Wu Cheng-en - Journey to the West (vol. 3)

Hatred arose at the celebration; the party was ended.

One longed to mate with the primal masculinity,

The other wanted to defeat the incarnation of the female.

When the cudgel was raised to the sky cold mists spread out;

The swords shook up the earth's black dirt like a sieve.

Because the elder would visit the Buddha

They were locked in fierce combat, each showing great prowess.

When water conflicts with fire motherhood is out;

When Yin and Yang cannot combine each goes its own way.

After the two had been fighting for a very long time

The earth moved, the mountains shook and the trees were destroyed.

The sight of their struggle made Pig grumble resentfully about Monkey. “Brother,” he said, turning to Friar Sand, “our elder brother is messing around. When he was in her stomach just now he could have used his fists to make her belly red with blood, rip it open and come out. That would have settled her score. Why did he have to come out through her mouth and fight her? Why did he let her run wild?”

“You're right,” Friar Sand replied, “but it was thanks to him that the master was rescued from the depths of the cave, even if he is in a fight with her now. Let's ask the master to sit here by himself while we two use our weapons to help our brother beat the evil spirit.”

“No, no,” said Pig with a wave of his hand. “He's got his magic powers. We'd be useless.”

“What a thing to say,” retorted Friar Sand. “This is in all of our interests. We may not be much use, but even a fart can strengthen a breeze.”

Now that the idiot's dander was up he brandished his rake and shouted, “Come on!” Ignoring the master, they rode the wind and went for the evil spirit, striking wildly at her with their rake and staff. The evil spirit, who was already finding Brother Monkey too much to handle, realized that she would be unable to hold out against two more of them. At once she turned and fled.

“After her, brothers,” Monkey shouted. Seeing that they were so hot on her heels the evil spirit took the embroidered shoe off her right foot, blew on it with a magic breath, said a spell, called “Change!” and turned it into her own double swinging a pair of sword. Then she shook herself, turned into a puff of wind and went straight back. There she was, fleeing for her life because she was no match for them. What happened next was quite unexpected: Sanzang's evil star had still not gone away. As the evil spirit reached the archway in front of the entrance to the cave she saw the Tang Priest sitting there by himself, so she went up to him, threw her arm round him, grabbed the luggage, bit through the bridle, and carried him back inside, horse and all.

The story tells not of her but of Pig, who exploited an opening to fell the evil spirit with one blow of his rake, only to find that she was really an embroidered shoe.

“You pair of idiots,” said Monkey when he saw it. “You should have been looking after the master. Nobody asked you to help.”

“What about that, then, Friar Sand?” said Pig. “I said we shouldn't come here. That ape has had a brainstorm. We beat the monster for him and he gets angry with us.”

“Beaten the monster indeed!” Monkey said. “The monster fooled me yesterday by leaving a shoe behind when I was fighting her. Goodness knows how the master is now that you've left him. Let's go straight back and see.”

The three of them hurried back to find that the master had disappeared: there was no sign at all of him, the luggage or the white horse. Pig started rushing all over the place in a panic with Friar Sand searching alongside him. The Great Sage Sun was also most anxious. As he searched he noticed half of the bridle rope lying askew beside the path.

Picking it up, he could not hold back his tears as he called in a loud voice, “Master! When I went I took my leave of you three and the horse, and all I find on my return is this rope.” It was indeed a case of

Being reminded of the steed by seeing the saddle,

Missing the beloved amid one's tears.

The sight of Monkey's tears gave Pig an uncontrollable urge to throw back his head and laugh out loud. “Blockhead,” said Monkey abusively. “Do you want us to break up again?”

“That's not what I mean,” said Pig, still laughing. “The master's been carried back into the cave. As the saying goes, 'third time lucky'. You've already been into the cave twice, so if you go in again you're sure to rescue the master.”

“Very well then,” said Monkey, wiping away his tears, “as this is the way things are I have no choice. I'll have to go back in. You two don't have to worry about the luggage or the horse any more, so guard the cave-mouth properly.”

The splendid Great Sage turned round and sprang into the cave. This time he did no transformations but appeared in his own dharma form. This is what he was like:

His cheeks looked strange but his heart was strong;

As a monster since childhood his magic was mighty.

A misshapen face that looked like a saddle;

Eyes fiery bright with golden light.

His hairs were harder than needles of steel,

And striking was the pattern of his tigerskin kilt.

In the sky he could scatter a myriad clouds;

In the sea he could stir up thousandfold waves.

Once with his strength he fought heavenly kings,

Putting a hundred and eight thousand warriors to flight.

His title was Great Sage Equaling Heaven;

He was an expert with the gold-banded cudgel.

Today in the West he was using his powers

To return to the cave and rescue Sanzang.

Watch Monkey as he stops his cloud and heads straight for the evil spirit's residence, where he found the gates under the gate towers shut. Not caring whether or not it was the right thing to do, he smashed them open with one swing of his cudgel and charged inside. It was completely quiet and deserted, and the Tang Priest was nowhere to be seen in the corridor. The tables and chairs in the pavilion and all the utensils had completely disappeared. As the cave measured over a hundred miles around, the evil spirit had very many hiding places in it. This was where she had brought the Tang Priest the previous time, only to be found by Monkey, so after catching him this time she had moved him elsewhere in case Monkey came looking for him again.

Not knowing where they had gone, Monkey stamped his foot and beat his chest with fury, letting himself call out at the top of his voice, “Master! You are a Tang Sanzang formed in misfortune, a pilgrim monk molded from disaster. Hmm. I know the way well enough. Why isn't he here? Where should I look for him?”

Just when he was howling with impatience and anxiety his nose was struck by a whiff of incense, which brought him back to himself. “This incense smoke is coming from the back,” he thought, “so I suppose they must be there.” He strode in at the back, his cudgel in his hand, but still saw no sign of life. What he did see were three side rooms. Near the back wall was a lacquered offertory table carved with dragons on which stood a gilt incense-burner. From this came heavily scented incense smoke. On the table was a tablet inscribed with letters of gold to which the offerings were being made. The letters read, “Honoured Father, Heavenly King Li.” In a slightly inferior position was written, “Honoured Elder Brother, Third Prince Nezha.”

The sight filled Monkey with delight. He stopped searching for the monster and the Tang Priest, rubbed his cudgel between his fingers to make it as small as an embroidery needle, tucked it inside his ear, gathered up the tablet and the incense-burner with a sweep of his arms and went straight back out through the gates on his clouds. He was still chortling with glee when he reached the mouth of the cave.