Wu Cheng-en - Journey to the West (vol. 2)

“Please don't misjudge me, brother,” said the Great Sage with another bow. “Your good son captured my master and was going to eat him. I was no match for him. Luckily the Bodhisattva Guanyin rescued my master and converted your boy. He's now the page Sudhana. He's even taller than you. He lives in a temple of great bliss and enjoys eternal ease. There's nothing wrong with any of that, so why be angry with me?”

“Smooth-tongued macaque,” retorted the Bull Demon King. “Even if you can talk your way out of having ruined my son, what do you mean by upsetting my beloved concubine and chasing her up to my doors?”

“I made a polite inquiry of the lady because I could not find you,” Monkey replied. “I never realized she was your second wife, so when she was rude to me I acted rough. Please forgive me.”

“Very well then,” the Bull Demon King said. “I'll let you off this time for the sake of our old friendship.”

“I'm very grateful indeed for your immense kindness,” the Great Sage replied. “But there is one thing I'd like to trouble you with. I hope you'll be able to help me out.”

“You macaque,” the Bull Demon King shouted at him, “you think you can get away with anything! I spare your life, but instead of making yourself scarce you have to keep pestering me. What do you mean by helping out?”

“Let me be honest with you,” the Great Sage replied. “I'm stuck at the Fiery Mountains on my journey escorting the Tang Priest, and we're not getting anywhere. The local people told me that your good lady Raksasi has a plantain fan. I tried to borrow it. I went to visit my sister-in-law, but she refused to lend it me, which is why I've come to see you. I beg you, brother, in the greatness of your heart to come with me to sister-in-law's place and borrow the fan for me so that I can blow out the fires and get my master across the mountains. Then I'll return it right away.”

At this the Bull Demon King's heart blazed with wrath. “You told me you knew how to behave,” he said, noisily gnashing his teeth of steel. “I suppose all this was not just to borrow the fan. I'm certain my wife has refused to lend it you because you've mistreated her. So that's why you came to see me. On top of that you send my beloved concubine fleeing in terror. As the saying goes,

'Don't push around

Your best friend's wife,

Don't try to destroy

The joy of his life.'

You've been pushing my wife around and trying to destroy the concubine who's the joy of my life. It's an outrage. Take this!”

“If you want to hit me, brother, I'm not afraid,” said Monkey. “All I want is the treasure. I beg you to lend it me.”

“If you can last out three rounds with me,” the Bull Demon King said, “I'll make my wife lend it to you. And if you can't I'll kill you and have my revenge.”

“Good idea, brother,” Monkey replied. “I've been so lazy. I haven't been to see you for ages, and I don't know how your fighting powers now compare with the old days. Let's have a match with our cudgels.” The Bull Demon King was in no mood for further argument, and he hit at Monkey's head with his mace. Monkey hit back with his gold-banded cudgel. It was a splendid fight:

The gold-banded cudgel,

The rough iron mace,

Are no longer friends.

One said, “You destroyed my son, you macaque.”

The other, “Don't be angry: he has found the Way.”

“How could you be so stupid as to come to my door?”

“I am here to visit you with a special purpose.”

One wanted the fan to protect the Tang Priest;

The other was too mean to lend the plantain leaf.

Friendship was lost in the exchange of words;

In anger neither had any sense of brotherhood.

The Bull Demon King's mace moved like a dragon;

The Great Sage's cudgel sent gods and demons fleeing.

First they fought in front of the mountain,

Then they both rose on auspicious clouds.

They showed their great powers up in mid-air,

Doing wonderful movements in multi-coloured light.

The clash of their cudgels rocked the gates of Heaven;

They were too evenly matched for either to win.

The Great Sage and the Bull Demon King fought over a hundred rounds without either emerging as the victor. Just as they were becoming locked in their struggle a voice called from the peak, “King Bull, my king sends his respects and invites you to honour him with your presence at a banquet.”

At this the Bull Demon King blocked the gold-banded cudgel with his iron mace and called out, “You stay here, macaque. I'm going to a friend's house for a meal. I'll be back.” With that he landed his cloud and went straight back into the cave.

“My lovely,” he said to Princess Jade, “the man you saw with a face like a thunder god is the macaque Sun Wukong. A bout with my mace has sent him packing: he won't be back. Stop worrying and enjoy yourself. I'm going to a Mend's place for some drinks.” He then took off his helmet and armor, donned a duck-green jacket of cut velvet, went outside and mounted his water-averting golden-eyed beast. Telling his underlings to look after the palace he headed Northwest in clouds and mist.

While the Great Sage watched all this from the peak he thought, “I wonder who the friend is and where he's gone for his banquet. I'll follow him.” Splendid Monkey then shook himself and turned into a clear breeze to follow him. He soon reached a mountain, but the Bull Demon King was nowhere to be seen. The Great Sage turned back into himself and started to search the mountain. He found a deep pool of pure water beside which was inscribed in large letters on a tablet of stone

RAGGED ROCK MOUNTAIN

GREEN WAVE POOL

“Old Bull must have gone into the water,” Monkey thought, “and underwater spirits are lesser dragons, dragon or fish spirits, or else turtle, tortoise or terrapin spirits. I'd better go down and have a look.”

Making a hand-spell and saying the magic words the splendid Great Sage shook himself, turned into a medium-sized crab weighing thirty-six pounds, jumped into the water with a splash, and went straight down to the bottom of the pool. He saw an ornamental arch of delicate tracery to which was tethered a water-averting golden-eyed beast. On the other side of the arch there was no more water. Monkey crawled through and took a careful look. From one side he heard music, and this is what he saw:

Cowry gateways to a palace red,

Like nothing else in the world.

The roof tiles were of yellow gold,

The door pivots of whitest jade.

The screens were of tortoise-shell,

The balustrades of coral and of pearl.

Auspicious clouds glowed all around the throne,

From the sky above right down to the ground.

This was not the palace of Heaven or the sea,

Although it more than rivaled an island paradise.

A banquet for host and guests was set in the lofty hall,

Where all the official wore their hats with pearls.

Jade girls were told to bring ivory bowls,

Exquisite beauties to play fine music.

The great whale sang,

Giant crabs danced,

Turtles played pipes and drums,

While pearls shone over the goblets and boaras.

Birdlike script adorned the turquoise screens,

While shrimp-whisker curtains hung along the corridors.

From the eight notes mingled came wonderful music

Whose tones rose up to the clouds above.

Green-headed singsong girls stroked zithers of jasper

While red-eyed dragonflies played jade flutes.

Mandarin fish carried dried venison in on their heads,

While dragon girls had the wings of golden pheasants in their hair.

What they ate were

The rarest delicacies of the heavenly kitchen;

What they drank were

The finest vintages of the purple palace.