Chapter 90: 师狮授受同归一 盗道缠禅静九灵

Monkey King, Pigsy, and Sandy left the city, and as they went out, they were met by a horde of lion demons. The Yellow Lion led them, with the Suanni Lion and Tuanxiang Lion on the left, the Baize Lion and Fuli Lion on the right, and the Naoshi Lion and Xueshi Lion bringing up the rear. In the center was the Nine-Headed Lion. The green-faced monster held a magnificent brocade banner adorned with floral patterns, staying close to the Nine-Headed Lion. Diao Zhuan Gu Guai Er and Gu Guai Diao Zhuan Er carried two red flags, all arrayed in the direction of the Kan Palace (north).

Pigsy, in his usual rash manner, stepped forward and cursed, "You thieving monster! Why have you brought these fur balls here?" The Yellow Lion gritted his teeth and cursed back, "You wretched bald brute! Yesterday, three of you fought one of me, and I lost, allowing you to survive. But how could you be so cruel as to burn my cave, destroy my mountain, and injure my family! Our enmity is as deep as the ocean! Don't you dare run! Take this from your master's rake!"

Good Pigsy raised his rake to meet the attack. The two had just begun to fight, and their skill was yet to be seen, when the Naoshi Lion swung an iron caltrop and the Xueshi Lion wielded a three-edged staff, both rushing to strike. Pigsy shouted, "Excellent!" He plunged forward, dashing left and right, engaging them in a chaotic battle. On this side, Sandy quickly drew his monster-subduing staff and stepped forward to assist. Then, the Suanni Lion, Baize Lion, Tuanxiang Lion, and Fuli Lion all swarmed forward together. Meanwhile, Monkey King used his golden-banded staff to fend off the group of demons. The Suanni Lion used a bludgeon, the Baize Lion a copper hammer, the Tuanxiang Lion a steel spear, and the Fuli Lion a battle-axe. The seven lion demons and the three formidable monks fought fiercely—

Staves, hammers, spears, axes, three-edged staffs, caltrops, bone clubs, four-sided rakes.Seven lions with seven weapons, all sharp, surrounded the three monks, shouting in unison.The Great Sage's golden-banded staff was fierce, Sandy's precious staff was rare among humans.Pigsy charged with furious might, his rake shining with an ominous glow.Blocking front and back, each displayed skill; parrying left and right, all were brave.The princes on the city wall boosted morale, beating drums and clanging gongs to encourage.Leaping and snatching with their magic, they fought until the world was turned upside down in chaos.

That horde of demons fought with Monkey King and the two others for half a day, and before they knew it, evening fell. Pigsy was drooling and his legs were growing weak. He feigned a move with his rake, then retreated from the battle. The Xueshi Lion and Naoshi Lion shouted, "Where are you going? Take this!" The idiotic Pigsy couldn't dodge in time and was struck on the back with a staff, falling to the ground, crying, "Enough, enough!" The two demons grabbed Pigsy by his mane and tail, dragged him away, and brought him before the Nine-Headed Lion, reporting, "Grandfather, we've captured one!" Before they had finished, Sandy and Monkey King were also defeated. All the demons rushed forward. Monkey King plucked a handful of hairs, chewed them up, sprayed them out, and shouted, "Change!" Immediately, they transformed into a hundred small Monkey Kings, who encircled and trapped the Baize Lion, Suanni Lion, Tuanxiang Lion, Fuli Lion, and the Golden-Mane Lion. Sandy and Monkey King then pressed forward again, striking. By evening, they had captured the Suanni Lion and Baize Lion, but the Fuli Lion and Tuanxiang Lion escaped. The Golden-Mane Lion reported this to the old demon. Seeing that two of his lions were lost, the old demon ordered, "Tie up Pigsy, but do not harm him. When they return my two lions, I will give Pigsy back to them. If they are so ignorant as to harm my two lions, then kill Pigsy to avenge their lives!" That night, the group of demons rested outside the city.

