Chapter 42: The Great Sage Pays His Reverent Call to the South Sea; Guanyin Kindly Binds Red Boy

Now the six valiant generals left the cave and went straight to the southwest, following the road.

Wukong thought to himself, "The Great King they are going to invite to eat my master must be the Bull Demon King. In the old days I met him, and we were truly in harmony of heart and mind, with deep and friendly dealings. Now I have returned to the right path, while he still clings to evil. Though it has been a long time since we last saw one another, I still remember what he looks like. Let me change into the Bull Demon King and fool them once."

The Great Sage drew away from the six little monsters, spread his wings, and flew ahead. After he had put ten or so li between himself and them, he shook himself and changed into the Bull Demon King. Then he plucked out a few hairs, cried, "Change!" and turned them into several little monsters.

In a mountain hollow he lay in ambush like a hunting party, with falcons and hounds, crossbows and drawn bows, waiting for the six valiant generals.

As the six clung and tugged their way along, they suddenly saw the Bull Demon King sitting in the middle. Rising-Harbor and Turning-Harbor-Rise were so frightened that they dropped to their knees at once and cried, "Great King, grandfather, you are here too!"

Cloud-in-Mist, Mist-in-Cloud, Swift-as-Fire, and Fast-as-Wind were all mortal flesh and eyes; they could not tell true from false, and so they all knelt too, kowtowed, and said, "Grandfather, we were sent from the Holy Infant King of Fire Cloud Cave to invite the Great King to eat Tang monk's flesh and thus prolong your life for a thousand ages."

Wukong answered in the Bull Demon King's voice, "Rise, children. Come back home with me and change your clothes."

The little monsters kowtowed.

"We beg the Great King to be accommodating. There is no need to go back to the house. The road is far, and if our own Great King blames us for delay, we dare not bear it. We beg you to set out at once."

Wukong laughed. "Good little sons. Very well, very well. You go ahead and open the road, and I will go with you."

The six demons gathered themselves and shouted the way open. The Great Sage followed behind.

Before long they reached the place. Fast-as-Wind and Swift-as-Fire dashed into the cave and reported, "Great King, the old king has arrived!"

The demon king was delighted.

"You are useful after all. You have come back so quickly."

He immediately ordered the captains and leaders to form ranks, beat the drums and gongs, and go out to meet the old king.

The entire cave obeyed the command and formed in neat order to march out.

Wukong stood tall and fierce, puffed out his chest, shook himself, and drew back all the hairs that had been made into falcons and hounds. He strode through the gate and sat in the center, facing south.

Red Boy knelt before him and bowed to the floor.

"Father King, your child pays respects."

Wukong said, "Child, rise and do not trouble yourself with ceremony."

The demon king then bowed four times. When the bows were done, he stood at the lower side.

Wukong said, "My son, what business brings you to invite me?"

The demon king bent low and said, "Child as I am, I yesterday captured a monk from the Eastern Land of Great Tang. I have often heard people say that he has cultivated through ten lives, and that anyone who eats a piece of his flesh will live as long as the immortals of Penglai, forever young and ageless. I did not dare eat him alone, so I specially invited Father King to share in Tang monk's flesh and prolong our lives for a thousand ages."

Wukong heard this and gave a startled jump.

"My son, which Tang monk is that?"

The demon king said, "The one traveling west to fetch the scriptures."

Wukong said, "My son, do you mean the master of Sun Wukong?"

"Exactly."

Wukong waved his hands and shook his head.

"Do not provoke him, do not provoke him. Others may be easier to provoke, but Sun Wukong is not that sort of man. My good son, you have not met him. That monkey has vast supernatural powers and many transformations. He once raised havoc in Heaven, and the Jade Emperor sent a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and set a net of heaven and earth, yet they still could not catch him.

"How dare you eat his master? Send him back at once and do not stir up that monkey. If he learns that you have eaten his master, he will not come to fight you straightaway. He will only drive his Golden-Hooped Rod into the mountain slope and bore a hole through the whole mountain, carrying the mountain away with him. My son, if that happens, where will you make your home? And on whom would I rely in my old age?"

