Wukong was overjoyed and begged to stay for a feast, but Wukong refused. He then rode with Venus on auspicious clouds to the South Heavenly Gate. The celestial soldiers and generals all greeted them with bows, and they entered the Lingxiao Palace. Venus bowed and reported, "Your Majesty, I have received an imperial decree to summon Sun Wukong, the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses." The Jade Emperor said, "Sun Wukong, come here. I hereby appoint you as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, a very high rank, but you must not act recklessly." The monkey merely bowed and thanked the Emperor. The Jade Emperor then ordered the officials Zhang and Lu to build the Great Sage Equal to Heaven's Palace on the right side of the Peach Garden. Within the palace, two offices were established: the Office of Tranquility and the Office of Peace. Each office was staffed with celestial officials to assist him. The Jade Emperor also sent the Five Dipper Star Lords to escort Wukong to his post, bestowing upon him two bottles of imperial wine and ten golden flowers, instructing him to settle down and not act recklessly again. The Monkey King accepted the instructions and immediately went to the palace with the Five Dipper Star Lords, opened the wine bottles, and drank with everyone. Only after the star official returned to his palace did he feel truly satisfied, overjoyed and happy in the celestial palace, free from all worries and hindrances. Indeed: His immortal name will be forever inscribed in eternity, his legacy enduring through countless ages, untouched by the cycle of reincarnation.
Eight monkeys wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace and rebelled, descending to the mortal realm.
The Great Sage Equaling Heaven was, after all, a monkey demon, unaware of official ranks or titles, and indifferent to salary; he only cared about being recognized. The two celestial officials under his jurisdiction served him day and night, knowing only to eat three meals a day and sleep on the same bed at night, free from worries and completely at ease. In his leisure time, he would meet friends and wander through the palace, making sworn brothers. He addressed the Three Pure Ones as "Old One" and the Four Emperors as "Your Majesty." He treated the Nine Luminaries, the Five Generals, the Twenty-Eight Constellations, the Four Heavenly Kings, the Twelve Earthly Branches, the Five Elders of the Five Directions, all the celestial beings, and the gods of the Milky Way as brothers, addressing each other accordingly. He would roam east one day and west the next, his whereabouts unpredictable, coming and going like clouds.
One day, during the Jade Emperor's morning court session, the Immortal Xu Jingyang stepped forward and reported, "The Great Sage Equaling Heaven spends his days idly wandering, befriending all the celestial beings, regardless of rank. I fear this might cause trouble. It would be better to assign him a task to manage, thus preventing further disturbances." Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor immediately issued an edict. The Monkey King arrived happily, asking, "Your Majesty, what promotion or reward do you bestow upon me?" The Jade Emperor replied, "Seeing that you have nothing to do, I will assign you a task. You will temporarily manage the Peach Garden, and keep a close eye on it morning and night." The Great Sage happily thanked the Emperor, bowed, and withdrew from the court.
He couldn't wait to finish his work, so he immediately went into the Peach Garden to inspect it. A local earth deity stopped him and asked, "Great Sage, where are you going?" The Great Sage replied, "I have been appointed by the Jade Emperor to manage the Peach Garden, and I have come to inspect it." The earth deity quickly bowed and summoned all the laborers who hoeed the trees, carried water, pruned the peaches, and cleaned the garden to come and kowtow to the Great Sage, leading him inside. There he saw—the peaches, so vibrant and beautiful, each one a fruitful sight. The blossoms filled the trees, each one laden with fruit. The fruit hung like brocade from the branches, the blossoms clustered like rouge. They bloomed and bore fruit, ripening over a thousand years, defying summer and winter, taking ten thousand years to ripen. The ripe ones were flushed and intoxicated, the unripe ones still green with stems. Their green skin shimmered like smoke, reflecting the sun with crimson beauty. Beneath the trees were rare and exotic flowers, their colors ever vibrant throughout the four seasons. To the left and right were pavilions and halls, often shrouded in clouds and rainbows. These were not ordinary plants from the Jade Capital, but cultivated by the Queen Mother of the West herself.
