“Stop complaining, brother,” said Friar Sand. “Our master has found the Way. He cast off his mortal body at the Cloud-touching Crossing, so he won't possibly fall into the water now. Our big brother and we two can all do levitation magic, so we can carry the master across.”

Monkey laughed to himself under his breath as he replied, “We can't do it, we can't do it.” Why do you think he said that they couldn't do it? If he had been prepared to use his divine powers and give away the secret of flying then master and disciples would have been able to cross a thousand rivers. But he understood that as the Tang Priest had not yet completed the nine nines he was fated to undergo another ordeal, which was why he had been held up here.

Talking as they walked slowly along, master and disciples headed straight to the river-bank, where all of a sudden they heard someone calling, “This way, Tang Priest, this way!” They were all surprised, and when they looked up there was no sign of anyone around, and no boat either.

There was only a big, white, scabby-headed soft-shelled turtle raising its head by the bank and calling, “Master, I have been waiting for you all these years. Why have you only just come back?”

“We troubled you in the past, old turtle,” said Monkey with a smile, “and this year we meet again.” Sanzang, Pig and Friar Sand were all delighted.

“If you really do want to look after us, come ashore,” Monkey said, at which the turtle climbed out of the river with a bound. Monkey had the horse tied to the turtle with Pig squatting behind the horse's tail. The Tang Priest stood to the left of the horse's neck and Friar Sand to its right, while Monkey stood with one foot on the turtle's neck and the other on his head.

“Take it easy and take it steady,” he said. The turtle strode across the water just as if his four feet were walking on flat land, carrying the master and his three disciples, five of them altogether including the horse, straight back to the Eastern bank. This was Indeed:

The mystery of the Dharma within the unique sect:

When the demons are all defeated man and heaven are made known.

Only now can the original face be seen,

And the causes of the one body all be complete.

Hold to the Three Vehicles to come and go at will;

After the elixir's nine transformations you may do what you like.

Carry your bundle, let your staff fly, and understand the inexpressible;

Lucky they were on their return to meet the Ancient Turtle.

Carrying them on his back, the Ancient Soft-shelled Turtle walked across the waves for the best part of a day. It was nearly evening when, as they approached the East bank, he suddenly asked, “Venerable master, some years ago I begged you when you reached the West and saw our Tathagata Buddha to ask him when I would be converted and how long I would live.”

Now ever since the venerable elder had reached the Western Heaven, bathed in the Jade Truth Temple, cast off his mortal body at the Cloud-touching Crossing and walked up the Vulture Peak, his heart had been set only on worshipping the Buddha; and when he met all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, holy monks and others his whole mind had been devoted to fetching the scriptures. He had given no attention to anything else, and so had not asked about how long the Ancient Turtle would live. Having nothing he could say, and not daring to lie to or deceive the turtle, Sanzang was quiet for a long time and gave no reply. When the turtle realized that Sanzang had not asked the questions on his behalf he gave a shake of his head and submerged with a loud splash, dropping the four of them, horse, scriptures and all, into the water.

Oh dear! But luckily the Tang Priest had cast off his mortal body and achieved the Way. If he had still been as he had before he would have sunk to the bottom. It was also lucky that the white horse was a dragon, that Pig and Friar Sand could swim, and that Brother Monkey gave a smiling and magnificent display of his great magic powers as he lifted the Tang Priest out of the water and up the East bank. The only thing was that the bundles of scriptures, the clothes and the saddle were all soaked.

Master and disciples had climbed up the bank to get themselves sorted out when a sudden fierce wind blew up, the sky turned dark, and amid thunder and lightning stones and sand flew all around. This is what could be seen:

A wind

Throwing heaven and earth into chaos;

Thunder

Rocking mountains and rivers;

Lightning

Flying like fire through the clouds;

Mists

Covering all of the earth.

The wind howled;

Loud roared the thunder.

The lightning streaked red,

While clouds blocked out the moon and the stars.

The wind-blown dust drove into the face,

And tigers and leopards hid in terror.

The lightning flashes set birds cawing,

And tress all vanished in the spreading mists.

The wind whipped up the waves of the River of Heaven;

The thunder terrified the fish and dragons in the River of Heaven;

The lightning lit up the whole of River of Heaven;

The mists enshrouded in darkness the banks of the River of Heaven.

Splendid wind!

Mountains toppled; pines and bamboo fell.

Splendid thunder!

Its majesty alarmed insects and spread terror.

Splendid lightning!

It moved across the sky and lit up the wilds like golden snakes.

Splendid mist!

Darkening the whole of space, obscuring the nine heavens.

This alarmed Sanzang, who pressed down on the bundles of scriptures, while Friar Sand held down their carrying-pole and Pig clung to the white horse. Monkey, however, swung his iron cudgel around with both hands as he kept guard to both right and left.

Now the wind, mist, thunder and lightning were all signals made by evil demons who wanted to steal the scriptures that had been fetched. They tried all night to grab them until the dawn; only then did they stop.

The venerable elder, whose clothes were all soaking wet, shivered and shook as he said, “How did all this start, Wukong?”

“Master,” Brother Monkey replied, snorting with fury, “you don't understand the inner truth. By escorting you to fetch these scriptures we have won the great achievement of heaven and earth. You will enjoy perpetual youth, and your dharma body will never decay. This is something heaven and earth can't stand for, and the demons and gods detest. They wanted to come and steal them in the darkness. But because the scriptures were soaked through and your true dharma body was holding them down, the thunder could not bombard them, the lightning could not illuminate them and the mist could not obscure them. It was also because I whirled my iron cudgel around to make its pure Positive nature protect them. Since dawn the Positive has been in the ascendant again, which is why they can't take them now.”

Only then did Sanzang, Pig and Friar Sand realize what had happened and all express unbounded thanks. A little later, when the sun was shining from high in the sky, they took the scriptures to the top of a high cliff, opened the bundles and put them out to dry. The rocks on which the scriptures were dried in the sun remain there to this day. Then they spread their clothes and shoes out to dry beside the cliff while they stood there, sat down, or leapt around. Indeed:

The pure Positive body was happy in the sun,

When Negative demons dared not use their might.

Even when water is dominant the true scriptures will win,

Not fearing wind or thunder, lightning, mist or light.

After this clarification they come to the true perception;

From now on they will reach the immortals' land in peace.