This is a fresh, complete English translation of Wu Cheng’en’s public-domain one-hundred-chapter novel, produced with GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark assistance. It is an AI-assisted first edition, not a reproduction of an existing translation.

So it was known that the Equal-to-Heaven Great Sage was, after all, only a demon monkey. No one even knew his official rank or stipend grade, and no one compared salaries with him; just naming him was enough. The two divisions of Immortal clerks under the Qi Tian Palace attended him morning and evening. He only knew to take three meals by day, sleep on one bed by night, and with no business to pull him in had complete freedom. In his spare time he met friends and roamed the palaces, making sworn friendships. He addressed the Three Purities with the honorific “Old,” and when he met the Four Emperors he addressed them as “Your Majesty.” With the Nine Luminaries, the Generals of the Five Directions, the Twenty-Eight Mansions, the Four Great Heavenly Kings, the Twelve Yuan stars, the Five-direction elders, the astrologers of all the heavens, and the River-and-Lake gods of He and Han, he treated them all as brothers. Today he traveled east, tomorrow west; drifting in and out of the clouds, his movements were unpredictable.

One day, at the Jade Emperor’s morning court, a true immortal named Xu Jingyang stepped forward and knelt to report, “Now the Great Sage of Equal-to-Heaven is free of duties and roams in idleness, making friends with all heavenly constellations regardless of rank and calling them all companions. I fear trouble may arise from his idle wandering. Better entrust him with some charge so trouble can be prevented.” Hearing this, the Jade Emperor issued an edict at once. The Monkey King came at once, smiling in happiness: “Your Majesty, what promotion or reward does the edict grant Old Monkey?” The Jade Emperor said, “I see you have free time and no task, so here is one assignment: for now, take charge of the Peach Garden and attend to it carefully.” The Great Sage was overjoyed, thanked him, bowed in court, and withdrew.

The moment he had no more pressing duties, he entered the Peach Garden to inspect it. Inside the garden a local Earth God blocked him and asked, “Where is Great Sage going?” The Great Sage said, “By the Jade Emperor’s order, I have been appointed to oversee the Peach Garden and have come to inspect it.” The Earth God quickly paid his respects and summoned the teams of tree-pruning attendants, water-drawing attendants, peach-maintenance attendants, and sweep attendants, all of whom bowed and led him in. There he saw:

Lush and brilliant, thick with bloom and fruit in every cluster, every bough crowded with ripe globes. Blossoms bloomed vivid along the trees, ripe fruits pressed down the branches. The fruits weighed down the boughs, hanging like hanging brocade tassels; blossoms on the trees clustered like rouge. Opened and closed by turns, each ripening took a thousand years; there was no summer and no winter, and ages passed slowly. The earliest ripe ones had cheeks flushed as red as wine; the later ones still bore green stems and greenish skins. Their smoldering flesh carried a green sheen, and in sunlight they showed their red-lacquer brilliance. Beneath them grew strange blossoms and strange herbs, and in all four seasons the colors did not fade. On both sides stood pavilions and halls, filling the sky, veiled by cloud and rainbow light. They were not grown from ordinary worldly seeds; the Queen Mother of the Jasper Pool had cultivated them herself.

After looking in delight for a long while, the Great Sage asked the Earth God, “How many trees are there in total?” The Earth God said, “There are three thousand six hundred: first, one thousand two hundred, with small blossoms and small fruits, ripening once every three thousand years; anyone who eats them becomes a transcendent, with a healthy body and light frame. In the middle, one thousand two hundred with layered blossoms and sweet flesh, ripening every six thousand years; whoever eats them rises skyward and never ages. At the back, one thousand two hundred with purple-veined kernels ripen every nine thousand years; whoever eats them attains lifespan equal to heaven and earth, living as long as the Sun and Moon.” The Great Sage heard this and rejoiced beyond measure. That day he checked over all the trees and pavilions and returned to his hall. From then on, every three to five days he came to enjoy himself, neither making friends with others nor going elsewhere.

