Chapter 95: The False Form Seizes the Jade Rabbit; True Yin Returns to the Primal Spirit

Now to return to Tripitaka, who followed the king into the inner palace with a troubled heart. From within came the crash of drums and music, and strange incense drifted out to meet them. He kept his head bowed and did not dare look up.

Wukong, by contrast, was secretly delighted. Perched on top of the white gauze hat, he opened his fiery eyes and looked around. He saw the two ranks of painted maidens arrayed like a fairy court, more splendid than brocade curtains in a spring wind. Truly:

Graceful and delicate, they were jade-boned and ice-skinned.
In every pair they outshone the women of Chu;
in every row they were lovelier than Xi Shi.
Their cloudlike hair was piled high with flying phoenix ornaments,
their brows lightly arched, like distant hills at dusk.
Flutes and pipes played in polished harmony;
bells, drums, and reed organs answered in turn.
The notes rose and fell through the five tones;
clear song and wondrous dance were enough to charm the eye,
while the flowered flags and tiled steps gave delight in every color.

Seeing that his master did not stir, Wukong clicked his tongue in admiration and thought, "Good monk, good monk. Though he stands in silk and jade, his heart is untouched; though he treads amid heaven's splendor, his mind is not lost."

Before long, the queen, the concubines, and the court ladies escorted the princess out of the Magpie Palace to meet them. They all cried, "Long live our king! May he live ten thousand years!" Tripitaka was so flustered he did not know what to do. Wukong, however, had already seen that a faint wisp of demon aura clung above the princess's head, though she did not look especially fierce.

He quickly crawled to Tripitaka's ear and whispered, "Master, the princess is false."

Tripitaka said, "If she is false, why not let her show her true form at once?"

Wukong said, "I should use my dharma body and take her now."

Tripitaka said, "No, no. That would startle the king. Let us wait until the king and queen have withdrawn, and then use your power."

Wukong was by nature impatient. How could he stand that? He cried out, showed his true form, sprang forward, seized the princess, and shouted, "You vile beast! So this is how you make a false thing serve as true, enjoying yourself here to your heart's content. That would have been enough; but your greed is still not satisfied. You even wanted to fool my master, ruin his true yang, and feed your lust!"

The king and queen were stunned into a daze. The concubines and court ladies fell into wild disorder. Every maid ran for her life. It looked just like this:

The spring wind blew wild, the autumn air was cold.
Through gardens the spring wind rolled, stirring a thousand blossoms;
into the forbidden grounds came the autumn chill, shaking ten thousand leaves.
It bent the peonies by the rail,
and crooked the peonies down beside the balustrade.
Lotus flowers on the pond banks swayed in confusion;
chrysanthemums around the terraces were scattered in heaps.
Begonias, lacking strength, toppled into the dust;
roses, fragrant still, lay asleep in the wilderness.
The spring wind snapped the water lilies and caltrops;
winter snow bent down the tender plum buds.
Pomegranate petals fell in disorder east and west through the inner court;
willow branches on the banks leaned south and north across the palace.
A night of wind and rain flattened the fine flowers,
and a brocade of broken red petals covered the ground.

Tripitaka was frantic. He clutched the king and cried, "Your Majesty, do not be afraid. My reckless disciple is only using his magic to tell true from false."

The demon saw that the matter had gone ill. He tore loose, stripped off the court robes, shook his head, and sent the hair ornaments flying. Then he ran to the Earth Temple in the imperial garden, drew out a short staff shaped like a pestle, and whirled back to strike at Wukong. Wukong followed at once, raised his iron rod, and met him face-to-face. The two shouted and roared, fighting head-on in the garden.

Before long they both showed their full power and rode clouds and mist into the sky. That battle was a fierce one:

The Golden-Hooped Rod and the pestle bore names known far and wide,
while the short staff was known to none.
One had come down into the world to complete a marriage;
the other had come here to protect Tripitaka.
The king's own folly had stirred the demon's desire,
and now both sides, bitter with hatred, had to fight it out.
They rushed and slammed together, testing victory and defeat,
trading sharp words as well as hard blows.
The pestle was rare as a hero among heroes,
yet the iron rod's divine might was even finer.
Golden light shimmered at the Heavenly Gate;
colored mist blazed and streamed across the earth.
They fought back and forth more than ten rounds,
and the demon's strength was failing, unable to hold.

The demon fought Wukong for several more rounds and saw that the rod's attack was too tight and too fierce to withstand. He made a feint with the pestle, shook his body once, and fled south in a blaze of golden light. Wukong pursued close behind. Before long they came to a great mountain. The demon pressed down his golden glow and dove into a cave, where he vanished without trace.

