The king was impressed when he saw that Sun Wukong could summon the dragon and use holy powers, and decided to hand the Tang Monk the passports with the imperial seal, so that they could go to the Western Paradise without any problems. But at that moment, the three Taoist priests were so scared that they immediately fell to their knees in the throne hall and complained to the emperor. The king looked confused and hurriedly asked from his dragon throne, ‘What's going on here?’ The Taoist priests hurriedly said, ‘Your Majesty, we have worked hard for twenty years. Today, this monk has used his magical powers to ruin our reputation. You are only going to let us off the hook for murder with a rainstorm? This is too light a punishment! We hope that Your Majesty will keep his pass so that we can gamble with him again!’ The king was confused and asked questions here and there, but in the end, he accepted the pass.
The Taoist priests began to plan. The Great Sage Tiger Power said, ‘I'll bet with him in meditation.’ The king frowned as soon as he heard this: ‘What are you doing? That monk comes from a Zen background, and he's definitely better at meditation than you!’ The Great Sage said, ‘My meditation is different. I'll use a hundred tables to build a ladder to show the divine.’ The king was even more confused when he heard this: ‘What's a ladder to show the divine?’ The immortal explained: ‘Fifty tables will be used to build a meditation platform, and everyone will have to sit on it without moving.’ The king found this a bit difficult, so he issued an imperial decree and asked, ‘Monk, can you do this?’
After hearing this, Sun Wukong pondered for a long time without saying a word. Pigsy was impatient and said, “Brother, why don't you say something?” Sun Wukong sighed and said, ’Brother, I can do anything, I'm not afraid of upsetting the world, overturning the seas, moving mountains or chasing the moon, but I really don't have a clue about meditation. If you tie me to a pillar, I won't be able to sit still.’ At this point, Tripitaka suddenly spoke up: “I know how to meditate.” The monk was delighted to hear this: “Great! How long can you sit for?” Tripitaka said: “I learned from a Zen monk when I was a child, and I can sit for two or three years.” The monk was anxious: ’Master, if you have to sit for that long, we won't be able to get the sutras!
When the king heard this, he immediately ordered the setting up of a meditation platform. In less than half an hour, two platforms were erected around the Hall of Supreme Glory. The Great Immortal Tiger Power stepped down from the hall, stepped onto the clouds, and sat on the western platform. The monk, on the other hand, conjured up a five-coloured auspicious cloud and sent the monk to the eastern platform, while he himself turned into a cockroach and flew to Pigsy's ear and said, ‘Brother, keep an eye on the master and don't talk to me!’ Pigsy giggled, ‘I know, I know!’
At this point, the immortal Lu Li looked at the stage for a long time, feeling that the outcome was too close to call. So he pulled out a hair, turned it into a big stink bug, and bit Tang Monk. Tang Monk first felt an itch, and then the pain got worse and worse, so he couldn't help but start rubbing it with his clothes. When Pigsy saw this, he panicked, ‘Oh no! Master is having a fit!’ Sha Monk interrupted, ‘No, it's a headache.’
The monk heard this and was unhappy: ‘My master is a sincere and honest man. He says he can meditate, and he can. Don't talk nonsense, let me go and have a look.’ With that, he flew over to the monk's head and saw the bean-sized bedbug. He immediately pinched it off with his hand and scratched for his master. The monk was sitting there, completely unaware of the pain. The monk thought to himself: ‘This monk has a bald head, and even the lice are afraid to go on it, so how could there be bedbugs? It must be that Taoist priest who did this!’ So he flew back and turned into a seven-inch centipede, which stung the Taoist priest straight away. The priest was so shocked that he fell over and nearly died, but fortunately the officials around him rescued him in time. The king was shocked and immediately had the Taoist priest sent to freshen up, while the monk carried his master down the steps.
The king was about to let him go, but the immortal Lu Li hurriedly said, ‘Your Majesty, my senior brother already had a hidden wind disease, and today, after being exposed to the heavenly wind from a high place, his old illness returned, which is why the monk was able to win. Why don't we just keep him here and play a guessing game?’ The king was confused: ‘What is a guessing game?’ Lu Li said, ‘I have a way to see how good the monk is. If he gets it right, let him go; if not, Your Majesty can convict him and avenge me. Twenty years of loyalty to the country will not have been in vain!’ The king's head was even more confused after hearing this, but in the end he agreed.
