The Journey to the West, Revised Edition, Volume 4

by Unknown

  On hearing these words, the old monster reflected in silence for a while. With a chuckle, he said, “So, it’s they! My worthy grandchild, you made a mistake when you got them involved!”

  “Do you know who they are, grandmaster?” asked the monster-spirit.

  “The one with a long snout and huge ears,” said the old monster, “happens to be Zhu Eight Rules, and the one with dark, gloomy complexion is Sha Monk. These two are still all right. But the one who has a hairy face and a thundergod beak goes by the name of Pilgrim Sun. This person truly has vast magic powers. When he caused great disturbance in the Celestial Palace five hundred years ago, not even a hundred thousand warriors from Heaven could capture him. Moreover, he devotes himself to mischief-making. Whether it’s ransacking a mountain or overturning an ocean, breaking down a cave or besieging a city, he’s a real champion at creating troubles! How could you provoke him? All right, I’ll go with you. I’ll capture that fellow and those princes of Jade-Flower as well, just to relieve your feelings.” The monster-spirit kowtowed to give thanks.

  Immediately the old monster summoned into his presence his various grandsons: Gibbon-Lion,4 Snow Lion, Suanyi,5 Baize,6 Wildcat, and Elephant-Baiter. Led by Yellow Lion, each of them took up a sharp weapon and mounted a gust of violent wind to reach the Leopard’s-Head Mountain. There they encountered the powerful odor of fire and smoke and heard the sound of weeping. When they looked more carefully, they found Freaky and Shifty sobbing and crying for their lord.

  “Are you the real Freaky Child or the false Freaky Child?” snapped the monster-spirit as he walked up to them.

  The two fiends fell on their knees. As they kowtowed and tried to hold back their tears, the two fiends said, “How could we be false? Yesterday we took the money to go purchase hogs and sheep. When we got to the main road west of the mountain, we ran into a priest with a hairy face and a thundergod beak. He spat on us once and immediately our legs grew weak and our mouths clamped shut. We could neither talk nor walk. He pushed us over and searched out our silver. He took our tablets, too. Neither of us snapped out of our stupor until just now. When we got home, the smoke and fire had not yet died but all our buildings had been burned out. Because we couldn’t see our lord or any of the captains and officers, we stayed here and wept. How did this fire start anyway?”

  When he heard this, the monster-spirit could not stop the tears gushing from his eyes. As he stamped the ground with both feet, he railed spitefully, “Baldie! You’re so wicked! How could you do such a vicious thing? You have gutted my cave-dwelling, burned my pretty lady to death, and robbed me of all my family and belongings! I’m so mad I could die! I’m so mad I could die!”

  The old monster asked Gibbon-Lion to drag him over and said to him, “Worthy grandchild, when things have reached this stage, getting mad won’t do you any good. Let’s conserve our vitality instead so that we may go seize those monks in the prefectural city.”

  Refusing to stop his wailing, the monster-spirit said, “Venerable Father! That mountain home of mine wasn’t built in a day! Now it’s completely wrecked by that baldpate! What do I have to live for?” He struggled up and would have rammed his head against a boulder to kill himself had not Snow Lion and Gibbon-Lion stopped him with their earnest pleadings. After a while, they left the mountain and headed for the city.

  When their churning wind and looming fog drew near, the people outside all parts of the capital were so terrified that men and women alike fled into the city with scant regard for their homes or possessions. After they had entered, the gates were shut tightly; meanwhile, someone had sped to the palace to cry, “Disaster! Disaster!” The princes and the Tang Monk were just enjoying breakfast in the Gauze-Drying Pavilion when they heard this report. When they stepped out to inquire, the people said, “A large band of monster-spirits are approaching the city, kicking up sand and stone and belching wind and fog.”

  “What shall we do?” exclaimed the old prince, horrified.

