Chapter 3: All Seas and a Thousand Mountains Bow Before Him; In the Ninefold Deep the Ten Kinds Are Struck from the Rolls

Now then: the Handsome Monkey King returned home in glory. After slaying the Demon King of Havoc in the World, he had taken the fiend's great saber for himself. Day after day he drilled in martial arts, teaching the little monkeys to cut bamboo into standards, whittle wood into swords, make banners and whistles, advance and retreat, pitch camp and break camp, until what had begun as play started to resemble the real thing.

One day, while sitting quietly, he thought to himself:

"If we keep on like this, play may turn into earnest. We may alarm some human king, or some lord among birds and beasts may take offense and say we are drilling troops for rebellion, then bring an army against us. You all carry nothing but bamboo poles and wooden blades. How would you stand against real fighters? We need sharp weapons, swords and halberds fit for war. But where are we to get them?"

The monkeys heard this and were all afraid.

"Your Majesty sees far indeed," they said. "Only there is nowhere to get such things."

Even as they were speaking, four old monkeys came forward: two red-bottomed horse-monkeys and two long-armed gibbons. They said, "Great King, if you want proper weapons, that is easily managed."

"Easily? How so?"

"Go east from this mountain," said the four monkeys, "and there are two hundred miles of water. Beyond them lies the territory of Aolai. In that realm there is a king's city, packed with soldiers and townsfolk. There must be smiths there who work in gold, silver, copper, and iron. If Your Majesty goes there and buys or has forged some weapons, then drills us properly and sets us to guarding the mountain, that would truly be the way to lasting safety."

Wukong was delighted.

"You all stay here and amuse yourselves. I'll be back in no time."

The fine Monkey King leapt onto the somersault-cloud and in an instant crossed the two hundred miles of water. Sure enough, he saw a great city there, with six wide streets and three busy markets, ten thousand households and a thousand gates, people coming and going openly in broad daylight.

Wukong thought, There must be ready-made weapons here. I might go down and buy a few. Better still, why not use a little magic and simply take them?

So he pinched a seal, muttered a spell, drew one breath from the southeast quarter, and blew it forth. At once a furious wind arose, driving sand and stones in every direction. Truly:

Where the storm-clouds burst, heaven and earth were churned;
black mist and murk made the whole land dim.
Waves turned over in the rivers and seas, terrifying fish and crab;
trees snapped in the mountain woods, and wolves and tigers fled.
Trade of every sort vanished; no merchants remained.
Every livelihood disappeared, as though the world had emptied.
In the palace the king rushed to his inner court;
before the steps, civil and military officers scattered to their halls.
Thrones of ten thousand years rocked under the blast;
towers of five phoenixes shook at their roots.

The wind rose, and the king of Aolai was driven into terror. In the markets and along the streets men shut their doors and barred their gates; no one dared show himself. Only then did Wukong press down his cloud, rush straight through the palace gate, and make for the armory.

He flung open the doors and saw a great store of weapons inside: sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle-axes, pikes, sickles, whips, rakes, maces, staves, bows, crossbows, forks, lances, every kind fully stocked.

He was overjoyed.

"How many could I carry by myself? Better use the body-division trick and haul the whole lot home."

The Monkey King plucked out a handful of hairs, chewed them to pulp, spat them out, spoke the spell, and cried, "Change!"

At once they became hundreds and hundreds of little monkeys, all snatching and carrying. The strong took five or seven weapons each; the smaller ones took two or three. Before long they had stripped the place clean. Then Wukong mounted the cloud again, used his drawing spell, called back the storm-wind, and led the little monkeys home.

Meanwhile the monkeys of every size at Flower-Fruit Mountain had been playing outside the cave gate. Suddenly they heard the wind roaring and looked up to see the sky crowded edge to edge with clawing, chattering monkey-shapes. Terrified, they ran and hid in all directions.

