Chapter 83: The Mind-Monkey Discerns the Elixir Seed; the Scarlet Maiden Returns to Her Original Nature

Tripitaka was carried out of the cave by the demon. Sha Wujing came forward and asked, "Master, now that you are out, where is Brother Sun?"

Bajie said, "He has his own plan. He must have traded places and brought the master out."

Tripitaka pointed at the demon and said, "Your brother is inside her belly."

Bajie laughed. "What a filthy killing. What is he doing inside there? He should come out."

From within, Wukong called, "Open your mouth and let me come out."

The monster really did open her mouth.

Wukong had shrunk himself small inside her throat. Just as he was about to come out, he feared she might bite him in spite. So he took out the iron rod, blew on it with immortal breath, and cried, "Change!"

It changed into a jujube thorn and propped open her upper palate. Then Wukong sprang up and out, bringing the rod with him. He bent his waist, resumed his true form, raised the rod, and struck. The demon, meanwhile, drew out two precious swords and blocked him with a clang.

The two of them fought on the mountain top in a savage, deadly struggle:

Two flying swords crossed before his face; the Golden-Hooped Rod rose to meet the blow.
One was born a monkey in body and heart; the other was a demon maiden shaped by the earth.
Fury in the chest turned to hate, and joy itself became an enemy on the field.
One sought true yang to make a mate; the other would wrest pure yin into a sacred embryo.
The rod lifted cold mist across the sky; the swords returned a black dust across the ground.
Because of the elder master, because of the Buddha, they fought in bitterness and skill.
Water and fire could not match, and mother nature itself was shaken and torn.
Though the two houses fought for a long while, the mountains and trees trembled to their roots.

Bajie watched them battle and muttered with growing irritation. He turned to Sha Wujing and said, "Brother, this is nonsense. Brother Sun has the master in his belly. Why not smash the demon from the inside, split her open, and climb out? Instead he comes out by her mouth and keeps fighting her, letting her run wild."

Sha Wujing said, "Just so. He already risked himself to rescue the master from the deep cave, and now he is fighting the monster again. Let the master sit for a while. You and I should each take a weapon and help Big Brother beat down the demon."

Bajie waved him off. "No, no. She has powers. We would not be enough."

Sha Wujing said, "What sort of talk is that? If it is for the good of everyone, even if we are not enough, we can at least add a little wind to the fire."

The fool was stirred at once. He snatched up the rake and cried, "Come on then."

The two of them no longer thought of their master. They drove their clouds forward together, raised the rake and the staff, and struck wildly at the demon. She was already unable to handle Wukong alone. When she saw the two of them join in, how could she stand?

She whirled around and fled. Wukong shouted, "Brothers, after her!"

Seeing them in hot pursuit, she slipped off the flowered shoe on her right foot, blew on it with immortal breath, muttered a spell, and cried, "Change!"

It changed into her own shape. She wheeled once, became a gust of clear wind, and hurried back.

But she had another matter to mind. As she came to the cave gate, she saw Tripitaka sitting alone beneath the archway. She rushed up, grabbed him, snatched away the luggage, bit through the reins, and swept horse and man back inside again.

That is not the tale of the two fools. Bajie, seeing a chance, struck with the rake and knocked the demon down. Only then did he see that what had fallen was merely a flowered shoe.

Wukong laughed. "You two fools! You were supposed to watch the master. Who asked you to come and help? Old Sun had it under control."

Bajie said, "Brother Sha, did I not say not to come? This monkey has a split-brain nature. We came to subdue the demon for him, and he only resents us for it."

Wukong said, "Where did we subdue her? That monster used a shoe-throwing trick on me yesterday and fooled me once. You two ran off, so I did not know how the master was faring. Hurry back and look."

The three of them rushed back. Sure enough, the master was gone, and so were the luggage and the white horse. Bajie ran wild on both sides of the road, Sha Wujing searched front and back, and the Great Sage was anxious and hot under the collar.

