第三十九回
第三十九回 一粒金丹天上得 三年故主世间生
话说那孙大圣头痛难禁，哀告道：“师父，莫念！莫念！等我医罢！”长老问：“怎么医？”行者道：“只除过阴司，查勘那个阎王家有他魂灵，请将来救他。”八戒道：“师父莫信他。他原说不用过阴司，阳世间就能医活，方见手段哩。”那长老信邪风，又念《紧箍儿咒》，慌得行者满口招承道：“阳世间医罢！阳世间医罢！”八戒道：“莫要住！只管念！只管念！”行者骂道：“你这呆孽畜，撺道师父咒我哩！”八戒笑得打跌道：“哥耶！哥耶！你只晓得捉弄我，不晓得我也捉弄你捉弄！”行者道：“师父，莫念！莫念！待老孙阳世间医罢。”三藏道：“阳世间怎么医？”行者道：“我如今一筋斗云，撞入南天门里，不进斗牛宫，不入灵霄殿，径到那三十三天之上，离恨天宫兜率院内，见太上老君，把他‘九转还魂丹’求得一粒来，管取救活他也。”
三藏闻言大喜，道：“就去，快来！”行者道：“如今有三更时候罢了，投到回来，好天明了。只是这个人睡在这里，冷冷淡淡，不像个模样，须得举哀人看着他哭，便才好哩。”八戒道：“不消讲，这猴子一定是要我哭哩。”行者道：“怕你不哭！你若不哭，我也医不成！”八戒道：“哥哥，你自去，我自哭罢了。”行者道：“哭有几样：若干着口喊，谓之嚎；扭搜出些眼泪儿来，谓之啕；又要哭得有眼泪，又要哭得有心肠，才算着嚎啕痛哭哩。”八戒道：“我且哭个样子你看看。”他不知那里扯个纸条，捻作一个纸捻儿，往鼻孔里通了两通，打了几个涕喷，你看他眼泪汪汪，粘涎答答的，哭将起来，口里不住的絮絮叨叨，数黄道黑，真个像死了人的一般。哭到那伤情之处，唐长老也泪滴心辜[1]。行者笑道：“正是那样哀痛，再不许住声。你这呆子哄得我去了，你就不哭。我还听哩！若是这等哭便罢，若略住住声儿，定打二十个孤拐！”八戒笑道：“你去！你去！我这一哭动头，有两日哭哩。”沙僧见他数落，便去寻几枝香来烧献。行者笑道：“好！好！好！一家儿都有些敬意，老孙才好用功。”
好大圣，此时有半夜时分，别了他师徒三众，纵筋斗云，只入南天门里。果然也不谒灵霄宝殿，不上那斗牛天宫，一路云光，径来到三十三天离恨天兜率宫中。才入门，只见那太上老君正坐在那丹房中，与众仙童执芭蕉扇搧火炼丹哩。他见行者来时，即分付看丹的童儿：“各要仔细。偷丹的贼又来也。”行者作礼笑道：“老官儿，这等没搭撒[2]。防备我怎的？我如今不干那样事了。”老君道：“你那猴子，五百年前大闹天宫，把我灵丹偷吃无数，着小圣二郎捉拿上界，送在我丹炉炼了四十九日，炭也不知费了多少。你如今幸得脱身，皈依佛果，保唐僧往西天取经。前者在平顶山上降魔，弄刁难，不与我宝贝，今日又来做甚？”行者道：“前日事，老孙更没稽迟[3]，将你那五件宝贝当时交还，你反疑心怪我？”
老君道：“你不走路，潜入吾宫怎的？”行者道：“自别后，西遇一方，名乌鸡国。那国王被一妖精假妆道士，呼风唤雨，阴害了国王，那妖假变国王相貌，现坐金銮殿上。是我师父夜坐宝林寺看经，那国王鬼魂参拜我师，敦请老孙与他降妖，辨明邪正。正是老孙思无指实，与弟八戒夜入园中，打破花园，寻着埋藏之所，乃是一眼八角琉璃井内。捞上他的尸首，容颜不改。到寺中见了我师，他发慈悲，着老孙医救，不许去赴阴司里求索灵魂，只教在阳世间救治。我想着无处回生，特来参谒。万望道祖垂怜，把‘九转还魂丹’借得一千丸儿，与我老孙，搭救他也。”老君道：“这猴子胡说！甚么一千丸，二千丸！当饭吃哩！是那里土块捘[4]的，这等容易？——咄！快去！没有！”行者笑道：“百十丸儿也罢。”老君道：“也没有。”行者道：“十来丸也罢。”老君怒道：“这泼猴却也缠帐[5]！没有，没有！出去，出去！”行者笑道：“真个没有，我问别处去救罢。”老君喝道：“去！去！去！”这大圣拽转步，往前就走。
老君忽的寻思道：“这猴子惫懒哩，说去说去，只怕溜进来就偷。”即命仙童叫回来道：“你这猴子，手脚不稳。我把这‘还魂丹’送你一丸罢。”行者道：“老官儿，既然晓得老孙的手段，快把金丹拿出来，与我四六分分，还是你的造化哩，不然，就送你个‘皮笊篱，——一捞个罄尽’。”那老祖取过葫芦来，倒吊过底子，倾出一粒金丹，递与行者道：“止有此了。拿去，拿去！送你这一粒，医活那皇帝，只算你的功果罢。”行者接了道：“且休忙，等我尝尝看。只怕是假的，莫被他哄了。”扑的往口里一丢，慌得那老祖上前扯住，一把揪着顶瓜皮，揝着拳头，骂道：“这泼猴若要咽下去，就直打杀了！”行者笑道：“嘴脸！小家子样！那个吃你的哩！能值几个钱！虚多实少的。在这里不是？”原来那猴子颏下有嗉袋儿。他把那金丹噙在嗉袋里，被老祖捻着道：“去罢！去罢！再休来此缠绕！”这大圣才谢了老祖，出离了兜率天宫。
你看他千条瑞霭离瑶阙，万道祥云降世尘。须臾间，下了南天门，回到东观，早见那太阳星上。按云头，径至宝林寺山门外，只听得八戒还哭哩。忽近前叫声：“师父。”三藏喜道：“悟空来了。可有丹药？”行者道：“有。”八戒道：“怎么得没有？他偷也去偷人家些来！”行者笑道：“兄弟，你过去罢，用不着你了。你揩揩眼泪，别处哭去。”教：“沙和尚，取些水来我用。”沙僧急忙往后面井上，有个方便吊桶，即将半钵盂水递与行者。行者接了水，口中吐出丹来，安在那皇帝唇里，两手扳开牙齿，用一口清水，把金丹冲灌下肚。有半个时辰，只听他肚里呼呼的乱响，只是身体不能转移。行者道：“师父弄我！金丹也不能救活，可是掯[6]杀老孙么？”三藏道：“岂有不活之理？似这般久死之尸，如何吞得水下？此乃金丹之仙力也。自金丹入腹，却就肠鸣了，肠鸣乃血脉和动，但气绝不能回伸。莫说人在井里浸了三年，就是生铁也上锈了，只是元气尽绝，得个人度他一口气便好。”那八戒上前就要度气，三藏一把扯住道：“使不得！还教悟空来。”那师父甚有主张：原来猪八戒自幼儿伤生作孽吃人，是一口浊气；惟行者从小修持，咬松嚼柏，吃桃果为生，是一口清气。这大圣上前，把个雷公嘴噙着那皇帝口唇，呼的一口气，吹入咽喉，度下重楼，转明堂，径至丹田，从涌泉倒返泥垣宫。呼的一声响亮，那君王气聚神归，便翻身，抡拳曲足，叫了一声：“师父！”双膝跪在尘埃道：“记得昨夜鬼魂拜谒，怎知道今朝天晓返阳神！”三藏慌忙搀起道：“陛下，不干我事。你且谢我徒弟。”行者笑道：“师父说那里话？常言道：‘家无二主。’你受他一拜儿不亏。”
三藏甚不过意，搀起那皇帝来，同入禅堂，又与八戒、行者、沙僧拜见了，方才按座。只见那本寺的僧人，整顿了早斋，却欲来奉献，忽见那个水衣皇帝，个个惊张，人人疑说。孙行者跳出来道：“那和尚，不要这等惊疑。这本是乌鸡国王，乃汝之真主也。三年前被怪害了性命，是老孙今夜救活。如今进他城去，要辨明邪正。若有了斋，摆将来，等我们吃了走路。”众僧即奉献汤水，与他洗了面，换了衣服。把那皇帝赭黄袍脱了，本寺僧官，将两领布直裰，与他穿了；解下蓝田带，将一条黄丝绦子与他系了；褪下无忧履，与他一双旧僧鞋撒[7]了；却才都吃了早斋，扣背马匹。
行者问：“八戒，你行李有多重？”八戒道：“哥哥，这行李日逐挑着，倒也不知有多重。”行者道：“你把那一担儿分为两担，将一担儿你挑着，将一担儿与这皇帝挑。我们赶早进城干事。”八戒欢喜道：“造化！造化！当时驮他来，不知费了多少力，如今医活了，原来是个替身。”
那呆子就弄玄虚，将行李分开，就问寺中取条扁担，轻些的自己挑了，重些的教那皇帝挑着。行者笑道：“陛下，着你那般打扮，挑着担子，跟我们走走，可亏你么？”那国王慌忙跪下道：“师父，你是我重生父母一般。莫说挑担，情愿执鞭坠镫[8]，伏侍老爷，同行上西天去也。”行者道：“不要你去西天，我内中有个缘故。你只挑得四十里进城，待捉了妖精，你还做你的皇帝，我们还取我们的经也。”八戒听言道：“这等说，他只挑四十里路，我老猪还是长工！”行者道：“兄弟，不要胡说，趁早外边引路。”
真个八戒领那皇帝前行，沙僧伏侍师父上马，行者随后。只见那本寺五百僧人，齐齐整整，吹打着细乐，都送出山门之外。行者笑道：“和尚们不必远送，但恐官家有人知觉，泄漏我的事机，反为不美。快回去！快回去！但把那皇帝的衣服冠带，整顿干净，或是今晚明早，送进城来，我讨些封赠赏赐谢你。”众僧依命各回讫。行者放开大步，赶上师父，一直前来。正是：
西方有诀好寻真，金木和同却炼神。
丹母空怀懞懂梦，婴儿长恨杌樗[9]身。
必须井底求明主，还要天堂拜老君。
悟得色空还本性，诚为佛度有缘人。
师徒们在路上，那消半日，早望见城池相近。三藏道：“悟空，前面想是乌鸡国了。”行者道：“正是。我们快赶进城干事。”那师徒进得城来，只见街市上人物齐整，风光闹热，早又见凤阁龙楼，十分壮丽。有诗为证。诗曰：