Wukong feared he might slip back to the king's country and bring harm to Tripitaka, so he marked the shape of the mountain in his mind, rode the cloud back, and returned to the kingdom.

By then it was already midafternoon. The king was still clutching Tripitaka, trembling as he cried, "Holy monk, save me!" The concubines and queen were all in a panic as well. Then Wukong dropped down from the clouds and called, "Master, I am here."

Tripitaka said, "Wukong, stand still. Do not frighten the royal presence. Tell me plainly: what became of the false princess?"

Wukong stood outside the Magpie Palace with his hands folded at his chest and said, "The false princess is a monster. At first I fought her for half a day. When she could not beat me, she turned into a green wind and ran straight to the Heavenly Gate. I shouted for the gods to block her.

Then she showed her true form and fought me for more than ten rounds. After that she changed into golden light and fled to a mountain in the south. I chased her there, but could not find her hiding place. I was afraid she might come back here and harm you, so I returned to see whether all was safe."

When the king heard this, he asked Tripitaka, "If the false princess is a monster, where is my real princess?"

Wukong answered, "Wait until I catch the false one, and your real princess will naturally return."

The queen and the concubines, hearing this, lost what little fear remained in them. One by one they stepped forward and begged, "We beg the holy monk to rescue our true princess, to make clear what is dark and what is bright. We will surely reward you a thousandfold."

Wukong said, "This is no place for talk. Your Majesty, please leave the palace with my master and go up to the main hall. As for the queen and the ladies, return to their quarters. Send for my junior brothers Bajie and Sha Wujing to guard my master, and I will go subdue the demon. Then the inside and the outside will both be kept apart, and I can move freely. I will settle this matter and make the truth plain."

The king followed his advice and thanked him over and over. He and Tripitaka went hand in hand out of the palace and up to the hall. The queen and the ladies all returned to their rooms. Meanwhile, vegetarian food was prepared and Bajie and Sha Wujing were summoned. They arrived before long. Wukong told them the whole matter and bade them protect their master with all their hearts. Then the Great Sage rode his somersault cloud and flew off into the air. The court officials all bowed with faces lifted toward the sky.

Sun Wukong went straight to the mountain in the south to search. The demon, beaten in the fight, had reached this mountain and hidden in a cave, blocking the entrance with stones and crouching in fear. Wukong searched for some time and saw no movement. The more he thought of it, the more anxious he grew. He pinched a spell, spoke the true words, and summoned the local earth spirit and mountain god to question them.

Before long the two deities arrived and kowtowed. "We did not know, we did not know. If we had known, we would have come at once to receive you. We beg your pardon."

Wukong said, "I will not beat you yet. Tell me first: what is this mountain called? How many demons are here? Speak the truth, and I will spare you."

The two deities reported, "Great Sage, this mountain is called Maoying Mountain. There are only three rabbit holes in it. From old times until now there have been no demons here. It is a blessed place for the Five Manifest Spirit Officials. If you seek a demon, you will have to look farther west along the road to the Western Heaven."

Wukong said, "When I reached the kingdom of India, the king's princess had already been seized by a demon and left in the wilderness. The demon transformed himself into her likeness and deceived the king. He raised a colorful pavilion and tossed a brocade ball, meaning to choose a son-in-law. I was escorting Tripitaka beneath the pavilion when that demon struck my master on purpose and wanted to take him as a mate, drawing out his true yang. I saw through the trick and caught the creature in the palace. It stripped off the human clothes and ornaments, drew a short staff called the pestle of medicine, and fought me for half a day. Then it turned into a green wind and fled. I chased it to the western Heavenly Gate and fought it more than ten rounds there. When it saw it could not win, it turned into golden light and fled to this place. How can you say there is no demon?"

The two deities, hearing this, led Wukong to search the three rabbit holes. At the lower cave mouth they saw a few wild rabbits, which were startled and ran. When they searched the cave on the summit, they found that two great stones were blocking the opening.

The mountain spirit said, "This must be where the demon is hiding. He must have burrowed inside in a hurry."

Wukong at once swept the stones aside with his iron rod. Sure enough, the demon was hidden inside. With a cry, it leaped out, raised the pestle, and came at him. Wukong swung his rod to block. The mountain spirit stumbled back in alarm, and the earth spirit ran off in haste. The demon cursed them in a broken stream, shouting, "Who told you to lead him here to look for me?" Then it braced itself against the rod and fought while retreating, fleeing up into the air.

In that perilous moment, night fell. Wukong grew all the fiercer and struck with all his strength, wishing only to kill it with a single blow. Then, from between the blue vaults of the nine heavens, a voice cried, "Great Sage, do not strike, do not strike. Spare your rod a little."