But a moment later the Handsome Monkey King pressed his cloud down, scattered the mist, shook his body once to gather the hairs back into himself, and dumped the whole mountain of weapons before them.

"Come on, children," he shouted. "Come claim your arms."

The monkeys looked and saw that Wukong was standing alone on the flat ground. They all came racing back, bowing and asking what had happened. Wukong told the whole story of how he had raised the storm and carried off the weapons. After thanking him, they all fell to grabbing sabers and snatching swords, fighting over axes and spears, pulling at bows and crossbows, shouting and capering till they had played at soldiering all that day.

The next day they formed up again. Wukong assembled the monkey host and found that they numbered more than forty-seven thousand. This soon brought every strange beast on the mountain in alarm: wolves, wildcats, tigers, leopards, deer, foxes, badgers, civets, lions, elephants, lion-dogs, apes, bears, stags, boars, mountain cattle, antelopes, blue buffaloes, crafty rabbits, divine hounds, and many more, each the king of some demon cave. In all there were seventy-two cave-lords, and every one came to bow before the Monkey King as their sovereign.

Each year they brought tribute; in all four seasons they came to answer the roll. Some joined the drills; some supplied grain when called upon. In ordered ranks they made Flower-Fruit Mountain seem like a fortress of iron and a city of gold.

From every quarter the demon kings offered war drums, bright banners, helmets, and armor. Day after day there was movement and drill and martial display.

Yet even in the midst of all this the Monkey King said to the others:

"You all know bows and crossbows and are well trained in weapons, but as for this saber of mine, it is truly clumsy rubbish and not at all to my liking. What is to be done?"

The four old monkeys stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty is an immortal sage. Ordinary weapons are beneath you. But tell us this: can you travel under water?"

Wukong replied, "Since hearing the Way I have mastered the Seventy-Two Transformations of the Earthly Branches, and the somersault-cloud is a mighty power indeed. I know how to conceal myself and how to vanish, how to raise spells and gather spells. There are roads for me in heaven and doors for me in earth. I can walk in sun and moon without casting a shadow, pass through gold and stone without hindrance. Water cannot drown me; fire cannot burn me. What place is there I cannot go?"

The four monkeys said, "Since Your Majesty has such powers, then beneath this iron bridge of ours the waters run straight to the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea. If Your Majesty would go down and find the old Dragon King, why not ask him for some weapon fit for your hand?"

Wukong was delighted.

"Wait here while I go and return."

The Monkey King sprang to the bridgehead, used a water-parting art, pinched the seal, and with a splash dived into the waves. Opening a road through the waters, he went straight down to the floor of the Eastern Ocean.

As he traveled on, a night-roaming yaksha of the sea patrol blocked his path and asked, "What holy being is it that pushes the waters before him? Speak plainly, so I may report you and have you properly received."

Wukong said, "I am Sun Wukong, the heaven-born sage of Flower-Fruit Mountain, and a close neighbor to your old Dragon King. How is it you don't know me?"

The yaksha, hearing this, raced at once to the Crystal Palace and reported:

"Great King, outside there is a heaven-born sage from Flower-Fruit Mountain named Sun Wukong. He claims to be your close neighbor and is coming to the palace."

The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, Ao Guang, hurried up at once and came out with dragon sons, dragon grandsons, shrimp soldiers, and crab generals to greet him.

"Immortal sir, please come in, please come in."

He escorted Wukong inside. Once they had taken their seats and tea had been served, the Dragon King asked, "When did the Immortal achieve the Way? From whom did he receive his arts?"

Wukong said, "Since my birth I have gone forth to cultivate the Way and have gained a body that neither is born nor perishes. Recently I have been drilling my children and grandchildren to guard our mountain cave, but I have no proper weapon to hand. I've long heard that you, worthy neighbor, enjoy the delights of jade palaces and shell towers and must have some spare divine arms. So I have come to beg for one."

