Chapter 90: Master and Lion Come into One Accord; Theft and Chan Quiet the Nine-Spirit

Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing came out to the city wall and faced the enemy head-on. The monster band was all made up of mixed-maned lions. The Yellow Lion Spirit led them in front, with the Lion of the Knavish Beast and the Elephant-Rolling Lion on the left, the White-Rare Lion and the Crouching-Leopard Lion on the right, the Rhesus Lion and the Snow Lion behind, and in the center a nine-headed lion. The green-faced demon held a brocade flower banner close beside the nine-headed lion, while Cunning Oddity and Oddity Cunning carried red flags on both sides. They were arrayed in the direction of the Trigram of Water.

Bajie was as reckless as ever. He strode forward and cursed, "You treasure-stealing rogues! Where have you gathered up these furry lumps to come here and make trouble?"

The Yellow Lion Spirit ground his teeth and cursed back, "You bald fiend! Yesterday the three of you fought me alone, and I was beaten back. I let you live. Why have you been so vicious as to burn my cave and ruin my mountain home, killing my people and my kin? My hatred for you is deeper than the sea. Do not run. Taste this shovel."

Good Bajie raised his rake to meet him. The two had only just crossed hands when the Rhesus Lion swung an iron cudgel and the Snow Lion used a three-pronged baton, both coming straight in to strike.

Bajie shouted, "Fine, come on!"

Sha Wujing quickly drew his Demon-Subduing Staff and rushed in to help. Then the Lion of the Knavish Beast, the White-Rare Lion, and the Elephant-Rolling Lion all piled in together. Sun Wukong met the whole swarm with his Golden-Hooped Rod. The Lion of the Knavish Beast used a smothering cudgel, the White-Rare Lion a bronze hammer, the Elephant-Rolling Lion a steel spear, and the Crouching-Leopard Lion an ax.

The seven lion fiends and the three fierce monks fought a savage battle:

The cudgel, hammer, spear, ax, and three-pronged baton were all sharp and fierce;
seven lions and seven weapons encircled the three monks in shouts of war.
The Great Sage's Golden-Hooped Rod was fierce as iron,
and Brother Sha's sacred staff was rare indeed in this world.
Bajie's rake flashed coldly with a dreadful light,
one side guarding, one side striking, all of them bold.
On the wall the Jade Flower princes fanned the wind with drums and gongs,
and the clashing of blows shook the skies and darkened the earth.

The battle raged through half the day. By evening Bajie was spitting sticky froth and his legs had gone weak. He gave a careless swing of the rake and lost the field. The Snow Lion and the Rhesus Lion shouted, "Where are you going? Take this!"

The Foolish One could not dodge in time. They struck his back with the baton, and he fell to the ground crying, "Enough, enough."

The two fiends grabbed him by the mane and tail and dragged him off to the nine-headed lion, reporting, "Grandfather, we have caught one."

Before the words were even finished, Sha Wujing and Sun Wukong were beaten back as well, and the monster crowd came driving after them. Wukong pulled out a handful of hairs, chewed them to bits, spat them out, and cried, "Change!"

At once they became hundreds of little Wukongs, surrounding the White-Rare Lion, the Lion of the Knavish Beast, the Elephant-Rolling Lion, and the Yellow Lion Spirit. Wukong and Sha Wujing pressed in again and struck wildly.

By dusk they had seized the Lion of the Knavish Beast and the White-Rare Lion, while the Elephant-Rolling Lion and the Crouching-Leopard Lion escaped. The Yellow Lion Spirit sent word to the old monster.

The old monster saw that two lions had been lost and ordered, "Tie up Zhu Bajie and do not harm his life. When he returns my two lions, I will return him. If he does not know better and ruins my two lions, then kill Bajie to pay for them."

That night the lion crowd camped outside the city and said no more.

Now then: Wukong took the two lion spirits to the city wall. The old king saw them and immediately ordered the gate opened. He sent two or three dozen officers with ropes to go out, bind the lion fiends, and carry them into the city. Wukong folded away his transformation hairs and went with Sha Wujing straight to the tower, where they met Tripitaka.

Tripitaka said, "This affair is truly dangerous. We do not know whether Wuneng still lives."

Wukong said, "Nothing to fear. We have captured these two fiends, and they will never dare harm him. Bind them tight and wait until morning to exchange them for Bajie."

