Now, after Wukong learned the whole story, he invited Dragon King Ao Run of the West Sea to persuade his nephew to surrender.
The two rode clouds and soon arrived at the Flowing Sand River.
"We're here, old Dragon King," Wukong said. "Go down and see your nephew!"
Dragon King Ao Run of the West Sea looked at the river, then at the boundary marker on its bank. He hesitated, wanting to say something, but at Wukong's urging, he entered the water.
Tiger Vanguard was patrolling the shallows. Seeing Ao Run enter, he hurried down to report, "Your Majesty, your honored uncle is here!"
On hearing this, Ao Tu immediately went to welcome him.
When he saw Ao Run, he asked, "Uncle, didn't we agree not to contact each other again? Why have you come?"
Ao Run then told Ao Tu, point by point, how Sun Wukong had come looking for them at the Dragon Palace.
After listening, Ao Tu shook his head and sighed. "That monkey."
Ao Run also asked Ao Tu why he had turned this place into the Black Water River.
Keeping out of Sha Wujing's hearing, Ao Tu briefly explained to Ao Run how he had turned the Flowing Sand River into the Black Water River to stop Tang Sanzang and his disciples from fetching the scriptures.
After hearing him out, Ao Run earnestly pleaded, "My dear nephew, our Dragon Race is in decline. We cannot win this fight! With such talent as yours, why not cultivate in peace? Wouldn't that be better?"
Cultivate in peace?
Ao Tu laughed and shook his head. "Enough, Uncle. No more of that. I'm afraid you'll have to suffer a little this time!"
With that, Ao Tu cast a spell to bind Ao Run and tied him up at the river bottom alongside Tang Sanzang and Bajie.
Above the water, Wukong waited on the bank.
Before long, waves surged and billows rolled as Ao Tu emerged from the water.
Wukong smiled. "Little dragon, have you come to your senses?"
"You monkey," Ao Tu said. "You brought my uncle here to subdue me. You truly know nothing of Buddhist teachings."
Wukong asked in bewilderment, "How does bringing your uncle here mean I know nothing of Buddhist teachings?"
Ao Tu smiled. "Don't you know? I belong to the Buddhist faith and once served as Bell Keeper before the Buddha. All monks of our Buddhism sever affection and renounce love, acknowledging no kin. That old dragon of the West Sea is now chained at the river bottom, keeping your master company!"
Wukong realized Ao Tu was disparaging Buddhism and nearly burst out laughing. Struggling to keep a straight face, he said:
"You insolent demon dragon! How dare you behave like this? Release my master at once, or don't blame Old Sun for showing no mercy!"
"Sun Wukong," Ao Tu said, "I've heard of your abilities, and I admire your loyalty. I can release your master, but this is the bitter winter, no time for traveling. The Beginning of Spring falls twenty-four days from now. I promise to send your master out then."
At this, Wukong frowned and said:
"What trick are you playing, demon dragon? If you mean to release my master, do it now. Why wait until the Beginning of Spring? Does a demon like you need to consult an almanac and inspect the feng shui?"
Ao Tu said:
"Monkey, if you trust me, agree to it. When the time comes, I'll certainly release your master. I will never break my word! You don't know this yet, but I already secured a month's leave for you. Take this time to go home and have a look!"
Wukong considered this for a moment, then said:
"Very well. You seem honest and true to your word, so I'll agree. But you must take good care of my master, with three servings of tea and six meals every day, nothing missing. If he loses so much as a little weight, I'll hold you to account!"
Ao Tu smiled. "I'll move a crystal palace over here to look after him!"
Thus, they settled their agreement.
Wukong headed east, straight for Flower-Fruit Mountain in the Aolai Kingdom on the Eastern Continent of Victory.
Ao Tu returned beneath the water and indeed kept his promise. He conjured a palace and invited Tang Sanzang to stay there, then paid to bring in several old monks to meditate and recite scriptures with him. He ordered Tiger Vanguard to go into the mountains every day to gather mountain delicacies and wild greens, mushrooms, shiitakes, bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms, daylily buds, agar weed, Chinese yams, Solomon's seal, and the like, to prepare vegetarian meals for Tang Sanzang.
Meanwhile, riding his cloud, Wukong soon caught sight of the Eastern Ocean and the mountain range of Flower-Fruit Mountain. Filled with emotion, he said, "It has been five hundred years since I last traveled this way!"
There he saw misty waters stretching far and mighty billows rolling on. The surging tide swept in, flooding the winding bays. Wild fowl appeared and vanished at will; shorebirds rose and dipped as they pleased. Waves rolled up a thousand years of snow, and winds stirred the chill of winter.
He lowered his cloud and opened his eyes wide to look.
