Chapter 46: The Heterodox Rages Against the True Law; the Mind-Monkey Displays His Saintly Might and Erases All Evil

When the king saw that Sun Wukong could summon dragons and command the sacred forces, he stamped the travel pass with the royal seal and was ready to hand it back to Tripitaka and let them continue west. But the three Taoists were frightened and knelt on the golden steps to make their plea.

The king came down from the dragon throne and hurriedly helped them up with his own hands. "National teachers, why do you offer such great obeisance today?"

The Taoist said, "Your Majesty, we came here to uphold the state and protect the people, and have toiled twenty years without rest. Today this monk has shown his powers, seized us, and cast us aside, ruining our reputation.

Will Your Majesty excuse the crime of killing men simply because of one rainstorm? That would be too light a punishment for us. I beg Your Majesty to keep his travel pass for the moment and let my brothers and I compete with him once more to see how it comes out."

The king, confused by every word and swayed this way and that, really did take back the pass and said, "National teachers, how will you compete with him?"

Tiger Power Great Immortal said, "I will compete with him in sitting meditation."

The king said, "National teacher, that is mistaken. That monk comes from a sect that teaches meditation. He must have first learned the principles of Chan before he dared come by imperial command to seek the scriptures. How can you compete with him in that?"

The Great Immortal said, "My sitting meditation is unlike the ordinary kind. It has a special name: Cloud-Ladder Saint-Showing."

The king asked, "What is Cloud-Ladder Saint-Showing?"

The Great Immortal said, "We need one hundred tables. Fifty of them are used to make a meditation platform, stacked one atop another. No hand may be used to climb, nor may a ladder or stool be used. Each person rides up on a single cloud and sits upon the platform. We agree beforehand not to move for a set number of hours."

The king thought there was some difficulty in this and sent a message asking, "Monk, my national teacher wants to compete with you in Cloud-Ladder Saint-Showing meditation. Can you do it?"

Wukong heard this and said nothing for a moment.

Bajie asked, "Brother, why do you not answer?"

Wukong said, "Brother, I will not hide it from you. If it were kicking at Heaven's gate, stirring up the seas, carrying mountains, chasing the moon, or shifting stars and constellations, I could do it all. If it were beheading, gutting, cutting the heart out, or some strange form of contortion, I would not fear that either. But when you speak of sitting in meditation, I lose. I have no sitting nature at all. Even if you chained me to an iron pillar, I would still have to climb and scramble all over it. I could never sit still."

Tripitaka suddenly spoke up. "I can sit in meditation."

Wukong was delighted. "Good, good. How long can you sit?"

Tripitaka said, "When I was young, I met a Chan monk on the road who taught me. On the root of life and spirit, on the settling of the nature and the keeping of the heart, I could sit for two or three years even in the gate between life and death."

Wukong said, "If Master could sit for two or three years, then we need not seek the scriptures at all. We only need you to sit for two or three hours."

Tripitaka said, "Disciple, I cannot go up there."

Wukong said, "You answer him, and I will send you up."

So the elder joined his palms before his chest and said, "Poor monk can sit in meditation."

The king ordered a meditation platform built. The kingdom had enough strength to move mountains, and in less than half an hour two platforms were set up on the left and right of the Golden Chime Hall.

Tiger Power Great Immortal descended from the hall, stood in the middle of the steps, and sprang up onto a cloud seat, ascending to the western platform and sitting down. Wukong plucked a hair, changed it into a false body to stand below with Bajie and Sha Wujing, and then turned himself into five-colored auspicious clouds, lifting Tripitaka into the air and taking him directly to the eastern platform to sit. He then gathered his auspicious light back in and changed into a tiny jiaolian insect, flying to Bajie's ear. "Brother, keep careful watch over Master. Do not speak to my double."

Bajie laughed. "Understood, understood."

Deer Power Great Immortal sat on his embroidered stool and watched for a long while. Seeing that the two on the high platforms were still locked in a contest with no victory or defeat, he came to help his elder brother. He plucked a short hair from the back of his head, twisted it into a ball, and flicked it upward. It landed on Tripitaka's head and became a giant stink bug that bit the elder.

Tripitaka first felt only an itch, then pain. In meditation, one may not move one's hands; to move is to lose.

After a while the pain became unbearable, and he lowered his head and rubbed the itch against his robe.