Meanwhile, Monkey King carried the two captured lion demons to the city wall. Seeing them, the old King immediately ordered the gates opened and dispatched twenty to thirty guards with ropes and poles to bind the lion demons and carry them into the city. Monkey King retracted his magic hairs and, along with Sandy, went directly to the city tower to see Tang Monk. Tang Monk said, "This is a very dangerous situation! I wonder if Wuneng is still alive?" Monkey King replied, "He's fine! Since we've captured these two demons, they wouldn't dare harm him. Let's keep these two demons securely tied up, and tomorrow morning, we'll exchange them for Pigsy." The three young princes bowed to Monkey King and asked, "Master, during your earlier combat, we saw only one of you, but later, when you feigned defeat and returned, how did there come to be a hundred Masters? And when you caught the demons and approached the city, you were again only one. What kind of magic is this?" Monkey King laughed, "I have eighty-four thousand hairs on my body. One can become ten, ten can become a hundred; these myriad transformations are all the 'body outside the body' technique." The princes all bowed in reverence. Immediately, a vegetarian meal was laid out, and they ate it right there on the city tower. Orders were given for lanterns, flags, drums, gongs, patrols, and firecrackers at every battlement, to maintain vigilance.

The next morning, the old demon immediately summoned the Yellow Lion to devise a plan. "Today, you must concentrate on capturing that Monkey King and Sandy. I will secretly fly to the city, seize their master and the old King and his sons, and take them back to the Nine-Turn Winding Cave. Wait for my victorious return." The Yellow Lion accepted the plan and led the Naoshi Lion, Xueshi Lion, Tuanxiang Lion, and Fuli Lion, each holding their weapons, to the city. They stirred up wind and fog, challenging them to battle. Here, Monkey King and Sandy leaped from the city wall, shouting fiercely, "You villainous monster! Quickly return our junior brother Pigsy, and we will spare your lives! Otherwise, we will grind you all to dust!" The demons gave no quarter and swarmed forward. Monkey King and his junior brother, each employing their strategies, held back the five lions. This battle was even fiercer than yesterday—

Whistling winds swept the earth, dark mists obscured the sky.Flying stones and sand terrified gods and spirits, toppled trees startled tigers and wolves.Steel spears were vicious, battle-axes gleamed; staves, rakes, and copper hammers were cruelly wielded.They wished they could swallow Monkey King whole and capture little Sandy alive.The Great Sage's wish-fulfilling staff, extending and retracting, was truly agile.Sandy's monster-subduing staff was renowned beyond the Divine Sky Palace.This time, they wielded vast magical powers, sweeping away demons in the Western regions.

While the five miscellaneous lion demons were fighting fiercely with Monkey King and Sandy, the old demon, riding black clouds, flew directly to the city tower. He shook his head, terrifying all the civil and military officials and city guards, who tumbled off the wall. He rushed into the building, opened his mouth, and picked up Tang Monk, the old King, and his sons in one gulp. He then returned to the ground near the Kan Palace (north) and also picked up Pigsy with his mouth. He had nine heads and nine mouths; he held Tang Monk in one mouth, Pigsy in another, the old King in another, the eldest prince in another, the second prince in another, and the third prince in another, holding six people with six mouths, still leaving three mouths empty. He let out a shout, "I'm off first!" The five younger lion demons, seeing their patriarch's victory, fought with renewed vigor. Monkey King heard the shouts from the city and knew they had fallen into a trap. He quickly told Sandy to be careful, then plucked all the hairs from his arms, chewed them, sprayed them out, and transformed them into hundreds of small Monkey Kings. They swarmed forward, and immediately pulled down the Naoshi Lion, captured the Xueshi Lion alive, seized the Tuanxiang Lion, overturned the Fuli Lion, and beat the Yellow Lion to death. They rushed to the city, but the green-faced monster and the two monsters, Diao Zhuan Gu Guai and Gu Guai Diao Zhuan, managed to escape. The officials on the city wall saw this, opened the gates again, tied up the five lion demons with ropes, and carried them into the city. Before they could be dealt with, the Queen came weeping, bowing to Monkey King. "Divine Master," she cried, "my royal father and sons, along with your master, are surely doomed! What shall become of this isolated city?" Monkey King retracted his magic hairs, bowed to the Queen, and said, "Do not worry, worthy Queen. Because I captured his seven lion demons, that old demon used a conjuring spell to seize my master and your royal father and sons. I assure you they are unharmed. Early tomorrow morning, my brother and I will go to that mountain. We are certain to capture the old demon and return your four princes." The Queen and her group of female attendants heard these words and all bowed to Monkey King, saying, "May the royal father and sons be returned safely, and may the imperial reign be firm!" After bowing, they returned to the palace with tears in their eyes. Monkey King instructed the officials, "Flay the Yellow Lion that was killed, and secure the six living lion demons tightly. Bring us some food, we will eat and sleep. Rest assured, you will be safe."

