Journey to the West (vol. 2) Page 3

  Chapter 52

  Monkey Makes Havoc in the Jindou Cave

  The Buddha Gives a Hint About the Owner

  The story tells how after recovering his gold-banded cudgel Monkey fought his way out of the cave and jumped up to the peak to see all the gods. He was very pleased with himself. “How did it go this time?” asked Heavenly King Li. “I did a transformation and went into the cave,” said Monkey, “where I saw the devils dancing, singing and drinking to celebrate their victory. But I heard nothing about where the demon keeps his treasure. When I went round to the back I heard the horses and dragons whimpering and realized they must be the fire beasts. My gold-banded cudgel was leaning against the Eastern wall, so I took it and fought my way out of the cave.”

  “You have your treasure now,” said the gods, “but how are we going to get ours back?”

  “Easy,” said Monkey, “easy. With this iron cudgel I can beat him whatever he does. I'll recover your treasures.” As they were talking there rose from the mountainside a concerted sound of gongs and drums as well as earth-shaking shouts: the Great Rhinoceros King was leading his host of spirits out in pursuit of Monkey, who called out at the sight of them, “Great, great, Just what I want. Please sit down, gentlemen, while I go to capture him.”

  The splendid Great Sage raised his iron cudgel and struck at the demon's face with a shout, “Where do you think you're going, damned demon? Take this!” Warding the blow off with his spear, the demon insulted him back: “Thieving ape! You're a disgrace. How dare you steal my property in broad daylight?”

  “I'll get you, evil beast. Have the decency to die! All you can do is use your ring to steal our property in broad daylight. None of those things are really yours. Stay where you are, and take this!” Once again the monster parried with his spear. It was a splendid fight.

  The Great Sage was ferocious,

  The demon was not gentle.

  Both sides fought with courage;

  Neither would give in.

  The iron cudgel was a dragon's tail,

  The long spear was a serpent's head.

  Blows from the cudgel whistled like the wind,

  The spear's moves flowed as smoothly as a stream.

  The mountain darkened, wreathed in coloured mists;

  Auspicious clouds hung heavy on the woods.

  The birds in the air all stopped their flying;

  The wild beasts of the field all hid away.

  The demons on one side raised battle cries

  While Monkey on the other was Ml of vigor.

  An iron club that no one could withstand

  Had fought its way along the long road West;

  A long spear that was a worthy match,

  And always held its power supreme on Mount Jindou.

  Once they joined battle there could be no respite:

  They swore to carry on until one conquered.

  The demon king and the Great Sage had been fighting for six hours without either gaining the upper hand. As night was falling the evil spirit held out his spear and said, “Stop, Wukong. It's too dark for fighting now. Let's have a night's sleep and I'll go on having it out with you tomorrow.”

  “Shut up, damned demon,” replied Monkey abusively. “I've only just warmed up. I don't care how late it is: I'm going to carry on till one of us has won.” The demon gave a shout, made a feint with his spear, and fled for his life, leading his host of devils in retreat back to the cave, where they shut the doors tight.

  When Monkey returned to the mountain top with his cudgel the gods from Heaven all congratulated him. “You really are strong and capable, Great Sage Equaling Heaven,” they said, “and your powers are boundless.”

  “You're overdoing your praises,” Monkey replied.

  “No,” said Heavenly King Li, coming up to him, “this is not empty praise. You really are a tough guy. The force you were up against today was as strong as the Heaven and Earth nets all those years age.”

  “Let's not go into all that ancient history,” said Monkey. “That demon must be exhausted after his fight with me. I haven't been put to any trouble worth speaking of, so if you'll all sit here and relax I'll go back into the cave, find out where he keeps the ring, and steal it if I possibly can. Then I'll capture the monster, find your weapons, and return them to you to take back to Heaven.”

  “It's late now,” said Prince Nezha. “You'd better have a good night's sleep and go tomorrow morning.”

  “You don't understand life, my lad,” replied Monkey. “Who ever heard of a burglar liking to steal in broad daylight? This sort of groping about has to be done in secret under cover of darkness. That's the way the job's done.”