The demon king said, "Father King, what are you saying? You are raising another man's pride and killing your child's spirit. That Sun Wukong has three brothers in all. He and Tang monk came here through the middle of my mountain, and I used a transformation to carry off their master. He and Zhu Bajie came to my gate at once and spoke all sorts of old family nonsense, claiming acquaintance. I was so angry I fought him several rounds, but that was all. I did not see anything remarkable.

"Then Zhu Bajie joined in from the side. I breathed out Samadhi fire and beat him back. He panicked, went to ask the Four Sea Dragon Kings to rain, but they could not extinguish my Samadhi fire. I burned him dizzy and then sent Zhu Bajie to ask Guanyin of the South Sea. I changed into Guanyin and tricked Bajie back, and he is now hanging in my wish-fulfilling bag. I was going to steam him for the little ones to eat.

"This morning Wukong came to my gate shouting. I ordered him seized, and he panicked and dropped his baggage and fled. I am only asking Father King to come look at Tang monk's life-like face, so we may steam him for you to eat and thus live forever."

Wukong laughed.

"My son, you only know that your Samadhi fire beat him, but you do not know that he has seventy-two transformations."

The demon king said, "No matter how he transforms, I can still recognize him. He would never dare enter my gate."

Wukong said, "My son, even if you recognize him, he would not necessarily change into a great form. He could turn like a wolf or an elephant and perhaps not fit through your gate. But if he turns into something small, then you may not recognize him."

The demon king said, "No matter what small thing he changes into, I have four or five little monsters on guard at every gate. How could he get in?"

Wukong said, "You do not know. He can turn into flies, mosquitoes, fleas, or even bees, butterflies, and tiny beetles. He can even change into my own form. How would you recognize him?"

The demon king said, "No need for worry. Even if he had the heart of iron and the lungs of bronze, he would not dare approach my gate."

Wukong said, "Since that is so, my son, you have real skill and can truly hold your own against him. That is why you invited me to eat Tang monk's flesh. But today I will not eat yet."

The demon king asked, "Why not eat?"

Wukong said, "Lately I have grown old, and your mother often urges me to do some good. I have thought of nothing much to do for goodness, so I keep some fasts and precepts."

The demon king asked, "Is Father King on a long fast, or a monthly fast?"

Wukong said, "Neither a long fast nor a monthly fast. It is what is called a thunder fast. It only counts four days a month."

The demon king asked, "Which four days?"

Wukong said, "The three plain-food days and the first six. Today is the xin-you day, so it is one of my fasting days, and besides, on an you day one does not receive guests. Wait until tomorrow, and I will personally wash him and steam him, then share him with you."

The demon king thought to himself, "My father eats people for a living. He is already more than a thousand years old. How could he suddenly take up fasting now? In the first place he committed so much evil. How could three or four days of fasting have accumulated enough merit? This sounds false. Suspicious, suspicious."

He withdrew from the second gate and called the six valiant generals to question them.

"Where did you invite this old king from?"

The little monsters said, "We invited him from halfway along the road."

The demon king said, "I said you came back so quickly. He was not yet home?"

The little monsters said, "No, he was not yet home."

The demon king said, "Bad. He has tricked you. This is not the old king."

The little monsters all knelt.

"Great King, how could even his own son fail to recognize his father?"

The demon king said, "In looks and movements he is very like him. Only his speech does not sound right. I fear he has fooled you and made us suffer a loss. You must all be careful. 'A knife-user must draw his knife; a spear-user must polish his spear; a staff-user must ready his staff; a rope-user must ready his rope.' I will go back and question him again. If he is truly the old king, then let him not eat today, not tomorrow, even if we delay a month. But if his words are wrong, then just wait for me to give a grunt and all of you strike at once."

The demon hosts all accepted the order.

He turned back inside and bowed again before Wukong.

Wukong said, "My son, there is no fixed ceremony in the household. No need to bow. Whatever you want to say, just say it."

The demon king bowed to the floor and said, "Child as I am, first I have invited you to offer Tang monk's flesh, and second I have a question to ask. A few days ago I wandered about in leisure, riding a light cloud, and went all the way up into the ninth heaven. There I suddenly met Mr. Zhang Daozhang of the ancestral teaching."

