Journey to the West (vol. 3)
Page 28
While the idiot said an incantation Brother Monkey blew on him with magic breath, turned him into Wily Freak's double and gave him a white pass to tuck in at his waist. Monkey then turned himself into Freaky Wile with a pass at his waist too, and Friar Sand made himself look like a travelling dealer in pigs and sheep. Then they drove the pigs and sheep together along the path West towards the mountain. Before long they were in a mountain gully, where they met another junior devil. He had the most horrible face. Just look:
A pair of round and bulging eyes
Shining like lanterns;
A head of red and bristly hair,
Blazing like fire.
A red nose,
A twisted mouth,
Sharp and pointy fangs;
Protruding ears,
A brow that seemed hacked into shape,
And a green and bloated face.
He was wearing a pale yellow tunic
And sandals made of sedge.
He looked most imposing, like some evil god,
As he hurried along like a vicious demon.
This devil was carrying a coloured lacquer invitation box under his left arm as he greeted Monkey and the other two with a call of “Freaky Wile, good to see you both. Did you buy us some pigs and sheep?”
“Can't you see we're driving them along?” Monkey replied.
“Who's this gentleman?” the devil asked, looking at Friar Sand.
“He's the dealer in pigs and sheep,” Monkey replied. “We still owe him a couple of ounces of silver, so we're taking him home with us to fetch it. Where are you going?”
“To Bamboo Mountain to invite His Senior Majesty to the feast tomorrow morning,” the devil said.
Taking his cue from the devil's tone of voice, Monkey then asked, “How many guests will there be altogether?”
“His Senior Majesty will take the place of honour,” the devil replied, “and with our own king, chiefs and the rest of them there'll be over forty.”
As they were talking Pig called, “Get a move on! The pigs and sheep are going everywhere.”
“You go and invite them while I get a look at that invitation,” Monkey said, and as the devil regarded him as one of their own kind he opened the box, took out the invitation and handed it to Monkey. This is what Monkey read when he unfolded it:
A banquet is being given tomorrow morning to celebrate the capture of the rake, and if you will condescend to cross the mountain, honoured ancestor, Primal Sage of Ninefold Numinosity, I will be deeply grateful.
With a hundred kowtows,
Your grandson,
Tawny Lion
When Monkey had read it he handed it back to the devil, who returned it to its case and carried on towards the Southeast.
“Brother,” Friar Sand asked, “what did it say on the invitation?”
“It was an invitation to the Rake Banquet,” Monkey replied. “It was signed, 'with a hundred kowtows, your grandson Tawny Lion,' and the invitation was being sent to the Primal Sage of Ninefold Numinosity.'”
“Tawny Lion must be a golden-haired lion who's become a spirit,” said Friar Sand with a smile, “but I wonder who the Primal Sage of Ninefold Numinosity is.”
Pig's reaction was to laugh and say, “He's mine.”
“Why should he necessarily be yours?” Monkey asked.
“There's an old saying that goes, 'a mangy old sow can put a golden lion to flight,'“ Pig replied. “That's why I know he's mine.” As they talked and laughed the three of them drove the pigs and sheep along till they could see the gates of Tigermouth Cave. Outside the gates there were,
Green mountains all around,
Ranges forming a mighty wall.
Creepers clung to the sheer rock faces,
Thorns hung down from the towering cliffs.
Bird song came from all around the woods,
While flowers gave a welcome by the entrance.
This cave was a match for the Peach Blossom Spring,
A place to avoid the troubles of the world.
As they came closer to the mouth of the cave they saw a crowd of evil spirits of every age and kind playing under the blossoming trees, and when they heard Pig's shouts of “Hey! Hey!” as he drove the pigs and sheep they all came out to meet them. The pigs and sheep were caught and trussed up. The noise had by now disturbed the demon king inside, who came out with ten or more junior demons to ask, “Are you two back? How many animals did you buy?”