Bajie said, "This is bad. Master is having a fit of the limbs."

Sha Wujing said, "No, it is a head illness."

Wukong heard them and said, "My master is a man of sincerity. If he says he can sit, then he can sit. If he says he cannot, then he cannot. How could a gentleman lie? You two need not say more. Let me go up and look."

With a quiet buzz, the Great Sage flew to the top of Tripitaka's head and saw a stink bug, no larger than a bean, biting his master. He hurriedly pinched it off and scratched and rubbed for him. At once the elder sat still, neither itching nor hurting.

Wukong thought, "His head is bald. Not even a louse could stay there. How did this stink bug get here? It must be some trick by that Taoist to harm my master.

Ha! They still cannot tell who has won. Let me go and tease him."

The Great Sage flew up, landed on the beast-head ornament above the golden hall, and changed himself into a seven-inch centipede. He came straight to the bridge of the Taoist's nose and bit him once.

The Taoist could not sit still. He tumbled head over heels off the platform and nearly lost his life. Fortunately the civil and military officials were many, and they rescued him. The king was greatly alarmed and ordered the court tutor to take him to the Hall of Culture to wash up and recover.

Wukong rode his auspicious cloud back down and carried his master to the steps. By then Tripitaka had won.

The king only ordered the pilgrims released.

Deer Power Great Immortal then said, "Your Majesty, my elder brother has a hidden wind illness. When he went high up and met the mountain wind, his old sickness flared up, and that is why the monk won. Keep him here a bit longer, and let me compete with him in Guessing What Is in the Box."

The king asked, "What is Guessing What Is in the Box?"

Deer Power said, "I have a method for knowing objects through a partition. Let the monk try it. If he can guess, let him go. If he cannot, then let Your Majesty question and sentence him as you please, so as to avenge the grievance of my brothers and not betray our twenty years of loyal service."

The king, still muddled, accepted the slander and gave orders for a bright red lacquered chest to be brought into the palace. He had the queen place one treasure inside it.

After a while it was carried out and set before the white jade steps, and the monks were told, "The two sides will now compete in their powers and guess what treasure is in this chest."

Tripitaka said, "Disciple, how are we to know what is inside the box?"

Wukong gathered his auspicious light, changed back into the jiaolian insect, and settled onto Tripitaka's head. "Master, do not worry. Let me go and look."

The Great Sage flew softly to the chest and crawled beneath one corner. There he found a seam in the wood. He slipped inside and saw a red lacquered cinnabar tray holding an imperial garment: a robe and skirt of mountains and rivers, land and soil.

He picked it up, shook it loose, bit his tongue, and spat a mouthful of bloodied breath over it, crying, "Change!"

At once it became a battered bell of the sort one hangs at the gate. Before leaving he also added a splash of foul urine. Then he crawled back out through the seam, flew to Tripitaka's ear, and said, "Master, guess that it is a battered bell."

Tripitaka said, "He said to guess a treasure. What sort of treasure is a battered bell?"

Wukong said, "Never mind him. Just guess it."

Tripitaka stepped forward and was just about to answer when Deer Power Great Immortal said, "I will guess first. The chest contains a robe of mountains and rivers and a skirt of land and soil."

Tripitaka said, "No, no. It is a battered bell."

The king shouted, "This monk is rude. He dares mock our kingdom as having no treasure and calls it a battered bell. Seize him!"

The two ranks of officers were about to move when Tripitaka hurriedly joined his palms and called out, "Your Majesty, pardon me for the moment. Let the chest be opened and examined. If it is truly a treasure, I will accept the punishment. If not, then it is wrong to accuse me."

The king ordered the chest opened.

The court officer opened it and brought out the cinnabar tray. Sure enough, it was a battered bell.

The king was furious. "Who put this thing in there?"

Behind the dragon throne the queen mother stepped forward. "My lord, I personally put in the robe of mountains and rivers and the skirt of land and soil. How did it turn into this?"

The king said, "My queen, please step back. I know what this means. What is used in the palace is all silk, satin, brocade, and gauze. There is no such thing as a battered bell. Bring the chest up again, and let me myself hide another treasure to test him once more."

The emperor went back to the inner palace, took one large peach from the immortal peach tree in the imperial garden, about the size of a rice bowl, put it in the chest, and had it carried down again for another guess.

