Ma Ji, also known as Dragon Messenger, was a merchant’s son. He had striking good looks and in his untrammeled youth gave himself up to the pleasures of singing and dancing. He frequented the Pear Garden, where he amused himself in the company of the actors. Wrapping his head in a brocade turban he…
Seething with resentment, the Dragon King of the Eastern Ocean ascended to the Heavenly Court after Wukong’s departure. He petitioned the Jade Emperor, accusing the Monkey King of ransacking his palace, stealing the Divine Sea-Anchoring Iron, and terrorizing the aquatic realm. He begged the emperor to dispatch troops to subdue the demon.
One day, as the monkeys drilled in the training grounds, the Handsome Monkey King, swept up in the fervor, leaped into the fray, brandishing a heavy ringed blade. Silver light flashed like meteors, drawing cheers from his troops.