While they were searching, Wukong saw half a rein lying crooked beside the road.

He picked it up and could not hold back his tears. In a loud voice he cried, "Master, when I left, I said farewell to both man and horse. When I came back, all I found was this rope."

It was just as the saying goes: seeing the saddle, one thinks of the fine horse; seeing the rope, one thinks of the dear one. Bajie saw the tears and could not help bursting into laughter.

Wukong scolded him, "You clod, are you trying to add fuel to the fire again?"

Bajie laughed again. "Brother, that is not it. The master must have been swept back into the cave by the demon again. As the saying goes, 'Nothing comes to pass unless it comes thrice.' You have gone into that cave twice. Go in a third time, and I guarantee you will save him."

Wukong wiped his tears and said, "Very well. We have reached this point, and there is no help for it. I will go in again. You two have lost the luggage and horse, so guard the cave mouth carefully."

The Great Sage turned, leaped inside, and did not use any disguise. He went in with his own true form.

His face was fierce and strange, his heart strong within;
from boyhood he had been a demon, and his divine strength was rugged.
His face, high and low, was as broad as a saddle; his eyes shone with gold like fire.
His whole body bristled hard as steel needles; his tiger-skin skirt rang with bright ornaments.
He could knock the myriad clouds apart in heaven, and stir up a thousand layers of waves at sea.
Once he had the strength to batter the Heavenly Kings and drive back one hundred and eighty thousand troops.
He had been made Great Sage Equal to Heaven, a handsome monkey spirit with the Golden-Hooped Rod in his hand.
Today he could show his power in the Western Heaven, and now he came again to the cave to save Tripitaka.

He set down the cloud and went straight to the demon's dwelling. The gatehouse under the double eaves was shut tight. Without asking any questions, he swung his rod and smashed it open, then strode in. Everything inside was quiet and still, with no people to be seen.

Tripitaka was nowhere to be found on the east corridor. On the pavilion tables and chairs, and in every other place, not a thing remained. It turned out that the cave stretched for more than three hundred li and held many nests. The first time they had snatched Tripitaka away, Wukong found him there. This second time, because they feared Wukong would come looking, they had moved everything elsewhere, and no one knew where.

That made Wukong stamp his feet and pound his chest. He shouted at the top of his voice, "Master, you are a Tang Sanzang made of bad luck and trouble, a scripture pilgrim cast in disaster! This road is one I know well, so why are you not here? Where am I supposed to look for you?"

In the middle of his shouting and fury, he suddenly caught a whiff of incense. He changed his tone and said, "This smoke is drifting from the back. They must be in the rear."

He strode in, iron rod in hand, but still saw no movement. In the back stood three rooms turned toward the main hall. Against the rear wall was a carved lacquer altar with a dragon swallower-mouth design. On it stood a great gilt incense burner, and from it rose a rich cloud of fragrance. Above it was an enormous gold-lettered tablet, reading, "The Honored Father Li Tianwang." Beneath it, somewhat smaller, was another tablet, reading, "The Honored Brother Prince Nezha."

Wukong was overjoyed. He forgot all about searching for the demon or for Tripitaka. He pinched his iron rod into an embroidered needle, tucked it inside his ear, grabbed the tablet and the incense burner, and rode his cloud straight out. When he reached the cave mouth, he was laughing so hard he could hardly stop.

Bajie and Sha Wujing heard him and drew to the cave entrance to meet him.

"Brother," they said, "you are laughing like that. Have you rescued the master?"

Wukong laughed. "We do not need to rescue him ourselves. I only needed these tablets to ask for a person."

Bajie said, "Brother, those tablets are not the demon. They cannot speak. How can you ask them for a person?"

Wukong set them on the ground. "Look for yourselves."

Sha Wujing came forward and read the words, "The Honored Father Li Tianwang" and "The Honored Brother Prince Nezha."

He asked, "What does this mean?"