Tripitaka said, "Disciple, here they come again."

Wukong said, "Be at ease. Let me go look again."

With a buzz he flew off and crawled back inside. He saw it was indeed a peach, just as he wanted.

At once he resumed his true form, sat in the chest, and devoured the peach until it was entirely gone, chewing even the cheeks clean. He left only the pit behind, then changed back into the jiaolian insect, flew out, and settled on Tripitaka's ear. "Master, guess that it is a peach pit."

Tripitaka said, "Disciple, do not trick me. You were too quick before and nearly got us sentenced. This time you must guess the treasure properly. What sort of treasure is a peach pit?"

Wukong said, "Do not fear. Just beat them at their own game."

Tripitaka was just about to answer when Deer Power Great Immortal said, "Poor monk guesses first. It is an immortal peach."

Tripitaka guessed, "No, it is not a peach. It is a bare peach pit."

The king shouted, "It was I who put in the immortal peach. How could it be a pit? The national teacher has guessed it correctly."

Tripitaka said, "Your Majesty, open it and see."

The court officer carried it up and opened it. The cinnabar tray was brought out, and indeed there was only a pit, with no flesh or skin left on it.

The king looked at it and grew frightened. "National teachers, do not compete with him any more. Let him go. I personally hid that immortal peach, and now it is only a pit. Who ate it? It must be that some ghost or spirit has secretly helped him."

Bajie, hearing this, exchanged a faint smile with Sha Wujing. "They still do not know that he is an old hand at eating peaches."

As they were speaking, Tiger Power Great Immortal had finished washing up in the Hall of Culture and came back up to the hall. "Your Majesty," he said, "this monk has the art of shifting objects. Bring the chest up again, and I will break his spell and compete with him once more."

The king asked, "National teacher, what do you still want to guess?"

Tiger Power said, "A spell can only shift objects, not the human body. Hide this boy in the chest. He will be unable to shift it away."

So the little boy was placed in the chest, the lid was shut, and it was carried down again. They told Tripitaka, "Guess again. What is the treasure this third time?"

Tripitaka said, "Here they come again!"

Wukong said, "Let me go look again."

With a buzz he flew inside and saw a little boy. Ah, the Great Sage had real insight and rare quickness indeed.

He changed himself into the likeness of an old Taoist and went into the chest. "My child," he said.

The boy said, "Master, where have you come from?"

Wukong said, "I came by means of earth-escape."

The boy asked, "What instructions do you bring?"

Wukong said, "That monk has seen you come into the chest. If he guesses 'Taoist boy,' he will lose again, so I came to discuss it with you. Let us shave the head and guess 'monk' instead."

The boy said, "I will do whatever Master says, so long as we win. If we lose again, it will not only damage our reputation, it will also make the court lose respect for us."

Wukong said, "Just so. Come here, child. If we win, I will reward you richly."

He changed the Golden-Hooped Rod into a razor, embraced the boy, and said, "Be good. Endure the pain and do not cry out while I shave your head."

Before long he had shaved off the hair and rolled it up into a bundle, which he stuffed into a corner of the chest. Then he put the razor away, touched the boy's bald head, and said, "My child, now your head is like that of a monk, but your clothes are not right. Take them off and I will change them for you."

The Taoist boy wore a crane cape of pale onion-white cloud brocade with embroidered borders. He took it off, and Wukong blew a breath of immortal force and cried, "Change!"

At once it became a yellow monk's robe, which he helped the boy put on.

Then he plucked two hairs and changed them into a wooden fish, handing it to the boy. "Child, listen carefully. If they call for a Taoist boy, do not go out. If they call for a monk, then push open the chest lid, strike the wooden fish, recite a volume of Buddhist scripture, and come out. Only then will the plan succeed."

The boy said, "I only know the Three Officials Scripture, the Northern Dipper Scripture, and the Disaster-Removing Scripture. I do not know Buddhist scripture."

Wukong said, "Can you recite the Buddha's name?"

The boy said, "Amitabha Buddha? Who could not recite that?"

Wukong said, "Good, then recite the Buddha's name. It will save me from teaching you again. Remember it well. I am leaving."

He changed back into the jiaolian insect, crawled out, and flew to Tripitaka's ear wheel. "Master, guess that it is a monk."

