Chapter 90

Master and Lions, Teacher and Taught, Return All to the One; The Thief of the Way Entangles the Chan, and the Ninefold Numina Is Stilled

Now the Great Sage Sun with Bajie and Sha Monk came out of the city gate and met them face to face, and saw that the troop of monsters were lions of mongrel coats: the Yellow Lion Spirit led in front; Suan-Ni Lion and Elephant-Seizer Lion on the left; Bai-Ze Lion and Crouching Lynx Lion on the right; Ape-Lion and Snow Lion behind; and in the midst a nine-headed lion. That monster Blue Face carried a jeweled canopy of brocade flowers, close beside the nine-headed lion; Cunning and Odd, and Odd and Cunning, bore two red flags. All together they were drawn up in the quarter of the north.

Bajie, headlong, came up close and cursed: "You thieving monsters that stole the treasures—where did you league with these hairy beasts, and come here for what?" The Yellow Lion Spirit set his teeth and cursed: "You shameless bald scoundrel! Yesterday three of you against one of me; I fled back and let you men pass—why such cruelty as to burn my cave dwelling, spoil my mountain holding, and slaughter my kin and kindred? My feud with you is deep as the great sea. Stand still, and taste your lord's spade!" Good Bajie: he raised the rake to meet him. The two had but closed hands, and nothing yet decided, when Ape-Lion whirled an iron mace, and Snow Lion swung a three-edged rod, and came on to strike. Bajie shouted: "Welcome!" Look at this side: Sha Monk swiftly drew the demon-subduing staff and came up to help. And Suan-Ni, Bai-Ze, and the two spirits Elephant-Seizer and Crouching Lynx swarmed up together. Here the Great Sage Sun met the whole pack with the gold-banded staff. Suan-Ni swung a crushing mace; Bai-Ze a copper hammer; Elephant-Seizer a steel spear; Crouching Lynx a battle-axe. Those seven lion spirits, these three fierce monks—a fine battle:

Staff, hammer, spear, and axe, the three-edged rod;the mace, the club, the four-cornered spade.Seven lions, seven weapons, all of the keenest edge,ringing three monks in battle, shouting all together.The Great Sage's gold-banded iron staff is fell;Sha Monk's precious staff is seldom seen in the world of men.Bajie rides the whirlwind, mighty in his bearing;the nine-toothed rake flashes, its sheen like death.Front warding, rear blocking, each does his work;left parrying, right answering, all of them bold.On the wall the princes cheer them on with drum and gong, and hearts grow stout.They close and grapple, flaunting their powers, till the fight turns heaven and earth to murk.

That pack of monsters and the Great Sage's three fought half the day, and night came on unmarked. Bajie's mouth ran drivel, his feet failing under him; he made a feint with the rake and broke away. Snow Lion and Ape-Lion shouted after: "Where go you? Look at the blow!" The Idiot could not dodge: the rod came down on his spine, and he lay on the ground crying only: "It is over, it is over!" The two spirits took Bajie by mane and tail, hoisted him, and carried him before the nine-headed lion, reporting: "Grandfather, we have taken one."

Before the words were done, Sha Monk and the Pilgrim too were beaten, and the whole pack of demons came pressing after. The Pilgrim plucked a handful of hairs, chewed them fine, sprayed them out, and cried: "Change!"—they became a hundred and more little Pilgrims, and ringed about, folding Bai-Ze, Suan-Ni, Elephant-Seizer, and Crouching Lynx, and the golden-maned lion monster in the middle. Sha Monk and the Pilgrim pressed in to strike. By night they had taken Suan-Ni and Bai-Ze; Crouching Lynx and Elephant-Seizer escaped. The golden-maned one brought word to the old monster. The old monster, seeing two lions lost, gave orders: "Bind Zhu Bajie, and do not hurt his life. When he brings back my two lions, then give him Bajie in exchange; if in his ignorance he has spoiled my two lions, kill Bajie and square the account." That night the demon host rested outside the city—no more of that.

The Great Sage Sun had the two lion spirits carried near the city; the old prince saw, gave the word at once, the gates were opened, two or three dozen officers sent out with ropes, and the lion spirits bound and borne into the city. The Great Sage Sun called home his magic hairs, and with Sha Monk came up onto the gate tower to Tripitaka Tang. Tripitaka said: "This business is desperate. Wuneng's life—does it stand or not?" The Pilgrim said: "No fear. We have taken these two monsters, and they dare not touch him. Let the two be bound fast and tight; tomorrow morning we make the exchange for Bajie." The three young princes knocked their heads to the Pilgrim: "Master, in the first bout we saw but one body of you; then, feigning defeat, you went back—and how came there a hundred and ten master bodies? And taking the monsters, coming back to the city, again but one. What art is this?" The Pilgrim laughed: "On my body are eighty-four thousand hairs: one becomes ten, ten become a hundred, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred million of changes—the art of bodies beyond the body." The princes bowed their heads one by one, the meal was laid at once, and they ate on the gate tower. On every parapet were lanterns and flags, clappers and bells, gongs and drums, the watch called and the arrow passed, cannon fired and shouts given.

Day came again. The old monster called the Yellow Lion Spirit and laid the plan: "Today you set your hearts to take that Pilgrim and Sha Monk; I will fly in secret over the wall, take their master and the old prince and his sons, and turn first to the Nine-Bend Winding Cave, and wait for your victorious report." The Yellow Lion took the plan, and led Ape-Lion, Snow Lion, Elephant-Seizer, and Crouching Lynx, weapons in hand, to the city's edge, rolling wind and brewing mist, and defied them to battle. Here the Pilgrim and Sha Monk leaped from the wall and roared: "You thieving wanton monsters! Hand back my brother Bajie, and I spare your lives; otherwise, bones to powder and corpses to fragments, every one of you." The monsters brooked no argument, but came on all together. The Great Sage and his brother plied each his wiles, and held the five lions. This battle was again far other than yesterday's:

Rushing, the wild wind sweeps the ground and rages; darkling, the black fog veils the sky and thickens. Stones fly and sand drives, frightening gods and ghosts; woods are thrust down and trees felled, tigers and wolves aghast. The steel spear savagely gleams, the battle-axe shines; mace, rod, and spade are bitter past bearing. Would to swallow the Pilgrim whole; alive and lively to seize the young Sha Monk. The Great Sage's one As-You-Will staff, folding and unfolding, deft past telling. Sha Monk's demon-subduing staff has its name outside the Hall of Numinous Clouds. This day they put forth powers wide as heaven, and in the western lands do their work, sweeping the fiends away.

These five mongrel-maned lion spirits and the Pilgrim and Sha Monk were fighting at their height, when the old monster, riding a black cloud, came straight up onto the gate tower, shook his head once, and the civil and military officers on the wall, great and small, and the men holding the city tumbled headlong down. He rushed into the tower, opened his mouth, and in one snap took up Tripitaka and the old prince and his sons; then down again to the ground in the north quarter, and with his mouth took up Bajie too. For his nine heads had nine mouths: one mouth holding Tripitaka Tang, one Bajie, one the old prince, one the eldest prince, one the second, one the third—six mouths holding six people, and three mouths yet empty. He gave a shout: "I go first!" And the five little lion spirits, seeing their grandsire victorious, showed their prowess all the more.

