Wukong Finally Meets His Match | Erlang Shen vs. the Monkey King Chapter 6.2

Is this the end for the Great Sage? Chapter Six, Part Two. The true Lord Airline called the six sworn brothers of Plum Hill, Marshals Kang, Zhang, Miao and Li, the Generals Kuo-Shen and Zhi-Qian, together before the hall. The Jade Emperor has just ordered us to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit to subdue a monkey fiend, he said. You are all coming with me. The brothers were all eager to go, and mustering their divine troops, they unleashed a gale wind. In an instant, they had crossed the eastern ocean, riding eagles and leading dogs, pulling their bows and drawing their crossbows, and had reached the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. Finding that the many layers of heaven earth nets were impenetrable, Airline shouted, listen all you Generals in charge of the heaven and earth nets, I am the true Lord and the illustrious Sage Airline, and I have been sent here by the Jade Emperor to capture the monkey fiend. Open the gates of the camp and let me in at once. Each line of gods forming the nets let them through, and the four other Heavenly Kings and Heavenly King Li all came to welcome him outside the headquarters. When the introductions were over, he asked how the fighting had gone, and the Heavenly Kings gave him a full account of what had happened. Now that I, the little Sage, have come here, I shall have to match a few transformations with him, said Airline with a smile. I hope that all you gentlemen will maintain a close cordon with your heaven and earth nets, but don't screen off the top of the mountain, then I'll be able to fight him. If he beats me I shan't need the help of you gentlemen as I have my brothers to support me, and if I beat him I won't have to trouble you to tie him up as my brothers can do it. I would just like to ask Heavenly King Li to stand in the sky and operate this fiend-detecting mirror. I'm worried that if he's beaten he may go and hide somewhere, so you will have to give me a clear view of him and not let him get away. The Heavenly Kings stayed in the four quarters and all the Heavenly Soldiers were drawn up in their battle positions. The True Lord Airline went out at the head of the four Marshals and the two Generals, making seven sworn brothers with himself included, to challenge the enemy to battle and he ordered his other officers to defend the camp firmly and keep the eagles and dogs under control. All the straw-headed gods acknowledged the order. Airline then went to the outside of the water curtain cave where he saw the monkey hordes neatly drawn up in a coiled dragon battle line. In the middle of the central core stood a pole with a banner on it reading, Great Sage Equalling Heaven. What business has that loathsome fiend to call himself the equal of heaven? Airline asked and the six sworn brothers of Plum Hill replied, Stop admiring him and challenge him to battle. When the junior monkeys at the gate of their camp saw the True Lord Airline they rushed back to report. Whereupon the Monkey King took his gold banded cudgel, adjusted his golden armour, put on his cloud-walking shoes, felt his golden helmet and leapt out through the gates of the camp. He saw at first sight how cool and remarkable Airline looked and how elegantly he was dressed. Indeed, his bearing was refined, his visage noble, his ears hung down to his shoulders and his eyes shone. The hat on his head had three peaks and phoenixes flying and his robe was of a pale goose yellow. His boots were lined with cloth of gold, dragons coiled round his socks. His jade belt was decorated with eight jewels. At his waist was a bow curved like the moon. In his hand a double-edged trident. His axe had split open Peach Mountain when he rescued his mother. His bow had killed the twin phoenixes of Zhongluo. Widespread was his fame for killing the eight bogeys and he had become one of Plum Hill's seven sages. His heart was too lofty to acknowledge his relatives in heaven. In his pride he went back to be a god at Guangjiang. He was the merciful and miraculous sage of the Red City, Airline, whose transformations were numberless. When the great sage saw him he laughed with delight, raised his gold-banded cudgel and shouted, where are you from, little general, that you have the audacity to challenge me? You must be blind, you wretch, if you can't recognize me. I am the nephew of the Jade Emperor and my title is Merciful and Miraculous King Airline. I am here on important orders to arrest you, protector of the horses, you rebel against heaven, you reckless baboon. Now I remember who you are, replied the great sage. Some years ago the Jade Emperor's younger sister wanted to be a mortal and came down to the lower world where she married a Mr. Yang and gave birth to a son who split the Peach Mountain open with his axe. Is that who you are? I should really fling you a few curses but I've got no quarrel with you and it would be a pity to kill you by hitting you with my cudgel. So why don't you hurry back, young sir, and tell those four heavenly kings of yours to come out. When the true Lord Airline heard this he burst out angrily. Damned monkey, where are your manners? Try this blade of mine. The great sage dodged the blow and instantly raised his gold-banded club to hit back. There was a fine battle between the two of them, the merciful god Airline, the great sage equaling heaven. One is the handsome monkey king, the proud deceiver of his enemies, the other a true pillar, the unknown subduer. When the two met they were both in a fighting mood. He who had no respect before today learned a sense of proportion. The iron staff raced with the flying dragons. The divine cudgel seemed like a dancing phoenix, parrying to the left, thrusting to the right, advancing to meet a blow, flashing behind. The brothers of Plum Hill add to one side's might while the other has the four stalwart generals to transmit orders. As the flags wave and the drums roll, each side is as one. Battle cries and gongs raise everyone's morale. The two steel blades each watch for their chance but neither leaves an opening as they come and go. The gold-banded cudgel, the treasure from the sea, can fly and transform itself to win the victory. A moment's delay and life is lost. A single mistake will be the last. After Airline and the great sage had fought over 300 rounds, the outcome of the fight was still undecided. Airline braced himself and with a shake became thousand fathoms tall. In his hands his two-bladed trident looked like the peaks of Mount Hua. His face was black, his fangs were long and his hair was bright red. He looked ferociously evil. He hacked at the great sage's head. The great sage, also resorting to magic, gave himself a body as big as Airline's and a face as frightening and he raised his as you will which was now like the pillar of heaven on the summit of the Kunlun mountain to ward off Airline's blow. This reduced the two 8th Field Marshals Ma and Yu to such trembling terror that they could no longer wave their banners while the Gibbon generals Seng and Ba were too scared to use their swords. On the other side Kang, Zhang, Yao, Li, Guo Sheng and Zhi Jian threw the straw-headed gods into an assault on the Water Curtain Cave with the dogs and eagles unleashed and their bows and crossbows drawn. This attack put the four monkey generals to flight and two or three thousand devils were captured. The monkeys threw away their spears, tore off their armour, abandoned their swords and halberds and fled screaming. Some went up the mountain and some returned to the cave like roosting birds frightened by an owl or stars scattered across the sky. This is all we have to say about the sworn brother's victory. The story goes on to tell how the true Lord Airline and the Great Sage having turned themselves into figures on the scale of heaven and earth were locked in battle when the Great Sage was suddenly appalled to notice that the monkey thieves in his camp had scattered in terror putting off his magic appearance. He broke away and fled his cudgel in his hand. Seeing him go the true Lord Airline hurried after him with long strides. Where are you going? He asked. If you surrender at once your life will be spared. We break here to wonder will the Great Sage surrender? Is he defeated? Goodbye till next time.