From early childhood, Xuanzang was ordained a monk, and possessed only desire: to comprehend the great teachings of Buddha. The all-merciful goddess Guanyin has long been looking for a man at the command of the Buddha who could go for the holy books and bring them to China. Such a person turned out to be the virtuous Tang monk Xuanzan, who went by the will of the goddess and with the permission of the emperor to the West, to distant India.

On the way, the monk met the monkey Sun Wukong. Five hundred years ago, he made a brawl in the Heavenly Palace, and the only way to get rid of punishment was for him a pilgrimage for the holy books and help Xuanzang on his difficult path.

Many obstacles were encountered by travelers. Once they encountered a terrible werewolf, completely covered with black stubble, with a pig's snout and huge ears. A fight was brewing between Sun Wukong and the werewolf, but, learning about the purpose of the pilgrimage, he became quiet and volunteered to accompany the travelers. Xuanzang gave him the name Zhu Bajie.

The Tang monk and his students, overcoming the machinations of evil forces, moved to the West, as long as the river of Flowing Sands did not block their path. As soon as the pilgrims approached, the river began to storm and a monster jumped out of the water, ugly and fierce in appearance. The monkey and the hog entered the battle with him, but could not overcome it. I had to ask for help from the goddess Guanyin herself. When travelers, at the instigation of the goddess, called the werewolf his monastic name, he immediately became quiet and volunteered to accompany them to India. They called him Shasan.

Day and night the pilgrims walked with almost no respite. They had to avoid many terrible demonic intrigues. Once, they were blocked by a tall mountain, the abode of ferocious monsters that devoured travelers. Sun Wukong went on a reconnaissance and found out: in the Lotus Cave there live two overlords of demons, catching with the help of secret signs of wandering monks.

Meanwhile, the werewolf demons did not doze off. They learned about our travelers and even stocked up on their images, so as not to eat anyone else by chance. The first they came across Zhu Batszhe. A fierce battle ensued. Opponents grabbed twenty times, but not one defeated. Zhu fought not for life, but for death. The werewolf clicked for help. The demons piled all together and dragged the boar into the cave.

But the demons were more interested in the Tang monk. They went in search of Yes and ran into Sun Wukong. He looked so menacing that the demons got scared and decided to act by cunning. One of them turned into a wandering Taoist monk and began to call for help. Xuanzang fell for the bait. Upon learning that the Taoist had injured his leg, he ordered Sun Wukong to put him in a lock and take him to the monastery.

The monkey guessed the demonic trick, but the werewolf instantly cast a spell, and three heavy mountains pressed Sun to the ground, meanwhile the demon seized the monk. Shasen rushed to the rescue. The battle began to boil. Then Shasen fell into the hands of a werewolf, who dragged his prey into the cave. It remained to catch a monkey.

But Sun Wukong, meanwhile, managed to free himself from the mountains that crushed him and assumed the form of an immortal Taoist. He told the demons who sought him out that he himself was looking for a malicious monkey. He so confused their heads with their tricks that they voluntarily gave him the magic pumpkin, with whose help they were going to catch him. Fearing punishment, the demons returned to the cave, and Sun, turning into a fly, followed them and found out all their secrets.

It turned out that the main talisman - the golden cord - is kept by the old sorceress, the mother of one of the demons. The messengers were immediately equipped for him. Only Sun Wukong outwitted everyone: he killed the messengers, dealt with the sorceress, and then, taking her appearance, entered the cave to the demons.

As the imaginary sorceress talked with the owners of the cave, werewolves sniffed about deception. A demon named Silverhorn dressed in armor and entered the battle with Sun Wukong. The monkey had a golden cord stolen from the sorceress, but she did not know the secret spell led by the demon. So he managed to twist the Monkey King and tie him to the ceiling beam. Only Sun, having pulled out his wool, blew it, it turned into a file, with which he cut his shackles. And then he freed the Tang monk with his companions.

But the trials that fell to the pilgrims did not end there. Evil forces ganged up on proponents of true doctrine in order to prevent them from getting the sacred books.