Wukong turned and looked. It was the Lady of the Moon, with the moon maidens following her down on a colored cloud. Wukong quickly lowered his iron rod and bowed. "Lady of the Moon, where are you going? Old Sun has failed to step aside."

The Lady of the Moon said, "The demon you are fighting is the Jade Rabbit from my Moon Palace, the one who pounds the immortal frost-powder for me. He secretly stole open the golden lock on the jade gate and ran out of the palace. It has now been a year. I have already calculated that a mishap of death and injury lies on him today, so I have come to save his life. I beg the Great Sage to spare him for my sake."

Wukong answered at once, "I dare not refuse. So that was it. No wonder he knew how to use a pestle of medicine. So he is only a Jade Rabbit. But Lady of the Moon, you do not know the rest. He seized the princess of the kingdom of India and hid her away. Then he turned himself into her likeness and tried to break the true yang of my master. Such a plot and such a crime - how could they be lightly forgiven?"

The Lady of the Moon said, "You do not know either. That king's princess is not a mortal at all. She was originally a plain maiden from the Moon Palace. Eighteen years ago she struck the Jade Rabbit once, and the rabbit, bearing that grudge, wanted to descend into the mortal world. So a spark of her spirit entered the queen's belly and she was born into this kingdom. Because of that old blow, the Jade Rabbit stole out of the Moon Palace last year and cast the plain maiden into the wilderness. It was wrong of her to seek a marriage with Tripitaka, and that crime cannot be pardoned. But thanks to you, the false and the true have been made plain, and your master has suffered no harm. I beg you to be merciful and let me take her away."

Wukong laughed. "Since there is such a cause and such an effect, Old Sun does not dare oppose it.

Only, if you take the Jade Rabbit away and the king does not believe it, I beg you, Lady of the Moon, to lead the moon maidens and the rabbit to show themselves before the king. Make the matter plain. First show Old Sun's skill; then explain why the plain maiden came down here. After that let the king reclaim the princess's true body, so that justice may be made visible."

The Lady of the Moon believed him. She pointed at the demon and shouted, "You vile beast, why do you not return to your rightful place and come along?"

The Jade Rabbit rolled once on the ground and showed its true shape. Truly it was:

Split-lipped and sharp-toothed, with long ears and a sparse beard.
Its body was one round mass of fur, like polished jade;
its spread feet seemed to fly over a thousand mountains.
Its straight nose hung soft and white, like frost filling powdered silk;
its pair of eyes shone red, as though snow had been touched with rouge.
Crouched on the ground, it was a mound of white felt;
stretched out, it looked like a frame of silver thread.
Many a time it had sucked in the morning dew from the jade sky;
its medicine-pounding life was born with a wondrous jade pestle.

The Great Sage was overjoyed when he saw it. Riding his cloud, he led the way. The Lady of the Moon, with the moon maidens and the Jade Rabbit, returned straight to the kingdom of India. By then it was dusk, and the moon was about to rise.

When they reached the city wall, they heard the drum sounding from the watchtower. The king, Tripitaka, Bajie, Sha Wujing, and the court officers were still on the main hall steps, just about to end the audience, when a sheet of colored cloud shone out in the south, bright as day. They all looked up and saw Sun Wukong crying out in a fierce voice, "Your Majesty of India, please bring out your queen, your concubines, and all the ladies of the court and look here. Beneath this jeweled canopy is the Lady of the Moon from the Moon Palace, and the immortal maidens at her sides are the moon fairies. This Jade Rabbit is your false princess, and now its true form is revealed."

The king at once summoned the queen, the concubines, the maidservants, and the painted girls to bow toward the sky. He, Tripitaka, and the officers all worshipped from afar and gave thanks. In every household in the city, no one failed to set out an incense table and kneel while reciting the Buddha's name.

Just then Zhu Bajie was moved by lust and could not restrain himself. He jumped into the air, grabbed one of the moon maidens, and said, "Sister, we know each other from old days. Come play with Old Pig."

Wukong stepped forward, seized Bajie, and struck him twice, cursing, "You country bumpkin fool! What place do you think this is, that you dare stir up filthy thoughts?"

Bajie said, "I was only joking around and easing the mood."

The Lady of the Moon ordered the jeweled canopy turned around, and with the moon maidens she gathered the Jade Rabbit back and returned straight to the Moon Palace. Wukong dragged Bajie down from the clouds and onto the dust.

The king bowed in thanks to Wukong on the hall steps and then asked about the cause of all this. "I am deeply grateful that the holy monk has shown such divine power and captured the false princess. But where is my true princess now?"