The Pilgrim heard the shouting on the wall, knew he was tricked, and called hastily to Sha Monk to be careful. He plucked all the hairs from his arms, chewed them fine, sprayed them out, and made many hundreds of little Pilgrims, who swarmed up to the attack. At once they dragged down Ape-Lion, took Snow Lion alive, seized Elephant-Seizer, bore down Crouching Lynx, and beat the Yellow Lion to death, and came roaring to the city wall. But three monsters got clean away: Blue Face, and Cunning and Odd, and Odd and Cunning. The officers on the wall opened the gates again, bound the five lion spirits with ropes, and carried them into the city. Before they could be dealt with, the prince's consort came weeping and wailing and bowed to the Pilgrim: "Divine master, my lord and his sons, and your master, their lives are lost. What shall this lonely city do?" The Great Sage called home his magic hairs and made his obeisance to the consort: "Worthy queen, no sorrow. It is because I took his seven lions that the old fiend used his carrying art, and must have carried off my master and the prince and his sons; I reckon they are unharmed. At the earliest light tomorrow my brother and I go into that mountain, and I warrant you we take the old fiend and give you back your four princes." The consort and the knot of ladies heard, and all bowed to the Pilgrim: "We pray the lord prince and his sons live whole, and the royal line stand firm." The bows done, they went back each weeping to the palace. The Pilgrim gave his orders to the officers: "Flay the Yellow Lion that was beaten to death; bind the six living lion spirits fast. Bring some plain food; we will eat and sleep. All of you be at ease; I promise you no harm."

Next day the Great Sage led Sha Monk up on propitious clouds, and in no time was on the top of Bamboo-Joint Mountain. He stayed the cloud and looked: a fine high mountain. Behold:

Peaks ranked and jutting; ridges steep and rugged. In the deep ravine below, water purling and washing; before the sheer cliff, brocade flowers breathing perfume. Ridges folding upon folding; the old road winding around. Truly when the crane comes, the pine has company; truly when the cloud goes, the stone stands bare. The black ape seeks fruit in the clear shine; the elk hunt flowers in the warm sun. The blue luan's cry rings shrill; the yellow oriole babbles sweet. Spring brings peach and plum vying in beauty; summer brings willow and scholar-tree contending in leaf. Autumn comes, and yellow flowers lay out brocade; winter turns, and white snow flies like floss. Fine weather in all four seasons and eight feasts—not second to the fairy prospect of Yingzhou.

The two were looking at the prospect on the mountaintop when out of the cliffs and valleys ran Blue Face, a short club in his hand. The Pilgrim roared: "Where go you? Your old Sun is come." The little demon, frightened, tumbled and rolled down the cliffs. The two followed hard—and lost all trace. A few steps further on and around stood a cave dwelling, its two leaves of mottled stone door shut fast. In the lintel a stone slab was let in athwart, graved in square characters with ten great ones: Bamboo-Joint Mountain of the Ten Thousand Spirits, the Nine-Bend Winding Cave.

The little demon had run into the cave and shut the door, and came to the old demon in the midst: "Grandfather, two more monks are come outside." The old demon said: "Have your Great King and Ape-Lion, Snow Lion, Elephant-Seizer, and Crouching Lynx come?" The little demon said: "Not seen, not seen. Only two monks stand gazing from the height of the peak. I saw them, turned and ran; they gave chase, and I shut the door and came in." The old demon heard, hung his head, and said nothing; presently tears fell of themselves, and he cried: "Bitter! My Yellow Lion grandson is dead, and Ape-Lion and the rest are all taken by the monks into the city. How shall this hate be paid?" Bajie, bound hard by, with the prince and his sons and Tripitaka Tang huddled together, wretched and dismayed in their suffering, heard the old demon say his grandsons were all taken into the city, and rejoiced in the dark: "Master, fear not; my lord prince, sorrow not. My senior brother has won, has taken the demons all, and is come here seeking to save us." And then the old demon called: "Little ones, keep good watch here; I go out and take those two monks in, and punish them at a stroke."

See him: no armor on his body, no weapon in his hand, he strode out to the front, hearing already the Pilgrim's bawling. He flung the cave door wide open, answered not a word, and made straight at the Pilgrim. The Pilgrim met him over the head with the iron staff; Sha Monk whirled the precious staff to strike. The old demon shook his head, his eight other heads opened their mouths all together, and Pilgrim and Sha Monk were lightly carried in his jaws into the cave. He called: "Bring ropes." Then Cunning and Odd, and Odd and Cunning, and Blue Face—the three that had fled back last night—took two cords and bound the two of them hard and fast. The old demon asked: "You shameless ape, you took my seven children and grandsons; now I hold four of your monks and four of your princes—enough to square the lives of my kin. Little ones, bring thorn switches and willow rods, and give this monkey-head a beating, to pay my Yellow Lion grandson's grudge." The three little demons took willow rods and beat the Pilgrim alone. The Pilgrim's body was tempered and tried: those willow rods were good only to tickle him; not a sound did he make, and let them strike as they would, he heeded it not at all. Bajie and Tripitaka Tang and the princes, seeing it, felt their hair stand and their bones creep. Presently the rods were broken short; they beat till nightfall, past all counting. Sha Monk, seeing so many blows, could not bear it: "Let me take a hundred or so for him." The old demon said: "Not so fast; tomorrow it comes to you. One by one, in turn, the beating goes round." Bajie fretted: "The day after, it comes to old Pig." They beat a while, and the sky darkened by degrees. The old demon called: "Little ones, stop; light the lamps, eat and drink something, and let me go nap a while in the Brocade-Cloud Nest. You three have all been beaten before: keep careful watch, and in the morning we beat again." The three little demons brought the lamps over, and with the willow rods beat on the Pilgrim's crown, like knocking clappers—tick-tock, tock-tick, fast a few, slow a few. Deep night came on, and they all nodded asleep.

The Pilgrim used his art of escape, shrunk his body, and slipped the ropes. He shook his hairs, and straightened his clothes. From his ear he drew the staff, flourished it to the thickness of a well-bucket, two zhang long, and said to the three little demons: "You evil beasts—you have beaten your lord a pretty many strokes. Your lord keeps his temper still; now let your lord rap you a little with the staff, and see how you like it." He laid it lightly on the three little demons, and pressed them into three meat cakes. Then he trimmed the lamp bright and freed Sha Monk. Bajie, bound to bursting, could not forbear but bawled aloud: "Brother, my hands and feet are bound swollen—and you will not free me first?" At that one shout the old demon woke. He scrambled up rolling: "Who is loose?" The Pilgrim heard, blew out the lamp in one breath, thought nothing of Sha Monk and the rest, smashed through door after door with his iron staff, and was gone.