  “Stop arguing, Your Highness,” said the Star Lord of Fire and the two thunder gods, “We don't know anything about that sort of thing, and the Great Sage is an old hand. Let him make the most of the nighttime, when the demon is exhausted and nobody is expecting anything to happen. Please go at once.”

  With a chuckle the splendid Great Sage tucked his iron cudgel away, jumped down from the peak and went to the mouth of the cave, where he shook himself and turned into a cricket. Indeed:

  Hard mouth, black skin, and long antennae,

  Bright eyes and legs that bend like branches.

  In the clear wind and in moonlight he sings by the wall;

  When the night is still he talks like a human.

  As he weeps in the dew the scenery seems cold;

  His marvellous voice now comes in fits and starts.

  Just when the homesick traveler least wishes to hear him

  He finds him lurking underneath the bed.

  With a few bounds of his mighty legs Monkey was at the doors. Squeezing through the narrow gap between them he squatted at the foot of the wall, looking carefully at where the light was coming from. He saw all the big and little devils devouring their food like wolves or tigers. Monkey chirped for a while, and a little later the banquet was cleared away and the devils all went to bed. About two hours later, when Monkey had just reached the room at the back, he heard the demon king ordering, “Little ones on the doors, stay awake! Sun Wukong may change himself into something and sneak in here to steal.”

  Those who were on watch duty that night were neatly turned out and sounding their clappers and bells. This made it even easier for the Great Sage, to go about his business. Creeping into the monster's bedroom he saw a stone bed on either side of which stood powdered and painted mountain and tree spirits. They were spreading out the bedding and waiting on the old demon, taking off his boots and clothes. When the old demon was undressed Monkey could see the ring gleaming white on his left arm. It looked like a bracelet made from a string of pearls. Instead of taking it off the demon pushed it up his arm a couple of times to jam it more firmly into place before going to sleep. Seeing this, Monkey changed himself again, this time into a brown-skinned flea that jumped up on the bed, burrowed into the bedding, climbed on the monster's arm, and bit him so hard that he sat up with a yell of, “Bloody slaves, you need some more flogging. You didn't shake out the quilt or dust the bed, and I've just been bitten.” He rubbed the ring twice more and went back to sleep. Monkey climbed on the ring and bit him again, so that the monster sat up again, unable to sleep. “I'm itching to death,” he complained.

  Seeing that the security was so strict and that the demon kept the treasure on himself and was not going to take it off Monkey realized that he would be unable to steal it. So he jumped down from the bed, turned himself back into a cricket, left the bedroom, and went straight to the back, where he heard the groans and whimpers of the dragons and horses again, but now from behind tightly shut doors. Monkey turned back to his own form and went up to the doors to open the lock by magic. He said a spell and rubbed the lock, making its tongues both click open. He then pushed the doors open and rushed inside, where it was as bright as day in the light from all the fire instruments and creatures. He noticed some weapons leaning against the walls on either side: Prince Nezha'
s demon-hacking cutlass and other arms as well as the fire bows, arrows and the rest of the Star Lord of Fire's gear. Looking all around by the light of the fires he noticed to his delight a handful of hairs lying in a bamboo basket on a stone table behind the doors. Monkey picked them up, blew on them twice with warm breath, shouted “Change!” and turned them into three or four dozen little monkeys. He told them to take the cutlass, sword, pestle, rope, ball, wheel, bow, arrows, spear, carts, gourd, fire crows, fire rats, fire horses and everything else that had been caught in the ring; then he mounted the fire dragon and started a blaze burning from the inside outwards. There was a great roaring and loud cracks that sounded like thunder and cannons. All the big and little demons were thrown into such panic and confusion that they wrapped themselves in their quilts, covered their heads, shouted and wept. As they had nowhere to flee most of them were burnt to death. When the Handsome Monkey King returned in victory it was about midnight.