海外宫楼如上邦，人间歌舞若前唐。
花迎宝扇红云绕，日照鲜袍翠雾光。
孔雀屏开香霭出，珍珠帘卷彩旗张。
太平景象真堪贺，静列多官没奏章。
三藏下马道：“徒弟呵，我们就此进朝倒换关文，省得又拢那个衙门费事。”行者道：“说得有理。我兄弟们都进去，人多才好说话。”唐僧道：“都进去，莫要撒村[10]，先行了君臣礼，然后再讲。”行者道：“行君臣礼，就要下拜哩。”三藏道：“正是，要行五拜三叩头的大礼。”行者笑道：“师父不济。若是对他行礼，诚为不智。你且让我先走到里边，自有处置。等他若有言语，让我对答。我若拜，你们也拜；我若蹲，你们也蹲。”你看那惹祸的猴王，引至朝门，与阁门大使言道：“我等是东土大唐驾下差来，上西天拜佛求经者。今到此倒换关文，烦大人转达，是谓不误善果。”那黄门官即入端门，跪下丹墀，启奏道：“朝门外有五众僧人，言是东土唐国钦差上西天拜佛求经。今至此倒换关文，不敢擅入，现在门外听宣。”那魔王即令传宣。
唐僧却同入朝门里面，那回生的国主随行。正行，忍不住腮边堕泪，心中暗道：“可怜！我的铜斗儿江山，铁围的社稷，谁知被他阴占了！”行者道：“陛下切莫伤感，恐走漏消息。这棍子在我耳朵里跳哩，如今决要见功。管取打杀妖魔，扫荡邪物。这江山不久就还归你也。”那君王不敢违言，只得扯衣揩泪，舍死相从，径来到金銮殿下。
又见那两班文武，四百朝官，一个个威严端肃，像貌轩昂。这行者引唐僧站立在白玉阶前，挺身不动。那阶下众官无不悚惧，道：“这和尚十分愚浊！怎么见我王便不下拜，亦不开言呼祝，喏也不唱一个？好大胆无礼！”说不了，只听得那魔王开口问道：“那和尚是那方来的？”行者昂然答道：“我是南赡部洲东土大唐国奉钦差前往西域天竺国大雷音寺拜活佛求真经者。今到此方，不敢空度，特来倒换通关文牒。”那魔王闻说，心中作怒，道：“你东土便怎么！我不在你朝进贡，不与你国相通，你怎么见吾抗礼[11]，不行参拜！”行者笑道：“我东土古立天朝，久称上国，汝等乃下土边邦。自古道：‘上邦皇帝，为父为君；下邦皇帝，为臣为子。’你倒未曾接我，且敢争我不拜？”那魔王大怒，教文武官：“拿下这野和尚去！”说声叫“拿”，你看那多官一齐踊跃。这行者喝了一声，用手一指，教：“莫来！”那一指，就使个定身法，众官俱莫能行动，真个是校尉阶前如木偶，将军殿上似泥人。
那魔王见他定住了文武多官，急纵身跳下龙床，就要来拿。猴王暗喜道：“好！正合老孙之意。这一来就是个生铁铸的头，荡着棍子，也打个窟窿！”正动身，不期旁边转出一个救命星来。你道是谁？原来是乌鸡国王的太子，急上前扯住那魔王的朝服，跪在面前道：“父王息怒。”妖精问：“孩儿怎么说？”太子道：“启父王得知。三年前闻得人说，有个东土唐朝驾下钦差圣僧往西天拜佛求经，不期今日才来到我邦。父王尊性威烈，若将这和尚拿去斩首，只恐大唐有日得此消息，必生嗔怒。你想那李世民自称王位，一统江山，尚心未足，又兴过海征伐；若知我王害了他御弟圣僧，一定兴兵发马，来与我王争敌。奈何兵少将微，那时悔之晚矣。父王依儿所奏，且把那四个和尚，问他个来历分明，先定他一段不参王驾，然后方可问罪。”
这一篇，原来是太子小心，恐怕来伤了唐僧，故意留住妖魔，更不知行者安排着要打。那魔王果信其言，立在龙床前面，大喝一声道：“那和尚是几时离了东土？唐王因甚事着你求经？”行者昂然而答道：“我师父乃唐王御弟，号曰三藏。因唐王驾下有一丞相，姓魏名征，奉天条梦斩泾河老龙。大唐王梦游阴司地府，复得回生之后，大开水陆道场，普度冤魂孽鬼。因我师父敷演[12]经文，广运慈悲，忽得南海观世音菩萨指教来西。我师父大发弘愿，情忻意美，报国尽忠，蒙唐王赐与文牒。那时正是大唐贞观十三年九月望前三日。离了东土，前至两界山，收了我做大徒弟，姓孙，名悟空行者；又到乌斯国界高老庄，收了二徒弟，姓猪，名悟能八戒；流沙河界，又收了三徒弟，姓沙，名悟净和尚；前日在敕建宝林寺，又新收个挑担的行童[13]道人。”魔王闻说，又没法搜检那唐僧，弄巧计盘诘行者，怒目问道：“那和尚，你起初时，一个人离东土，又收了四众。那三僧可让，这一道难容。那行童断然是拐来的，他叫做甚么名字？有度牒是无度牒？拿他上来取供。”唬得那皇帝战战兢兢道：“师父呵！我却怎的供？”孙行者捻他一把道：“你休怕，等我替你供。”
好大圣，趋步上前，对怪物厉声高叫道：“陛下，这老道是一个瘖哑[14]之人，却又有些耳聋。只因他年幼间曾走过西天，认得道路。他的一节儿起落根本，我尽知之，望陛下宽恕，待我替他供罢。”魔王道：“趁早实实的替他供来，免得取罪。”行者道：
“供罪行童年且迈，痴聋瘖哑家私坏。
祖居原是此间人，五载之前遭破败。
天无雨，民干坏，君王黎庶都斋戒。
焚香沐浴告天公，万里全无云叆叇。
百姓饥荒若倒悬，钟南忽降全真怪。
呼风唤雨显神通，然后暗将他命害。
推下花园水井中，阴侵龙位人难解。
幸吾来，功果大，起死回生无挂碍。
情愿皈依作行童，与僧同去朝西界。
假变君王是道人，道人转是真王代。”
那魔王在金銮殿上，闻得这一篇言语，唬得他心头撞小鹿，面上起红云。急抽身就要走路，奈何手内无一兵器，转回头，只见一个镇殿将军腰挎一口宝刀，被行者使了定身法，直挺挺如痴如哑，立在那里。他近前夺了这宝刀，就驾云头望空而去。气得沙和尚爆躁如雷，猪八戒高声喊叫，埋怨行者是一个急猴子：“你就慢说些儿，却不稳住他了？如今他驾云逃走，却往何处追寻？”行者笑道：“兄弟们且莫乱嚷。我等叫那太子下来拜父，嫔后出来拜夫。”却又念个咒语，解了定身法：“教那多官苏醒回来拜君，方知是真实皇帝。教诉前情，才见分晓，我再去寻他。”好大圣，分付八戒、沙僧：“好生保护他君臣父子嫔后与我师父！”只听说声去，就不见形影。
他原来跳在九霄空里，睁眼四望，看那魔王哩。只见那畜果逃了性命，径往东北上走哩。行者赶得将近，喝道：“那怪物，那里去！老孙来了也！”那魔王急回头，掣出宝刀，高叫道：“孙行者，你好惫懒！我来占别人的帝位，与你无干，你怎么来抱不平，泄漏我的机密！”行者呵呵笑道：“我把你那个大胆的泼怪！皇帝又许你做？你既知我是老孙，就该远遁，怎么还刁难我师父，要取甚么供状！适才那供状是也不是？你不要走！好汉吃我老孙这一棒！”那魔侧身躲过，缠宝刀劈面相还。他两个搭上手，这一场好杀，真是：
猴王猛，魔王强，刀迎棒架敢相当。
一天云雾迷三界，只为当朝立帝王。
他两个战经数合，那妖魔抵不住猴王，急回头复从旧路跳入城里，闯在白玉阶前两班文武丛中，摇身一变，即变得与唐三藏一般模样，并搀手，立在阶前。这大圣赶上，就欲举棒来打，那怪道：“徒弟莫打，是我！”急掣棒要打那个唐僧，却又道：“徒弟莫打，是我！”一样两个唐僧，实难辨认。——“倘若一棒打杀妖怪变的唐僧，这个也成了功果；假若一棒打杀我的真实师父，却怎么好！……”只得停手，叫八戒、沙僧问道：“果然那一个是怪，那一个是我的师父？你指与我，我好打他。”八戒道：“你在半空中相打相嚷，我们瞥瞥眼就见两个师父，也不知谁真谁假。”
行者闻言，捻诀念声咒语，叫那护法诸天、六丁六甲、五方揭谛、四值功曹、一十八位护教伽蓝、当坊土地、本境山神道：“老孙至此降妖，妖魔变作我师父，气体相同，实难辨认。汝等暗中知会者，请师父上殿，让我擒魔。”原来那妖怪善腾云雾，听得行者言语，急撒手跳上金銮宝殿，这行者举起棒望唐僧就打。可怜！若不是唤那几位神来，这一下，就是二十个唐僧，也打为肉酱！多亏众神架住铁棒道：“大圣，妖怪会腾云，先上殿去了。”行者赶上殿，他又跳将下来扯住唐僧，在人丛里又混了一混，依然难认。
行者心中不快，又见那八戒在旁冷笑，行者大怒道：“你这夯货怎的？如今有两个师父，你有得叫，有得应，有得伏侍哩。你这般欢喜得紧！”八戒笑道：“哥啊，说我呆，你比我又呆哩！师父既不认得，何劳费力？你且忍些头疼，叫我师父念念那话儿，我与沙僧各搀一个听着。若不会念的，必是妖怪，有何难也？”行者道：“兄弟，亏你也。正是，那话儿只有三人记得。原是我佛如来心苗上所发，传与观世音菩萨，菩萨又传与我师父，便再没人知道。——也罢，师父，念念。”真个那唐僧就念起来。那魔王怎么知得，口里胡哼乱哼。八戒道：“这哼的却是妖怪了！”他放了手，举钯就筑，那魔王纵身跳起，踏着云头便走。
好八戒，喝一声，也驾云头赶上。慌得那沙和尚丢了唐僧，也掣出宝杖来打。唐僧才停了咒语。孙大圣忍着头疼，揝着铁棒，赶在空中。呀！这一场，三个狠和尚，围住一个泼妖魔。那魔王被八戒、沙僧使钉钯宝杖左右攻住了。行者笑道：“我要再去当面打他，他却有些怕我，只恐他又走了。等我老孙跳高些，与他个捣蒜打，结果了他罢。”