Tripitaka said, "This time he is sure to win."

Wukong said, "How can you be sure?"

Tripitaka said, "The scriptures say: 'The Buddha, the Law, and the Sangha are the Three Treasures.' A monk is also a treasure."

As they were speaking, Tiger Power Great Immortal said, "Your Majesty, the third object is a Taoist boy."

No matter how he shouted, the boy would not come out. Tripitaka joined his palms and said, "It is a monk."

Bajie shouted at the top of his lungs, "The thing in the chest is a monk!"

At that moment the boy pushed open the chest lid, struck the wooden fish, recited the Buddha's name, and crawled out. The civil and military officials cheered in one voice. The three Taoists were silenced.

The king said, "This monk surely has spirits and ghosts protecting him. How could a Taoist boy be changed into a monk inside the chest? Even if someone had gone in with him, at most he could shave the head. How could the clothes also fit him, and how could he even recite Buddha's name? National teacher, let him go."

Tiger Power Great Immortal said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to mention it. At bottom this is just a contest between equals, a meeting of matched talent.

Poor monk will use the martial arts he learned as a child on Zhongnan Mountain and simply compete with him."

The king asked, "What martial arts?"

Tiger Power said, "We brothers all have a little supernatural power. We can cut off our heads and put them back on; split open our bellies and carve out the heart and still make them whole again; and bathe in a pot of boiling oil."

The king was horrified. "Those are all paths of death."

Tiger Power said, "Because we have this power, we dare to speak so boldly. We must compete with him to the finish."

The king called out, "Monk from Great Tang, our national teacher will not let you go and still wants to compete with you in head-cutting, gutting, and bathing in a pot of boiling oil."

Wukong, who had been changing to and fro as the jiaolian insect to report, heard this and at once withdrew his hair and resumed his true form, laughing aloud. "Fortune, fortune! Business has come to the door."

Bajie said, "Those three things are all about losing your life. How can you call that business coming to the door?"

Wukong said, "You still do not know my abilities."

Bajie said, "Brother, just your transformations are already enough. How can you have still more powers?"

Wukong said, "I can tell you: when my head is cut off, I can still speak; when my arms are chopped off, I can still strike people. If my legs are cut away, I can still walk. If my belly is opened, the miracle is even more wonderful. It is just like a house making stuffed dumplings: pinch one and it is whole. Bathing in boiling oil is even easier. I merely take it as if I were washing in warm water to rinse away the dust."

Bajie and Sha Wujing burst out laughing when they heard that.

Wukong stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the little monk will try the head-cutting."

The king said, "How can you know head-cutting?"

Wukong said, "When I was practicing in the temple years ago, I met a Chan monk from the mountains who taught me a head-cutting method. I do not know whether it is good or not, but I would like to try it now."

The king laughed. "That monk is young and does not know better. What is there to try with a head? The head is the lord of the six yang, and once it is cut off, one dies at once."

Tiger Power said, "Your Majesty, that is just what we want. Only then will we get our breath back."

The foolish king believed him and gave orders to set up the execution ground.

At the decree, three thousand Imperial Forest Guards lined up outside the court gate.

The king said, "Let the monk be the first to have his head cut off."

Wukong agreed happily. "I will go first, I will go first."

He cupped his hands and called, "National teacher, forgive my boldness. I will take the lead."

Then he turned and went out. Tripitaka grabbed him at once and said, "Disciple, be careful. That is not a place for play."

Wukong said, "What have I to fear? Let go. I am going."

The Great Sage went straight to the execution ground. The executioner seized him and tied him into a bundle, pressing him down on the raised earthen mound. They heard the shout, "Strike!"

With a whizz, they cut off his head and kicked it away. It rolled thirty or forty paces like a melon. Yet no blood came from Wukong's neck.

Only a voice inside his belly called out, "Bring back my head!"

Tiger Power Great Immortal was frightened when he saw such skill and immediately recited a spell, instructing the local earth gods and spirits: "Hold the head for me, and once I have beaten this monk, I will report to the king and have your little shrine rebuilt as a great temple, and your clay images changed into true golden bodies."

Since the local gods and spirits were already under his command because of his Five Thunder Method, they really did hold Wukong's head back in secret.

Wukong cried again, "My head!"

But the head seemed rooted in place and would not move.

