The Monkey King hid the gourd and slipped away from the Lotus Flower Cave unnoticed.
A Battle of Names
Resuming his usual form, he shouted:
“Open the gate, you monsters!”
A little imp challenged him:
“Who do you think you are, daring to come here and disturb our peace?”
The Monkey King replied:
“Go quickly and inform your masters that Wukong Sun has arrived.”
The imp reported to his masters:
“There’s a man outside claiming to be Wukong Sun.”
Startled, the first monster exclaimed:
“What terrible misfortune! Bees swarm after us as though we’ve stabbed their hive. Sun Wukong is already bound with a golden rope; Kongwu Sun is trapped inside a gourd. And now suddenly comes this Wukong Sun? They must all be his brothers come to seek revenge.”
The second monster tried to reassure him:
“Do not worry. Our gourd can hold more than a thousand people, and so far it contains only one. Why fear this unexpected Wukong Sun? I shall go out at once, have a look, and capture this impostor as well.”
“Be very careful,” warned the first monster.
But the younger monster paid no heed. He grabbed the fake gourd, stepped outside the cave, and loudly demanded:
“Who are you to dare come here and cause such a commotion?”
The Monkey King replied:
“You don’t even recognize me? Then I advise you to return the Tang Monk to us at once, so we may continue on our journey. If you do so, I will end this feud and each of us may live in peace. But if you refuse my demand, you will surely fall to my strength.”
The monster retorted:
“It seems you’ve come here looking for a fight, but I won’t grant you the satisfaction of battling me directly. If I call your name, dare you answer me?”
Smiling, the Pilgrim replied:
“If you shout my name, I promise not to remain silent. But I wonder—would you do the same if I were the one calling yours?”
The true and false gourds
Confused, the monster asked:
“Would you care to explain why you want to do the same?”
The Monkey King answered simply:
“That’s easy. Because I, too, possess a gourd just like yours.”
The monster replied skeptically:
“I find that hard to believe. Still, I’d like to see it and judge for myself whether what you say is true.”
Wukong pulled the gourd from his sleeve and declared:
“Take a good look, you unscrupulous beast!”
He shook it right under the monster’s nose, then quickly tucked it back into his sleeve. It was clear he feared the monster might snatch it from him.
Surprised, the monster asked:
“Where did you get this gourd? How can they be so alike? Even if by some chance they grew from the same vine, surely they wouldn’t be exactly the same in shape and size.”
The Monkey King replied:
“My gourd comes from the same place as yours. Originally, they were both fruits from the same vine.”
“How is that possible?” the monster asked, disbelieving.
The Monkey King explained:
“Both gourds came from a sacred vine at the foot of Kunlun Mountain. Mine is male, and yours is female.”
The monster protested:
“There’s no need for such distinctions. If yours can also absorb people, then it must be a fine treasure indeed.”
The Monkey King agreed:
“You’re quite right. Let me let you test yours first.”
Delighted, the monster rose into the air, turned his gourd upside down, and shouted:
“Wukong Sun!”
As soon as Wukong heard it, he answered eight or nine times in succession—but nothing happened to him this time.
Perplexed, the monster dropped from the sky and, beating his chest in despair, cried out:
“Heavens above! And we thought the world had changed so much. Even a treasure like this fears her mate: when the female meets the male, it ceases to be effective!”
“Why not toss that gourd aside?” laughed the Monkey King.
“Now it’s my turn to try mine.”
With a leap, he soared into the air and positioned himself directly above the demon. Then he shouted:
“Great King of the Silver Horn!”
The monster could not help but respond—and instantly, the gourd sucked him in. Wukong immediately turned it upright and sealed it shut with the tap.
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