The old demon came to the middle hall calling: "Little ones, where is the lamp gone? Sure no one has slipped out?" He called once; no answer; called again; no answer. Bringing a light to look, he found on the floor three bloody meat cakes; the old prince and his sons, Tripitaka Tang, and Bajie all there—only the Pilgrim and Sha Monk gone. Torch in hand he hunted before and behind, and found Sha Monk standing with his back against the corridor; he seized him, flung him down, and bound him as before. Then he looked for the Pilgrim, and saw every door burst: he knew the Pilgrim had broken out and fled. He did not chase, but mended the broken doors, covered what he could, and held his house fast—no more of that.

The Great Sage Sun, out of the Nine-Bend Winding Cave, mounted propitious clouds and turned straight to Jade Flower Prefecture. There over the city wall the earth gods and spirits of every quarter and the god of the city met him in the air, bowing in welcome. The Pilgrim said: "Why do you show yourselves only tonight?" The city god said: "We small gods knew the Great Sage was come down to Jade Flower Prefecture, but the worthy prince kept you, and we dared not show. Now, knowing the prince and his house beset by monsters and the Great Sage subduing them, we come specially to bow and welcome." The Pilgrim was in the midst of his vexation when the Golden-Headed Guardian and the generals of the six Jia and six Ding came pressing along a bound earth god, who knelt before him: "Great Sage, we have taken this earth spirit for you." The Pilgrim roared: "You were not guarding my master at Bamboo-Joint Mountain—why come brawling here?" The generals said: "Great Sage, when you fled, the monster took the Curtain-Raising General again and bound him as before. Seeing his powers so great, we brought the earth god of Bamboo-Joint Mountain here under guard. He knows the monster's roots: ask him, Great Sage, and it will be the easier to deal with him, and ease the holy monk and the worthy prince of their suffering." The Pilgrim heard, and was glad. The earth god, trembling, knocked his head: "That old demon came down to Bamboo-Joint Mountain years ago. The Nine-Bend Winding Cave was of old the den of six lions; and the six lions, when the old demon came, all took him for venerable ancestor. The ancestor is a nine-headed lion, titled the Old Sage of Ninefold Numina. To destroy him one must go to the Palace of the Wondrous Cliff of the Farthest East and beg his rightful lord to come; only so can he be taken; no other could hope to catch him." The Pilgrim heard, pondered half a while, and said: "The Palace of the Wondrous Cliff of the Farthest East—that is the Venerable Sovereign Taiyi, the Savior from Suffering; and under his seat is indeed a nine-headed lion. So it is." He bade: "Guardian and Golden-Mail, go back with the earth god, and guard my master and brothers and the prince and his sons in the dark; and the city god here keep the city." And the gods went each to his charge.

The Great Sage rode the somersault cloud and drove on through the night. About the hour of the tiger he came outside the East Gate of Heaven, and met in full state the Wide-Gazing Heavenly King with his sky soldiers and strongmen. All halted, and saluted with joined hands: "Great Sage, where away?" The Pilgrim returned their courtesies and said: "A walk to the Wondrous Cliff Palace." The Heavenly King said: "You will not take the westward road—and what do you in the eastern heaven?" The Pilgrim said: "Coming to Jade Flower Prefecture, the prince of the state entertained us, and sent his three sons to bow to us brothers as masters and learn the arts of war; and who looked for a den of lion monsters? Now I have found that the Venerable Sovereign Taiyi, the Savior from Suffering of the Wondrous Cliff Palace, is the monster's rightful lord, and I would beg him to come and take the monster and save my master." The Heavenly King said: "There it is: because you would be a teacher of men, out comes this whole den of lions." The Pilgrim laughed: "Just so, just so." The sky soldiers and strongmen saluted one by one and made way for him. The Great Sage entered the East Gate of Heaven, and in no time was before the Wondrous Cliff Palace. Behold:

Colored clouds in folds on folds; purple vapor lush and deep. The tiles ripple with waves of golden flame; jade beasts guard the gates in state. Flowers fill the twin gate towers, ringed with rosy haze; the sun shines on the forest of banners, wrapt in kingfisher mist. Truly the ten thousand true ones ring about it, and a thousand sages flourish there. Halls and towers tiered in brocade; windows and galleries opening everywhere. The azure dragon coils and wards it, godlike light serene; the yellow way shines glorious, auspicious vapor thick. This indeed is the realm of Long Life in the Azure Flower—the Wondrous Cliff Palace of the Farthest East.

At the palace gate stood an immortal page in rainbow mantle, who saw the Great Sage Sun and ran in to report: "Grandfather, outside is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who wrecked the Heavenly Palace." The Venerable Sovereign Taiyi, the Savior from Suffering, heard, and bade the guard of immortals go out and welcome him. They brought him into the palace, where the Sovereign sat high on a nine-colored lotus throne, in the midst of a hundred million auspicious rays. Seeing the Pilgrim, he came down from the throne to meet him, and the Pilgrim saluted toward the throne. The Sovereign returned the courtesy: "Great Sage, these years we have not met. I heard you had left the Way for Buddha, guarding Tripitaka Tang west to fetch the scriptures—is the work done?" The Pilgrim said: "Not done, but near it. Now, guarding Tripitaka Tang, I came to Jade Flower Prefecture; the prince sent his three sons to bow to your old Sun and the rest as masters, to learn the arts of war, and had our three divine weapons copied out in forged metal; and in the night they were stolen by thieves. Searching at dawn, we found it was a golden-maned lion become a spirit in the Tiger's-Mouth Cave of Leopard-Head Mountain north of the city. By a stratagem your old Sun got them out, and the wretch leagued a pack of lion spirits and fell to brawling with me. Among them a nine-headed lion, vast in his powers, carried off in his jaws my master and Bajie and the prince and his sons, all four, to the Nine-Bend Winding Cave in Bamboo-Joint Mountain. Next day your old Sun and Sha Monk tracked them, and were carried off too. Your old Sun was bound and beaten past counting, and escaped by his arts only. They suffer there still. I asked the local earth god, and learned at last that Your Honor is his master; so I come specially to beg you to take him and save us."

The Sovereign heard, and bade an immortal general go to the lions' house and call out the lion keeper to question him. The keeper lay fast asleep; the generals pushed and shook him awake, haled him to the middle hall, and brought him before the Sovereign. The Sovereign asked: "Where is the lion beast?" The fellow dropped tears and knocked his head, crying only: "Spare my life, spare my life." The Sovereign said: "The Great Sage Sun is here; you shall not be beaten yet. Speak quickly: how were you careless, and let the nine-headed lion slip away?" The keeper said: "Grandfather, the other day in the Hall of Sweet Dew of the Great Thousand I saw a bottle of wine, and stole away with it and drank, and fell dead drunk asleep, and failed of the tether and the lock; so he got away." The Sovereign said: "That wine was a gift of the Supreme Lord Lao, called the Nectar of the Round of Rebirth; you drank, and were to sleep three days unwaking. How many days is the lion beast gone?" The Great Sage said: "By the earth god's telling, he came down years ago; it is two or three years now." The Sovereign laughed: "So it is, so it is: one day in the heavenly palace is a year in the mortal world." He called the keeper: "Rise; your death is pardoned. Come with me and the Great Sage down below, and we take him. The rest of you immortals go back—no need to follow."