The three princes came forward and bowed to Wukong. "Master, when you were fighting, you had one body only; then you pretended to lose and went back, but afterward there were suddenly one hundred or more of you. When you seized the fiends and came back near the city, you were again only one body. What sort of power is that?"

Wukong laughed. "I have eighty-four thousand hairs on my body. If I turn one into ten and ten into a hundred, then a hundred into ten thousand and ten thousand into millions, that is the method of my body beyond the body."

The princes bowed to the ground again and again. At once they set out a vegetarian meal, and the company ate there on the tower. Lanterns and banners were set at every battlement, with watch-drums, bells, and gongs, and cannon fire answered from every side.

At dawn the old monster called the Yellow Lion Spirit to make a plan. "Today you must put your heart into taking Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing. I will slip up to the city through the air, seize their master and the king and princes, and carry them back to Nine-Bend Winding Cave. If you succeed, report back at once."

The Yellow Lion Spirit accepted the order and led the Rhesus Lion, Snow Lion, Elephant-Rolling Lion, and Crouching-Leopard Lion to the city wall, where they rolled winds and brewed mist and loudly demanded battle.

Wukong and Sha Wujing sprang out from the wall and cursed, "Thieving fiends! Quickly return Bajie to us and spare your lives. If not, we will smash you all into powder."

The monsters would not listen to reason. They all rushed together. The two brothers used every trick they knew and blocked the five lion fiends.

This battle was even fiercer than the day before:

A wild wind scraped the ground, fierce and raging;
dark black mist covered the sky and thickened.
Stones flew, sand flew, and even spirits and ghosts were afraid;
trees were uprooted, and tigers and wolves were startled.
The steel spear and ax were hard and bright,
and the baton and rake were vicious and poisonous.
They longed to swallow the Great Sage whole
and to seize Brother Sha alive and kicking.
The Great Sage's one rod could roll up and let down as it wished,
and Brother Sha's staff was famed even outside the Hall of Divine Light.
Their skill this time was vast and their power immense,
and in the western region they swept the demons away.

While the five mixed-maned lion fiends were locked in battle with Wukong and Sha Wujing, the old monster rode a black cloud straight up to the city tower. He shook his head once and frightened the civil and military officials and all the city laborers off the wall. Then he rushed into the tower, opened his mouth, and swallowed Tripitaka and the old king together with the king's sons in one gulp. He went down to the Water trigram ground and swallowed Bajie as well. The nine-headed lion had nine mouths, and each mouth could swallow one person.

One mouth swallowed Tripitaka; one mouth swallowed Bajie; one mouth swallowed the old king; one mouth swallowed the first prince; one mouth swallowed the second prince; one mouth swallowed the third prince. He had swallowed six people and still had three mouths left. He cried out, "I am going first!"

The five little lion spirits, seeing that their grandfather had won, grew bolder than before.

Wukong heard the shouting on the city wall and knew at once that the trick had succeeded. He called to Sha Wujing to be careful, then pulled all the hairs from his arms, chewed them to bits, spat them out, and transformed them into hundreds and thousands of little Wukongs. They swarmed forward together.

The Rhesus Lion was dragged down, the Snow Lion was captured alive, the Elephant-Rolling Lion was seized, the Crouching-Leopard Lion was overturned, and the Yellow Lion Spirit was beaten to death. They roared their way back down to the prefectural city.

The green-faced demon and Cunning Oddity and Oddity Cunning had all escaped. When the city officials saw this, they opened the gate once more, used ropes to bind the five lion spirits, and carried them back into the city.

Before any punishment could be handed down, the queen came out weeping and bowed to Wukong. "Holy master, our prince, father and sons, and your master have all lost their lives. How is this lonely city to be saved?"

Wukong folded away his transformation hairs and bowed to the queen. "Your Majesty, do not grieve. I captured those seven lion spirits, and then the old monster used his magical taking spell and carried off my master and the prince and his sons. I judge that they are not yet harmed. Tomorrow at dawn my brother and I will go to Bamboo-Joint Mountain and be sure to catch that old monster. Then I will return your four princes to you."

The queen and the women around her, hearing this, all knelt to Wukong and said, "We beg Your Highness to preserve the king and his sons, and may our realm remain firm and secure."

When the bowing was done, each of them returned to the palace with tears in their eyes.

Wukong told the officials, "Skin the Yellow Lion Spirit that was slain, and bind the six living lion fiends tightly. Bring us some vegetarian food. We will eat and sleep. Do not worry. I guarantee that nothing will happen to you."

