“Do you mean Zhang Daoling the Taoist pope?” Monkey asked.
“Yes,” the demon king replied. “What did he say to you?” Monkey asked.
“Seeing that your son is complete in all his organs and that the spacing between my forehead, nose and chin is auspiciously even,” the demon king replied, “he asked me the hour, day, month and year of my birth. Your child is too young to remember all that properly. Master Zhang is a brilliant astrologer, and he offered to cast my horoscope. That is what I wanted to inquire about, Your Majesty, so that I can ask him to cast my horoscope next time I meet him.”
This made Monkey chuckle to himself: “What a magnificent demon. I've captured quite a few since I became a Buddhist and started escorting the Tang Priest on this journey, but none of them was as sharp as this one. He's asking me all trivial family details, and I'll just have to fake up my answers. How could I possibly know when he was born?” The splendid Monkey King was extremely crafty.
He continued to sit in majesty in the central position, showing not a trace of fear as he replied with his face wreathed in smiles, “Please get up, dear boy. I'm getting so old now that nothing goes the way I want it to any more. I can't remember just now exactly when you were born. I'll ask your mother when I go home tomorrow.”
“But Your Majesty is always reeling off the details of my birth-time,” the demon king said, “and telling me I'll live as long as Heaven. You can't have forgotten now. It's outrageous. You're a fake.” He then hummed the signal and all the demons rushed on Monkey and stabbed at him with their swords and spears.
The Great Sage parried their thrusts with his cudgel, went back to looking like himself again, and said to the evil spirit, “You're the outrageous one, dear boy. It can't possibly be right for a son to attack his own father.” The demon king was so overwhelmed with shame that he dared not return Monkey's look. Brother Monkey then turned into a golden glow and left the cave.
“Your Majesty, Sun the Novice has gone,” the little devils reported.
“Oh well, that's that,” said the demon king. “Good riddance. He beat me this time. Shut the gates and say nothing to him. Let's clean, cook and eat the Tang Priest.”
Laughing aloud as he brandished his cudgel, Monkey went back across the ravine. Hearing this, Friar Sand hurried out of the woods to say to him, “Brother, you've been ages. Why are you laughing? I hope it's because you've rescued the master.”
“No, brother,” Monkey replied. “But although I haven't rescued him yet, I won this time.”
“How?” Friar Sand asked.
“The fiend disguised himself as Guanyin to lure Pig back here and hang him up in a leather bag. I was just trying to work out how to rescue Pig when the demon sent his six so-called warriors to invite the Old King to a meal of the master's flesh. I reckoned that the Old King was bound to be the Bull Demon King, so I turned myself into his double, went inside, and took the place of honour. He called me 'Your Majesty' and 'father,' and I replied; and when he kowtowed I sat up straight. It was lovely. I really did win.”
“But while you've been scoring easy points the master's life is in terrible danger,” said Friar Sand.
“Don't worry about it,” said Monkey. “I'm off to ask the Bodhisattva here.”
“But your back's still aching,” said Friar Sand.
“Now it isn't,” said Monkey. “As the old saying goes, when things go well they raise the spirits. Look after the horse and the luggage. I'm off.”
“You've made such an enemy of him,” said Friar Sand, “that I'm scared he'll murder the master. Be as quick as you can.”
“I'll be quick,” said Monkey. “I'll be back in the time it takes to eat a meal.”
Even as he was still speaking, the splendid Great Sage left Friar Sand and set off on the somersault cloud that took him straight towards the Southern Ocean. He had been flying for less than an hour when Potaraka Island came into view. He landed his cloud in an instant and went straight to Raka Crag, where the twenty-four devas asked him as he walked solemnly towards them, “Great Sage, where are you going?”
After Monkey had exchanged courtesies with them he replied, “I would like to see the Bodhisattva.”
“Please wait for a moment while we report to her,” the devas said. Hariti and the other devas went to the entrance of the Tide Cave to report, “Bodhisattva, Sun Wukong has come for an audience.” The Bodhisattva asked for him to be brought in.
The Great Sage tidied his clothes and obediently walked inside at a respectful pace. When he saw the Bodhisattva he prostrated himself before her. “Wukong,” she said, “why are you here instead of taking Master Golden Cicada to the West to fetch the scriptures?”
“Bodhisattva,” Monkey replied, “your disciple humbly reports that while escorting the Tang Priest on his journey he has reached the Fire-cloud Cave in the Withered Pine Ravine on Mount Hao. An evil spirit called the Red Boy whose title is Sage Boy King has snatched my master. I and Pig found our way to his gates and fought him, but he started a True Samadhi Fire. This makes it impossible for us to beat him and rescue the master. I hurried to the Eastern Sea and asked the dragon kings of the four seas to make rain, but it couldn't control the flames, and I was badly hurt by the smoke, which all but killed me.”
“Why did you send for the dragon kings and not for me,” the Bodhisattva asked, “if he has True Samadhi Fire and such great powers?”
“I wanted to come,” Monkey replied, “but I'd been so badly affected by the smoke that I couldn't ride a cloud. I sent Pig to come and ask you for help instead.”
“But he has not been here,” the Bodhisattva replied.
“That's just it,” said Monkey. “Before Pig reached this island the evil spirit turned himself into your double, Bodhisattva, lured him into the cave, and has now hung him up in a leather bag ready to be steamed and eaten.”
When the Bodhisattva heard this she said in a furious rage, “How dare that vicious demon turn himself into my double!” With a roar of anger she flung her precious pure vase into the sea. Monkey was so horrified that his hair stood on end. He rose to his feet, stood below the Bodhisattva's throne, and said, “If the Bodhisattva does not control her temper I'll be blamed for talking out of turn and ruining her conduct. This is terrible. You've thrown your vase away. Had I known you could have done me a big favour and given it to me.”
Before the words were all out of his mouth the waves of the sea started to dance and the vase emerged from them. It was being carried on the back of a monster. When Brother Monkey took a good look at the monster he saw what it was like:
Where he comes from he is known as Mud-carrier,
Shining in splendor alone beneath the sea,
Knowing Heaven and earth from his ancient obscurity,
And the ways of ghosts and gods from his peaceful hiding-place.
When concealed he withdraws his head and his tail,
But his legs can make him swim as fast as flying.
On him King Wen drew trigram and Zeng Yuan cast omens;
He always was offered at the court of Fu Xi.
All beauty is revealed by this primal dragon,
Calling up the breakers and making the waves.
Threads of gold sew his carapace together,
And brindling gives the color to the tortoise-shell.
Its back carries the Eight Trigram Ninefold Palace;
Scattered splendor flecks his coat of green.
The dragon king admires him for his courage when alive;
He carries the tablet of Lord Buddha after death.
If you want to know what this creature is called,
He is the wicked tortoise who causes wind and waves.