Volume 1: Unsayable – Chapter 80: Mount Shengmei
Yang Jian had long known that the Jade Emperor never held demons in high regard, and his actions likely severed any chance of returning to heaven. Yet Yang Jian never regretted his decisions. Ignoring the objections of his Mei Mountain brothers, he insisted on forming a brotherhood, revealing his true nature.
That day, while out hunting, he never expected the heavens to send someone to summon him. Overjoyed, Yang Jian thought that since the heavens needed his help, he could use this opportunity to secure fame for his six brothers, allowing them to join the ranks of immortals. He could also spend time with his mother—what a win-win situation!
Holding the crimson swaddling cloth and touching the golden characters “Erlang” embroidered on its corner, Yang Jian’s longing for his mother grew uncontrollable. He suspected it was likely the Jade Emperor, worried that his pleas wouldn’t work, who had obtained it from his mother, Yunhua. Even if there was a hint of ulterior motive, it was still a token of the Jade Emperor’s desire to befriend him. This move struck at Yang Jian’s weakest point—for his mother Yunhua and his six brothers who were like family to him, he was willing to brave even the most dangerous challenges.
Suppressing his emotions, Yang Jian said to the Great Ghost King, “Report back to your lord. I will set off for Flower-Fruit Mountain right away and capture that demon to repay the emperor’s grace.”
The Great Ghost King rejoiced, “With the help of the Sacred True Lord, how could those demons not be defeated?” and hurried back to deliver the good news.
Yang Jian immediately returned to the palace, gathered his elite troops, and led them across the Eastern Sea with fierce determination toward Flower-Fruit Mountain.
On the way, they saw countless heavenly soldiers descending like dark clouds from the sky. Leading them was King Li, followed by the Four Heavenly Kings, the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper, and several other immortals. King Li had been sent by the Jade Emperor to unite the forces and attack Flower-Fruit Mountain together.
When King Li saw Yang Jian, though he felt jealous, he could not afford to lose propriety. He recounted the battle from the previous day. At a time when Yang Jian was eager to achieve great feats, he boasted, “Just set up a thorough net to prevent those demons from scattering. Wait until I capture their leader, then we can eliminate them one by one!”
King Li thought to himself, “He’s quite bold. You’ll regret this soon.” But he still smiled and said, “That’s excellent. We rely entirely on the Sacred True Lord now.”
The two armies arrived at Flower-Fruit Mountain one after another. King Li ordered his soldiers to set up the net, while Yang Jian led his troops to challenge them.
Flying to Flower-Fruit Mountain, he saw a flag fluttering at the highest point, with four big characters written on it: “Great Sage Equal to Heaven.” Yang Jian cursed angrily, “With my abilities, I can only call myself a minor sage, yet he dares to call himself a Great Sage and even claim to be equal to heaven! How utterly arrogant!” He stood atop the clouds and shouted, “You mischievous monkey, come out and face your death! It’s the Second Lord Erlang, the Divine King of Brightness and Wisdom, who has come!”
Wukong had seen Yang Jian from afar and was already uneasy, thinking hard. During his rebellion in heaven, his first capture had been after fighting against Erlang. To be honest, he wasn’t afraid of Erlang. The Journey to the West clearly states that Wukong was knocked unconscious by Taishang Laojun’s Vajra Hammer before being chased down and bitten by the Howling Sky Dog. If they fought, even if he couldn’t win, he wouldn’t be captured. But since Erlang had arrived, did that mean Taishang Laojun would also show up? And at this moment, was the merciful Goddess Guanyin watching the battle from heaven?
Suddenly, Wukong thought of something and burst into laughter. “You little Erlang, do you think Grandpa Sun is afraid of you?” He soared through the clouds, raised his staff, and attacked.
What did Wukong think of? In The Journey to the West, during the first siege, the heavenly troops were routed in a crushing defeat by Flower-Fruit Mountain. In the second siege, 100,000 heavenly soldiers captured all 72 demon kings. In the third siege, just the six brothers of Meishan Mountain, along with 1,200 ordinary soldiers, managed to defeat Flower-Fruit Mountain. The reasons behind this are not explained in the book. Wukong’s shift from sadness to joy came after he realized this truth.
During the first siege, Wukong had just allied himself with the other six great sages. The 72 demon kings faced Flower-Fruit Mountain, which had over 47,000 soldiers. With the seven great sages each possessing great powers, it was reasonable for them to repel the poorly prepared and overconfident heavenly troops.
In the second siege, the heavens were better prepared, sending 18 layers of defensive networks along with 100,000 soldiers, clearly recognizing Flower-Fruit Mountain’s strength. In this battle, Wukong fought bravely alone, managing to hold off the enemy but only saving his own troops in Water Curtain Cave, while all 72 demon kings were captured by the heavens.