这大圣纵祥光，起在九霄，正欲下个切手[15]，只见那东北上一朵彩云里面，厉声叫道：“孙悟空，且休下手！”行者回头看处，原来文殊菩萨。急收棒，上前施礼道：“菩萨，那里去？”文殊道：“我来替你收这个妖怪的。”行者谢道：“累烦了。”那菩萨袖中取出照妖镜，照住了那怪的原身。行者才招呼八戒、沙僧，齐来见了菩萨，却将镜子里看处，那魔王生得好不凶恶：
眼似琉璃盏，头若炼砂缸。浑身三伏靛，四爪九秋霜。搭拉[16]两个耳，一尾扫帚长。青毛生锐气，红眼放金光。匾牙排玉板，圆须挺硬枪。镜里观真像，原是文殊一个狮猁王。
行者道：“菩萨，这是你坐下的一个青毛狮子，却怎么走将来成精？你就不收服他？”菩萨道：“悟空，他不曾走。他是佛旨差来的。”行者道：“这畜类成精，侵夺帝位，还奉佛旨差来？似老孙保唐僧受苦，就该领几道敕书！”
菩萨道：“你不知道。当初这乌鸡国王，好善斋僧，佛差我来度他归西，早证金身罗汉。因是不可原身相见，变做一种凡僧，问他化些斋供。被吾几句言语相难，他不识我是个好人，把我一条绳捆了，送在那御水河中，浸了我三天三夜。多亏六甲金身救我归西，奏与如来，如来将此怪令到此处推他下井，浸他三年，以报吾三日水灾之恨。‘一饮一啄，莫非前定’。今得汝等来此，成了功绩。”
行者道：“你虽报了甚么‘一饮一啄’的私仇，但那怪物不知害了多少人也！”菩萨道：“也不曾害人。自他到后，这三年间，风调雨顺，国泰民安，何害人之有？”行者道：“固然如此，但只三宫娘娘，与他同眠同起，点污了他的身体，坏了多少纲常伦理，还叫做不曾害人？”菩萨道：“点污他不得。他是个骟[17]了的狮子。”八戒闻言，走近前，就摸了一把，笑道：“这妖精真个是‘糟鼻子不吃酒——枉担其名’了！”行者道：“既如此，收了去罢。若不是菩萨亲来，决不饶他性命。”那菩萨却念个咒，喝道：“畜生，还不皈正，更待何时！”那魔王才现了原身。菩萨放莲花罩定妖魔，坐在背上，踏祥光辞了行者。咦！径转五台山上去，宝莲座下听谈经。毕竟不知那唐僧师徒怎的出城，且听下回分解。
[1] 辜：通“苦”。
[2] 没搭撒：无聊、不振作、提不起精神、垂头丧气。这里作没正经解释。
[3] 稽迟：耽误，拖误。
[4] 捘（zùn）：搓，用手团弄成球形。
[5] 缠帐：纠缠，搅扰。即赖皮的意思。
[6] 掯（kèn）：勒掯。这里是刁难的意思。
[7] 撒：同“靸（sǎ）”。方言。指把鞋后帮踩在脚下拖着穿。
[8] 执鞭坠镫：表面意思是服侍别人骑马，实际表达对别人的敬仰或报恩之情。坠镫，向下拉马镫，以利于尊者上马。
[9] 杌（wù）樗（chū）：杌，树没有枝。樗，臭椿树。杌樗，比喻不成材料、没出息。
[10] 撒村：说话粗野、没礼貌。有时说黄色骂人的话，也叫撒村。
[11] 抗礼：行平等的礼节。这里指不行参拜礼。
[12] 敷演：讲解。
[13] 行童：寺院中地位低下的俗家弟子。
[14] 瘖（yīn）哑：哑巴，不能说话。
[15] 切手：绝招，狠手。
[16] 搭拉：形容下垂的样子。
[17] 骟（shàn）：阉割。指对禽兽而言。
CHAPTER 39. One pellet of cinnabar elixir found in Heaven; A king, dead three years, lives again on Earth.
We were telling you about the Great Sage Sun, who could hardly bear his headache. “Master,” he pleaded pitifully, “stop reciting! Stop reciting! Let me try to heal him.” “How?” asked the elder. Pilgrim said, “All I need to do is to go to the Region of Darkness and find out in which of the Ten Kings’ chambers his soul is residing. I’ll fetch it and he’ll be saved.” “Master, don’t believe him,” said Eight Rules. “He told me originally that he needn’t go to the Region of Darkness, that his real ability could not be seen unless a cure was found in the World of Light.” Believing in such perverse tattle, the elder began to recite the Tight-Fillet Spell once more. Pilgrim was so horrified that he had to say repeatedly, “I’ll find some means in the World of Light! I’ll find some means in the World of Light!” “Don’t stop,” said Eight Rules, “just keep reciting!” “You idiotic cursed beast!” chided Pilgrim. “You are just trying to coax Master into putting that spell on me!” Laughing until he nearly collapsed, Eight Rules said, “O Elder Brother! You only know how to pull tricks on me, but you don’t realize that I can do the same on you.” “Master, please stop,” said Pilgrim, “and let old Monkey find a cure in the World of Light for the king.” “Where would you find it in the World of Light?” asked Tripitaka. “With a single cloud somersault,” said Pilgrim, “I shall penetrate the South Heaven Gate, but I’ll not go into the Big Dipper Palace nor into the Divine Mists Hall. Instead, I shall go straight up to the Thirty-third Heaven, to the Tushita Palace of the Griefless Heaven. When I see Laozi there, I shall beg him for one pellet of his Soul-Restoring Elixir of Nine Reversions, which will certainly make this man live again.”