  “Relax, all of you!” said Pilgrim, chuckling. “This must be the monster-spirit from the Tiger’s-Mouth Cave who fled in defeat yesterday toward the southeast. Now he has banded together with that so-called Ninefold-Numina Primal Sage to come here. Let us brothers go out to meet them. Order the four gates closed and call up men to guard the city.” The prince indeed gave the order for the city gates to be closed and armed men were summoned to ascend the rampart. On the city tower the prince, together with his three sons and the Tang Monk, made the roll call. Amid fluttering banners that blotted out the sun and cannon fire that filled the sky, Pilgrim and his two brothers left the city midway between cloud and fog to face their enemies. Thus it was that

  Affinity’s lack had caused wise weapons’ loss

  And stirred up the demons, their perverse foes.

  We do not know how this battle will turn out; let’s listen to the explanation in the next chapter.

  NINETY

  Masters and lions,1 teachers and pupils, all return to the One;

  Thieves and the Dao, snares and Buddhism, quiet Ninefold-Numina.

  We were telling you about the Great Sage Sun, who went out of the city with Eight Rules and Sha Monk. When they met the monster-spirits face to face, they found them to be a bunch of lions of various colors: Yellow Lion Spirit led in front, with Suanyi Lion and Elephant-Baiter on his left, Baize Lion and Wildcat on his right, and Gibbon-Lion and Snow Lion at the back. In the middle of the group was a nine-headed lion, and by his side was the fiend, Child Blue Face, holding a brocade pennant with raised floral patterns. Child Shifty-and-Freaky and Child Freaky-and-Shifty held high two red banners as they all stood in an orderly fashion to the north.

  Eight Rules, always foolhardy, walked up to them and began to abuse them, saying, “You larcenous fiend! Where did you go to collect these several hairy lumps to come here?”

  “You lawless and vicious bonze!” cried the Yellow Lion Spirit, baring his teeth. “Yesterday three of you attacked one of me, and I was defeated. Wasn’t that enough that you had the upper hand? Why did you have to be so cruel as to burn down my cave-dwelling, ruin my mountain home, and harm all my relatives? My animosity toward you is deep as the sea! Don’t run away! Have a taste of your venerable father’s shovel.” Dear Eight Rules! He met the lion with upraised rake.

  The two of them had just come together, and no decision could yet be reached when the Gibbon-Lion, wielding an iron caltrop, and the Snow Lion Spirit, using a three-cornered club,2 also advanced to attack. “Welcome!” shouted Eight Rules, and on his side, Sha Monk quickly took out his fiend-routing staff to lend his assistance. Then Suanyi Spirit, Baize Spirit, Elephant-Baiter, and Wildcat all surged forward, and they were met by the Great Sage Sun grasping his golden-hooped rod. Suanyi used a cudgel, Baize a bronze mallet, Elephant-Baiter a steel lance, and Wildcat a battle ax. Those seven lion-spirits and these three savage priests thus had quite a battle!

  Mallet, cudgel, lance, and three-cornered club,

  Four-lights shovel, iron caltrop, and an ax3—

  Seven lions with seven weapons sharp

  Encircle three priests as they roar and shout.

  Vicious is the Great Sage’s iron rod

  And rare among men, Sha Monk’s treasure staff.

  Eight Rules, as if plague-ridden, sallies forth

  With a radiant muckrake that terrifies.

  Back and front they parry as they ply their might;

  Left and right they charge for they’re fearless all.

  Princes on the rampart now lend their strength

  By beating gongs and drums to rouse their hearts.

  Pressing back and forth they use magic power

  And fight till Heaven and Earth grow obscure.

  Those monster-spirits fought for half a day with the Great Sage and his two companions, and it became late. Eight Rules was foaming at the mouth, and his legs were gradually weakening. With a last halfhearted wave of his rake, he turned to flee.

  “Where are you off to? W
atch out!” cried Snow Lion and Gibbon-Lion. Our Idiot did not dodge quickly enough and received a blow to his spine from the club. As he lay flat on the ground, all he could mumble was “Finished! Finished!” Seizing him by the bristles and the tail, the two spirits hauled Eight Rules away to show him to the nine-headed lion, saying, “Grandmaster, we’ve caught one.”

