Tang Sanzang traveled westward for many months through treacherous mountain passes and dense forests. His white horse carried him faithfully, though the path grew steeper with each passing day.

One evening, as the sun painted the peaks crimson, he heard a voice echoing through the valley.

"Master! Master! Free me!"

The monk followed the voice to the base of a massive mountain. There, pinned beneath tons of rock, was a creature covered in moss and vines. Only its head was visible—a monkey's head, with eyes that glowed faint gold.

"Are you the one Guanyin spoke of?" Tang Sanzang asked.

"I am Sun Wukong! The Great Sage, Equal of Heaven! I have waited five hundred summers and five hundred winters for you, Master. Climb to the summit. Remove the golden seal upon the mountain, and I shall be your disciple forever."

Tang Sanzang climbed. The mountain seemed to reach the heavens themselves. At the summit, he found a golden plaque bearing six sacred words: Om Mani Padme Hum.

With trembling hands, the monk pressed his palms together in prayer. The plaque shattered into light.

The mountain rumbled. Cracks split the ancient stone. With a roar that shook the earth, the Monkey King burst forth from his prison, somersaulting through the air with a joy that had been pent up for five hundred years.

"I'm free! I'm free!"

He landed before the monk and, for the first time in his existence, knelt.

"Master," Sun Wukong said, and the word held no mockery. "From this day forward, I am Tripitaka's disciple. No demon, no god, no force in heaven or earth shall harm a single hair on your head."

Tang Sanzang smiled. "Then let us continue west. We have scriptures to find."

One disciple found. Two more awaited.