One day he saw the old branches of one tree heavy with ripe peaches. He wished to taste something new, but the garden spirits and attendant spirits of the Great Heaven remained close and made it inconvenient. He devised a plan: "You all wait outside at the gate. Let me rest a while in this pavilion." They withdrew. The Monkey King removed crown and robes, climbed up the great tree, selected perfectly ripe peaches, and plucked many of them, then, lounging among the branches, ate to satiety. Only after he had eaten enough did he drop down, restored crown and robes, and called the attendants back and returned. Two or three days later he would try again, stealing peaches whenever he pleased.

One day the Queen Mother held a grand banquet and opened the treasure hall, making a triumphal Peach Assembly in the Waters of Jade. She ordered the Immortal Maidens in scarlet, blue, white, black, purple, yellow, and green robes to carry flower baskets and gather peaches from the Peach Garden for the feast. When the seven maids reached the garden gate, they found the garden spirit and its earth-guarding men there with the court attendants of the Great Heaven. As they bowed and reached the gate the maiden in lead said, "By the Queen Mother’s sacred order, we have come to harvest peaches and prepare the banquet." The earth spirit said, "Immortal ladies, please wait. This year is not as in past years. The Jade Emperor has commissioned the Great Sage of Equal-to-Heaven to supervise here, and I dare not open the grounds before reporting to him." A maiden said, "Where is the Great Sage?" The spirit said, "He is in the garden, napping in a pavilion from weariness." The maiden answered, "Then go find him at once; do not delay." The spirit and others entered with them. They searched the flower pavilion and found nothing but robes and capes there; he had vanished. He had only napped awhile after eating several peaches, then in monkey trickery had shrunk to the height of two inches and slept beneath dense leaves at the top of a high bough. The seven maidens said, "We came on command, yet we cannot find him. How can we return empty-handed?" A nearby immortal envoy spoke: "If your ladies have come under orders, do not hesitate. Our Great Sage is used to wandering. He has likely gone out to meet friends outside the garden. Go ahead and pick peaches; we will carry your words back."

The maidens did as told and entered the grove to pluck peaches: first two baskets from the front rows, three more from the middle, and then to the rear trees. At the back only a few pale green, fuzzy-stemmed peaches remained; all the ripe ones had been eaten. The seven looked everywhere and saw only one peach on a southern branch, half red, half white. The blue-robed maiden pulled a branch down, and the red-robed maiden plucked that peach and set the branch aside.

The Great Sage had in truth transformed himself and was sleeping there on that branch. He woke with a start, resumed his true form, drew out his golden staff from his ear, flourished it once—its girth swelled like a vessel—and said sharply, "Who are you, what monster dare to pluck my peaches?" The seven maidens, startled, knelt together. "Great Sage, calm yourself. We are no demons, but the seven robed maidens sent by the Queen Mother to gather immortals’ peaches for the banquet in the Hall of Treasures. We came and first saw the local earth spirit; he could not find the Great Sage. Fearing we might delay the Queen Mother’s command, we dare not wait and so began plucking. Please forgive this offense." Hearing her words, the Great Sage smiled and set aside his wrath. "Rise, Immortal ladies. For this feast in the Hall, whom have they invited?" The maidens answered, "By precedent, Buddha of the Western Heaven, bodhisattvas, saintly monks, and arhats are invited, along with Guanyin of the southern polar heavens, the august Dharma Emperor of the east and the Three Islets and Three Islands Immortal Elders, Xuanling of the north, Huang Jiao the Great Immortal of the central yellow extremity, and the Five elders of the five directions. There are also the lord of the Big Dipper stars, the Three Purities of the upper eight palaces, Four Emperors, Taiyi heavenly immortals above; the Jade Emperor’s retinue and the Nine-terrace hosts, mountain-and-sea spirits above; beneath them, lords of the nether palaces and sovereigns of the dark realms of the underworld, with principal and lesser deities from every court and hall—all in attendance." The Great Sage laughed, "Did they invite me?" The maidens said, "No word reached us." He replied, "I am the Equal-to-Heaven Great Sage. Why should it be improper to invite Old Son to preside at a seat? What is the harm?" They said, "This is the old rule for the Supreme Assembly; none knows if this gathering is arranged as before." The Great Sage said, "True. No wonder you do not know. Stand where you are. I will first go inquire whether I am indeed uninvited."