So the king issued an imperial decree, telling the eunuchs to bring a vermilion-lacquered cabinet and ordering the queen to put her treasures in it. Before long, the cabinet was carried up to the white jade steps. The king said to the monk, ’You two guess what's in the cabinet.’ Sanzang looked puzzled: ‘Disciple, how would I know what's in this cabinet?’ The monk had an idea and turned into a cockroach, quietly pinning itself to Sanzang's head: ‘Don't worry, master, I'll go and have a look.’ With that, he flew gently onto the cabinet and squeezed into the gaps.
He saw a red lacquered tray inside, containing a set of mountains and rivers robes and a heaven and earth skirt. The monk saw it and his heart stirred. He trembled, but he bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood. He cried out, ‘Change!’ and immediately turned into a tattered old clock. Before he left, he took a leak and flew back to the monk's ear, ‘Master, the cabinet contains a tattered old clock.’ The monk was stunned. ‘But they told me to guess the treasure, what kind of treasure is a tattered old clock?’ The monk didn't care, ‘Who cares, you just guessed it was this!’
Tang Monk was about to guess, but the deer-strength immortal took precedence: ‘I'll guess first. The cabinet contains a mountain-river-society-and-state robe and a heaven-and-earth-geography skirt.’ Tang Monk was anxious: ‘No, no, the cabinet contains a tattered lost clock!’ After hearing this, the king's face fell: ‘This monk is really rude! How dare he mock our country for having no treasure and guess what a lost clock is?’ So he ordered: ‘Arrest him!’ The two palace marshals were about to act, but the monk hurriedly clasped his hands together and shouted, ‘Your Majesty, don't move yet. Let me see what's really in the cabinet. If it really is a treasure, I'll accept the punishment; if it's not, you can't wrong me!’
On hearing this, the king decided to open the cabinet and take a look. The eunuch opened the cabinet and took out the tray of pills, and sure enough, it was a tattered old clock. The king was furious: ’Who put this thing up here?’ At this, the Queen of the Three Palaces stepped forward: ‘My lord, it was the Zidong who personally placed the Mountain and River Society Robe and the Universe Geography Skirt there. I don't know how they became this.’ The king frowned: ‘Your Majesty, please step back. I know. How could anything in the palace be so worn and tattered?’ So he ordered: ‘Bring the cabinet up here. I will hide a treasure in it myself and try again!’
The king thought about it and decided to take a large peach from the harem. The peach was not small, about the size of a bowl. He picked it off and placed it in the cabinet, ready for everyone to guess. Tang Monk looked at it and said, ‘Disciple, we have to guess again!’ Xian Zi was confident, ‘Don't worry, I'll go and have a look again.’ After saying this, he flew over again, peered into the crack of the cupboard, and sure enough, it was a peach. He was delighted, immediately revealed his true form, sat in the cupboard, and began to nibble on the peach, eating it clean, even putting the core back in the cupboard.
Then, the Xingshang once again turned back into a grasshopper, flew up to the ear of the Tang Monk, and said, ‘Master, you just guessed it was a peach core.’ The Tang Monk was a little upset when he heard this: ‘Disciple, don't mess around. You almost got caught before, so this time you have to guess a precious object. What's so precious about a peach pit?’ The monk was not convinced: “Don't worry, just win!” Just as the monk was about to speak, the immortal deer sage jumped in: “I guess it's an immortal peach!” The monk then said: “It's not a peach, it's a peach pit.” The king was furious when he heard this: “I put the immortal peach there, how can it be a pit?” The monk said: “Then open it and see!” So the official opened the cabinet, and sure enough, it was a peach pit, with no flesh left.
The king was shocked to see this and said, ‘Monk, don't fight with him, just let him go. This is the fairy peach I hid with my own hands, how did it turn into a core? There must be gods and spirits helping him!’ At this time, Pigsy and Sandy were snickering on the side, ‘We didn't know he was a peach eater!’ Just as they were talking, the Tiger Force Immortal walked over and said, ‘Your Majesty, this monk has the art of porting, let's lift the cabinet up, I'll break his spell and guess again.’
