed the order, and the three thousand riders were all sent out and stationed beyond the gate. Now the hall was empty. The prince sat above, Tripitaka stood below, and Wukong stood at Tripitaka's left side.

The monks of the temple all withdrew. Wukong at last stepped forward in a serious face and said, "Your Highness, the one the wind carried away was your own flesh-and-blood father, and the one who took his place was the Perfected One who prayed for rain."

The prince said, "Nonsense, nonsense! Since the Perfected One left, wind and rain have been fair and timely, and the state has been peaceful and the people secure. By your account, that cannot be my father. You are only young, so I can put up with you. If my father heard this reversed story, he would have you seized and hacked to pieces."

He shouted at Wukong and drove him back.

Wukong turned to Tripitaka and said, "What do you think? I told you he would not believe me, and sure enough he does not. Let us now give him the treasure and exchange the travel pass, then head west."

Tripitaka handed the red box to Wukong. Wukong took it, gave his body a shake, and the box vanished at once. It had been nothing but one of his hairs transformed, and he had already taken it back into himself. Then with both hands he lifted the white jade tablet and presented it to the prince.

The prince looked at it and said, "Good monk, good monk! Five years ago you were already a Perfected One who came and tricked our palace out of its treasure. Now you disguise yourself again as a monk and bring it back."

He shouted, "Seize him!"

At the command, Tripitaka was so frightened that he pointed at Wukong and cried, "You horse-enrolling ape, you are always the one who runs headlong into empty disaster and drags me down with you."

Wukong stepped forward and blocked the men together. "Stop shouting, and do not let the wind out! I am not called Emperor-Setter, and I do have a real name."

The prince barked, "Come forward. Tell me your real name so I can send you to the law officers for judgment!"

Wukong said, "I am this elder's eldest disciple, called Sun Wukong. I came west with my master to seek the scriptures. Last night we arrived here looking for lodging. My master was reading from the sutras when, at the third watch, he had a dream. In the dream your father said he had been harmed by that Perfected One, pushed into the octagonal glazed well in the imperial garden, and that the Perfected One had changed into his likeness. None of the court officials knew. Because you were young and knew nothing, you were barred from the palace and the garden was locked shut, all because they feared the truth would leak out. Your father came to invite me tonight to subdue the monster. I suspected it might not be a demon, so I looked from the clouds, and sure enough it was a fiend. I was just about to strike and seize him when you went out hunting. The jade rabbit that your arrow struck was Old Sun. I led you to this temple so you could meet my master and hear these truths. Every word is true. Since you recognize the white jade tablet, why do you not remember the kindness of your upbringing and avenge your father?"

When the prince heard this, grief cut through him, and he brooded in sorrow to himself: "If I do not believe these words, they seem to have three parts true; if I do believe them, how can I explain the father I saw on the hall throne?"

So he was caught between advance and retreat, his heart asking his mouth and his mouth asking his heart. Seeing him uncertain, Wukong stepped up again and said, "Your Highness need not doubt. Please ride back to your own kingdom and ask your queen mother whether the love between husband and wife is the same as it was three years ago. Ask her just that, and you will know the truth at once."

The prince's heart turned. "Yes, yes. Let me go ask my mother."

He sprang to his feet, gathered the white jade tablet into his arms, and prepared to go.

Wukong pulled him back. "If you all ride back together, will you not leak the matter? Then I can hardly succeed. You must go alone, on one horse, and make no display of your fame. Do not enter by the main southern gate. Go in by the rear gate. When you reach the palace and see your mother, do not raise your voice. Speak softly and low. I fear that monster's powers are vast. If word leaks out at once, your mother and son may both be in mortal danger."

The prince obediently accepted the instructions. When he left the mountain gate, he told the officer in charge, "Hold your camp steady here. Do not move. I have one matter to attend to, and when I return we will go into the city together."

See how he issued orders and directed the troops, then mounted and wheeled his horse as fast as the wind toward the city. What he said when he met the queen mother, and what she replied, must wait for the next chapter to explain.