  When Heavenly King Li and the other gods spotted the dazzling fire from the mountaintop they rushed forward to see Brother Monkey riding the dragon and driving the little monkeys straight up to the peak. “Come and get your weapons,” he shouted, “come and get your weapons.” The Star Lord of Fire and Nezha shouted greetings, whereupon Monkey shook himself and put all the hairs back on his body. Nezha recovered his six weapons, and the Star Lord told his subordinates to collect the fire dragon and the rest of the fire creatures and implements. They were all laughing with pleasure as they congratulated Monkey.

  The blaze in the Jindou Cave gave the Great Rhinoceros King such a fright that his souls left his body. He sat up at once, threw open the doors of his bedroom, and held the ring out in both hands to the East and the West to put out the fire. Then he ran all around holding out his treasure, which extinguished all the flames and smoke that filled the air, and tried to rescue his demons, most of whom were dead. He could only muster a hundred or so, male and female; and when he looked at where the weapons were kept he found them all gone. Going round to the back he saw Pig, Friar Sand and the Tang Priest still tied up there, the white horse still tethered to the trough and the luggage still in the room.

  “I wonder which careless little devil started that fire,” he said angrily. “Look what it has done!”

  “Your Majesty,” said his attendants, “the fire was nothing to do with anyone in our household. It was probably a burglar who let all the fire creatures go and stole the magic weapons.”

  Only then did the demon realize what had happened. “I'm certain it was Sun Wukong,” he said. “It can't have been anyone else. No wonder I couldn't get to sleep. The thieving monkey must have turned himself into something to get in here and bite my arm twice. He must have been trying to steal my treasure but failed because I was wearing it too tightly. So he stole the weapons and released the fire dragon. What a vicious idea: he was trying to burn me to death. Evil monkey! Your cleverness will get you nowhere: you don't know my powers yet. As long as I have this treasure I can go into the ocean without drowning and into fire without being burnt. If I catch that bandit I'll chop him up into little bits and burn him as a torch. That's the only way I'll feel better about it.”

  After he had been talking to himself in his misery for a long time he did not notice the cocks crowing for the dawn. Up on the mountaintop Prince Nezha, who now had his six weapons back, said to Monkey, “Great Sage, it's light now and we must lose no time. We should fight the demon while his morale is still low. We'll support you with all the fire forces while you take him on, and this time I think you'll be able to capture him.”

  “You're right,” said Monkey. “We'll all pull together. Let's have some fun.” Every one of them braced himself and displayed his martial prowess as they headed for the mouth of the cave. “Come out, damned demon,” shouted Monkey, “and fight with me.” The two stone doors had been reduced to ashes by the blaze, and the little devils inside were sweeping up and picking over the cinders. The approach of all the gods made them drop their brooms and their ash forks in panic as they rushed back inside to report, “Sun Wukong is here with a host of gods from Heaven demanding battle again.” The news caused the rhinoceros monster great alarm. He noisily ground his teeth of steel, his eyes bulged with fury, and he went out holding his spear and his treasure, pouring out insults: “I'll get you, you thieving arsonist of an ape. What sort of powers do you have that give you the right to treat me with such contempt?”

  “Damned devil,” retorted Monkey with a smile on his face, “if you want to know my powers I'll tell you:

  Since I was little my powers have been great;

  My fame has spread in heaven and in earth.

  As a bright young thing I learned to be immortal,

  Acquiring the traditions of eternal youth.

  I determined to visit the land of the heart

  And reverently went to the country of the sages.

  I learned the magic of infinite changes

  And roamed at will through cosmic space.

  My hobby was subduing the tigers on the hills;

  When bored I forced the ocean dragons to submit.

  I was monarch of the Mountain of Flowers and of Fruit,

  And showed off my power in the Water Curtain Cave.

  Often I decided to go up to Heaven

  And in my folly I occupied the place above.

  I was called the Great Sage Equaling Heaven

  And given the title of Handsome Monkey King.

  When they held a banquet of their magic peaches

  I was most angry at not being invited.

  Secretly I went to steal jade liquor,

  Drinking this rare wine in their elegant pavilions.

