"There's nothing to be repaid," said the Patriarch. "See that you don't get into trouble and involve me: that's all I ask."
Seeing that there was no other alternative, Wukong had to bow to the Patriarch and take leave of the congregation. "Once you leave," the Patriarch said, "you're bound to end up evildoing. I don't care what kind of villainy and violence you engage in, but I forbid you ever to mention that you are my disciple. For if you but utter half the word, I'll know about it; you can be assured, wretched monkey, that you'll be skinned alive. I will break all your bones and banish your soul to the Place of Ninefold Darkness, from which you will not be released even after ten thousand afflictions!"
"I will never dare mention my master," said Wukong. "I'll say that I've learned this all by myself."
Having thanked the Patriarch, Wukong turned away, made the magic sign, pulled himself up and performed the cloud-somersault. He headed straight toward the East Pūrvavideha, and in less than an hour he could already see the Flower-Fruit Mountain and the Water-Curtain Cave. Rejoicing secretly, the Handsome Monkey King said to himself:
"I left weighed down by bones of mortal stock.
The Dao attained makes light both body and frame.
Tis this world's pity that none firmly resolves
To learn such mystery that by itself is plain.
Twas hard to cross the seas in former time.
Returning this day, I travel with ease.
Words of farewell still echo in my ears.
I never hope to see so soon the eastern depths!"
Wukong lowered the direction of his cloud and landed squarely on the Flower- Fruit Mountain. He was trying to find his way when he heard the call of cranes and the cry of monkeys; the call of cranes reverberated in the Heavens, and the cry of monkeys moved his spirit with sadness. "Little ones," he called out, "I have returned!"
From the crannies of the cliff, from the flowers and bushes and from the woods and trees, monkeys great and small leaped out by the tens of thousands and surrounded the Handsome Monkey King.
They all kowtowed and cried, "Great King! What laxity of mind! Why did you go away for such a long time and leave us here longing for your return like someone hungering and thirsting? Recently, we have been brutally abused by a monster, who wanted to rob us of our Water-Curtain Cave. Out of sheer desperation, we fought hard with him. And yet all this time, that fellow has plundered many of our possessions, kidnapped a number of our young ones, and given us many restless days and nights watching over our property. How fortunate that our great king has returned! If the great king had stayed away another year or so we and the entire mountain cave would have belonged to someone else!"
Hearing this, Wukong was filled with anger. "What sort of a monster is this," he cried, "that behaves in such a lawless manner? Tell me in detail and I will find him to exact vengeance."
"Be informed, Great King," the monkeys said, kowtowing, "that the fellow calls himself the Monstrous King of Havoc, and he lives north of here." Wukong asked, "From here to his place, how great is the distance?" The monkeys replied, "He comes like the cloud and leaves like the mist, like the wind and the rain, like lightning and thunder. We don‟t know how great the distance is."
"In that case," said Wukong, "go and play for a while and don‟t be afraid. Let me go and find him." Dear Monkey King! He leaped up with a bound and somersaulted all the way northward until he saw a tall and rugged mountain.
What a mountain!
Its penlike peak stands erect;
Its winding streams flow unfathomed and deep.
Its penlike peak, standing erect, cuts through the air;
Its winding streams, unfathomed and deep, reach diverse sites on earth.
On two ridges flowers rival trees in exotic charm;
At various spots pines match bamboos in green.
The dragon on the left
Seems docile and tame;
The tiger on the right
Seems gentle and meek.
Iron oxen
On occasion are seen plowing.
Gold-coin flowers are frequently planted.
Rare fowls make melodious songs;
The phoenix stands facing the sun.
Rocks worn smooth and shiny
By water placid and bright
Appear by turns grotesque, bizarre, and fierce.
In countless numbers are the world's famous mountains
Where flowers bloom and wither; they flourish and die.
What place resembles this long-lasting scene
Wholly untouched by the four seasons and eight epochs?
This is, in the Three Regions, the Mount of Northern Spring,
The Water- Belly Cave, nourished by the Five Phases.