Wukong grew impatient, clenched his fists, strained once, and snapped the binding ropes apart. He shouted, "Grow!"

With a whizz, another head grew from the neck.

The executioners were all terrified, and every member of the Imperial Guard turned pale.

The supervising officer hurried back into court to report, "Your Majesty, that little monk had his head cut off and now another one has grown back."

Bajie smiled coldly. "Brother Sha, who would have thought our brother had such skill?"

Sha Wujing said, "He has seventy-two transformations, so of course he has seventy-two heads."

Before he had finished speaking, Wukong came walking back and called, "Master."

Tripitaka was overjoyed. "Disciple, did it hurt?"

Wukong said, "Not at all. It was quite amusing."

Bajie asked, "Brother, do you need knife-healing ointment?"

Wukong said, "Feel for yourself. Is there any cut?"

The fool reached out and touched him, then grinned in dazed wonder. "Marvelous, marvelous! The body is whole again, and not even a scar remains."

The brothers were still rejoicing when they heard the king call out to receive the travel pass. "I pardon you of your crime. Go, go quickly."

Wukong said, "Though the pass is already granted, the national teacher should also go and have his head cut off. That would be a proper new try."

The king said, "Great national teacher, the monk will not let you go either. You chose to compete with him, so do not frighten me."

Tiger Power had no choice but to go.

The executioners threw him down too. With one shake he lost his head, and they kicked it away. It rolled more than thirty paces. Yet he, too, had no blood at his neck and cried out, "Bring back my head!"

Wukong quickly plucked a hair, blew on it with immortal breath, and cried, "Change!"

It became a yellow dog that ran into the execution ground, snatched up the Taoist's head in its mouth, and raced straight to the imperial waterway, where it dropped it. We need not say more of that.

Now the Taoist cried out three times, but his head never came back. How could this compare with Wukong's skill? It never grew back. The neck gushed with red light.

The supervising officer came again to report, "Your Majesty, the Great National Teacher has been cut down and cannot grow his head back. He is dead in the dust. His true form is a headless yellow tiger."

The king was stunned.

Deer Power Great Immortal, who had gotten up, said, "My elder brother has already had his fate and fortune exhausted. How could he turn into a yellow tiger? This is all that monk's shameless trickery, his false transformation spell, changing my elder brother into a beast. I will not forgive him. I must compete with him in gutting the belly."

The king, hearing that, only then came back to himself. He called, "Little monk, the second national teacher still wants to compete."

Wukong said, "Little monk has long gone without meat or smoke and fire. When I came west the other day, I happened upon a vegetarian family who urged me to eat, and I ate several steamed buns. These few days my belly has been hurting, so I had been hoping to borrow Your Majesty's knife, open my belly, take out the entrails, wash my spleen and stomach clean, and then I could go west to see the Buddha."

The king heard this and ordered him sent to the execution ground.

Many people came to hold him, tugging here and there. Wukong shook them off and said, "No need for anyone to hold me. I will walk myself. Only one thing: do not bind my hands. I need my hands to wash the guts."

The king issued the order: "Do not tie his hands."

Wukong swaggered straight to the execution ground. He leaned his body against the great stake, untied his belt, and bared his belly. The executioner looped one rope around his shoulders and another around his legs, then flashed a short cow-eared knife and slashed his belly open, making a hole.

Wukong spread open his own abdomen with both hands, took out his intestines and entrails, arranged them one by one for quite a while, and then put them back in the same way they had been, coiled as before. He pinched his belly, blew on it with immortal breath, and cried, "Grow!"

At once the wound closed again just as before.

The king was aghast and held the travel pass in his hand. "Holy monk, do not delay your westward journey. Take your pass and go."

Wukong laughed. "The pass may be small, but please also have the second national teacher undergo the same cutting and carving. That would make a fair test."

The king said to Deer Power, "This has nothing to do with me. You were the one who wanted a contest with him. Go, go on."

Deer Power said, "Be at ease. I do not suppose I will lose to him."

You could see him swaggering just like Sun Wukong as he went into the execution ground. The executioner looped on the rope, and with a swish of the cow-eared knife he slit open the belly. The Taoist too took out his liver and entrails and handled them with his hands.

Wukong promptly plucked a hair, blew on it with immortal breath, and cried, "Change!"

