Once Guanyin Bodhisattva had recovered from her injuries, the immortals begged for her help.
Guanyin Bodhisattva shook her head. "It is not that I refuse to save them. The demon snatched away my Jade-Cleansing Bottle. I have the will, but not the strength."
Hearing this, the immortals did not know what to do.
Just then, Wukong returned.
Ao Tu saw him and asked, "Great Sage, where did you go?"
Wukong said, "Old Sun saw how powerful that demon was, so I took a somersault and left first."
The immortals said, "Great Sage, how could you leave first?"
Wukong said sheepishly, "If I had stayed, I might have been struck by that demon. Then there would have been no one to save my master!"
The immortals said, "Well! You invited us here, only to leave first and abandon us there! We all came to save your master, and now we have suffered terrible casualties. Even the Bodhisattva's willow-sprig Jade-Cleansing Bottle was snatched away. What do you propose to do?"
What solution did Wukong have? He could only scratch his ears and cheeks, at his wits' end.
Ao Tu said, "Don't fret, everyone. I have an idea!"
The immortals hurriedly asked, "True Lord, what idea do you have?"
Ao Tu said, "Since that monster snatched away the Bodhisattva's Jade-Cleansing Bottle, why not have the Great Sage sneak into the monster's cave and bring it out? What do you think?"
The immortals were all delighted to hear this. "A fine idea! A fine idea! With the Great Sage taking action, he is sure to steal the Jade-Cleansing Bottle back!"
The Water Virtue Star Lord thoroughly agreed.
The Fire Virtue Star Lord said, "Since the Great Sage knows how to steal anyway, why not steal those two monsters' treasures as well? Then we would