Ao Guang, hearing this, dared not refuse. He ordered a commander to fetch out a great halberd-blade saber and present it.

Wukong said, "Old Sun doesn't know how to use a saber. Please favor me with something else."

So the Dragon King ordered another officer and some eel-strongmen to carry out a nine-pronged fork. Wukong jumped down, took it in hand, ran through a full set of movements, and set it aside.

"Light. Light. Too light. It doesn't suit me. Please bring me something else."

The Dragon King forced a smile.

"Immortal sir, do you realize that fork weighs three thousand six hundred jin?"

"Doesn't suit me, doesn't suit me."

Now the Dragon King was beginning to feel afraid. He ordered out a painted halberd instead, weighing seven thousand two hundred jin. Wukong ran up, took it, threw a few postures, showed a couple of flourishes, and planted it upright.

"Better, but still too light. Too light."

Ao Guang grew truly uneasy.

"Immortal sir, that is the heaviest weapon in my whole palace. I have nothing more."

Wukong laughed.

"The old saying has it: never fear that the Dragon King lacks treasure. Go look again. If you bring me something I like, I'll pay the price for it."

"There truly is nothing more."

At that moment the Dragon Queen and a dragon princess appeared from behind and said, "Great King, looking at this holy being, one can tell he is no ordinary creature. In the treasury of our sea-realm there is that piece of divine iron which fixes the bottom of the River of Heaven. For days now it has been blazing with light and boiling with auspicious vapors. Might it not be waiting to appear for just such a one as this?"

The Dragon King said, "That was the measure-peg used by Great Yu when he brought the waters under control, to fix the depths of river and sea. It's only a lump of divine iron. What use could it be?"

The Dragon Queen said, "Whether it proves useful or not, give it to him and let him make of it what he can. Only get him out through the palace gate."

The old Dragon King took the advice and told Wukong about it.

"Bring it out and let me see."

Ao Guang waved both hands. "No one can carry it. No one can even lift it. The Immortal must come see it in person."

"Then where is it? Lead me there."

The Dragon King led him into the heart of the sea-treasury, where suddenly they saw golden rays streaming in ten thousand directions.

"That shining thing there - that is it."

Wukong hitched up his robe and strode forward. When he touched it, he found it was an iron pillar, roughly as thick around as a peck-measure and more than two zhang long.

Gripping it with both hands, he gave it a heave.

"Far too thick and far too long. If it were shorter and slimmer, then it might do."

The instant he said this, the treasure shortened by several feet and narrowed by a whole girth.

Wukong weighed it again.

"A little finer still would be better."

At once it became finer again. Overjoyed, Wukong drew it out of the treasury and looked at it properly. It had gold hoops at either end, with a length of black iron between. Carved beside one hoop was a line of characters:

Ruyi Jingu Bang, weight thirteen thousand five hundred jin.

Wukong rejoiced inwardly.

So this treasure answers one's will.

Walking as he thought, he muttered aloud and bounced it in his hand.

"A little shorter, a little finer still."

When he took it outside, it was only about two zhang long and as thick around as a bowl.

Then he let loose with his arts, laying about him so that the whole Crystal Palace rang. The Dragon King shook with fear, the little dragon sons all but lost their souls, tortoises and soft-shell turtles drew in their necks, and fish, shrimp, great turtles, and crabs all tucked in their heads and hid.

Wukong sat in the Crystal Palace with the treasure in his hand and laughed at the Dragon King.

"Many thanks, worthy neighbor, for such kindness."

"I do not dare claim it, I do not dare."

"The iron is good," said Wukong, "but there is still one thing more."

"What more does the Immortal require?"

"When I had no such iron in hand, that was one matter. But now that I do, I find I have no clothing on my body to match it. If you have any armor here, you might as well give me a full set, so that I may thank you for the whole gift at once."

The Dragon King said, "That I truly do not have."

Wukong said, "One guest should not trouble two hosts. If you have none, then I will not leave this door."