The next day the Great Sage led Sha Wujing, rode the lucky cloud, and soon arrived at the top of Bamboo-Joint Mountain. He steadied the cloud and looked down. What a fine mountain it was:

Peaks stood abrupt and strange, and the ridges were steep and broken. In the deep ravines water ran murmuring, and on the sheer cliffs brocade-like flowers gave off their scent. The winding ridges overlapped layer upon layer, and the old roads curved around and around. Truly, cranes had pines for companions, and clouds went and had no rocks to rest upon. Dark monkeys searched for fruit in the bright sun, and deer looked for flowers in the warmth of day. Azure birds cried in a thin, clear voice, and yellow birds answered in a soft and lingering call. In spring, peaches and plums vied in beauty; in summer, willows and pagodas-trees grew thick. When autumn came, yellow blossoms spread like brocade; when winter came, white snow flew like cotton. In all four seasons and all eight festivals the scenery was fine, no less wonderful than the immortal isles of Penglai.

The two of them were admiring the view on the mountain top when they suddenly saw the green-faced demon come running out from the cliff hollow with a short staff in his hand. Wukong shouted, "Where are you going? Old Sun is here."

The little demon was so frightened that he tumbled and rolled down into the ravine. The two of them chased after him but could not find a trace. A few steps farther on, they found a cave with two great stone doors blotched like flowers, shut fast. Above the lintel was set a stone tablet carved in regular script with ten large characters: Bamboo-Joint Mountain, Nine-Bend Winding Cave.

The little demon had run inside and shut the door. He went to the middle and reported to the old monster, "Grandfather, two more monks are outside."

The old monster said, "Have your king and the Rhesus Lion, Snow Lion, Elephant-Rolling Lion, and Crouching-Leopard Lion returned yet?"

The little demon said, "I have not seen them. Only two monks are standing on the mountain peak, looking around. When I saw them turn back, I ran, and they came after me. I shut the gate and came in."

The old monster lowered his head and said nothing for a long while. Then tears dropped from his eyes. "Sorrowful, sorrowful! My Yellow Lion grandson is dead, and the Rhesus Lion and the others have all been seized and carried into the city by those monks. How am I to repay this hatred?"

Bajie was tied off to the side together with the king and his sons and Tripitaka, all of them huddled together in misery. When he heard the old monster say that his grandsons had been carried into the city by monks, he thought secretly, "Master need not fear, and Your Highness need not worry. My senior brother has won. He has captured the fiends and has now come here to rescue us."

As soon as he had said that, he heard the old monster call, "Little ones, keep a good guard here. I am going out to capture those two monks and punish them once for all."

Look at him: he wore no armor, held no weapon, and strode boldly to the front. All he could hear was Sun Wukong shouting and urging. He flung open the cave gate and came out without answering. Wukong met him with his iron rod and blocked his first strike.

Sha Wujing swung his precious staff and struck as well. The old monster shook his head, and all eight heads to the left and right opened their mouths together, lightly taking both Wukong and Sha Wujing up and carrying them back into the cave. "Bring ropes!"

The little demons Cunning Oddity, Oddity Cunning, and the green-faced one were the very ones who had escaped the night before. They brought two ropes and tied the two of them tightly.

The old monster asked, "You filthy monkey, you captured my seven grandsons. Now I have captured four monks and four princes. That is enough to repay my grandsons' lives. Little ones, fetch willow rods and bamboo switches. Beat this monkey first and let me avenge my Yellow Lion grandson."

The three little demons each took willow switches and beat Wukong. The Great Sage's body had already been refined and tempered, so those switches only tickled him. He did not make a sound and let them strike as they pleased, barely caring at all. Bajie, Tripitaka, and the princes watched and were all shaken to the marrow.

After a while the switches broke. They kept beating until evening and could not count the strokes. Sha Wujing saw how long it had gone on and said it was too much. "Let me take a hundred or so strokes in his place."

The old monster said, "Do not rush. Tomorrow it will be your turn. We will beat you one by one."

Bajie was anxious too. "The day after tomorrow it will be this old pig's turn."

As the beating went on, the sky slowly darkened. The old monster cried, "Little ones, stop for now. Light the lamps and give me something to eat. I will go to the embroidered cloud nest and lie down a while. You three have all suffered injury before, so keep a careful watch. Tomorrow morning we will beat them again."