Wukong asked, "You mean Zhang Daoling the Celestial Master?"

The demon king said, "Exactly."

Wukong asked, "What did he say?"

The demon king said, "He saw that I was born with proper features and balanced proportions, and he asked me what year, month, day, and hour I was born. Because I am still young, I do not remember it clearly. The gentleman was skilled in the art of birth charts and wanted to calculate my stars. I have now invited Father King for that very reason, to ask about it. If I meet him again later, I can trouble him to do the calculation."

Wukong sat there and secretly laughed to himself.

"What a demon! Since I returned to the Buddha's fruit and have been protecting Tang monk, I have captured a few monsters along the road, but none as crafty as this one. He asks me about household ritual and scrappy details, and now this stuff about birth dates; how could I know?"

The Great Sage was clever indeed. Sitting upright in the center with no trace of fear, he smiled brightly on his face and said, "Rise, my son. Because I am old, there have been things lately that have not gone according to my wishes, and I have temporarily forgotten the year and day of your birth. Wait until tomorrow, when I return home and ask your mother. Then I will know."

The demon king said, "Father King has often spoken my eight characters from his mouth, saying I have the same longevity as heaven and will never grow old. How could you suddenly forget now? This makes no sense. You must be a fake."

With a growl he signaled the little monsters to surround Wukong with spears and knives and strike without mercy.

The Great Sage held them back with the Golden-Hooped Rod, showed his true form, and said to the demon, "My son, what kind of reason is this? Since when does a son beat his father?"

The demon king flushed with shame and did not dare look up at him.

Wukong turned into a streak of gold and left the cave.

The little devils reported, "Great King, Sun Wukong has gone."

The demon king said, "Very well, let him go. I have already suffered a loss from him. Shut the gate and do not exchange words with him. Let us simply wash and prepare Tang monk and steam him."

Now Wukong, carrying his iron staff, came laughing from across the ravine.

Sha Wujing heard him and hurried out of the forest to greet him.

"Brother, why are you laughing like this after being gone all this time? Did you rescue Master?"

Wukong said, "Brother, I did not rescue Master, but I did gain the upper hand."

Sha Wujing asked, "What upper hand?"

Wukong said, "It turns out that Zhu Bajie was tricked back by the monster who had disguised himself as Guanyin, and he is hanging in the leather bag. I was just looking for a way to save him when the monster sent six generals to invite his old king to come eat our master's flesh. I thought the old king must be the Bull Demon King, so I changed into his form and went in. He called me Father King, and I answered. He kowtowed, and I calmly accepted it. It was truly satisfying. I really did gain the upper hand."

Sha Wujing said, "Brother, even if you score this small advantage, I fear the master's life will not be safe."

Wukong said, "Do not worry. I will go ask the Bodhisattva."

Sha Wujing said, "Your waist still hurts."

Wukong said, "It does not hurt now. As the old saying goes, 'When a man meets a joyful event, his spirits are refreshed.' You guard the luggage and horses while I go."

Sha Wujing said, "You have made an enemy there. If he means to harm Master, you must hurry there and hurry back."

Wukong said, "I go quickly. It will take no more than the time to eat a meal, and I will be back."

The Great Sage spoke and left Sha Wujing behind. He rode his somersault cloud straight to the South Sea. In the sky he did not need half an hour before he saw the scenes of Mount Putuo. Soon he lowered the cloud and went straight to Luojia Cliff.

He walked with solemn and proper bearing and saw the twenty-four guardian gods coming to meet him.

"Great Sage, where are you going?"

Wukong returned their bows and said, "I want to see the Bodhisattva."

The guardian gods said, "Wait a moment while we announce you."

Just then the attendant goddess came to the entrance of the Tide Sound Cave and reported, "Bodhisattva, you should know: Sun Wukong has come especially to pay his respects."

When the Bodhisattva heard the report, she ordered him to be brought in.

The Great Sage straightened his robe and folded his hands in submission, then stepped inside and bowed all the way down before the Bodhisattva.