Wukong said, "These are the things the demon's household worships. I broke into her dwelling and found no one at all, only these tablets. I think the demon must be the daughter of Li Tianwang and the sworn little sister of Prince Nezha. She has come down to the lower world in secret and taken the shape of a monster, and has now snatched my master away.

If I do not ask them for a person, whom should I ask? You two keep watch here while I take these tablets and go straight to the Jade Emperor to file a memorial, so that the Heavenly King and his son can give me back my master."

Bajie said, "Brother, as the saying goes, 'To accuse a man of death is to invite death yourself.' You have to be on solid ground before you can bring such a case. Besides, it is not easy to file a memorial to the throne. Tell me, how would you even do it?"

Wukong laughed. "I have a plan. I will use these tablets and this incense burner as proof, and I will also prepare a written memorial."

Bajie said, "What will the memorial say? Read it to me."

Wukong said:

I, Sun Wukong, humbly kneel and bow my head three times. May our sacred sovereign enjoy ten thousand years.
Let all civil and military ranks know this together, princes and officials alike.
By imperial decree I left the Eastern Land and hoped to reach Lingshan and see the World-Honored One.
But on the road I met hardship and danger. Who could have guessed calamity would strike me halfway there?
A monk sick in bed can no longer press on, and the Buddha's gate is still far away.
A scripture pilgrim without life enough to carry the sutras is only labor thrown away.
I therefore beg permission to send another man in my place.

When Bajie and Sha Wujing heard this, they were delighted.

"Brother," they said, "that complaint is sound. You are sure to have the upper hand. Go quickly and come back quickly. If you delay, the demon may harm the master's life."

Wukong said, "I am quick. If the rice is just about done or the tea just about to boil, I will already be back."

The Great Sage took the tablets and the incense burner, turned once, and rode an auspicious cloud straight to the South Heaven Gate. At the gate stood the mighty heavenly guardians and the Heavenly Kings. Seeing Wukong, each of them bowed from the waist and did not dare block him, but let him pass.

He went straight to the Hall of Perfect Light, where Zhang, Ge, Xu, and Qiu, the Four Great Celestial Masters, met him face-to-face and bowed.

"Great Sage, where have you come from?"

Wukong said, "I have a paper memorial and want to accuse two people."

The masters were startled.

"This rascal," they said, "what sort of accusation is he bringing?"

They had no choice but to lead him to the Hall of Perfect Light and report. By imperial command he was summoned in.

Wukong set down the tablets and incense burner, bowed in the hall, and presented the memorial. Master Ge took it and spread it on the imperial table.

The Jade Emperor read from beginning to end and saw how matters stood. At once he turned the memorial into an imperial decree and summoned the Gold Star of the West to carry the decree to the Cloud-Tower Palace, where he was to summon Li Tianwang to audience.

Wukong stepped forward and said, "I beg the Heavenly Lord to punish them properly. If not, there may be more trouble later."

The Jade Emperor also said, "Let the accuser go."

Wukong blinked. "Old Sun, too?"

The Four Masters said, "Since His Majesty has issued the decree, you may go with the Gold Star."

So Wukong really did follow the Gold Star, riding his cloud to the Cloud-Tower Palace. That was the Heavenly King's residence.

At the gate stood a pageboy. Seeing the Gold Star, the boy ran in and reported, "The Gold Star of the West has come."

The Heavenly King came out to greet him and, seeing the Gold Star carrying an imperial decree, ordered incense burned.

Then he turned and saw Wukong coming in behind him, and his anger flared at once. Why was he angry? Years ago, when Wukong raised havoc in Heaven, the Jade Emperor had appointed Li Tianwang Grand Marshal for Demon Suppression and Prince Nezha Third Prince and ordered them to lead the heavenly troops to subdue Wukong. They had gone down in defeat. Because of that old grievance from five hundred years earlier, he still had some bitterness in his heart.

