As the inferno raged fiercest, a celestial voice rang out:
“Sun Wukong – halt!”
Bodhisattva’s Intervention
Wukong looked up and saw that it was the Guanyin Bodhisattva. In her left hand she held her immaculate porcelain vase, while in her right she shook a willow branch, trying to extinguish the fire with the holy dew she always carried.
Wukong hastily hid the stolen bells and, joining his hands at chest level, bowed respectfully. With just a few drops of sacred dew, the Bodhisattva put out the fire completely and made all the smoke and yellow ashes vanish.
Wukong said:
“I didn’t know that the Great Merciful One had decided to descend into this mortal world. Had I known, I would have dropped everything to welcome you. May I ask what brings you here?”
“I have simply come to subdue this monster,” replied the Bodhisattva.
The Demon’s True Form
“What is this beast’s origin, that you have taken the trouble to come here to restrain it?” the Pilgrim asked again.
The Bodhisattva explained:
“It is actually my red-furred lion, the one I used to ride. One day, the boy who was tending him fell asleep, and the beast took advantage of the moment to break the chain binding him and came here.”
Sun Wukong replied:
“What you’ve told me makes perfect sense. For your sake, I am willing to let him live, but I don’t think it’s fair to let him go without receiving an exemplary punishment. If you have no objection, before you take him away, I’d like to give him twenty blows with my iron rod.”
Replied the Bodhisattva with her usual gentleness:
“If you value my presence at all, Wukong, I would be grateful if, for the sake of my name, you would completely forgive him. If you do, the merit of capturing him shall be yours alone. Bear in mind, moreover, that as soon as you raise your rod against him, his life will be irretrievably lost.”
Only then did the Bodhisattva turn toward the monster and scolded him sternly:
“Shapeshifter – resume your true guise!”
The monster threw himself to the ground, rolled in the dust once, and appeared exactly as he truly was, a scarlet-furred lion.
Claim for the bells
The lion shook his fur, and the Bodhisattva mounted gracefully upon his back. But missing were the three small golden bells that used to hang around his neck.
“Return my bells to me, Wukong.”
“Bells?” repeated the Monkey King.
“What do you mean by bells? I don’t have any.”
Exclaimed the Bodhisattva, losing her patience:
“What a thieving monkey! If you hadn’t stolen them, you wouldn’t even have been able to approach him. Return them to me immediately!”
“I assure you I haven’t seen them,” said the Monkey King, laughing.
Concluded the Bodhisattva:
“In that case, I’ll recite that spell that you and I both know.”
Frightened, the Monkey King whispered, trembling from head to toe:
“Please don’t! Here are the bells!”
As soon as the Bodhisattva finished attaching the golden bells around the lion’s neck, she remounted gracefully upon his back. The Great Merciful One then began her journey back to the Southern Seas.
Homeward Journey
Wukong entered the Xie Zhi Cave and, in the blink of an eye, defeated all the little demons.
He then went to the rear of the palace and informed Wisdom Palace (Palace of Golden Wisdom) that it was time to return home with him.
The lady could not have been more grateful. The Monkey King plucked a handful of grass and, shaping it roughly into the form of a dragon, said to the woman:
“Mount this and close your eyes. You have nothing to fear. If you do, you won’t be long in reaching your husband.”
She obeyed in every way. The Monkey King used his magic, and all the lady could hear was the roaring sound of the wind. After about half an hour, they arrived at the capital of the kingdom. As soon as they landed, the Monkey King turned to his companion and said:
“You may open your eyes now, if you wish.”
The queen did so and instantly recognized the dragon towers and phoenix pavilions of the palace. Overcome with joy, she dismounted the grass dragon she had ridden all the way and, accompanied by the Monkey King, made her way toward the throne hall.
Upon seeing her, the king rose from his seat and ran toward her, overcome with emotion.
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