The three little demons moved the lamps over and used the willow switches to strike Wukong on the crown of the head, as if they were beating a clapper. Their hands went fast and slow, fast and slow, until the night deepened and they all dozed off.

Wukong then used a method of escape, shrinking his body to wriggle free of the ropes. He shook himself, arranged his clothes, and took the rod from his ear. It flashed into being as thick as a bucket and about two zhang long. He pointed it at the three little demons and said, "You miserable brutes, you have beaten your grandmaster so many times. Grandmaster is still the same old grandmaster, and now let me give you a little of this rod. See how it feels."

He gave each of the three little demons a light strike, and each one was smashed into a meat cake. Then he lit the lamps again and freed Sha Wujing. Bajie was still tightly bound and could not help shouting, "Brother, my hands and feet are swollen from the ropes. Why do you not let me loose first?"

The Foolish One shouted once, and the old monster was at once startled awake.

The monster rolled up and cried, "Who has untied them?"

When Wukong heard that, he blew out the lamp and did not even wait for Sha Wujing and the others. He smashed through several layers of doors with the iron rod and fled.

The old monster went to the main chamber and shouted, "Little ones, why has the light gone out? Has someone run off?"

He called once, but no one answered. He called again, and still no one answered. When he brought a lamp and looked, he saw three bloody meat cakes on the ground, while the old king, his sons, Tripitaka, and Bajie were still there. Only Wukong and Sha Wujing were gone.

He lit more fire and searched front and back. He found that Sha Wujing was still standing with his back against the corridor. The monster grabbed him, flung him down, and bound him just as before. He then looked for Wukong, but only saw that several layers of doors had all been smashed through. He knew Wukong had broken out and gone. He did not bother to pursue him. Instead he had the broken doors patched and blocked, and stayed there guarding his cave. We need not speak of that further.

Now then: the Great Sage escaped Nine-Bend Winding Cave, rode his auspicious cloud, and returned straight to Jade Flower Prefecture. There he saw the local earth gods, city gods, and all the land spirits of the city waiting in the air to pay respect.

Wukong said, "Why are you only now appearing?"

The city god said, "We lesser spirits knew the Great Sage had descended to Jade Flower Prefecture. Because the king was kindly entertaining you, we did not dare show ourselves. Now that we know the king and his household have met the monster and the Great Sage has subdued him, we have come specially to welcome you."

While Wukong was still scolding them, he saw the Guarding Deity and the Six Ding and Six Jia gods arrive, escorting an earth spirit to kneel before him.

"Great Sage," they said, "we have caught this ground spirit."

Wukong shouted, "Why are you making a racket here instead of guarding my master on Bamboo-Joint Mountain?"

The gods said, "Great Sage, when that monster escaped from you, he recaptured the Curtain-Lifting General and bound him again. We saw that his magic powers were immense, so we brought the Bamboo-Joint Mountain earth spirit here. He knows the monster's origin. Please ask him, and then the matter can be settled and the holy monk and the king rescued from their misery."

Wukong was delighted to hear it.

The earth spirit trembled and knocked his head on the ground. "That old monster came down to Bamboo-Joint Mountain two years ago. Nine-Bend Winding Cave was originally a den of six lions. After the old monster came there, those six lions all bowed to him as their grandfather. That grandfather is a nine-headed lion called the Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage. If you want to subdue him, you must go to the East Extreme Wonderful Rock Palace and invite his true master. No one else can take him. No one else can capture him."

Wukong thought for a long while. "The East Extreme Wonderful Rock Palace - that is Taiyi, the Heavenly Worthy of Salvation from Suffering. On his seat is exactly a nine-headed lion. So that is the answer."

He told the Guarding Deity and the Gold Armor gods to return with the earth spirit and secretly guard his master, his junior brothers, and the king and his sons. The city gods were ordered to guard the city.

The gods all obeyed and withdrew.

The Great Sage rode his somersault cloud and traveled through the night. By about the hour of the Tiger he reached the outer gate of the Eastern Heaven, where he ran into the Broad-Eyes Heavenly King and the heavenly soldiers and strongmen in a full escort.

All of them stopped and greeted him with joined hands. "Great Sage, where are you going?"

Wukong returned the salute and said, "I am going to the East Extreme Wonderful Rock Palace for a visit."

The Heavenly King said, "Why do you leave the road west and come east instead?"

