Chapter 30: Quicksand Hard To Cross
Now, Sun Wukong was ambushed by Ao Tu and staggered.
Ao Tu pressed the attack and struck again with the seal.
With the boost from his innate divine abilities in the water, Ao Tu’s advantage greatly increased.
Seeing this, Sun Wukong withdrew outward.
Ao Tu threw out the Water Covering Seal to strike him, but Sun Wukong took out a Glass Alms Bowl from his bosom and collided it with the Water Covering Seal, canceling the Water Covering Seal’s attack.
Sun Wukong retrieved the Glass Alms Bowl and looked somewhat distressed at the new crack on it, then hurriedly withdrew from the water.
Back on the shore, Wukong thought to himself: “This demon dragon has many treasures and is hiding in the water. I am no match for him. I should go find the Bodhisattva for help.”
Thus, he somersaulted on his Somersault Cloud and headed straight to the South Sea.
Flying over the vast ocean, Wukong looked down and saw the sea, suddenly recalling his previous visit to Ao Guang at Yellow Wind Ridge.
“Black Water River, I remember now!”
Wukong remembered that when he went to the East Sea Dragon King Ao Guang for help, the old dragon, upon hearing he had encountered a demon dragon, directly asked him, “Did you reach the Black Water River?”
Surely the demon in that river was inextricably linked to that old dragon!
Wukong stopped his cloud, changed direction, and went to settle accounts with that old dragon.
In a moment, he arrived at the East Sea.
Sun Wukong entered the Crystal Palace, found Ao Guang, grabbed his beard, and told him what had happened.
Ao Guang said: “Great Sage, that Sha Tuolong is probably an alias. He is originally my nephew, called Little Flood Dragon, the youngest son of my brother-in-law, the Dragon King of Jing River.”
Hearing this, Wukong angrily said: “How many nephews do you have? Why do they all come to trouble my master? That old Dragon King of Jing River violated the heavenly laws, his crime was unpardonable, and his execution was deserved. What does it have to do with my master?”
Ao Guang said: “Great Sage does not know, there is actually some hidden story behind this.”
Wukong said: “What hidden story?”
Ao Guang said: “Little Dragon does not dare to speak easily on this matter. After my brother-in-law died, my sister took her nine children to seek refuge with my third brother, the Dragon King of West Sea. I will summon him now to explain the reason to the Great Sage.”
In the Dragon Palace, there were golden bells and iron drums. Whenever there was an emergency, beating the drums and ringing the bells would bring the Four Seas Dragon Kings in an instant.
Ao Guang struck the bell and drum on the west side of the Dragon Palace. Soon, the Dragon King of West Sea Ao Run arrived upon hearing the sound.
Ao Run asked: “Big Brother, what urgent matter requires beating the drums and ringing the bells?”
Ao Guang told Ao Run the reason for the matter, and Ao Run said in surprise:
“Great Sage moves very fast, reaching the Black Water River so quickly!”
Wukong felt irritated and said without much thought: “Cut the nonsense, quickly explain the reason. How many sons does that Dragon King of Jing River have? Why do they repeatedly obstruct my master?”
Ao Run said: “Forgive me, Great Sage. My sister has nine sons in total. The first Little Yellow Dragon resides in the Huai Shrine; the second Little Black Dragon lives in the Ji Shrine; the third Blueback Dragon occupies the Jiang Shrine; the fourth Red Whisker Dragon guards the River Shrine; the fifth Ao Tu Dragon serves the Buddha Ancestor as bell ringer; the sixth Steady Beast Dragon guards the divine palace’s ridgepole; the seventh Jingzhong Dragon guards the Sky-Supporting Pillar for the Jade Emperor; the eighth Mirage Dragon holds Mount Tai. The ninth Little Flood Dragon is the youngest, residing in the Black Water River to cultivate his nature.”
Hearing this, Wukong was shocked that the Dragon King of Jing River actually had nine sons. Ao Tu plus Little Flood Dragon was already this troublesome; if the other seven came down to the mortal realm, how could the journey for sutras succeed?
As the saying goes, one must get to the bottom of things and trace back to the source to resolve the matter.
Wukong asked: “What exactly is the hidden story behind the Dragon King of Jing River’s death that makes you nephews chase after my master relentlessly!”