Ao Guang said, "Pray, Immortal sir, turn to one of the other seas. Perhaps one of my brothers has such a set."

Wukong said, "Better to sit with one household than run through three. Lower or higher quality, just give me one."

"I truly have nothing. If I did, I would certainly offer it."

"Nothing? Then let's put this iron to the test on you."

The Dragon King panicked.

"Immortal sir, please - do not strike, do not strike. Let me see whether my brothers may have something. We can send for a set at once."

"And where are these brothers of yours?"

"My brothers are Ao Qin, Dragon King of the South Sea, Ao Run, Dragon King of the West Sea, and Ao Shun, Dragon King of the North Sea."

Wukong said, "Old Sun isn't going. Not going. There's a saying: if you've got two debtors in sight, don't go hunting three on credit. Just have one set brought here."

The old Dragon King said, "There is no need for the Immortal to go himself. Here in my palace there is an iron drum and a golden bell. Whenever there is urgent need, if the drum is beaten and the bell struck, my brothers arrive at once."

"Then quickly. Beat the drum. Ring the bell."

So a turtle general went off to strike the bell and a soft-shell marshal began pounding the drum.

Before long, with the sound of bell and drum, the other three Dragon Kings were indeed alarmed and came at once, gathering outside together. Ao Qin asked, "Elder brother, what urgent matter is this, that you beat drum and bell?"

The old Dragon King said, "There's no good way to tell it. Some heaven-born sage from Flower-Fruit Mountain came this morning and insisted on calling himself my neighbor. He demanded a weapon. He found the steel fork too small, the halberd too light, and with his own hands carried off the divine iron that fixes the bottom of the River of Heaven, after putting it through all manner of tricks. Now he sits in my palace demanding armor. I have none. That is why I sounded the drum and bell and called you here. If any of you has some armor to spare, let us give him a set and send him out the gate."

Ao Qin flew into a rage.

"Why don't we brothers simply raise troops and seize him?"

The old Dragon King said, "Don't even speak of seizing him. If that iron so much as brushes you, you die; if it so much as knocks you, you perish. Graze the skin, and the hide splits. Touch a sinew, and the tendon tears."

Ao Run, the Dragon King of the West Sea, said, "Second brother must not fight him. Better to gather a set of armor, send him away, and then submit a memorial to Heaven. Let Heaven destroy him."

Ao Shun, the Dragon King of the North Sea, said, "Well spoken. I have here a pair of cloud-treading boots woven of lotus fiber."

Ao Run said, "I brought a suit of lock-linked golden armor."

Ao Qin of the South Sea said, "And I have a phoenix-winged purple-gold cap."

The old Dragon King was delighted. He led them into the Crystal Palace, where they met Wukong and laid the gifts before him. Wukong dressed himself in cap, armor, and boots, swung the Ruyi Bang, and strode out laughing:

"Such noise, such noise."

The Dragon Kings were deeply resentful and at once began talking over how they might submit a memorial to Heaven - but that is another thread.

Now look at the Monkey King. He parted the waters and came straight back to the iron bridge, sprang up onto it, and there found the four old monkeys with the whole troop waiting by the bridgehead. Suddenly Wukong leapt from the waves, not a drop of water wetting him, and strode up the bridge all in a blaze of gold.

The monkeys fell to their knees at once.

"Great King, what glory! What glory!"

Wukong, glowing with satisfaction, mounted his throne and planted the iron staff upright before him. The monkeys, not knowing any better, came to try their hands on the treasure. But they were like dragonflies shaking an iron tree; none of them could stir it in the least. One by one they bit their fingers and stuck out their tongues.

"Grandfather! It's so heavy. How in the world did you bring it here?"

Wukong stepped forward, spread his hand, snatched it up in one grip, and laughed.

