Chapter Eleven: The Golden Star Intervenes a Second Time — The Two Immortals Are Banished Again and Parted, East from West

It is told that the Jade Emperor, having sent the Holy Mother of the Jade Pool back to the Western Palace, returned to the Hall of Penetrating Brightness, ascended his jewelled throne, and summoned the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King to appear before him. The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King came up to the hall and prostrated himself upon the golden steps, crying "Ten thousand years!" The Jade Emperor decreed: "You shall take command of five hundred heavenly soldiers and generals and go to the Numinous Algae Palace on the western bank of the Heavenly River to arrest the Golden Youth and the Celestial Granddaughter and bring them before me. Do not fail in this." The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King received the edict, withdrew from the Hall of Penetrating Brightness, and the Jade Emperor retired to the Palace of Jade Purity. We leave his story aside.

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King passed out through the palace gates, mounted his cloud, and flew directly to the Hall of the Heavenly Marshal. He entered the hall, mounted the platform of command, read out the imperial edict aloud, and mustered five hundred heavenly soldiers and generals. When the orders had been issued, gongs and drums resounded together and signal cannon rang out. A murderous air filled the sky; swords, axes, bows, and armour gleamed on all sides. The host set forth along the Way of No Dust and arrived at the gates of the Numinous Algae Palace on the western bank of the Heavenly River. All descended from their clouds and surrounded the palace like a wall of bronze and iron. That most blissful of celestial dwellings was suddenly thronged with warriors ten thousand strong, as though a great enemy were at the gates. The Golden Youth and the Celestial Granddaughter were in the midst of their happiness when they heard war drums and cannon from outside the palace, shaking heaven and earth, with battle-cries and war shouts enough to strike terror into any heart. At first they could not tell what it was all about. Then one of the guardian handmaidens came running in with breathless haste and reported: "Celestial Granddaughter, all is lost! The palace is surrounded on every side by heavenly soldiers and generals — not a drop of water could pass through their ranks. They declare that the Jade Emperor has issued an edict to arrest you and the Golden Youth for questioning." The two immortals were so frightened that their souls nearly left their bodies. Their faces turned the colour of ash, and they stumbled about in confusion with nowhere to flee. Then the heavenly generals came crowding into the palace to seize them. At that moment the two immortals clasped hands in desperation and fled outside, rising into the air from the courtyard. Seeing them trying to escape by flight, the heavenly generals soared up in pursuit, while those below beat drums and fired cannon, shouting to bolster their courage, loosing arrows in volley after volley until the commotion shook the very heavens and made the spirits of the dead cry out. Indeed it is truly said:

Those who know contentment may ever find happiness;

Those of generous spirit may endure and keep their peace.

Now, the Golden Youth and the Celestial Granddaughter were pursued through the air by the heavenly generals and could find no way to escape. They had no choice but to resist as best they could in mid-air. The heavenly generals attacked with swords and axes, but the Golden Youth and the Celestial Granddaughter had not a single weapon between them and could only rely upon their own celestial powers. Moreover, they were outnumbered beyond all measure. The Golden Youth and the Celestial Granddaughter suffered no small number of sword cuts and axe blows, and were pierced as well by arrows and awls, which was a pitiable thing indeed. They could neither flee nor fight, and so the two immortals could only keep retreating while the generals kept pressing forward, though the generals dared not use their swords and axes to inflict mortal wounds, since the Jade Emperor's edict had commanded them to arrest the pair, not to kill them — pursuit and capture was all that was permitted. The soldiers below shook their banners and raised their battle-cries. Caught between pressure from above and below, the Golden Youth and the Celestial Granddaughter fell back to the centre of the Heavenly River, where their strength gave out and they could hold on no longer. The two immortals tumbled into the Heavenly River, submerged over their heads, and sank below the waves. The heavenly soldiers and generals came to the bank and surrounded it; some of the generals plunged into the river and fought on in the Crystal Palace beneath the waters.

