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

“Thieving damned monster,” Monkey shouted back. “You don't know what you're talking about. I was politely invited to help by the king of Purpuria. He addressed me very respectfully and treated me well. I'm a thousand times higher than that king. He treated me as if I were his father and mother or a god. How can you say I'm acting like a slave? I'll get you, you monster, for bullying your superiors and trying to push your master around. Stay there and take this from your grandpa.” The monster then moved his hands and feet as fast as he could, dodged the blow from the cudgel and struck back at Brother Monkey's face with his flower-scattering axe. It was a fine battle. Just watch!

The gold-banded As-You-Will cudgel,

The flower-scattering axe and its wind-keen blade.

One ground his teeth with terrible ferocity;

The other gnashed his molars and displayed his might.

One was the Great Sage Equaling Heaven descended to earth,

The other an evil demon king come down to the lower world.

Both snorted out clouds and shining mists that lit up the heavenly palace.

Sent stones and sand flying that blotted out the Dipper.

They came and went through many a movement,

Twisting and turning and giving off golden light.

Each used all of his talents to the full;

Both staked the whole of their magical powers.

One wanted to take the queen back to the capital;

The other would happily have stayed with her in the cave.

There was no deep reason for the struggle:

He was ready to give his life for the sake of the king.

When the two of them had fought fifty rounds without result the demon king realized that Monkey was too strong a fighter for him to be able to beat. Blocking the iron cudgel with his axe the demon said, “Stop, Sun the Novice. I haven't had my breakfast yet today. Let me eat, then I'll have it out with you.”

Monkey was well aware that he wanted to fetch the bells, so he put his cudgel away and said, “A hero doesn't chase an exhausted hare. Off you go. Have a good meal, and get ready to come back and die.”

The demon quickly turned and rushed inside, where he said to the queen, “Get me my treasures at once.”

“What for?” she asked.

“The man challenging me to battle this morning was a disciple of the monk who's going to fetch the scriptures,” he said. “He's called Sun Wukong, or Sun the Novice, and Grand Par was just a nickname. I've been battling it out with him all this time, but still there's no outcome. Just wait while I take my treasures out and set off smoke and flames to burn that ape.” These words made the queen feel very uneasy. If she didn't fetch the bells, she was worried that he might be suspicious, but if she did she feared that Sun the Novice would be killed. As she was hesitating the demon king pressed her again: “Hurry up and fetch them.” She had no choice but to undo the lock, bring out the three bells and hand them to the demon king, who took them and went outside the cave again. The queen sat in the inner quarters, her tears pouring down like rain, as she thought that Monkey would not possibly be able to escape with his life. Neither of them realized that the bells were only copies.

Once outside the cave the demon stood upwind and shouted, “Stay where you are, Sun the Novice. Watch while I ring these bells.”

“You have your bells, but why shouldn't I have mine?” Monkey replied. “You can ring yours, so why shouldn't I ring mine?”

“What bells have you got?” the demon king asked. “Show me.” Monkey pinched his iron cudgel to make it into an embroidery needle that he tucked into his ear then brought out the three real treasures from at his waist.

“Here are my purple gold bells,” he said to the demon king. The sight of them came as a shock to the demon.

“That's funny,” he thought, “very funny. Why are his bells exactly the same as mine? Even if they'd been cast from the same mould they'd not have been properly smoothed: you'd expect some extra marks or missing knobs. How can they be identical with this?”

“Where did you get your bells from?” he went on to ask again.

“Where are yours from, dear nephew?” Monkey replied.

Being honest, the demon king replied, “These bells of mine,

Come from deep in the Way of the Immortal of Great Purity,

Are made of gold long refined in the Eight Trigrams Furnace

Formed into bells renowned as ultimate treasures

Left by Lord Lao Zi till the present day.”

“That's where my bells come from too,” Monkey replied with a smile.

“How were they made?” the demon king asked.

“These bells of mine,” said Monkey,

“Were made of gold refined in the furnace

When Lord Lao Zi made elixir in the Tushita Palace.

They are cyclical treasures.

The two threes make six:

Mine are the female and yours are the male.”

“The bells are golden elixir treasures,” the demon king said, “not birds or beasts. They can't be male or female. As long as they yield what's precious when they're rung they're good ones.”

“Words prove nothing,” said Monkey. “Show it by actions. Shake yours first.” The demon king then rang his first bell three times. No fire came out. He rang his second three times. No smoke came out. He rang his third three times, and no sand came out either.

“Very odd,” he said, making wild gestures, “very odd. The world's changed. These bells must be hen-pecked. When the males see the females they don't dare to do their stuff.”

“Stop, nephew,” said Monkey. “Now I'm going to shake mine to show you what happens.” The splendid ape then grasped all three bells in one hand and rang them together. Watch as clouds of red flames, black smoke and yellow sand all come gushing out, setting the trees and the mountain ablaze. Monkey then said the words of another spell and shouted “Wind!” towards the Southeast; and a wind did indeed spring up that fanned the flames. With the power of the wind behind them the flames and smoke filled the heavens, blazing red and deepest black, and the earth was covered by the yellow sandstorm. The Evil Star Matcher's souls fled from his body in his terror, but he had nowhere to turn: amid that fire there was no way of escaping with his life.

Then a penetrating shout was heard from mid-air: “Sun Wukong, I am here.” Monkey quickly looked up and saw that it was the Bodhisattva Guanyin holding her vase of pure water in her left hand and a sprig of willow in her right with which to sprinkle sweet dew and put out the flames. In his alarm Monkey hid the bells at his waist, put the palms of his hands together and prostrated himself in a kowtow. The Bodhisattva flicked a few drops of sweet dew from her willow sprig and in an instant both flames and smoke disappeared, while no sign of the yellow sand remained to be seen.

“I did not realize, Most Merciful One, that you were coming down to the mortal world,” said Brother Monkey as he kowtowed, “and it was wrong of me to fail to keep out of your way. May I venture to ask where you are going, Bodhisattva?”

“I am here especially to find and take this evil monster,” the Bodhisattva replied.

“What is the monster's background, and how can he put you to the trouble of capturing him in your illustrious person?” Monkey asked.

“He is a golden-haired giant hound on which I used to ride,” the Bodhisattva replied. “The boy in charge of it fell asleep and failed to keep proper guard over it, so that the wicked beast bit through its iron chains and escaped to save the king of Purpuria from disaster.”

When Monkey heard this he hastily bowed and said, “You have it the wrong way round, Bodhisattva. He's been mistreating the king and his queen, and thus damaging public morality. So how can you say that he has saved the king from disaster when in fact he has brought him disaster?”