Once travelers saw a huge mountain. She seemed to overshadow the sun and rests on the vault of heaven. Suddenly, a red cloud burst out of the gorge, shot up, and a fire flared up in the sky. The king of the monkeys realized that they were guarded by an evil spirit. And in fact, the local werewolf had long been waiting for the Tang monk, intending to devour him and become immortal. But he realized that teachers are protected by brave students and that he cannot do without cunning. He pretended to be an abandoned child and began to cry for help. However, Sun Wukong was able to recognize evil spirits and warned Xuanzang. Then the werewolf picked up a frantic hurricane. The Tang monk did not sit astride, fell off his horse and immediately fell into the clutches of a villain who instantly dashed off with precious booty. Sun Wukong, although he recognized the machinations of evil spirits, did not have time to do anything.

I had to start the search. The king of the monkeys discovered that the werewolf's name is Red Baby and he lives in a cave of Fiery clouds. They went there with Shasen and called the kidnapper to battle. Opponents converged twenty times, fought on the ground, soared in the skies. Finally, the werewolf set off, but, finding himself in his cave, uttered a spell, and immediately everything around him burned with a terrible flame.

Sun Wukong, riding a cloud, had to rush to the east sea for help. The dragon brothers there caused a downpour, but the fire was not simple, but sacred, and more and more flared up from the water. The werewolf breathed smoke on Sun Wukong, and he had to flee the battlefield, and in order to break out of the ring of fire, the Monkey King rushed into the mountain stream. It was with difficulty that the loyal comrades-in-arms, Shasen and Zhu Batsze, caught him from there. Defeating the terrible werewolf was possible only with the help of the goddess Guanyin. As Sun Wukong felt sick, Zhu Batsze went to the goddess, but the werewolf lured him into his cave by cunning, pushed him into a bag and hung him on the beam, about to feed his children.

When Sun Wukong guessed what had happened, he rushed to the rescue. He entered the cave by deceit and, turning into a fly, sat on a beam near the bag with Zhu Batsze. The werewolf, meanwhile, was about to make a feast. He decided to gobble up the Tang monk. It was necessary to hurry to the goddess Guanyin for help.

Together with the goddess, the Monkey King returned to the Cave of Fire and summoned the werewolf to battle. No matter how he boasted, this time he had to tight. The goddess pierced his body with a thousand swords, and then turned them into hooks so that the villain would not pull them out of himself. Then the Red Baby requested mercy. Sun Wukong and Shaseng rushed into the cave, killed all werewolves and freed the teacher and Zhu Batsze.

Having a little rest, the travelers went on. Spring and summer have passed, autumn has come. Pilgrims spent the night in the open air, endured thirst and hunger. Once a river blocked their path, very deep and so wide that the opposite bank was not visible. I had to ask for help from local residents. They said that they live in contentment, they have plenty of everything, but their terrible villain, the werewolf, who controls the heavenly moisture, torments them. In exchange for blessed rains, he demands that the peasants sacrifice children to him - each time one boy and one girl. Our fears for and just appeared in the village on the eve of the next victim, and the family that sheltered them for the night should have brought it.

To help the trouble, Sun Wukong and Zhu Batsze volunteered, who took the form of a boy and a girl and in this form appeared before the cannibal. But as soon as he approached, they attacked him and began to chase with a pitchfork and a staff. The werewolf barely managed to hide in the waters of the river.

In the underwater palace, he called a council, planning to catch a Tang monk - the only way to get rid of his mighty companions. They decided to cover the river with ice, and when the pilgrims begin the crossing, the ice will crack and Xuanzan will be at the bottom. So they did. Having learned that the river has become, the travelers rejoiced - this greatly facilitated the crossing. But it all happened as the werewolf and his henchmen conceived. The Tang monk fell under the ice, he was seized and pushed into a box, then to gobble up.

However, Xuanzang's assistants did not doze off. Sun Wukong rushed to the goddess Guanyin, and she again came to the aid of the pilgrims. She threw a basket in her gold belt into the river and caught a goldfish. It turned out that the fish - this is the werewolf-cannibal. Meanwhile, Zhu Batszhe and Shaseng, working their way in the water, were looking for teachers. All werewolf fish were lying dead. Finally they opened the box and rescued Xuanzang. And a huge turtle carried them across the river.