Wukong said, "Your true princess is not a mortal body either. She is the moon maiden from the Moon Palace. Eighteen years ago she struck the Jade Rabbit once, and the rabbit, bearing the old grudge, wanted to descend into the mortal world. So she entered the queen's belly and was born. That rabbit girl then secretly opened the golden lock on the jade gate and came down to the world, casting the moon maiden into the wilderness. She changed her shape and tricked you. The Lady of the Moon told me all this herself. Now that the false one has been taken away, tomorrow you may send the court out to find the true one."

When the king heard this, his heart was full of shame and distress. Tears would not stop running down his cheeks. "My child," he said, "I have sat on the throne since I was young and never once left the city gate. Where am I to go and find you?"

Wukong laughed. "There is no need to worry. Your princess is now at the Give-and-Lonely Gold Temple, putting on a wind-struck fit. Let us scatter for now. At dawn I will return your true princess."

The officers all bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please ease your heart. These divine monks can ride clouds and mist and know the causes of past and future. Tomorrow please trouble them to go and search once more, and the truth will be made clear."

The king followed their advice and invited the party to the Lichun Pavilion, where they were served a vegetarian feast and lodged for the night. By then it was nearly the second watch.

It was just as the verse says:

The bronze clepsydra dripped, and moonlight gleamed;
golden bells rang in the wind.
The cuckoo cried that spring was already half gone,
and fallen petals had no road toward the third watch.
In the imperial garden, the swing's shadow was lonely;
in the blue vault above, the Milky Way hung across the sky.
In the three markets and six streets no traveler moved;
the whole sky was full of stars and bright night light.

That night everyone slept where they lay, and nothing more was said.

By dawn the next day, after the king had shaken off the demon aura and felt his strength return, he came out again to hold court at the fifth watch and three quarters. When the audience was finished, he summoned Tripitaka and the four pilgrims to discuss how to find the princess. Tripitaka came forth and bowed in court.

The Great Sage and his two brothers bowed together in greeting. The king leaned forward and said, "Yesterday you spoke of my princess-child. I beg the holy monks to seek her for me."

Tripitaka said, "A few days ago, as this poor monk came from the east and traveled until evening, I saw a temple called the Give-and-Lonely Gold Temple and entered it to ask for lodging. Happily, the monks there received us.

That evening, after the vegetarian meal was done, I walked out in the moonlight and went to the old Jeta Grove grounds to look over the site. Suddenly I heard cries of grief. When I asked about them, an old monk of the temple, more than a hundred years old, dismissed the others and told me the whole story in detail. He said, 'The crying came from last spring, when the old monk was meditating in the moon of his true nature and a gust of wind suddenly arose. He saw a woman thrown to the ground. When he asked who she was, the woman said, "I am the princess of the kingdom of India. Last night, while I was admiring the moon and the flowers, I was blown here by the wind."'

That old monk knew human manners well, and he locked the princess in a quiet side room.

He was afraid the other monks might soil her, so he claimed she was a demon and kept her shut away. The princess understood his meaning. By day she babbled nonsense and begged for tea and rice. By night, when no one was about, she thought of her parents and wept. The old monk also went to the kingdom several times to ask after things. Seeing that the princess was safe in the palace, he did not dare report the matter.

Because he had seen that my disciple had some magic powers, the old monk begged and urged me to come and inquire about it. I never expected that she was really a Jade Rabbit from the Moon Palace, a demon who had taken false form to become a princess and tried to break my master's true yang. Thanks to my disciple's power, I saw through the false and the true.

She has now already been taken away by the Lady of the Moon. The true princess is still at the Give-and-Lonely Gold Temple, pretending to be wind-struck."

When the king heard this full account, he burst into loud tears. The whole inner palace was alarmed, and the three palaces and six courts came running to ask what had happened. There was not one among them who did not weep.

At length the king asked again, "How far is the Give-and-Lonely Gold Temple from the city?"

Tripitaka said, "Only sixty li."

The king then issued an order: "Have the eastern and western palaces guard the hall. Let the grand tutor of the court protect the state. I will go myself with the queen, the officers, and the four divine monks to fetch the princess."

At once the imperial carriage was set out, and the whole procession left the court.

Watch Wukong leap into the sky, twist his waist, and arrive at the temple first. The monks were all in a panic as they came out to greet him. "When you left, my lord, you walked with the rest. How have you come down from heaven today?"

Wukong laughed. "Where is your abbot? Call him out at once, set up the incense table, and receive the king. The king of India, the queen, the officers, and my master are all on the way."

