Sun Wukong, Tang Sanzang, and their companions continued their journey westward to fetch the scriptures. As they walked, they came across a tall mountain. This mountain was called Pingding Mountain, and within it was a cave called Lotus Cave.
Inside the cave lived two demons: one called Golden Horn King and the other Silver Horn King.
They possessed five magical treasures and were quite powerful. They even spread the word that they planned to eat Tang Sanzang in order to gain immortality.
Upon learning this, Sun Wukong thought to himself, “I don’t know how powerful these demons are. It’s better to send Pigsy to scout and find out.”
But as soon as Pigsy went, he was captured by Silver Horn King and didn’t return.
After capturing Pigsy, Silver Horn King lay in ambush, waiting for Tang Sanzang.
He thought, ” where there is Pigsy, there is Tang Sanzang. Tang Sanzang is the reincarnation of the Monk Jinchan. Eating even a piece of his flesh will grant me immortality. I can’t miss this chance.”
Sure enough, before long, Tang Sanzang appeared, riding his white dragon horse into the mountain.
Silver Horn King was overjoyed and was about to strike but then saw Sun Wukong leading the way. Sun Wukong’s golden staff danced through the air like a dragon, calming Tang Sanzang.
Silver Horn King shivered and thought, “Sun Wukong truly lives up to his reputation. That golden staff—if it hits me, even if I don’t die, I’ll be seriously injured. I must use cunning instead.”
So, Silver Horn King transformed into an old Taoist priest and lay on the roadside, crying for help.
Hearing this, Tang Sanzang hurried over, dismounted, and asked what was wrong.
Silver Horn King said, “I’m a Taoist priest from a temple nearby, but I accidentally broke my leg. Please, Master, save me.”
Tang Sanzang quickly said, “Old man, you can ride my horse.”
Silver Horn King replied, “My leg is injured. How can I ride a horse?”
Tang Sanzang then said to Sha Monk, “You carry him.”
Silver Horn King looked at Sha Monk and said, “This monk’s face is so frightening. I don’t want him to carry me.”
Tang Sanzang turned to Sun Wukong and said, “Then you carry him.”
Sun Wukong, having observed silently all along, had already seen through Silver Horn King’s disguise with his fiery eyes, but he knew Tang Sanzang wouldn’t believe him, so he hadn’t said anything.
Now, hearing that Tang Sanzang wanted him to carry the demon, Sun Wukong grinned and said, “I’ll carry him, I’ll carry him!”
The four continued their journey, with Sun Wukong carrying Silver Horn King at the back.
He chuckled and said to Silver Horn King, “Don’t be too smug. I know you’re a demon. Your lies may fool my master, but not me!”
Silver Horn King was shocked and thought, “They say Sun Wukong has fiery eyes, and indeed, he’s as sharp as they say. He’s already recognized me as a demon!”
Sun Wukong thought to himself, “I, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, am being made to carry a demon by my master. I should find a place to throw him to his death.”
However, Silver Horn King had some abilities of his own and immediately sensed Sun Wukong’s intentions.
He thought, “I need to strike first.”
So, he recited a spell and summoned Mount Sumeru, dropping it right on Sun Wukong’s head.
Sun Wukong quickly dodged, and the mountain landed on his left shoulder.
While carrying the mountain, he chased after his master, laughing and saying, “So, you demons can even move mountains. Lucky for me, I’m quick. This is nothing for me, though it’s a bit heavy.”
Seeing that Sun Wukong was still walking calmly while carrying the mountain, Silver Horn King was shocked.
He recited another spell and moved Mount Emei as well.
Sun Wukong tilted his head again, letting Mount Emei rest on his right shoulder.
With both mountains on his shoulders, he still ran swiftly to catch up with his master.
Silver Horn King was even more astonished. He recited a third spell and moved Mount Tai this time.
Caught off guard, Sun Wukong was crushed under the mountain this time.
Silver Horn King laughed in satisfaction and went on to capture Tang Sanzang and Sha Monk.
Returning to the cave, Silver Horn King told Golden Horn King, “I’ve captured Tang Sanzang. Let’s prepare to eat his flesh and gain immortality!”