Greatly pleased, he muttered a formula, chanted a charm, and said to all the maidens, "Stop! Stop! Stop!" It was a sealing technique, freezing their limbs; each of the seven maidens stood beneath the peach tree with eyes wide open and unblinking, faces drained of color and unmoving. The Great Sage leapt like auspicious clouds and shot out of the garden straight toward the Jade Pool. As he went, a scene rose on the roadside:

A single day of omens and rosy light wavered,\n > five-hued auspicious clouds flew without cease.\n > The cry of white cranes rang through nine ravines,\n > purple-fungus blossoms gleamed like a thousand leaves.\n > In the center appeared one immortal, whose face and form held a natural, singular radiance.\n > Through rainbow-gleaming sky he danced a divine step,\n > a treasure register hung at his waist, free of birth and death.\n > His name: Chijiao Great Immortal,\n > come in person for the Feast of Added Longevity.

The bare-footed Great Immortal Chijiao met the Great Sage face to face. The Great Sage lowered his head and, on the spot, devised a ruse for a true immortal. He wished to slip through to the banquet unnoticed and yet asked, "Elder, where are you bound?" The Chijiao Sage replied, "The Queen Mother has summoned me to attend the Great Peach Assembly." The Great Sage answered, "You are not acquainted. The Jade Emperor, knowing Old Son can whirl clouds at speed, has sent him to summon all by five roads. One must first attend court before arriving at the Hall of Illumination, and only then go to the feast." The bare-footed one, a straightforward and upright man of light, accepted the stratagem as true and said, "But each year we render thanks for mercy in the Hall of Jasper Waters—how then can I first go to the Hall of Illumination and only afterward to the Peach banquet?" There was no help for it; he turned his omens-cloud and went directly to the Hall of Clear Brightness.

The Great Sage mounted his cloud, chanted a charm, changed form in a twinkle, and became the likeness of Chijiao Great Immortal, then rushed on toward the Jade Pool. Not long afterward he arrived at the treasure pavilion. He reined in the cloud-head, stepped down lightly, and walked inside. There he saw:

Pearly incense curled in fragrant spirals, auspicious vapors shimmered in wonder. The terraces of the jade realm were spread in colored streamers; the treasure hall drifted with gentle haze. Phoenixes rose and luans flew in elusive grace. Golden blossoms and jade cup-like blossoms floated and sank in wavering shadows. Above were arrayed canopies of nine-phae­nix vermilion-sun clouds, eight precious violet-rainbow pedestals, five-hued gold-leafed tables, and thousand-flower green-jade basins. On the tables were dragon liver and phoenix marrow, bear paws and ape lips. The banquet foods were a hundred delicacies, each excellent in flavor; strange fruits and festive dishes were fresh in every color.

Everything inside was arranged in perfect order and symmetry, yet no immortals had arrived.

That place was impeccably arranged, yet still no immortals had arrived.

The Great Sage looked around without seeing much, then suddenly caught a blast of wine aroma in his nostrils. Turning, he saw beneath the right-side corridor a few wine-making immortals, mash-stirring attendants, along with a few Daoist water carriers and fire-keeping boys who were scrubbing jars and tubs, already producing jade-like spirit and fine fragrant wine. The Great Sage could not keep his mouth from drooling. He wanted to eat, but all those people were right there. So he used a trick, plucked a few hair strands from his mane, chewed them to pieces in his mouth and blew them out, chanted a charm, and said, “Transform!” They at once became dozing bugs that flew onto everyone’s faces. Look at that crowd: their hands went limp, heads drooped, brows lowered, eyes closed together; they dropped their duties and all went off to sleep. The Great Sage then took a number of the hundred-flavored and eight-precious dishes, and other fine and strange foods, entered the corridor, went from vat to jar, drank to his fill, and caroused for some time. He drank heavily and became drunk. He thought to himself, “This is bad, bad! The invited guests will arrive in a bit—will they not blame me? If they catch me at once, what am I to do? Better to go back to my own hall and sleep right away.”

