Mu Zha vs. the Great Sage! ⚔️ Who Will Win? | Journey to the West Chapter 6.1

Chapter six. Guan Yin comes to the feast and asks the reason why. The little sage uses his might to subdue the great sage. We shall leave for the moment the heavenly generals making their encirclement and the soundly sleeping great sage. The story goes on to tell how the compassionate and merciful miraculous saviour from suffering, the Bodhisattva Guan Yin of Mount Potagraka in the Southern Sea, having been invited by the Queen Mother to the Peach Banquet, went to the precious pavilions at the Jade Pool with her great disciple, Huiyan the Novice. She found the place deserted and the banquet ruined. The few immortals present were not sitting at their places but holding confused discussions. When greetings were over, the immortals gave the Bodhisattva an account of what had happened. If there is to be no banquet and no drinking, said the Bodhisattva, you had better all come with me to the Jade Emperor. The immortals were delighted to follow her and when they arrived before the Hall of Universal Brightness, the four heavenly teachers, the Barefoot Immortal and many others were all there to greet the Bodhisattva. They told her that the Jade Emperor had sent heavenly armies to capture the demon but they had not yet returned. I wish to see the Jade Emperor, said the Bodhisattva, so may I trouble you to inform him on my behalf. The heavenly teacher Qi Hongji then went to the Hall of Miraculous Mist and the Bodhisattva was invited in. She found that Lord Laozi was there in the place of honour and that the Queen Mother was behind him. The Bodhisattva went in at the head of the others and when she had done obeisance to the Jade Emperor, she greeted Laozi and the Queen Mother. After they had all sat down, she asked what had happened at the Peach Banquet. The banquet is held every year and it is normally a very happy occasion, the Jade Emperor replied, but this year that monkey fiend wrecked it so that your invitation was worth nothing. Where does this monkey fiend come from, asked the Bodhisattva. He was born from a stone egg on the mountain of flowers and fruit in the land of Aeoli, on the eastern continent of Superior Body, the Jade Emperor answered. When he was born, golden beams flashed from his eyes that reached to the Star Palace. At first we paid no attention to him, but later on he became a spirit subduing dragons and tigers and erasing his own name from the registers of death. The Dragon Kings and King Yama of the Underworld informed us of this in memorials and we wanted to capture him, but the Star of Longevity memorialized that in the three worlds all beings with nine orifices can become immortals. We therefore extended education to the worthy by summoning him to the Upper World and appointing him Protector of the Horses in the Imperial Stable, but this was not good enough for the scoundrel who rebelled against Heaven. We sent Heavenly King Lee and Prince Nezha to accept his surrender, extended him an amnesty and summoned him back to the Upper World. We made him a great sage equaling Heaven, though this carried no salary. As he had nothing to do, he would go wandering all over the place and for fear this might lead to trouble, we had him look after the Peach Orchard. Once again he flouted the law by stealing and eating every single one of the big peaches from the old trees. When the banquet was to be held he was not invited as his position was purely an honorary one, so he played a trick on the barefoot immortal, went to the banquet looking like him, ate all the immortal delicacies and drank all the immortal liquor. On top of this he stole Lord Laozi's pills of immortality and some imperial liquor which he took to his mountain for the monkeys to enjoy. This made us very angry, so we sent a hundred thousand heavenly troops to spread Heaven and Earth nets and subdue him. But we have received no reports today, so we do not know whether we have been victorious. When the Bodhisattva heard this she said to Huyan the novice, hurry down from Heaven to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit and find out about the military situation. If you meet any opposition you may do your bit to help, but the important thing is to bring an accurate report back. Huyan the novice straightened his robes, took his iron staff, left the palace by cloud and went straight to the mountain. He saw that with the lair upon lair of Heaven and Earth nets and the men holding bells and shouting passwords at the gate of the camp, the cordon round the mountain was watertight. Huyan stopped and called, heavenly soldiers at the gates of the camp, I would trouble you to report that I, Moxa, the second son of Heavenly King Li, also known as Huyan, the senior disciple of Guan Yin of the Southern Seas, have come to ask about the military situation. Then the divine soldiers of the five mountains inside the camp went in through the gates of the headquarters where the rat, the cock, the horse and the hair stars reported the news to the commander of the central corps. Heavenly King Li sent a flag of command with the order that the Heaven and Earth nets were to be opened to let Huyan in. The east was just beginning to grow light as Huyan followed the flag in and bowed to Heavenly King Li and the four other Heavenly Kings. Where have you come from, my son, asked Heavenly King Li. Your stupid son accompanied the bodhisattva to the peach banquet and when she found the banquet deserted and nobody at the jade pool, she took me and the other immortals to see the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor told her that you, father, and the other kings had gone down to the lower world to capture this monkey field. As the Jade Emperor has received no news all day on the outcome of the battle, the bodhisattva sent me here to find out what has happened. We arrived here and encamped yesterday, Heavenly King Li replied, then sent the nine bright shiners to challenge the enemy to battle. But that wretch used such tremendous magic powers that the nine bright shiners all came back defeated. Then he led out our own soldiers into action and the wretch also drew up his line of battle. Our hundred thousand heavenly soldiers fought indecisive engagements with him till dusk when he used a spell to divide up his body and force us back. When we withdrew our forces and held an investigation, we found that we had only captured wolves, tigers, leopards, and so on, and had not even taken half a monkey field. We have not yet given battle today. Before he had finished speaking, someone appeared outside the gates of the headquarters to report that the Great Sage was outside at the head of a crowd of monkey spirits, clamoring for battle. The four other Heavenly Kings, Heavenly King Li and Prince Nezha were all for committing their forces, but Moxa said, Father, when your