He could not help saying, "Old Gold Star, what sort of decree have you brought?"

The Gold Star said, "It is Sun the Great Sage's complaint against you."

The Heavenly King was already irritated. At the word "complaint" he thundered with rage. "He is accusing me of what?"

The Gold Star said, "He accuses you of secretly raising a monster in the lower world and trapping people. Burn the incense and read the decree yourself."

The Heavenly King angrily set up the altar, bowed toward the sky, and gave thanks. When he had finished, he opened the decree and saw that it was exactly as stated. He slapped the altar and cried, "That monkey has falsely accused me!"

The Gold Star said, "Calm your anger. The tablets and the incense burner are here before the throne as proof, and they do say this is your own daughter."

The Heavenly King said, "I have only three sons and one daughter. My eldest son is named Jinzha, and he serves the Buddha as a guardian of the front ranks. My second son is named Muzha, and he studies under Guanyin in the South Sea. My third son is named Nezha, and he stays by my side and attends court morning and evening. As for my daughter, she is only seven years old. She is named Zhenying and has not even learned human affairs yet. How could she ever be a monster? If you do not believe me, bring her out and look. That monkey is truly rude. Not only am I a meritorious minister of Heaven, I was given the right to act first and report later. Even for a common mortal in the lower world, such a false accusation would not be allowed. The law says, 'A false accusation is punished three times over.'"

He called to his men, "Bind that monkey with the demon-binding rope."

Giant Spirit, Fish-Belly General, and the yaksha commanders crowded forward together and bound Wukong fast.

The Gold Star said, "Li Tianwang, do not make trouble. I came to bring him under heavenly command and carry you to audience. Your rope is heavy, and if you bind him too tightly, you may hurt him."

The Heavenly King said, "Gold Star, if he has come to make a false report and stir up trouble, how can we let him off? Sit down a moment. Let me take the demon-cleaving blade and cut down this monkey, and then I will go with you to audience and answer the decree."

When the Gold Star saw him reach for the blade, he was startled and frightened. He said to Wukong, "You have botched this matter. Is a memorial to the throne something you file lightly? You should have investigated more carefully. If you stir things up in this way and they take your life, what good will that do?"

Wukong was not afraid at all. Smiling, he said, "Old official, do not worry. Nothing is wrong. Old Sun's business is done this way: first I lose, then I win."

He had not finished speaking when the Heavenly King swung the blade and brought it down toward his head. But Prince Nezha rushed up, raised his demon-cleaving sword, and blocked the blow.

"Father, calm your anger."

The Heavenly King was greatly startled.

Why should he be startled when his son lifted a sword to block the blade? Because when the Heavenly King was born, there was a na on his left palm and a zha on his right, and so he was named Nezha. As a child, on the third day after his birth, he went down into the sea and caused trouble, toppling the Crystal Palace and seizing a dragon to strip its sinews for a sash. When the Heavenly King learned of it, he feared later trouble and wanted to kill him.

Nezha, in a rage, took the knife in his hand, cut away his flesh and returned it to his mother, and scraped away his bones and returned them to his father. Giving back his father's essence and his mother's blood, his one ray of spirit went straight to the Western Paradise and pleaded before the Buddha. The Buddha was then preaching to the assembled bodhisattvas when they heard someone crying for help among the banners and jeweled canopies. The Buddha saw at once that it was Nezha's soul. He used blue lotus root for bones and lotus leaves for clothing, recited the spell that returns the dead to life, and so gave Nezha his life again. After that Nezha wielded divine power, subdued ninety-six caves of monsters, and gained vast spiritual force. Later he wanted to kill the Heavenly King to repay the bone-scraping hatred, and the Heavenly King had no remedy but to beg the Tathagata for help. The Buddha preferred harmony and granted him a jeweled pagoda of exquisite design. Each level of the pagoda holds a Buddha, and it shines with brilliant light. Nezha was told to take the Buddha as father, and thus the old grudge was settled. That is why he is called Li Tianwang, the Pagoda-Bearing King. Today he was at home and not carrying the tower, and so when he saw his son raise a sword against his blade, he was greatly alarmed.