But Golden Horn King said, “We can’t eat Tang Sanzang without capturing Sun Wukong first. That monkey caused havoc in Heaven before. If he finds out we ate Tang Sanzang, he’ll definitely level our Lotus Cave.”
Silver Horn King laughed and replied, “Don’t worry. I’ve crushed Sun Wukong under three mountains, and he can’t move. I’ll send two little demons with our treasures—the gourd and the vase—to trap him. Once he’s inside, he’ll turn to water in no time.”
Golden Horn King, pleased, said, “Brother, your skills are amazing. You’ve even subdued Sun Wukong!”
Meanwhile, trapped under the three mountains, Sun Wukong struggled with all his might, alarming the mountain gods and earth deities.
Upon realizing it was Sun Wukong, they hurried to free him.
Once released, Sun Wukong rushed to the Lotus Cave to rescue his master.
On the way, he saw two little demons, one holding a gourd and the other a vase. They were the little demons sent by Silver Horn King to capture him.
One demon said to the other, “I’ve heard that Sun Wukong is very powerful. I’m a bit scared.”
The other demon replied, “What’s there to fear? We have the treasures. The King said that if we call out to Sun Wukong and he responds, we can trap him in the gourd or vase. Before long, he’ll turn to water.”
Sun Wukong thought, “So these are two of the five treasures the demons possess. I need to take them! If they trap me, I’ll be in big trouble!”
Sun Wukong transformed into an old Taoist priest, holding a large gourd, and approached the two little demons.
He said, “I overheard you talking about how powerful your gourd and vase are. I can’t help but compare them with mine.”
One of the demons laughed, “You really overestimate yourself. This gourd is our king’s treasure—it can hold a thousand people!”
Sun Wukong replied, “A thousand people? That’s nothing. My gourd can hold the sky!”
The little demon laughed, “You’re boasting even bigger now. We won’t believe it unless you show us.”
So, Sun Wukong started muttering fake incantations, and soon the sky turned pitch black all around them.
The two little demons, frightened, said, “It was just sunny, how did it suddenly get so dark?”
Sun Wukong said, “Didn’t you want to see me put the sky in my gourd? Once the sky is captured, it’ll naturally go dark.”
In reality, Sun Wukong wasn’t casting any spell. He had summoned the gods of the four directions and instructed them, “Go report to the Jade Emperor and ask him to lend me the sky to put in my gourd!”
The Jade Emperor, upon hearing the request, was furious. “That monkey is too insolent! How can the sky be lent to him to put into a gourd?”
But Nezha, the Third Prince, came up with a clever idea: “Let’s just cover the sun, moon, and stars, making the world go dark. Then we can fool the demons into thinking the sky has been captured.”
So, the sun, moon, and stars were concealed, and the world turned dark.
The two demons, now scared, said, “We admit your gourd is more powerful. Please release the sky!”
Nezha then uncovered the sun, moon, and stars, and the world was bright again.
One little demon said to the other, “His gourd is indeed stronger than ours. Let’s trade with him.”
The other demon replied, “That’s true, but do you think he’ll agree?”
The first demon suggested, “Let’s give him the vase too—two treasures for one.”
Sun Wukong, hearing this, was delighted.
He said, “If it’s one-for-one, I definitely won’t trade. But if it’s two-for-one, fine, I’ll suffer a bit and make the exchange.”
Thus, Sun Wukong used his fake gourd to exchange for the two real treasures: the gourd and the vase.
As for his own gourd, it was just one of his magical hairs. Once Sun Wukong retrieved the hair, the two demons were left holding nothing.
Realizing they’d been tricked, they hurried back to report to their king.
Golden Horn King was furious when he heard that the gourd and the vase had been tricked away.
He said to Silver Horn King, “No doubt, this is one of Sun Wukong’s tricks. We’ve been fooled, and now two of our treasures are gone. I’m livid!”
Silver Horn King replied, “Don’t worry, brother. We still have three treasures: the Seven-Star Sword and the Banana Leaf Fan are with us, and the Golden Rope is with our mother. Let’s send two little demons to invite her here to feast on Tang Sanzang’s flesh, and have her bring the Golden Rope to capture Sun Wukong.”