The next day, the Great Sage led Sandy, riding auspicious clouds. In a short while, they arrived at the peak of Bamboo Knot Mountain. They stopped their clouds and looked down upon a magnificent mountain! One could see—

Jagged peaks rising abruptly, ridges steep and rugged.Water gurgling in deep ravines, colorful flowers fragrant before sheer cliffs.Layers of overlapping mountains, ancient winding paths.Truly, where cranes come, pines have companions; indeed, where clouds depart, rocks are left without support.Mystic apes seek fruit in the clear sunshine, elk seek flowers, delighted by the warm sun.Azure pheasants chirped, yellow birds sang softly.In spring, peach and plum blossoms contended in beauty; in summer, willows and locust trees vied in luxuriance.In autumn, yellow flowers spread like brocade; in winter, white snow flew like cotton.A beautiful landscape throughout the four seasons and eight festivals, no less magnificent than the immortal scenes of Yingzhou.

As the two were admiring the scenery on the mountaintop, they suddenly saw the green-faced monster, holding a short stick, running out from a cliff valley. Monkey King shouted, "Where are you going! Your Old Monkey is here!" The little demon, terrified, tumbled down the cliff valley. The two chased directly but lost sight of him. They walked a few more steps forward and found a cave dwelling, with two large, mottled stone doors tightly shut. Above the doorframe, a stone slab was embedded horizontally, with ten large characters carved in regular script: "Myriad Spirits Bamboo Knot Mountain Nine-Turn Winding Cave." The little demon had run into the cave and immediately closed the cave door. He went inside and reported to the old demon, "Grandfather, two more monks have come outside." The old demon asked, "Have your Grand-King and the Naoshi Lion, Xueshi Lion, Tuanxiang Lion, and Fuli Lion returned?" The little demon replied, "No, no! Just two monks, looking from the high peaks. I saw them, turned around and ran, and they chased me, so I closed the door." Hearing this, the old demon lowered his head, silent. After a long while, he suddenly shed tears and cried, "Oh, the misery! My Yellow Lion grandson is dead! And my Naoshi grandson and the others have all been captured and taken into the city by the monks! How can I avenge this hatred!" Pigsy was tied up nearby, along with the King, his sons, and Tang Monk, all huddled together, suffering miserably. When he heard the old demon lament that his "grandsons had been captured by the monks and taken into the city," he secretly rejoiced, "Master, don't be afraid! Princes, don't worry! My elder brother has already won, captured the demons, and come here to rescue us!" After he spoke, he heard the old demon call out, "Minions, guard them well here. I will go out and bring those two monks in, and punish them all at once!"

See him, without armor, not holding a weapon, striding forward. He heard Monkey King shouting. He flung open the cave doors and, without a word, rushed directly at Monkey King. Monkey King used his iron staff to block him head-on, and Sandy swung his precious staff to strike. The old demon shook his head, and his eight other heads all opened their mouths at once, gently picking up Monkey King and Sandy and carrying them inside the cave. He commanded, "Bring ropes!" Diao Zhuan Gu Guai, Gu Guai Diao Zhuan, and the green-faced demon, who had escaped the previous night, immediately brought two ropes and tied the two of them very tightly. The old demon asked, "You wretched monkey, you captured my seven sons and grandsons, and now I have captured four of you monks and four princes, which is enough to match the lives of my sons and grandsons! Minions, choose some thorny branches and willow sticks, and beat this monkey's head first, to avenge my Yellow Lion grandson!" The three little demons, each holding a willow stick, specifically beat Monkey King. Monkey King's body was tempered by refining, so those few willow sticks could only tickle him. How could he make a sound? No matter how they beat him, he didn't care in the slightest. Pigsy, Tang Monk, and the princes, seeing this, were all terrified to the bone.