When Tripitaka heard these words, he was very pleased and said, “Go quickly and come back.” “It’s about the hour of the third watch at this moment,” said Pilgrim, “but by the time I get back, it’ll be dawn. The trouble with this man sleeping here like this is that the whole atmosphere seems so dull and heartless. Someone here should mourn him and that’ll be more like it.” “It goes without saying,” said Eight Rules, “that this monkey would like me to mourn the king.” “Yes, but I’m afraid that you won’t,” said Pilgrim. “If you won’t, I can’t heal him either!” “Elder Brother,” said Eight Rules, “you may go. I’ll mourn him.” Pilgrim said, “There are several ways of mourning: when you merely open your mouth to make noises, that’s called howling; when you squeeze out some tears, that’s weeping. When you mourn with both tears and feelings, then we may call that wailing.” “I’ll give you an example of how I can wail!” said Eight Rules, who pulled out a scrap of paper from somewhere and rolled it into a thin strip, which he stuck into his nostrils twice. Look at him! After sneezing a few times, tears and snivel all came out and he began to wail, mumbling and muttering protests all the time as if someone in his family had actually died. He bawled lustily, and when his passion rose to a terrific pitch, even the Tang elder was moved to tears. “That’s the sort of grief I want you to show,” said Pilgrim with a laugh, “and you are not permitted to stop. For if you, Idiot, think that you can quit mourning after I leave, you are mistaken, for I can still hear you. You’ll be all right if you keep this up, but the moment I discover that your voice has stopped, your shanks will be given twenty strokes.” “You go!” said Eight Rules, chuckling. “Once I start to mourn, it will take me a couple of days to finish.” When Sha Monk heard how stern Pilgrim’s reprimand of Eight Rules was, he went and lit a few sticks of incense to bring to offer to the dead king. “Fine! Fine! Fine!” said Pilgrim, laughing. “When the whole family shows reverence like that, old Monkey can then exert his efforts.”
Dear Great Sage! At this hour of midnight, he took leave of master and disciples, the three of them; mounting the cloud somersault, he entered at once the South Heaven Gate. Indeed, he did not go before the Treasure Hall of Divine Mists, nor did he ascend to the Big Dipper Palace. Treading on his cloudy luminosity, he went straight to the Griefless Heaven, the Tushita Palace of the Thirty-third Heaven. The moment he walked inside the door, he discovered Laozi sitting in the elixir chamber: in the process of making elixir, he and a few divine youths were tending the fires with plantain fans. When he saw Pilgrim approaching, he immediately instructed the youths with these words: “Take care, each of you. The thief who once stole our elixir is here.” Bowing to him, Pilgrim said with laughter, “Venerable Sir, don’t be so silly! Why take such precaution against me? I don’t do those things anymore!” “Monkey,” said Laozi, “when you caused great disruption in Heaven five hundred years ago, you stole and consumed countless efficacious elixirs of mine. And when we sent the Little Sage Erlang to arrest you and bring you to the Region Above, you were sent to be refined in my elixir brazier for forty-nine days and made me squander who knows how much charcoal. You were lucky to have regained your freedom when you embraced the Buddhist fruit and resolved to accompany the Tang Monk to the Western Heaven to acquire scriptures. But even then, you were still giving me a hard time when I asked you for my treasures after you had subdued the demons some time ago on the Level-Top Mountain. What are you doing here today?” “I didn’t give you a hard time,” said Pilgrim. “Old Monkey at the time gave you back your five treasures without delay. Why are you still so suspicious?” “Why aren’t you on the road then?” asked Laozi. “Why did you sneak into my palace?”