The Bodhisattva said, "Wukong, did you not escort the Golden Cicada to the Western Heaven to seek the scriptures? Why have you come here?"

Wukong said, "I must report to the Bodhisattva. Your disciple was protecting Tang monk on the road when we reached a place called Ho Mountain, Dried Pine Ravine, Fire Cloud Cave. There was a Red Boy monster, the Holy Infant King, who took my master away. Your disciple and Zhu Wuneng searched to the gate and fought him. He threw out Samadhi fire and we could not defeat him or rescue Master.

"So I hurried to the Eastern Sea to invite the Four Sea Dragon Kings to send rain, but even that could not overcome the fire. I was smoked terribly and nearly lost my life."

The Bodhisattva said, "If it was Samadhi fire and such great supernatural power, why did you go ask the Dragon Kings instead of coming to ask me?"

Wukong said, "I meant to come, but because I was smoked by the fire I could not ride a cloud, so I sent Zhu Bajie to ask the Bodhisattva."

The Bodhisattva said, "But Zhu Wuneng has not come."

Wukong said, "Exactly. He had not yet reached the treasure mountain when the demon changed into the Bodhisattva's own form and tricked him back into the cave. He is now hanging in a leather bag there and is to be steamed."

The Bodhisattva heard this and grew furious.

"That wicked demon dares to change into my likeness?"

She cried out in anger and flung the treasure pearl and clean vase into the sea with a single toss.

Wukong was shocked to the marrow of his bones and quickly rose to stand below as an attendant.

He thought to himself, "This Bodhisattva has a temper like fire. Perhaps Old Sun has spoken badly and ruined her virtue, and so she has tossed away her vase. A pity, a pity. If only she had given it to me, would that not have been a grand matter?"

Before he could finish thinking, he saw waves and rolling water in the middle of the sea, and a turtle came crawling up carrying the vase.

Wukong looked carefully at the turtle carrying the vase. How did it look?

Its roots and source were called the Helper Mud;
from the water's bottom it shone alone in power.
Hidden in its shell, it knows the nature of heaven and earth;
tucked away, it best understands the mechanisms of ghosts and gods.
Draw it in and it has no head or tail;
extend its legs and it can move swift as flight.
Long ago in King Wen's trigrams it had already been counted;
it often entered the court and hall, a companion to Fuxi.
Through clouds and dragons it shows a thousand kinds of cleverness;
it calls for water and pushes the waves and stirs the tide.
Golden lines make up its shell,
and spots are set out like a jeweled tortoise.
Its nine-palace and eight-trigram robe is fixed in place,
and scattered fragments spread over a bright green garment.
While alive it won the favor of the Dragon Kings for its boldness;
after death it still carries the Buddha's stele.
If you want to know this thing's name and nature,
it is the evil black tortoise that stirs wind and waves.

The turtle carried the clean vase, crawled up to the cliff edge, and nodded twenty-four times to the Bodhisattva, as though making twenty-four bows.

Wukong saw it and laughed to himself.

"So it is a bottle keeper. It must not see the vase, and so it has asked for it."

The Bodhisattva said, "Wukong, what are you saying below?"

Wukong said, "Nothing."

She instructed him, "Bring up the vase."

Wukong went to lift it. Alas, he could not move it an inch. It was like a dragonfly shaking a stone pillar. How could he budge it even a hair?

He knelt and said, "Bodhisattva, your disciple cannot lift it."

The Bodhisattva said, "You monkey, all you do is talk. If you cannot even lift the vase, how do you mean to subdue demons and bind monsters?"

Wukong said, "To be honest, Bodhisattva, I can usually lift it. Today I cannot. I suppose I have suffered at the monster's hands and my sinews have weakened."

The Bodhisattva said, "When it is empty, it is just an ordinary vase. But now that the vase has been thrown into the sea, in this short time it has turned over waters from the Three Rivers and Five Lakes, the Eight Seas and Four Rivers, and all the streams, pools, ravines, and cave waters, borrowing all that sea-water into itself. How could you have the strength to bear a sea? That is why you cannot lift it."

Wukong joined his palms. "I did not know, disciple."