After a short while, the willow sticks broke. They continued beating until evening, countless blows. Sandy, seeing the excessive beating, felt very uneasy and said, "Let me take a hundred blows for him." The old demon said, "Don't be in a hurry. Tomorrow it will be your turn to be beaten, one by one, in order." Pigsy anxiously said, "The day after tomorrow it will be my turn, Old Pig's!" After a while of beating, it gradually grew dark. The old demon said, "Minions, stop for now. Light the lamps, and you eat some food. Let me go to my brocade cloud nest for a little sleep. The three of you have all suffered before, so guard diligently. We'll resume the beating tomorrow morning." The three little demons moved the lamp closer and continued to hit Monkey King's skull with willow sticks, like tapping a drum, fast and slow. As night deepened, they all dozed off.

Monkey King used an escape technique, shrinking his body, and slipping out of the ropes. He shook his hairs, straightened his clothes, took his staff from his ear, and swung it once. It became as thick as a well bucket and two zhang long (approx. 6.6 meters). He said to the three little demons, "You beasts, you beat your master so many times with sticks! Your master is still the same, so your master will also give you a little taste of this stick, let's see how it feels!" With a gentle press, he flattened the three little demons into three meat pies. He then relit the lamp and untied Sandy. Pigsy, tied tightly, couldn't help but shout loudly, "Brother! My hands and feet are all swollen! Why didn't you untie me first?" The idiotic Pigsy's shout startled the old demon. The old demon scrambled up and asked, "Who has been freed?" Hearing this, Monkey King blew out the lamp, didn't bother with Sandy or the others, used his iron staff, broke through several layers of doors, and escaped. The old demon came to the central hall and called out, "Minions, why is there no light? Did someone escape?" He called once, no one answered; he called again, still no answer. When he brought a lamp to look, he saw three bloody meat pies on the ground. The old King and his sons, Tang Monk, and Pigsy were all there, but Monkey King and Sandy were gone. He lit a torch and searched front and back. He suddenly saw Sandy still leaning against the corridor wall. He grabbed him, threw him down, and tied him up again as before. He then searched for Monkey King, only to see several layers of doors all broken. He knew Monkey King had broken them and escaped, but he didn't give chase. He mended and covered the broken doors, securing his lair without further ado.

Meanwhile, Sun Wukong, having escaped the Nine-Turn Winding Cave, rode his auspicious clouds directly to Yuhua Prefecture. He saw the local earth gods and city gods from various districts on the city wall bowing to greet him from the air. Monkey King said, "Why do you only appear tonight?" The City God replied, "We humble gods knew the Great Sage had descended upon Yuhua Prefecture, and because the virtuous King was hosting you, we dared not appear. Now, knowing the King is in trouble and the Great Sage is subduing demons, we specifically came to greet you." As Monkey King was expressing his displeasure, he saw the Golden-Headed Arhat, the Six Jia and Six Ding divine generals, escorting a local earth god, who knelt before him. "Great Sage," they announced, "we have captured this ground ghost!" Monkey King roared, "Why are you here making noise instead of protecting my master on Bamboo Knot Mountain?" The Ding Jia general explained, "Great Sage, after you escaped, the demon recaptured General Curtain-Raising and tied him up again. We saw his great magical power, so we escorted the Bamboo Knot Mountain earth god here. He knows the demon's origin. We beg the Great Sage to question him, then you can deal with the situation properly and save the Holy Monk and the virtuous King from their suffering." Monkey King was delighted to hear this. The earth god, trembling, bowed and said, "That old demon descended to Bamboo Knot Mountain two years ago. The Nine-Turn Winding Cave was originally a lair of six lions. Those six lions, upon the old demon's arrival, all bowed to him as their Ancestor. The Ancestor is a Nine-Headed Lion, known as the Nine-Spirits Sagely Primordial. To eliminate him, you must go to the Eastern Apex Marvelous Rock Palace and invite his master to come; only then can he be subdued. No one else can capture him." Monkey King pondered for a long time upon hearing this. "The Eastern Apex Marvelous Rock Palace," he mused, "is where the Great One, the Heavenly Honored One Who Rescues from Suffering resides. His mount is precisely a Nine-Headed Lion. So that's it!" He then ordered, "Arhat, Golden-Armored General, return with the earth god and secretly protect my master, junior brother, and the Prefectural King and his sons. The local City God, guard the city! Be gone now!" All the gods obeyed and departed.