He at once drew back his hand and took the golden pagoda from its base, holding it in his palm. He asked Nezha, "Child, you raise your sword against my blade. What do you have to say?"

Nezha dropped his sword and kowtowed.

"Father, there is a daughter in the lower world."

The Heavenly King said, "Child, I only have the four of you siblings. Where would I have another daughter?"

Nezha said, "Father, have you forgotten? That daughter is really a demon. Three hundred years ago she became a monster and stole the Buddha's incense, flowers, treasures, and candles at Lingshan. The Buddha then sent our father and son with the heavenly troops to catch her.

When we caught her, by rights we should have killed her, but the Buddha said, 'Standing water breeds fish, yet is not for fishing; deep mountains feed deer, yet are not for slaughter.' So we spared her life.

Out of gratitude for that mercy, she bowed to Father as her father and to me as her brother. She set up the tablets in the lower world and burned incense before them. Unexpectedly she has become a demon again and has trapped Tripitaka. Sun Wukong found her den and brought the tablets here to file his complaint. She is an adopted goddaughter, not our true flesh-and-blood sister."

The Heavenly King listened and was startled.

"Child, I had truly forgotten. What is her name?"

The prince said, "She has three names. In her own origin she is called the Gold-Nosed White-Haired Rat Spirit. Because she stole the incense, flowers, treasures, and candles, she was renamed Half-Body Guanyin. After she was spared and sent back below, she was again renamed Earth-Tide Lady."

Only then did the Heavenly King remember. He set down the pagoda, came forward himself, and untied Wukong.

Wukong immediately played stubborn. "Who dares untie me? If you want to take me before the throne, carry me there tied up. That is the only way Old Sun's case can be won."

The Heavenly King was frightened into softness, and Nezha had nothing to say. The guards all drew back in confusion.

The Great Sage rolled about and made a scene, insisting that the Heavenly King himself go to court. There was no other way. The Heavenly King had to beg the Gold Star for some way out.

The Gold Star said, "The ancients said, 'Be broad in all things.' You have been too quick on the draw. You bound him at once and then wanted to kill him. That monkey is famous for being hard to handle. What do you expect me to do now? As for your son, even though she is an adopted daughter and not your own flesh, it is a close and weighty relationship all the same. No matter how you explain it, there is still a charge against you."

The Heavenly King said, "Old Star, say something that gets me off clean."

The Gold Star said, "I am willing to smooth this over, but there is nothing to say."

The Heavenly King said, "Then tell him about the memorial to the throne and the granting of office. That may appease him."

So the Gold Star went forward and laid a hand on Wukong.

"Great Sage, for my sake, take off the rope and go see the throne."

Wukong said, "Old official, no need to take it off. I know how to roll. I can roll all the way there."

The Gold Star laughed. "You monkey, you have no heart. In the old days I too did you some kindness. For such a tiny favor, will you not give me face?"

Wukong said, "What kindness did you ever do me?"

The Gold Star said, "When you were a demon on Flower-Fruit Mountain, you overthrew tigers and dragons, erased your death record by force, and gathered the demon hordes to run wild. The Heavenly Court wanted to seize you, and it was I who pleaded hardest to have you pacified instead. I had you summoned above and named you Keeper of the Heavenly Horses.

After you drank the Jade Emperor's immortal wine and rebelled again, it was still I who pleaded the matter through and secured the title of Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Then you refused to keep to your office, stole peaches and wine, and took Laozi's elixir, which led to all this. If it were not for me, how could you have reached today?"

Wukong said, "The ancients said, 'When a man is dead, do not bury him in the old man's grave.' You are really good at exposing others' faults. I only served as Keeper of the Heavenly Horses and raised havoc in Heaven. There was no great matter beyond that. Very well, very well. For your old face, let him untie me himself."

