This gave the junior devils inside the doors such a fright that they tumbled and ran inside to report, “Disaster, Your Majesties, disaster. The monks have smashed the front doors.”
“They're outrageous, damn them,” the three demon kings said in a great fury, and when they had sent for their armor and fastened it on they took their weapons and led their underlings into battle. It was now about the third watch of the night, and the moon in the middle of the sky made all as bright as day. As they led their forces out they wasted no more words and started fighting. Monkey held off the battle-axe, Pig blocked the cutlass, and Friar Sand took on the flail.
Three monks with cudgel, staff and rake;
Three evil monsters both brave and angry.
The battle-axe, the cutlass and the flail
Made howling winds and set the sand flying.
In their first clashes they breathed out baleful mists,
Then as they flew around they scattered coloured clouds.
The nailed rake went through its routines round the body,
The iron cudgel was even more splendidly heroic,
And the demon-quelling staff was something rarely seen on earth;
But the unrepentant ogres would not yield a foot of ground.
The bright-bladed axe had a sharp-pointed butt,
The whirling flail made a pattern of flowers,
And the flashing cutlass swung like a painted door;
But the monks were their match.
One side was fighting with fury for their master's life;
The other hit at their faces so as not to release the Tang Priest.
The axe hacked and the cudgel blocked in the struggle for mastery;
The rake swung and the cutlass struck as they fought;
The knotted flail and the demon-quelling staff,
Coming and going in a splendid display.
When the three monks and the three monsters had been fighting for a long time without either side coming out on top King Cold-avoider shouted, “Come on, little ones!” The monsters all charged at Pig, quickly tripping him up and bringing him to the ground. Several water-buffalo spirits dragged and pulled him inside the cave, where they tied him up. When Friar Sand saw that Pig had disappeared and heard the mooing of all the cattle he then raised his staff, feinted at King Dust-avoider and tried to flee, only to be rushed by another crowd of spirits who pulled at him, sending him staggering. However hard he struggled he could not get up, and he too was carried off to be tied up. Realizing that he was in an impossible situation, Monkey escaped by somersault cloud.
When Pig and Friar Sand were dragged to him the Tang Priest said with tears welling up in his eyes at the sight of them, “Poor things! You two have been caught too. Where's Wukong?”
“When he saw we'd been caught he ran away,” Friar Sand replied.
“Wherever he has gone he will certainly have gone to fetch help,” said the Tang Priest. “But who knows when we will be delivered?” Master and disciples felt thoroughly miserable.
The story tells how Brother Monkey rode his somersault cloud back to the Clouds of Compassion Monastery, where the monks met him with the question, “Have you been able to rescue Lord Tang?”
“It's difficult,” said Monkey, “very difficult. Those three evil spirits have tremendous magical powers, and when we three had fought them for a long time they called up their underlings to capture Pig and Friar Sand. I was lucky to get away.”
“My lord,” said the monks with horror, “if someone who can ride mists and clouds as you can couldn't catch them, your master is bound to be killed.”
“No problem,” Monkey replied, “no problem. My master's under the secret protection of the Protectors, the Guardians, the Dings and the Jias. He has besides eaten Grass-returning Cinnabar. I'm sure his life will be safe. The only trouble is that those demons really know their stuff. You people look after the horse and the luggage while I go up to Heaven to get some troops.”
“Can you go up to Heaven, my lord?” asked the terrified monks.
“I used to live there,” replied Monkey with a smile. “Because I wrecked the Peach Banquet when I was Great Sage Equaling Heaven, our Buddha subdued me, so that now I've no option but to redeem my crimes by guarding the Tang Priest while he fetches the scriptures. All along the journey I've been helping the good and fighting against the evil. What you don't realize is that the master is fated to have these troubles.” When the monks heard this they kowtowed in worship, while Monkey went outside and disappeared with a whistle.
The splendid Great Sage was soon outside the Western Gate of Heaven, where the Metal Planet, Heavenly King Virudhaka and the four spirit officers Yin, Zhu, Tao and Xu were talking to each other. As soon as they saw Monkey coming they hastily bowed to him and said, “Where are you going, Great Sage?”
“After we reached Mintian County in Jinping Prefecture on the Eastern borders of India,” Monkey replied, “my master, the Tang Priest who I'm escorting, was being entertained by the monks of the Clouds of Compassion Monastery for the Full Moon Festival. When we went to the Bridge of Golden Lamps there were three golden lamps full of over fifty thousand ounces of silver's worth of scented refined butter oil that the Buddhas came down to take every year. While we were admiring the lamps three Buddha images did come down to earth, and my master was gullible enough to go on the bridge to worship them. I told him they were a bad lot, but by then the lamps had been covered up and the master carried off with the oil by a wind. When I'd followed the wind till dawn I reached a mountain, where the four Duty Gods fortunately told me that it was called Green Dragon Mountain with a Dark Essence Cave in it where three monsters lived: King Cold-avoider, King Heat-avoider and King Dust-avoider. I hurried to their doors to demand the master and fought them for a while without success, so I got in by transforming myself to find the master locked up but unharmed. I released him and was just taking him out when they woke up and I had to flee again. Later I fought hard against them with Pig and Friar Sand, but the two of them were both captured and tied up. That's why I've come up to inform the Jade Emperor, find out about the monsters' background and ask him to give orders to have them suppressed.”
At this the Metal Planet burst out laughing and said, “If you've been fighting the monsters why can't you tell where they're from?”
“I can see that,” Monkey replied. “They're a bunch of rhino spirits. But they have such enormous magical powers that I can't beat them and I'm desperate.”
“They are three rhinoceros spirits,” the Metal Planet explained. “Because their form is seen in heaven they cultivated their awareness for many years and became true spirits able to fly on clouds and walk in mists. Those monsters are fanatical about cleanliness and don't like the look of their own bodies, and are always going into the water to bathe. They have lots of different names: there are she-rhinos, he-rhinos, gelded rhinos, spotted rhinos, humao rhinos, duoluo rhinos and heaven-connected brindled rhinos. They all have a single nostril, three types of hair and two horns. They roam the rivers and seas and can travel through water. It looks as though Cold-avoider, Heat-avoider and Dust-avoider have nobility in their horns, which is why they call themselves kings. If you want to catch them, they will submit to the four beast stars belonging to the element wood.”
“Which four wood stars?” Monkey asked. “Could I trouble you, venerable sir, to spell it out for me?”
“Those stars are spread out in space outside the Dipper and Bull Palace,” the planet replied with a smile. “If you submit a memorial to the Jade Emperor he will give you detailed instructions.” Raising his clasped hands as he expressed his thanks, Monkey went straight in through the heavenly gates.