The Great Sage mounted his somersault cloud and journeyed all night. Around the寅時 (3-5 AM), he arrived outside the Eastern Heaven Gate, where he encountered the Broad-Eyed Heavenly King with his retinue of heavenly soldiers and strongmen. They all stopped, bowed, and greeted him, "Great Sage, where are you bound?" Monkey King returned their greetings and said, "I'm off to Marvelous Rock Palace." The Heavenly King asked, "You're not on the road to the Western Heaven, why are you coming to the Eastern Heaven?" Monkey King explained, "While protecting Tang Monk, we arrived at Yuhua Prefecture. The King there graciously hosted us and had his three sons bow to my brothers and me as their teachers to learn martial arts. Unexpectedly, our three divine weapons were stolen by a demon one night. At dawn, we searched and found they were stolen by a Golden-Mane Lion demon who had become a spirit, from Leopard Head Mountain's Tiger Mouth Cave. I used a trick to retrieve them, but that demon then gathered a host of lion demons and had a great fight with me. Among them was a Nine-Headed Lion, immensely powerful, who carried off my master, Pigsy, and the King and his four sons, to a cave in Bamboo Knot Mountain called the Nine-Turn Winding Cave. The next day, when my junior brother and I went to find them, we were also carried off. I was tied and beaten countless times, but fortunately, I used my magic and escaped. They are currently suffering there. When I questioned the local earth god, I learned that the Heavenly Honored One is his master, so I specifically came to invite him to subdue the demon and rescue them." The Heavenly King said, "It is because you wished to be teachers that you stirred up this den of lions." Monkey King laughed, "Exactly, exactly!" All the heavenly soldiers and strongmen bowed and made way for him. The Great Sage entered the Eastern Heaven Gate and, in a short while, arrived before Marvelous Rock Palace. One could see—

Layers of colorful clouds, dense purple aura.Tiles shining with golden waves, gates adorned with majestic jade beasts.Flowers filling the twin towers, wreathed in red clouds; sunlight illuminating the soaring trees, veiled in emerald mist.Indeed, myriad true immortals encircled, thousands of sages flourished.Layer upon layer of magnificent palaces, windows and halls open everywhere.Azure dragons coiled, guarding with divine light; the yellow path shone with auspicious qi.This is the Pure Land of Eternal Joy, the Eastern Apex Marvelous Rock Palace.