The Bodhisattva stepped forward and lifted the clean vase with her right hand, then held it in the palm of her left. The turtle nodded and dived back into the water.

Wukong said, "So it is just a common bottle keeper."

The Bodhisattva sat down and said, "Wukong, the sweet dew-water in my vase is different from the Dragon Kings' private rain. It can put out that monster's Samadhi fire. I was going to lend it to you, but you could not lift it. And if I sent you off with Good Fortune Dragon Girl, you would not be honest; you only know how to trick people. If you saw that dragon girl was pretty and that the vase was a treasure, you might trick it away and then where would I have the time to look for you again? You must leave some pledge."

Wukong said, "Alas! The Bodhisattva distrusts me so much. I have entered the monk's gate and have long since stopped that sort of business. You ask me to leave a pledge, but what could I leave? This cotton-cloth robe I wear was your own gift, Elder. This tiger-skin skirt is worth only a few coppers. This iron staff I need for protection at all times. Only the fillet on my head is made of gold, but you used a method to make it stick there, and I cannot take it off.

"If you want a pledge, I would willingly offer that. Recite the loosening spell for the fillet and remove this ring, or what else could I possibly leave?"

The Bodhisattva said, "You are very easy-going. I do not want your clothes, your iron staff, or your gold fillet. I only want one of the hairs on the back of your head that can save your life."

Wukong said, "That hair was also given to me by your Elder. I am only afraid that if I pluck one out, the whole set will be broken, and then it will not save my life."

The Bodhisattva scolded him.

"You monkey! Even if you did not pluck a single hair, that Good Fortune Child would still be hard for me to part with."

Wukong laughed. "Bodhisattva, you are overthinking it. As the old saying goes, 'Do not look at the monk's face, look at the Buddha's face.' Please save my master from this trouble."

The Bodhisattva, glad and untroubled, stepped down from the lotus throne and floated on a cloud-step above the perfumed cliff.

All because the holy monk had fallen into a trap, she would now subdue the monster and bring him back.

Sun Wukong was delighted and escorted Guanyin out of the Tide Sound Cave.

The great guardian gods all stood arrayed on Mount Putuo.

The Bodhisattva said, "Wukong, cross the sea."

Wukong bowed and said, "Please, Bodhisattva, go first."

The Bodhisattva said, "You go first."

Wukong knocked his head to the ground and said, "Your disciple would not dare show off before the Bodhisattva. If I rode the somersault cloud, my body would be exposed, and I fear the Bodhisattva would think me disrespectful."

The Bodhisattva heard this and ordered Good Fortune Dragon Girl to break off a lotus petal from the lotus pond and place it on the water below the stone cliff. She told Wukong, "Stand on that lotus petal. I will ferry you across the sea."

Wukong looked at it and said, "Bodhisattva, this petal is so light and thin. How can it carry me? If I step on it and fall into the water, will it not soak my tiger-skin skirt? If the shoes get ruined and the weather turns cold, how shall I dress?"

The Bodhisattva snapped, "Get on and see."

Wukong did not dare refuse. He leaped up as if betting his life on it.

Sure enough, it looked small at first, but once he was on it, it was even larger than a seagoing boat by three parts.

Wukong was delighted.

"Bodhisattva, it can bear me."

The Bodhisattva said, "Since it can bear you, why do you not cross?"

Wukong said, "There is no pole, no oar, no sail, and no mast. How am I to cross?"

The Bodhisattva said, "No need."

She only blew on him once to open and gather the air, and then she blew him clean across the bitter South Sea. He arrived on the far shore.

Wukong set his feet on solid ground and laughed.

"This Bodhisattva is showing off her powers, calling Old Sun this way and that without any effort at all."

The Bodhisattva ordered the great guardians to keep watch over the fairy realm and told Good Fortune Dragon Girl to close the cave gate.

Then she rode her auspicious cloud away from Mount Putuo and called out, "Where is Hui'an?"

Hui'an, also called Muzha, second prince of Li the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, was the Bodhisattva's personal disciple and never left her side. He served as her pilgrim attendant and guardian.

Hui'an immediately joined his palms and stood ready.

