“All you immortals up there in the clouds,
The Dings and the Jias and each god and goddess,
Protect my disciple, whose powers are enormous,
And magic is boundless, the good Sun the Novice.”
When the Great Sage heard this he decided to redouble his efforts. Putting his cloud away he went up to Sanzang and called, “Master, I'm back.”
Sanzang held him as he said, “Wukong, you have been to great trouble. I was very concerned because you had gone so far into these high mountains and not come back for so long a time. How dangerous is the mountain in fact?”
“Master,” Monkey replied with a smile, “that trip just now depended in the first place on the good destiny of all the living beings in the East, secondly on your boundless achievement and great virtue, and thirdly on your disciple's magical powers.” Then he told the whole story of how he had pretended to be a Wind-piercer, been drawn into the jar and escaped.
“Now I've seen your face again, Master, It's like having a second life.”
Sanzang expressed endless thanks then asked, “Did you not fight the evil spirits this time?”
“No, I didn't,” replied Brother Monkey.
“Then you won't be able to escort me safely across this mountain,” Sanzang said, at which Monkey, who hated to admit he was beaten, shouted, “What do you mean, I won't be able to escort you?”
“If you and they have not yet had it out and you can only give me evasive answers I will never dare press ahead,” the venerable elder replied.
“Master,” laughed the Great Sage, “you really don't understand. As the saying goes, you can't spin a thread from a single strand of silk, and you can't clap one-handed. There are three demon chiefs and thousands of the little devils. How could I fight them all single-handed?”
“If you are that outnumbered you would indeed find it hard by yourself,” Sanzang replied. “Pig and Friar Sand also have their talents. I shall tell them to go with you to help you clean up the path across the mountain and escort me over it.”
“What you say is completely right, Master,” replied Monkey with a smile. “Tell Friar Sand to protect you while Pig comes with me.”
“Brother,” said Pig in alarm, “you're a poor judge. I'm rough and I can't do anything much. I'd just get in the way as I walked along. What use would I be to you?”
“You may not be up to much, brother,” Monkey replied, “but you're someone. As the saying goes, even a fart can swell the wind. You'd make me feel a bit braver.”
“All right,” Pig said, “all right. You can take me with you. But don't play any of your tricks on me when the going gets tough.”
“Don't forget that Friar Sand and I will be waiting here,” said Sanzang.
The idiot braced himself and set off a gale with Monkey that carried them by cloud up to the top of the mountain where the entrance to the cave was. They saw at once that the gates were shut tight. There was nobody in sight anywhere around. Monkey went forward, his iron cudgel in his hands, to shout at the top of his voice, “Open up, evil monsters! Come out right now and fight Monkey!” When the young devils in the cave went inside to report the senior demon shook with terror as he commented,
“I've heard tell for years of that monkey's ferocity;
Now I can vouch for the story's veracity.”
“What do you mean, elder brother?” the second demon chief asked.
“When that Sun the Novice first turned himself into a fly to sneak in here none of us realized who he was except our Third Brother, who put him in the jar. He used his skills to drill a hole in the jar, pick up his clothes and get out. Now he's outside challenging us to battle. Who's brave enough to be the first to take him on?” Nobody replied. The senior demon asked again; again there was no response. Everyone was pretending to be deaf and dumb.
“We've got ourselves a lousy reputation in the West already,” the senior demon chief said in fury. “Now that Sun the Novice has treated us with such contempt today our reputation will stand even lower if we don't fight him. I'm going out there to chance my old life on three rounds with him. If I can hold out for those three rounds the Tang Priest will still be a meal in our mouths. If I can't then shut the gates and let them pass.” He then kitted himself out in his armor, had the gates opened and went out. As Monkey and Pig watched from beside the gates they saw that he was a fine monster:
On iron brow and brazen head a precious helmet
With tassels dancing brightly in the wind.
His eyes both flashed as if with lightning,
And ruddy glowed the hair at his temples.
Pointed and sharp were his silvery claws,
And his saw-like teeth were set close and neat.
His armor was golden, without any seam,
Bound with a dragon sash that could foresee the future.
In his hand flashed a cutlass of steel.
Such martial might is rare in the world.
With a voice that roared like thunder he asked,
“Who is that knocking at my gates?”
“Your grandfather, Lord Sun, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven,” said Monkey, turning to face the gate.
“Are you Sun the Novice?” asked the demon with a laugh. “You've got a cheek, ape. I never gave you any trouble, so why are you here challenging me to battle?”
“'No waves come without a wind; without the tide the waters are still,'“ Monkey replied. “Would I have come looking for you if you hadn't given me trouble? The reason why I'm here to fight is because your gang of foxes and dogs is plotting to eat my master.”
“From the way you're acting so fierce and shouting at our gates you must want a fight,” the old demon replied.
“Yes,” Monkey said. “Stop all that ranting and raving then,” said the demon. “It would be most unfair if I brought out my devil soldiers and drew them up in battle order with flags flying and drums beating to fight you as I'm on my own territory. I'll fight you single-handed with no helpers for either side.”
When Monkey heard this he shouted, “Keep out of the way, Pig, and let's see how he copes with me.” The idiot did indeed get out of the way.
“Come over here,” the senior demon shouted, “and be a chopping block for me. Let me hack you three times as hard as I can with sword on your bare head. After that I'll let your Tang Priest pass. If you can't take it then hand your Tang Priest over at once. He'll be a tasty morsel to help our rice down.”
“Bring out a brush and some paper if you have them in your cave and I'll give you a bond. You can hack at me from today till next year, but it'll be nothing to me.”
The old demon then summoned up all his might, took up a stance with his feet apart, lifted his sword with both hands and hacked at the top of the Great Sage's head. The Great Sage raised his head, and though there was a mighty crash his scalp did not even go red.
“That monkey really does have a hard head,” exclaimed the old demon with shock.
“You wouldn't know about it,” said Monkey with a laugh. “I was
Born with a skull of bronze and iron,
Like nobody else's in all the world.
Hammer and axe will never smash me;
I went in Lord Lao Zi's furnace when I was a boy.
The Star Lords of the Four Dippers helped mould me,
The twenty-eight constellations all used their skill.
I've often been soaked in water but never come to harm,
And all over my body the sinews are knotty.
The Tang Priest, fearing I would not stand firm,
Placed a golden band around my head.”
“Cut out that insolence, ape,” the senior demon said, “and take these two blows from my sword. I'm most certainly not going to spare your life.”