  They had hardly finished speaking when Sha Monk and Pilgrim, too, were defeated. As the various monster-spirits gave chase together, however, Pilgrim pulled off a bunch of hairs, chewed them to pieces, and spat them out, crying, “Change!” They changed at once to hundreds of little Pilgrims who had Baize, Suanyi, Elephant-Baiter, Wildcat, and the golden-haired lion-fiend completely surrounded. Sha Monk and Pilgrim then returned and also plunged into the fray. When night fell, they captured Suanyi and Baize, though Wildcat, Elephant-Baiter, and Golden Hair managed to escape. When the old fiend learned from his grandsons that two lions were lost, he gave this instruction: “Tie up Zhu Eight Rules, but don’t take his life. Wait till they return our two lions, and we’ll give Eight Rules back to them. If they’re foolish enough to harm our two lions, we’ll make Eight Rules pay with his life.” That night the various monsters rested outside the city, and there we shall leave them for the moment.

  We tell you now about the Great Sage Sun, who had the two lion-spirits hauled near the city. When the old prince saw them, he ordered the city gates open and sent out some thirty guards with ropes to truss up the lion-spirits and take them inside. After he had retrieved his magic hairs, the Great Sage Sun went with Sha Monk up to the city tower to see the Tang Monk.

  “That was quite a fierce battle!” said the Tang Monk. “You think Wuneng will live?”

  “Relax!” replied Pilgrim. “Since we’ve caught these two monster-spirits, they will never dare harm him. Let’s have these two spirits firmly bound, so that they may be exchanged for Eight Rules tomorrow.”

  Kowtowing to Pilgrim, the three young princes said, “When our master first went into battle, we saw only one of you. But when you feigned defeat later, over a hundred of you suddenly appeared. By the time you had the monster-spirits captured and returned to the side of the city, you became a single person once more. What sort of magic was that?”

  “On my body,” replied Pilgrim with a chuckle, “there are eighty-four thousand hairs. One of them can change into ten of me, and the ten can also change into one hundred. In fact, the transformation can grow to millions and billions. This is the magic of the body beyond the body.” One after another, the princes touched their heads to the ground to show their reverence, after which, food was brought up to the tower for them to dine right there. At each crenel on the battlement were set up lanterns and flags, watch rattles, gongs, and drums. The soldiers were told to be diligent in announcing the watches, sending communication arrows, firing cannons, and shouting battle cries.

  Soon it was dawn. The old fiend summoned the Yellow Lion Spirit into his presence to give him this plan: “All of you today should exert yourselves and try to capture Pilgrim and Sha Monk. Let me secretly soar through the air to ascend the city and seize their master along with the old prince and his sons. After that, I’ll go back first to the Nine-bends Curvate Cave to wait for your triumphal return.” Accepting the plan, Yellow Lion led Gibbon-Lion, Snow Lion, Elephant-Baiter, and Wildcat, each grasping his weapon, and approached the city to provoke battle, in the midst of churning wind and roiling mist. On this side Pilgrim and Sha Monk leaped down from the parapet and shouted, “Lawless fiends! Return our brother Eight Rules quickly, and we’ll spare your lives! Otherwise, we’ll pulverize you!”

  Those monster-spirits, of course, did not permit further conversation. As they rushed forward, our Great Sage and his companion both exercised their intelligence to oppose those five lions. This battle was quite different from that of yesterday:

  A vicious, howling wind that scrubs the earth,

  A dark, heavy fog that blots out the sky.

  Flying dirt and stone dismay ghosts and gods;

  Toppling trees and woods alarm tigers and wolves.

  The lance is cruel, the ax, luminous;

  Caltrop, club, and shovel are all ruthless.

  How they wish they could swallow Pilgrim whole!

  Or capture alive that puny Sha Monk!

  This one compliant rod of our Great Sage

  Can thrust, turn, toss, and twist most cleverly.

  That fiend-routing staff of bold Sha Monk

  Has great fame beyond the Divine Mists Hall.

  Their action this time has great magic powers

  To sweep away the spirits of the West.

