Journey to the West (vol. 2) Read online

  The splendid Great Sage shook himself and turned into a grasshopper that lightly flew over and alighted on his document bag. Here Monkey could hear the evil spirit talking garrulously to himself as he beat the gong. “Our king is thoroughly vicious. Three years ago he took the Golden Queen from the Kingdom of Purpuria, but fate's been against him and he hasn't been able to get his hands on her. The poor palace ladies he took had to suffer on her behalf. He killed two of them who came, then the next four. He demanded them the year before last, last year and earlier this year. When he sent for two more this time he found his match. The vanguard warrior who went to demand the palace ladies was beaten by someone called Sun the Novice or whatever. He didn't get his palace girls. It made our king so angry he wants to wage a war on Purpuria. He's sent me with this declaration of war. Their king will be all right if he doesn't fight, but if he does fight it'll be a disaster for him. When our king uses his fire, smoke and sandstorms their king, ministers and common people will all die. Then we'll take over their city. Our king will be its monarch and we'll be his subjects. But even though we'll get official posts it goes against Heaven.”

  Monkey was very pleased to hear this. “So there are even some decent evil spirits,” he thought. “That last remark-'it goes against Heaven'-was very good. I wonder what he meant when he said that fate has been against their king and he hasn't been able to get his hands on the Golden Queen. Let me ask him some questions.” With a whining buzz he flew away from the evil spirit to a point some miles ahead of him on the road, shook himself and turned into a Taoist boy:

  He wore his hair in two bunches

  And a robe of a hundred patches.

  He beat on a fisherman's drum

  As he sang some Taoist snatches.

  As Monkey came round the slope towards the little devil he raised his hands in greeting and said, “Where are you going, sir? What official document is that you're delivering?”

  The devil seemed to recognize him as he stopped beating his gong, returned his greeting and said with a titter, “Our king's sent me to Purpuria with a declaration of war.”

  “Has that woman from Purpuria slept with the king yet?” Monkey asked, pressing on with his questioning.

  “When he brought her here the other year,” the little devil replied, “an immortal gave the Golden Queen a magic robe as her wedding dress. As soon as she put it on she was covered from head to foot with spike. Our king didn't dare so much as caress her. Even the slightest touch makes his hand hurt. I don't know why it happened. So from that year till this he hasn't had her. When his vanguard fighter was sent this morning to demand two more palace ladies to serve her he was beaten. Our king was so angry he sent me with this declaration of war. He's going to fight him tomorrow.”

  “So is the king in a bad mood?” Monkey asked.

  “Yes, he's in a bad mood back there,” said the little devil. “You ought to go and sing him some Taoist songs to cheer him-up.” The splendid Monkey put his arms in his sleeves, ready to go, while the evil spirit went on his way beating his gong as before. Monkey then turned murderous. He brought out his cudgel, turned round and hit the little devil on the back of his head. The unfortunate demon's head was smashed to a pulp. The blood gushed out as his skin split open and his neck was broken. He was dead. Monkey then put his cudgel away and said to himself with regret.

  “I was in too much of a hurry. I never asked him his name. Too bad.” He took the declaration of war from the body and put it in his sleeve. Then he hid the yellow flag and the gong in the undergrowth by the path and was dragging the body by its ankles to throw it down the ravine when he heard something clinking. An ivory tablet inlaid with gold could be seen at the demon's waist. The writing on it read:

  This is our trusted subordinate Gocome. He is of short stature and has a spotty and unbearded face. This tablet is to be kept permanently at his waist. Anyone without this tablet is an impostor.

  “So the wretch was called Gocome. But after being hit by this cudgel of mine he's gone and won't be coming back.” He then undid the ivory tablet, fastened it at his own waist, and was just about to throw the body down when he remembered the terrible fire and smoke and decided he could not bring himself to look for the cave palace. He raised the cudgel, rammed it into the demon's chest, lifted him up into the air and went straight back to Purpuria to announce his first success. Watch him as he goes whistling back to that country.