Pilgrim said, “After we parted, we proceeded toward the West until we came to the Black Rooster Kingdom. The king there had been murdered by a monster-spirit masquerading as a Daoist able to summon wind and rain. The monster then changed himself into the form of the king, and now he sits in the Hall of Golden Chimes. When my master read the sūtras during the night before last in the Precious Grove Monastery, the king’s spirit appeared to him and requested earnestly for old Monkey to subdue the fiend for him. Because old Monkey considered the problem of evidence, he went to the imperial garden with Eight Rules to look for the burial site. Within a well of octagonal marble walls, we fished out the king’s corpse, so perfectly preserved that neither his color nor his appearance had changed. When we brought him back to my master, he was moved by compassion and wanted me to revive him. The condition was set, however, that I could not go to the Region of Darkness to fetch his soul, and that I must find some means to revive him in the World of Light. I concluded that there was no other remedy available, and that was why I came especially to see you. I beseech the Patriarch of Tao to be merciful and lend me one thousand tablets of your Soul-Restoring Elixir of Nine Reversions, so that old Monkey can save the king.”
“This ape is babbling!” said Laozi. “What are you saying—one thousand tablets, two thousand tablets! You eat them like rice? You think they are kneaded with mud? That easy? No! Go quickly! I have none!” “All right,” said Pilgrim, chuckling, “how about a hundred tablets?” “I don’t have any,” said Laozi. “Just ten tablets, then,” said Pilgrim. “This wretched ape is an absolute pest!” said Laozi angrily. “I don’t have any. Get out! Get out!” “You really don’t have any?” said Pilgrim, laughing. “I’ll go somewhere to look for help then.” “Go! Go! Go!” shouted Laozi. Turning around, the Great Sage strode out at once.
Laozi suddenly thought to himself, “This monkey is such a rogue! When I told him to go, he left, but I fear that he might sneak back in and start stealing.” He ordered a divine youth to call Pilgrim back at once, saying, “You ape, you have itchy hands and feet! I’ll give you one tablet of my Soul-Restoring Elixir.” “Venerable Sir,” said Pilgrim, “if you know the talent of old Monkey, you will bring out your golden elixir at once and divide up what you have with me equitably. That’ll be your good fortune! Otherwise, I’m going to swipe them clean for you.” Taking out his gourd, the patriarch turned it upside down and poured out one pellet of golden elixir. He handed it over to Pilgrim, saying, “That’s all I have. Take it, take it! I’m giving it to you, you know, and when that king is revived, it’ll be counted as your merit.” Pilgrim took it and said, “Let’s not hurry! I’m going to have a taste of it first, for I’m not going to be duped by some bogus pill!” He popped it into his mouth at once. The old patriarch was so startled that he dashed forward and grabbed the skin on Pilgrim’s head. Holding high his fist, he shouted, “You wretched ape! If you dare swallow it, I’ll kill you!” “Shame on you!” said Pilgrim, laughing. “Don’t be so petty! Who’s going to eat your stuff! How much could it be worth, this flimsy stuff? Isn’t it right here?” The monkey, you see, had a little pouch just beneath his jowl, and that was where he kept the golden elixir. After the patriarch had felt it with his fingers, he said, “Go away! Don’t bother me here anymore!” Then the Great Sage thanked the old patriarch and left the Tushita Heaven Palace. Look at him!
In countless hallowed beams he left the arches of jade;
On myriad auspicious clouds he went to the world of dust.
In a moment, he left the South Heaven Gate behind and, as the sun came up, he dropped from the clouds and arrived at the gate of the Precious Grove Monastery.
Eight Rules’s weeping could still be heard when he approached, crying, “Master.” “Wukong has returned,” said Tripitaka, delighted. “Do you have any elixir or medicine?” “I do,” said Pilgrim. “He couldn’t possibly not have it!” said Eight Rules. “He would have brought back something even if he had to steal it!” “Brother,” said Pilgrim, chuckling, “you can get out of the way, I don’t need you anymore. Wipe away your tears, or you can go somewhere to weep. Sha Monk, please fetch me some water.”
Sha Monk hurried to the well in the rear where there was a bucket nearby. He bailed out half an alms bowl of water and brought it to Pilgrim. After he took it, Pilgrim spat out the elixir and placed it inside the lips of the king. Then with both hands, he pulled the jaws of the king apart, and using a mouthful of clean water, he flushed the golden elixir down to the king’s stomach. After about half an hour, loud gurgling noises came from the belly of the king, although his body remained immobile. “Master,” said Pilgrim, “even my golden elixir seems unable to revive him! Could it be that old Monkey’s going to be finished off by blackmail?” Tripitaka said, “Nonsense! There’s no reason for him not to live. How could he swallow that water if he had been only a corpse dead for a long time? It had to be the divine power of that golden elixir, which entrance into his stomach now causes the intestines to growl. When that happens, it means that circulation and pulse are in harmonious motion once more. His breath, however, is still stopped and cannot flow freely. But that’s to be expected when a man has been submerged in a well for three years; after all, even raw iron would be completely rusted. That’s why his primal breath is all used up, and someone should give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.”
Eight Rules walked forward and was about to do this when he was stopped by Tripitaka. “You can’t do it,” he said. “Wukong still should take over.” That elder indeed had presence of mind, for Zhu Eight Rules, you see, had been a cannibal since his youth, and his breath was unclean. Pilgrim, on the other hand, had practiced self-cultivation since his birth, the food sustaining him being various fruits and nuts, and thus his breath was pure. The Great Sage, therefore, went forward and clamped his thundergod beak to the lips of the king: a mighty breath was blown through his throat to descend the tiered towers.1 Invading the bright hall, it reached the cinnabar field and the jetting-spring points beyond before it reversed its direction and traveled to the mud-pill chamber of the crown. With a loud swoosh, the king’s breath came together and his spirit returned; he turned over and at once flexed his hands and feet, crying, “Master!” Going then to his knees, he said, “I remember my soul as a ghost did see you last night, but I did not expect this morning my spirit would return to the World of Light.” Tripitaka hurriedly tried to raise him, saying, “Your Majesty, I didn’t do anything. You should thank my disciple.”
“Master, what are you saying?” said Pilgrim with laughter. “The proverb says, ‘A household does not have two heads.’ You should accept his bow.”
Greatly embarrassed nonetheless, Tripitaka raised the king up with both hands and they went together into the Chan hall. The king insisted on greeting Pilgrim, Eight Rules, and Sha Monk before he would take a seat. The resident monks of the monastery had just finished preparing the morning meal and they were about to present it when they discovered a king with soaking wet garments. Everyone became frightened; each of them began to speculate. Pilgrim Sun, however, leaped into their midst and said, “Monks, don’t be so alarmed. This is in fact the king of the Black Rooster Kingdom, the true ruler of all of you. Three years ago he was murdered by a fiend, but old Monkey revived him last night. We plan to go with him to the city presently to distinguish the perverse from the true. If you have some vegetarian food prepared, bring it here, so that we can start our journey after we eat.” The monks then presented hot water also so that the king could wash up and change his clothes. The royal reddish brown robe was discarded, and he put on instead two cloth shirts given to him by the monk-official. They took off the jade belt and tied him up with a yellow silk sash; after the carefree boots were removed, he was given a pair of old monk sandals. Then they had their vegetarian breakfast before going to saddle the horse.
