Journey 065: Gigantic Tussle
Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King have it out in a clash of titans.
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Transcript
Welcome to the Chinese Lore Podcast, where I retell classic Chinese stories in English. This is episode 65 of Journey to the West.
Last time, Sun Wukong had assumed the form of the Bull Demon King, his former sworn brother and husband to Princess Iron-fan, in an attempt to trick Iron-fan into handing over her magic Banana Leaf Fan so he could put out the flames that blocked the pilgrims’ journey West. What he didn’t count on, though, was that Iron-fan would start feeling amorous after a few cups of wine.
Fending off her advances, he asked her, “Honey, where did you hide the real fan? Be careful with it. That Sun Wukong is adept at shapeshifting. He might try to take it by deception again.”
Iron-fan smiled, opened her mouth, and spat out something the size of an apricot leaf. She handed it over to her fake husband and said, “Isn’t this it?”
Wukong held the tiny object in the palm of his hand, but wasn’t quite sure if she was just jerking him around. “How can such a tiny thing put out fires? It might be another fake,” he thought to himself.
Seeing him lost in thought, Iron-fan leaned forward, pressed her powdered face against his cheek, and said, “Honey, just put the treasure away and have a drink. Stop thinking about what-ifs.”
“How can such a little thing extinguish 300 miles of flames?” Wukong asked.
With her tongue loosened by the wine, Iron-fan said without a pause, “My lord, we’ve been apart for just two years. You must have been having too much fun with that Jade-Faced Princess and lost your mind. How can you forget how your own treasure works? Just press the seventh strand of red thread on the fan handle with your thumb, chant the seven magic characters for regulating your breath, and the fan will turn into 12 feet long. This treasure can change at will. Even 300 miles of flames will be extinguished with one wave.”
Wukong took those words to heart. He then stashed the tiny fan in his mouth, ran his hand over his face, and revealed his true form.
“Iron-fan, take a close look: Am I your husband?!” he shouted. “All the moves you were putting on me. Have you no shame?”
Iron-fan was so startled that she pushed over the table, fell backward onto the ground, and lamented loudly in shame and anger. Wukong ignored her laments, shook her hands off of him, and stomped out of the cave. He flew to the top of the mountain, spat out the fan, and followed Iron-fan’s instructions. And sure enough, he was now holding an oversized fan that shimmered with auspicious light while propitious vapors swirled around it. Third-six strands of red silk ran across the fan, woven together and binding the inner and outer surface into one.
Delighted, Wukong now started to head toward the Mountain of Flames. There was just one problem. A 12-foot fan was just a bit unwieldy to travel with. And he had only learned how to enlarge it, but not how to shrink it back down to bite size. No matter. Wukong just heaved it on his shoulder and started back.
While he was traveling, he suddenly heard a voice call out, “Hey brother! I’m coming!”
He looked and saw that it was none other than fellow disciple Zhu Bajie. Wukong was delighted to see him and asked where he was going.
“When you didn’t come back after a long while, master got worried that the Bull Demon King was too powerful for you and you wouldn’t be able to get the fan, so he sent me to come help you.”
“Ah, no need to worry; I’ve got it!” Wukong laughed.
“How did you get it?”
“That old bull and I fought for 100-some exchanges without a winner. Then, he ditched the fight and went to party with a bunch of dragon demons at the Green Wave Pool on Ragged Rock Mountain. I followed him, turned into a crab, and stole his ride, the Water-Parting Golden-eyed Beast. I then assumed old bull’s form, went to Banana Leaf Cave, and tricked that Princess Iron-fan.”
“Wow, you’ve worked hard,” Bajie said. “Here, let me help carry the fan.”
Wukong handed over the fan, Bajie took it, muttered something, and the fan immediately shrank down to the size of a leaf again. And the next thing you knew, Zhu Bajie had turned into the Bull Demon King.
“Insolent ape, do you recognize me?!” the Bull Demon King cursed.
So yeah, turnabout was fair play. When the Bull Demon King had finished partying at the Green Wave Pool, he came out and was surprised to find that his Golden-eyed Beast had disappeared. He asked his host’s demon lackeys who let the beast run away, and they all kneeled and said, “No one would dare to steal it. We were all attending to you at the feast. No one was out here.”
His host, the old dragon, said, “My people would definitely not dare to do such a thing. Did any strangers come in?”
The dragon’s kids said, “When we were just getting seated, there was that crab demon that came by. He was a stranger.”
The lightbulb went on in the Bull Demon King’s head. “That’s it! When I received the invitation, I was being pestered by a Sun Wukong. He was protecting a Tang monk on a scripture pilgrimage and was stuck in front of the Mountain of Flames. He asked me for my Banana Leaf Fan but I refused. We had a huge fight without settling things. Then I ditched him to come to this party. That monkey is really shrewd. He must have turned into a crab to come conduct recon. He must have stolen my ride and went to trick my first wife to try to get the fan.”
All the demons were scared and asked, “Is that … the Sun Wukong who caused a ruckus in heaven?”
“Exactly. If you reside on the road to the West, stay out of his way.”
“Then, what will you do about your missing ride?” the old dragon asked.
“No worries! You all may go. I’ll chase him down!”
The Bull demon King then swam out of the pool and flew back to the Banana Leaf Cave, where he heard his wife crying out in distress. He opened the doors and saw his Golden-eyed Beast tethered to one side.
“Honey, where did that scoundrel Sun Wukong go?!” he called out.
All the maids kneeled and shouted, “Master is home!”
Iron-fan rushed over, grabbed him, and slapped him around, cursing, “Damn you! How could you be so lackadaisical? That monkey stole your Golden-eyed Beast, assumed your form, and came here to trick me!”
“Where did he go?” the Bull Demon King asked while grinding his teeth.
Beating her chest, she cursed, “That damn monkey stole my treasure, turned back into himself, and left. I’m so pissed!”
“Wife, take care and don’t worry. I’ll catch that monkey, take back the treasure, and then skin him, shatter his bones, and pull out his innards to avenge you!”
He then called for the maids to bring him weapons, but they told him that his weapon wasn’t on hand. So he took Iron-fan’s twin swords, changed into a light shirt, and stomped out of the cave in the direction of the Mountain of Flames.
Soon, he saw Sun Wukong in the distance, carrying the large fan on his shoulder.
“That monkey learned how to enlarge the fan,” the Bull Demon King said to himself with alarm. “If I confront him and demand the fan back, he would surely refuse. If he uses the fan on me, I would get blown 180,000 miles from here. Hmm, I heard that the Tang Monk is waiting on the main road. When I was running with demons back in the day, I met his second disciple the Pig Demon and third disciple the Drifting Sand Demon. Let me turn into the Pig Demon and give him a taste of his own medicine.”
As it turns out, the Bull Demon King also had the power of 72 transformations, just like Sun Wukong. And he was just as good a fighter as Wukong. He was just a bit more heavyset and not as nimble. But on this occasion, he got the upperhand on Wukong with his deception.
Recognizing that he’d been had, Wukong stamped his foot and shouted, “Dammit! Usually I’m the one shooting ducks, but today I let a duck blind me!”
Fueled with thunder-like rage, he raised his golden rod and attacked. The Bull Demon King waved the fan at him, but Wukong had previously swallowed the Wind-Calming Pill he got from the Bhodisattva Lingji, so he wasn’t going anywhere. The Bull Demon King hurriedly stashed the fan in his mouth, raised his swords, and took on Wukong in the air in another ferocious fight.
Meanwhile, on the road West, San Zang and company were sitting and waiting with the local earth spirit. Feeling the heat and the thirst, San Zang asked the earth spirit, “How powerful is that Bull Demon King?”
“His powers are boundless,” the earth spirit replied. “He is definitely a match for the Great Sage.”
“Usually Wukong can cover a few hundred miles in the blink of an eye,” San Zang fretted. “But he’s been gone for a whole day. He must be in a dogged fight against the Bull Demon King. Bajie, Sha Zeng, which one of you will go find your brother? If he is in a fight, help him get the fan so we can get past this mountain.”
“It’s getting late,” Bajie said. “I would go, but I don’t know the way to Thunder-Gathering Mountain.”
But the earth spirit said that he knew the way, so Bajie headed off with him while Sha Zeng stayed with San Zang. As they were flying, they suddenly heard the sound of battle. Bajie looked and saw Wukong facing off against the Bull Demon King. Prodded by the earth spirit to help, Bajie raised his rake and shouted, “Brother, I’m coming!”
“You dummy! You’ve ruined everything!” Wukong seethed.
“Master told me to come find you. I didn’t know the way, so we had to discuss it, and had the earth spirit guide my way. That’s why I’m late. What do you mean ‘ruined everything?’ ”
“Your late arrival isn’t the problem. That damn bull is so insolent! I got the fan, but then he turned into you and tricked me. I handed him the fan, and then he turned back into himself and fought with me.”
Bajie was furious. He raised his rake and cursed the Bull Demon King, “You bloody, plague-ridden bastard! How dare you impersonate your grandaddy, deceive my brother, and cause discord between us?!”
As he cursed, he swung his rake wildly at the Bull Demon King. The Bull Demon King was already tired from fighting Sun Wukong all day. Now besieged by Bajie’s feral attack, he retreated. But he found his path blocked by the earth spirit at the head of a squadron of ghost soldiers.
“My lord, please stop!” the earth spirit called out. “The Tang monk is heading West to get scriptures. All gods protect him, all of heaven blesses him, and all in the three realms flock to his defense. Hurry up and use the fan to extinguish the flames so he can pass without trouble. Otherwise, heaven will punish you and you will be executed for sure.”
“Damn earth spirit!” the Bull Demon King cursed. “You’re so unjust. That monkey harmed my son, bullied my concubine, and deceived my wife. He has repeatedly acted unjustly. I wish I could swallow him and turn him into poop to feed dogs. How can I let him borrow my treasure?!”
Bajie now caught up, and the Bull Demon King had no choice but to turn and fight him again, and Sun Wukong joined in as well. And it was another fierce battle. It lasted through the night until dawn, and still no one had the upper hand.
Suddenly, a swarm of a hundred or so demons appeared and surrounded Wukong and Bajie. Turns out, they were near the Thunder-Gathering Mountain, the abode of the Bull Demon King’s concubine, the Jade-Faced Princess. She had heard the noise from the battle and sent someone to see what the commotion was. When she heard that it was her husband fighting against a couple monks, one of whom was the guy that threatened her yesterday, she immediately dispatched her minions to go help.
Assailed by this unexpected siege, Bajie turned and fled, and so did Wukong and the ghost soldiers. The Bull Demon King then assembled his reinforcements, went back to the Jade-Faced Princess’s cave, and shut the doors.
“That fiend is tough!” Wukong said as he regrouped with his comrades. “He had fought me since yesterday afternoon. We fought all the way till nightfall, and still didn’t settle things. Then you two came to help. But he still didn’t seem tired after fighting all night and day. And then he got help from that unruly gang of lackeys. He’s shut his cave doors tight and refuses to come out. What should we do?”
“Brother, you left master yesterday morning. How come it wasn’t until the afternoon that you started fighting the Bull Demon King?” Bajie asked.
So Wukong brought him up to speed on all that’s happened, and Bajie said, “This is like that old saying: ‘A tofu boat has capsized in the sea: It came in broth and away it goes in water.’ Now it’s hard ot get his fan, so how can we help master cross the mountain? Let’s go back and find another way around!”
The earth spirit said, “Don’t be anxious and discouraged. The minute you start talking about taking another road, you’re straying from the path. That’s no way to cultivate your spirit. As the old saying goes, ‘When walking, don’t take shortcuts.’ So how can you take another path? Your master is sitting on the main road, eagerly awaiting your success!”
That riled up Wukong, and he said, “Quite right! Quite right! Dum-dum, stop your nonsense! The earth spirit is right. We have to settle things with the Bull Demon King!”
Bajie was similarly reinvigorated by that pep talk. So they and their helpers charged the entrance of the cave and smashed the stone doors to smithereens. The Bull Demon King was talking with the Jade-Faced Princess when he got word of this intrusion. Enraged, he donned his armor, picked up his iron staff, and stomped out.
“Dam monkey! Who the hell do you think you are?! How dare you act up like this and break my doors?!”
But Zhu Bajie charged forward and cursed back, “You old carcass! Who do the hell do you think YOU are?! Stand still and taste my rake!”
“You talentless hack! Tell that monkey to come face me!” the Bull Demon King shot back.
“You cud-chewing fool!” Wukong shouted. “Yesterday I still treated you like a brother. But today, we’re enemies! Taste my rod!”
And so the three again scrummed. After another 100 exchanges or so, Bajie started fighting like a feral hog, and the Bull Demon King couldn’t stand his ground and ran back toward his cave. But the earth spirit and the ghost soldiers blocked his path. Denied entrance back to his cave, he hurriedly shed his armor, helmet, and weapon, turned into a swan, and flew into the air.
Seeing this, Wukong laughed and said, “Bajie, that old bull has run off!”
While Bajie and the earth spirit were looking left and right for their foe, Wukong pointed and said, “That’s him in the air.”
“But that’s a swan,” Bajie said skeptically.
“The old bull turned into a swan,” Wukong explained.
“In that case, what should we do?” the earth spirit asked.
“You two charge into the cave, kill all the demons, and destroy his nest so he has nowhere to retreat to. I’m going to face off against him in a battle of transformations.”
So Wukong put away his rod, uttered a spell, and turned into a Manchurian vulture. He soared into the air and then swooped down onto the swan, grabbing it by the neck and pecking at its eyes.
The Bull Demon King knew this was Sun Wukong, so he quickly turned into a yellow eagle and fought back. Wukong then turned into a black phoenix. The yellow eagle now turned into a white crane and flew off toward the south. The black phoenix turned into a scarlet phoenix and let out a ringing call. The scarlet phoenix was the king of birds, before whom no other birds dared to move. So the white crane plunged down the mountainside and transformed into a musk deer, grazing in front of a cliff.
But Wukong saw through this and turned into a ravenous tiger, bristling with sharp fangs and claws, bounding toward the deer. The deer promptly became a leopard and lunged at the tiger. The tiger then turned into a Suanni (1,4), a mythical lion-like creature, and tried to eat the leopard. The leopard morphed into a big bear and charged the Suanni, but the Suanni turned into an elephant and used its trunk to ensnare the bear.
The Bull Demon King now turned into his true form, that of a giant white bull. His head was the size of mountains. His eyes shined, his two horns were like iron pagodas, and his teeth were like rows of sharp knives. He stood about 1,000 yards long from head to tail, and 800 yards tall.
“Insolent monkey, what’ll you do now?!” this giant bull roared.
Wukong now also turned back into his own self. He pulled out his golden rod, stretched and shouted, “Grow!” And his body grew to 10,000 yards tall. His head was the size of Mount Tai (4). His eyes were the size of the sun and the moon. His mouth was like a blood-red basin, while his teeth looked like doors. This giant monkey raised his staff and swung at the giant bull, who responded with his horns.
This clash of titans sent shockwaves through the realm of the gods. The 18 protector spirits came to help encircle the Bull Demon King. Initially, he showed no fear and kept trying to gore them. But as their attacks grew fiercer, he started to panic. He rolled on the ground, turned back into his normal size, and retreated into the Banana Leaf Cave, shutting the door behind him.
Wukong and his comrades surrounded the cave and were about to lay siege to the door when Bajie, the earth spirit, and the ghost soldiers arrived. Wukong asked how things went at Thunder-Gathering Mountain. Bajie laughed and said, “I killed that old bull’s concubine with one blow from my rake. Turns out she was a jade-faced fox demon. The rest of that gang of demons were all donkeys, mules, stags, foxes, badgers, goats, tigers, deer, and such. We’ve wiped them out and burned their cave to the ground. Then the earth spirit said the Bull Demon King had another family at this mountain, so we came here to wipe them out too.”
Geez guys; a bit bloodthirsty for monks, aren’t we? But Wukong gave no thought to such inconvenient points of morality. He just said, “Brother, you’ve done good, congratulations! I’ve been facing off against that old bull in a battle of transformations, but haven’t beaten him yet. He turned into a gigantic white bull, and I also turned big. When we were fighting, the gods came to help. After we surrounded him, he turned back into himself and ran into the cave.”
“Is that the Banana Leaf Cave?” Bajie asked.
“Exactly! Princess Iron-fan is in there.”
“Then why don’t we charge in there, kill those fiends, and get their fan, instead of letting the two of them hang out inside?!”
Dum-dum now raised his rake and swung at the door. With a loud crash, the stone door fell to the side. The maids inside rushed to tell the Bull Demon King, who just this moment was huffing and puffing while telling his wife what happened. When he heard the report about the door, he was furious. He spat out the fan from his mouth and handed it to her while he prepared to go fight some more.
But holding the fan in hand, Princess Iron-fan wept and said, “My lord, just give this fan to that wild ape so he and his forces would back off.”
“Honey, it’s about more than just the fan,” her husband replied. “You sit; let me go fight him again.”
So the Bull Demon King donned his armor again, and picked up two swords. He came out and ran into Bajie. Without a word, the Bull Demon King started hacking, and Bajie backed up beyond the threshold. Outside, Wukong twirled his rod and attacked. The Bull Demon King flew away from the entrance, and landed on top of the peak. Wukong and his various helpers surrounded the mountain and laid siege.
The Bull Demon King used all his might and fended off this attack for 50-some exchanges, but he started to falter and ran toward the north. But he was blocked by the Vajras of Mystic Demon Crag on the Five Elements Mountain.
“Bull Demon, stop!” they shouted. “We were sent by the Buddha to lay a trap to capture you.”
Just then, Wukong, Bajie, and company were closing in from behind. That prompted the Bull Demon King to flee toward the South. But in that direction, he was blocked by the Vajra of Cool-and-Clear Cave on Mount Emei (2,2), who was also there by the Buddha’s decree. Panicked, the Bull Demon King fled toward the East, but the Vajra of Mo’er (4,3) Cliff on Mount Sumeru blocked his path.
Surrounded by gods from multiple religions, the Bull Demon King was intimidated and panicked. As his attackers closed from four sides, he fled up into the sky. But waiting there were the Pagoda-Wielding King, Commander Li Jing, and his son Lotus Boy Nezha, along with other members of the celestial armed forces.
“Stop!” they shouted at the Bull Demon King. “On the Jade Emperor’s command, we have come to exterminate you!”
The Bull Demon King now resorted to turning into the giant white bull again. He tried to gore Li Jing, who countered with his knife. When Sun Wukong showed up on the scene, Nezha shouted to him, “Great Sage, pardon me for not greeting you properly since I’m dressed in armor. The Buddha sent a decree to the Jade Emperor yesterday. He said that the Tang monk was stuck at the Mountain of Flames and that you were having trouble with the Bull Demon King. The Jade Emperor ordered my father and I to come help you.”
“This fiend is quite powerful, and he’s turned into this giant bull,” Wukong said. “How can we deal with him?”
“Don’t worry; watch me!” Nezha reassured him. He then shouted “Change” and sprouted three heads and six arms. He leaped onto the back of the bull and started hacking at the bull’s neck with his demon-slaying sword. After repeated hacking, he chopped the head off.
Li Jing now put away his own blade and went to say hi to Wukong. But just then, another head popped out from the bull’s body. Its mouth was spraying black fumes, and its eyes shot out rays of golden light. Nezha raised his sword again and sliced off this head as well. But then another head popped out. This routine went on more than a dozen times.
Changing tact, Nezha now took out his fire wheel and hung it on the bull’s tail. The magic fire now spread and started scorching the bull. The Bull Demon King shook his head and tail wildly in pain, and tried to transform again. But Li Jing used his Demon-Reflecting Mirror to hold him in place and prevent him from changing form.
Stuck with no way out, the Bull Demon King shouted, “Spare my life! I’m willing to submit to the Buddhist school!”
“Then hurry up and bring out the fan!” Nezha shouted.
“My wife has it!” he shouted back.
Nezha now hopped on the giant bull’s neck, ran his Demon-Bounding Cord through the bull’s nostrils, and led the bull to the cave. Sun Wukong and all the other gods joined them at the cave entrance.
“Wife, bring out the fan and save my life!” the Bull Demon King called out.
Princess Iron-fan hurriedly removed her jewelry and makeup, and dressed in the clothes of a nun, and came out holding up the 12-foot Banana Leaf Fan with both hands. She kneeled and kowtowed to all the gods and pleaded, “Please spare our lives! We’re willing to give Brother Sun this fan so he can accomplish his mission!”
Wukong took the fan and flew off with everyone else back toward the East.
On the main road West, San Zang and Sha Zeng were sitting and anxiously waiting for Wukong to come back. They were just starting to get worried when they suddenly saw the sky light up as a whole gaggle of gods appeared.
San Zang was scared and asked Sha Zeng who all the gods were. Sha Zeng recognized them and introduced them one by one. San Zang now hurriedly changed into some better clothes, donned his cassock, and greeted all the gods.
“What virtue or ability do I have so as to trouble all you sages to descend upon the mortal realm?” he said in gratitude.
The four Vajras told him, “Sage, you are about to achieve your great mission. We were sent by the Buddha to help you. You must devote yourself wholeheartedly to your spiritual cultivation. Never allow yourself to grow lax, not even for a moment.”
San Zang kowtowed and obeyed. Sun Wukong now took the fan, approached the Mountain of Flames, and waved it with all his might. With the first wave, the flames went out, leaving just a red glow in their wake. Delighted, Wukong gave the fan a second wave, and a clear wind started blow. A third wave turned the skies cloudy, and a gentle rain came down, extinguishing the last embers.
But Sun Wukong wasn’t done yet. To see what remained on his to-do list, tune in to the next episode of the Chinese Lore Podcast. Thanks for listening!
Music in This Episode
- “Luỹ Tre Xanh Ngát Đầu Làng (Guzheng) – Vietnam BGM” by VPRODMUSIC_Asia_BGM
- “The Quiet Aftermath by Sir Cubworth (from YouTube audio library)
- “Ravines” by Elphnt (from YouTube audio library)