As soon as he had secured the Golden Rope, the Monkey King leapt from the cave and made his escape.
A Battle of Wits
Returning to his usual form, he shouted aloud:
“Monsters!”
An imp on guard at the entrance reprimanded him:
“Who do you think you are, shouting like that?”
Wukong replied:
“Go inside at once and inform your masters that Kongwu Sun is here.”
The imp obeyed without delay. The first monster exclaimed in confusion:
“How is this possible? We already have Sun Wukong in our grasp. How can there be another one outside?”
The second monster suggested:
“We must not be afraid. After all, we haven’t yet lost any of our treasures. I shall fetch the gourd and capture him in the blink of an eye.”
“Be careful,” warned the first monster.
The second monster approached the entrance and found someone who appeared to be the exact image of Sun Wukong—except, at first glance, slightly shorter.
He asked arrogantly:
“And where did you come from?”
The Monkey King, now disguised as “Kongwu Sun”—a shorter, false identity, replied:
“I am the elder brother of Sun Wukong. As soon as I heard he had been captured, I rushed here to confront you.”
The monster confessed proudly:
“It was I myself who caught him. Let me tell you—he is now locked inside the cave. I don’t intend to fight with you. If I call you by name, dare you answer me?”
The Monkey King answered boldly:
“I fear you not at all. Even if you call my name a thousand times, I shall answer each.”
Trapped in the Gourd
Then the monster rose into the air and, turning the gourd upside down, cried:
“Kongwu Sun!”
Wukong dared not respond, for he immediately saw through the monster’s plan and thought to himself:
“If I answer, the gourd will suck me inside.”
“Why won’t you answer me?” the monster asked anxiously.
The Monkey King replied:
“I’m a bit hard of hearing. I couldn’t hear clearly. Please call me again, but louder this time.”
Again the monster shouted with all his might:
“Kongwu Sun!”
Wukong began making calculations with his fingers as he mused:
“Now that I think about it, that’s not even my true name. Clearly, this gourd has the power to absorb people—but only if they speak the truth. What if I lie?”
Unfortunately for him, his reasoning proved incorrect. No sooner had he opened his mouth than the gourd swallowed him whole, leaving him trapped inside. It turned out that this treasure cared little whether the response was truthful or false—as long as someone answered the call, it would pull them in.
A Clever Ruse
The second monster immediately entered the cave and announced:
“I have just captured him.”
The first monster exclaimed:
“Whom have you captured?”
“The Kongwu Sun,” replied the second. “He’s already inside.”
Satisfied, the first monster said:
“Please sit down and do not move the gourd for now. We’ll shake it later and open the lid when we hear the sound of water sloshing within.”
This prompted Wukong to devise a new plan. Suddenly, he cried out with all his strength:
“Heavens above! My calves are disappearing!”
But the monster was too busy drinking to pay any attention to the gourd.
The Monkey King had no choice but to cry out again:
“Oh, Mother dear! My hips are dissolving!”
This time, his trick worked. He overheard the first monster say:
“As soon as his waist dissolves completely, we can lift the lid and take a look.”
Wukong plucked a hair from his body and commanded:
“Transform!”
Instantly, the hair became half of his body, stuck to the bottom of the gourd. Meanwhile, he himself transformed into a tiny insect and positioned himself strategically near the mouth.
No sooner had the second monster lifted the lid than Wukong flew out, quickly taking the form of Sea-Lolling Dragon, a minor imp.
The Final Trick
While the first monster peered into the gourd, the Monkey King stood quietly beside him.
The beast saw only the upper half of the monkey’s body slowly dissolving at the bottom and, without pausing to consider whether what he saw was real or fake, nervously ordered his brother:
“Quickly, cover it again! That wretch hasn’t dissolved entirely yet.”
The second monster obeyed at once—without realizing that the Great Sage himself was standing right beside him, openly mocking him.
“What blindness!” the Monkey King thought to himself. “You can’t even see me standing next to you.”
The first monster took a wine jug, filled a cup, and respectfully offered it to his brother with both hands.
The second monster, honored by the gesture, did not dare refuse. He handed the gourd he held to the nearby imp—Sea-Lolling Dragon—for safekeeping, so he could receive the cup with both hands respectfully.
What he did not know was that this very imp was none other than the Monkey King himself, carefully observing every reaction.
When the two demons were not looking, he quickly tucked the gourd into his sleeve, plucked another hair, and transformed it into an exact replica of the treasure.
After some time, the monster retrieved the gourd from the imp without inspecting it and resumed his drinking.
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