Ahead of them were waiting for new tests. What evil forces did not come up with to lead the Tang monk off the true path! Once the road was blocked by impenetrable thorny thickets. Zhu Batse spoke a spell, grew almost to heaven and began to clear the passage. Master followed, and the rest helped Zhu. It seemed that there would be no end-edge to the thickets. Suddenly, an old temple appeared in front of them, the gates opened, and a venerable abbot appeared on the threshold. Before Xuanzan answered the greeting, a gust of wind came and sped him off. But the abbot caught a trace. The four werewolf elders who lured the teachers to themselves were apparently quite pious. They even suggested that the Tang monk read verses to each other. Soon their girlfriend, the Apricot Fairy, appeared and began to seduce Xuanzang. Here the werewolves all in one voice began to persuade the monk to abandon the journey and marry a fairy. Then they began to threaten him. The teacher had to call for help from students who had long tried to find him and arrived just in time. The elders and the fairy disappeared somewhere. Sun Wukong was the first to guess about everything and pointed to old trees growing nearby. Zhu Batsze, without hesitation, hit them with a pitchfork, and then undermined their roots with his snout. Blood appeared on the roots. These werewolves needed to be destroyed. Otherwise, assuming a new look in the future, they could oh how to annoy people.

So, Xuanzang escaped the temptation and, along with his companions, continued on his way to the West. Summer has come again. Once, when, exhausted by the heat, the travelers were moving along a path lined with willows, a woman appeared before them, reporting that ahead was a state whose ruler was destroying Buddhist monks. The king of monkeys immediately recognized the woman goddess Guanyin. Then, turning into a butterfly, he flew to the nearby city for reconnaissance. Soon, in the inn, he saw how merchants, laying down to sleep, took off their clothes. Sun Wukong decided that travelers would infiltrate the city under the guise of merchants, and quietly stole clothes.

Disguised pilgrims, impersonating horse traders, got into the hotel for billets. True, they were afraid of other people's views and demanded a separate room from the hostess. Nothing better than a huge chest was not found. I had to settle in it for the night.

Hotel servants conspired with robbers. At night, they let intruders into the hotel courtyard, and they, finding no better life, decided that the chest was full of good, and set out to kidnap him. The city guard set off in pursuit. The robbers abandoned their prey in fear and disappeared. The casket was delivered to the city council, sealed, intending to establish an inquiry in the morning.

Sun Wukong pulled out his hair, turned it into a drill, drilled a hole in the chest, turned into an ant and climbed out. He took on his real appearance and set off for the palace. There he tore all the wool from his left shoulder, and turned each wool into his exact likeness. He uttered a spell, and instead of the staff, darkness appeared, darkening with sharp razors. Countless Sun Wukong doubles, grabbing razors, went around the city and to the palace, where they shaved everyone, starting with the ruler.

In the morning, a commotion began in the palace: its inhabitants suddenly turned out to be monks. The ruler immediately realized that this was his punishment for ruined monastic lives. I had to make a solemn oath never to kill the monks again. It was then that they reported on the chest found at night. But now the ruler met the pilgrims with great honor, and they freely continued their journey.

And once the wanderers came to visit the ruler of the county of Jasper flowers in the land of Heavenly bamboo. The sons of the ruler dreamed of learning martial arts from the companions of the Tang monk, for which purpose a magical weapon was ordered from a gunsmith. The following served as an example: a staff with a golden hoop of Sun Wukong, a pitchfork with nine teeth Zhu Batsze and a staff of Shasen, smashing evil spirits. These magical objects were stolen directly from the weapons workshop by a werewolf from Barsovaya Gora from the Tiger Maw cave.

As always, Sun Wukong set off for reconnaissance. On the way to Barsova Gora, he met two werewolves. From the overheard conversation, the Monkey King realized that the werewolves were sent to buy provisions for a feast in honor of the acquired weapons. Sun blew magic breath on them, and they froze in place, unable to move. Sun Woo-kun and Zhu Bajo took on the guise of werewolves enchanted by Sun, and Shasen portrayed a cattle merchant with whom they allegedly did not have enough money to pay for the purchase. So they appeared on Barsova Gora, chasing pigs and bulls in front of them for a feast.

