As they were talking a young monk came in to light the lamp and invite Sanzang to take his bath. By now the sky was bright with the moon and the stars, and from the look-out towers the watches of the night were being beaten out on the drum. It was indeed the time when
Cold breezes blow around the walls,
And lamps are lit in every house.
Along the streets all the doors are shut;
The gates of the three markets are all closed.
The fishing boat is sheltered under the trees;
The ploughing ox is let off its rope.
The woodman gives his axe a rest,
While the schoolboy can be heard reciting his lessons.
When Sanzang had bathed he put on a narrow-sleeved tunic, tightened the belt around his waist, put on a pair of boots, and took the new brooms. “You sleep here while I sweep the pagoda,” he said to the monks.
“The pagoda was contaminated by the rain of blood,” Monkey said, “and it hasn't shone for many a long day. There may be evil things living up there. If you go up by yourself on this cold and windy night I'm worried that something might go wrong. Why don't I go with you?”
“Very good idea,” Sanzang replied, and each carrying a broom they first went up into the main Buddha hall, where Sanzang lit the glazed lamp, burned incense, and bowed to the Buddha saying, “Your disciple Chen Xuanzang has been sent by the Great Tang in the East to worship out Tathagata Buddha on Vulture Peak and fetch the scriptures. I have now reached the Golden Light Monastery in the kingdom of Jisai, where the monks tell me that their pagoda has been contaminated and that they have been unjustly punished because the king suspects them of having stolen the treasure. Your disciple is now going devoutly to sweep the tower in the hope that my Buddha in his great responsiveness will reveal the cause of the contamination and spare these folk from injustice.”
When he had prayed he and Brother Monkey opened the door of the pagoda and began to sweep it from the ground upwards. That pagoda
Towered to the stars,
Thrust up into space.
It was called the glazed tile pagoda,
The golden sarira spire.
The stairway spiraled like the inside of a cave;
The door seemed to be the door of a coop.
The gleam of the vase reached the moon at the horizon;
The sea breeze carried the sound of its bells.
Look at the eaves and corbel brackets,
The finial in the clouds.
The eaves and corbel brackets
Were of masonry through which the scented breezes blew.
The finial in the clouds
Had mist dragons coiling around the pagoda.
The view stretched out for hundreds of miles;
To climb it was to climb to the heavens.
At the doors of every story were set glazed lamps,
But full of dust, not light.
All around under the eaves ran marble balustrades,
Covered with filth and insects.
Inside the tower,
By the Buddha statues,
Incense no longer burned.
Outside the windows,
In front of the divine face,
Cobwebs covered all.
The incense-burners were full of mouse-droppings,
The lamps untouched by oil.
Because the treasure had been spirited away
Many a monk had died for nothing.
Sanzang was determined to sweep out the pagoda
And restore to it the beauty that it had before.
When he had swept one story the Tang Priest went on to sweep the next, and so he continued till he reached the seventh story. By now it was the second watch of the night and he was beginning to feel exhausted.
“You're tired,” Monkey said. “Sit here and let me sweep it for you.”
“How many stories does it have?” Sanzang asked.
“About thirteen I suppose,” Monkey replied. Overcoming his weariness the Tang Priest said, “I must sweep it myself to fulfil the vow.” By the time he had swept another three stories his back and his legs were aching. At the tenth he collapsed and said, “Sweep the last three floors for me, Wukong.”
Monkey summoned up his energy, went to the eleventh floor, and a moment later up to the twelfth. As he was sweeping there he heard voices from in the roof. “That's odd,” he thought, “Very odd indeed. It's the third watch. They can't be people talking up there as late as this. I'm sure it's evil spirits. Let's have a look.”
The splendid Monkey King put his broom quietly under his arm, tucked up his clothes, slipped out through the door, and stepped on a cloud to take a better look. Sitting in the middle of the thirteenth story were two evil spirits with a dish of food, a bowl, and a jug of wine. They were playing the finger-guessing game and drinking.
Monkey used his magic powers to get rid of the broom and bring out his gold-banded cudgel, with which he barricaded the entrance to the pagoda and shouted, “So you're the ones who stole the pagoda's treasure, you monsters.” The two of them jumped up in their panic, grabbed the jug and bowl, and flung them at him. Monkey deflected them with his iron cudgel and said, “I won't kill you because I need you to give evidence.”
He just used his cudgel to force them to talk. The devils were pinned against the wall, unable to struggle or even move. All they could do was to repeat, “Spare us, spare us. It was nothing to do with us. The thief isn't here.”
Monkey used holding magic to carry them single-handed down to the tenth story, where he said, “Master, I've got the thieves.”
This news woke up Sanzang, who had been dozing, with a start of pleasure. “Where did you catch them?” he asked.
Dragging the demons over and forcing them to kneel to his master Monkey replied, “They were drinking and playing finger-guessing up in the roof. When I heard the din they were making I shot up by cloud to the roof and blocked their escape. I wasn't rough with them because I was worried that a single blow would kill them and we'd have nobody to give evidence. That's why I brought them here nice and gently. You can take statements from them, Master, and find out where they're from and where the stolen treasure has been hidden.”
The demons were still shivering and shaking and saying, “Spare us!” Then they made this true statement. “We were sent by the Infinitely Sage Dragon King of the Green Wave Pool on the Ragged Rock Mountain. His name's Benborba and mine is Baborben. He's catfish spirit and I'm a snakehead fish spirit. Our Infinitely Sage Ancient Dragon has a daughter called the Infinitely Sage Princess. She is as lovely as flowers or the moon and brilliant as well. The Ancient Dragon got a husband for her who would live in the palace. He has tremendous magic powers and he's called Prince Ninehead. He came here the other year with the dragon king to demonstrate his powers by making a blood rain that contaminated the pagoda and stealing the precious sarira relic of the Buddha. The princess then went up to the Daluo Heaven and stole the Queen Mother's nine-lobed magic fungus plant from in front of the Hall of Miraculous Mist. We keep it at the bottom of the pool, and it shines day and night with golden light and a coloured glow. Recently we've heard that Sun Wukong is on his way to fetch the scriptures from the Western Heaven. They say his powers are enormous, and that all along the way he has been looking out for wrongs to right. That's why we keep getting sent here to patrol and stop him when the comes. If that Sun Wukong turns up we're ready for him.”