  Liver of dragons, the marrow of the phoenix,

  And many other delicacies did I steal that day.

  I ate my fill of those immortal peaches,

  And packed my stomach with pills of eternal life.

  I then purloined all kinds of Heavenly marvel

  And tucked away the treasures of that palace.

  Because the Jade Emperor had learned of my powers

  Heavenly soldiers were sent into battle

  The Nine Bright Shiners I sent on their way;

  I wounded all five of the evil constellations.

  The generals of Heaven were no match for me:

  A hundred thousand soldiers all lost their nerve.

  The Jade Emperor then was forced to summon

  The Little Sage Erlang to join in the fight.

  We both went through our seventy-two changes,

  Each of us showing his spirit and strength.

  The Bodhisattva Guanyin came to their aid

  With her vase of pure water and her sprig of willow,

  And Lao Zi used his Diamond Jade

  To take me a prisoner back up to Heaven.

  They led me in chains to the Jade Monarch's palace

  Where legal officials determined my fate.

  Strong soldiers were ordered to cut off my head,

  But the hacks at my scalp only made sparks fly

  When they tried all their tricks but nothing killed me.

  I then was escorted to the palace of Lao Zi.

  The Six Dings refined me with the fire of their furnace

  And made my whole body as hard as steel.

  After seven times seven days the furnace was opened,

  And out I jumped, more terrible than ever.

  The gods all shut their gates, unable to resist,

  And the sages decided to ask the Buddha's help.

  Great was the power of the Buddha's dharma,

  Indeed his wisdom is infinitely mighty.

  I wagered with a somersault to jump out of his hand,

  But he crushed me with a mountain that rendered me powerless.

  Then the Jade Emperor celebrated peace

  And the West was proclaimed to be a land of bliss.

  I was crushed by the mountain for five hundred years

  Never tasting a mo
uthful of tea or of food.

  When the Golden Cicada came down to earth

  He was sent from the East to visit the Buddha.

  He wants to bring the scriptures back to China,

  So the Tang ruler could save his ancestors' souls.

  Guanyin converted me to the side of goodness,

  To hold to the teachings and keep myself in check.

  Since I was released from the agonizing mountain

  I have been heading West to fetch the true scriptures.

  Do not try to use your evil cunning, devil:

  Return to me my master to worship the Buddha.”

  When he had heard all this the demon pointed at Monkey and replied, “So you're the thief who robbed Heaven. Stay where you are and take this!” The Great Sage parried the spear whit his cudgel, and just as the two of them were starting to fight again Nezha and the Star Lord of Fire lost their tempers and flung all their magic weapons and fire-raising equipment at the demon king. Monkey was more ferocious than ever, while the thunder gods with their thunder splinters and the Heavenly King with his sword rushed into the fray together, not worrying about rank and seniority.

  The demon king gave a mocking and majestic laugh, discreetly brought the ring out of his sleeve and threw it into the air with a shout of “Catch them!” It came whistling down, catching the six magic weapons, all the fire-raising equipment and creatures, the thunder gods' thunderbolt, the Heavenly King's sword and Monkey's cudgel. Once again the gods were all empty-handed and the Great Sage Sun disarmed. The triumphant demon turned round to say, “Little ones, fetch rocks to make new doors, and start digging and building to refurbish all the rooms inside. When that's done I'll slaughter the Tang Priest and his disciples as a thanksgiving to the local god, and you'll all have a share.” The little demons all set to as they had been instructed.

  When Heavenly King Li led his troops back up the mountain the Star Lord of Fire was grumbling about Nezha's impatience and the thunder gods were angry with the Heavenly King for behaving badly. The only person keeping quiet was the Earl of the Yellow River. Seeing how they were all unwilling to look each other in the face and were worried, desperate, resentful and trying to make himself look cheerful, Brother Monkey said to them with a smile, “Don't be upset. Victory and defeat are all part of the soldier's routine. The demon's only so-so in fighting skill. The only thing that makes him so dangerous is that ring which has caught all our weapons again. Don't worry. I'll go and make some more inquiries about who and what he is.”