The king asked, ‘What do you want to guess?’ The tiger-strength immortal said, ‘Magic can only protect objects, not people. Hide the boy in the cabinet and let him guess again!’ So the boy was hidden in the cabinet and the lid was closed. The king said, ‘Monk, guess again, what treasure is this time?’ The monk sighed, ‘Here we go again!’ The monk said, ‘Let me go and have a look.’ He flew away again, got into the cabinet, and found a little boy.
This child was no ordinary child, he was very clever! The monk thought for a moment, then transformed into an old Taoist priest and entered the cupboard, calling out, ‘Disciple!’ The child asked, ‘Master, where did you come from?’ The monk replied, ‘I used the “disappear” technique.’ The child then asked, ‘What teaching have you come to impart?’ The monk said, ‘Don't let the monk guess you, just guess the child.’ The child promised, ‘As long as we win, we can't lose face.’ The monk said, ‘Good, come, if you win I'll reward you handsomely.’ Then he turned his golden cudgel into a razor and shaved the boy's head bald, stuffing the hair he shaved off into the cabinet legs.
The monk felt the boy's bald head and said, ‘Now you look like a monk, but your clothes are wrong.’ So he told the boy to take off his clothes, blew a breath of immortal air on him, and turned him into a piece of earth-yellow clothing to wear. He plucked two hairs from his head and turned them into a wooden fish, which he handed to the child: ‘Remember, never say you're a monk. If you say the wrong thing, just bang on the wooden fish and chant the Buddha's sutras to get out of it.’ The child said, ‘I only know how to chant some Taoist sutras, not the Buddha's sutras.’ The monk said, ‘Then chant the Buddha's sutras, so I don't have to teach you again.’ With that, he turned back into a grasshopper and flew back to the monk's ear: ‘Master, you just guessed it was a monk!’
Tang Monk's heart tightened: ‘He must have won this time.’ The monk did not think so: ‘How do you know?’ Tang Monk said, ‘It is said in the scriptures that the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha are the three treasures, and monks are also a treasure.’ Just as he was talking, the Tiger Power Immortal said, ‘The third round is a Taoist child.’ The child refused to come out, and Tang Monk put his palms together and said, ‘It's a monk.’ Pigsy shouted from the side, ‘There's a monk in the cabinet!’ The boy then pushed open the lid of the cabinet, tapped the wooden fish, chanted the Buddha's name, and crawled out. Everyone cheered, and the three Taoist priests were so scared that they couldn't say a word.
When the king saw this, he was shocked: ‘This monk really has the help of ghosts and gods! Even if Dai Zhao followed him in, he could only shave his head, but how could he solve the problem with his clothes and chanting the Buddha's name?’ So the king decided, ‘Let him go!’
The Tiger-Strength Immortal slapped his thigh and said, ‘Your Majesty, we have met our match. Let's make a wager! I learned martial arts from Zhong Nan Shan when I was young, and I will show them to him today.’ The king was curious: ‘What martial arts do you have?’ The Tiger-Strength Immortal said proudly, ‘All three of us brothers have some skills. We can cut off heads and put them back on, cut open bellies and grow new hearts, and even bathe in boiling oil!’ The king was shocked and his heart sank: ‘All three of these are paths to death!’
But the immortal Hu Li disagreed: ‘We dare to say this because we have the ability! We must bet with him!’ The king then said to the monk, ‘This monk from the Eastern Land, our teacher refuses to release you, and he even wants to bet with you to behead and disembowel, and even bathe!’ At this time, the monk was turning into a cockroach. Hearing these words, he immediately gathered his hair and revealed his true appearance, laughing heartily, ‘Fate! Fate! Business is coming our way!’ Pigsy looked puzzled: ‘These three things are all fatal, so how can you say that business is coming your way?’
