Bajie led the way, followed closely by the resurrected king. Monk Sha helped the Master mount his horse, while the Monkey King brought up the rear.
They had been walking for only half a day when the Master and his disciples spotted a city in the distance.
“Isn’t that the Black Rooster Kingdom?” Tripitaka asked Wukong.
The Monkey King replied:
“Yes, that’s exactly it. We must enter the city as soon as possible to complete the matter that has brought us here.”
The Monkey King approached the palace gate and said to the officer on duty:
“We are monks sent westward by the Great Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, on a pilgrimage to pay homage to Buddha and obtain the sacred scriptures. Therefore, we request that you issue us a travel permit so we may pass through your lands without any difficulty. Please inform your king of this request.”
The officer in charge of the Yellow Gate rushed into the main hall and, prostrating himself before the red steps, said:
“Five monks have just arrived. They claim to be traveling westward by order of the Tang Emperor to obtain the sacred scriptures of Buddha. Humbly, they request from Your Majesty a travel permit so they may continue their journey.”
Interrogation in the Throne Room
The False King ordered that they be brought before him. He raised his voice and asked:
“Where do you come from?”
The Monkey King answered:
“From the great Tang Nation located in the eastern part of Jambudvipa. I was sent by imperial decree from the Emperor of the Tangs to the Thunder Monastery in the Western Territories in search of the sacred scriptures. Passing through here, I realized we needed a travel permit and decided immediately to come and request one from you.”
The False King asked again:
“When did this monk leave the Eastern Lands, and why did the Tang Emperor send him west to seek the scriptures?”
With the same arrogance as before, the Monkey King replied:
“My Master formed a brotherhood pact with the Emperor and received the honorific name Tripitaka. My Master presided over a ceremony held by the Tang Emperor for the spirits of the departed. The Bodhisattva Guanyin of the Southern Sea attended the ceremony and told my Master he must go west to obtain the scriptures. Without hesitation, my Master accepted her suggestion, willingly sacrificing personal comfort for the good of the people, and set out on the twelfth day of the ninth month in the thirteenth year of the Zhen Guan era of the Great Tang.”
After listening to this detailed account, the False King could find nothing incriminating about the Tang Monk. He turned, therefore, to the recently resurrected king and said:
“The monk and the three disciples you brought may cross the border. But I fear this Taoist cannot. Why does he wear a hood? What is his name? Does he have any papers proving he is indeed a Taoist? Order him forward so I can question him.”
Revealing the Impostor
The man removed his hood, revealing his face. The False King gasped:
“The King!”
At that moment, Wukong drew his iron rod and leapt toward the False King, who vanished instantly.
The Monkey King ran outside and shot into the sky. Soon he discovered that the monster was fleeing northeastward—and after it he went.
After several encounters, the monster’s strength began to wane, and it could no longer withstand the Monkey King’s attacks. But instead of continuing its flight, it decided to return to the city.
Two Tang Monks
It slipped among the tightly packed ranks of royal officials and, with a slight shake of its body, transformed itself into an exact replica of the Tang Monk. The two were so identical that no one could tell which was the real one.
The Monkey King did not know what to do. When he saw Bajie smiling foolishly, he became angry and asked:
“What’s wrong with you? Now you’re worse than ever, because instead of one master, you have two to serve.”
Bajie retorted:
“You say I’m stupid, but in truth, you’re far more foolish than I am. Why waste energy fighting when you can’t even tell the real Master from the fake? Ask the Master to recite the spell—the one who doesn’t recite it is the monster.”
Though reluctantly, the Tang Monk began chanting. The monster, too, pretended to chant, mumbling meaningless words. But Bajie quickly noticed the deception and shouted:
“This one mumbling nonsense is the monster!”
The Tripitaka’s double immediately rose into the air and tried to flee. But the three monks, fierce as warriors, surrounded it. Bajie attacked from the right, Monk Sha from the left, and the Monkey King stood directly in front, blocking the monster’s escape.
Bodhisattva Manjusri’s Revelation
Just as he was about to deliver the final blow, someone shouted at him from a multicolored cloud in the northeast:
“Do not strike, Sun Wukong!”
It was the Bodhisattva Manjusri. Setting aside his iron staff, the Monkey King respectfully bowed his head and asked:
“Where are you going, Bodhisattva?”
“To capture this monster for you,” replied Manjusri.
The Bodhisattva pulled from her sleeve a mirror used to reflect monsters and aimed it at the beast. The reflection in the mirror revealed the monster’s true form—the very green-maned lion of Bodhisattva Manjusri herself.
The Monkey King exclaimed in astonishment:
“So this is your green-maned lion! When did it escape and come here to steal a kingdom from its rightful ruler?”
The Bodhisattva replied:
“It seems you don’t know the full story. Long ago, the King of the Black Rooster Kingdom was cruel to someone. So my lion was sent by Buddha’s command to Earth to punish him. The punishment of the king has now been completed.”
Then the Bodhisattva and her lion vanished above the clouds.
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