Journey to the West

8. Beheading the Dragon King

【Synopsis】 This volume adapts the ninth and tenth chapters of the Ming-dynasty classic Journey to the West. During the Zhenguan era of the Tang dynasty, Yuan Shoucheng, a fisherman outside Chang'an, was skilled at giving advice and caught countless fish and shrimp. When the Jing River Dragon King learned of this, he angrily wagered on the rain with Yuan Shoucheng. To win, the Dragon King reduced the allotted rainfall, violating Heaven's decree and incurring celestial punishment. Yuan told him that Chancellor Wei Zheng would execute him, so the Dragon King pleaded with Emperor Taizong Li Shimin in a dream. Although the emperor promised to save him, Wei Zheng still beheaded the Dragon King in his dream. The Dragon King then haunted the palace nightly, frightening Taizong into illness; Qin Shubao and Yuchi Jingde were assigned to guard the palace. As Wei Zheng battled the Dragon King, Guanyin Bodhisattva descended and drove the Dragon King away.