Before long, an elderly female demon entered, and Golden Horn King and Silver Horn King hurriedly knelt to greet her. It turned out that this was their mother.
At that moment, Pigsy, who was tied up, couldn’t help but laugh.
Sha Monk quickly asked him what was so funny.
Pigsy said, “That old demon is actually our senior brother! Look, his tail is sticking out!”
It turned out that after Sun Wukong had tricked the two treasures from the demons, he transformed into a fly and followed the little demons to Lotus Cave.
When he overheard that the demons were sending little demons to invite their mother to feast on Tang Sanzang’s flesh, he followed them.
Later, Sun Wukong killed both the little demons and the real demon mother, and even took the Golden Rope.
He then transformed into the demon mother and went to Lotus Cave, but he hadn’t expected Pigsy to recognize him and even say it out loud.
Just then, another little demon came to report, “King, Sun Wukong killed your mother and took the Golden Rope. He’s disguised as your mother and has come here.”
Hearing this, Golden Horn King immediately grabbed the Seven-Star Sword and slashed at Sun Wukong.
Sun Wukong dodged with a flash of red light, and he was gone from the cave.
Golden Horn King, sighing, said, “Forget it. Sun Wukong’s abilities are too great. We should just return his master, his brothers, their luggage, and the white horse, all in one piece, so he doesn’t come after us again.”
Silver Horn King objected, “Brother, what are you saying? That would mean all our efforts were wasted! Let me face him. If I win, we can still eat Tang Sanzang’s flesh. If not, then we can return everything.”
Silver Horn King then rushed out with his sword and shouted to Sun Wukong, “You monkey! How dare you kill our mother? I’ll avenge her!”
Sun Wukong retorted, “How bold! You should’ve learned about my abilities by now. Return my master, my brothers, the white horse, and our belongings. Prepare some travel money for us too, and I might spare your lives!”
Silver Horn King, enraged, swung his sword at Sun Wukong, and the two began to fight.
After dozens of rounds, neither had the upper hand.
Sun Wukong thought, “This demon is actually quite skilled, able to last this long against me. But I need to save my master quickly, so I’ll use the treasure.”
He then took out the Golden Rope and threw it toward Silver Horn King, trapping him.
But unexpectedly, Silver Horn King chanted a spell, and the rope loosened, allowing him to escape.
Silver Horn King then grabbed the Golden Rope and threw it back at Sun Wukong, capturing him and dragging him back into the cave.
Sun Wukong’s previously acquired treasures—the gourd and the vase—were also taken from him.
Silver Horn King ordered that Sun Wukong be tied up next to Pigsy.
Pigsy, seeing this, laughed and said, “Brother, didn’t you say you were so powerful? How come you’re hanging up here with me now?”
Sun Wukong angrily said to Pigsy, “You fool! I risked my life to save all of you, and yet you exposed me, getting me caught! But this can’t hold me down for long; I’ll be out of here soon.”
When no one was paying attention, Sun Wukong took out his Golden Staff, transformed it into a small file, and cut through the ropes, finally freeing himself.
He quickly stashed the Golden Rope in his sleeve, then plucked a hair and transformed it into an image of himself, leaving it hanging in his place.
He then ran outside the cave and said to the little demons guarding the entrance, “Go tell your king that Zhe Xing Sun is here and ask him to release Sun Wukong, his master, and his junior disciples.”
Silver Horn King, hearing that someone was calling him out, hurried outside.
Seeing Sun Wukong, he looked him up and down and asked, “I just caught Sun Wukong, and now there’s another one who looks exactly the same. Who are you?”
“I’m his brother! I heard you captured him, so I came to rescue him. Let him go right now, or I’ll flatten your Lotus Cave to the ground!”
Silver Horn King replied, “I won’t fight you yet, but answer me this: If I call your name, will you dare to respond?”
Sun Wukong scoffed, “What a joke! Not only will I answer once, I’ll answer ten times if you want!”
So Silver Horn King took out the gourd and called, “Zhe Xing Sun!”