It became a hungry eagle, which spread its wings and claws and with a whoosh snatched away all his five viscera, heart and liver included, flying off who knows where to feast. The Taoist turned into an empty-bellied, broken-gutted, dripping ghost, a soul with no organs left.

When the executioner kicked over the great stake and dragged the body over to look, ah! It was a white-antlered deer.

The supervising officer hurried back to report, "The second national teacher has met with bad luck. Just as his belly was being opened, a hungry eagle snatched away all his entrails and liver. He died there. His true form is a white-haired antlered deer."

The king was terrified. "How can it be an antlered deer?"

Goat Power Great Immortal then said, "Since my elder brothers are dead, how can their beast forms appear? It is all that monk's trickery and spellwork, using lies to harm us. Let me avenge my brothers."

The king said, "What powers do you have to beat him?"

Goat Power said, "I will compete with him in bathing in a pot of boiling oil."

The king ordered a great cauldron to be brought and filled it full with fragrant oil. He told the two sides to compete.

Wukong said, "Many thanks for the favor. Little monk has not bathed in a long time. These last two days my skin has been dry and itchy, so no matter what I should go soak a little."

The court officer set the oil cauldron in place, stacked dry firewood beneath it, lit a fierce fire, and boiled the oil. He told the monk to go first.

Wukong joined his palms. "I do not know whether this should be a civil bath or a martial bath."

The king asked, "What is a civil bath, and what is a martial bath?"

Wukong said, "A civil bath means leaving one's clothes on, clasping one's hands, stepping down into the oil, rolling once, and coming up. The clothes must not be stained with a single drop of grease, or one loses. A martial bath requires a clothes-rack and a towel. One takes off the clothes, leaps in, flips somersaults at will, stands on one's head if one likes, and bathes for fun."

The king asked Goat Power, "Do you want a civil bath or a martial bath?"

Goat Power said, "A civil bath would be bad for me. His clothes may have been refined with medicine, which would keep out the oil. A martial bath will do."

Wukong stepped forward again. "Forgive my boldness. I have taken the lead many times."

He took off his cloth robe and tiger-skin skirt, leaped once, and jumped into the cauldron. He rolled and tumbled in the waves like a man bathing in water.

Bajie saw it and bit his finger, saying to Sha Wujing, "We were wrong about this monkey. He always jokes with cutting remarks and makes play of things, but who knew he had such real skills?"

The two of them muttered together and praised him without end.

Wukong saw them and grew suspicious. "That fool is laughing at me. As the saying goes, the clever labor and the dull are idle. I am putting on such a show, and he is free and easy. Let me deal with him and bind him with one rope to see if he is afraid."

As he washed, he splashed water and dived down to the bottom of the cauldron, where he turned into a little jujube seed and would not come up again.

The supervising officer came forward and reported, "Your Majesty, the little monk has been boiled to death in the oil."

The king was overjoyed and ordered him fished out to inspect the bones. The executioners used an iron strainer to scoop through the cauldron.

But the strainer had wide mesh, and Wukong had made himself tiny as a needle. He slipped through the holes and could not be caught. The officer reported again, "The monk's body was too small and his bones too tender. They have all been fried to a crisp."

The king ordered, "Bring the three monks down."

The officers on both sides saw that Bajie's face was fearsome, so they were the first to grab him and throw him down, binding his back.

Tripitaka was terrified and cried out, "Your Majesty, forgive me for a moment. My disciple has indeed done much since entering the Buddhist gate and taking the vows. Today he has offended the national teacher and died in the oil cauldron, but the first to die becomes a spirit.

How would I dare cling to life? Even in the world, officials govern the common people. If Your Majesty orders a minister to die, how could that minister dare not die? I only beg your mercy to grant me half a bowl of cooling rice gruel and three paper horses, and let me go to the oil cauldron and burn a bundle of paper there, to show my master's and disciples' one thought of loyalty. After that, I will receive my sentence."

When the king heard this, he said, "That is fair enough. The people of the Central Land do have a sense of duty."

He ordered rice gruel and paper money to be brought.

Tripitaka had Sha Wujing go with him. When they came to the foot of the steps, several officers were already pulling Bajie by the ears to the side of the cauldron.