The monk said proudly: “You still don't know what I can do! I can still speak even after my head is cut off, I can still hit people even after my arms are chopped off, I can still walk even after my legs are bound, and I can do the extraordinary feat of disembowelment, just like a steamed bun, I can do it all in one go!” Pigsy and Sha Wujing laughed heartily when they heard this. The monk then went up to the king and said: “Little monk can cut off his own head!” The king asked: ’How can you do that?’ The monk replied, ‘When I was practising in the temple, I encountered a method of beheading taught by a Zen master. I tried it just for fun!’ The king laughed and said, ‘That monk was young and didn't know any better. Beheading is not a way to try out new things!’
But the great immortal tiger-strength said, ‘Your Majesty, it is precisely for this reason that he should let off some steam.’ The king believed him and issued an order to set up the killing ground. Once the order was given, 3,000 members of the imperial guard lined up and waited outside the palace gates. The king said to the monk, ‘Monk, you go ahead and behead yourself.’ The monk was overjoyed at the news: ‘I'll go first! I'll go first!’ He bowed and shouted, ‘Master, forgive me for daring to go first!’ Then he walked out.
Tang Monk pulled him back, saying, ‘Disciple, be careful, this is no place for fooling around.’ The monk didn't think so, saying, ‘What's there to be afraid of? Just wait until I get back.’ He walked straight to the execution ground, only to be bound by the executioner and pressed against a mound of earth. All he could hear was the cry of ‘Chop!’ and the sound of a sword whizzing through the air, cutting off his head and sending it rolling away like a watermelon. There was no blood coming from the monk's belly, and all he could hear was him screaming, ‘My head!’ Seeing this, the immortal Lu Li was shocked and hurriedly recited a spell, commanding the earth gods: ‘Hold his head down. After I defeat the monk, I will petition the king to let you build a small shrine into a large temple!’
Because the immortal Hu Li had the Five Thunder Method, the earth gods all obeyed him and secretly held the head of the monk down. The monk yelled again, ’Bring me my head!’ But the head seemed to be rooted in place and couldn't move. The monk was impatient and struggled desperately, but in the end he broke the rope and shouted, ‘Grow!’ With a whoosh, another head grew out of his stomach. The executioners were terrified, and the soldiers of the imperial guard were even more terrified. The supervisor of executions hurriedly ran into the palace to report, ‘Your Majesty, the young monk has had his head cut off, but another one has grown!’
Pigsy sneered from the side: ‘Sha Wujing, I didn't realise my brother had such skills!’ Sha Wujing nodded: ‘He has 72 transformations, so why not 72 heads?’ It wasn't long before Xiangzi walked over and called out: ‘Master!’ Tang Monk was overjoyed: ‘My disciple, were you tired?’ Xiangzi smiled and said: ‘Not at all, it was quite fun!’ Pigsy asked: ‘Brother, can I use the sword wound medicine?’ Xiangzi teased: ‘Feel, are there any sword marks?’ Pigsy reached out and felt, dumbfounded, ‘Wonderful! It really looks exactly the same, not even a scar!’
The brothers were delighted when suddenly the king shouted, ‘You are pardoned! Go quickly!’ Upon hearing this, the monk was immediately excited. ‘But although I have received the pass, I must let the national master go with me to Cao's to chop off his head and try out the new technique!’ The king was taken aback: ‘National master, that monk will not let you go. You have bet against him, don't scare me!’ The great immortal tiger was helpless and had to go. As a result, he was bound by a few executioners and his head was chopped off with a clatter. The head rolled a long way away, which was really a miserable sight.
Xingzhe watched the whole thing with a smile on his face, thinking to himself, ‘That was a good trade!’ So he plucked a hair, breathed on it, and turned it into a yellow dog, which ran and brought back the Taoist priest's head, which it threw into the Imperial Water River. The Taoist priest cried out three times, but in the end, he had no head, which was truly pitiful. Despite his great abilities, he was no match for Xingzhe's magical powers, and in the end, he fell to the ground and turned into a headless yellow tiger.
The executioner hurriedly reported, ‘Your Majesty, the Grand Master has cut off his head and died, turning into a headless yellow tiger!’ The king was shocked and stared at the two Taoist priests. When the Great Sage of the Deer Power saw it, he understood in his heart, ‘My senior brother is already dead, how could he turn into a yellow tiger? This is all the monk's tricks! I must bet with him to cut open his belly and remove his heart!’