"Everything has its rightful owner. This treasure had been lodged in the sea-treasury for who knows how many centuries. This very year it happened to begin giving off light. The Dragon King only thought it a lump of black iron and called it the Divine Treasure that Fixes the Bottom of the River of Heaven. Not one of them could so much as budge it. They had to invite me personally to take it.

"At first it was over two zhang long and as thick as a peck-measure. I gripped it once and thought it too large, and it shrank. I told it to shrink again, and it did. Again, and it did. Then I held it up to the light and saw carved on it the words 'Ruyi Jingu Bang, thirteen thousand five hundred jin.'

"Stand back now and let me make it change again."

He tossed the treasure in his hand and cried, "Small! Small! Small!"

At once it shrank down to something like an embroidery needle, small enough to be tucked into his ear.

The monkeys were thunderstruck.

"Great King, take it out again and let us see!"

The Monkey King truly did pull it from his ear and lay it on his palm.

"Big! Big! Big!"

At once it grew again to the thickness of a peck-measure and a length of two zhang. At the height of his delight he sprang onto the bridge, went out before the cave, and holding the treasure in his hand, used the art of Heaven-and-Earth embodiment.

Bending at the waist, he shouted, "Grow!"

At once he grew ten thousand zhang high, his head like Mount Tai, his waist like a high range, his eyes like lightning, his mouth like a basin of blood, his teeth like ranks of swords and halberds. The staff in his hand reached upward to the Thirty-Three Heavens and downward to the Eighteen Hells. Tigers and leopards, wolves and wildcats, all the mountain monsters and demon kings of the seventy-two caves were so terrified they threw themselves down in worship, shaking till soul and spirit seemed ready to fly from them.

In an instant Wukong drew back the enormous form, turned the treasure again into an embroidery needle, tucked it in his ear, and returned to the cave-palace. The demon kings of every cave came hurrying in to offer congratulations.

Now drums were sounded, bronze gongs struck, and every sort of delicacy spread out in abundance. Coconut liquor and grape wine were poured brimming full, and the whole assembly feasted for a long time before returning again to drill and maneuver.

The Monkey King appointed the four old monkeys as his stout captains. He named the two red-bottomed horse-monkeys Marshals Ma and Liu, and the two long-armed gibbons Generals Beng and Ba. All matters of camp order, rewards, and punishments he placed in the hands of these four tough lieutenants.

Having set his mind at ease, he spent his days riding cloud and driving mist, roaming the Four Seas and sporting through a thousand mountains. He practiced martial skill and sought out worthy heroes; he displayed divine powers and made friends among the gifted and strange.

At this time he also swore brotherhood with six other great kings: the Bull Demon King, the Flood Dragon Demon King, the Peng Demon King, the Lion Camel King, the Macaque King, and the Gibbon King. With himself, the Handsome Monkey King, they made seven sworn brothers in all.

Day after day they discoursed on letters and arms, passed wine cups, sang to strings and flute, went out in the morning and returned at dusk, with no pleasure left untasted. Ten thousand miles to them were no farther than the space before a family courtyard. As the saying goes, nod once and three thousand miles are crossed; twist the waist and eight hundred more are gone.

One day Wukong ordered the four lieutenants in his cave to set a grand feast and invite the six kings to drink. Oxen were slaughtered and horses butchered, offerings made to Heaven and Earth, and all the monsters set to singing and dancing. Every one of them drank himself blind drunk. The six kings were sent off again, rewards handed out to great and small officers alike, and at last Wukong stretched himself in the pine shade by the iron bridge and fell asleep in an instant.

The four lieutenants and the monkey host kept guard around him, not daring to make a sound. Then, while asleep, the Handsome Monkey King dreamed that two men came with a writ bearing the three characters "Sun Wukong." They came up without a word, slipped a rope around him, and hauled his soul away staggering and lurching toward a city.

Wukong slowly woke within the dream. Looking up, he saw above the city gate an iron plaque with three great characters:

Realm of the Dead.

All at once the Monkey King understood.