The Great Sage admired the trees for a long time, then asked the local earth god, "How many trees are there?" The earth god replied, "There are three thousand six hundred trees. The first twelve hundred have small flowers and small fruits, ripening once every three thousand years. Those who eat them will become immortals, gaining health and lightness. The middle twelve hundred have layered flowers and sweet fruits, ripening once every six thousand years. Those who eat them will ascend to heaven and live forever. The last twelve hundred have purple-veined, yellow-kernel fruits, ripening once every nine thousand years. Those who eat them will live as long as heaven and earth, as long as the sun and moon." Upon hearing this, the Great Sage was overjoyed. That very day, he identified the exact number of trees, inspected the pavilions, and returned home. From then on, he would admire the trees every three to five days, neither making friends nor traveling elsewhere.
One day, seeing that the peaches on the old tree were mostly ripe, he longed to try some. However, the local earth deity, the strongman, and the celestial officials of the Qitian Palace were close by, making it inconvenient. Suddenly, he devised a plan, saying, "You all go outside and wait, let me rest here in this pavilion for a while." The celestials withdrew. The Monkey King then removed his crown and robes, climbed the tree, picked the ripe peaches, and ate many. He enjoyed them freely on the branch, eating his fill, before jumping down, putting on his crown and robes, and calling his retinue to return to his palace. Two or three days later, he went again to steal more peaches, enjoying them to his heart's content.
One day, the Queen Mother of the West held a grand banquet, opening her magnificent palace to celebrate the Peach Banquet in the Jade Pool. She dispatched seven fairies—one in red, one in green, one in white, one in black, one in purple, one in yellow, and one in green—each carrying a flower basket, to the Peach Orchard to pick peaches for the banquet. The seven fairies arrived at the orchard gate, where they found the local earth god, a powerful warrior, and two celestial officials from the Heavenly Palace guarding the entrance. The fairies approached and said, "We are here by the Queen Mother's decree to pick peaches for the banquet." The earth god replied, "Fairies, please wait. This year is different from previous years. The Jade Emperor has appointed the Great Sage Equaling Heaven to oversee this. We must inform the Great Sage before we dare open the orchard."
Upon hearing this, the fairy called out, "Where is the Great Sage?" The local earth god replied, "The Great Sage is in the garden, but he is tired and sleeping in the pavilion." The fairy said, "In that case, go and find him without delay." The earth god immediately went with her, and they searched until they reached the flower pavilion, but he was nowhere to be found. Only his clothes and hat remained in the pavilion; they had no idea where he had gone, and they couldn't find him anywhere. It turned out that the Great Sage had played for a while, eaten a few peaches, and transformed into a two-inch-long person, sleeping under the thick leaves at the top of a large tree. The seven fairy maidens said, "We came here on imperial orders, but we cannot find the Great Sage. How can we return empty-handed?" A fairy messenger beside them said, "Since you have come on imperial orders, there is no need to hesitate. My Great Sage is used to leisurely strolling; he has probably gone out to meet friends. You go and pick some peaches, and we will go and tell him for you." The fairy maidens did as they were told and went into the woods to pick peaches. They picked two baskets from the front tree, then three baskets from the middle tree, and when they went to pick from the back tree, they found that the tree was sparsely covered with flowers and fruit, with only a few green-skinned ones with fuzzy stems. It turns out that the cooked food was all eaten by the Monkey King.
The seven fairies looked around and saw only one peach, half red and half white, on a branch facing south. The woman in green plucked the branch, and the woman in red picked it, then put the branch back up. It turned out that the Great Sage, in disguise, was sleeping on that branch and had been awakened. The Great Sage immediately revealed his true form, pulling a golden cudgel from his ear. With a flick of his wrist, it became as thick as a bowl. He shouted, "Who are you, monster, daring to steal my peaches!" The seven fairies, startled, knelt down and said, "Great Sage, please calm your anger. We are not monsters, but seven fairies sent by the Queen Mother of the West to pick immortal peaches for a grand Peach Banquet. We arrived here and first met the local earth gods and other deities, but could not find the Great Sage. We feared we would delay the Queen Mother's decree, so we could not wait for the Great Sage and picked the peaches here first. Please forgive us."
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