Wu Cheng-en - Journey to the West (vol. 1)

“If what you say is right and I carry him up for you, tell me how much you'll pay me for arranging his funeral,” Pig said.

“Honestly, I don't have any money,” the dragon king replied.

“So you like making people work for nothing, do you?” said Pig. “No money, no carriage.”

“If you won't, then please be on your way,” replied the dragon king. Pig left with two hefty yakshas who carried the body outside the palace gates, where they put it down and removed the water-repelling pearl.

At once there was a watery noise. Pig turned straight back to look, but the water crystal palace had disappeared. After feeling the king's corpse he floundered around until he was weak from exhaustion, then surfaced and took hold of the wall of the well. “Brother,” he yelled, “lower the cudgel and rescue me.”

“Got a treasure?” asked Monkey.

“No way,” said Pig. “All I found under the water was the Dragon King of the Well who wanted me to carry a corpse up. When I refused he saw me out and the water crystal palace disappeared. I could only grasp that corpse. I was in such a panic that I went weak all over and I can't move it. Brother, for goodness' sake rescue me.”

“But that is the treasure,” said Monkey. “Why didn't you bring it up?”

“I knew he'd been dead for ages,” said Pig, “so what would have been the point?”

“If you won't bring it up I'm going back,” said Monkey.

“Where to?” Pig asked.

“Back to the monastery and our master to go to bed,” replied Monkey.

“Can't I come?” said Pig.

“You're welcome if you can climb out, but if you can't, tough luck,” said Monkey. This threw Pig into a panic as he could not climb out.

“Just think,” he called, “a city wall is hard enough to climb. This well narrows towards the top. It's got round, overhanging walls, all overgrown with very slippery moss because nobody's drawn water from it for years. How d'you expect me to climb it? Brother, don't forget we're good friends. I'm going down to get it.”

“Good,” said Monkey. “Bring it up quick and we'll go back to bed.” The idiot then did another surface dive and plunged straight down. He groped around till he found the body, dragged it over and carried it up till he surfaced again.

“I've brought it up, brother,” Pig called as he supported himself at the side of the well. When Monkey took a good look and saw that Pig really had brought the body up he lowered the gold-banded cudgel back into the well. Pig was so angry that he opened his mouth and bit on the cudgel while Monkey gently lifted him out.

Pig put the corpse down, retrieved his own clothes, and put them back on. Monkey examined the king's face and saw that it was exactly as it had been in life. “Brother,” he said, “he's been dead three years. Why is his face so well preserved?”

“You wouldn't know about that,” said Pig. “The Dragon King of the Well told me that he'd used a face-preserving pearl to stop the body from decomposing.”

“What luck,” said Monkey, “what luck. He hasn't had his revenge yet, and we're going to succeed. Put him over your shoulder, brother.”

“Where shall I take him?” Pig asked.

“Take him to see the master,” Monkey replied.

“What a way to treat me,” grumbled Pig, “what a way. I was fast asleep when that baboon used his slippery tongue to fool me with that talk of a bit of business. Now I've done it for him I've got to carry this dead body. All this dirty water is dripping down on me and making my tunic filthy. There's nobody to wash it for me. The patches on the shoulders will get damp on overcast days. I won't possibly be able to wear it.”

“You carry him to the monastery,” said Monkey, “and I'll give you something else to wear instead.”

“You're shameless,” said Pig. “You have well-nigh nothing to wear yourself and you talk of giving me something else.”

“If you're going to moan like this then don't carry it,” said Monkey.

“I won't then,” said Pig.

“Then put your ankles out for twenty strokes of the cudgel,” said Monkey.

“But, brother, your cudgel hits very hard,” protested Pig in panic. “Twenty strokes and I'll be like this king.”

“If you don't want a beating then get on with carrying him,” said Monkey. As he really was afraid of a beating Pig dragged the body over, put it across his shoulder and walked out of the palace gardens with an ill grace.

The splendid Great Sage made magic with his hands, said a spell, and blew towards the direction of the wind trigram. At once a tremendous gust of wind plucked Pig out of the palace grounds and over the city wall and moat. The wind then fell, dropping the pair of them on the ground to continue on their way more slowly. The idiot, who was still feeling very hard done by and wanted to get his own back on Monkey, said to himself, “That ape put one over on me, and when we get back to the monastery I'm going to get my own back on him. I'll tell the master that Monkey can bring the body back to life. When he fails the master will say the Band-tightening Spell and all the brains will be squeezed out of that ape's head. That's the only way I'll be satisfied. No, that's no good,” he went on to think as he walked along. “If I ask him to revive the body that'll be too easy for him. He'll only have to call on the King of Hell and ask for the king's soul back. The best way will be to ban him from going to the Underworld. He'll have to bring the king back to life in the world of the living.”

While he was still thinking these thoughts he arrived back at the monastery gates. He went straight in, flung the corpse to the ground right in front of the doors to the meditation hall, and shouted, “Master, come and see a freak.” The Tang Priest, unable to sleep, was talking to Friar Sand about how Monkey had tricked Pig into going and how long they'd been gone when he heard Pig's shout. The Tang Priest got straight out of bed and said, “See what?”

“Brother Monkey's grandpa, and I've had to carry him back,” said Pig.

“You dreg-guzzling idiot,” said Monkey. “I've got no grandpa.”

“Well, brother,” replied Pig, “if he isn't your grandpa, why did you make me carry him? It was damned hard work.”

When Sanzang and Friar Sand opened the doors to look they saw that the king's face was quite unchanged from what it had been in life. “Your Majesty,” said the Tang Priest sorrowfully, “who knows in what earlier life you earned the wizard's hatred? That must be why when you met in this one he murdered you and snatched you from your wives and children unbeknown to any of the civilian or military officials. What a pity it was that in their ignorance your wives and children should never have burnt incense and offered tea to your spirit.” He broke into sobs and his tears poured down like rain.

“What's his death to you?” asked Pig, laughing at Sanzang. “He's not your father or grandfather, so why weep for him?”

“Disciple,” sighed Sanzang, “compassion is the fundamental quality of a monk, and helping others is a monk's way. How can you be so hard-hearted?”

“I'm not hard-hearted,” said Pig. “Monkey told me that he could bring this body back to life. Otherwise I wouldn't have carried it here.” The venerable elder, as easily swayed as ever, was taken in by the idiot.

“Wukong,” he called, “if you have the power to bring this king back to life, it would be a case of saving a single human life being better than building a seven-storied pagoda. For us it would be even better than worshipping the Buddha on Thunder Peak.”

“Don't believe that idiot's nonsense, Master,” said Monkey. “By the time people have been dead for three weeks, then five weeks, and finally for seven hundred days, they've paid for all their sins in this life and go off to be reborn. He's been dead for three years now. He's beyond saving.”