“Eight Rules,” said Pilgrim, “how heavy is your luggage?” “I’ve been toting it every day,” said Eight Rules, “and I really don’t know how heavy it is.” Pilgrim said, “Divide one and let the king take up the other one. We should get to the city early to do our work.” Delighted, Eight Rules said, “Lucky! Lucky! When I brought him here on my back, I used up a lot of my strength. I had no idea that he could be my substitute after he had been healed.” Resorting at once to mischief, Idiot divided the luggage; he carried the lighter load with a flat pole that he acquired from the monastery, whereas the heavier load he gave to the king to pole. “Your Majesty,” said Pilgrim with a chuckle, “I hope you don’t mind our treatment, dressing you in that manner and asking you to pick up a pole to follow us?” Kneeling down immediately, the king said, “Master, you are like parents who have given me a new birth. Don’t mention anything about poling some luggage. I’m even willing to pick up the whip and hold the stirrups to look after the Venerable Father and follow him all the way to the Western Heaven.”
Pilgrim said, “There’s no need for you to do that, but I have a reason for making you do this at the moment. You can help us carry the luggage for these forty miles until we have entered the city and caught the monster-spirit. Then you can become a king again, and we will go and fetch our scriptures.” Hearing this, Eight Rules said, “In that case, he is going to pole for only forty miles. After that, old Hog will remain as a long-term laborer!” “Brother, no more foolish talk!” said Pilgrim. “Get out there and lead the way.”
Eight Rules indeed walked with the king in front to lead the way, while Sha Monk helped his master to mount the horse and Pilgrim took up the rear. Arranged in an orderly formation, the five hundred monks of that monastery followed them all the way to the gate, playing and blowing their musical instruments. Smiling, Pilgrim said, “No need for you monks to accompany us any further. I fear that if any of this is leaked to the officials, our enterprise will be ruined. Go back quickly! Go back quickly! Only see to it that the king’s clothing and belt are cleaned and prepared. Send them to the city either late tonight or early tomorrow morning. I’ll ask for some reward for you.” The monks obeyed and returned to their quarters, while Pilgrim in big strides caught up with his master to proceed with him. So it is that
The West has mystery, it’s good to seek the truth.
Wood and Metal in concord, then spirit can be refined.
The elixir mother recalls in vain a foolish dream;
The child deplores deeply how powerless he is.
You must seek at a well’s bottom the enlightened lord,
And then bow to Laozi in the Hall of Heaven.
Back to your own nature once you see form’s emptiness,2
You’re thus truly a Buddha-led man of affinity.
It did not take master and disciples even half a day on the road when they saw a city approaching. “Wukong,” said Tripitaka, “I suppose that must be the Black Rooster Kingdom ahead of us.” “Exactly,” said Pilgrim. “Let’s enter the city quickly so that we can do our business.” After they entered the city, master and disciples found the population well-mannered and engaged in a great deal of bustling activities. As they walked along, they soon came upon the phoenix bowers and dragon towers, exceedingly grand and ornate edifices for which we have a testimonial poem. The poem says:
These outland buildings are like the sovereign state’s;3
Like those of old Tang, people sing and dance.
Flowers greet jeweled fans trailed by roseate clouds;
Fresh robes, sun-lit, glimmer in jade-green fog.
Peacock screens open and fragrant mist pours out;
Pearly shades roll up as colored flags unfurl.
A picture of peace most worthy of praise:
Quiet rows of nobles but no memorials.
“Disciples,” said Tripitaka as he dismounted, “we might as well go right into the court to have our rescript certified and not be bothered by some bureaucratic office.” “That’s reasonable,” said Pilgrim. “We brothers will go in with you; it’s easier to talk when you have more people on your side.” The Tang Monk said, “If all of you are going inside, you must not be rowdy. Let’s go through the proper ceremony of greeting a ruler before we do any talking.” “If you want to go through that,” said Pilgrim, “it means that you have to prostrate yourself.” “Exactly,” said the Tang Monk, “we have to undertake the grand ceremony of five bows and three kowtows.”
“Master, you are too insipid!” said Pilgrim with a chuckle. “It’s so unwise of you to want to pay homage to that character! Let me go in first, for I know what I’m going to do. If he has anything to say to us, let me answer him. If I bow, you all can bow with me; if I crouch, you crouch also.” Look at that mischievous Monkey King! He went straight up to the gate of the court and said to the guardian official, “We have been sent by the Throne of the Great Tang in the Land of the East to go worship Buddha in the Western Heaven and to acquire scriptures from him. Having arrived in this region, we would like to have our rescript certified. May we trouble you to report this to the king so that the act of virtuous fruit will not be delayed.” The Custodian of the Yellow Gate went at once to the gate of the main hall and knelt before the vermilion steps to memorialize, saying, “There are five monks outside the gate of the court, who claim that they have been sent by imperial decree from the Tang nation in the Land of the East to go to see Buddha for scriptures in the Western Heaven. They would like to have their rescript certified, but they dare not enter the court, and they await your summons.”
The demon king at once gave the order to summon them inside. The Tang Monk then proceeded to walk inside the court followed by the king who had been revived. As they walked, the king could not stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks, thinking to himself, “How pitiful indeed! My bronze-guarded empire, my iron-clad domain, had been secretly taken over by him.” “Your Majesty,” said Pilgrim softly, “you must not show your sorrow at this moment, for we may reveal everything. The rod in my ear is getting rather restless. In a moment, it will achieve a great merit by beating a demon to death and banishing all perversity. Your empire will soon be returned to you.” The king dared not disobey; pulling up his robe to wipe away the tears, he followed them resolutely up to the Hall of Golden Chimes.
The rows of civil and military officials, some four hundred of them, all stood there with great sobriety and noble looks. Pilgrim led the Tang Monk up to the white jade steps; he then stood still and remained erect. All those officials beneath the steps became terrified, saying, “This monk is most foolish and base! When he sees our king, why does he not prostrate himself, nor does he express his praise? He does not even give a bow! How audacious and rude!”
Before they even finished speaking, the demon king asked, “Where did this monk come from?” Pilgrim replied boldly, “I am from the Great Tang nation in the Land of the East, in the South Jambūḍvīpa Continent, someone sent by imperial decree to go seek the living Buddha in the Great Thunderclap Monastery of India in the Western Territories for true scriptures. Having reached this region, I do not want to pass through it without having our travel rescript certified.”
When the demon king heard what he said, he became angry, saying, “So what if you are from the Land of the East? We are not paying tribute in your court, nor have we any intercourse with your nation. How dare you neglect your etiquette and not bow to us?” Laughing, Pilgrim said, “Our celestial court in the Land of the East was established in antiquity, and ours had been called the superior state for a long time. Yours is only a state of the hinterlands in an inferior region. Haven’t you heard of the ancient saying?
The king of the superior state
Is father and ruler;
The king of the inferior state
Is son and subject.
You haven’t even received me properly, and you dare chide me for not bowing to you?” Infuriated, the demon king shouted to the civil and military officials, “Seize this wild monk!” When he said, “Seize,” all the officials surged forward. Pointing immediately with his finger, Pilgrim cried, “Cease!” That, you see, was the magic of immobilization, which made the various officials unable to move at all. Truly
The captains before the steps looked like idols of wood,
And marshals in the palace resembled men of clay.