Sun Wukong thought to himself, “I was too quick to boast just now. This gourd is a powerful treasure, and the little demons said earlier that whoever responds to it will be sucked in and turned to water. But if I don’t answer, he’ll think I’m a coward. Besides, ‘Zhe Xing Sun’ isn’t my real name, so I’ll give it a try.”
He answered, and to his surprise, he was immediately sucked into the gourd.
It turned out the gourd didn’t care whether the name was real or fake; as long as someone responded, they would be trapped inside.
Silver Horn King carried the gourd back to the cave.
When Golden Horn King heard that Zhe Xing Sun had been trapped inside, he was overjoyed but cautioned, “Don’t open the gourd yet. Wait until he’s fully turned to water.”
Inside the gourd, Sun Wukong thought, “Back when I caused havoc in Heaven, I survived the Eight Trigrams Furnace of Laozi, gaining my fiery eyes and iron-hard body. There’s no way I’ll turn to water so easily. But this gourd is truly a powerful treasure—the opening is too tight for me to escape. I need to think of a way out.”
He then deliberately shouted, “Oh no! My feet have turned to water!”
He thought, “If they hear I’ve turned to water, maybe they’ll open the gourd to check, and that’ll be my chance to escape.”
But Golden Horn King said, “Only his feet, Let’s wait a bit longer.”
Sun Wukong then shouted, “Oh no! My legs have turned to water!”
Then, “My waist is melting too!”
“My chest is also turning to water!”
Finally, Golden Horn King said, “If even his chest has melted, he must be almost done. Let’s open the gourd and take a look.”
As soon as they opened the gourd, Sun Wukong transformed into a small insect and flew out immediately.
Sun Wukong then transformed into a little demon and stood next to the two demon kings, pretending to serve them wine.
While they weren’t paying attention, he stealthily stole the gourd and replaced it with a fake one made from one of his hairs.
After stealing the gourd, he immediately ran outside and said to the demon guards, “Go tell your kings that the Xingzhe Sun is here.”
When Silver Horn King heard the report, he rushed out and saw yet another figure who looked exactly like Sun Wukong.
He asked, “I just caught Sun Wukong and Zhe Xingsun, and now you are Xingzhe Sun? What’s your relationship with them?”
“They’re my brothers! Since you admit to capturing them, you’d better release them quickly, or don’t blame me for being harsh!”
Silver Horn King sneered, “Enough talk. Let me ask you one thing: if I call your name, will you dare respond?”
“What a joke! Call me and I’ll respond ten times if you want, but if I call your name, will you dare answer?”
“I call because I have a magic gourd that can trap people. What do you have?”
“I have a gourd too, and it can trap people just the same.”
As Sun Wukong spoke, he waved the stolen gourd in front of Silver Horn King’s eyes.
Silver Horn King was shocked and thought, “How can this gourd look exactly like mine? Even if they grew from the same vine, they couldn’t be identical in size and shape!”
He asked, “Where did you get your gourd?”
Sun Wukong, unsure of its origin, responded with a question, “Where did you get yours?”
Silver Horn King said proudly, “This gourd has quite a backstory. When Goddess Nuwa was mending the sky at Kunlun Mountain, she saw this purple-gold red gourd growing from a celestial vine.”
Sun Wukong quickly followed up, “Mine has the same origin. Mine’s male, and yours is female.”
Silver Horn King was shocked, “Gourds have male and female? But male or female, as long as it can trap people, it’s a treasure. I’ll call your name—will you dare respond?”
“Of course! As I said, you can call me, and I’ll answer ten times.”
Silver Horn King then jumped into the air, holding the gourd and called, “Xingzhe Sun!”
Sun Wukong responded ten times as promised, but nothing happened—he wasn’t trapped.
Silver Horn King fell from the sky in disbelief, pounding his chest in frustration. “Oh my God! So the gourds really do have male and female. The female one doesn’t dare to trap people inside when it sees its husband!”
Sun Wukong, full of pride, took out his gourd and called, “Silver Horn King!”
Caught off guard, Silver Horn King answered instinctively and was immediately sucked into the gourd.
