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“Where is my sister the mandarin fish?” he shouted stridently, at which she came forward, did obeisance, and said, “Your Majesty, I am not worthy to be your sister.”
“How can you say such a thing, good sister?” the monster replied. “Once a word is spoken a four-horse chariot can't bring it back. I said that if I caught the Tang Priest by following your plan I would take you as my sworn sister. Today your plan has proved itself to have been a superb one and the Tang Priest has been caught. I could not possibly go back on my word. Little ones,” he ordered his underlings, “bring a table, whet a sharp knife, open this monk up, cut out his heart, skin him, and slice up his flesh. I also want music played while I share him with my sister and we both obtain eternal life.”
“Your Majesty,” said the mandarin fish, “don't eat him yet. His disciples may make trouble if they come here searching for him. It would be better to wait a couple of days until we know those damned wretches won't come looking for him before we cut him up. Then Your Majesty will sit in the place of honour while we, your kinsfolk, play music, sing and dance around you and wait on you; and you will be able to take your pleasure at your ease. Wouldn't that be best?” The monster accepted the suggestion and had Sanzang stored away in a six-foot-long stone chest behind the palace.
Pig and Friar Sand meanwhile recovered the luggage in the river, loaded it on the back of the white horse, and swam up through the waves as they parted the waters. When Monkey saw them from up in the air he asked, “Where's the master?”
“He's not the Tang Priest now,” said Pig. “He's the Drowned Priest. We can't find him anywhere, so let's go back ashore and decide what to do.” Now Pig was a mortal incarnation of Marshal Tian Peng who had once commanded eighty thousand sailors on the Heavenly River in the sky, Friar Sand had come from the Flowing Sands River, and the white horse was the grandson of the Dragon King of the Western Ocean, so they were all good swimmers. With the Great Sage showing them the way from mid-air they were soon back at the Eastern bank, where they dried and brushed the horse and wrung out their clothes.
Monkey then landed his cloud, and they went back together to the Chen household, where a messenger had already reported that only three of the four venerable gentlemen who were going to fetch the scriptures were now returning. The two aged brothers hurried outside to meet them.
“Gentlemen,” they said, seeing their wet clothes, “we tried so hard to persuade you to stay longer, and look what has come of your refusal. Where is the venerable Tang Priest?”
“He isn't the Tang Priest any more,” said Pig. “He's the Drowned Priest.”
“Alas, alas,” said the aged brothers, bursting into tears. “We said that you should wait until the snow had melted and we could send you all across in a boat, but he refused to agree, and now he's dead.”
“Old men,” said Monkey, “don't upset yourselves over your friend. I can assure you that the master will not die. I'm certain that the Great King of Miraculous Response has captured him by magic. So stop worrying, have our clothes washed and starched, our passport dried out, and the white horse fed. My brothers and I will find the damned creature, rescue the master, and wipe this evil monster out. Then he'll give you village no more trouble and you will, I hope, have a safe and peaceful future.” Old Mr. Chen, greatly encouraged to hear this, ordered a vegetarian meal to be provided.
The three brothers ate their fill, handed the horse and the luggage over to the care of the Chen household, got their weapons ready, and hurried off to find their master and catch the monster. Indeed:
The true nature was harmed by treading on the ice;
How could they be complete without the Ci
If you do not know how they rescued the Tang Priest listen to the explanation in the next installment.
Chapter 49
Sanzang's Great Misfortune Is to Fall into the River
Guanyin's Fish Basket Saves the Tang Priest
The story tells how the Great Sage Monkey took his leave of the old Chen brothers, went with Pig and Friar Sand to the bank of the river, and told the two of them to decide which of them would go into the water first. “Brother,” said Pig, “you should go first; neither of us two has very special powers.”
“To be frank with you, brother,” replied Monkey. “I wouldn't need any help from either of you in dealing with mountain spirits, but I can't cope in the water. If I go into rivers or seas I have to make hand spells to keep the water away, or else change into something like a fish or a crab. But if I'm making a hand spell I can't get a good swing with my cudgel, use my powers, or kill evil spirits. I asked you two to go in because I've long known that you're both good swimmers.”
“Brother,” said Friar Sand, “I'll go, but I don't know what we'll find at the bottom of the river. I think we should all go. You should turn yourself into something or else let me carry you through the water to find the monster's den. You go first and discover what's been happening. If the master hasn't been hurt and is still there we can do our best to attack the monster. But if the monster has used magic on the master and he's has been drowned or eaten there will be no point in searching too hard; we'd better find something else to do instead.”
“You're right, brother,” said Monkey. “Which of you will carry me?”
“Pig was secretly delighted at this question. “Goodness only knows how many times that ape has put one over on me,” he thought. “As he can't swim I'll carry him and put one over on him this time.”
“Brother,” he said, chuckling, “I'll carry you.” Realizing that Pig was up to something Monkey decided to beat him at his own game and replied, “Very well, you're stronger than Friar Sand.” Pig then took Monkey on his back.
Friar Sand parted a way through the waters of the River of Heaven for the brother-disciples. When they had covered thirty or forty miles on the riverbed the idiot made a grab for Monkey, who pulled out one of his hairs and turned it into a double of himself that he put on Pig's back, while changing his real self into a pig louse that clung firmly to the idiot's ear. Pig suddenly stumbled as he walked along, threw Monkey forward and made him fall. Now as the double was only a hair transformed it floated up and disappeared.
“Brother,” said Friar Sand to Pig, “what are you doing? Why have you fallen over in the mud instead of walking along properly? And even if you have to do that, where have you dropped Monkey?”
“He couldn't stop himself falling,” Pig replied, “and he's vanished. Never mind whether he's alive or dead. We two will go and find the master.”
“No,” said Friar Sand, “we need him. He's no swimmer but he's cleverer than us. If he not coming I won't go with you.” Monkey could restrain himself no longer.
“Pig!” he shouted at the top of his voice from inside the ear. “I'm here.”
When Friar Sand heard this he said with a laugh, “That's done it. You're the one that's had it, you idiot. You had a nerve, trying to put one over on him. What are we going to do now? We can hear him but he's disappeared.”
Pig knelt in the mud and started to kowtow desperately, saying, “I did wrong, brother, I did wrong. When we've rescued the master I'll apologize to you properly on shore. Where did you talk to us from? You scared me to death. Please, please turn back into yourself. I'll carry you, and I promise not to knock you about any more.”
“You've been carrying me all the time,” said Monkey. “I won't play any tricks on you. Now, get going, and fast.” The idiot staggered to his feet still mumbling apologies and pressed on with Friar Sand.