The Sovereign then with the Great Sage and the keeper trod the clouds straight to Bamboo-Joint Mountain. There the guardians of the five quarters, the six Jia and six Ding, and the earth god of the mountain all came kneeling to welcome. The Pilgrim said: "In your wardship, has my master taken any hurt?" The gods said: "The monster fell into a sulky sleep, and has touched them with no punishment at all." The Sovereign said: "My Yuansheng too is a true spirit long ripened in the Way: one cry of his reaches up to the Three Pure Ones and down through the Nine Springs; at his ease he does not hurt living things. Great Sage Sun, go you to his door and defy him to battle; draw him out, and I will take him."

The Pilgrim heard, and truly pulled his staff and jumped to the cave mouth, bawling: "You shameless monster, give me back my men! You shameless monster, give me back my men!" He called some dozen times; the old demon slept, and none answered. The Pilgrim's temper rose: he swung the iron staff and hammered in at the door, shouting and cursing without stop. Then the old demon woke in a start, in a great rage scrambled up, gave a roar: "To the fight!"—shook his head, and opened his mouth to carry him off. The Pilgrim turned and leaped clear. The monster hurried out after, cursing: "Thieving monkey, where go you?" The Pilgrim stood on the high crag and laughed: "Still so bold, still so unmannerly! You know not if you live or die. Is not your lord and master here?" The monster hurried to the crag—and the Sovereign had already pronounced a spell and called: "Yuansheng, your master is come." The monster knew his lord, dared not struggle, dropped his four legs to the ground, and only knocked his head. The lion keeper ran up, seized him by the mane, and pounded his neck with his fists a hundred blows and more, cursing: "You beast, how dared you run off, and set me in for punishment?" The lion beast kept his mouth shut, and said nothing, and dared not stir. The keeper, his arms weary of beating, stopped at last, and threw the brocade saddlecloth over him. The Sovereign mounted, called to him to go, and he bore up on flecked clouds, and turned straight for the Wondrous Cliff Palace.

The Great Sage bowed his thanks toward the sky, and went into the cave: first he freed the Prince of Jade Flower, then Tripitaka Tang, then Bajie and Sha Monk and the three princes. They raked through all the cave's stuff, at their ease, and led the whole company out the door. Bajie took armfuls of dry wood, heaped it fore and aft, and fired it, and burned the Nine-Bend Winding Cave to a scorched and broken kiln. The Great Sage dismissed the gods, and left the earth god still to keep the mountain. Then Bajie and Sha Monk each used his art, and carried the prince and his sons on their backs to the city, while he helped Tripitaka Tang along. In no time they were in the prefecture city; the light was failing, and the consorts and queens and officers came out all to meet them. A fast feast was laid, and they sat and shared it. The elder and his disciples lodged again at the Sunned-Silk Pavilion; the princes went in to sleep each in the palace. That night there was nothing to tell.

Next day the prince gave the word again, and a great plain feast was opened; the officers of the palace, great and small, thanked him one by one for the grace. The Pilgrim called the butcher, had the six living lions killed, flayed with the Yellow Lion, and the meat served up for their use. The prince was delighted, and bade them killed: one beast was left for the household and folk of the palace; one divided among the chief steward and the officers; and the five chopped into pieces of an ounce or two, and officers sent to share them out among soldiers and citizens within and without the city, for each to taste a little: first to try the flavor, second to press down the fright. In every house they looked up with awe.

Then the smiths and their fellows came with the three weapons finished, and knocked their heads to the Pilgrim: "Gracious sirs, our work is done." He asked: "How many catties apiece?" The smiths said: "The gold-banded staff, a thousand catties; the nine-toothed rake and the demon-subduing staff, eight hundred apiece." The Pilgrim said: "Very well." He had the three young princes called out, each with his weapon. The three said to the old prince: "Father Prince, today the weapons are done." The old prince said: "For these weapons we came within an ace of losing the lives of father and sons." The young prince said: "Thanks to the divine masters' art we were saved, and they swept the demons away besides, and cut off the evil at the root. Truly it is as they say: the seas at rest, the rivers clear—a world at peace." Then the old prince and his sons rewarded the smiths, and came to the Sunned-Silk Pavilion to bow and thank the masters for their grace.

Tripitaka bade the Great Sage and the rest hurry on with the teaching of the arts, and lose no time on the road. The three took up their weapons in the palace courtyard and taught them, point by point. In a few days the three young princes had drilled to mastery; and the ways of attack and retreat, the rules of fast and slow, the seventy-two figures apiece—they knew them all. Partly the princes' hearts were steadfast; partly the Great Sage Sun had first given them divine strength: and so the thousand-catty staff and the eight-hundred-catty rake and staff they could lift and swing—set against their former self-taught arts, truly heaven and a well apart. There is a poem to prove it; the poem says:

By goodness and happy chance they met the divine masters; who looked that learning arms should stir the lion sprites?He sweeps the pack of fiends, and sets the altars of the soil at rest; taking refuge in the One, he settles the border lands.The Ninefold Numina answers the number and the reason of the primal yang; the four quarters, threading the Way, attain its fruit.Teaching and learning, the heart made clear, a bequest to ten thousand ages: in Jade Flower, long joy and the days of peace.

The princes then opened a great feast again, and thanked the masters for their teaching; and brought out a great dish of gold and silver, to answer so small a favor. The Pilgrim laughed: "Carry it in again, carry it in again. We that have left home—what use have we for it?" Bajie said at his side: "Gold and silver we truly dare not take; but this garment of mine the lion spirits have torn and pulled—give us clothes in exchange, and that is love enough." The prince bade the needleworkers at once, after the pattern and color, take green brocade, red brocade, and chestnut brocade, several bolts each, and make one apiece for the three. The three gladly took them, put on brocade robes, packed up, and took the road. In the city and beyond it, great and small, there was not a man but cried that arhats were come down among men, living buddhas descended to the world. Drums and music, flags and streamers filled the streets and choked the roads. Every house burned incense at its door; every gate offered colored lanterns. The crowds followed them far, far, before turning back; and so the four got clear of the city and went west, rid of the lions all, and bent upon the true fruit. And it was just:

Free of care and free of sorrow they come to the Buddha lands;with single heart and single mind they climb toward Thunderclap.

How many li yet to Vulture Peak, and when they would arrive—who could say? Listen to the next chapter to find out.