“Eight pigs and seven sheep-fifteen altogether,” Monkey replied. “The pigs cost sixteen ounces of silver and the sheep nine. We were only given twenty ounces, so we still owe five. This is the dealer who's come with us for the silver.”
“Fetch five ounces of silver, little ones,” the demon king ordered on hearing this, “and send him on his way.”
“But the dealer hasn't only come to get his silver,” Monkey replied. “He's come to see the banquet too.”
“What nerve, Freaky Wile!” said the furious demon abusively. “You were sent off to buy things, not to talk about banquets.”
“As you've got those amazingly fine treasures, my lord,” Pig said, stepping forward, “what's the harm in letting him have a look?”
“Damn you too, Wily Freak,” said the demon with an angry snort. “I got these treasures from inside the city of Yuhua. If this stranger sees them and talks about them in the city the word will get around and the prince will come to demand them. What'll we do then?”
“My lord,” Monkey replied, “this dealer comes from the other side of Qianfang Market. That's a long way from the city, and he's not a city man either, so where would he go telling tales? Besides, he's hungry, and the two of us haven't eaten. If there's any food and liquor in the place why don't we give him some before sending him on his way?”
Before he could finish speaking a junior devil came out with five ounces of silver that he gave to Monkey, who in turn handed it to Friar Sand with the words, “Take your silver, stranger, then come round to the back for something to eat with us.”
Taking his courage in his hands, Friar Sand went into the cave with Pig and Monkey. When they reached the second hall inside they saw on a table in the middle of it the nine-toothed iron rake set up in all its dazzling brightness to receive offerings. At the Eastern end of the table was leant the gold-banded cudgel, and at the Western end the demon-quelling staff.
“Stranger,” said the demon king who was following them in, “that's the rake shining so brightly in the middle. You're welcome to look, but don't tell anyone about it, whatever you do.” Friar Sand nodded in admiration.
Oh dear! This was a case of “when the owner sees what's his he's bound to pick it up.” Pig had always been a rough customer, and once he saw his rake he was not going to talk about the facts of the case, but charged over, pulled it down and swung it around as he turned back into himself. He struck straight at the evil spirit's face, not caring now about the proper ways of using his weapon. Monkey and Friar Sand each rushed to one end of the table to grab his own weapon and turn back into himself. As the three brothers started lashing out wildly the demon king had to get out of their way in a hurry, go round to the back and fetch his four-bright halberd with its long handle and sharp, pointed butt.
Rushing into the courtyard, he used this to hold off the three weapons and shout at the top of his voice, “Who do you think you are, tricking me out of my treasures by impersonation?”
“I'll get you, you hairy beast,” Monkey cursed back. “You don't know who I am. I'm a disciple of Tang Sanzang, the holy monk from the East. When we came to Yuhua to present our passport the prince told his three sons to take us as their teachers of fighting skills. They were having weapons copied from ours. That was why ours were left in the courtyard for you to sneak into the city and steal in the middle of the night. And you accuse us of tricking them out of you by impersonation! Stay right there and try a taste of our three weapons.”
The evil spirit at once raised his halberd to fight
back. They fought from the courtyard out through the front gate, three monks chasing a single demon. It was a splendid battle:
The cudgel whistled like the wind,
The rake's blows came raining down.
The demon-quelling staff filled the sky with glowing mist;
The four-bright halberd gave off clouds.
They were like the three immortals refining elixir,
Making dazzling light that frightened gods and ghosts.
Monkey was brilliant at displaying his might;
The evil spirit was wrong to have stolen the treasures.
Marshal Tian Peng showed off his divine powers,
While the great general Sand was heroic and splendid.
As the three brothers fought with skill and one mind
A great battle took place in Tigermouth Cave.
The ogre was full of power and cunning,
A fit match for the four heroes.
They fought until the sun set in the West,
When the demon weakened and could hold out no longer.
After their long fight on Mount Leopard Head the evil spirit shouted at Friar Sand, “Watch this halberd!” As Friar Sand fell back to dodge the blow the evil spirit escaped through the opening he left and fled by wind to the Xun quarter to the Southeast.
