Volume 3: A Long Journey Chapter 283: Lost Pass Documents

The Taoist priest wore a yellow crown, and at first glance, his magical power seemed rather weak. Seeing his rudeness, Wukong kicked him far away with a swift strike, but he controlled his force so as not to hurt him.
The other Taoist priests were shocked. For many years, no monks in the city had dared to confront Taoists—let alone physically attack them; even verbal insults were considered acts of rebellion. This yellow-crowned Taoist priest had an extraordinary background; he was a descendant of the great immortal Yang Li, one of the Three National Teachers. If anything happened to him, countless people would be held accountable.
In a flurry of activity, some rushed to help the yellow-crowned Taoist priest, while the rest surrounded Master Tang and his disciples. Wukong shouted angrily, “You filthy Taoists! This is the prince of the Tang Dynasty in the Eastern Land, under the awe-inspiring authority of heaven. Who dares to offend him?”
These Taoists had little knowledge and didn’t know where the Tang Dynasty in the Eastern Land was. Seeing Master Tang’s noble bearing and his Buddha-like appearance, and Wukong’s fearless attitude, their confidence waned.
Wukong added, “My master wants to meet your king. Who dares to block his way?”
The yellow-crowned Taoist priest got up, in pain all over his body, and cried, “Arrest them! No matter what titles they have—king or prince—any monk must be captured!”
Seeing the priest’s arrogance, Wukong gave him two loud slaps. Under normal circumstances, Master Tang would have disapproved, but after witnessing the suffering of the monks in the country, he simply closed his eyes and pretended not to see it.
The priest’s cheeks were swollen, his teeth loose, and he snapped angrily, “Rebellion! Rebellion!” But he dared not speak nonsense anymore. Wukong led the way straight toward the palace. Humiliated, the Taoist priests followed closely behind.
When they reached the Five Phoenix Tower, they saw the eunuch officials. Master Tang bowed to them, introduced himself, and explained that he was a monk from the Tang Dynasty in the Eastern Land who had come to obtain a pass document, asking them to convey his request.
The eunuch entered the palace, knelt before the golden steps, and reported, “Your Majesty, there are two monks outside who claim to be from the Tang Dynasty in the Eastern Land and wish to go to the Western Heaven to obtain scriptures. They are here to get a pass document and are waiting for your orders at the Five Phoenix Tower.”
The king, who was chatting with his three national teachers, frowned upon hearing about the monks. “Have they come here to seek death? Why didn’t the patrol officers arrest them along the way?”
The eunuch replied, “Your Majesty, there is also a group of Taoist disciples following them. It seems there’s some dispute.” As he spoke, the beaten yellow-crowned Taoist priest entered the palace, knelt on the ground, and instead of addressing the king as “Your Majesty,” he called out to him as “Grandmaster.”
“Grandmaster, those two monks are outrageous and violent. They beat my grandson. I ask you, Grandmaster and Your Majesty, to uphold justice for me!”

Yangli the Immortal took a closer look. The one kneeling on the ground did seem somewhat familiar. He had taken in countless disciples across his realm—how could he possibly remember them all? Yangli the Immortal stood up and said, “How unacceptable! Those who don’t understand the rules—monks—if not punished strictly, wouldn’t that chaos disrupt the laws?” Seeing the three national advisors displeased, the king ordered the eunuch official, “Bring those two monks here!” The eunuch official took a few warriors with him and went to Tang Seng, saying, “Your Majesty orders you to be brought up!” The warriors rushed forward to capture them, but Wukong pulled out a hair and transformed it into a rope. With just one shake, he tied the warriors and the eunuch official together. Confused, they were led by Wukong to the main hall. When the king saw them, he realized these two monks had some magical powers and didn’t know what to do for a moment, so he looked at the three national advisors. The yellow-crowned Taoist on the ground, upon seeing Wukong, cried out, “Grandmaster, it’s him! It’s this monkey who beat me!” Yangli the Immortal, seeing that Wukong didn’t look impressive and Tang Seng had no magical powers at all, spoke scornfully, “Who are you two? Where did you come from? How dare you act recklessly in my realm?” Wukong glanced at the three—Huli, Luli, and Yangli—and remembered past incidents where they had tormented him. Seeing Yangli still stuttering, he couldn’t help but laugh heartily. Wukong recognized them, but they didn’t recognize him. When he appeared before them, he had disguised himself as a scholar, and since they lacked the power of the Fiery Golden Eyes, how could they know that this four-foot-tall monkey was the immortal who had once terrified them? Seeing Wukong’s rudeness, Huli the Immortal stepped down from the steps angrily and shouted, “Rude monk!” He reached out to catch Wukong, but Wukong blocked him with his hand and asked jokingly, “How much grain do you still have from back then?” Huli the Immortal was stunned. Having left the three realms and living freely in this world, he had almost forgotten about it. His plan to trick people in the Realm of Good and Evil into reciting scriptures to help the three of them accumulate merit was a secret known only to them. How could this monkey suddenly bring this up? Huli the Immortal snapped, “What nonsense is this?” Ignoring who Wukong was, he pulled out a thunder talisman from under his robe, intending to kill Wukong on the spot. Wukong, knowing his intentions, simply stepped back with a smile and protected Tang Seng behind him. Huli the Immortal cast the thunder talisman at Wukong, but Wukong, wanting to show his power, closed his hands and crushed the talisman between them.