When the demon king saw how Pilgrim had rendered immobile all the officials, he leaped up from the dragon couch and was about to seize Pilgrim himself. Secretly pleased, the Monkey King thought, “Good! Exactly what old Monkey wanted! The moment you come near, your head, even if it’s made of raw iron, is going to have a gaping hole when my rod finds it.” He was about to strike, when suddenly a saving star appeared from one side. “Who was it?” you ask. It was none other than the prince of the Black Rooster Kingdom. Dashing up to tug at the demon king’s garment, the prince knelt before him and said, “Let the anger of father king subside.”
“What do you want to say, my child?” asked the monster-spirit.
“Let me report this to father king,” said the prince. “Three years ago I heard already that there was a sage monk sent by the Throne of the Tang in the Land of the East to seek scriptures from Buddha in the Western Heaven, but I did not expect that he would arrive this day. The honored nature of father king is powerful and ferocious, I know. But if you seize this monk and have him executed, the great Tang could be greatly angered if ever they should learn of this one day. Remember that Li Shimin4 who, since he established his throne, did succeed in uniting his empire. Still not content, he went on various expeditions of conquest to foreign lands. If he discovers that our king has murdered the sage monk, his bond-brother, he will most certainly call up troops and horses to war with us. When we realize then how small is our army and how weak our generals are, it will be too late for regrets. Let the father king approve the memorial of his son, let him make a thorough investigation of the background of these four monks. We must first establish why they would not pay homage to the Throne before we convict them.”
This entire speech, you see, was motivated by the prince’s caution, who feared that the Tang Monk might be hurt and that was why he deliberately stopped the demon. The prince, of course, did not know that Pilgrim was about to strike. Consenting indeed to the words of the prince, the demon king stood before the dragon couch and loudly asked, “When did this monk leave the Land of the East? For what reason did the Tang emperor ask you to seek scriptures?”
Again Pilgrim replied boldly, “My master is the bond-brother of the Tang emperor, and his honorific is Tripitaka. There is a prime minister before the Tang throne whose name is Wei Zheng, and who has by the decree of Heaven beheaded an old dragon of the Jing River. Because of this, the Great Tang emperor also had to tour the Region of Darkness in his dream, and after he was revived, he opened wide the plot of truth by giving a Grand Mass of Land and Water to redeem the wronged souls and damned spirits. As my master recited and performed the sūtras to magnify the power of compassion, the Bodhisattva Guanshiyin of South Sea revealed to him suddenly that he should journey to the West. Making a grand promise, my master accepted the commission freely and gladly to serve his nation, and that was when the emperor bestowed on him the rescript. On the third day before the fifteenth, during the ninth month of the thirteenth year in the Zhenguan period of the Great Tang, he left the Land of the East. When he reached the Mountain of Two Frontiers, he accepted me as his disciple. My surname is Sun, and my name is Wukong Pilgrim. Next, we arrived at the Gao Family Village of the Qoco Kingdom, where my master made his second disciple; his surname is Zhu, and his name is Wuneng Eight Rules. At the Flowing Sand River, the third disciple joined the fold; his surname is Sha, and his name is Wujing Monk. The day before yesterday at the Precious Grove Monastery Built by Imperial Command, we newly acquired a mendicant worker5 who now helps us with poling the luggage.”
After the demon king heard this speech, he found it difficult to turn up an excuse for examining the Tang Monk further, and it was even more difficult for him to try to overwhelm Pilgrim with deceptive interrogation. Glowering, he said, “You, monk! When you first left the Land of the East, you were all by yourself, but then you accepted all these four persons into your company. Those three monks may be all right, but this worker looks most suspicious. This mendicant must have been kidnapped from somewhere. What is his name? Does he have a certificate of ordination? Bring him up here and let him make a deposition.” Trembling all over, the king said, “O Master! How shall I make this deposition?” Giving him a pinch, Pilgrim said, “Don’t be afraid. Let me do it for you.”
Dear Great Sage! He strode forward and said to the fiend in a loud voice, “Your Majesty, this old worker is not only dumb, but he is also somewhat deaf. We took him on because he knew the way to the Western Heaven, having gone there himself in his younger days. I know everything about him—his background, his origin, his rise and fall. I beg your Majesty’s pardon, but let me make the deposition for him.” “Do it quickly and truthfully,” said the demon king, “lest he be convicted of a serious offense.” Pilgrim said,
Of this deposition the mendicant’s quite old;
Deaf, dumb, and dim-witted, he’s also poor!
A man whose native home was in this place,
He met defeat and ruin five years ago.
With no rain from the sky,
Folks turned shriveled and dry.
King and subjects all fasted and abstained;
They bathed and burned incense to pray to Heav’n,
But no cloud was seen for ten thousand miles.
While people starved as though hung upside down,
There came from Zhongnan a Complete Truth fiend
Who called up wind and rain to show his power,
And then took in secret the king’s own life.
The victim was pushed down a garden well;
The dragon seat was taken unknown to man.
Luckily I came.
My merit was great:
No snag it was to bring life back from death.
Willing to submit as a mendicant,
He would follow the monk to face the West.
That specious king is a Daoist in fact;
This worker is in truth the rightful king.
When that demon king on the Hall of Golden Chimes heard this speech, he became so frightened that his heart pounded like the feet of a young deer and his face was flushed with red clouds. He wanted to run away at once, but he did not even have a weapon in his hands. Turning around, he saw one of the captains of palace guards, who had a scimitar buckled to his waist and who had been rendered a dumb and stupid person standing there by Pilgrim’s magic of immobilization. Dashing up to him, the demon king took this scimitar and then immediately mounted the clouds to escape in the air. Sha Monk and Zhu Eight Rules were so annoyed by this turn of events that they screamed at Pilgrim, “You impatient ape! Why did you have to say all those things at once? You could have tricked him into staying if you had used a slower approach. Now that he has mounted the clouds and escaped, where would you go to search for him?”
“Don’t scream madly like that, brothers,” said Pilgrim with laughter. “Let me ask the prince to come out and bow to his father and the queen to greet her husband first. Let me then recite another spell to release those ministers from my magic so that they can learn the truth about what has happened and pay homage to the real king. Then I can go look for him.” Dear Great Sage! After he had disposed of everything he said he would do, he told Eight Rules and Sha Monk, “Take care to guard ruler and subjects, father and son, husband and wife, and our master. I’m off!” Hardly had he finished speaking before he was completely out of sight.
Rising straight up to the clouds of the Ninefold Heaven, Pilgrim opened wide his eyes to stare all around: the demon king, having escaped with his life, was fleeing toward the northeast. Pilgrim caught up with him in no time, shouting, “Fiend, where are you going? Old Monkey’s here.” Swiftly turning around, the demon king brought out his scimitar and said with a loud voice, “Pilgrim Sun, what a rogue you are! I took the throne of another man, but that didn’t concern you. Why did you have to be involved in someone’s affairs and reveal my secret?”
Roaring with laughter, Pilgrim said, “You audacious, lawless fiend! You think you ought to be permitted to be a king? If you recognized old Monkey, you should have fled at the earliest opportunity to the farthest place. How dare you try to give my master a hard time, asking for that so-called deposition? That deposition I gave you just now, was that accurate or not? Don’t run away now! If you’re a man, have a taste of old Monkey’s rod!” The demon king stepped aside to dodge the blow before he wielded the scimitar to meet his opponent. The moment their weapons joined, it was a marvelous battle. Truly
The Monkey King is fierce,
The demon king is strong—
Rod and scimitar dare each other oppose.
This day the Three Regions are bedimmed by fog,
All for a king’s restoration to his court.