In the depths of this desperate struggle, their saving star arrived. A great voice cried out: "Hold — spare them!" The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King looked up to see who had come, and what a sight met his eyes! He at once commanded the heavenly soldiers to hold their positions and await an imperial decision. The Supreme Elder Lord ascended to the Hall of Penetrating Brightness. The Jade Emperor had not yet left court. The Supreme Elder Lord prostrated himself upon the golden steps and cried "Ten thousand years!" The Jade Emperor asked: "Old Minister, what brings you before me — what have you to memorialize?" The Supreme Elder Lord replied: "Your servant was in the Tushita Palace practicing his breathing exercises, sitting in quiet meditation with eyes closed, when he was startled by the thunder of cannon and drums that shook the heavens and the earth. Your servant made a brief calculation and discerned that Your Majesty had issued an edict to arrest the Golden Youth and the Celestial Granddaughter for punishment. I therefore came before Your Majesty to beg that you alter the decree so that these two immortals may never meet again for the rest of their days. I humbly pray that Your Majesty will grant this." The Jade Emperor heard the memorial and replied: "Old Minister, you do not fully know the circumstances. The Golden Youth and the Celestial Granddaughter, instead of appreciating the great favour I showed them, gave themselves over entirely to pleasure and indulgence, abandoning their heavenly duties entirely. If I do not take strict measures, matters may grow beyond remedy. It is not that I am without feeling — this is simply unavoidable." The Supreme Elder Lord memorialised again: "Your Majesty's sage virtue is boundless — your servant holds it in the deepest admiration. It is only that the Golden Youth and the Celestial Granddaughter are inexperienced souls, and newly wed couples naturally cling to their joy and cannot bear to part from it. Your Majesty's edict of restraint is the admonishment of an enlightened ruler — but I beg you to show mercy and spare them the death sentence. Command instead that these two immortals be separated forever, never to meet again." The Jade Emperor said: "Your view has merit. Convey my decree: bid the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King remit the sentence of execution. The Golden Youth shall dwell forever in the Heavenly General's Travelling Palace on the western bank of the Heavenly River, where four heavenly soldiers shall be stationed to guard him; he shall not pass beyond his allotted bounds, and shall not steal away to meet the Celestial Granddaughter. Should he dare to violate this, the guard soldiers are authorised to report it to me, and I shall show no leniency. As for the Celestial Granddaughter the Weaving Maid, she shall dwell forever in the Cloud-Brocade Palace on the eastern bank of the Heavenly River, weaving at her loom. Immortal handmaidens shall also be assigned to keep watch over her as they did before, and she is equally forbidden from stealing away to meet the Golden Youth!" Having issued these commands, the Jade Emperor dismissed the court and retired to his palace.

The Supreme Elder Lord received the edict, emerged from the palace gates, transmitted the decree to the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, and then mounted his cloud and departed. The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King sent the mass of heavenly soldiers back to the Hall of the Heavenly Marshal, retaining only four soldiers to escort the Golden Youth westward to the Heavenly River, while two guardian handmaidens escorted the Celestial Granddaughter eastward to the Cloud-Brocade Palace. When the moment of parting came, the two immortals held each other in their arms and wept. The Celestial Granddaughter cried: "You and I were separated for thirteen years, and only today did we finally come together in reunion. Who could have foreseen that before even one year had passed, we should be parted again forever with no hope of ever meeting? This is far worse than our first separation. How is it that you and I are afflicted with such bitter misfortune? How can I bear to let you go?" The Golden Youth wept and replied: "Your words of grief and anguish are enough to break one's heart. Of all the star spirits and immortals who have suffered hardship and wandering, surely none has undergone what we have. There is a saying: 'What is more blissful than the Heavenly Court?' Yet you and I cannot escape this sea of bitterness — how could it be otherwise than heart-breaking? But things have come to this pass and there is no way to undo it. We have no choice but to comply with the edict and part for a while. In the days to come, let us keep faithful hearts and in time appeal again to the Jade Emperor's mercy — perhaps there may yet come a day when we can meet again. This too cannot be known. I beg you to dry your tears and not give yourself over to despair. We must have patience and wait upon Heaven's own good time."

On what became of the two immortals after their parting, we must wait for the following chapter to tell.