Journey to the West – Chapter 6.2

That prince! Wheeling his iron batons, he straightened his clothing and jumped through the gate with a shout of “Which one of you is the Great Sage Equaling Heaven?” The Great Sage raised his Will-Abiding Staff and called back, “That would be Old Sun! Who are you that dares challenge me?” Muzha replied, “I am the second son of Lord Li, Prince Muzha, disciple to the Bodhisattva Guanyin, now called Hui An.” The Great Sage said, “Why are you here looking for me instead of cultivating yourself at the South Sea?” Muzha replied, “I² have been sent by my master to assess the military situation. After seeing you run rampant in this way, I have come to capture you especially!” The Great Sage said, “What big talk! Don’t go anywhere then and have a taste of my staff!” Muzha didn’t fear this in the least, and like lightning met the staff with his iron rod. These two met in battle halfway up the mountain, outside the military encampment. 

Though rod fought rod they were not the same steel. Though soldiers fought soldiers they were not the same men.³ One the errant immortal called Great Sage, the other the righteous disciple of Guanyin. The iron rods that a thousand times have struck, made by the power of twelve heavenly gods.⁴ The Will Abiding Staff was the Sky River’s⁵ rein, the ocean’s treasure with its own great power. The two met a true match in the other, testing countless skills against each other. The one’s batons were incredibly fierce, jabbing about the waist swiftly as the wind; the other’s spear-like staff never relaxed, parrying right and left exactly in rhythm. On the one side banners flashed, on the other side war chimes⁶ tolled. Ten thousand heavenly general surrounded the melee, a caveful of yao monkeys crowded around. Strange mist crept across the underworld, hostile smoke filled the palaces of heaven. The previous morning’s battle was something to behold, this morning’s battle was still more vicious. But the Monkey King in the end was truly skilled, and Muzha turned and fled, defeated.

These two didn’t dare tarry, they rushed past the cosmic net and mounted their flying clouds. They went directly to Tongming Palace, saw the four celestial masters, who led them to Lingxiao Palace to present the report. Hui An presented himself before his Bodhisattva master. The Bodhisattva said: “What was the result of your investigation?” Hui An replied, “I went to Huaguo Mountain as ordered, entered the layers of cosmic net, saw my father, and conveyed my master’s will. My lord father said, ‘Yesterday we battled that monkey king and captured only those tigers, leopards, lions, elephants and such, but did not capture a single monkey demon. As we were talking, he came with a challenge and your disciple battled with him sixty rounds with the iron rod. I could not defeat him and retreated to the camp. Father then sent the Strong Demon King and this disciple up to heaven for aid.” The Bodhisattva considered this carefully.

The Jade Emperor read the report, saw the call for additional troops, and laughed: “How ridiculous! How powerful can this monkey be that he can defeat a hundred thousand troops? Lord Li is again calling for aid, but who can we send to aid him?” Before he finished speaking, Guanyin pressed her hands together to speak: “Take comfort, your majesty. This humble monk would like to suggest an immortal who could capture this monkey.” The jade emperor said, “Which immortal would that be?” The Bodhisattva said, “Your majesty’s nephew, Immortal Master Erlang, currently residing at the mouth of the Guan River, enjoying the fragrant incense from below. In the past he has captured six demons and has under his command the Plum Mountain Brothers⁷ and one thousand two hundred irregular infantry,⁸ all with great power. His only fault is that he obeys military summons and ignores proclamations. Your majesty could issue a military decree to ask for his aid and capture this monkey.” The Jade Emperor immediately issued a military decree and sent the Strong Demon King to deliver the message.

The Demon King took his orders, ascended his cloud and traveled to the Guan River mouth. Within half an hour he had entered the Immortal Master’s temple. A devil guarding the door brought the message inside, saying, “A messenger from Heaven is outside with an imperial decree.” Erlang immediately went out with his brothers to greet the messenger and receive the decree. It said: 

“A yao monkey of Huaguo Mountain, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, has wreaked chaos. Because he has, from the imperial palace, stolen peaches, stolen wine, stolen immortality pearls, and laid waste to the Immortal Peach Festival, a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and eighteen sets of cosmic net have been sent to lay siege to the mountain to capture said demon. However, they have not triumphed. Therefore, we have come specially to ask our nephew and his righteous brethren to go to Huaguo Mountain and aid in the capture and elimination of this criminal. We will greatly reward your success.” 

The Immortal Master gladly replied, “Messenger, please return. I shall go lend my aid immediately.” 

We shall speak no more of the Demon King’s return to heaven. 

The General immediately assembled the Plum Mountain brothers – Officers Kang, Zhang, Yao, and Li, and Generals Guo Shen and Zhi Jian in front of the palace and said, “Just now the Jade Emperor summoned us to go to Huaguo Mountain to subdue a yao monkey. Let us go and return quickly.” The brothers were happy to comply. They gathered their troops, hooded their eagles and leashed their dogs, strung their bows and crossbows, and with a violent wind, arrived at Huaguo Mountain. They reached the layers upon layers of cosmic net and could not proceed. 

“Those soldiers guarding the cosmic net, listen well! I am Immortal Master Erlang, commanded by the Jade Emperor to come capture the yao monkey. Open the gate!” Erlang called.

After a time, all of the immortals had passed through the net. The Four Heavenly Kings and Lord Li came out to greet the newcomers. After the welcome, Erlang inquired about the situation, and the Heavenly Kings recounted all that had happened.

Erlang smiled. “Now that this lowly immortal⁹ has come, we shall fight using transformations. Do not cover the mountaintop with the cosmic net, but only surround the four directions tightly, and let me fight. If I lose, do not sent the army to help; my brothers will assist me. If I win, do not send the army to bind him; my brothers will do it. I would only like Lord Li to bring the demon-revealing mirror and stand guard in the sky. I am afraid that when he is defeated and tries to flee, I will need it to recognize him and not let him get away.” 

The Heavenly Kings went in the four directions; the heavenly soldiers stood at attention in their ranks. The Immortal Master led the four Officers and two Generals, altogether seven brothers, out of the camp into battle. He instructed his soldiers¹⁰ to guard the camp well and to ready the falcons and dogs. The irregulars received their orders, and Erlang went to Shuilian Cave. He saw the monkeys arrayed there in battle formation, row by row. In the middle of them stood a flag that had written “Great Sage Equaling Heaven.” 

To be continued…

^{1 lit. This untalented one ↩}

^{2 When speaking to someone not his superior, Muzha uses the pronoun 我/I instead of a self-demeaning title ↩}

^{3 Yay parallel sentence structure that survives translation! ↩}

^{4 The text says it was made by the gods of Ding and Jia, 6 of each. ↩}

^{5 Milky Way ↩}

^{6 The word is 鼎, usually a bronze caldron for cooking and sacrifices, but Dr. Yu and I both think it refers to a chime or drum. ↩}

^{7 Not actually related ↩}

^{8 The text says grass-headed immortals, but this seems to be a reference to the fact that these soldiers are not employed by heaven, but rather are irregulars. ↩}

^{9 Referring to himself ↩}

^{10 the grass-headed ones ↩}