At the palace gate stood an immortal boy in a rainbow robe. Upon seeing Sun Wukong, he immediately entered the palace and reported, "Grandfather, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace, has arrived outside." The Great One, the Heavenly Honored One Who Rescues from Suffering, heard this and immediately summoned his attendant immortals to welcome him. He was welcomed into the palace, where the Heavenly Honored One sat high on a nine-colored lotus throne, amidst billions of auspicious lights. Upon seeing Monkey King, he descended from his seat to greet him. Monkey King bowed respectfully, and the Heavenly Honored One returned the bow, saying, "Great Sage, it has been many years since we last met. I heard previously that you abandoned the Dao to embrace Buddhism and are escorting Tang Monk on a journey to the Western Heaven to retrieve scriptures. Has your merit and practice been completed, I wonder?" Monkey King replied, "My merit and practice are not yet complete, but they are nearing completion. However, while escorting Tang Monk to Yuhua Prefecture, the princes there asked my old self and my brothers to be their teachers to learn martial arts, and they had three divine weapons forged in the likeness of ours. Unexpectedly, they were stolen by a demon during the night. When we searched at dawn, we found it was a Golden-Mane Lion demon from Tiger Mouth Cave on Leopard Head Mountain who had become a spirit and stolen them. My old self used a trick to retrieve them, but that demon then gathered many lion demons and had a great fight with me. Among them was a Nine-Headed Lion, immensely powerful, who carried off my master, Pigsy, and the King and his four sons, to a cave on Bamboo Knot Mountain called the Nine-Turn Winding Cave. The next day, when my old self and Sandy went to find them, we were also carried off. My old self was tied and beaten countless times, but fortunately, I used my magic and escaped. They are currently suffering there. When I questioned the local earth god, I learned that the Heavenly Honored One is his master, so I specifically came to request your help in subduing him and rescuing them." Hearing this, the Heavenly Honored One immediately ordered his celestial generals to go to the lion's quarters and summon the lion keeper for questioning. The lion keeper was fast asleep and only woke when the generals shook him. He was dragged to the main hall to appear before the Heavenly Honored One. The Heavenly Honored One asked, "Where is the lion beast?" The keeper, with tears in his eyes, bowed repeatedly, pleading, "Mercy, mercy!" The Heavenly Honored One said, "The Great Sage is here, so I won't strike you for now. Quickly explain why you were not careful and let the Nine-Headed Lion escape." The lion keeper replied, "Grandfather, the other day, in the Grand Thousand Sweet Dew Palace, I saw a bottle of wine. I secretly took it and drank it, and became so completely drunk that I fell asleep and failed to secure the lion. That is why he escaped." The Heavenly Honored One said, "That wine was given by the Venerable Lord Lao Zi. It is called Reincarnation Jade Nectar. Drinking it causes one to be drunk for three days. How many days has that lion beast been gone now?" Monkey King said, "According to the earth god, he descended two years ago; it has been two or three years now." The Heavenly Honored One laughed, "That's right, that's right! One day in Heaven is one year in the mortal world." He told the lion keeper, "Get up for now. I pardon you from the death penalty. Come with me and the Great Sage down to subdue him. All you other immortals, return; there's no need to follow."

The Heavenly Honored One, along with the Great Sage and the lion keeper, then rode the clouds directly to Bamboo Knot Mountain. There, they saw the Five-Directional Arhats, the Six Ding and Six Jia, and the local mountain god all kneeling to greet them. Monkey King asked, "Did your protection prevent any harm to my master?" The gods replied, "The demon was angry and went to sleep; he didn't inflict any torture." The Heavenly Honored One said, "My Yuan Sheng'er is also a true spirit who has cultivated for a long time. When he shouts, his voice reaches the three heavens above and the nine springs below; he normally does not harm living beings. Sun Wukong, go to his gate and challenge him to battle to lure him out, so I can subdue him." Hearing this, Monkey King indeed drew his staff and leaped to the cave entrance, loudly cursing, "Villainous demon, return my people! Villainous demon, return my people!" He called several times, but the old demon was asleep, and no one answered. Monkey King grew impatient, swung his iron staff, and struck inside the cave, continually shouting curses. Only then did the old demon awaken, furious. He scrambled up, shouted, "Fight!" shook his head, and opened his mouth to pick up Monkey King. Monkey King turned and leaped out. The demon chased him outside, cursing, "You thieving monkey, where are you going!" Monkey King stood on a high cliff and laughed, "How dare you be so bold and disrespectful! You don't even know if you're alive or dead! Is this not your master here?" When the demon reached the cliff, the Heavenly Honored One immediately recited a spell and shouted, "Yuan Sheng'er, I am here!" The demon recognized his master, dared not struggle, and prostrated himself on the ground, merely kowtowing. The lion keeper rushed over, grabbed him by the mane, and punched his neck about a hundred times, cursing, "You beast, how could you sneak away and cause me to suffer!" The lion beast kept his mouth shut, unable to speak, and dared not move. Only when the lion keeper's hand grew tired did he stop. He immediately placed a brocade saddle on its back, and the Heavenly Honored One mounted it, shouting for it to go. The lion then let out a roar, rode auspicious clouds, and returned directly to Marvelous Rock Palace.

The Great Sage thanked him from afar, then entered the cave. He first untied the King of Yuhua, then Tang Sanzang, then Pigsy and Sandy, and the three princes. They searched through the cave's belongings, unhurriedly, and led everyone out. Pigsy immediately gathered a pile of dry firewood, heaped it in front and back, and set it on fire, burning the Nine-Turn Winding Cave into a charred, broken kiln! The Great Sage then dismissed the other gods, telling the local earth god to remain guarding the place. He then instructed Pigsy and Sandy to each use their magic to carry the King and his sons back to the prefecture, while he assisted Tang Monk. In a short while, they arrived at the prefectural city as dusk was falling. The Queen and officials all came to greet them. A vegetarian banquet was laid out, and they all enjoyed it together. The elder monk and his disciples rested at the Biao Sha Pavilion, while the princes returned to their respective palaces. The night passed without incident.