Master and Lions Take Each On and Return to the One; The Stolen Way Entangles the Chan, and the Nine Souls Are Stilled

Now the Great Sage Sun went out over the city wall with Bajie and Sha Monk and met them face to face: the demon band were all lions of mixed coats. Yellow Lion led the van; Suan-ni Lion and Elephant-Wrestler Lion on the left; Bai-ze Lion and Crouching-Lynx Lion on the right; Ape-Lion and Snow Lion behind; and in the middle was a nine-headed lion. The blue-faced creature held a jeweled banner of brocade clustered flowers close beside the nine-headed lion, and Trickish-Strange and Strange-Trickish carried two red flags. All together they were drawn up on the northern ground.

Bajie, reckless, came up close and swore: "You thieving monster that stole our treasures — where did you go to scrape together these hairy things and bring them here?" Yellow Lion, grinding his teeth, swore back: "You spiteful bald wretch! Yesterday three of you against one of me, and I went home beaten and let you have your day. Why so cruel then — burning my cave home, wrecking my mountain place, killing my kin? My grudge against you is deep as the great sea. Don't run — taste your lord's spade!" That fine Bajie raised his rake to meet him. The two had scarcely crossed hands, no victor yet, when the Ape-Lion swung an iron mace studded with spikes, and the Snow Lion a three-edged truncheon, and charged in at them. Bajie let out a shout: "Welcome!" See on this side Sha Monk hurriedly pulled his Demon-Subduing staff and closed in to help; and there the Suan-ni, the Bai-ze, and the two others, Elephant-Wrestler and Crouching Lynx, swarmed in all together; and here the Great Sage Sun held off the pack with his gold-banded staff. The Suan-ni used a crushing staff, the Bai-ze a bronze hammer, the Elephant-Wrestler a steel spear, the Crouching Lynx a battle-axe. Those seven lion spirits, these three fierce monks — a fine battle:

Staff and hammer, spear and axe, the three-edged truncheon;spiked mace and flail and the four-eyed spade.Seven lions with seven keen weapons, ringing their battle cries as they ring the three monks.The Great Sage's iron staff with its gold bands is fierce; Sha Monk's precious staff is rare in the world of men.Bajie rides the storm and flaunts his power; the nail rake flashes bright, a killing light.Front blocks and rear guards, each does his work; left parries and right meets, all brave.On the wall the princes cheer them on, beating drums and clashing gongs to stiffen every heart.They lunge and close, working their powers, and the fighting darkens heaven and turns earth upside down.

The demon band and the Great Sage's three fought on half a day, and evening came before they knew it. Bajie's mouth frothed, his legs giving out little by little; he waved his rake in a feint and broke off the field. The Snow Lion and the Ape-Lion shouted: "Where do you run? Look to my blow!" The Idiot could not dodge; a truncheon came down square on his spine, and he lay flat on the ground crying: "I'm done, I'm done!" The two spirits seized Bajie by mane and tail, carried him off before the nine-headed lion, and reported: "Grandfather, we've taken one!"

Before the words were done Sha Monk and Pilgrim too were beaten back, and the demon host came pressing after. Pilgrim plucked a handful of hairs, chewed them fine, sprayed them out, and cried "Change!" They became a hundred and more little Pilgrims, ring upon ring, wrapping the Bai-ze, the Suan-ni, the Elephant-Wrestler, the Crouching Lynx, and the gold-maned lion demon round in the middle. Sha Monk and Pilgrim pressed in and struck thick and fast. By nightfall they had taken the Suan-ni and the Bai-ze, while the Crouching Lynx and the Elephant-Wrestler got away. The gold-maned one carried word to the old demon. The old demon, having lost two lions, gave his orders: "Bind Zhu Bajie, but do not hurt his life. When they return my two lions, give them Bajie; if in their ignorance they harm my two lions, kill Bajie to pay for them." That night the demon host camped outside the city. Of that no more.

Now the Great Sage Sun carried the two lion spirits close up to the city wall. The old prince, seeing them, at once gave the word to open the gates and sent twenty or thirty officers with ropes running out to bind the lion spirits and carry them into the city. The Great Sage Sun gathered in his magic hairs, and with Sha Monk went straight up onto the gate tower and saw the Tang monk. The Tang monk said: "This business is dreadful. Wuneng's life — does he have it still or not?" Pilgrim said: "No fear. We've taken these two demons; they will never dare hurt him. Bind the pair of them fast and tight, and at dawn tomorrow we trade them for Bajie." The three young princes knocked their heads to Pilgrim: "Master, in your first battle we saw only one body of you. Later, when you came back feigning defeat, how was it there were a hundred and more bodies of you? And when you took the demons and came near the city, there was one body again. What power is this?" Pilgrim laughed: "On my body are eighty-four thousand fine hairs. From one I make ten, from ten a hundred — changes of hundred, thousand, million, billion: all the art of bodies outside the body." The princes bowed to the ground one and all. The meal was laid on at once and eaten on the gate tower. On every battlement were lanterns and flags, clappers and bells, gongs and drums; the watch called the hours and passed the tally-arrow; cannons boomed and shouts rang.

Morning came again. The old demon called Yellow Lion to lay the plan: "Today you bend your efforts to taking that Pilgrim and Sha Monk; I shall fly up to the city wall in secret, take his master and the old prince and his sons, and carry them first back to the Nine-Bend Winding Cave, to wait for your victory and your report." Yellow Lion took the plan and led the Ape-Lion, the Snow Lion, the Elephant-Wrestler, and the Crouching Lynx, each with weapons, to the wall, rolling wind and brewing fog as they called for battle. Here Pilgrim and Sha Monk leaped out upon the wall top and shouted in stern voices: "You thieving monsters! Hand my brother Bajie back at once, and I'll spare your lives; if not, I'll break you to powder and splinters!" The demons would hear no argument but swarmed in together. The Great Sage and his brother worked their stratagems each in his way and held off the five lions. This fight was different again from yesterday's:

A wild wind scours the ground with a wicked roar; black fog thick and dark shuts out the sky.Stones roll and sand flies — gods and ghosts are afraid; woods are pushed down and trees felled — tigers and wolves startle.The steel spear strikes hard, the battle-axe gleams; spiked mace, truncheon, and spade — deadly beyond all measure.Would that they could swallow the Pilgrim whole and seize young Sha Monk alive and kicking!But the Great Sage has his As-You-Will staff, rolling out and gathering in, nimble past all telling;and Sha Monk's Demon-Subduing staff has a name even outside the Hall of Divine Mists.This time they work their powers far and wide, winning merit in the western land and sweeping the spirits away.

The five mixed-coat lion spirits and Pilgrim and Sha Monk were fighting at the very height of it when the old demon, riding a black cloud, rose straight up to the gate tower, shook his head once — and every civil and military official on the wall, and every man keeping the city, tumbled down off it. He rushed into the tower, opened his mouth, and snatched up Tripitaka and the old prince and his sons in one gulp; then down to the northern ground below, and took Bajie in his mouth the same way. For with nine heads he had nine mouths: one mouth held the Tang monk, one held Bajie, one held the old prince, one the eldest prince, one the second prince, one the third prince — six mouths held six people, and three mouths still stood empty. He cried out: "I go first!" And the five young lion spirits, seeing their grandfather victorious, showed their prowess the more, every one.

