ning;

Paper-white spears

Pierce mists and fogs;

Heaven-shaped halberds,

Tiger-eye chains,

Bristling like a field of hemp;

Bronze swords,

And four-brightness spears

Drawn up like a dense forest.

Bows and crossbows, eagle-feathered arrows,

Short clubs and snaky spears to terrify the soul.

Wielding his single As-You-Will cudgel,

The Great Sage fights against the heavenly gods.

Such is the slaughter that no bird flies over it;

And tigers and wolves flee in terror.

The swirling stones and clouds of sand make everything dark,

The dirt and the dust blot out the heavens.

The clash of arms startles the universe

As the battle strikes awe into gods and demons.

The battle started in the morning and went on till the sun set behind the mountains in the West. By then the One-horned Demon King and the seventy-two kings of the monsters had all been captured by the heavenly hosts. Only the four Stalwart Generals and the monkeys had got away, and they were now hiding in the innermost recesses of the Water Curtain Cave. The Great Sage’s solitary cudgel had fought off the Four Heavenly Kings, Li the Pagoda-bearer and Prince Nezha, who were all in the sky. After the battle had gone on for a long time the Great Sage saw that night was drawing on, so he plucked out one of his hairs, munched it up, spat out the pieces and shouted, “Change!” They changed into thousands of Great Sages, all with gold-banded cudgels, who forced Prince Nezha and the five Heavenly Kings to withdraw.

After winning this victory the Great Sage put back his hair and hurried back to the cave, where the four Stalwart Generals at once led the monkeys out to kowtow at the head of the iron bridge to welcome him back. They sobbed three times and then laughed three times.

“Why are you laughing and crying at the sight of me?” the Great Sage asked.

“When we led all the commanders into battle against the heavenly kings this morning,” replied the Stalwart Generals, “the seventy-two kings of the monsters and the One-horned Demon King were all captured by the gods, and we had to flee for our lives. That is why we cried. We laughed because you, Great Sage, have come back victorious and unharmed.”

To this the Great Sage replied, “Victory and defeat are all the soldier’s lot. As the ancients said, ‘To kill ten thousand of the enemy you must lose three thousand of your own.’ Anyhow, the officers of ours who were captured were all tigers, leopards, wolves, badgers, river-deer, foxes, and raccoon-dogs. Not one of our own kind was even wounded, so there’s no need for us to be bothered about it. But although I forced the enemy to withdraw by dividing up my body through magic, they’re still encamped at the foot of our mountain, so we’ll have to remain on our guard. Meanwhile we must eat a good meal and get a good night’s sleep to build up our energy. Tomorrow morning I’ll use powerful magic to capture those heavenly generals and avenge our people.” After the four Stalwart Generals and the other monkey commanders had drunk several cups of coconut toddy, they went to bed with their worries calmed.

When the four Heavenly Kings had withdrawn their troops and ended the battle, those who had distinguished themselves reported what they had done. Some had captured tigers and leopards, some lions and elephants, and others wolves and raccoon-dogs, but not one single monkey goblin had been taken. Then they built a mighty stockade around their camp. Commanders who had distinguished themselves wee rewarded, and the soldiers who made up the heaven-and-earth nets were ordered to surround the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, holding bells and shouting, ready for a great battle the next day. Every man heard the orders, and they were strictly obeyed. Indeed:

A wicked monkey made chaos, shocking heaven and earth,

So they spread their nets and watched by night and day.

Listen to the next installment to hear how he was dealt with the following morning.