The lohan then advised Sun to seek the aid of the Ancient of Days.  Accordingly, Sun ascended to the thirty-third Heaven, where was the palace of the god.  He there discovered that the Demon was none other than one of the god’s ox-spirits who had stolen the magic coil.  It was, in fact, the same coil with which Sun himself had at last been subdued when he had rebelled against Heaven.

Help from Ju Lai

The Ancient of Days mounted a cloud and went with Sun to the cave.  When the Demon saw who had come he was terrified.  The Ancient of Days then recited an incantation, and the Demon surrendered the magic coil to him.  On the recitation of a second incantation all his strength left him, and he appeared as a bull, and was led away by a ring in his nose.  The Master and his disciples were then set at liberty, and proceeded on their journey.

The Fire-quenching Fan

In the autumn the pilgrims found themselves in the Ssu Ha Li Country, where everything was red—­red walls, red tiles, red varnish on doors and furniture.  Sixty li from this place was the Flaming Mountain, which lay on their road westward.

An old man they met told them that it was possible to cross the Flaming Mountain only if they had the Magic Iron Fan, which, waved once, quenched fire, waved a second time produced strong wind, and waved a third time produced rain.  This magic fan was kept by the Iron-fan Princess in a cave on Ts’ui-yuen Shan, 1500 li distant.  On hearing this, Sun mounted a cloud, and in an instant was transported to the cave.  The Iron-fan Princess was one of the lochas (wives and daughters of demons), and the mother of the Red Child Demon, who had become a disciple of Kuan Yin.  On seeing Sun she was very angry, and determined to be revenged for the outwitting of her husband, King Ox-head, and for the carrying away of her son.  The Monkey said:  “If you lend me the Iron Fan I will bring your son to see you.”  For answer she struck him with a sword.  They then fell to fighting, the contest lasting a long while, until at length, feeling her strength failing, the Princess took out the Iron Fan and waved it.  The wind it raised blew Sun to a distance of 84,000 li, and whirled him about like a leaf in a whirlwind.  But he soon returned, reinforced by further magic power lent him by the Buddhist saints.  The Princess, however, deceived him by giving him a fan which increased the flames of the mountain instead of quenching them.  Sun and his friends had to retreat more than 20 li, or they would have been burned.