"The Realm of the Dead is where the Kings of Hell reside. Why have I come here?"

The two men said, "Your term of life in the yang world has ended. We received the writ and have come to fetch you."

Wukong said, "Old Sun has gone beyond the Three Realms and does not abide within the Five Phases. I am no longer under their rule. How dare you come in this muddled way to seize me?"

But the two soul-snatchers only tugged harder and harder, determined to drag him inside. The Monkey King flew into a rage, drew out his treasure from his ear, shook it once till it grew thick as a bowl, and with one easy blow pounded both soul-snatchers into meat paste. He untied the rope from himself, cast it aside, and swinging the staff charged straight into the city.

The ox-head demons hid east and west; the horse-face demons ran south and north. All the ghostly guards fled up into the Hall of Darkness and reported:

"Great Kings, disaster! Disaster! Out there is a thunder-faced, hairy-cheeked fellow charging in here beating everything to pieces!"

The Ten Kings of Hell hurriedly straightened their robes and came out. Seeing his ferocious appearance, they arranged themselves by rank and shouted in unison:

"Immortal sir, declare your name! Declare your name!"

Wukong said, "If you don't know who I am, why did you send men to seize me?"

The Ten Kings bowed.

"We would never dare. It must be that our men fetched the wrong one by mistake."

Wukong said, "I am Sun Wukong, the heaven-born sage of Water-Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain. And what offices do you lot hold?"

They said, bowing low, "We are the ten generations of Kings of the Underworld."

"Then state your names quickly, and spare yourselves a beating."

So they answered, "We are King Qinguang, King Chujiang, King Songdi, King Wuguan, King Yama, King Pingdeng, King Taishan, King Dushi, King Biancheng, and King Zhuanlun."

Wukong said, "Since you sit on kingly thrones and belong among the numinous and responsive powers, how can you have so little sense of right and wrong? Old Sun has cultivated the immortal Way. My life matches Heaven's. I have risen beyond the Three Realms and leapt outside the Five Phases. Why then did you send men to arrest me?"

The Ten Kings said, "Immortal sir, calm your anger. The world is full of men with the same names and surnames. It may be that the soul-snatchers went to the wrong place."

Wukong said, "Rubbish! Rubbish! There's a common saying: officials may err and clerks may err, but the man they come for does not. Bring me the ledgers of life and death at once. I want to see for myself."

Hearing that, the Ten Kings invited him into the hall to inspect them. Wukong gripped the Ruyi Bang and strode straight up into the Hall of Darkness, where he sat himself down in the central seat facing south. The Kings ordered the clerk of records to fetch the books.

The clerk dared not delay. He carried out five or six volumes of ledgers and the registers of the ten categories of beings. They checked one by one through naked creatures, furry creatures, feathered creatures, insect creatures, scaled creatures, shelled creatures, but there was no Sun Wukong. Then they examined the monkey-kind. Yet because monkeys resemble men, they were not entered among men; because they resembled naked creatures, they belonged to no human realm; because they were land beasts, they were not governed by the qilin; because they were not birds, they were not governed by the phoenix.

There was, however, another volume, and Wukong took it and searched through it himself. At last, on page 1,350 beneath the character for "souls," he found the entry:

Sun Wukong, heaven-born stone monkey. Allotted span of life: three hundred and forty-two years. Natural death.

Wukong said, "I don't remember how many years I've lived, and I don't care. Erasing the name is enough. Bring me a brush."

The clerk hurriedly presented one, loaded with thick black ink. Wukong snatched the register, and not only crossed out his own name but struck through every monkey-name in the volume.

Throwing down the book, he shouted, "Account settled! Account settled! From now on we're not under your rule."

Then he smashed his way back out of the Realm of the Dead. The Ten Kings did not dare come near him. Instead they all went together to the Emerald Cloud Palace, bowed before the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, and discussed sending up a memorial to Heaven - but that is another matter.