Only then did the Heavenly King dare step forward and untie the ropes. He asked Wukong to put on his clothes and sit down, and then all of them came forward to pay respects.

Wukong turned to the Gold Star and said, "Old official, how is that? I told you I lose first and win later. That is how this business is done. Hurry him along to audience and do not delay my master."

The Gold Star said, "Do not hurry. After all this fuss, come have a cup of tea."

Wukong said, "If I drink his tea and accept his private favor, while he lets a prisoner slip and despises the imperial decree, whose fault will that be?"

The Gold Star said, "No tea, no tea. I am being dragged into it as well. Li Tianwang, come quickly, come quickly."

The Heavenly King still did not dare go, afraid Wukong would twist words and turn false into true. He could not help begging the Gold Star for another way out.

The Gold Star said, "I have one phrase that may work. Will you follow me?"

Wukong said, "As for the rope and blade matter, I have already given you face. What else do you have? Speak. If it is good, I will follow you. If not, do not blame me."

The Gold Star said, "A lawsuit of one day becomes ten days of fighting. You have lodged a memorial and said the monster is the Heavenly King's daughter. The Heavenly King says she is not, and the two of you would keep arguing before the throne. In Heaven, one day is one year below.

If that year passes and the monster has your master trapped in the cave, what if she not only forces a marriage but even bears a little child by then? That would turn into a little monk, and would that not ruin the greater matter?"

Wukong lowered his head and thought. "That is true. I left Bajie and Brother Sha and said I would be back before the rice was done or the tea was boiled, yet here I have wasted all this time. Am I not already behind? Old official, since I will follow your advice, what am I to say when I return the decree?"

The Gold Star said, "Let Li Tianwang lead the troops with you down below to subdue the demon, and I will return the decree."

Wukong asked, "How will you report it?"

The Gold Star said, "I will say the accuser fled and the accused need not be summoned."

Wukong laughed. "Good. I will give you that face. Let him draw up the troops and wait for me at the South Heaven Gate. I will go back with you and return the memorial."

The Heavenly King was frightened and said, "If he goes and says anything else, that would make me a minister betraying the emperor."

Wukong said, "What sort of person do you take Old Sun to be? I am a proper man. Once a word leaves my mouth, even four horses could not pull it back. How could I mouth filthy words and then turn them against you?"

The Heavenly King thanked Wukong at once. Wukong and the Gold Star went back to report. The Heavenly King called up his own troops and marched to the South Heaven Gate.

The Gold Star and Wukong went back to the Jade Emperor and said, "The one who trapped Tripitaka was the Gold-Nosed White-Haired Rat Spirit, who set up the tablets of the Heavenly King and his son as a false pretense. The Heavenly King knows the truth and has already led troops to capture the monster. We beg Your Majesty to pardon the offense."

The Jade Emperor already knew the matter and showed heavenly mercy, dismissing it.

Wukong at once turned his cloud and went to the South Heaven Gate, where he found the Heavenly King and Prince Nezha arrayed with the heavenly troops and waiting. Ah! Those divine generals rolled in cloud and mist, and greeted the Great Sage before descending together from the clouds to Sink-Sky Mountain.

Bajie and Sha Wujing were waiting with eyes stretched wide. When they saw the heavenly troops and Wukong arriving, they hurried forward to greet the Heavenly King.

Bajie bowed. "Thank you for all your trouble. Thank you for all your trouble."

The Heavenly King said, "Marshal Tianpeng, you do not know. It was only because my family received a stick of incense from her that the demon was able to run wild and trap your master. Forgive us for coming late. Is this the sink-sky mountain? But where does the cave mouth open?"

Wukong said, "This road is one I know well. The cave is called the Bottomless Cave, and the mountain around it stretches for more than three hundred li. The monster has many nests inside. The first time, my master was in the gatehouse with the two dripping waters. This second time it is quiet as a tomb, with not even a ghost's shadow in sight. I do not know where she has moved him."

