The entire village made its way toward the Temple of Miraculous Power, carrying the Monkey King, Bajie, and a large number of sheep and other animals.
The boy and the girl were placed atop the offerings. There was no image on the altar, only a simple stone tablet inscribed with golden characters: The God and Great King of Miraculous Power.
Once everything had been put in place, the villagers prostrated themselves face-down on the ground, repeatedly bowing their foreheads to the earth. After this invocation, they burned some paper horses and a fortune in spirit money, then returned to their homes.
Confrontation at the Altar
Shortly afterward, they heard a violent wind roaring from outside.
“Heavens! A wind like this can only mean that the one we were expecting has just arrived,” exclaimed Bajie, frightened.
“Be quiet and let me do the talking,” urged the Monkey King.
The monster soon reached the temple’s entrance.
“Which family has been chosen this year to provide everything for the sacrifice?” the monster asked, standing in the doorway.
The Monkey King replied, smiling innocently:
“Thank you for asking. This honor has fallen upon Lords Chen Cheng and Chen Qing this year.”
The monster said to himself, greatly surprised:
“This child is not only brave but also well-mannered. The other boys couldn’t even answer a single question. Fear choked their throats and they forgot how to speak. By the time they fell into my hands, they were practically dead. How is it possible that this one speaks so intelligently?”
Revelation and Battle
The monster hesitated before attacking his victims and asked again:
“What are your names?”
Sun Wukong answered, still smiling:
“I am Chen Guanbao, and this is Golden Burden(Cheng Jin).”
The monster explained:
“As you know, this sacrifice takes place every year at this time. I’m sorry it has fallen upon you, but now I will devour you both.”
Wukong responded:
“Don’t worry. We have no intention of resisting. You may eat us whenever you wish.”
Upon hearing this, the monster dared not move forward. Remaining in the doorway, he exclaimed:
“Please don’t be so bold. In previous years I used to eat the boy first, but this time I think I’ll start with the girl.”
Bajie cried out in terror:
“Please follow the tradition as in previous years, Great King! Why abandon such a long-standing custom?”
The monster refused to listen. Stretching out his arms to grab her, he was suddenly met with Bajie leaping off the tray and instantly returning to his true form.
He grabbed his rake and struck a terrible blow against the monster’s arms. The creature quickly retreated, trying to flee, but Bajie attacked again, managing to strike something loose that fell to the ground with a strange sound.
“I think I pierced his armor!” shouted Bajie.
The Monkey King shed his disguise and ran over to see what it was, discovering it was nothing more than two fish scales the size of plates.
Pursuit and Escape
“Don’t let him escape!” shouted Wukong, and the two of them rose into the air almost simultaneously.
The monster had come expecting a feast and had brought no weapon with him. He stood instead within a strip of clouds and asked his pursuers:
“Who are you to dare come here and challenge me for my offerings and stain my hard-earned reputation?”
The Monkey King replied:
“I know you are an ignorant beast. We are disciples of Master Tripitaka, a wise monk from the Great Empire of the Tang in the Eastern Lands. We have been personally commissioned by the emperor himself to travel westward in search of sacred scriptures.”
Without another word, the monster turned and fled at full speed. Bajie tried to strike him with his rake but missed—hardly surprising, since the monster had transformed into a whirlwind that vanished into the waters of the Heaven-Reaching River.
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