As for the Monkey King, after smashing his way out of the city he tripped over a clump of grass, stumbled, and woke with a jerk. It had all been a Nanke dream. Just as he stretched himself, he heard the four lieutenants and the monkey host shouting:

"Great King! How much did you drink? You've slept the whole night through and still won't wake!"

Wukong said, "Sleeping is a small thing. I dreamed that two men came to seize me and dragged me all the way to the gates of the Realm of the Dead. Then I woke to myself, went rampaging right into the Hall of Darkness, quarreled with the Ten Kings, and looked through our ledgers of life and death. Every monkey-name I found, I crossed out. From now on none of us is under that gang's rule."

The monkeys all kowtowed and thanked him. From that day onward many mountain monkeys ceased to age, for their names no longer existed in the underworld. When the Handsome Monkey King finished telling what had happened, the four lieutenants spread the news among the demon kings of every cave, and they all came offering congratulations. A few days later his six sworn brothers came as well, and when they heard the reason for the erased names, they were delighted. From then on they gathered daily in revelry without end.

But now let us turn to the Most High Jade Emperor, Great Compassionate Lord of the Lofty Vault of Heaven, seated one day at dawn court in Lingxiao Hall amid all his civil and martial immortals. Suddenly the Perfected Immortal Qiu Hongji stepped forward and said:

"Your Majesty, outside the Hall of Clear Understanding the Dragon King Ao Guang of the Eastern Sea waits with a memorial, asking that the Heavenly Lord proclaim his command."

The Jade Emperor said, "Let him be admitted."

Ao Guang was led up below the hall. After he had bowed, an immortal page took his memorial and presented it. The Jade Emperor read it through from beginning to end. It said:

"Your lowly subject Ao Guang, little dragon of the Eastern Sea in the Eastern Victory Continent under the watery regions below, submits this memorial to the Supreme Sacred Lord, the High God of the Lofty Vault of Heaven: Recently the demon-immortal Sun Wukong of Flower-Fruit Mountain and Water-Curtain Cave has bullied your subject, forced himself into my water-palace, demanded weapons, displayed spells and might; demanded armor, flaunted ferocity and force. He has terrified the water tribes and driven off turtle and alligator. The Dragon of the South Sea trembles in dread; the Dragon of the West Sea wastes in grief; the Dragon of the North Sea shrinks back and submits. Your subject Ao Guang bent low and offered the divine iron staff, the phoenix-winged golden cap, the linked armor, and the cloud-treading boots, escorting him out with ceremony. Yet still he showed off his martial skill and divine powers, crying only, 'Such noise! Such noise!' He is truly without equal and very hard to restrain. Therefore your subject now submits this memorial and begs for Heaven's judgment. I implore that heavenly troops be sent to seize this demon, so that sea and mountain may be made clean and the lower waters made secure."

When the Sacred Emperor had finished reading, he ordered: "Let the dragon god return to the sea. I shall at once dispatch a general to arrest him."

The old Dragon King knocked his head in thanks and withdrew.

Then another immortal master, Ge Xianweng, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, King Qinguang of the Underworld has brought a memorial from the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, Lord of the Nether Teaching."

A jade maiden took the memorial and handed it up. The Jade Emperor also read this one through from beginning to end. It said:

"The region of the dead is the earth's dark administration. Heaven has spirits and earth has ghosts; yin and yang turn in ceaseless wheel. Birds are born and beasts must die; male and female cycle back and forth. Life follows death and death follows life; daughters conceive and sons are born. This is the natural order and cannot be changed. Yet now there is at Flower-Fruit Mountain and Water-Curtain Cave a heaven-born demon monkey named Sun Wukong, who acts in evil and goes about with violence, refusing arrest and summons. Displaying magic powers, he has beaten to death the ghost-envoys of the Ninefold Deep; relying on brute force, he has terrified and injured the compassionate kings of the ten generations. He raised havoc in the Hall of Darkness and violently erased the registered names. Thus the monkey-kind go unseized, and macaques and apes have grown long-lived. The wheel of rebirth is left empty, and they stand apart from death and birth alike. Your lowly monk submits this memorial, risking offense to Heavenly Majesty. I beg that divine troops be sent to capture and subdue this demon, restore yin and yang to order, and grant lasting peace to the underworld."