Wukong said, "When I reached Jade Flower Prefecture, the king received us kindly and had his three sons take my brothers and me as masters to learn martial arts. We had our three sacred weapons copied and forged in the proper shapes. But that night thieves stole them away. When we searched at dawn, we found that a golden-maned lion spirit from Tiger-Mouth Cave north of the city had stolen them.

I used a plan to get them back, and that fiend gathered a whole crowd of lion fiends to make trouble with me.

Among them was a nine-headed lion with great powers. He swallowed my master, the two brothers, and the king and princes, and carried them off to Nine-Bend Winding Cave on Bamboo-Joint Mountain. The next day I and Sha Wujing followed him and were swallowed too. I was beaten there countless times, but luckily I worked my spell and got away. They are still suffering there. When I asked the local earth spirit, I learned that the Heavenly Worthy is their master. So I have specially come to invite him to subdue the fiend and rescue my master."

The Heavenly Worthy heard this and immediately ordered his attendants to bring out the lion servant for questioning.

The lion servant had been sound asleep, and only after the attendants pushed and shook him did he wake. They dragged him to the main hall. The Heavenly Worthy asked, "Where is your lion beast?"

The servant knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face. He only begged, "Spare my life, spare my life."

The Heavenly Worthy said, "The Great Sage is here, so I will not beat you for now. Quickly say why you were careless and let the nine-headed lion run off."

The lion servant said, "My lord, two days ago I saw a jar of wine in the Great Hall of Nectar. I do not know who took it out and drank it, but I grew drunk and fell asleep. Because of that I loosened the rope and let the lion run off."

The Heavenly Worthy said, "That wine was sent by Laozi, and it is called Wheel-Circling Jade Liquid. If you drank it, it is no wonder you slept for three days and did not wake. How long has that lion beast been gone?"

Wukong said, "By the earth spirit's account, he came down two years ago and has been there ever since."

The Heavenly Worthy laughed. "So it is, so it is. One day in Heaven is one year in the mortal world."

He called to the lion servant, "Get up. I will spare your death sentence. Follow me and the Great Sage down below to bring him back. You all may return; there is no need to follow."

The Heavenly Worthy then went with Wukong and the lion servant, stepping on clouds straight to Bamboo-Joint Mountain. There the Guarding Deities, Six Ding and Six Jia, and the local earth spirit all came out kneeling to receive them.

Wukong asked, "You all have been guarding them. Have my master and the others been harmed?"

The gods said, "That monster was only annoyed and went to sleep. He has not used any punishment at all."

The Heavenly Worthy said, "My little nine-headed beast is an old and well-cultivated true spirit. When he calls out, the sound reaches the three holy realms above and the nine springs below. He does not lightly harm the living. Great Sage, go to his gate and challenge him. Draw him out, and I will catch him."

Wukong heard this and at once drew his rod and leaped to the cave mouth. He cursed loudly, "You filthy monster, return my people. You filthy monster, return my people."

He shouted several times, but the old monster was asleep and gave no answer. Wukong grew impatient, swung his iron rod, and fought his way into the cave while keeping up his curses. The old monster was startled awake at last and flew into a rage. He rolled up, cried, "To battle!" and shook his head, opening his mouth to seize.

Wukong turned and leaped out. The monster chased him to the outside and cursed, "Thieving monkey, where are you going?"

Wukong stood on a high crag and laughed. "You still dare be this bold and rude? You do not even know whether you are dead or alive. Is this not your lord and master right here?"

The monster chased him to the cliff edge, and at once the Heavenly Worthy spoke a spell and cried, "Little Nine-Spirit, I have come."

The monster recognized his master and dared not struggle. All four of his feet lay flat on the ground, and he only kept knocking his head.

The lion servant ran over, grabbed the hair at his neck, and beat him on the neck with his fist more than a hundred times while cursing, "You brute, how could you run off and make me suffer?"

The lion beast dared not move or open his mouth.

When the lion servant had tired out his hand, he finally stopped, then fitted the brocade saddle on him. The Heavenly Worthy mounted him and called, and he leaped up on colored clouds, riding straight back to the East Extreme Wonderful Rock Palace.

Wukong bowed to the empty sky in thanks, then went into the cave and first freed the Jade Flower King, then Tripitaka, then Bajie, Sha Wujing, and the three princes. He searched the cave and gathered up all the goods inside, then led the whole company out the cave gate.