  Pig was in front of the throne room guarding the king and his master when suddenly he turned round to see Monkey carrying the demon through the air. “Hey,” he complained, “that was an easy piece of work. If I'd known you were going to get him I'd have done it and got the credit.” Before he had finished speaking Monkey brought the cloud down and threw the demon at the foot of the steps.

  Pig ran over and struck the body with his rake, “I'll take the credit for that,” he said.

  “You? The credit?” Monkey replied.

  “Don't try to rob me of it,” Pig said, “I've got proof. Can't you see the nine holes I made in him with my rake?”

  “See if he's got a head,” said Monkey.

  “So he doesn't have a head,” Pig replied. “Now I know why he never moved when I hit him.”

  “Where's the master?” Monkey asked.

  “Talking to the king in the throne hall,” said Pig.

  “Go and ask him to come out,” said Monkey, and Pig hurried up into the hall.

  At Pig's nod Sanzang rose to his feet and came out at once to see Monkey, who thrust the declaration of war into his sleeve with the words, “Look after this, Master, and don't let the king see it.”

  Before the words were all out of his mouth the king too came out of the hall to greet Monkey and say, “You're back, holy monk, venerable sir. How did the capture of the demon go?”

  “Isn't that a demon at the foot of the steps?” Monkey asked, pointing. “I killed him.”

  “True,” said the king, “it is the body of an evil spirit, but it isn't the Evil Star Matcher. We have twice seen the Evil Star Matcher with our own eyes. He is eighteen feet tall and nine feet across the shoulders. His face shines like gold and his voice is like thunder. He's not a miserable little wretch like that.”

  “You Majesty is right,” Monkey replied, “this isn't him. It's just a little messenger devil I happened to meet. I killed him and brought him back as a trophy.”

  “Splendid,” said the king, who was very pleased indeed, “splendid. This is the first success. We have often sent people out to find out what is happening but they never discover anything. Then you just have to go out, holy monk, to bring one straight back. You really do have divine powers.”

  “Fetch some warm wine,” he ordered, “and give it to the reverend gentlemen.”

  “Never mind about the wine,” said Monkey. “I want to ask Your Majesty whether the Golden Queen left any keepsakes when she went. If so, give me some.” The word “keepsakes” cut the king to the heart. He could not help sobbing aloud with tears pouring down as he replied:

  “When we were enjoying the festival that year

  The Evil Star Matcher gave a mighty shout,

  He took our wife to be his bandit queen;

  To save the land we had to send her out.

  We had no time for talk or parting words,

  Nor could I see her off along her way.

  She left no keepsake and no perfume bag;

  We would be lonely here until today.”

  “Your Majesty is here,” Monkey said, “so why upset yourself?” If the queen didn't leave any keepsake there must be some things in the palace that she's specially fond of. Give me one of them.”

  “What do you want it for?” the king asked.

  “That demon king's magic powers are quite something,” said Monkey, “and from what I've seen of his fire, smoke and sand he'll be really hard to capture. Even if I do capture him the queen might refuse to come back here with a stranger like me. I must have some favorite thing of hers so th
at she'll trust me and let me bring her back. That's why I want it.”

  “There is a pair of gold bracelets in her dressing room in the Sunlight Palace that she used to wear,” the king replied. “She only took them off that day as it was the Dragonboat Festival and she was going to wear multicolored threads instead. She was very fond of those bracelets. They have been put away in her dressing table. We have not been able to bear the sight of them since she left us: seeing them is like seeing her lovely face, and it makes us feel even more ill than ever.”

  “Say no more,” Monkey replied, “and have the bracelets brought here. If you can bring yourself to part with them, give me both. If you can't I'll take just one.” The king ordered the Jade Queen to fetch them, which she did, handing them to the king.