The Great Sage swayed and leaned on the wine, recklessly colliding as he pleased. In a moment he missed the way: it was not the Qitian Hall but the Hall of Doushaì. He suddenly cleared-headed and said, “The Doushàí Palace is above the Thirty-Three Heavens, the seat of the Supreme Lord Lao in the Heaven of Departed Grief; how did I end up here by mistake? All right then, all right then—I've long meant to come and have seen this old master, but never had the chance. Since I have this leftover misstep, I may as well look on him once.” He adjusted his clothes and barged in, but there he saw no Old Lord, not a trace of anyone.

In truth, that old master and the Buddha of Luminous Lamp were giving a sermon on a three-tiered high tower atop the cinnabar altar. Immortal boys, immortal generals, immortal officials, and immortal clerks stood on both sides listening. The Great Sage went straight into the alchemical chamber and searched, but found no one. Beside the furnace were five gourds, and in each were already-refined golden pills. The Great Sage said in joy, “This is the highest treasure of immortals. Since I learned the Way, I have understood that internal and external are one, yet I too wish to refine some golden elixirs to benefit people, though there was no time for it at home. Today I have this good fortune and yet have run into this thing by chance. While the old master is away, let me eat a few pills and taste the new.” He poured every one of the gourds out and ate them all, just like munching roasted beans.

In an instant he fully sobered up. He thought to himself, “No, no! This calamity is bigger than heaven; if I alarm the Jade Emperor, my life may not be spared. Leave, leave—better go down below and become king.” He ran out of Doushì Palace, did not take the old path, and escaped through the Western Heavenly Gate by using a concealment method. Then he pressed the cloud-head and returned to the border of Flower-Fruit Mountain. There he saw flashing banners and radiant halberds: it was the Four Marshals and the Seven-Two Hundred? Actually no, the Seven-Two? [corrected] the 72 Caves monsters’ kings there practicing martial arts. The Great Sage shouted, “You youngsters, I am here!” The monsters cast down their weapons and knelt, saying, “Great Sage, have peace of mind; we have been left for a long time and feared you had forgotten to attend to us.” The Great Sage said, “Not long now, not long.”

Then he marched on straight into the deep caverns. The four marshals set matters in order and, after bowing and paying respects, all said, “Great Sage, during the hundred and ten years in Heaven, what post did you actually hold?” The Great Sage laughed, “It feels like only half a year to me—how can you say a hundred and ten years?” The marshal replied, “One day in Heaven is a year below.” The Great Sage said, “As for this, the Jade Emperor has favored me: he bestowed upon me the title Great Sage, Equal to Heaven; raised a Great Heavenly Office; and set up the Offices of Tranquility and Pacification with immortal attendants and guards. Later, seeing I had nothing to do, he made me supervise the Peach Garden. Recently the Queen Mother held a Peach Banquet and did not invite me. I did not wait for her invitation, I first went to the Jade Pool and stole and ate all his divine food and divine wine. Leaving the Jade Pool, staggering, I accidentally entered Lord Lao’s palace and also ate his five gourd-golden elixirs. But fearing the Jade Emperor would discover my crime, I just now left through the Heavenly Gate.”

The monsters rejoiced on hearing this. They arranged wine and fruit to welcome him, and presented a stone cup filled to the brim with coconut wine. The Great Sage took one sip and said, “Not good, not good.” The two marshals Beng and Ba replied, “Great Sage has tasted immortal wine and immortal fare in Heaven, so coconut wine seems inferior in taste. As the saying goes: ‘No matter how good, it is the water of one’s native place.’” The Great Sage said, “You’re all ‘close or not, it’s still people from one’s native place.’ Earlier today while I was reveling in the Jade Pool, I saw many jars beneath the long corridor, all containing jade-like spirit nectar. None of you have tasted it. Let me go steal a few more to bring back; each of you drink just half a cup and you’ll all live long without aging or death.” The monkeys rejoiced beyond measure.

