Chapter 16 16. As Your Master, I Bestow Upon You the Dharma Name "Wufan"

"Great Sage, please spare my life—"
Just as the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Staff was about to come crashing down upon the Black Bear Demon’s head, the latter let out a piercing wail, followed by a fit of miserable howling.

"Heh, Black Brute, weren’t you just full of swagger a moment ago? You kept yelling about the Horse Master, so loud and proud!" Hu Rong spoke mockingly, but still managed to halt the staff in time, pressing it instead against the Black Bear Demon’s throat.

"Great Sage... no, Great Sage Grandfather! This wretched demon failed to recognize a true immortal and has offended you, Grandfather! Please, be magnanimous and spare my life! Spare me!"

At this moment, the Black Bear Demon’s very soul was in tatters, and with Hu Rong’s staff at his throat, his life hung by a thread. How could he dare utter another arrogant word? All that spilled from his lips were desperate pleas for mercy.

"Listen, Black Brute! I can spare your life, but you must agree to three conditions!"

"Great Sage Grandfather, please, tell me—what are they?" The Black Bear Demon, after countless hardships to reach his current state, cherished his life all the more. The faintest hint of mercy from Hu Rong was a lifeline to a drowning man, and he pressed urgently for the three conditions.

"First, come with me to meet my master, and beg him to take you as a personal attendant. Refuse, and you die!" Hu Rong barely paused before stating the first condition. But to avoid affecting Bajie’s place, he only asked the Black Bear Demon to serve as Tang Sanzang’s attendant: a loyal servant in times of peace, and a dependable bodyguard in times of danger.

"Great Sage Grandfather... this... this..." Though his life was at stake, at the thought of losing his freedom forever, the Black Bear Demon still hesitated.

"Black Brute, you no longer have the right to refuse!" Hu Rong put away the Golden-Hooped Staff, then tapped the tightening circlet on the Black Bear Demon’s head with a knuckle and said, "Because the circlet bestowed by the Buddha is my gift to you for joining the pilgrimage!"

"So it was you..." Only then did the Black Bear Demon realize that he had been manipulated by Hu Rong. No wonder the circlet on his head was so strange—once it was on, neither blade nor fire nor flood could remove it!

Though his heart was full of resentment, the situation was beyond his strength and he truly was no match. As the saying goes: to the victor the spoils. What more could be said?

"Then, what is the second condition?" the Black Bear Demon asked, seemingly acquiescing to the first. Otherwise, why continue to ask?

"The second condition... I haven’t thought it through yet! So, Black Brute, come back with me first and we’ll discuss it after you’ve met my master!" With that, Hu Rong transformed the Golden-Hooped Staff into a golden chain, binding the Black Bear Demon tightly, and with one hand, carried him off, soaring toward the Guanyin Monastery on a rainbow cloud.

All the way, the Black Bear Demon peered at the cloud beneath his feet, muttering inwardly: This wretched monkey, clearly a demon king in his own right, yet his cloud is a radiant auspicious cloud—and rainbow-colored at that!

He himself had cultivated for a thousand years, taken human form, and yet the cloud beneath his feet was always pitch-black, announcing “Monster’s coming!” to all who saw it.

So what was with this monkey? Suppressed by the Buddha for five hundred years, yet upon release, his powers had only grown, and he defeated the Black Bear Demon with ease.

Moreover, though he was one of the Seven Great Demon Kings of Flower-Fruit Mountain, he practiced the orthodox immortal cloud-riding art, and after five hundred years, it had evolved into the legendary rainbow cloud known only to hidden sages.

The more the Black Bear Demon thought, the more vexed and agitated he became, but he dared not show the slightest complaint. Partly because Hu Rong was too formidable, and partly because he had now come face to face with Tang Sanzang:

With a majestic bearing and imposing features, teeth white as silver, lips red and square, a broad and noble brow, eyes bright and brows fine, his earlobes full and round—a man of rare distinction, his whole person exuding a scholar’s elegance!

"Master, your disciple Xiong Wufan humbly begs to follow you, to tend your steed, chop your firewood, stoke your fires, and cook your meals!" The moment he saw Tang Sanzang, the Black Bear Demon flung himself to the ground with a thud, prostrating himself in worship.

"Wukong?! What is this about?" Tang Sanzang, startled by this fearsome, jet-black creature kneeling before him, shrank back in alarm and hurriedly asked.

"Master, after this Black Brute put on the circlet bestowed by Sister Guanyin, he could no longer take it off. Your disciple believes he may have a karmic tie with the Buddha, and so I have brought him here, for you to deal with as you see fit."

To earn Tang Sanzang’s trust, Hu Rong deliberately mentioned the circlet given by Guanyin Bodhisattva—once worn by the Black Bear Demon, it could not be removed. In the shameless logic of the Buddhist order, until a reasonable explanation could be found, this was always proclaimed as “this person is karmically linked to the Buddha,” and thus everyone was ferried to the West...

“Amitabha,” intoned Tang Sanzang, then looked first at the Black Bear Demon, then at the circlet, and found himself torn. If he refused to accept the Black Bear Demon, the circlet could not be returned, which might make Guanyin Bodhisattva feel slighted and jeopardize the quest for scriptures.

On the other hand, to accept him—this Black Brute was simply too hideous, baring his teeth and grimacing. Compared to his handsome chief disciple, the Monkey King, it was night and day!

After a long hesitation, Tang Sanzang suddenly recalled that when Guanyin Bodhisattva had given him the circlet, she had also passed down an incantation. Almost unwittingly, he began to recite: “Yi dian yi si yi wu jiu er liu wu san...”

And at once, disaster struck! The Black Bear Demon felt his eyes bulging, his head splitting, his very soul wracked with pain; he rolled on the ground, howling in agony.

"Xiong Wufan, do you truly wish to enter the Buddha’s fold?" Tang Sanzang remembered that the Black Bear Demon had called himself “Wufan,” so he asked.

"With all my heart, Master! Please show boundless mercy and accept me!" After suffering both spiritual and physical torment, the Black Bear Demon was at last utterly subdued. No other thoughts dared arise; he knelt and begged.

"Since you are sincere, I shall accept you as a disciple in name." In the end, Tang Sanzang nodded and took the Black Bear Demon as a registered disciple. He had Hu Rong fetch the monastic razor, shaved the demon’s head, then taught him to bear a spear and shoulder the loads, following by his side.

"Wufan, now that you have entered the monastic order, let me give you a Dharma name," Tang Sanzang said, riding atop the White Dragon Horse and looking down at the Black Bear Demon carrying the burdens.

"I leave it to Master’s wisdom!" The Black Bear Demon, unlike the original Sun Wukong, was not rebellious. After tasting the pain of the circlet spell, he understood the power of the Buddhist order. And after hearing from Hu Rong that once Tang Sanzang obtained the true scriptures, they would all achieve enlightenment and golden bodies, he fully abandoned his demonic heart, regarding Tang Sanzang as his second father.

“Amitabha! In our order, cultivation begins with virtue. Seeing your sincerity, I shall name you Youde—‘One of Virtue.’”

“Thank you, Master, for bestowing this name!” The Black Bear Demon beamed as he shouldered the burdens, but deep down, he couldn’t help but grumble: The wretched monkey insists I call myself Wufan, and now the venerable monk gives me the name Youde.

So, here’s the question: Xiong Wufan and Xiong Youde—don’t both these names sound odd somehow? Isn’t there something not quite right about them?