During the third siege, why didn’t the Heavenly Court send anyone to assist Yang Jian, leaving him to rely solely on the Meishan brothers? There is only one answer: by this time, the strength of Huaguo Mountain had greatly declined. As described in Journey to the West, “In this battle, Kang, Zhang, Yao, Li, Guo Shen, and Zhi Jian issued orders, sent out grass-headed gods, released eagles and dogs outside Water Curtain Cave, and prepared crossbows and bows to attack together. They managed to scatter the four brave generals of the demon monkey and capture two or three thousand monsters.” Out of forty-seven thousand demons, only two or three thousand remained, with Sun Wukong still being the sole leader. If Erlang Shen could capture him, it would mean a great victory—what a pitiful situation!
The reason for Huaguo Mountain’s decline from strength to weakness was the departure of the other six great sages!
Why did they leave? Ultimately, it was because Sun Wukong foolishly accepted the Heavenly Court’s invitation, hurting everyone’s feelings.
When Sun Wukong was first recruited and given the title of Bi Ma Wen, the six great sages could still tolerate it. But after he repelled the heavenly troops and declared himself a great sage, with his cause seemingly on the verge of success, yet he still harbored ambitions to ascend to heaven—how could they bear it?
One day in heaven equals one year on earth. While Sun Wukong ate peaches in heaven for a hundred or so days, a hundred years had already passed on earth. Who could have the patience to wait for such an ungrateful, fickle monkey?
Now that Sun Wukong understood this truth, he surely wouldn’t make the same mistake again. As long as all the others were present, even Lord Laozi would find it difficult to deal with him. Well, at worst he’d still be captured and forced to forge fire-eyed golden eyes, or pressed under the Five Elements Mountain—but he would still go to the West to obtain the scriptures. In any case, he would never be ungrateful again.
Sun Wukong thought, “If my analysis is correct, the Heavenly Court is doomed to lose this battle.”
He swung his staff downward, and Erlang Shen raised his three-pronged, double-edged sword to block it. The two fought with all their might, clashing loudly.
At the South Heavenly Gate, the All-Seeing Eye and the All-Hearing Ear watched intently, reporting the situation to the heavenly generals nearby from time to time. After hearing these reports, the generals rushed to the Brightness Hall and immediately described the battle to the Jade Emperor.
Hearing that Erlang Shen had already engaged the demon monkey, the Jade Emperor was quite pleased. He smiled and asked the immortals, “In your opinion, can Yang Jian defeat that demon monkey?”
Zhang Boduan, the True Man of Ziyang, replied, “I dare to speak presumptuously—perhaps the Manifest Holy Lord can defeat the demon monkey, but it will be difficult to eradicate all the demons on Huaguo Mountain.” As soon as he said this, many agreed with him.
The Jade Emperor nodded and said, “Indeed. Besides this demon monkey, there are still seven others on Huaguo Mountain with similar abilities. It’s a shame they don’t serve my Heavenly Court with such strength.”
The immortals present exchanged glances. Hearing the Jade Emperor’s words, it seemed he had plans to submit them. Zhang Daoling hesitantly asked, “Your Majesty… do you truly intend to submit them?”
The Jade Emperor said sternly, “These eight have caused great trouble on earth. Even in heaven, they show no respect and are stubborn. Wouldn’t that be inviting wolves into the house? Such a question is absurd!” Zhang Daoling quickly apologized and withdrew.
Seeing the Jade Emperor frowning, unsure of what he was thinking, no one dared speak. Soon, an heavenly general rushed in with urgent news: “Xiansheng Zhenjun is fighting evenly with that demon monkey. The Six Brothers of Meishan went to help, but unexpectedly, a huge demon bird from Huaguoshan and a nine-headed lion also joined the fight, defeating the Seven Saints of Meishan. Xiansheng Zhenjun was caught by the demon bird and suffered minor injuries before escaping back to Guanjiangkou!”
The immortals were shocked. Xiansheng Zhenjun had never lost since he became famous, yet in just a short while, he had been repelled by the demons of Huaguoshan. Surprisingly, the Jade Emperor showed no surprise at this news. He simply ordered the heavenly general to leave and said calmly, “Send orders to Li Jing to withdraw his troops!”
The order was immediate. The Tower-Bearing Heavenly King and other generals led tens of thousands of heavenly soldiers to withdraw their encirclement, returning to the main hall in disarray. The Jade Emperor looked around at everyone and asked, “It seems no one in my heavenly court can now subdue this demon monkey?”
Seeing Yang Jian defeated, Li Jing felt somewhat pleased, though he naturally dared not show it. Hearing the Jade Emperor’s question, as the supreme general in charge of subduing demons, though nervous, he had to answer. He stepped forward and said, “If it’s not presumptuous of me to say so, with the current strength of Huaguoshan, unless the Three Pure Ones and the Four Emperors are called upon, it will be difficult for anyone else to subdue them!”