Hearing the shouting on the wall, Pilgrim knew he had fallen into the demon's plan. He called quickly to Sha Monk to be careful, plucked every hair from his arms, chewed them to pulp, sprayed them out, and made hundreds of little Pilgrims, who surged up and attacked. In a moment they dragged down the Ape-Lion, took the Snow Lion alive, seized the Elephant-Wrestler, toppled the Crouching Lynx, and killed Yellow Lion, and came roaring and clamoring down to the city wall. But Blue-Face and Trickish-Strange and Strange-Trickish, three demons, turned and slipped away. The officers on the wall, seeing it, opened the gates again, bound the five lion spirits with ropes, and carried them into the city. Before anything could be settled, the prince's consort came weeping and wailing, bowed to Pilgrim, and said: "Divine master — my Highness and his sons and your master are as good as dead. What will become of this lonely city?" The Great Sage gathered in his magic hairs and said to the consort with a bow: "Worthy lady, do not grieve. It was because I took his seven lion spirits that the old demon worked his carrying art and snatched away my master and the Highness and his sons — but I judge they are unharmed. At the first light of tomorrow my brother and I go into that mountain, and I promise we will take the old demon and give you back your four princes." At this the consort and the cluster of ladies all bowed down to Pilgrim: "We pray the Highness and his sons come out with their lives whole, and the royal house stand firm." With the bows done they went back to the palace, every one with tears in her eyes. Pilgrim gave his orders to the officers: "Skin the Yellow Lion that is dead; keep the six living lion spirits bound fast in chains. Bring some vegetarian food; we'll eat and sleep. All of you rest easy — I promise nothing will go wrong."

On the next day the Great Sage took Sha Monk up on an auspicious cloud, and in no time they were over Bamboo-Joint Mountain. He steadied the cloud and looked. What a mountain it was! And this is what they saw:

Peaks rear up jutting; ridges run steep and rugged.In the deep ravine below, waters babble and wash; before the sheer cliff, brocade flowers breathe their scent.Folded ridges rise in ranges; the old road winds and bends.Truly when the crane comes the pine has a companion; indeed when the cloud leaves the rock stands bare.Black gibbons hunt for fruit in the bright shine; elk seek out flowers, glad in the warm sun.The blue luan-bird's cry trickles clear; the yellow oriole warbles soft.When spring comes, peach and plum vie in beauty; at summer, willow and locust strive in leaf.When autumn arrives, yellow flowers spread like brocade; when winter turns, white snow flies like floss.Fine scenery through the four seasons and eight festivals — nothing behind Yingzhou's immortal views.

The two were admiring the view on the mountaintop when suddenly they saw Blue-Face, a short club in his hand, come running out between cliff and ravine. Pilgrim shouted: "Where do you run? Old Sun is here!" The little demon, terrified, tumbled head over heels down the cliff. The two chased straight on and lost sight of him. A few steps farther on, turning, they came upon a cave mansion: two doors of mottled stone, shut up tight. Across the lintel was inset a stone slab, cut in regular script with ten great characters: "Mountain of Ten Thousand Spirits, Bamboo-Joint; Cave of the Nine-Bend Winding."

The little demon, it turned out, had run inside and shut the cave door. In the middle hall he said to the old demon: "Grandfather, two more monks have come outside." The old demon said: "Has your Great King come, with the Ape-Lion, the Snow Lion, the Elephant-Wrestler, and the Crouching Lynx?" The little demon said: "Not a sign, not a sign. Only two monks gazing from high on the peak. The moment I saw them I turned and ran; they came after me, and I shut the door." The old demon hung his head and said nothing. After a long moment tears suddenly fell, and he cried: "Woe is me! My grandson Yellow Lion is dead, and Ape-Lion and the rest are all taken by the monks into the city. How is such a grudge to be paid?" Bajie, bound nearby, huddled together with the prince and his sons and the Tang monk, all of them wretched and fearful in their suffering. Hearing the old demon say his grandsons had all been taken by the monks into the city, he rejoiced in secret: "Master, don't be afraid; Your Highness, don't sorrow. Our brother has won the field and taken all the demons, and has followed them here to rescue us." He had hardly done when they heard the old demon call: "Little ones, keep good watch here. Wait while I go out, take those two monks, and bring them in for punishment, all together."

See him go — no armor on his body, no weapon in his hand, striding in great steps to the front, where Sun the Pilgrim's shouts could be heard. He flung the cave doors wide open, and without a word made straight for Pilgrim. Pilgrim met him head-on with his iron staff, and Sha Monk whirled his precious staff to strike. The old demon gave his head one shake; the eight heads to left and right opened their mouths together and carried Pilgrim and Sha Monk lightly inside the cave. He called: "Bring ropes." Trickish-Strange, Strange-Trickish, and Blue-Face — the ones who had fled for their lives the night before and come home — took two ropes and bound the two of them tight. The old demon said: "You wretched monkey — you took my seven sons and grandsons; now I hold four of your monks and four of the princes — that is enough to pay for my children's lives. Little ones, fetch thorn whips and willow rods, and give this monkey's head a beating, to avenge my grandson Yellow Lion a little." The three little demons took willow rods and went at Pilgrim alone. But Pilgrim's body had been tempered in the furnace; those willow rods were barely enough to brush an itch. He never made a sound, and however they pounded, he paid no mind. Bajie, the Tang monk, and the princes, watching, felt their hair stand and their bones chill. Before long the willow rods were broken in their hands. The beating went on till dark, past all counting. Seeing so many blows fall, Sha Monk could hardly bear it and said: "Let me take a hundred or so for him." The old demon said: "No hurry — tomorrow it's your turn. One by one, in order, the beating will come." Bajie, alarmed, said: "The day after, it reaches old Pig!" The beating went on, and dusk slowly fell. The old demon called: "Little ones, stop. Light the lamps, eat something, while I go nap a little in the Brocade-Cloud Nest. You three have all suffered at their hands, so keep careful watch, and we beat them again tomorrow morning." The three little demons brought the lamp over and kept rapping Pilgrim's skull with willow rods, like tapping a clapper — a few fast, a few slow. As the night grew late they nodded off, every one.

Pilgrim worked his escape art, shrank his body, and slipped out of the ropes. He shook down his hairs, straightened his clothes, drew the staff from his ear, waved it to well-bucket thickness and two zhang long, and said to the three little demons: "You evil brutes — you beat your lord with many a rod, and your lord kept as before. Now your lord will just press you a little with this staff and see how you keep." He pressed the three little demons lightly, and pressed them into three meat patties. Then he trimmed the lamp bright and freed Sha Monk. Bajie, bound too long, could not hold in and called out loudly: "Brother — my hands and feet are swollen from the ropes, and you don't free me first?" That one shout of the Idiot's woke the old demon, who scrambled up at once: "Who is being freed?" Pilgrim, hearing him, blew the lamp out in one breath, and with no thought for Sha Monk or the rest, battered through gate after gate with his iron staff and got away.