With a soft “pop,” the incredibly powerful thunder talisman exploded in Wukong’s hands. Wukong clapped his hands and asked as if nothing had happened, “Any more?” Though his voice was light, it sounded like thunder in the ears of the Tiger Strength Immortal. How familiar were those words, “Any more?” Suddenly remembering, he pointed at Wukong and exclaimed, “You are—”

The Deer Strength Immortal and the Sheep Strength Immortal also suddenly realized—could this monkey be the white-robed scholar from the three realms who had tormented them without mercy?

The Tiger Strength Immortal guessed Wukong’s identity, but he was at a loss. Although the three of them were national advisors, they couldn’t make decisions since that evil star had arrived. And this monkey was also someone they couldn’t afford to provoke—what should they do?

The king, lacking insight, saw that the Tiger Strength Immortal had thrown the talisman but saw no reaction, so he said, “Great National Advisor, why not capture him?” The Tiger Strength Immortal was helpless, thinking, If I could capture him, would I need to talk to you?

Seeing Wukong smiling at him, he felt a shiver in his heart and quickly said to the king, “Your Majesty, this man is… an immortal, an extraordinary immortal.” He didn’t know why Wukong was here but assumed he had come specifically to capture his three brothers.

The king, hearing the great national advisor’s respectful tone, realized that even these two monks were not to be trifled with. The king was actually very good at adapting to situations—whether it was Buddhism or Taoism, as long as someone had great power, they were divine.

The king quickly said, “Since he’s an immortal, please invite him to sit!”

Wukong smiled at Tang Seng and said, “Once a prisoner, now a guest.”

Tang Seng pretended not to hear, feeling uneasy. He didn’t know why, but whenever there were obstacles on his journey to obtain the scriptures, he would become anxious. Without a clear reason, he thought it must be the Buddha’s intervention, warning him in advance.

Seeing Tang Seng silent, Wukong spoke to the king, “This is Elder Tang. He was sent by the King of Tang to the Western Heaven to worship Buddha and obtain scriptures. Passing through here, he needs to exchange a passage document so he can have proof when he returns.”

After hearing this, the king said, “Oh,” then looked at the three national advisors again.

The three of them were preoccupied. In the past, they had traveled through over sixty countries in the three realms, doing good and evil deeds, and it had been extremely exhausting. Now, encountering this demon again, they didn’t know what kind of suffering awaited them.

Hearing that Wukong was just passing by, the Tiger Strength Immortal was overjoyed and immediately said, “Your Majesty, the Great Tang of the Eastern Land is located in Jambudvipa, known as the Great China. It’s thousands of miles away. I urge Your Majesty to consider this distant monk from China and summon him to verify his documents before letting him pass, so as to uphold the spirit of kindness.”

The king always listened to the Tiger Strength Immortal, so he said, “Good, then present the passage document.”

Wukong took the documents from Tang Seng, handed them to the officials below, and then passed them on to the king. The king took out the jade seal, stamped it on the documents, and said, “It’s not easy to travel westward. Stay in the country for a few more days so that I may show you the hospitality of a host.”

Wukong replied bluntly, “The entire country is dominated by the Taiyi Xuanmen sect. There are no temples to visit or Buddhas to worship. Why stay?”

The king was stunned and looked embarrassed. He stamped the documents and handed them to the officials with a sheepish expression, wishing only to send this rude monkey away as soon as possible.

At that moment, a man strode in from outside the hall. With his eyes raised high, he ignored everyone in the hall and went straight to the king’s desk. He snatched the documents, put them in his bosom, and said, “Your Majesty, these two have hurt my disciples. How can I let them go so easily?”

Wukong thought that once the documents were stamped, everything would be fine. Unexpectedly, this complication arose. Seeing this man, who wore a crown adorned with purple gold threads and a Taiji hairpin, holding a pair of seven-star yin-yang rings, and dressed in purple robes patterned with clouds and waves—truly exuding an otherworldly aura—Wukong realized he was no ordinary person.

The king, having had his documents taken away, didn’t dare show even the slightest displeasure. He quickly stood up and bowed, saying, “The Supreme National Teacher has arrived. Please forgive us.” The three Tiger Strength Immortals also knelt down, addressing him as “Master.”

The Taoist waved his hand, telling everyone to stand up. He sat down beside the king and pointed at Wukong, saying, “So you’re Sun Wukong?” Wukong didn’t know who this man was nor could he gauge his cultivation level. Assuming he was acting in the name of Taoism, he probably wasn’t from the Western Heaven. But why hadn’t the Three Pure Ones kept such a powerful figure under strict control, allowing him to descend to the mortal world?

Wukong said, “You know my name. Why don’t you return my passage documents?”

The Taoist sneered, “I’ve long heard of your arrogance and domineering attitude. Today, you’ve finally fallen into my hands.”

Wukong sensed that things were not going well. He didn’t even know this man and had never offended him. So he said, “Esteemed Taoist, we don’t know each other. Please don’t believe false rumors. Since I accompanied my master on his journey west, I’ve been devoted to Buddhism and have ignored worldly affairs. What do you mean by this?”

The Taoist didn’t answer but laughed mockingly, “Since you pretend to be clueless, I’ll keep you here for a few years to see if you can endure it.”

Wukong frowned slightly. A few years? That would surely worry Tang Seng to death. He glanced at Tang Seng, who was with closed eyes and a frown, seemingly unwell. Wukong thought that with the documents in that man’s hands, if he angered him, there was a risk he might destroy them, ending everything.

I was just passing through the country of Chichi on my way, and yet I encountered another difficulty. Alas, I was careless and let this man take the documents. Now I can’t act rashly; I must think carefully. I’d better return to Zhishen Temple for now to devise a plan.