The Heavenly King said, "No matter how many tricks she has, she cannot escape the net of Heaven. Let us go to the cave mouth and make our plan."

So they set off together. In about ten li they came to the great stone. Wukong pointed at the door as wide as a jar mouth and said, "There it is."

The Heavenly King said, "'If you do not enter the tiger's den, how can you get the tiger cub?' Which of us will lead the way?"

Wukong said, "I will lead the way."

Prince Nezha said, "I have come under imperial order to subdue the demon. I should lead the way."

Bajie blurted out, "I am the one with the thick skull. I should lead the way."

The Heavenly King waved him down. "No more noise. Listen to how I will divide the work. The Great Sage and the prince will lead the troops down below, while the three of us keep watch at the entrance. We will set up an inside-and-outside attack, and then he will have no road to heaven and no door to earth. That will show a little skill."

Everyone answered, "Yes."

So Wukong and Prince Nezha led the troops down into the cave. They rode their cloud light in, looked up, and saw that it was indeed a wonderful cave:

Sun and moon shone there as bright as if they had been set in place again;
pearls held a shining pool, and jade wells breathed warm mist.
Piled crimson towers and painted pavilions rose one above another;
steep red cliffs and green fields stood tall and still.
In spring the willows were green; in autumn the lotuses bloomed.
It was a cave heaven seldom seen, a world cut off from ordinary sight.

In an instant they stopped the cloud light and went straight to the demon's old dwelling. They searched the gates one by one, shouting and calling, layer after layer, place after place. They trampled the whole three hundred li until not a blade of grass remained. But where was the demon? Where was Tripitaka?

All they could say was, "That beast must have left this cave long ago and gone far away."

Who would have known that in the southeast black corner there was another little cave below, with a tiny gate and a low room, potted flowers on the ground, and several stalks of bamboo by the eaves? Black air swirled within, and faint incense drifted out. The old monster had carried Tripitaka there and was forcing him into marriage.

The Great Sage looked and looked, but still could not find it. Who knew his fate had already run out?

The little demons inside were all whispering and crowding together. One bolder than the rest stretched his neck to look outside and bumped straight into a heavenly soldier. He shouted, "He is here!"

Wukong flew into a rage. He gripped the Golden-Hooped Rod and charged straight in. The place inside was cramped and narrow, with the whole nest of monsters packed together. Prince Nezha leaped in with the heavenly troops. Where could any of them hide?

Wukong found Tripitaka, together with the dragon horse and the luggage. The old monster, seeing no way out, kept kowtowing to Prince Nezha and begging for his life.

The prince said, "We have come under the Jade Emperor's decree to seize you. This is no small matter. My father and I only accepted a stick of incense, and it nearly turned us into monks dragging logs - making a monastery of us."

With a shout the heavenly troops took down the demon-binding ropes and bound all the monsters fast. The old demon could not avoid a harsh beating either. They rode their clouds back out of the cave together. Wukong laughed all the way.

The Heavenly King opened the cave mouth and greeted Wukong. "This time you have indeed found your master."

Wukong said, "Many thanks. Many thanks."

He led Tripitaka forward to thank the Heavenly King, then Prince Nezha. Sha Wujing and Bajie wanted only to flay the old monster alive, but the Heavenly King said, "He was taken under the Jade Emperor's decree. We cannot act rashly. We still have to return and report."

So on one side the Heavenly King and Prince Nezha led the heavenly troops and guarded the monster while they returned to Heaven to await sentence; on the other side Wukong gathered Tripitaka, Sha Wujing packed up the luggage, and Bajie gathered up the horse. They asked Tripitaka to mount and all set off together on the main road.

They cut the silk vine and dried up the golden sea;
they opened the jade lock and walked out of the cage.

But how they fared after that, the next chapter must explain.