The Bodhisattva said, "Go up to Heaven at once and see your father. Ask him to lend us the Heavenly Fiend Blade."

Hui'an asked, "How much of it does the Master need?"

The Bodhisattva said, "The whole set."

Hui'an obeyed and rode his cloud straight through the South Heaven Gate and up to the Cloud Tower Palace, where he bowed to his father.

The Heavenly King saw him and asked, "My son, where have you come from?"

Muzha said, "My master Sun Wukong has invited me to subdue a demon, and he has told me to bow to Father and ask to borrow the Heavenly Fiend Blade."

The Heavenly King at once called Nezha to take out thirty-six blades and hand them to Muzha.

Muzha said to Nezha, "Brother, please go back and bow to Mother for me. I have urgent business, and I will bow later when I return the blades."

He hurriedly took leave, brought down the auspicious light, and went straight to the South Sea, where he presented the blades to the Bodhisattva.

The Bodhisattva took them, tossed them into the air, and recited a spell. At once the blades changed into a thousand-petaled lotus throne.

She leaped onto it and sat at the center.

Wukong laughed to himself.

"The Bodhisattva is economical. She has a five-colored jeweled lotus throne in the lotus pond, but she could not bear to sit on it and instead went to borrow one from someone else."

The Bodhisattva said, "Wukong, enough talk. Come with me."

Then all of them rode clouds and left the sea. A white parrot flew ahead with wings spread, while Sun Wukong and Hui'an followed behind.

In no time they saw a mountain peak.

Wukong said, "This mountain is Ho Mountain. From here to that monster's gate there are about four hundred li."

The Bodhisattva heard this and at once ordered the auspicious clouds to stop above the mountain peak. There she recited a single "om" spell.

At once many gods and ghosts came out from the left and right sides of the mountain. They were the local mountain gods and earth spirits, and they all knelt before the Bodhisattva's jeweled lotus seat.

The Bodhisattva said, "Do not be alarmed. I have come to seize this demon king. Clear the grounds for me. For three hundred li around, not a single living thing is to remain below. Send the nest-dwellers and cave-brooders up to the highest peaks where they can stay safely."

The gods obeyed and withdrew.

In a moment they came back to report.

The Bodhisattva said, "Since it is clear, all of you return to your shrines."

Then she tipped the clean vase and poured out the water with a roar like thunder.

Truly it was:

It flooded over the mountain tops and struck open the stone walls.
It flooded over the mountain tops like a sea, and split the rock walls like open water.
Black fog rose to the sky, thick with water vapor;
blue waves shone in the sun with cold light.
Across the cliffs rolled waves like jade,
and the whole sea was lined with golden strands.
The Bodhisattva displayed her demon-subduing law in full,
taking a Zen posture from within her sleeve.
The place became a scene from Mount Putuo itself,
truly just like the South Sea.
Sweet reeds stood up beside tender heavenly flowers;
fragrant grasses opened and spread like fresh scripture leaves.
A few purple bamboo stalks gave the parrots rest,
and clumps of green pine drew the pheasants' chatter.
The four fields were covered in waves a thousand layers deep;
one could hear only wind calling and water flooding the heavens.

Sun Wukong admired it secretly.

"Truly this is a great Bodhisattva of boundless compassion. If Old Sun had such power, I would pour the vase over the mountain and care nothing for birds, beasts, snakes, or insects."

The Bodhisattva called, "Wukong, hold out your hand."

Wukong quickly tucked in his sleeves and held out his left hand.

She took a willow twig, dipped it in the sweet dew, and wrote the character "delusion" in his palm.

She instructed him, "Clench your fist and go fight that monster. You may lose, but you may not win. When you come back defeated before me, I will have the power to take him."

Wukong took the order, rode back through the cloud light, and came straight to the cave gate.

With one hand he clenched a fist and with the other he held his staff, shouting, "Demon, open the gate!"

The little devils ran in again to report, "Sun Wukong has come again!"

The demon king said, "Shut the gate tight and pay him no mind."

Wukong shouted, "Good son! You drove your old father out of the gate and still will not open it?"