stupid son was instructed by the Bodhisattva to come here and find out the news, I was also told that if there was a battle I could do my bit to help. May I please go and see what sort of a great sage he is, untalented though I am? My boy, said Heavenly King Li, you have been cultivating your conduct with the Bodhisattva for some years now, so I suppose that you must have acquired some magic powers, but do be very careful. The splendid Prince Moxa hitched up his embroidered robes and charged out through the gates of the headquarters, waving his iron staff with both hands. Which of you is the great sage equaling I am, answered the Great Sage, brandishing his as-you-will cudgel. But who do you think you are asking a question like that? I am Prince Moxa, the second son of Heavenly King Li, and I am now a disciple and guard before the throne of the Bodhisattva Guanyin. My Buddhist name is Huiyan. Why have you come here to see me instead of staying in the Southern Seas and cultivating your conduct, asked the Great Sage. And Moxa replied, my teacher has sent me here to find out about the military situation, but now that I've seen your savagery, I've come to capture you. You talk big, don't you, said the Great Sage. Well then, go away, try a taste of my cudgel. Moxa, not in the least frightened, struck at him with his iron staff. It was a fine fight, they fought. Halfway up the mountainside, outside the gates of the headquarters, the staves were matched but made of different iron. The weapons clashed, but their masters were not the same. One was a wayward immortal known as the Great Sage, the other a true dragon disciple of Guanyin. The cast iron staff, beaten with a thousand hammers, had been forged by the art of the Ding and the Jia. The as-you-will cudgel once anchored the Milky Way. As the treasure still in the sea, its magic power was great. When the two met, they were well matched indeed, and they parried and lunged at each other without end. The sinister cudgel, infinitely murderous, could whirl round your waist as quick as the wind. The spear-catching staff, never yielding and opening, was irresistible, parrying to right and left. On the one side the flags and banners fly, on the other the camel drums roll. Ten thousand heavenly generals in multiple encirclement, a cave of monkey devils densely packed together, monstrous fogs and evil clouds cover the earth, while the smoke of deadly battle rises to the sky. Yesterday's fighting was bad enough, today's struggle is even worse. The admirable skills of the Monkey King put Moxa to flight, utterly defeated. After they had fought some 50 or 60 rounds, Huiyan's arm and shoulders were numbed and aching, and he could resist the Great Sage no longer. Waving his staff in a feint, he turned away and ran. The Great Sage then withdrew his monkey soldiers and encamped outside the gates of the cave. The big and little heavenly soldiers at the gates of the other camp received Huiyan and let him go straight to the headquarters, where he gasped and panted for breath as he said to the four heavenly kings, Li the Pagoda Bearer and his brother Prince Nezha, what a great sage, what a great sage, his magic powers are too much for me, he beat me. Startled by this news, the heavenly King Li had a request for reinforcements written and sent the strong-armed Devil King and Prince Moxa up to heaven to submit. Not daring to waste a moment, the two messengers rushed out through the heaven and earth nets and mounted their propitious clouds. A moment later, they arrived outside the Hall of Universal Brightness, where they greeted the four heavenly teachers who led them to the Hall of Miraculous Mist and handed up their memorial. Prince Moxa or Huiyan did homage to the Bodhisattva, who asked him what he had found out. As you instructed me, I went to the mountain of flowers and fruit, reported Huiyan, asked them to open the gates of the heaven and earth net, saw my father and told him of the orders you had given me. His Majesty, my father, said that they fought against the Monkey King yesterday, but did not capture a single monkey spirit, only tigers, leopards, lions, elephants and so on. While he was telling me this, the Monkey King demanded battle again, so your disciple fought some 50 or 60 rounds against him with my iron staff, but I was no match for him. He beat me and drove me back to the camp. This is why my father has sent me and the strong-armed devil king up to heaven to ask for reinforcements. The Bodhisattva lowered her head in deep thought. The Jade Emperor opened the memorial and saw that it contained a request for help. This intolerable monkey spirit has enough tricks to fight off a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers, he observed with a smile. Heavenly King Li has asked for reinforcements, which heavenly soldiers should I send him? Before the words were out of his mouth, Guan Yin put her hands together and said, do not worry your majesty, I can recommend a god to capture this monkey. Which god? The Jade Emperor asked and the Bodhisattva replied, your majesty's nephew, the illustrious sage and true lord Erlang, who is now living at Guangjiang enjoying the incense that the lower beings burn to him. In the past he exterminated the six bogeys. He has the brothers of Plum Hill and the 1200 straw-headed gods and his magical powers are enormous. He will agree to be sent, though he would not obey a summons to come here, so your majesty might like to issue a decree ordering him to take his troops to the rescue. The Jade Emperor then issued such a decree and sent the strong-armed Devil King to deliver it. The Devil King took the decree, mounted his cloud and went straight up to Guangjiang. He reached the temple of the true lord within an hour, when the demon judges guarding the gates went in to report that there was an envoy from heaven standing outside with an imperial decree. Erlang went out with the brothers to receive the decree outside the gates and incense was burned as he read, the great sage equal in heaven the monkey fiend of the mountain of flowers and fruit has rebelled because he stole peaches wine and pills while in heaven and wrecked the peach banquet. We have dispatched a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and 18 heaven and earth nets to surround the mountain and force him to submit, but we have not yet succeeded. We do now therefore especially appoint our worthy nephew and his sworn brothers to go to the mountain of flowers and fruit and give their help in eliminating him. When you succeed large rewards and high office shall be yours. Erlang was delighted, he told the envoy from heaven to go back and report that he would be putting his sword to the emperor's service. We need not describe how the Devil King reported back to heaven. Will Erlang be able to overcome the great sage? Join us next time to find out. Goodbye.