Hearing this, Ao Run said:
“In response to the Great Sage, I dare not call it a hidden story. It was simply that my brother-in-law was arrogant and willful, leading to this incident where he offended the Great Sage and his disciples. Little Dragon deserves ten thousand deaths.”
Wukong said: “Cut the official talk, speak quickly, speak quickly!”
Hearing this, Ao Run then recounted the events of that year.
“In the past, in Chang’an City, there was a fortune-telling mister named Yuan Shoucheng. He divined a hexagram for a fisherman every day, telling him where to cast his net and when to fish. Every cast was successful, and he caught a golden carp every day.”
Ao Run explained to Sun Wukong:
“These golden carps are transformations of my Dragon Clan undergoing tribulations. Cultivators face three disasters before becoming Golden Immortals, and the Dragon Clan has corresponding tribulations, transforming into these golden carps with their primal spirits obscured. If caught and eaten by humans, they perish, and a thousand years of bitter cultivation become illusory. That fisherman hit the mark every time; if this continued, wouldn’t the dragon sons and grandsons of Jing River be fished out?”
Wukong nodded upon hearing this and said: “That’s true!”
Ao Run continued:
“After my brother-in-law learned of it, he went to settle accounts with that Yuan Shoucheng. They made a bet: Yuan Shoucheng divined the time, points, and duration of tomorrow’s rainwater. If correct, my brother-in-law would gift him gold; if wrong, Yuan Shoucheng would leave Chang’an.”
Wukong laughed upon hearing this: “How could this fortune-telling mister win against the Dragon King in calculating rainwater points?”
Ao Run shook his head and said:
“Great Sage does not know. Normally, my brother-in-law was in charge of making rain, whether much or little, as long as there was no big mistake, it was fine. But that day, the Jade Emperor suddenly issued a decree specifying when my brother-in-law should lay clouds, when to rain, how many feet, inches, and points, and when to stop—exactly matching what Yuan Shoucheng divined!”
Wukong said in surprise: “Such a thing happened? It seems this Yuan Shoucheng has quite a background!”
Ao Run hurriedly said upon hearing this: “I dare not say so; perhaps his divination skill is superior.”
Wukong smiled and said nothing.
Ao Run continued: “Afterward, my brother-in-law, being arrogant and seeking victory, privately altered some points. Unexpectedly, the Jade Emperor found out and had him sent to the dragon slaying platform.”
Wukong said: “I, old Sun, know what happened after that. He went to King Tang to plead for mercy, King Tang promised help but killed him instead. His dragon soul did not disperse, sued in the Underworld, frightening King Tang, which led to dispatching my master to the Western Heaven for sutras to seek Mahayana Buddhist Dharma to save the departed soul.”
Ao Run said: “Exactly. How did the Great Sage learn of this?”
Wukong said: “Guanyin Bodhisattva told me, but she didn’t mention the earlier events, only that your brother-in-law violated heavenly laws and was executed by the Jade Emperor, and Ao Tu was unwilling, thus obstructing our master and disciples.”
Hearing this, Ao Run hurriedly knelt and said: “Little Dragon did not know, Little Dragon did not know! Great Sage, I heard that my brother-in-law was destined for a violent death on the Book of Life and Death from birth. What I said today is just idle talk; I hope the Great Sage does not spread it outside.”
Wukong looked at the kneeling Dragon King of West Sea, shook his head, and found it somewhat amusing that this old dragon, as the Dragon King of West Sea, was too timid.
But recalling the Golden Fillet on his head, he swallowed the words he was about to say.
After a long silence, he said:
“Old dragon, I was originally going to the South Sea to find the Bodhisattva to subdue those two demon dragons. Now that it’s like this, come with me to the Black Water River to summon their surrender. If they can release my master, there will be no need to trouble the Bodhisattva.”
The Dragon King of West Sea said upon hearing this:
“Great Sage, for my youngest nephew, I have some confidence. But for my nephew Ao Tu, he came to my Dragon Palace not long ago and robbed many weapons and magic treasures from it. I fear he will not submit.”
Wukong said: “He is your nephew; what’s wrong with taking a few treasures from you? I see he has some sense of justice in him. Though he obstructs my master’s journey west, he has not harmed my master. He surely knows that grievances have heads and debts have owners. Go persuade him; if not, we will discuss further.”