On the mountain, flowers and grasses were gone, and all the rosy mists had vanished. Peaks and crags had collapsed; the forest trees were scorched and withered.
Wukong stared at the ruined mountain and its desolate scenery, stunned, his grief deepening.
As a poem said:
Looking back upon the immortal mountain, tears streamed from both eyes; facing its desolation, his sorrow only grew.
Once he had thought the mountain unharmed; only today did he learn how the land had suffered.
The rosy clouds and mists filling the sky had all dissolved; the winds and clouds across the land had scattered away.
No striped tiger's roar sounded on the eastern ridge; no white ape's cry was heard on the western mountain.
Blue stone had burned into a thousand lumps of earth; emerald sand had become a heap of mud.
Where had the birds of old flown? To what mountain had the beasts of those days fled?
As Wukong grieved, seven or eight little monkeys sprang out from before a grassy slope and within a mountain hollow. They rushed forward, surrounded him, and kowtowed, crying, "Grandfather Great Sage! Have you come home today?"
"Why aren't you playing?" Wukong asked. "Why are all of you hiding yourselves away?"
At his question, the monkeys shed tears and said:
"Ever since the Great Sage was captured and taken to Heaven, we've suffered terribly at the hunters' hands! How could we withstand their heavy crossbows and powerful bows, their fierce hawks and vicious hounds, their nets, snares, spears, and hooks? So we all cherish our lives and dare not come out to play. We hide deep in caves and keep far from our old nests. When hungry, we steal out to the slopes to eat grass; when thirsty, we go down to the ravines to drink clear spring water. Just now, we heard Grandfather Great Sage's voice and came especially to welcome you."
Hearing this, Wukong grew still more sorrowful. "How many of you are left on this mountain?" he asked.
"Old and young together," the monkeys said, "only about a thousand."
"I once had forty-seven thousand in my host," Wukong said. "Where have they all gone?"
"After Grandfather Great Sage left," the monkeys said, "the divine generals from all over Heaven burned and killed more than half of us. Of those who barely survived, most have been carried off by hunters over the years."
"What did they carry you off for?" Wukong asked.
"Those struck by arrows or spears, poisoned or beaten to death," the monkeys said, "they took away, skinned, and stripped of their bones. They simmered them in sauce, steamed them with vinegar, fried them in oil, or stir-fried them with salt, and ate them with their meals. Those caught in nets and snares were taken away to jump through hoops, perform tricks, turn somersaults, stand on their hands, and play gongs and drums for entertainment in the streets."
Hearing this, Wukong said in fury, "Who is in charge of the cave?"
The monkeys replied, "Marshals Ma and Liu, and Generals Ben and Ba, still look after it."
"Go tell them I'm here," Wukong said.
The little monkeys rushed through the entrance and reported, "Grandfather Great Sage has come home!"
On hearing the news, Ma, Liu, Ben, and Ba hurried out, kowtowed, and welcomed Wukong into the cave.
Wukong sat in the middle, with the assembled monkeys bowing before him.
They offered fruit and coconut wine to welcome him home.
"Leave the wine for now," Wukong said. "Tell me, when do those hunters come onto my mountain?"
"At no fixed time," Ma and Liu replied. "They come to harass us often."
Just as they were speaking, a little monkey came to report, "Those hunters are here!"
Wukong went up.
From the summit, he saw more than a thousand men and horses emerge in the Southern Half amid the pounding of drums and clanging of gongs, all bringing hawks and hounds and carrying swords and spears.
These were hunters from nearby kingdoms who had gathered to hunt here.
At the sight, Wukong's heart blazed with anger. Since he had entered the Buddhist faith, however, he restrained himself and did not attack them directly. He merely formed a spell with his fingers and summoned a fierce wind, blowing them five hundred li away so they could never return.
After getting rid of them, Wukong used his magic to restore the mountain range. He went to the four seas to borrow some sweet rain, then ordered the monkeys to plant elms, willows, pines, nanmu trees, peaches, plums, jujubes, and flowering plums, restoring the mountain to its former appearance.
Now Flower-Fruit Mountain stood green as carved jade and tall enough to brush the clouds. Running waters murmured, and ravine springs dripped. Morning and evening graced its peaks and sheer cliffs; new trees and fresh flowers covered the mountain.
Overjoyed, the monkeys could not help asking, "Grandfather Great Sage, now that you've come home, will you leave again?"
"I still have to go west," Wukong said. "I'll stay here only twenty-four days."
Reluctant to part with him, the monkeys said, "Why stay only twenty-odd days? Why not stay a few more years?"
Wukong smiled. "Even these twenty-four days weren't easy to come by. I have that dragon brother of mine to thank!"
Before you continue