Bajie took up a great deal of dry wood, piled it up front and back, and set the whole cave burning. In an instant Nine-Bend Winding Cave was turned into a heap of blackened tiles and ashes.

Wukong then dismissed the heavenly gods and told the earth spirit to remain there as a guard. He ordered Bajie and Sha Wujing to each use their powers to carry the king and his sons back to the prefectural city. Wukong supported Tripitaka himself.

Before long they reached the city. Evening was falling, and the queen and all the officials came out to greet them. They set out a vegetarian banquet and sat together to eat. Tripitaka and the disciples stayed the night in the screened pavilion.

The princes went back to the palace and slept there. We need not speak further of that night.

The next day the king issued another command and opened a grand vegetarian banquet. All the civil and military officials of the court gave thanks in turn.

Wukong also called the butcher and had the six living lion fiends killed. He had the Yellow Lion Spirit skinned as well, and prepared the meat for use.

The prince was overjoyed and ordered that one lion be left for use in the palace and among the officers, one be divided among the palace secretaries and other officials, and the other five be chopped into one- and two-tael pieces and sent by officers to the soldiers and common people inside and outside the city, so that everyone might taste a little. First, they would know what it tasted like; second, they would calm the shock of fear. There was not a household in the city that did not come to look on.

Then they saw that the blacksmiths had completed the three sacred weapons. They knelt before Wukong and said, "Grandfather, our work is finished."

Wukong asked, "How much does each one weigh?"

The smiths said, "The Golden-Hooped Rod weighs one thousand catties, and the rake and the staff weigh eight hundred catties each."

Wukong said, "Very well."

He called the three princes out, and each of them held one weapon. The princes said to the king, "Father, the weapons are finished today."

The king said, "Because of these weapons, my father and sons nearly lost their lives."

The youngest prince said, "Thanks to the holy master's magic, we were rescued, and the evil fiends have now been swept away. This is truly a world where the seas are calm and the rivers clear, a realm of peace."

The king and his sons rewarded and thanked the craftsmen, then went to the screened pavilion again to pay their respects and thank their teachers.

Tripitaka again told Wukong and the others to quickly teach the martial arts and not delay the journey.

So the three of them each swung the weapons and taught the prince's household in the palace courtyard. After only a few days the three princes had all learned the drills to perfection. As for the rest of the techniques, the methods of attack and retreat, the quick and the slow, there were seventy-two forms in all, and they learned them all.

On the one hand, the princes had firm hearts; on the other, they had already been given divine strength by Sun Wukong. That is why they could lift and wield the thousand-cattie rod and the eight-hundred-cattie rake and staff. Compared with their first attempts at martial arts, it was truly the difference between heaven and earth. There is a poem to prove it:

Through fortunate celebration they met a divine master,
and learned martial arts, never expecting to rouse lion demons.
They swept away the evil host and secured the state,
and with one mind returned to the true unity.
The Nine-Spirit came to understand the primordial Way,
while the four sides learned the fruit of the Dao.
Teacher and disciple shared a single clear heart, leaving ten thousand ages behind;
Jade Flower would forever know joy and peace.

The princes then opened another great banquet to thank their teachers. They also brought out a large tray of gold and silver to show their gratitude.

Wukong laughed. "Quickly take it back inside, quickly take it back inside. What use is it to us, monks, to have such things?"

Bajie said from the side, "Gold and silver are truly not something we dare accept. Only, my clothes were torn by those lion fiends. If you would give us new robes instead, that would be a fine kindness."

The prince at once summoned the tailors, who made three sets of robes from blue brocade, red brocade, and tea-brown brocade according to the patterns given. The three of them gladly accepted the garments, changed into their brocade cassocks, and packed up for the road.

Inside and outside the city, young and old alike said that not one of them looked less than an arhat come down to earth or a living Buddha descended to the world. The sound of drums and music filled the streets, and banners covered the road. It was just as the saying goes: every household burned incense at the gate, and every door displayed colored lanterns.

Only after traveling a great distance did the four pilgrims finally leave the city and go west again. With that, they had shaken off the lion fiends and set their hearts on the true fruit. Truly:

Without fear and worry they entered the Buddha realm;
with sincerity and devotion they climbed toward Thunderclap Monastery.

As for how far they still had to go before reaching Lingshan, and when they would arrive, listen to the next chapter for the explanation.