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

“You idiot,” said Monkey, “you're trying another dirty trick. You're meant to be carrying the staff, so why are you giving it to the master to carry?”

“You've never walked across ice,” said Pig, “so you wouldn't know that there are always crevasses. Step on one and you'll go in. If you don't have something like a carrying-pole sticking out sideways then you'll fall into the water and have no more chance of climbing out that if you were in a big pot with a lid on it. You've got to have a prop like this to be safe.”

“This idiot must have years of experience of walking on ice,” thought Monkey, smiling to himself, and they took Pig's advice: the venerable elder held his monastic staff sideways, Monkey his iron cudgel, Friar Sand his demon-quelling staff and Pig, who had the luggage on a carrying-pole over his shoulder, held his rake sideways at waist height. Thus master and disciples pressed ahead without worry until nightfall, when they ate some of their dry rations. Not daring to delay, they hurried on over the ice that glistened and reflected the light of the moon and the stars across its white expanses. The horse never rested for a moment nor did master and disciples close their eyes as they kept going all night. They ate some more dry rations at dawn and pressed on towards the West.

As they were walking they heard a loud creaking noise from under the ice which so frightened the white horse that it almost fell over. “Disciples,” asked Sanzang with horror, “what was that noise?”

“The river has frozen so solid that it's made the earth rumble,” said Pig. “Or perhaps the river's frozen right to the bottom here in the middle.” Half reassured but still half terrified, Sanzang whipped the horse forward and they carried on.

Since coming back to his watery palace the evil monster had been waiting under the ice with all his spirits for a long time. As soon as he heard the horse's hoofs he used his magic to make the ice burst noisily open, giving Monkey such a fright that he sprang up into mid-air. The other three and the white horse sank into the water, where the evil monster captured Sanzang and took him back to his underwater palace with all his spirits.

“Where is my sister the mandarin fish?” he shouted stridently, at which she came forward, did obeisance, and said, “Your Majesty, I am not worthy to be your sister.”

“How can you say such a thing, good sister?” the monster replied. “Once a word is spoken a four-horse chariot can't bring it back. I said that if I caught the Tang Priest by following your plan I would take you as my sworn sister. Today your plan has proved itself to have been a superb one and the Tang Priest has been caught. I could not possibly go back on my word. Little ones,” he ordered his underlings, “bring a table, whet a sharp knife, open this monk up, cut out his heart, skin him, and slice up his flesh. I also want music played while I share him with my sister and we both obtain eternal life.”

“Your Majesty,” said the mandarin fish, “don't eat him yet. His disciples may make trouble if they come here searching for him. It would be better to wait a couple of days until we know those damned wretches won't come looking for him before we cut him up. Then Your Majesty will sit in the place of honour while we, your kinsfolk, play music, sing and dance around you and wait on you; and you will be able to take your pleasure at your ease. Wouldn't that be best?” The monster accepted the suggestion and had Sanzang stored away in a six-foot-long stone chest behind the palace.

Pig and Friar Sand meanwhile recovered the luggage in the river, loaded it on the back of the white horse, and swam up through the waves as they parted the waters. When Monkey saw them from up in the air he asked, “Where's the master?”

“He's not the Tang Priest now,” said Pig. “He's the Drowned Priest. We can't find him anywhere, so let's go back ashore and decide what to do.” Now Pig was a mortal incarnation of Marshal Tian Peng who had once commanded eighty thousand sailors on the Heavenly River in the sky, Friar Sand had come from the Flowing Sands River, and the white horse was the grandson of the Dragon King of the Western Ocean, so they were all good swimmers. With the Great Sage showing them the way from mid-air they were soon back at the Eastern bank, where they dried and brushed the horse and wrung out their clothes.

Monkey then landed his cloud, and they went back together to the Chen household, where a messenger had already reported that only three of the four venerable gentlemen who were going to fetch the scriptures were now returning. The two aged brothers hurried outside to meet them.

“Gentlemen,” they said, seeing their wet clothes, “we tried so hard to persuade you to stay longer, and look what has come of your refusal. Where is the venerable Tang Priest?”

“He isn't the Tang Priest any more,” said Pig. “He's the Drowned Priest.”

“Alas, alas,” said the aged brothers, bursting into tears. “We said that you should wait until the snow had melted and we could send you all across in a boat, but he refused to agree, and now he's dead.”

“Old men,” said Monkey, “don't upset yourselves over your friend. I can assure you that the master will not die. I'm certain that the Great King of Miraculous Response has captured him by magic. So stop worrying, have our clothes washed and starched, our passport dried out, and the white horse fed. My brothers and I will find the damned creature, rescue the master, and wipe this evil monster out. Then he'll give you village no more trouble and you will, I hope, have a safe and peaceful future.” Old Mr. Chen, greatly encouraged to hear this, ordered a vegetarian meal to be provided.

The three brothers ate their fill, handed the horse and the luggage over to the care of the Chen household, got their weapons ready, and hurried off to find their master and catch the monster. Indeed:

The true nature was harmed by treading on the ice;

How could they be complete without the Cinnabar?

If you do not know how they rescued the Tang Priest listen to the explanation in the next installment.

Sanzang's Great Misfortune Is to Fall into the River

Guanyin's Fish Basket Saves the Tang Priest

The story tells how the Great Sage Monkey took his leave of the old Chen brothers, went with Pig and Friar Sand to the bank of the river, and told the two of them to decide which of them would go into the water first. “Brother,” said Pig, “you should go first; neither of us two has very special powers.”

“To be frank with you, brother,” replied Monkey. “I wouldn't need any help from either of you in dealing with mountain spirits, but I can't cope in the water. If I go into rivers or seas I have to make hand spells to keep the water away, or else change into something like a fish or a crab. But if I'm making a hand spell I can't get a good swing with my cudgel, use my powers, or kill evil spirits. I asked you two to go in because I've long known that you're both good swimmers.”

“Brother,” said Friar Sand, “I'll go, but I don't know what we'll find at the bottom of the river. I think we should all go. You should turn yourself into something or else let me carry you through the water to find the monster's den. You go first and discover what's been happening. If the master hasn't been hurt and is still there we can do our best to attack the monster. But if the monster has used magic on the master and he's has been drowned or eaten there will be no point in searching too hard; we'd better find something else to do instead.”

“You're right, brother,” said Monkey. “Which of you will carry me?”

“Pig was secretly delighted at this question. “Goodness only knows how many times that ape has put one over on me,” he thought. “As he can't swim I'll carry him and put one over on him this time.”