The Handsome Monkey King was silently viewing the scenery when he heard someone speaking. He went down the mountain to find who it was, and he discovered the Water-Belly Cave at the foot of a steep cliff. Several imps who were dancing in front of the cave saw Wukong and began to run away.
"Stop!" cried Wukong. "You can use the words of your mouth to communicate the thoughts of my mind. I am the lord of the Water-Curtain Cave in the Flower-Fruit Mountain south of here. Your Monstrous King of Havoc, or whatever he's called has repeatedly bullied my young ones and I have found my way here with the specific purpose of settling matters with him."
Hearing this, the imps darted into the cave and cried out, "Great King, a disastrous thing has happened!"
"What sort of disaster?" asked the Monstrous King. "Outside the cave," said the imps, "there is a monkey who calls himself the lord of the Water-Curtain Cave in the Flower-Fruit Mountain. He says that you have repeatedly bullied his young ones and that he has come to settle matters with you."
Laughing, the Monstrous King said, "I have often heard those monkeys say that they have a great king who has left the family to practice self-cultivation. He must have come back. How is he dressed, and what kind of weapon does he have?"
"He doesn't have any kind of weapon," the imps said. "He is bare-headed, wears a red robe with a yellow sash, and has a pair of black boots on. He looks like neither a monk nor a layman, neither a Daoist nor an immortal. He is out there making demands with naked hands and empty fists."
When the Monstrous King heard this, he ordered, "Get me my armor and my weapon."
These were immediately brought out by the imps, and the Monstrous King put on his breastplate and helmet, grasped his scimitar, and walked out of the cave with his followers. "Who is the lord of the Water-Curtain Cave?"
he cried with a loud voice. Quickly opening wide his eyes to take a look, Wukong saw that the Monstrous King
Wore on his head a black gold helmet
Which gleamed in the sun;
And on his body a dark silk robe
Which swayed in the wind;
Lower he had on a black iron vest
Tied tightly with leather straps;
His feet were shod in finely carved boots,
Grand as those of warriors great.
Ten spans—the width of his waist;
Thirty feet—the height of his frame;
He held in his hands a sword;
Its blade was fine and bright.
His name: the Monster of Havoc
Of most fearsome form and look.
"You have such big eyes, reckless monster, but you can't even see old Monkey!" the Monkey King shouted. When the Monstrous King saw him, he laughed and said, "You're not four feet tall, nor are you thirty years old; you don't even have weapons in your hands.
How dare you be so insolent, looking for me to settle accounts?"
"You reckless monster!" cried Wukong. "You are blind indeed! You think I'm small, not knowing that it's hardly difficult for me to become taller; you think I'm without weapon, but my two hands can drag the moon down from the edge of Heaven. Don't be afraid; just have a taste of old Monkey's fist!"
He leaped into the air and aimed a blow smack at the monster's face. Parrying the blow with his hand, the Monstrous King said, "You are such a midget and I'm so tall; you want to use your fist but I have my scimitar. If I were to kill you with it, I would be a laughingstock. Let me put down my scimitar, and we'll see how well you can box."
"Well said, fine fellow," replied Wukong. "Come on!"
The Monstrous King shifted his position and struck out. Wukong closed in on him, hurtling himself into the engagement. The two of them pummeled and kicked, struggling and colliding with each other. It is easy to miss on a long reach, but a short punch is firm and reliable.
Wukong jabbed the Monstrous King in the short ribs, hit him on his chest, and gave him such heavy punishment with a few sharp blows that the monster stepped aside, picked up his huge scimitar, aimed it straight at Wukong's head, and slashed at him.
Wukong dodged and the blow narrowly missed him. Seeing that his opponent was growing fiercer, Wukong now used the method called the Body beyond the Body. Plucking a handful of hairs from his own body and throwing them into his mouth, he chewed them to tiny pieces and then spat them into the air. "Change!" he cried, and they changed at once into two or three hundred little monkeys encircling the combatants on all sides.