The Great Sage came out through the cave gate again, chanted a spell and turned the cloud-head, then went straight to the Peach Banquet at the Jade Pool palace. There he saw those handling winemaking, mash, water carrying, and fire tending still fast asleep, snoring. He snatched two by their sides under the arms, took two in each hand, then turned the cloud-head and returned. Back in the cave with the assembled monkeys, they held a heavenly wine gathering; each drank a few cups, and all were joyful—no need to elaborate.

As for the seven-robed fairies, they were held by the Great Sage’s fixed-body spell and could be released only after one heavenly cycle. Each carrying a flower basket, they returned and reported to the Queen Mother: “The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, used his spell to restrain us, and for this reason we arrived late.” The Queen Mother asked, “How many peaches did you pick?” The maidens answered, “Only two baskets of small peaches and three baskets of medium peaches. As for the back rows, not even half a big peach remains—surely the Great Sage must have eaten them. While I was searching, suddenly he came out and began to beat and terrorize us, and then asked who was invited to host the banquet. We explained everything of the hall’s occasion; he then fixed and held us, and we did not know where he had gone. Only now are we able to wake and return.”

The Queen Mother heard this and immediately went to see the Jade Emperor, laying out all that had transpired. She had not yet finished when those who had made the wine together with the attending immortals came in to report: “We do not know who it was, but that fellow disrupted the banquet of the Peaches, stole heavenly wine, and stole all the eight precious flavors as well.” Then four Great Celestial Masters arrived to report: “The Most High Patriarch of the Way has come.” The Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother went out to receive him. After completing his ceremonial bows, Laojun said, “I have refined a batch of nine-revolutionary Golden Pill Elixir in the Great Palace for Your Majesty’s Great Assembly of Vital Essence. I never thought some thief would steal it away. I now bring this to your attention.” The Jade Emperor was alarmed. Presently another heavenly officer from the Qitian Office knelt and said, “The Great Sage Sun Wukong did not keep to his duties; since yesterday he went out on an outing and has not yet returned, and his whereabouts are unknown.” The Jade Emperor grew even more suspicious. Again the Barefoot Great Immortal came in and reported: “By the Queen Mother’s command, I attended yesterday’s assembly. There I happened to meet the Great Sage of Equal to Heaven. He told me that the Emperor had commanded him to summon me and others first to the Hall of Bright Clarity to perform ritual bows, and only then to attend the meeting. I followed his words, returned to the Hall’s outside gate, and when I did not see the august dragon carriage or phoenix sedan, I hurried back here and waited.” The Jade Emperor cried out in greater astonishment, “This rogue forged the command and duped the august ministers. Hurry and order the Celestial Inspector of Spirits to pursue his trail.”

Taking command, the Spiritual Officer set out from the hall, searched everywhere, and reported every detail: it was indeed the Great Sage of Equal to Heaven who had thrown Heaven into uproar. He recounted the earlier events once more. The Jade Emperor grew furious and dispatched the Four Great Heavenly Kings together with Li Tianwang and Prince Nezha, ordering the Twenty-Eight Stellar Officers, the Nine Luminaries, the Twelve Primordial Deities, the Five Directional Overseers, the Four Duty Censors, the Star Formations of East and West, the Two Divine Guardians of North and South, the Five Mountains and Four Rivers, and the entire heavenly star host—one hundred thousand celestial soldiers in all—to lay eighteen arrays of heavenly nets and earthbound snares, descend to the lower world, and encircle Flower-Fruit Mountain to seize that rogue and bring him to judgment.

All the gods immediately raised their ranks and left the Heavenly Palace. As they set out, they saw this:

