Samantabhadra Bodhisattva softly recited a Buddhist invocation but said nothing. Manjushri Bodhisattva nodded lightly instead. "Excellent... Sun Wukong, Benefactor Chu, once this matter is settled, continue westward. Samantabhadra and I will personally escort Tang Xuanzang out of the ridge."
Sun Wukong stowed away his Golden Staff. "That'd be perfect! Little brother, let's watch those three work! Don't let them slack off!"
Thus, the palace grew busy. The three demon kings who had once been so imposing now worked like servants, carrying chests, hauling treasures, washing away bloodstains, all while repeatedly saying, "This lowly one knows his mistake," and, "This lowly one will never dare again." Sun Wukong and Chu Yang stood to one side, directing them back and forth:
"Hey, don't hide the pearls in that chest. Pour them all out!"
"Don't slack off with that elephant trunk. Stack those bones one by one!"
"Great Peng, flap those wings faster! Blow away the smell of blood!"
The Bodhisattvas' lotus thrones hovered outside the hall, Buddhist Light quietly spilling down, yet it could not warm the ashen faces of the three demon kings. Tang Monk sat on the clean stone steps with his palms pressed together. Every so often, he looked up while chanting sutras, but the resolve he had possessed before was gone.
The night gradually deepened. The stalactites of Lion Camel Ridge still dripped water, striking the scrubbed floor with crisp sounds. Sun Wukong leaned against a pillar and yawned. "Little brother, tired? Want those three fellows to massage your shoulders?"
Chu Yang smiled and shook his head. "Let them finish counting the treasures first. Brother Monkey, do you think Manjushri Bodhisattva's golden pill was worth it? What we extorted on this trip was worth far more than one pill."
Sun Wukong burst into laughter. "Worth it! More than