Tripitaka faced the cauldron and prayed:

"Disciple Sun Wukong,
since you took vows and entered the Chan grove, your devotion in guarding me westward has been deep indeed.
We hoped to make the Great Way together, side by side,
yet who would have thought you would return to darkness today?
In life you only wished to seek the scriptures;
after death you still keep a heart of Buddha.
Your heroic soul must wait a long thousand li,
and in the underworld be a ghost who rises to Thunderclap."

Bajie heard that and said, "Master, do not pray like that. Brother Sha, pour out the gruel for me, and let me make my own offering."

The fool, bound on the ground, grumbled hotly:

"Disaster-making, foul monkey, you stupid horse-keeper ape;
doomed monkey, oil-boiled horse-keeper ape.
Monkey finished, horse-keeper cut off at the root."

Sun Wukong, hearing the fool curse wildly from the bottom of the oil cauldron, could no longer bear it. He revealed his true form and stood, bare and dripping, at the bottom of the pot.

"You fool full of bran!" he shouted. "Who are you cursing?"

Tripitaka saw him and cried out, "Disciple, you frighten me to death!"

Sha Wujing said, "Big brother always pretends to be dead; that is his habit."

The two ranks of officials hurried forward to report, "Your Majesty, the monk is not dead. He has come up again from the oil cauldron."

The supervising officer, fearing to deceive the court, also reported, "He is dead, but because the day is inauspicious, the little monk is showing his ghost."

Wukong heard this and flew into a rage. He sprang from the pot, wiped off the oil, put on his clothes, drew out his staff, grabbed the supervising officer, and struck him once on the head, beating him into a lump of flesh.

"What ghost am I showing?" he cried.

The court officers were so frightened that they at once freed Bajie and knelt to beg forgiveness.

The king stepped down from the dragon throne.

Wukong came up and seized him. "Your Majesty, do not go. First make your third national teacher go down into the oil cauldron as well."

The trembling king said, "Third national teacher, you have saved my life. Quickly go into the pot and do not let the monk beat me."

Goat Power came down from the hall, stripped off his clothes in the same fashion as Wukong, and jumped into the oil cauldron to wash and toss about. Wukong released the king and went to the side of the pot, calling for the fire-tenders to add more fuel.

Then he reached out and felt the oil. Ah! It was ice-cold.

He thought, "When I bathed, it was boiling hot. When he bathes, it is cold. I see what this is. Some Dragon King must be helping him and holding the pot cool from below."

He jumped quickly into the air and recited the Om spell, calling down the Dragon King of the Northern Sea: "You horned earthworm, you scaled mudfish! How dare you help the Taoist and hold up a cold dragon beneath the pot so he can act saintly and beat me?"

The Dragon King was so frightened that he answered over and over, "Ao Shun would not dare help him. Great Sage, you do not know. This evil creature practiced hard for a long time and shed his shell. Only the Five Thunder Method was truly taught to him; the rest he cast away as side paths and could not be made into true immortality. This is the 'Great Skin-Splitting' art he learned at Little Mao Mountain. The other two have already had their spells broken by the Great Sage and shown their true forms. This one, too, made his own cold dragon in order to deceive common people. How could it deceive the Great Sage? I will have little dragon now remove his cold dragon, and his bones will crack and his skin will scorch."

Wukong said, "Then do it quickly, and do not make me strike."

The Dragon King turned into a whirling wind and went to the oil cauldron, where he seized the cold dragon and carried it back to the sea. We need not tell the rest.

Wukong came down and stood with Tripitaka, Bajie, and Sha Wujing before the hall, watching Goat Power flailing in the boiling oil and unable to climb out. He slipped once, and in a moment his bones came apart, his skin scorched, and his flesh boiled away.

The supervising officer came once more to report, "Your Majesty, the third national teacher has been boiled away."

The king wept down to both eyes, slapped the imperial desk, and burst into tears:

"Human birth is hard to gain, indeed hard;
if one does not meet a true transmission, one cannot refine the elixir.
Though you have spells to summon gods and call the rain,
you have no pill to prolong life and preserve the body.
How can one be complete and bright, how can one enter nirvana?
One only spends one's strength and worries the life away.
Better to have seen this sort of light defeat at once;
why not have hidden the food and lived in peace on the mountain?"

This is exactly why:

What good are gold-making and cinnabar-smelting?
Summoning rain and calling the wind are all empty words!

As for how the master and disciples maintained themselves after this, that must wait for the next chapter.