The old demon came to the main hall calling: "Little ones — how did the lamp go out? Surely no one has escaped?" He called once; no one answered. He called again; still no answer. Bringing a light to look, he found on the floor three gory meat patties. The old prince and his sons, the Tang monk, and Bajie were all there — only Pilgrim and Sha Monk were gone. He lit torches and hunted back and forth, and found Sha Monk standing against the corridor with his back pressed to the wall. He seized him in one grip, flung him down, and bound him up as before. He searched for Pilgrim and saw every gate layer broken through, and knew Pilgrim had smashed his way out. He did not pursue, but mended and shuttered the broken doors and kept close guard on his household. Of that no more.

Now the Great Sage Sun came out of the Nine-Bend Winding Cave, mounted an auspicious cloud, and turned straight back to Yuhua. On the city wall he saw the local earth gods and spirits of every quarter, and the god of the city walls, bowing in the air to greet him. Pilgrim said: "Why do you show yourselves only tonight?" The city god said: "We little gods knew the Great Sage had come down to Yuhua, but the worthy prince was keeping you as his guests, so we dared not appear. Now that we know the prince and his house have met a monster and the Great Sage is subduing the demons, we have come specially to bow and greet you." Pilgrim was still grumbling when he saw the Gold-Headed Tracker and the generals of the Six Jia and Six Ding leading up an earth god, who knelt before him: "Great Sage, we have caught this earth-gnawing spirit for you." Pilgrim snapped: "You were to guard my master at Bamboo-Joint Mountain — why come raising a racket here?" The Ding-Jia generals said: "Great Sage, since your escape the demon has retaken the Curtain-Raising General and bound him again. Seeing how great the demon's powers are, we have brought the earth god of Bamboo-Joint Mountain here under guard. He knows the root of that demon's story. Ask him, Great Sage, and you can handle it rightly, to end the holy monk's and the worthy prince's suffering." Pilgrim was very glad to hear it. The earth god, trembling, knocked his head: "That old demon came down to Bamboo-Joint Mountain some years ago. The Nine-Bend Winding Cave was originally the den of six lions, and when the old demon arrived those six lions all took him for their grandfather. The grandfather is a nine-headed lion styled the Nine-Souled Numinous Sage. To destroy him you must go to the Palace of Marvelous Cliff at the Eastern Extreme and ask his master to come — only then can he be subdued. No one else could hope to take him." Pilgrim pondered a while and said: "The Palace of Marvelous Cliff at the Eastern Extreme — that is the Heavenly Venerable Taiyi, the Savior from Suffering. And beneath his seat, indeed, is a nine-headed lion. So that is it." He then ordered: "Trackers and gold-armored ones, go back with the earth god, and guard my master and brothers and the prince and his sons in secret; and let the local city god hold the city." The gods took his orders and went each his way.

The Great Sage turned his somersault cloud and traveled on through the night. About the hour of the tiger he reached the outside of the Eastern Gate of Heaven, and ran straight into the Wide-Eyed Heavenly King with his heaven soldiers, strongmen, and retinue. All halted and saluted: "Great Sage, where are you bound?" Pilgrim made his courtesies to them all and said: "A little trip to the Palace of Marvelous Cliff." The king said: "Leaving the western road — what business in the Eastern Heaven?" Pilgrim said: "Coming to Yuhua, we were so honored by the prince that he sent his three sons to take us brothers as masters to learn the arts of war — and who knew we would meet a pack of lion demons. I have now learned that the Heavenly Venerable Taiyi the Savior from Suffering of the Palace of Marvelous Cliff is the demon's master, and I mean to invite him to come subdue it and save my master." The Heavenly King said: "So taking yourself for a teacher of men is what has stirred up this nest of lions." Pilgrim laughed: "Just so, just so." The heaven soldiers and strongmen saluted one by one and cleared his way. The Great Sage went in the Eastern Gate of Heaven, and in no time was before the Palace of Marvelous Cliff. And this is what he saw:

Colored clouds lie folded on folded; purple vapor grows dense and green.The tiles ripple with waves of golden flame; before the gates stand jade beasts, lofty.Flowers fill the twin towers, wreathed in red shine; the sun lights the Wish-Granting Grove, wrapped in green mist.Truly ten thousand true ones ring it round with joined hands; a thousand sages make it flourish.Terraces and halls rise tier on tier like brocade; windows and galleries open everywhere.The gray dragon coils and guards, divine light mellow; the yellow Way shines out, its lucky vapor thick.This indeed is the Realm of Azure Splendor and Lasting Joy — the Palace of Marvelous Cliff at the Eastern Extreme.

At the palace gate stood an immortal page in a rainbow cape. Suddenly seeing the Great Sage Sun, he hurried in to report: "Master — outside is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the one who wrecked the Heavenly Palace!" Hearing this, the Heavenly Venerable Taiyi the Savior from Suffering called his immortal guards to receive him. Ushered into the palace, Pilgrim saw the Venerable One seated high on a nine-colored lotus throne, in the midst of a hundred billion rays of lucky light. Seeing Pilgrim, he came down from his seat to meet him. Pilgrim bowed before him. The Venerable One returned the courtesy and said: "Great Sage, these years without seeing you! I heard you had left the Dao for the Buddha and were guarding the Tang monk to fetch scriptures in the west. Your work must be finished by now?" Pilgrim said: "The work is not finished, but it is near. Now, guarding the Tang monk, I came to Yuhua; the prince sent his three sons to take old Sun and the others as masters to learn the arts of war, and had our three divine weapons copied after their pattern — and in the night a thief stole them off. At dawn, searching, we found it was a gold-maned lion turned spirit of Tiger's-Mouth Cave on Leopard-Head Mountain north of the city. Old Sun schemed them out of his hands, and the demon then gathered a crowd of lion spirits and made a great row with me. Among them was a nine-headed lion of vast powers, who carried off my master and Bajie and the prince and his sons — four in all — in his mouth to the Nine-Bend Winding Cave on Bamboo-Joint Mountain. The next day old Sun and Sha Monk followed and were carried off in his mouth too. Old Sun was bound and beaten past counting, and only barely worked my art and escaped. They are suffering there still. I asked the local earth god and learned at last that Your Venerableness is the creature's master, and have come specially to beg you to subdue it and save us."

Hearing this, the Venerable One ordered an immortal general to the lions' quarters to summon the lion-keeper for questioning. The keeper was fast asleep, and only after the general shook and shoved him did he wake, and was hauled before the middle hall. The Venerable One asked: "Where is the lion beast?" The keeper, weeping, knocked his head and only begged: "Spare my life, spare my life!" The Venerable One said: "The Great Sage Sun is here — I'll spare you the beating for now. Tell me quickly how you were so careless as to let the nine-headed lion go." The keeper said: "Master, the other day in the Hall of Sweet Dew of the Great Thousand I saw a bottle of wine, and stole it and drank it without knowing better. I fell dead drunk asleep and failed to fasten the chains, and so he got away." The Venerable One said: "That wine was a gift from the Supreme Lord Lao, called the Nectar of Transmigration — drink it, and you should sleep three days without waking. How many days has the lion beast been gone now?" The Great Sage said: "By the earth god's account, he came down some years ago — two or three years by now." The Venerable One laughed: "Just so, just so — one day in the Heavenly Palace is a year in the mortal world." He called to the keeper: "Get up. I pardon you the death penalty. Come with me and the Great Sage down below to fetch him back. The rest of you immortals may return — no need to follow."

