【小狐貍west102】The Prisoners Are Released
(lf5 - Journey to the West - 102)


【臺(tái)詞】
Lady Kou ran into the courthouse early the next morning. With tears in her eyes, she told the judge that she had lied the day before.
"The Tang Monk and his companions are innocent." Lady Kou sniffed. "Please release them."
The judge nodded. "I was going to release the prisoners this morning." He explained how the Wandering Spirit had visited him the night before.
Lady Kou gasped. "My husband visited me last night! We must release the prisoners at once."
They hurried to the Tang Monk's cell. A guard swung open the cell door.
"I'm glad to be out of there," said Wujing.
"Me too," said Bajie with a yawn. "The beds were very uncomfortable."
Lady Kou bowed to the Tang Monk. "I framed you for killing my husband," she said. "Please forgive me. It was a terrible thing to do."
"That's right!" shouted Wukong. "It was a really terrible thing to do!"
The Tang Monk put his hand on the monkey's shoulder. "Don't yell, Wukong." He looked at Lady Kou. "We forgive you. The squire was a kind man. His death is a terrible tragedy."
Wukong rubbed his chin. "I can probably bring him back to life."
Lady Kou and the judge were shocked.
"Can you really do that?" asked Lady Kou.
The Tang Monk smiled. "Yes, he can. Wukong brought the king of the Black Rooster Kingdom back to life." He turned to the monkey. "The sage Laozi helped you that time. Will you ask him for help again?"
"No," said Wukong. "Laozi doesn't really like me. I'll go to the Land of Darkness and talk to the Judge of the Dead instead."
* * *
When Wukong entered the Palace of Darkness, the Judge of the Dead frowned. "Why are you here, Wukong? You already made yourself immortal by crossing out your name in the Directory."
Wukong laughed. "I wondered if you would remember that. I'm looking for Squire Kou's name."
"Squire Kou?" The judge opened the Directory and flipped through some pages. "Ah, yes. He died two days ago. He now works for the bodhisattva Dayuan in the Jade Palace. It's here in the Land of Darkness."
Wukong went to the Jade Palace.
"Greetings, Sun Wukong," said the bodhisattva.
"Greetings, Bodhisattva." The monkey bowed. "Two nights ago a friend of mine, Squire Kou, was killed and brought here. I would like to bring him back to Earth."
The bodhisattva raised an eyebrow. "You want him to return to life?"
"Yes," said Wukong. "I'm helping the Tang Monk reach the Western Paradise to fetch the True Scriptures. The squire was very kind to us."
The bodhisattva smiled. "Very well. The squire may return to Earth until it's time for him to come back here."
The bodhisattva brought Wukong to an office. Squire Kou was sitting behind a large desk, smiling, as he studied some documents. His eyes sparkled when he saw Wukong.
"It's good to see you, Wukong!" said the squire. "What are you doing here?"
"I have good news," said the monkey. "Your life isn't over yet. I'm taking you back to Earth."
The squire looked confused. He glanced at the bodhisattva.
The bodhisattva nodded. "You may return to Earth. When your life is over, you will return to your job here. The squire came out from behind his desk and bowed. "Thank you, Bodhisattva. "I am happy here, but I would love to see my wife and friends again."
Wukong moved closer to the squire. "You'll be home soon, Squire."
The monkey recited a spell, and the squire vanished.