When the Jade Emperor had finished reading this, he ordered: "Let the rulers of the dead return below. I shall at once dispatch a general to arrest him."

King Qinguang too knocked his head in thanks and withdrew.

Then the High Heavenly Lord addressed the gathered immortals:

"This demon monkey - what year was he born? From what age does he come, that he should already have gained such a Way?"

Before he had quite finished, Clairvoyant-Eye and Wind-Accommodating Ear stepped out and said, "This monkey is the heaven-born stone monkey from some three hundred years ago. At the time it seemed of no consequence. We do not know where he has spent these years cultivating immortality, but now he can subdue dragons and tigers and erase the records of death by force."

The Jade Emperor said, "Which heavenly general will go below and subdue him?"

Before he had finished speaking, the Gold Star of the West stepped out from the ranks, bowed low, and said:

"Supreme Lord, of all creatures in the Three Realms, any that possess the nine openings may cultivate immortality. This monkey, though, is a body formed by heaven and earth themselves, a frame conceived by sun and moon. He too stands beneath heaven and walks upon earth. He eats mist and drinks dew. Now that he has achieved the immortal Way and has the strength to subdue dragons and tigers, how is he different from men?

"I beg Your Majesty to show the mercy due to created life and send down a summons of amnesty. Invite him up to Heaven, grant him some office great or small, enter his name in the heavenly registers, and keep him under restraint here. If he accepts Heaven's command, he may later be promoted; if he defies Heaven's command, then arrest him. Thus we avoid troubling the hosts with war, and at the same time gather in one who has attained the Way."

The Jade Emperor was greatly pleased.

"We shall do as you advise."

He ordered the Star Official of Literature to draft the decree and appointed the Gold Star of the West to go down and summon the monkey.

The Gold Star received the command, left through the Southern Gate of Heaven, pressed down his auspicious clouds, and came directly to Water-Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain. There he said to the little monkeys:

"I am a heavenly messenger, sent by Heaven itself, and I bear a sacred decree. Your Great King is invited to ascend. Go quickly and report it."

The word passed through the cave in one layer after another until it reached the innermost depths.

"Great King, outside there is an old man carrying a one-horned document case. He says he is a heavenly envoy sent from above and bears a sacred decree inviting you."

The Handsome Monkey King was overjoyed.

"I've been thinking these last few days that I ought to take a look at Heaven myself. And now a heavenly envoy has come to invite me. Quickly - show him in."

The Monkey King hastily set his robes and cap in order and went out to the gate to receive him. The Gold Star came straight in, stood facing south in the middle of the hall, and said:

"I am the Gold Star of the West. By the Jade Emperor's decree of summons and pacification, I have come below to invite you to ascend to Heaven and receive your place among the registers of immortals."

Wukong laughed.

"Many thanks to the old star for coming in person."

He ordered the little monkeys to set out a feast in welcome.

But the Gold Star said, "The sacred decree is on my person. I dare not delay. Great King, please come with me at once. Once you have been honored with promotion, we may speak at leisure."

Wukong said, "I am obliged, I am obliged."

Then he called the four lieutenants and instructed them:

"Be careful in drilling the children and grandchildren. I am going to Heaven to have a look at the roads. Then perhaps I can bring you all up there to live with me."

The four accepted the command. Then the Monkey King and the Gold Star mounted the clouds and rose into the empty sky.

And so:

He was promoted to the rank of highest heaven-born immortal
and his name entered among the jeweled registers in the cloud-borne ranks.

But what office he was given, that must wait for the next chapter.