Yellow winds churned and rolled, blackening the sky; purple mists surged up, darkening the earth. Only because a demon monkey dared to affront the Son of Heaven, it drove all the sages down to the mortal world. Four Great Heavenly Kings and the Five Great Yedi: the four kings assumed command, and the Five Great Yedi arranged many troops. Li, the Banner-Pole Tuo General, was the center commander and front signal-keeper, while fierce Nezha led the vanguard. Luo-hou star served as the lead inspector, with Jiedu star pressing behind in towering force. Taiyin’s spirit was braced and alert, and Taiyang shone clearly in its brilliance. The Five-Element stars were especially brave and imposing; the Nine Luminaries most liked to contend. For YUANCHEN, the Zi, Wu, Mao, and You hours, one and all were mighty heavenly guards. The Five Plagues and Five Peaks were set out east and west; the Six Ding and Six Jia moved on both sides. The Four-Fold Mouth Dragon Gods held upper and lower positions; the Twenty-Eight Mansions were arrayed in dense layers. The stars Jiao, Kang, Di, and Fang were in overall command; Kui, Lou, Wei, and Mao kept their steeds in restless motion. Dipper, Ox, Woman, Void, Wei, and Bi (the wall-star cluster) each showed prowess. The Well, Gui, Liu, and star Zhang Yi with Ji Yin handled the spears and swirled their swords, showing fearsome spirit and power. Stopping-cloud and descending-mist entered the mortal world; in front of Flower-Fruit Mountain they pitched camp. Poem: Heaven-born monkey king shifts forms in endless ways, stealing elixirs and wine to revel in his rocky den. It is only because he disrupted the Peach Banquet that ten-thousand ranks of heavenly soldiers spread their snares.

At that time, Li Tianwang issued orders and directed all the heavenly troops to set up camp, enclosing Flower-Fruit Mountain so tightly that not even water could pass through. They laid the eighteenth array of heavenly and earth nets above and below, then first sent out the Nine Bad Stars to engage. The Nine Luminaries, bearing troops, marched straight to the cave mouth and saw only groups of monkeys outside and inside the cave leaping and frolicking. The star marshal shouted in a hard voice, “You little demon, where is your Great Sage? We are heavenly generals dispatched from the upper realms to bring down this rebel Great Sage. Let him surrender at once. If he refuses even one word, all of you will be exterminated.” The little monkey hurried in to report, “Great Sage, disaster! Disaster! Outside there are nine ferocious gods, claiming they are heavenly deities sent from above to take you in.”

At that moment, the Great Sage was sharing immortal wine with the seventy-two cave demon kings and four top commanders. On hearing this report, he deliberately ignored it and said, “Drink today and be drunk today—don’t concern yourself with right or wrong at the gate.” He had not finished speaking when another little demon came bounding in: “That line nine fierce stars are hurling coarse abuses and shouting for battle at the gate.” The Great Sage laughed, “Ignore them. Let wine and verse matter for today’s joy; no matter when fame comes.” Before he could finish, yet another little demon arrived: “Master! Those nine ferocious stars have broken the gate and are barging in.” The Great Sage grew angry: “These bald, coarse-haired gods are terribly rude. I had meant to make no calculations with them, yet how dare they come to our gate to bully me?” He ordered the Horned Ghost King: “Lead out the seventy-two cave demon kings to battle. Great Sun Wukong, follow with the four bodyguards.” That king quickly rushed forth leading the demon soldiers to meet them, but the nine evil stars converged and attacked together; they were held at the bridge of the Iron Slab, and could not break through.

In the uproar, the Great Sage arrived. He cried, “Open the way!” pulled free his iron staff, and with one sweep, broad as a bowl and two zhang long, he tossed it from its stand and stepped out fighting. None of those nine luminary stars dared to stand against him; he drove them back at once. The Nine Luminary stars held their formation and said, “You, oblivious to life and death, you Bima Wen, have committed the Ten Great Sins: first you stole peaches, then stole wine, disrupted the Peach Banquet, stole Laojun’s Immortal Elixir, and even stole the imperial wine to feast here in pleasure. Your crimes are piled upon crimes—did you not know?” The Great Sage laughed, “Those few matters are real. But what is your point now?” One of the nine stars replied, “I bear the Jade Emperor’s golden edict. I have led all these troops here to arrest you. Surrender quickly so these living creatures may keep their lives; otherwise I will level this mountain and flip over this cave.” The Great Sage grew furious: “How can these hairy gods dare such words with so little power? Stand still and taste old-sun a single staff!” The nine stars surged together at once; the Beautiful Monkey King did not tremble in the slightest. He raised the Golden-hooped staff, shielding left and right. He fought the Nine Luminaries until their strength failed and their muscles grew weary; each of them dropped his weapons and retreated, broken in battle. They rushed into the central command tent and told the Tuo-Ta Heavenly King, “That monkey king is truly extremely valiant. We cannot beat him—this is a defeated engagement.”

