Chapter 50: The Monkey King Under the Five-Finger Mountain, Fated for Disaster

"Bah! I did nothing wrong! Don’t think that just because you’re big and imposing, you can bully me, the Monkey King, as you please. Great-Eared Tathagata, let me tell you today: absolutely not! Even if you chop off my head, I still say I’m not at fault."

Heh heh!

Make him admit he’s wrong? What a joke! Dream on!

How was he wrong? He just ate a few peaches, that’s all! Was that really enough to send a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers after him, all wanting to kill him?

Ha!

To hell with all that!

Did they think this monkey was one to be trifled with? Did they think he was some pushover, easy to bully?

He, Old Sun, would never agree to that.

The Monkey King’s wild and defiant shouts echoed, untamed and uncouth, impossible to discipline. The Great-Eared Tathagata truly lost his patience. With a simple flip of his massive hand, he seized Sun Wukong as if effortlessly clutching a tiny figure.

As if holding a little man in his grasp, without the slightest effort: “Sun Wukong, I shall ask you one last time—do you admit your fault?”

Suddenly seized and unable to move a muscle by Tathagata’s mighty hand, Sun Wukong showed not the least sign of retreat. “Bah! So, Tathagata, that was a sneak attack, wasn’t it? While I was off guard, you struck—what kind of hero is that? You’re not even as good as a stray cat or dog. If you truly have the skill, why not let me go and we’ll have a fair match?”

“Heh heh! Tathagata, answer me this—do you dare?”

“Petty tricks and a slick tongue—nothing that amounts to anything,” Tathagata said, shaking his head.

He thought to himself: This impudent monkey truly is beyond reform.

“Tathagata, I just want to know—do you dare or don’t you? Don’t drag it out. Don’t waste time. Be straightforward, or I’ll look down on you.”

As Sun Wukong was seized in Tathagata’s grasp, the Jade Emperor arrived with the heavenly soldiers who had taken refuge, coming out through the Southern Heavenly Gate to meet them.

The Jade Emperor bowed to Tathagata. “Lord Tathagata, you must not agree to the monkey’s demands. That wicked creature is full of cunning and guile.”

Tathagata smiled mildly. “Your Majesty, you need not worry. No matter how cunning he is, now that he is within my grasp, he cannot stir up any more trouble.”

“Sun Wukong, listen well. I will grant you one last chance to repent. Heaven is always merciful—make good use of this chance.”

“Now, you impudent monkey, you are within my palm. If you can escape from my hand, I will let you go so you may cultivate your heart and follow the Way. But if you—”

“Haha! It’s only your five fingers—what’s so hard about that? Watch me!”

“Somersault Cloud! Come!”

At Sun Wukong’s call, the Somersault Cloud, which had been held back by Tathagata, immediately rushed to him.

Mounting his cloud, Sun Wukong soared away at once.

---

With a single somersault, the cloud carried him one hundred and eight thousand miles, vanishing without a trace.

Ahead, he suddenly noticed five towering pillars rising from the ground.

Heh heh!

Tathagata had said he couldn’t escape from his palm, but what were these five great pillars? Weren’t they the pillars that held up the sky?

Delighted, Sun Wukong hopped down and circled the five pillars. Then, with a gleam in his gray eyes, he plucked a hair from his body, blew on it, and transformed it into a brush.

On one of the pillars, he inscribed: “The Great Sage Equal to Heaven was here.”

His task done, Sun Wukong chuckled and then relieved himself at the base of the second pillar.

At last, he leaped onto his cloud and sped back.

Little did he know, all of his antics were clearly seen by Tathagata.

“Tathagata, I have returned!” Sun Wukong descended from his cloud, brimming with pride. “Our agreement is fulfilled! I, Old Sun, have flown beyond your palm and even saw five sky-piercing pillars. I wrote a message on one, too: ‘The Great Sage Equal to Heaven was here.’ If you don’t believe me, have the Jade Emperor send someone to check.”

Tathagata only smiled silently.

Sun Wukong grew uneasy. “Why are you smiling? What’s so funny? Hurry and send someone to verify it, so I—”

“No need,” Tathagata replied. “Look at the middle finger of my right hand, then smell my thumb. Then you’ll understand.”

At Tathagata’s suggestion, Sun Wukong hopped over—and his face changed dramatically.

He saw the very words he had written on the middle finger, and on the thumb, a lingering scent of his own monkey urine.

This—this was impossible.

He had been so sure—

Sun Wukong was utterly unsettled. “Ahem… Tathagata, is this some trick to fool me? I don’t believe this is real—you’re trying to deceive me, aren’t you?”

As he spoke, he tried to escape.

But before he could act, there was a thunderous crash. Tathagata’s great hand transformed into a mountain, and with a tremendous roar, pressed the monkey beneath it.

---

Then, the five fingers became five connected mountains, each representing metal, wood, water, earth, and fire, thus forming the “Five Elements Mountain.”

Crushed under the mountain, Sun Wukong was filled with deep regret. He wailed and pleaded for mercy: “Buddha Tathagata, I admit my wrongdoing! Please have mercy and let me go!”

“It is already decided, Sun Wukong. Your reckless defiance has brought this disaster upon yourself, and you must bear the consequences.”

With these words, Tathagata waved his hand, and a golden talisman appeared in a blaze of light, descending gently onto the Five Elements Mountain.

The once loosely piled mountain instantly fused together. Even with all his abilities, Sun Wukong could cause no more trouble.

Tathagata addressed the monkey trapped below: “Sun Wukong, this is your punishment for wreaking havoc in Heaven. After five hundred years, when your sentence ends, someone will come to rescue you.”

“Amitabha. Blessed be.”

“Big Brother…”

Suddenly, two figures came running: Fat Ox and Iron Fan.

“Big Brother, how did you end up like this? Heavens! This towering mountain has you pinned—what will we do now?”

“Big Brother, we’ll save you!”

Fat Ox and Iron Fan pulled with all their might, trying to free Sun Wukong.

But after all their efforts, nothing worked.

Exhausted, they collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.

Sun Wukong shook his head, tears streaming down his cheeks in regret. “Why have you all come? It’s useless. Go back—this is my own doing, and I have no one else to blame. Please… please give my regards to the Immortal Master. Tell him that this unfilial monkey will never again be able to fulfill his duty.”

“No, Big Brother! You must tell him yourself. If the Master hadn’t told us you were in danger, we’d never have known what happened to you.”

Iron Fan wept bitterly as she spoke. “Big Brother, it was the Master who sent us. He said you’d be struck down by Tathagata and suppressed for five hundred years. It seems everything he said was true.”

Sun Wukong was deeply shaken.

If the Immortal Master could foresee the calamity that would befall him, why had he never warned him, not even once?

Why?

Sun Wukong was left tormented with sorrow and regret.