Back in the cave, Golden Horn King learned that Zhexing Sun and Xingzhe Sun were both Sun Wukong in disguise, and that Silver Horn King had been trapped in the gourd. He was filled with both fear and anger.
He came out holding the Seven-Star Sword and the Banana Leaf Fan, shouting, “Sun Wukong, you used tricks to kill my brother, and I will avenge him!”
The two of them fought for twenty rounds without a clear winner.
Golden Horn King swung his sword and shouted, “Minions, attack!”
Hundreds of little demons rushed forward.
Sun Wukong remained fearless. He grabbed a handful of hairs, blew on them, and shouted, “Transform!”
Instantly, countless Sun Wukongs appeared and defeated the little demons, sending them fleeing for their lives.
Soon, only Golden Horn King was left, trapped in the middle.
Golden Horn King panicked. He took out the Banana Leaf Fan and fanned it once, and fierce flames sprang up from the ground.
It turned out that the fan could create fire. He fanned it seven times, and the entire mountain was engulfed in blazing flames.
Sun Wukong quickly retracted his clones and recited a fire-avoiding spell, escaping the sea of fire.
Golden Horn King returned to the cave, devastated. With Silver Horn King dead, and the little demons either injured, dead, or fleeing, he drank to drown his sorrow and soon fell into a deep sleep.
After escaping the fire, Sun Wukong sneaked into the cave to rescue his master.
He saw Golden Horn King sleeping, and the Vase, Banana Leaf Fan, and Seven-Star Sword by his side.
He thought, “I’ve already got the gourd and the Golden Rope. If I can steal these three treasures, I won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
Just as he grabbed the Vase and the Banana Leaf Fan and was about to take the Seven-Star Sword, Golden Horn King woke up.
Sun Wukong immediately fled without a trace.
Golden Horn King rushed outside, but seeing no one, he cursed loudly, “Sun Wukong, you thief! If you’re brave enough, come out! Hiding like a coward—what kind of man are you?”
Hiding nearby, Sun Wukong thought, “I can’t let his taunts provoke me. My master is weak, and waiting any longer might be too much for him. I need to end this quickly.”
He then took out the Vase and called out, “Golden Horn King!”
Golden Horn King, thinking it was one of his little demons calling him, responded, and was immediately sucked into the vase.
With both demon kings captured, Sun Wukong rushed back into the cave to rescue his master.
The next day, the four companions packed their belongings and continued their journey west to retrieve the scriptures.
Sun Wukong, feeling triumphant, thought to himself, “This time I’ve gained a lot, not only capturing the demons but also getting five powerful treasures.”
Just then, he heard someone shout, “Great Sage, return my treasures!”
Sun Wukong turned around and saw that it was the Supreme Lord Laozi.
Sun Wukong said, “You old man, are you here to trick me because you want the treasures I earned? What proof do you have that they belong to you?”
The Supreme Lord Laozi said, “The gourd is for holding my elixirs, the Vase is for storing water, the sword is for subduing demons, the Banana Leaf Fan is for stoking the fire when refining elixirs, and the Golden Rope is actually my belt. As for those two demons, Golden Horn King is a boy who guards my gold furnace, and Silver Horn King guards the silver furnace.”
Sun Wukong, enraged, retorted, “You old man! Allowing your servants to descend and become demons—what punishment should you receive for that?”
The Supreme Lord Laozi chuckled and replied, “That wasn’t my idea. If you’re looking to blame someone, you should ask the Bodhisattva Guanyin. She borrowed them from me three times and sent them here to transform into demons as a way to test your resolve on the journey to retrieve the scriptures.”
Sun Wukong grumbled, “That Bodhisattva is too tricky! She promised that if we encountered any difficulties on the journey, she would help us. But instead, she raised two demons just to make trouble for us! Fine, since it was her plan and you’ve come personally, I’ll return the treasures to you.”
With that, Sun Wukong handed the five treasures back to the Supreme Lord Laozi.
Laozi took the gourd and opened the lid, from which two streams of celestial energy emerged.
With a point of his finger, the two streams transformed into the golden and silver boys, who then accompanied Laozi as he returned to the heavenly court.
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