lay of boxing.”

“Well said,” exclaimed Sun Wukong, “spoken like a man. Come on then.” The demon king dropped his guard to throw a punch, and Sun Wukong rushed in towards him, punching and kicking. When he spread out his hand it was enormous, and when he clenched his fist it was very hard. Sun Wukong hit the demon king in the ribs, kicked his backside, and smashed several of his joints. The demon king seized his steel sword that was as big as a plank, and swung it at Sun Wukong’s skull. Sun Wukong dodged the blow, and the sword only split air. Seeing how ugly the demon king had turned, Sun Wukong used his magic art of getting extra bodies. He pulled out one of his hairs, popped it in his mouth, chewed it up, and blew it out into the air, shouting, “Change!” It turned into two or three hundred little monkeys, who all crowded round him.

Sun Wukong now had an immortal body, and there was no magic transformation of which he was not capable. Since he had followed the Way he could change each of the eighty-four thousand hairs on his body into anything he wanted. The little monkeys were too quick and nimble for sword or spear.

Look at them, leaping forwards and jumping backwards, rushing up and surrounding the demon king, grabbing him, seizing him, poking him in the backside, pulling at his feet, punching him, kicking him, tearing his hair out, scratching at his eyes, twisting his nose, all picking him up together and throwing him to the ground. They went on until they had beaten him to a pulp. Sun Wukong snatched his sword from him, told the little monkeys to get out of the way, and brought it down on the crown of his head, splitting it into two.

Then he led his forces charging into the cave, where they exterminated all the demons, big and small. He shook his hair and put it back on his body. The monkeys who did not go back on his body were the little monkeys the demon king had carried off from the Water Curtain Cave. Sun Wukong asked them how they had got there.

There were thirty of forty of them, and they replied with tears in their eyes, “It was after Your Majesty went off to become an Immortal. He has been fighting with us for the last two years. He brought us all here by force. All the things here—the stone bowls and plates—were stolen from our cave by that beast.”

“If it’s our stuff, take it all out,” said Sun Wukong. He then set fire to the Cave in the Belly of the Water and burnt it to a cinder.

“Come back with me,” he ordered the monkeys.

“Your Majesty,” they replied, “when we came here all we could hear was the wind howling in our ears as it blew us here, so we don’t know the way. How are we ever going to get back?”

“There’s nothing at all to that spell he used,” said Sun Wukong. “I can do it too, as now I only have to know the smallest bit about something to understand it completely. Shut your eyes and don’t worry.”

Splendid Monkey King. He recited a spell, took them riding on a hurricane, then brought the cloud down to the ground.

“Open your eyes and look, children,” he shouted. As soon as the monkeys’ feet touched the ground they recognized their home. In their delight they all ran along the familiar path to the cave, and the monkeys who had stayed in the cave all crowded in as well. They divided themselves into age-groups and bowed in homage to the Monkey King. Wine and food was laid out to celebrate, and they asked him how he had defeated the demon king and saved their children. When Sun Wukong had told them the whole story the monkeys were full of admiration.

“Where did you learn such arts, Your Majesty?” they asked insistently.

“When I left you,” Sun Wukong replied, “I followed the waves and the currents, and drifted across the Eastern Ocean to the Southern Jambu Continent. Here I taught myself to take human form and to wear these clothes and boots. I swaggered around for eight or nine years, but I never found the Way, so I sailed across the Western Ocean to the Western Continent of Cattle-gift. After long enquiries I was lucky enough to meet a venerable Immortal, who taught me the True Result, which makes me as immortal as heaven, and the great Dharma Gate to eternal youth.” The monkeys all congratulated him and exclaimed that his like could not be found in a billion years.

Sun Wukong laughed and said, “Children, we should congratulate ourselves on having a surname.”

“What is Your Majesty’s surname?” the monkey masses asked.

“My surname is now Sun, and my Buddhist name is Wukong.”

The monkeys all clapped their hands with joy and said, “Your Majesty is Old Sun, and we are Second Sun, Third Sun, Thin Sun, Little Sun—a family of Suns, a nation of Suns, a den of Suns.” They all offered Old Sun their respects, with big plates and small bowls of coconut toddy, grape wine, magic flowers, and magic fruit. The whole household was happy. My word!

By uniting themselves with a single surname

They are waiting to be transferred to the Register of Immortals.

If you don’t know how this ended and want to know about the rest of their lives there, then listen to the explanation in the next installment.