The Dragon King thoughtfully pulled out hairs from his long beard, waiting for the monkey to deign to take his leave. “Let him return to his mountains and not appear here again...” he thought, but then a gong sounded.
The front door of the throne room opened and the mother of dragons entered with her daughters. This noble lady's face burned with anger. She began to scold her son: “How stupid you are if you didn’t notice that the immortal king of the monkeys is a real sage! He only asks you for a small gift, and you dare refuse him? But you know very well that our treasury contains a sacred iron shaft, which was once used to roll the Milky Way. It has been emitting a strange light for several days now. This is a sign from the gods. The king of the monkeys has come for him, and please satisfy his wish.”
Aoguang trembled. He was afraid of his mother, and now he will have to show and, perhaps, give the monkey the magic shaft that he treasured so much. And Sun Wukong jumped for joy, demanding that this wonderful weapon be brought to him as soon as possible. “It’s too heavy,” answered the dragon. “I’ll take you to where it lies.” If you can pick it up, which I doubt, take it and please leave my kingdom!”
They went to the halls where Aoguang kept his treasures. On the way, Sun amused everyone around with his buffoonery antics. And only the dragon frowned. Soon the king of the monkeys saw some kind of light in the depths of the palace. The giant metal column emitted golden rays that illuminated the sea twilight. He walked over to her and lifted her slightly. “Too long and too thick,” he said. And immediately, as if by magic, the shaft became shorter and thinner. It had a gold knob at each end. Sun Wukong took it in his hands and examined it carefully. “This is what I need!” he rejoiced and began to wield his club with the dexterity of an experienced fighter. He rotated it, lunged, aimed, as only a true master can do. The Dragon King trembled with fear and at the same time was glad that he did not quarrel with such a formidable warrior.
Having shown his talents, Sun said to the dragon: “Thank you for this generous gift, venerable Aoguang. I can do wonders with this piece of iron. However, I would ask one more thing from you, although I do not feel comfortable abusing your favor.”
A shiver ran down the dragon's spine with fear. Sun Wukong continued: “You understand that such weapons also require beautiful clothes. Will you find it in your chests? Aoguang sighed: “I can’t do anything for you, Monkey Lord. There is nothing suitable in my treasury." As Sun persisted, he finally added, “My brothers, the dragons of the other three seas, have what you desire. Go to them." The Monkey King suggested: “Then call them here!”
Aoguang called out to the crocodile with a huge drum and the turtle with a gong. Both began to pound the instruments with all their might, and the three dragons, thus alerted, arrived at the palace, wondering why they had been disturbed. Aoguang told them about the monkey's visit and its new demands.
Aoqin, the South Sea dragon, with a furious and hot temper, became furious and yelled: “I will not allow this nasty monkey to rob me! Let’s attack her and get rid of her!” Aoguang shook his head sadly and said, “This is impossible! Firstly, he is immortal, and secondly, he owns a magic club and, I assure you, knows how to use it.”
The wise Aolun, the dragon of the North, suggested: “We will easily find some clothes in our treasuries. Let’s give it to Sun Wukong, and only then complain to the gods about his bad manners.”
This plan was liked, and the three brothers offered the king of the monkeys yellow gold chain mail, a red gold helmet decorated with feathers, and a pair of boots for walking on clouds. Luxuriously dressed, Sun cheerfully said goodbye to the dragons and swam to the surface. Flashing the gold of his armor, shaking his club, he jumped onto the iron bridge, where four advisers were impatiently waiting for him.
They were stunned to see their sovereign in such a beautiful outfit, and even more so by the fact that he did not have a drop of water on him.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru