city before eating the meal. Urgent orders must be issued to have the gates firmly closed. Send troops to surround the government hostel and bring that monk here. First we will try to win his heart by treating him with courtesy. If he agrees we will cut it out and give him a royal burial, build him a temple and make offerings to him. If he will not agree we’ll use rough methods. We can tie him up and cut it out. There will be no problem.” The deluded ruler accepted this suggestion and ordered that all the gates be closed. He then sent the officers and men of the royal guard to surround the hostel.

Having found all this out Monkey flew straight to the hostel, turned back into himself and said to the Tang Priest, “Something terrible’s happened, Master, something terrible.” Sanzang had just begun to eat the king’s vegetarian banquet with Pig and Friar Sand when this sudden announcement scattered his three bodily spirits and made smoke come out of his seven orifices. He collapsed in the dust, pouring with sweat, and unable to see clearly or speak.

Friar Sand was so alarmed he came forward to help him back to his feet, calling, “Wake up, Master, wake up.”

“What’s so terrible?” Pig asked. “What’s so terrible? You should have broken the news gently instead of giving the master such a scare.”

“When the master left the palace I went back to keep an eye on things,” Monkey replied. “That Elder of the Nation is an evil spirit. A moment later the city garrison came to report about the cold wind carrying the little boys away. This upset the king, but the Elder of the Nation cheered him up by saying that this was Heaven giving him eternal life. He wants to use your heart as an adjuvant for the elixir of immortality, Master. The deluded king has accepted this wicked suggestion and ordered his best troops to surround this hostel. He’s also sent an aide to ask you for your heart, Master.”

“What a merciful and compassionate chap you are,” said Pig with a laugh. “You saved the boys and made the wind blow all right, but now you’ve got us in this disastrous mess.”

Trembling and shaking, Sanzang dragged himself to his feet, seized hold of Monkey and said imploringly, “Good disciple, how are we to get out of this?”

“If you want to get out of this,” said Monkey, “there’ll have to be a switch.”

“What do you mean by a switch?” Friar Sand asked.

“If you want to survive,” Monkey replied, “the disciple will have to become the master and the master the disciple. Do that and we’ll be safe.”

“Save my life,” said Sanzang, “and I will gladly become your disciple or even your disciple’s disciple.”

“In that case there must be no hesitation,” Monkey replied, continuing, “Pig, mix up some mud at once.” The idiot loosened some earth with his rake then, not daring to go outside for water, lifted his tunic to make some water himself. With this he mixed up a lump of foul-smelling mud that he handed to Monkey. Monkey had no option but to beat it out flat and press it against his face so that it looked like a monkey’s face. Then he told his master to stand up and neither move nor say anything while he placed the mask on his face, said the words of a spell, blew a magic breath and said, “Change!”

The venerable elder now looked just like Monkey. He took off his own clothes and put on Monkey’s while Monkey dressed in his master’s clothes, made a spell with his hands, said the magic words, shook himself and made himself look just like the Tang Priest. Even Pig and Friar Sand could not tell that he really was not.

Just when they had completed the disguises together there came the sound of gongs and drums as a dense forest of spears and swords appeared. The commanders of the royal guard had surrounded the hostel with their three thousand men. A royal aide came into the main hall of the hostel to ask, “Where is the reverend gentleman from the Tang court in the East?”

The superintendent of the hostel anxiously fell to his knees and said, pointing, “In the guest room over there.”

The aide then went into the room and said, “Venerable elder from Tang, His Majesty has sent for you.”

Pig and Friar Sand stood on either side of the imitation Monkey to guard him while the imitation Tang Priest went out through the door, bowed and said, “Your Excellency, what does His Majesty wish to say to me? Why has he sent for me?” The aide stepped forward to grab hold of him and say, “You and I are going to the palace. His Majesty must have some use for you.” Alas!

Wickedness was stronger than goodness and mercy;

Goodness and mercy only led to catastrophe.

If you don’t know whether they were to survive this departure listen to the explanation in the next installment.