After the two of them fought for a few rounds, the demon king could no longer withstand the Monkey King and fled instead back into the city on the way he came. Hurling himself into the two rows of civil and military officials before the white jade steps, the demon king gave his body a shake and changed into an exact image of Tripitaka Tang, both of them standing hand-in-hand before the steps. The Great Sage arrived and was about to strike with the rod when the fiend said, “Disciple, don’t hit me! It’s I!” Pilgrim turned the rod toward the other Tang Monk who also said, “Disciple, don’t hit me! It’s I!”
There were two Tang Monks exactly alike and most difficult to distinguish. Thinking to himself, “If I kill the monster spirit with one blow of the rod, it would be my merit, all right; but what would I do if that blow happens to kill my true master?” Pilgrim had to stop and ask Eight Rules and Sha Monk, “Which is the fiend and which is our master? Point him out to me so that I can strike at him.” “You two were yelling and fighting in midair,” said Eight Rules, “and when I blinked my eyes, I saw two masters the next moment. I don’t know who is real and who is false.”
When Pilgrim heard these words, he made the magic sign with his fingers and recited a spell, which called together the various deva guardians, the Six Gods of Darkness and the Six Gods of Light, the Guardians of Five Quarters, the Four Sentinels, the Eighteen Guardians of the Faith, the local spirit, and the mountain god of that region. He said to them, “Old Monkey is trying to subdue a monster here, who has changed himself into the likeness of my master. Both their form and substance seem exactly the same and it’s difficult to tell them apart. But you may be able to distinguish them in secret; if so, make my master walk up the steps into the main hall so that I can catch this demon.” The fiend, you see, was accomplished in magic; when he heard these words of Pilgrim, he quickly bounded into the Hall of Golden Chimes. Pilgrim raised his rod and brought it down hard on the Tang Monk. Alas! If it had not been for desperate efforts of those several deities summoned to this place, the blow would have reduced even twenty Tang Monks to meat patties! Fortunately the various deities managed to block the blow, saying, “Great Sage, the fiend knows his magic. He has gone up to the hall first.” Pilgrim gave chase at once, and the demon king ran outside the hall to catch hold of the Tang Monk once more in the crowd. After this confusion, they again could not be distinguished.
Pilgrim was highly displeased, and when he saw, moreover, that Eight Rules was snickering on one side, he became enraged, saying, “What’s the matter with you, stupid coolie? Now you have two masters whose calls you must answer and whom you must serve. Are you overjoyed?” Laughing, Eight Rules said, “Elder Brother, you say I’m dumb; well, you’re even dumber! If you can’t recognize who is the real master, why waste all this energy? You try to endure a little pain on your head for a moment and ask Master to recite that little something of his. Sha Monk and I will each hold on to one of them and listen: that person who does not know how to recite the spell must be the monster. What’s so difficult about that?”
“Thank you, Brother,” said Pilgrim. “You’ve got it. That little something indeed is known only to three persons: born of the very mind of our Buddha Tathāgata, it was transmitted to the Bodhisattva Guanshiyin, who then imparted it to my master. There is no other person who has knowledge of it. All right, Master, start your recital.” In truth the Tang Monk began to recite, but how could the demon king know what to do? All he could do was mumble something, and Eight Rules said, “This one mumbling is the monster!” He let go and raised his muckrake to strike at the demon king, who leaped up and tried to flee, treading the clouds.
Dear Eight Rules! With a shout, he mounted the clouds also to give chase. Sha Monk hurriedly abandoned the Tang Monk and brought out his precious staff to do battle. Only then did the Tang Monk stop reciting his spell; the Great Sage Sun, enduring his headache, dragged his iron rod up to midair. Ah, look at this battle! Three fierce monks have surrounded a brazen demon!
The demon king, you see, was attacked left and right by Eight Rules with his rake and Sha Monk with his staff. Chuckling to himself, Pilgrim said, “If I go attack him face to face, he will try to escape as he is already somewhat afraid of me. Let old Monkey get up higher and give me a garlic-pounding blow from the top down. That’ll finish him off!”
Mounting the auspicious luminosity, the Great Sage rose to the Ninefold Heaven and was about to show his decisive hand when a loud voice came from a petal of colored cloud in the northeast: “Sun Wukong, don’t do it!” When Pilgrim turned to look, he discovered the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. Quickly putting away his rod, he drew near and bowed, saying, “Bodhisattva, where are you going?” “I came,” said Mañjuśrī, “to put away this fiend for you.” Pilgrim thanked him and said, “I’m greatly obliged.” Taking out an imp-reflecting mirror from his sleeve, the Bodhisattva aimed it at the fiend and the image of its original form became visible at once. Pilgrim called Eight Rules and Sha Monk to come to greet the Bodhisattva and to look into the mirror. Exceedingly ferocious in appearance, that demon king had
Eyes like large goblets of glass;
A head like a cooking vat;
A body of deep summer green;
And four paws like autumn’s frost;
Two large ears that flipped downward;
A tail as long as a broom;
Green hair full of fighting ardor;
Red eyes emitting gold beams;
Rows of flat teeth like jade slabs;
Round whiskers rearing up like spears.
The true form seen in the mirror
Was Mañjuśrī’s lion king.
“Bodhisattva,” said Pilgrim, “so this is the green-haired lion who serves as your beast of burden. How was it that he had been turned loose so that he could become a spirit here? Aren’t you going to make him submit to you?” “Wukong,” said the Bodhisattva, “he was not turned loose. He had been sent by the decree of Buddha to come here.” Pilgrim said, “You mean that this beast’s becoming a spirit to usurp the throne of a king was a decree of Buddha? If that’s the case, old Monkey, who is accompanying the Tang Monk through all his trials, should have been given several imperial documents!”
The Bodhisattva said, “You don’t know that this king of the Black Rooster Kingdom was dedicated to virtue and to the feeding of monks at first. The Buddha sent me to lead him to return to the West so that he could attain the golden body of an arhat. I could not, of course, reveal myself to him in my true form, and so I changed myself into an ordinary mortal monk to beg some food from him. During our conversation a few words of mine put him on the spot; not realizing that I was a good man after all, he tied me up with a rope and sent me into the imperial moat. I soaked in there for three days and nights before the Six Gods of Darkness rescued me back to the West. Tathāgata therefore sent this creature here to push him down the well and have him submerged for three years, in order to exact vengeance for my water adversity of three days. Thus ‘not even a sup or a bite is not foreordained,’ and we had to wait for all of you to arrive and achieve this merit.”
“You might have repaid the private grievance of your so-called one sup or one bite,” said Pilgrim, “but who knows how many human beings that fiendish creature has harmed.” “He has not,” said the Bodhisattva. “In fact, these three years after his arrival have seen nothing but winds and rains in season, prosperity for the kingdom, and peace for the inhabitants. Since when has he harmed anyone?”
“Even so,” said Pilgrim, “those ladies of the three palaces did sleep with him and rise with him. His body has defiled many and violated the great human relations countless times. And you say that he has not harmed anyone?” The Bodhisattva said, “He has not defiled anyone, for he’s a gelded lion.” When Eight Rules heard this, he walked near and gave the creature a pat, saying with a chuckle, “This monster-spirit is truly a ‘red nose who doesn’t drink’! He bears his name in vain!”
“All right,” said Pilgrim, “take him away. If the Bodhisattva did not come here himself, I would never have spared his life.” Reciting a spell, the Bodhisattva shouted, “Beast, how long are you going to wait before you submit to the Right?” The demon king at once changed back to his original form, after which the Bodhisattva released the lotus flower seat to be placed on the back of the lion. He then mounted the lion, who trod on the auspicious luminosity and left. Aha!
He went straight to the Wutai Mountain;6
To hear sūtras explained before the lotus seat.
We do not know finally how the Tang Monk and his disciples leave the city; let’s listen to the explanation in the next chapter.