“Please don't squeeze that monk's head, Your Honour. When we robbed the Kou house last night I was the one who lit the torches, carried the sword, stole the goods and killed the man. I was the ringleader. If you want to torture anyone, torture me. It's nothing to do with them. The only thing is that you mustn't let me go.”
On hearing this the prefect ordered, “Put the clamp on him first.” The underlings then all fell on Monkey, fixed the clamp on his head, and tightened it so hard that the cord snapped with a twang. The clamp was fastened, tightened and snapped with a twang again. They did this three or four times, and the skin on his head was not even creased.
When they changed the cord and were tightening it again someone was heard coming in to report, “Your Honour, the Lord Assistant Protector Chen from the capital is coming. Will you please come to greet him outside the city?”
The prefect then ordered the head torturer, “Throw the bandits into gaol and keep a good eye on them. The torture and interrogation will continue after I have gone to greet my superior.” The head torturer then marched the Tang Priest and the other three into the gaol. Pig and Friar Sand carried their luggage in with them.
“Disciple,” said Sanzang, “what are we to do?”
“In you go, Master,” said Monkey with a grin, “in you go. There aren't any dogs barking in there. It'll be a lark.” The four of them were then taken inside, and each of them was pushed on a torture rack, to which their bellies, heads and chests were tightly fastened. The warders then started beating them up again.
Finding the agony unbearable, Sanzang called out, “Whatever shall I do, Wukong? Whatever shall I do?”
“They're beating us because they want money,” Brother Monkey replied. “As the saying goes,
Stay put when things are going well;
Spend cash when things are going ill.
They'll stop if you give them some money.”
“But where am I to get money from?” Sanzang asked.
“If you haven't any money,” Monkey replied, “clothes will do. Give them the cassock.”
These words cut Sanzang to the heart, but realizing that the beating was more than he could take he could only say, “Do as you will, Wukong.”
“Gentlemen,” Monkey called out, “there's no need to beat us any more. There's a brocade cassock in one of the two bundles we brought in with us that's worth a fortune. Open them up and take it.” When the warders heard this they all set to together, opening the bundles up to search them. There were some cotton clothes and a document case, but none of these were worth anything. Seeing something glowing brightly inside several layers of oiled paper the warders realized that it must be a treasure. When they shook it open and looked at it, this is what it looked like:
Exquisitely decorated with shining pearls,
Set with some wonderful Buddha treasures.
Embroidered dragons curled around;
Flying phoenixes adorned brocade edges.
As they all struggled to look they disturbed the head gaoler, who came up to them and shouted, “What are you all making this row about?”
Falling to their knees, the warders replied, “His Honour has just started a case against four monks and sent them here. When we roughed them up a bit they gave us these two bundles. After we opened them we saw this, and we don't know how to deal with it. It would be a real pity to tear it up to divide between us, but it would be hard on everyone else if just one of us had it. It's a good thing you've come, sir: you can give us a ruling.” The head gaoler could see that it was a cassock. Then he inspected the other clothes and the document case, and on opening the case to read the passport he saw that it was covered with seals and signatures from many states.
“It's a good thing I saw this in time,” he said. “If I hadn't, you people would have caused bad trouble. These monks aren't robbers. On no account touch their things. When His Honour questions them again tomorrow we'll find out the truth.” The warders then gave the wrapping cloths back to the prisoners, who repacked them and handed them over to the head gaoler for safekeeping.
Evening was slowly drawing in. The drum could be heard from its tower, and the fire wardens began their patrols. By the third mark of the fourth watch Monkey could see that the others had stopped groaning and were fast asleep. “The master was fated to meet with the hardship of a night in gaol,” he thought. “That was why I said nothing in our defense and didn't use my magic powers. But now the fourth watch is nearly over, and his suffering's almost done. I'd better start getting things sorted out if we're to leave this gaol at dawn.”
Just watch as he uses his powers to make himself smaller, get off the rack, shake himself and turn into a midge who flies out of the prison through a gap between the tiles over the eaves. By the light of the stars and the moon in the still, silent night sky, he could see where he was going, and he flew quietly straight towards the gates of the Kou house. On the West side of the road was a house where a lamp was shining brightly, and as he flew closer for a better look he saw that it was a house of beancurd-makers. An old man could be seen looking after the fire while an old woman was squeezing out the bean juice.
“Wife,” the old man suddenly called out, “Mr. Kou had wealth and sons, but he didn't live long. When we were boys we were both at school together. I was five years older than him. His father was called Kou Ming. In those days he had less than 150 acres. He couldn't even collect his overdue rents. Old Kou Ming died when his son was nineteen, and once the young man took charge of the household things went really well. He married the daughter of Zhang Wang-she used to be known as Threadneedle when she was a girl, but she made her husband a rich man. Once she came into his house his crops were good and the debts to him got paid. Whatever he bought showed a profit, and whatever he went in for made money. His family's worth a hundred thousand now. When he reached forty he turned pious and he fed ten thousand monks. Fancy him being kicked to death by robbers last night! Poor man. He was only sixty-four. Who would have thought so good a man would meet with so evil a reward and be murdered just when everything was going well for him? What a pity! What a pity!”
By the time Monkey had listened to all this it was now at the first mark of the fifth watch. He then flew into the Kou house, where a coffin was placed in the main room. A lamp was burning at the head, and around the coffin was incense, candles and fruit. His wife was weeping beside him, and the two sons also came to kowtow and weep, while their wives brought two bowls of rice as an offering. Monkey landed at the head of the coffin and coughed. This gave the two daughters-in-law such a fright that they ran outside waving their arms about.
Kou Liang and his brother lay on the floor, too terrified to move, and crying out, “Oh, father, oh!” Their mother, being bolder, hit the head of the coffin and said, “Have you come back to life, old man?”
“No,” replied Monkey, imitating Mr. Kou's voice, to the great alarm of the two sons, who kept kowtowing, weeping, and repeating, “Oh, Father, oh!”
Their mother summoned up even more courage to ask, “Husband, if you haven't come back to life why are you talking?”
“King Yama has sent demons to bring me here to talk to you,” Monkey replied. “He told me that Threadneedle Zhang had been lying and trying to frame the innocent.”
In her surprise at hearing him call her by the name she had been known as a child, the old woman fell at once to her knees, kowtowed and said, “You're a fine old man! Fancy calling me by my childhood name at this age! What lies have I been telling? Which innocent people have I framed?”