The Venerable One then went with the Great Sage and the lion-keeper, treading the clouds straight to Bamboo-Joint Mountain, where the Trackers of the five quarters, the Six Ding and Six Jia, and the mountain's own earth god all knelt to greet them. Pilgrim said: "In your guarding, was my master hurt?" The gods said: "The demon went to bed angry and asleep; no punishment was touched on him at all." The Venerable One said: "My Numinous Sage is himself a true spirit long trained in the Way: at one shout he reaches up to the Three Pure Ones and down through the Nine Springs — yet ordinarily he does not take life. Great Sage Sun, go to his door and demand battle, and lure him out, so that I may take him."

Pilgrim took his word, drew his staff, jumped up to the cave mouth, and shouted: "Foul demon, give me back my people! Foul demon, give me back my people!" He called several times, but the old demon slept and no one answered. Pilgrim's temper rose; he swung his iron staff and battered inward, shouting and cursing without stop. The old demon woke with a start, furious at heart. He scrambled up with a roar of "To battle!", shook his head, and opened his mouth to seize them in it. Pilgrim wheeled and sprang clear. The demon chased out and swore: "You thieving monkey — where do you run?" Pilgrim stood on the high cliff and laughed: "So you still dare be so bold and rude! You don't even know if you'll live or die — is not your lord and master standing there?" As the demon charged up to the cliff, the Venerable One had already spoken a spell and called: "Numinous Sage — your master is here." The demon knew his master's voice and dared not struggle. Four legs to the ground, he only knocked his head. The lion-keeper ran up, grabbed his neck mane in one fist, and hammered a good hundred blows on his neck with his fist, cursing: "You beast! Why did you sneak off and get me punished?" The lion beast kept his mouth shut, said nothing, and dared not stir. The keeper's hand grew tired of beating, and he stopped at last and threw the brocade saddle onto his back. The Venerable One mounted, called for the start, and the lion leaped up riding colored clouds and turned straight for the Palace of Marvelous Cliff.

The Great Sage bowed his thanks toward the sky, then went into the cave: first he freed the Prince of Yuhua, then the Tang Tripitaka, then Bajie, Sha Monk, and the three princes. They searched the goods of the cave at their leisure and led everyone out the door. Bajie gathered a good store of dry wood, piled it front and back, and set it alight, burning the Nine-Bend Winding Cave down to a charred, broken kiln. The Great Sage dismissed the gods, leaving the earth god to hold the place. He had Bajie and Sha Monk each work his carrying art, and they bore the prince and his sons back to the city on their backs while he supported the Tang monk. Before long they reached the city, the sky already darkening, and the consorts and officials came out to receive them. A vegetarian feast was laid and they all sat and enjoyed it. The elder and his disciples lodged again in the Exposed-Gauze Pavilion; the princes went into the palace, each to his bed. That night passed without incident.

Next day the prince again gave his command and laid a grand vegetarian feast, and the officials of the household great and small thanked him for his grace one by one. Pilgrim had the butchers come and kill the six living lions, and all of them, with the Yellow Lion, were skinned and the meat prepared for eating. The Highness was delighted and gave the order: one lion was kept for the folk within and without the palace; one was divided among the Chief Steward and the other officers; the other five were chopped into chunks of a tael or two, and officers were sent to hand them out among the soldiers and people in and around the city, each to have a taste — partly to try the flavor, partly to lay their fears. In every house, in every household, there was nothing but gazing and wonder.

Then the smiths came with the three weapons finished, and knocked their heads to Pilgrim: "Your lordships, our work is all done." He asked: "How much does each weigh?" The smiths said: "The gold-banded staff is a thousand catties; the nine-toothed rake and the Demon-Subduing staff are eight hundred catties each." Pilgrim said: "Very well." He had the three princes called out, each taking his weapon. The three said to the old prince: "Father, today the weapons are finished." The old prince said: "For these weapons we came within a hair of losing our lives, father and sons." The young princes said: "Thanks to the divine masters' magic we were brought out alive, and the demons were swept away and the future trouble cut off. Truly it is as they say: calm seas and clear rivers — a world at peace." Then the old prince and his sons rewarded the craftsmen and went to the Exposed-Gauze Pavilion to bow and thank the masters for their grace.

The Tang monk pressed the Great Sage and the others to teach the arts quickly and not hold up the journey. The three swung their weapons in the palace courtyard and taught each in turn. Within a few days the three princes had drilled to mastery; the ways of attack and retreat, the methods fast and slow — each weapon's seventy-two figures — there was nothing of it they did not know. Partly the princes' hearts were steadfast, and partly it was the divine strength the Great Sage Sun had first given them — that is why the thousand-catty staff and the eight hundred-catty rake and staff could all be lifted and wielded. Compared with the arts they had practiced on their own at first, it was heaven and abyss apart. There is a poem to prove it. The poem says:

Through goodness and good fortune they met the divine masters; who thought that drilling in arms would stir the monstrous lions?The host of demons swept away, the altars of state stand safe; taking refuge in the One, the border tribes are settled.Nine Souls match the number and reason of the primal yang; on every side the way is mastered to the fruit of the Way.Teaching given and received with hearts aflame is left to ten thousand ages; in Yuhua it is joy and peace for the age.

The princes then laid another grand feast to thank the masters for their teaching, and brought out a great platter of gold and silver to answer in small measure. Pilgrim laughed: "Take it back in, take it back in. What use have we who left home for such things?" Bajie put in beside him: "Gold and silver we truly dare not take — but my garment was torn to shreds by those lion spirits. Just replace our clothing, and that is love enough." The princes at once ordered their seamstresses: after the old patterns, taking several bolts each of blue brocade, red brocade, and tea-brown brocade, they had one made for each of the three. The three accepted gladly, put on their brocade robes, packed up, and set out. In the city and beyond it, great and small, there was no one who did not call them arhats come among men and living Buddhas come down to earth. The sound of drums and music, the color of banners and flags, filled the streets and choked the roads. Truly at every house incense burned before the door, and at every gate colored lanterns were offered. The crowds followed them a great distance before turning back, and only then could the four leave the city and go west. In this going they shook off the lions at a stroke and set their hearts on the true fruit. And so:

Free of care and free of sorrow they come to the Buddha's land; with true hearts and honest minds they climb toward Thunderclap.

How much road is left to Vulture Peak, and when they will arrive, who can say? Listen to the next chapter to find out.