Pig started rushing after him to catch him, but Monkey said, “Let him go. As the old saying goes, 'never chase a desperate robber.' Let's leave him nothing to come back to.”
Pig agreed, and the three of them went back to the entrance of the cave, where they killed all the hundred and more evil spirits great and small. It turned out that they were all really tigers, wolves, tiger cats, leopards, red deer and goats. Monkey used one of his powers to bring all the valuables and fabrics, as well as the bodies of all the animals they had killed, the pigs and the sheep out of the cave. Friar Sand used some dry wood he found to start a fire that Pig fanned with both his ears. The cave was soon burnt out, and they took what they had brought with them back to the city.
The city gates were wide open; people had not yet gone to bed. The senior prince and his sons were still waiting in the Gauze Pavilion. The three disciples dropped all the dead wild animals and sheep as well as the valuables with loud thumps into the courtyard, filling it up as they called out, “Master, we're back. We've won.”
The senior prince then expressed his thanks to them, the Tang priest was delighted, and the three young princes fell to their knees to bow.
“Don't thank us,” Friar Sand said, helping them to their feet. “Come and see what we've got.”
“Where are they from?” the senior prince asked.
“The tigers, wolves, tiger cats, leopards, red deer and goats were all monsters that made themselves into spirits. When we'd got our weapons back we fought our way out through the gates. Their demon king is a golden-haired lion who fights with a four-bright halberd. He battled it out with us till nightfall, then ran away to the Southeast. Instead of chasing him we made sure he'd have nowhere to come back to by killing all these devils and bringing back all his things.”
This news both delighted and alarmed the senior prince: he was delighted at their triumphant return; worried that the demon would seek his revenge later.
“Don't worry, Your Royal Highness,” said Monkey. “I've thought about it very carefully, and I'll deal with it properly. I promise to exterminate the demons completely before we go. We'll definitely not leave you with trouble that'll come back later. When we went there at noon we ran into a little green-faced, red-haired devil who was carrying an invitation. What it said on it was: 'A banquet is being given tomorrow morning to celebrate the capture of the rake, and if you will condescend to cross the mountain, honoured ancestor, Primal Sage of Ninefold Numinosity, I will be deeply grateful.' It was signed: 'with a hundred kowtows, your grandson, Tawny Lion'. When the evil spirit was defeated just now he must have gone to have a word with his grandfather. They're bound to come looking for us to get their revenge tomorrow morning, and when that happens I'll wipe them all out for you.” The senior prince thanked him and had supper arranged. When master and disciples had eaten, everybody went to bed.
The story now tells of how the evil spirit really did head Southeast to Bamboo Mountain, in which there was a cave called the Nine-bend Twisty Cave where the evil spirit's grandfather, the Primal Sage of Ninefold Numinosity, lived. That night the demon did not stop treading the wind until he reached the cave's entrance in the last watch.
When he knocked on the gates and went in a junior devil greeted him with the words, “Your Majesty, Greenface brought the invitation last night, and the old gentleman invited him to say till this morning to go to your Rake Banquet with him. Why have you come here so very early to invite him yourself?”
“I hate to have to say it,” the evil spirit replied, “but the banquet is off.”
As they were talking Greenface came out from the inner part of the cave to say, “What are you doing here, Your Majesty? As soon as His Senior Majesty's up he's coming to the celebration with me.” The evil spirit was so distraught that he could say nothing, but only wave his hands.
A little later the old demon got up and called for the evil spirit, who dropped his weapon and prostrated himself on the ground to kowtow, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Worthy grandson,” the old demon said, “you sent me an invitation yesterday, and this morning I'm on my way to the celebration. So why have you come yourself, looking so miserable and upset?”