The king, who had just come to his senses, exclaimed, ‘Monk, the Second Grand Master still wants to bet with you!’ The monk said with a smile, ‘The young monk hasn't eaten anything for a few days. A few days ago, he met a vegetarian monk in the west and ate a few mantou. Now his stomach hurts, and he wants to use your Majesty's sword to cut open his stomach and wash his internal organs before he goes to the Western Paradise to see the Buddha!’ The king, on hearing this, hurriedly ordered, ‘Take him to Cao!’
The monk waved his hand and said, ’I don't need anyone to help me, I'll go on my own. But I must not have my hands tied, I need to wash my insides with my hands.’ The king decreed, “Do not tie his hands.” The monk staggered to the execution ground, leaned against a large stake, unfastened his clothes and revealed his belly. The executioner tied him up, took out a short knife and cut open his belly with a click. The monk opened his hands, took out his intestines, arranged them, and finally blew a breath of immortal air, shouting, “Grow!” The belly closed again.
The king was stunned and quickly held up the pass, saying, ‘Holy monk, don't be late for your journey to the West, go quickly!’ The monk laughed and said, ‘The pass is a trivial matter, but you, the Second Grand Master, must also try to be dissected and cut open, how about it?’ The king said to the Great Sage of Lu Li, ‘This has nothing to do with me, it is you who want to fight him, go quickly!’ The Great Sage of Lu Li said, ‘Don't worry, I will definitely not lose to him!’
Lu Li Daxian also staggered into the killing field, but was bound by the executioner. With a single cut of the short knife, his belly was opened and his liver and intestines were taken out. Seeing this, the monk plucked a hair, blew on it and it turned into a hungry hawk, which flew off and grabbed his internal organs. As a result, he turned into a ghost with an empty cavity and a torn belly. The executioner dragged the corpse over and discovered that it was actually a white-haired antlered deer!
The executioner came back to report, ‘The Second State Preceptor is dead and has turned into a white-haired antlered deer!’ The king was stunned when he heard this: ‘How could it be an antlered deer?’ The Great Sage of the Deer's Strength was furious: ‘My senior brother is dead, how could he turn into an animal? This is all the monk's sorcery! I must take revenge!’ The king asked, ‘What magic do you have that can defeat him?’ The Great Sage of the Deer's Strength said, ‘I bet with him that I can bathe in a boiling oil bath!’
The king hurriedly ordered someone to prepare a large pot full of fragrant oil and then let the two of them bet. The monk looked innocent: ‘The little monk hasn't bathed in a few days, and his skin is itching badly, so it's just right to go for a dip!’ When the officer set up the oil pot, lit the fire, and the oil boiled, the king asked, ‘Monk, will you go first?’ The monk folded his hands and said, ‘Will you wash with words or with actions?’
The king looked puzzled: ‘How do you wash in a literary way?’ The monk explained: ‘You don't have to take off your clothes for a literary wash, just roll around with your arms crossed. For a martial wash, you have to take off your clothes and flip around like a child!’ The king said to the great immortal Lu Li, ‘Do you want a literary or martial wash?’ The great immortal Lu Li said, ‘I'm afraid his clothes have been drug-treated, so let's do a martial wash!’
The monk laughed heartily when he heard this: ‘Forgive my boldness, but I'm going to do it again!’ He then took off his robe and tiger skin skirt, jumped into the oil pot, and rolled around like a naughty child. When Pigsy saw this, he bit his finger and said to Sha, ‘We really misjudged this monkey! Usually we only know his verbal skills, but we never thought he could do this!’
Sha Wujing and Pigsy were chatting away by the wok, and the monk felt a little upset. He thought to himself, ‘That idiot is laughing at me over there! I'm working hard in the bath, but he's just chilling.’ So the monk came up with a plan, and took the opportunity to turn himself into a date-stone nail. However, he accidentally fell into the bottom of the wok and never moved again. The executioner saw this and immediately reported, ‘Your Majesty, the young monk has been killed by boiling oil!’ The king was so happy that he danced with joy and quickly had someone fish him out.