The monks did not understand, so they asked the old monk to come out.

When the old monk saw Wukong, he fell full-length and bowed. "My lord, what news of the princess?"

Wukong told him in full how the false princess had tossed the embroidered ball, meant to match herself to Tripitaka, and how he had chased and captured her in battle, until the Lady of the Moon came and carried off the Jade Rabbit. The old monk kowtowed again and again in thanks.

Wukong helped him up. "No more bowing. Hurry and get ready to receive the carriage."

Only then did the monks realize that the woman locked in the back room was the princess. One by one they were startled and delighted. They set out the incense table, arranged themselves outside the mountain gate, put on their robes, and struck the bells and drums as they waited.

Before long the imperial carriage arrived. Truly:

Auspicious clouds filled the sky with fragrance, and the whole barren mountain was suddenly transformed.
Rainbows coursed through a thousand years of clear rivers and seas;
lightning wound through long spring as bright as Yu and Tang.
Trees and grasses took on fresh beauty in the grace of heaven;
wild flowers gained a richer scent from the dew.
Ancient sages left their traces here,
and now a wise ruler descends to this jeweled hall.

The king arrived outside the mountain gate and saw the monks lined up in perfect order, kneeling to greet him. He also saw Sun Wukong standing in their midst. "How did the divine monk get here before us?"

Wukong laughed. "Old Sun just twisted his waist a little and arrived. Why did you all take so long?"

Before long Tripitaka and the others arrived as well. The elder monk led the imperial party to the rear chamber, where the princess was still pretending to be wind-struck and speaking wild nonsense. The old monk knelt and pointed, saying, "The princess is in this room. Last year the wind carried her here."

The king ordered the door opened at once. The iron lock was removed, and the door swung open. When the king and queen saw the princess and recognized her face, they forgot the dirt and grime, rushed forward, and clutched her in their arms. "My poor child!" they cried. "How have you been brought to such suffering? How have you been made to suffer here like this?"

Father, mother, and child meeting again are not like other meetings. The three of them embraced and wept together.

After they had cried for a while and told their grief, the king ordered fragrant bath water to be prepared, and the princess was bathed, dressed, and placed in the imperial carriage to return to the capital.

Wukong then folded his hands and said to the king, "Old Sun has one more thing to offer."

The king returned the salute. "If the divine monk has anything to say, I will obey at once."

Wukong said, "This mountain is called Hundred-Foot Mountain.

Of late there has been talk of a centipede spirit harming people at night, making the road troublesome for travelers. I think only a chicken can subdue a centipede. You should choose a thousand great cocks and release them in the mountain to drive out the poisonous insect. Then change the mountain's name and issue an imperial decree in thanks, as payment to this monastery for sheltering the princess."

The king was delighted and agreed. He sent officials into the city to fetch chickens, and the mountain was renamed Baohua Mountain. Craftsmen were ordered to rebuild the monastery, and it was granted the title "The Imperially Built Give-and-Lonely Gold Temple on Baohua Mountain." The old monk was promoted to "Monk Official Who Repays the Nation" and granted a hereditary post with a stipend of thirty-six dan.

The monks thanked the king and saw the procession back to court. The princess entered the palace, and all were reunited. Banquets were arranged, and they celebrated the princess's return and their release from worry.

Mother and child, queen and concubines, gathered together once more. The king and his ministers were equally pleased, and they feasted through the night.

Early the next day the king issued another order: the holy monks were to have their likenesses painted by skilled artists and set up for worship in the Huayi Tower. The princess was also asked to dress in fresh finery and come out of the hall to thank Tripitaka and the four pilgrims for rescuing her.

When the thanks were finished, Tripitaka took leave of the king and headed west.

The king would not let them go. He arranged a lavish banquet, and for five or six days in a row they ate their fill. Even Bajie was well pleased, and he let his belly have its way to the fullest.

The king saw how devoted they were to the Buddha and could not keep them longer, so he offered two hundred ingots of gold and two trays of treasure. Master and disciples refused every bit of it. The carriage was then brought out, and the king requested the elder master to ride in the imperial sedan while officials escorted them far on the road.

The queen, the ministers, and all the people bowed in thanks without end. Farther along the road, the monks from the temple also came to see them off, and none could bear to part. Wukong saw that the senders refused to turn back. He had no choice, so he pinched a spell, blew a puff of immortal breath toward the southeast, and sent up a veil of dark wind that blinded all the escorts. Only then were they able to slip away.

This is the verse:

Washed clean by grace, they returned to their nature;
out of the sea of gold they awoke to true emptiness.

But how they fared on the road ahead is another matter; that must wait for the next chapter.