  At the sight of them he called out, “My beloved and tender-hearted queen,” several times, then handed them to Monkey, who took them and put them on his arm.

  The splendid Great Sage could not stay to drink the celebratory wine, but whistled back to Mount Unicorn on his somersault cloud. Now he had no interest in the view as he headed straight for the cave palace. While he was walking along he heard noisy shouts so he stopped to take a careful look around. About five hundred of the soldiers of all ranks guarding the entrance to Horndog Cave were

  Drawn up in massed array,

  In close order.

  Drawn up in massed array they held their weapons

  Gleaming in the sun.

  In close order they unfurled their banners

  That fluttered in the breeze.

  Tiger and bear generals did transformations;

  Leopard and tiger-cat marshals were full of spirit.

  Fiercely savage were the wolves;

  The elephants were mighty and imposing.

  Crafty hares and water-deer swung sword and halberd;

  Great snakes and pythons carried cutlass and bow.

  Orangutans that understood human speech

  Controlled the formations and gathered intelligence.

  When Monkey saw this he ventured no closer but went straight back the way he had come. Do you know why? Not because he was afraid of them. He went back to where he had killed the little devil, recovered the yellow flag and the gong, made a hand spell, thought of what he wanted to become, faced the wind, shook himself and turned into the likeness of Gocome. Then he started hitting the gong as he strode straight back towards Horndog Cave.

  He was going to look at the layout of the cave when he heard an orangutan say, “You're back, Gocome.”

  “Yes,” Monkey had to reply.

  “Hurry up,” the orangutan said. “Our king is waiting in the Flaying Pavilion to hear what you have to report.” As soon as he heard this Monkey hurried straight in through the main gate beating his gong and looking around. He saw that rooms and halls had been carved out of the beetling crag. On either side bloomed rare and precious flowers, while all around stood ancient cypresses and tall pines. Before he realized it he was through the inner gate, and suddenly looking up he saw a pavilion made light by the eight windows in it. In the pavilion was a splendid chair inlaid with gold on which a demon king was sitting upright. He was a truly terrifying sight. This is what he looked like:

  A shimmering red glow rose from the top of his head;

  A mighty and murderous air burst from his chest.

  Sharp were the fangs that protruded from his mouth;

  Red smoke rose from the scorched hair at his temples.

  The bristles of his moustache were like embedded arrows;

  His body was covered with hair like brushed-up felt.

  Eyes bulged like bells to rival the Evil Star:

  Hands held an iron mace like Mahadeva.

  When Monkey saw the evil spirit he acted towards him in an offhand way, showing no trace of respect, but looking away and keeping on hitting his gong. “So you're back, are you?” said the demon king. Monkey did not reply.

  “Gocome,” the demon king asked again, “you're back, are you?” Still Monkey did not reply. The demon king then went over to him, grabbed him and said, “Why are you still beating your gong now you're back home? And why don't you answer when I ask you a question?”

  “What do you mean by your 'Why? Why? Why?'“ Monkey replied.

  “I told you I didn't want to go but you insisted. When I got there I saw huge numbers of foot soldiers and cavalry drawn up in order of battle. As soon as I was spotted they shouted, 'Seize the demon! Seize the demon!' They pushed and shoved and dragged and carried me into the city, where I saw their king. He told them to cut my head off, but luckily his two groups of advisers said that in international conflicts envoys should not be executed, so I was spared. They took the declaration of war, marched me out of the city, gave me thirty strokes in front of their army, and let me come back here to report. Before long they'll be here to fight you.”

  “In other words,” the monster said, “you had a bad time. I don't blame you for refusing to answer when I asked you those questions.”

  “It wasn't that,” said Monkey. “The reason I didn't answer was because of the pain.”

  “How strong are their forces?” the demon king asked.

  “I was reeling from shock and too badly frightened by the beating to be able to count them,” Monkey replied. “All I could see were masses of weapons drawn up there:

  Bows and arrows, spears and sabers, suits of armor,

  Dagger-axes, halberds, swords and tasseled banners.