The little devils reported again, "Sun Wukong is cursing us."

The demon king only said, "Pay him no mind."

Wukong called twice. When the gate still did not open, he grew furious, raised his iron staff, and smashed a hole in the door.

The little monsters panicked and tumbled inside shouting, "Sun Wukong has broken the gate!"

The demon king heard the report again, then heard that the front gate had been broken, and quickly sprang out with his long spear in hand. He cursed Wukong, "You monkey, you really do not know when to stop. I let you have a little advantage, and you still do not know enough. You come back to bully me.

"What crime do you call it to break my gate?"

Wukong said, "My son, you drove your old father out of the gate. What crime do you call that?"

The demon king was both ashamed and furious. He gripped his long spear and stabbed straight for Wukong's chest. Wukong raised his iron staff to block and counter.

After they had grappled for four or five rounds, Wukong clenched his fist, dragged his staff, and lost the field.

The demon king stood before the mountain and said, "I am going to wash and cook Tang monk now."

Wukong said, "Good son, Heaven is watching you. Come then."

The demon grew even more furious, shouted, and rushed at him with the spear again. Wukong swung the staff and fought a few more rounds, then lost again and fled.

The demon king cursed, "Monkey, when you fought earlier you had twenty or thirty rounds in you. Why do you start to flee just when the real fight begins?"

Wukong laughed. "My son, Old Father is afraid you will set fire again."

The demon said, "I will not set fire again. Come on."

Wukong said, "If you are not setting fire, then keep back a little. A brave fellow does not fight at his own gate."

The demon, not knowing this was a trick, really did raise his spear and pursue. Wukong dragged his staff and opened his fists.

The demon king was thrown into confusion and kept chasing. The one in front moved like a shooting star; the one behind flew like an arrow leaving the string.

In no time they saw the Bodhisattva.

Wukong cried out, "Monster, I am afraid of you. Spare me. You have chased me all the way to the South Sea Guanyin Bodhisattva. Why do you not go back yet?"

The demon king did not believe him. He gritted his teeth and kept chasing.

Wukong shook his body once and hid inside the Bodhisattva's sacred light.

The monster, seeing Wukong vanish, came closer, opened his eyes wide, and said to the Bodhisattva, "Are you the reinforcements Sun Wukong invited?"

The Bodhisattva did not answer.

The demon twirled his spear and shouted, "Hey! Are you the reinforcements Sun Wukong invited?"

The Bodhisattva still did not answer.

The monster thrust straight at the Bodhisattva's heart with his spear.

The Bodhisattva turned into a streak of gold and rose straight into the ninth heaven.

Wukong followed and said, "Bodhisattva, it was easy enough for you to bully me. That monster asked you three times, and why did you pretend to be deaf and dumb? He stabbed once and you ran, and even left that lotus throne behind?"

The Bodhisattva only said, "Do not talk. Watch what he does next."

By now Wukong and Muzha were both in the air, shoulder to shoulder, watching.

The demon laughed coldly.

"That wicked monkey has mistaken me. He does not know what to make of my Holy Infant King. He fought me several times and could not win, so he went to invite some useless Bodhisattva, and I only stabbed once and sent her out of sight. She even left her jeweled lotus throne behind. Let me sit on it for a while."

The demon actually copied the Bodhisattva and sat cross-legged in the middle.

Wukong saw it and said, "Good, good. He has gone and given away the lotus throne."

The Bodhisattva asked, "Wukong, what are you saying now?"

Wukong said, "What am I saying? I am saying he has given away the lotus throne. The demon sits under it, so surely you will want it back."

The Bodhisattva said, "Just so. That is exactly what I wanted."

Wukong said, "He is small in body, and he may even sit more steadily than you."

The Bodhisattva said, "Do not talk. Watch the power."

She pointed the willow twig downward and cried, "Retreat!"

At once the lotus throne lost all its bright colors and all auspicious radiance scattered. It turned out the demon king was sitting on the point of a knife.

She immediately ordered Muzha, "Use the demon-subduing pestle and pound the knife handle flat."

Muzha lowered his cloud and brought the pestle down like someone ramming a wall, pounding for more than a thousand strokes.