The main werewolf believed in deception, and our cunning managed to seize the stolen weapons. They didn’t spare anyone here, but shattered the entire demonic nest. It turned out that these are all werewolves of different animals - tigers, wolves, foxes, and the leader is a werewolf of a yellow lion. He managed to escape and rushed for help to his grandfather, also a werewolf-lion. He gathered his army from werewolves-lions and went to battle.

Xuanzan’s companions and werewolves of all stripes came face to face under the walls of the city. The fight lasted all day. By evening, Zhu Batsze was weakened, and werewolves seized him.

The next day, one of the werewolves stole from the city of the Tang monk, the governor of the county and his sons. And when Sun and Shaseng went to look for him, an old werewolf attacked them, and he immediately grew eight heads with huge toothy mouths. Each clung to our fighters, and they were captured.

At night, Sun Wukong, freed from the bonds, rushed for help. He managed to find the one who was once the lord of the old lion - the lord of Thaya, who lived in the palace of the Mysterious Rocks at the Eastern edge of the sky. He, having learned that the Great Sage accompanies the Tang monk to the West, without hesitation, agreed to go to earth to pacify the Nine-headed lion.

When they arrived at the cave, Sun lured a werewolf from there, and the servant of Lord Tayi began pounding on the fact that there is urine. Then the lord saddled the lion, jumped onto the cloud and returned home. Sun Wukong rescued the captives, and together they returned to the city, where a magnificent feast was set in their honor.

Soon the travelers got on the road. They still had to go and go, although the end of their journey was not far off.

And then the day came when the pilgrims finally reached the goal. Before them towered the abode of the Buddha - the Miracle Mountain with an ancient monastery and the temple of the Thunder Rattles.Four travelers, approaching the throne of Buddha, prostrated themselves, hit their forehead on the ground several times, and only after that they told that they had arrived at the behest of the lord of the great Tang state located in the eastern lands, reading books of sacred teaching in order to distribute it for the benefit of all living beings .

Buddha immediately ordered his entourage to lead the travelers to the Pearl Tower and open to them the Precious Chamber with books. There, the pilgrims began to select the right thing - in total they received five thousand forty-eight notebooks - as much as they spent days on the road. It was a complete set of Buddhist teachings. They neatly folded them, loaded them on a horse, and there were still books on one rocker. The Tang monk went to thank Buddha for the generous gift, and the pilgrims set off on the return journey.

Ahead of them were waiting for new tests. Before they could get closer to the Heavenly River, a whirlwind flew in, the sky darkened, lightning flashed, sand and stones spun, a terrible storm broke out, which subsided only in the morning. Sun Wukong was the first to guess that this Earth and Sky could not come to terms with the success of the pilgrimage, the deities and spirits were envious, dreaming of stealing the precious luggage. But nothing could stop our heroes.

It should be said that the Tang emperor, sending Xuanzang to the West, ordered to build a “Tower for waiting for holy books” near the capital, and every year it went up. He ascended the tower on the day the pilgrims returned. First, a radiance arose in the west, then a divine aroma began to build up, and travelers came down from heaven.

Xuanzang told the emperor that from the capital to the monastery of Buddha so far that during this time fourteen times the winter cold gave way to summer heat. The path was blocked by mountain streams, turbulent rivers, dense forests. Then the monk introduced his loyal companions to the sovereign, and a great feast began.

But that is not all. Pilgrims were to receive rewards from the Buddha himself. In an instant they were brought back to his palace. Everyone got what they deserved. The Tang monk became the Buddha of Virtuous Merit of the sandalwood tree, Sun Wukong received the title of Victorious Buddha, Zhu Batsze - the Messenger, the cleanser of the altars, and Shasen became the Golden-bodied arhat.

This concludes the story of the pilgrimage of the Tang monk and his three disciples to the West. Many trials fell on their lot, but they defeated evil, and good triumphed!