However, the holes in the executioner's iron sieve were too sparse, and the young monk had become as small as a date stone, so he could not be fished out. As a result, the executioner reported again, ‘The monk's body is tender and his bones are soft, so he has completely disintegrated.’ When the king heard this, he thought, ‘Then take three monks down!’ At this point, several palace guards saw that Pigsy's face was fierce, so they quickly grabbed him and tied him up. Tang Monk was desperate and shouted, ‘Your Majesty, spare the life of the poor monk! My disciple has done many good deeds since converting to the religion. Today, he offended the national teacher and died in the oil pot. How dare I be greedy for life!’
Tang Monk continued, ’I only ask for leniency. Give me half a bowl of cold rice in syrup and three paper horses so that I can burn paper money by the oil pot to show my feelings.’ The king nodded, saying, ‘Yes, the Chinese are full of loyalty.’ He then ordered someone to fetch the rice and yellow paper money and hand them to the monk. The monk asked Sha Wujing to go with him, but several imperial guards dragged Pigsy by the ear and pulled him to the edge of the pot. The monk prayed to the pot: ‘My disciple Sun Wukong, since you took the precepts and became a monk, you have protected me and shown me deep affection on my journey to the West. I hoped that we would both become great sages together, but I never expected that today you would return to the netherworld!’
At this, Pigsy heard and became anxious: ’Master, that's not how you pray! Sha Wujing, pour the gruel for me, I'll pray.’ He angrily cursed, “Trouble-making monkey, damned monkey!” At this point, Sun Wukong heard it under the wok and couldn't help but reveal his true form, standing naked at the bottom of the wok: “Who are you cursing, you stupid idiot!” When Tang Monk saw this, he screamed in fear, “Disciple, you scared me to death!” Sha Wujing also said, ’Big brother is used to feigning death!’
At this point, the civil and military officials panicked and went up to the emperor and said, ‘Your Majesty, the monk is not dead, he has climbed out of the frying pan again!’ The imperial censor was very frightened when he heard this: ‘He is dead, but the date is wrong, the young monk has come to show his spirit!’ After listening to this, the monk became furious, jumped out of the pan, wiped off the grease, put on his clothes, drew his staff and gave the imperial censor a blow, beating him into a meatball: ‘What spirit am I showing!’ The officials were so scared that they quickly untied the monk and knelt down to beg for forgiveness: ‘Forgive us!
When the king saw this, he hurriedly got off the dragon throne, but the monk held him back and said, “Your Majesty, don't go, or I'll tell the Three Kingdoms Master to go into the hot pot too!” The king was trembling with fear, ’Three Kingdoms Master, you go into the hot pot quickly, don't let the monk hit me!’ The Great Immortal Yangli had no choice but to take off his clothes and jump into the hot pot, and ended up taking a bath as well. The monk watched from the side and thought to himself, ‘How come this hot pot has become so cold? When I washed, it was boiling hot!’
He had a thought, recited a spell, and called out to the Dragon King of the North Sea: “You horned earthworm, why are you helping the Taoist monk keep the bottom of the pot cold?” The Dragon King hurriedly explained, ’Great Sage, I dare not help. This wretched creature has undergone a lot of hardship and training, shed its old skin, but has only truly mastered the Five Thunder Method, the rest is all side doors, it will be difficult for it to return to the immortal path.’ After listening to this, the monk understood in his heart: “So that's it, then quickly collect him!” The dragon king whipped up a whirlwind, flew over to the oil pan, and grabbed Lenglong away.
The monk was finally at ease, and stood in front of the hall with Tang Monk, Pigsy, and Sandy Monk, watching the Taoist priest struggling in the pan, and then slipping and falling, his bones coming off, his skin burnt and flesh rotten. The executioner came back to report, ‘Your Majesty, the three masters have been boiled to death!’ The king couldn't hold back his tears as he pounded on the table and wept, ‘It is indeed difficult to be born as a human!’ This is exactly what it means: ‘It is useless to try to turn gold into mercury or summon the rain or call the wind!’ As for the story of the master and his disciples, we will talk about it next time.