The demon's legs were pierced through and the knife point came out below. Blood poured in pools, and the flesh split open.

What a creature! He gritted his teeth and bore the pain, let go of the spear, and tried to pull the knife free with both hands.

Wukong said, "Bodhisattva, that monster does not fear pain. He is still trying to pull the knife out."

The Bodhisattva saw it and called out to Muzha, "Do not injure his life yet."

Then she let the willow twig hang down again, recited the om spell, and all the Heavenly Fiend Blades changed into back-hooking barbs, like wolf teeth, so that they could not be slipped off.

Only then did the demon grow frightened. Holding the knife point, he pleaded in pain:

"Bodhisattva, your disciple had eyes but no pupils and did not recognize your vast power. I beg you to show mercy and spare my life. I will never again rely on evil. I am willing to enter the gate of the Dharma and observe the precepts."

The Bodhisattva heard this and descended with the two Wukongs and the white parrot in a wash of golden light until she was before the monster.

She asked, "Will you now receive my precepts?"

The demon king nodded and wept.

"If you spare my life, I am willing to receive the precepts."

The Bodhisattva said, "Will you enter my gate?"

The demon king said, "If you spare my life, I am willing to enter the gate of the Dharma."

The Bodhisattva said, "Since that is so, I shall pat the crown of your head and receive you into the precepts."

From her sleeve she took out a small gold razor and came close to shave the top of the monster's head several times, shaving it into a Mountain-Topping style, leaving three top ridges and three little hair knots.

Wukong laughed from the side.

"This monster has had truly bad luck. He is now neither man nor woman, and I do not know what he looks like."

The Bodhisattva said, "Since you now accept my precepts, I will not slight you. I shall call you Good Fortune Child. What do you say?"

The demon nodded and accepted it, only begging for his life.

Then the Bodhisattva pointed a hand and cried, "Retreat!"

With a thump, all the Heavenly Fiend Blades fell away to dust and earth, but the child's body was not harmed.

The Bodhisattva said, "Hui'an, take these blades back up to Heaven and return them to your father. Do not come back to meet me. First go to Mount Putuo and wait with the other gods."

Muzha accepted the order, returned the blades to the heavens, and came back to the sea. We need not dwell on him.

The child, however, still had untamed nature. Seeing that his legs no longer hurt, that the torn flesh on his backside was not torn, and that his head had been tied into three knots, he seized his long spear and pointed it at the Bodhisattva.

"Where is the true power that subdued me? It was only a fake disguise trick. I will not accept any precepts. Taste my spear!"

He thrust straight at the Bodhisattva's face.

Wukong was so angry that he raised his iron staff and wanted to strike him at once.

The Bodhisattva only said, "Do not strike. I have my own way of punishing him."

Then she took a gold circlet from her sleeve and said, "This treasure was given to me by the Buddha Tathagata when I went east to seek the scripture seekers. It was one of three circlets, gold, tightening, and restricting. The tightening circlet was given first to you; the restricting circlet was used on the mountain guardian deity; this gold circlet I had not yet been willing to give anyone. But now that I see this creature's rude conduct, I will give it to him."

The Bodhisattva was excellent indeed. She turned the circlet once in the wind and cried, "Change!"

At once it changed into five circlets, which she flung onto the child's body and shouted, "Set!"

One circlet fitted on the top of his head, two on his left and right hands, and two on his left and right feet.

The Bodhisattva said, "Wukong, stand aside and let me recite the gold-circlet spell."

Wukong grew alarmed.

"Bodhisattva, I invited you here to subdue the demon, so why are you reciting a spell on me?"

The Bodhisattva said, "This spell is not the tightening spell. It is the gold-circlet spell for him."

Wukong felt relieved at once and stayed close by, listening to her chant.

The Bodhisattva pinched a hand-sign and silently recited it several times. The demon then scratched his ears, rubbed his face, gathered his hands and feet, and rolled about in pain.

Thus it is said:

One spell can pass through all the sands of the world;
the vast and boundless power of Dharma runs deep.

But how the child at last came to take refuge, that must wait for the next chapter.