“I was taking a stroll in the moonlight the night before last,” the evil spirit replied, still kowtowing, “when I saw a dazzling light rising up to the sky from the city of Yuhua. I hurried there to take a look and saw that it came from three weapons in the prince's palace: a nine-toothed rake with gold in it, a staff and a gold-banded cudgel. I used my magic to take them away and decided to have a Rake Banquet to celebrate. I sent some of my underlings to buy pigs, sheep and fruit for the feast that I invited you to come and enjoy, Grandfather. But after I sent Greenface over with the invitation yesterday Wily Freak and the other one who'd been told to buy pigs and sheep came back with a dealer, a stranger, for some silver. The stranger was all set on seeing the banquet. I refused as I was afraid he'd spread the news around. Then they said they were hungry and asked for some food to eat, so I told them to go round the back to eat. When they got inside and saw the weapons they said they were theirs. They each snatched one and turned back into their real selves. One was a monk with a hairy face and a mouth like a thunder god's, one was a monk with a long snout and big ears, and one was a monk with a really sinister face. The three of them yelled at me and started lashing out: they didn't care at all. I just managed to fetch my four-bright halberd and come out to hold them at bay. When I asked them who they were and how they dared go in for impersonation they told me they were disciples of the Tang Priest who's been sent to the Western Heaven by Great Tang in the East. When they went to present their passport on their way through the city the princes pressed them to stay and teach them martial arts. They said their three weapons had been left in the palace yard for copies of them to be made, and that I'd stolen them. Then they went for me with great fury. I didn't know what those three monks are called, but they're all very good fighters. As I was no match for them by myself I had to run away and come here. If you have any love for your grandson I beg you to lend me your arms in order to get my revenge on those monks.”
After a moment's silent thought the old demon replied with a smile, “So it's them. Worthy grandson, you made a big mistake provoking him.”
“Do you know who they are, grandfather?” the other asked.
“The one with a long snout and big ears is Zhu Bajie,” the old demon said, “and the one with a horrible face is Friar Sand. They're not too bad. But the one with a hairy face and a mouth like a thunder god is called Sun the Novice. He's got really tremendous magical powers. When he made great havoc in Heaven five hundred years ago a hundred thousand heavenly troops couldn't catch
him. And he's a most determined hunter. He's like a policeman who'll search mountains and seas, smash caves, storm cities and cause all sorts of trouble. Why did you have to provoke him? Never mind. I'll go with you and capture those so-and-sos and the prince of Yuhua to avenge you.”
On hearing this the evil spirit kowtowed again in thanks. The senior demon immediately mustered his grandsons Monkey Lion, Snowy Lion, Leo, Gryphon, Raccoon-dog Lion and Elephant-fighter, each of whom carried a sharp weapon. With Tawny Lion leading the way each of them set off a powerful gale that carried them straight to Mount Leopard Head, where there was an all-pervasive smell of smoke and fire and all that could be heard was sobbing. When they looked more closely they saw Wily Freak and Freaky Wile weeping for their lord.
“Are you the real Freak and Wile or impostors?” the evil spirit shouted as he went up to them.
Falling to their knees and kowtowing with tears in their eyes, the two devils replied, “We're no impostors. After we were given the silver to buy pigs and sheep yesterday we met a monk with a hairy face and a mouth like a thunder god in the wide valley to the West of the mountain. When he spat on us our legs went all weak, our mouths went stiff, we couldn't speak and we couldn't move. He knocked us over, found and stole our silver and took our passes off us. We were left in a daze till we came round just now. When we got home we found the place still on fire and all the buildings burnt down. We were crying so bitterly because you, my lord, and all the chiefs had disappeared. We don't know how the fire was started.”
When the evil spirit heard this he could not stop his tears from gushing forth as he stamped his feet in fury, let loose heaven-shaking roars and exclaimed in hatred and fury, “Damned baldies! Vicious beasts! How could you be so evil? You've destroyed my cave palace and burnt my beauty to death. You've killed everyone, young and old, in the household. I'm so angry I could die!”
The old demon then told Monkey Lion to take hold of Tawny Lion, saying, “Grandson, what's done is done. Upsetting yourself won't do you any good. What you must do now is summon up all your energy to catch those monks in the city.”