The next day, the King again issued an order to hold a grand vegetarian banquet. All officials, high and low, offered their thanks one by one. Monkey King then summoned the butchers, had the six live lions killed, and, along with the Yellow Lion, had their hides removed and their meat prepared for consumption. The princes were extremely pleased and immediately ordered the killing. One lion's meat was kept for the use of the household staff, and another was divided among the royal court officials and others. The remaining five were chopped into pieces weighing one or two taels each, and messengers were dispatched to distribute them to the soldiers and civilians inside and outside the city. Everyone was to eat a little, both to taste the flavor and to calm their fears. All the households, without exception, looked up to them in admiration. They also saw that the blacksmiths had finished forging the three weapons. They bowed to Monkey King and said, "Grandfather, our work is done." Monkey King asked, "How much does each weigh?" The blacksmiths replied, "The golden-banded staff is a thousand catties, and the nine-toothed rake and monster-subduing staff are each eight hundred catties." Monkey King said, "That will do." He called for the three princes to come out, and each took their weapon. The three sons said to the old King, "Father, the weapons are ready today." The old King said, "These weapons almost cost my father and sons our lives." The youngest prince said, "Fortunately, the divine masters displayed their magic and rescued us, then swept away the evil and eliminated future troubles. This truly is a world of peace and tranquility, as the saying goes!" At that time, the old King and his sons rewarded the artisans, then went to the Biao Sha Pavilion to thank their teachers. Tang Monk then urged Monkey King and the others to quickly impart their martial arts, so as not to delay their journey. The three disciples then each took their weapons and, in the royal courtyard, taught them one by one. In a few days, the three princes had all practiced proficiently, mastering all offensive and defensive techniques, and methods for speed and slowness, each having seventy-two variations; there was nothing they did not know. This was partly due to the princes' firm resolve, and partly due to Sun Wukong first bestowing divine strength upon them. This is why they could lift and wield the thousand-catty staff and the eight-hundred-catty rake, a truly vast difference compared to the martial arts they practiced themselves at first! A poem bears witness to this:

By good fortune, they met divine masters; learning martial arts, who knew it would stir up monstrous lions?Sweeping away all evil, stabilizing the nation; returning to the one truth, pacifying the border regions.The Nine Spirits accord with the principle of primordial Yang; from all directions, they fully grasp the path to enlightenment.The clarity of instruction and reception will last ten thousand ages; Yuhua will forever enjoy a time of peace.

The princes then hosted another grand banquet to thank their teachers. They also brought out a large platter of gold and silver to express their humble gratitude. Monkey King laughed, "Quickly take it back, quickly take it back! What use do we renunciants have for it?" Pigsy, standing nearby, said, "We truly dare not accept gold and silver, but my clothes were torn by those lion demons. If you could just replace our clothes, that would be truly appreciated." The prince immediately ordered tailors, according to the desired colors, to take several bolts of green, red, and tea-brown brocade to make a new robe for each of the three. The three accepted with pleasure, each put on their brocade monk's robes, packed their luggage, and prepared to depart. They saw that inside and outside the city, everyone, young and old, proclaimed them arhats descended and living Buddhas arrived. The sounds of drums and music, and the sight of flags and banners, filled the streets and blocked the roads. Truly, every household outside their doors burned incense, and every doorway offered colorful lanterns. They traveled some distance before the crowds finally dispersed, allowing the four disciples to leave the city and continue their journey west. This departure freed them completely from worldly thoughts, allowing them to concentrate on attaining true enlightenment. It was truly: Without worries or fears, they approached the Buddhist realm, earnestly heading towards the Thunderclap Monastery. However, it is unknown how much further they must travel to reach the Spiritual Mountain, or when their journey will be complete. Let us listen to the next chapter for the explanation.