  Pikes, partisans, helmets,

  Axes, round shields, and iron caltrops.

  Long staves,

  Short cudgels,

  Steel forks, cannons and casques.

  They were wearing tall boots, hats and quilted jackets,

  And carrying cudgels, small pellet-bows and maces of bronze.”

  “That's neither here nor there,” laughed the demon king when he heard this. “Weapons like that can be finished off in a single blaze. Go and tell the Golden Queen all about it and ask her not to upset herself. Ever since she heard me lose my temper this morning and decide to go to war she's been crying her eyes out. Tell her that their army is so fierce and brave that they're bound to beat us. That'll calm her down for a while.”

  This delighted Monkey, who thought, “Just what I want.” Watch him as he goes the way he knows, through the side door and across the hall. Inside there were tall buildings: it was not like outside. He went straight to the women's quarters at the back, where he saw from a distance a handsome and decorated doorway. That was where the Golden Queen lived. When he went to see her there were two groups of fox and deer spirits dressed like beautiful women to wait on her. The queen sat in the middle with her fragrant cheeks in her hands and tears pouring from both of her eyes. Indeed, she had

  A beautiful face so soft and charming,

  A bewitching countenance so fair.

  But her raven-black hair was uncombed

  And piled untidily on her head;

  She did not want to dress up

  And wore no hair ornaments or rings.

  Her face was unpowdered,

  And she wore no rouge.

  Her hair was not oiled

  But all in a tangle.

  She pouted her cherry lips,

  Ground her silver teeth,

  Frowned with her brows like moth antennae,

  And let her eyes sparkle with tears.

  All her heart

  Was filled with memories of Purpuria's king;

  All the time

  She longed to escape from the net that held her.

  Truly,

  Ill-fated have been many lovely ladies

  Left in their wordless grief to face the Eastern wind.

  Monkey went up to her and greeted her with a “Hello.”

  “You impudent boorish freak,” said the queen. “I remember how when I was living in splendor with my king in Purpuria even the king's tutor and the prime minister had to prostrate themselves in the dust when they met me: they wou
ld never have dared look me in the face. How dare you say 'Hello' to me, you lout? Where are you from, you coarse beast?”

  “Please don't be angry, ma'am,” the serving women said. “He's one of His Majesty's most trusted lieutenants. His name is Gocome. He was the one who was sent with the declaration of war this morning.”

  At this the queen controlled her temper and asked, “Did you go inside Purpuria when you delivered the declaration?”

  “I took it straight to the capital and right into the throne hall,” said Monkey. “I saw the king himself and got an answer from him.”

  “What did the king say when you saw him?” the queen asked.

  “I have already told His Majesty here what he said about war and about the dispositions of their forces,” Monkey replied. “But there was also a private message from the king, who misses you, ma'am. There's something private I have come to report to you, but with all these attendants around this is no place to talk.”

  When the queen heard this she dismissed her foxes and deer. Brother Monkey shut the door of the palace, rubbed his face, and turned back into himself. “Don't be afraid of me,” he said to her. “I'm a monk sent by the Great Tang in the East to see the Buddha and fetch the scriptures at the Thunder Monastery in India. My master is Tang Sanzang, the younger brother of the Tang Emperor. I'm Sun Wukong, his senior disciple. When we were in your capital to present our passport for approval I saw a notice calling for doctors that your king and his ministers had posted. Then I used my medical skills to cure the illness he had contracted from missing you. When we were drinking at the banquet he gave to thank me he told me that you had been carried off by the evil spirit. As I can subdue dragons and tigers I was specially invited to capture the demon, rescue you and take you back to your country. I was the one who defeated the vanguard and killed the little devil. When I saw from outside the gates how ferocious the demon king was I turned myself into Gocome's double and came here to bring you a message.”