  When that battle between those five lion-spirits with coats of more than one color and Sha Monk and Pilgrim reached its most feverish moment, the old fiend mounted a dark cloud to ascend the city tower. All he had to do was to give his heads a shake, and those on the rampart—the various officials and the guards—became so terrified that they all tumbled down from the battlement. He sped inside the tower, and with wide-open mouths, caught hold of Tripitaka, the old prince, and his sons. He then went back to the spot at the north and seized Eight Rules with another mouth. He had, you see, altogether nine heads, and he therefore had nine mouths. One mouth held the Tang Monk, the second one Eight Rules, the third one the old prince, the fourth one the eldest young prince, the fifth one the second young prince, and the sixth one the third young prince. With six persons in six mouths, he still had three empty ones! “I’m leaving first!” he roared. When these five young lion-spirits saw the triumph of their grandmaster, they became more aggressive than ever.

  Pilgrim, too, heard the commotion on the rampart, and he knew at once that he had fallen for their scheme. Quickly admonishing Sha Monk to be careful, he ripped off all his hairs from both arms and chewed them to pieces before spitting them out: they changed instantly into hundreds and thousands of little Pilgrims. As they surged forward to attack, they dragged down the Gibbon-Lion, captured live Snow Lion, caught hold of Elephant-Baiter, overturned Wildcat, and beat to death Yellow Lion. From this wild melee, however, Child Blue Face, Shifty-and-Freaky, and Freaky-and-Shifty managed to escape.

  When the officials on the rampart saw what was happening, they opened the city gates once more and brought out ropes to tie up the five lion-spirits. After they had been dragged inside and before they had even been disposed of, a tearful queen came to bow to Pilgrim, saying, “O divine master! Our Royal Highness, his sons, and your master may have lost their lives! What is to become of this deserted city?”

  “Worthy Queen, please do not grieve,” said the Great Sage, bowing to her as he retrieved his magic hairs. “Because I have caught these seven lion-spirits, I don’t think that my master or His Highness and his heirs will be harmed, even though they have been abducted by the magic of the old monster. Early next morning, we two brothers will go to that mountain. We promise you that we shall capture the old monster and return four princes to you.” When the queen and other court ladies heard this, all of them kowtowed to Pilgrim and said, “We pray earnestly that the lives of His Highness and his heirs be preserved and that his royal dominion be established forever!” After their bows, each of them returned to the palace, struggling to hold back her tears.

  Pilgrim gave this instruction to the various officials: “Skin that Yellow Lion Spirit that we have beaten to death, and lock up the rest of the six living ones. Bring us some vegetarian food so that we may take a rest after the meal. You can all relax, for I promise you nothing serious will occur.”

  On the following day, the Great Sage led Sha Monk to mount the auspicious cloud, and in a little while, they arrived at the summit of the Bamboo-Knot Mountain. As they lowered the direction of their cloud to look around, they saw a marvelous tall mountain indeed, with

  A row of peaks rugged

  And summits most jagged.

  Deep in the stream flows a gurgling torrent;

  Below the cliff blooms the ornate fragrance.

  Win
ding ranges one after one

  And ancient paths encircling.

  Truly the cranes arrive to squire the pines,

  But the clouds depart to make the rocks forlorn.

  The apes face the sunlight to search for fruits,

  And deer enjoy the warmth to find their flowers.

  The bluebird’s reedy songs,

  The oriole’s murmurous notes.

  Spring peaches and plums vie for glamour;

  Summer elms and willows both prosper;

  Autumn spreads brocades of yellow flowers;

  Winter comes with white snow aflutter.

  A splendid scene in all four seasons,

  As good as the immortal Isle Yingzhou.

  As they enjoyed the scenery on the summit, they suddenly caught sight of that Child Blue Face dashing out of a little valley down below, his hand gripping a small cudgel.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” bellowed Pilgrim. “Old Monkey’s here!” The little monster was so terrified that he tumbled down the slope, while the two brothers eagerly gave chase. In a moment, however, Blue Face disappeared. A few steps more brought them to the front of a cave-dwelling, where they found tightly shut two doors of veined rocks. Across the top of the door was a stone placard, with the following inscription in clerkly script: Myriad-Numina Bamboo-Knot Mountain, Nine-Bends Curvate Cave.