Li Tianwang then summoned the Four Great Heavenly Kings and the Twenty-Eight Constellations and led out the troops to fight. The Great Sage showed no fear at all; he also called out the Horned Ghost King, the seventy-two cave demon kings, and four commanders, and set them in formation outside the cave mouth. Behold the melee—it was truly terrifying:

The cold wind whistled sharply; strange mists lay low. On one side banners of color streamed; on the other side halberds and spears blazed. Helmets rolled and shone in waves, armor shone in rank upon rank. Those rolling helmets flashing before the sun were like silver chimes crashing into heaven; layered armor rose like cliffs and ice mountains pressing the earth. The great pole-arms were like cloud-splitting lightning; the pale spears cut through fog and cloud. The Fangtian halberd, Tiger-Eye whip, and Maling array; bronze swords, Siming spades, ranks packed like thick forest. Curved bows, hard crossbows, carved-plume arrows, short clubs, and serpent spears, each ready to seize the soul. The Great Sage’s one Ruyi staff spun and flipped as he battled the heavenly gods. He struck so hard that no birds crossed the sky; in the mountain tigers and wolves ran in panic. Sand flew up, stones rolled, heaven and earth darkened, dust rose into soil and earth, and the universe seemed dim. One heard weapons clashing and thundering, terrifying cries that shook gods and spirits.

This battle took up its array from the hour of the dragon until sunset in the west. The Horned Ghost King and the seventy-two cave demons were all taken by the heavenly gods. Only the four commanders and that troop of monkeys were spared and hid deep at the bottom of the water-screen cave.

With that one Ruyi staff, the Great Sage blocked the Four Great Heavenly Kings, Li Tuota, and Prince Nezha, all in midair, and fought for a long while. As dusk approached, he plucked a tuft of hair, put it in his mouth, chewed it to pieces, spat it out, and shouted, “Transform!” Immediately he became hundreds upon hundreds of Great Sages, each wielding the Ruyi staff, drove back Nezha, and put five heavenly kings to flight.

The Great Sage, victorious, gathered his hair, turned, and hurried back to the cave. He soon saw the four commanders and all the troops kneeling at the Iron-Plate Bridge. The crowd sobbed out three times and then laughed three times in loud, broken gasps. The Great Sage said, “Now that you have seen me, why both crying and laughing?” The four commanders said, “This morning we led troops and fought the Heavenly King; the seventy-two cave demon kings and the Horned Ghost King were all taken by the heavenly gods. We survived by escaping, so this is why we should cry. Now that we see the Great Sage has returned victorious and unhurt, this is why we should laugh.” The Great Sage said, “Victory and defeat are the way of war. The ancients said, ‘Kill ten thousand, lose three thousand.’ As for the chiefs who were captured, they were of the sort tiger, leopard, wolf, insects and vermin, badger, broad-hoofed antelope, fox, and raccoon-dog. Not one of our own kind was harmed. Why should there be anxiety? Though I drove him back with my division-duplicate art, he still intends to camp at the foot of my mountain. We should hold firmly, eat our fill once, sleep securely, and restore strength. At dawn I will show a great divine art, seize these heavenly generals, and take revenge with all.” The four commanders and the monkey chiefs drank a few bowls of coconut wine, slept peacefully, and the matter is not told further.

The Four Great Heavenly Kings then stood down from battle. Each reported his achievements: one said he had caught a tiger or leopard, one said a lion or elephant, one said a wolf-creature or raccoon-like beast. Not one monkey spirit had been captured at all. At that time they set up a main encampment and a large field camp again, rewarded the deserving commanders, and sent out the troops of the celestial-earthly net, each soldier carrying a hand-bell and shouting orders to surround Flower-Fruit Mountain, waiting for battle at first light. Once ordered, each station stood guard in every place. It says:

When the wild monkey did mayhem, heaven and earth were shocked; nets were laid and watch kept by night and day.

How they dealt with the matter after daybreak, we shall have resolved in the next installment.