For you see, when someone acquires the body of an immortal, he can project his spirit, change his form, and perform all kinds of wonders. Since the Monkey King had become accomplished in the Way, every one of the eighty-four thousand hairs on his body could change into whatever shape or substance he desired.
The little monkeys he had just created were so keen of eye and so swift of movement that they could be wounded by neither sword nor spear. Look at them! Skipping and jumping, they rushed at the Monstrous King and surrounded him, some hugging, some pulling, some crawling in between his legs, some tugging at his feet.
They kicked and punched; they yanked at his hair and poked at his eyes; they pinched his nose and tried to sweep him completely off his feet, until they tangled themselves into confusion.
Meanwhile Wukong succeeded in snatching the scimitar, pushed through the throng of little monkeys, and brought the scimitar down squarely onto the monster's skull cleaving it in two.
He and the rest of the monkeys then fought their way into the cave and slaughtered all the imps, young and old. With a shake, he collected his hair back onto his body, but there were some monkeys that did not return to him. They were the little monkeys kidnaped by the Monstrous King from the Water-Curtain Cave.
"Why are you here?" asked Wukong. The thirty or fifty of them all said tearfully, "After the Great King went away to seek the way of immortality, the monster menaced us for two whole years and finally carried us off to this place. Don't these utensils belong to our cave? These stone pots and bowls were all taken by the creature."
"If these are our belongings," said Wukong, "move them out of here."
He then set fire to the Water-Belly Cave and reduced it to ashes. "All of you," he said to them, "follow me home."
"Great King," the monkeys said, "when we came here, all we felt was wind rushing past us, and we seemed to float through the air until we arrived here. We don't know the way. How can we go back to our home?" Wukong said, "That's a magic trick of his. But there's no difficulty! Now I know not only one thing but a hundred! I'm familiar with that trick too. Close your eyes, all of you, and don't be afraid."
Dear Monkey King. He recited a spell, rode for a while on a fierce wind and then lowered the direction of the cloud. "Little ones," he cried, "open your eyes!"
The monkeys felt solid ground beneath their feet and recognized their home territory.
In great delight, every one of them ran back to the cave along the familiar roads and crowded in together with those waiting in the cave. They then lined up according to age and rank and paid tribute to the Monkey King. Wine and fruits were laid out for the welcome banquet.
When asked how he had subdued the monster and rescued the young ones, Wukong presented a detailed rehearsal, and the monkeys broke into unending applause. "Where did you go, Great King?" they cried. "We never expected that you would acquire such skills!"
The year I left you all," Wukong said, "I drifted with the waves across the Great Eastern Ocean and reached the West Aparagodānīya Continent. I then arrived at the South Jambūdvīpa Continent, where I learned human ways, wearing this garment and these shoes.
I swaggered along with the clouds for eight or nine years, but I had yet to learn the Great Art. I then crossed the Great Western Ocean and reached the West Aparagodānīya Continent.
After searching for a long time, I had the good fortune to discover an old Patriarch, who imparted to me the formula for enjoying the same age as Heaven, the secret of immortality."
"Such luck is hard to meet even after ten thousand afflictions!" the monkeys said, all congratulating him. "Little ones," Wukong said, laughing again, "another delight is that our entire family now has a name."
"What is the name of the great king?"
"My surname is Sun," replied Wukong, "and my religious name is Wukong."
When the monkeys heard this, they all clapped their hands and shouted happily,
"If the great king is Elder Sun, then we are all Junior Suns, Suns the Third, small Suns, tiny Suns—the Sun Family, the Sun Nation, and the Sun Cave!" So they all came and honored Elder Sun with large and small bowls of coconut and grape wine, of divine flowers and fruits.
It was indeed one big happy family! Lo,
The surname is one, the self's returned to its source.
This glory awaits—a name recorded in Heaven!
We do not know what the result was and how Wukong would fare in this realm; let's listen to the explanation in the next chapter.