How the Monkey King escaped the underworld - Shunan Teng

Reviewer: Athira Rizka

In the depths of their underwater kingdom,

Di kedalaman kerajaan bawah lautnya,

the mighty Dragon Lords quaked with fear.

para Raja Naga yang perkasa gemetar ketakutan.

Before them pranced Sun Wukong, the Monkey King.

Sun Wukong, sang Raja Kera, berjingkrak- jingkrak di hadapan mereka.

The legendary troublemaker been hatched from a stone, schooled in divine magic,

Sang pembuat onar legendaris yang terlahir dari batu dan menguasai sihir,

and was currently brandishing the Dragon Lord’s most treasured weapon.

kini tengah mengacungkan senjata milik Raja Naga yang paling berharga.

This magical staff,

Tongkat ajaib ini,

originally large enough to measure the depth of a great flood,

yang aslinya cukup panjang untuk mengukur kedalaman banjir besar,

now obeyed the Monkey King’s will and shrank at his touch.

kini mematuhi perintah Raja Kera dan menyusut dalam genggamannya.

Terrified of this bewildering power,

Takut akan kekuatannya yang mengejutkan,

the Dragons graciously allowed Sun Wukong to keep the staff.

para Naga membiarkan Sun Wukong mengambil tongkat itu.

The Monkey King stowed the weapon away,

Sang Raja Kera pun membawa pergi tongkat tersebut,

dan bergegas kembali ke kerajaannya untuk memamerkan hartanya

and gleefully sped back to his kingdom to show this treasure

to his tribe of warrior monkeys.

kepada para kera prajuritnya.

After a lavish celebration, Sun Wukong fell into a deep sleep.

Seusai perayaan meriah, Sun Wukong tertidur lelap.

But just as he began to dream,

Namun saat dia baru saja bermimpi,

the Monkey King quickly realized two things.

sang Raja Kera segera menyadari dua hal.

The first was that this was no ordinary slumber.

Pertama, ini bukanlah mimpi biasa.

Kedua, dia tidak sendiri.

The second was that he wasn’t alone.

Suddenly, he found himself caught in the clutches of two grisly figures.

Tiba-tiba, dia sudah berada dalam cengkeraman dua sosok mengerikan.

At first the Monkey King didn’t know who his captors were.

Awalnya sang Raja Kera tidak tahu siapa yang menangkapnya.

But as they dragged him toward their city’s gates,

Namun saat mereka menyeretnya menuju gerbang kota,

Sun Wukong menyadari ancaman yang dihadapinya.

Sun Wukong realized his deathly predicament.

These were soul collectors tasked with transporting mortals

Mereka adalah pengumpul roh yang bertugas membawa makhluk fana

to the Realm of the Dead.

ke Alam Baka.

This was the domain of the Death Lords,

Inilah daerah kekuasaan para Raja Neraka,

who mercilessly sorted souls and designed gruesome punishments.

yang menyortir roh-roh tanpa ampun dan merancang hukuman mengerikan.

From here, the kingdom of death was laid out before him.

Dari sini, kerajaan kematian terbentang di hadapannya.

He could see the Death Lord’s palaces,

Dia bisa melihat istana para Raja Neraka,

and the fabled bridge across the river Nai He.

dan jembatan dalam legenda di seberang sungai Nai He.

Manning the bridge was an old woman who offered worthy souls a bowl of soup.

Wanita tua penjaga jembatan memberikan semangkuk sup untuk arwah yang baik.

After drinking, the spirits forgot their previous life,

Setelah meminumnya, mereka lupa akan kehidupan sebelumnya,

and were sent back to the world of the living in a new form.

dan dikirim kembali ke dunia dalam wujud baru.

Further below were the souls not worthy of reincarnation.

Jauh di bawahnya adalah para roh yang tak pantas terlahir kembali.

In this twisting maze of chambers,

Di dalam labirin bilik-bilik ini,

unfortunate spirits endured endless rooms of punishment—

para roh malang itu disiksa tanpa henti—

from mountains spiked with sharp blades, to pools of blood and vats of boiling oil.

dari pegunungan pedang tajam, hingga kolam darah dan tong minyak mendidih.

But Sun Wukong was not about to accept torture or reincarnation.

Tapi Sun Wukong tak sudi disiksa atau dilahirkan kembali.

As the soul collectors attempted to drag him through the gates,

Saat para pengumpul roh berusaha menyeretnya melewati gerbang,

the Monkey King whipped out his staff and swung himself out of their clutches.

sang Raja Kera menghunus tongkatnya dan kabur dari cengkeraman mereka.

His battle cries and the clang of weapons echoed throughout the underworld.

Teriakan perangnya dan dentangan senjata bergema di seluruh alam baka.

Mendengar kekacauan, sepuluh Raja Neraka muncul di hadapannya.

Sensing a disturbance, the ten Death Lords swooped upon him.

But they had never met such resistance from a mortal soul.

Namun mereka tak pernah menghadapi perlawanan seperti ini.

Makhluk aneh apa ini?

What was this unusual creature?

And was he a mortal, a god— or something else?

Apakah dia makhluk fana, dewa— atau sesuatu yang lain?

The Lords consulted the Book of Death and Life—

Mereka membuka Kitab Kematian dan Kehidupan—

a tome which showed the time of every living soul’s death.

kitab yang menunjukkan waktu kematian setiap makhluk hidup.

Not knowing what category this strange being was under,

Karena tak mengetahui jenis makhluk aneh ini,

the Death Lords struggled to find Sun Wukong at first;

para Raja Neraka awalnya kesulitan menemukan Sun Wukong;

but the Monkey King knew just where to look.

akan tetapi sang Raja Kera tahu kemana harus mencari.

Unfortunately, the records confirmed the Death Lord’s claim—

Sayangnya, catatan membenarkan dugaan para Raja Neraka—

Sun Wukong was scheduled to die this very night.

Sun Wukong akan mati malam ini juga.

But the Monkey King was not afraid.

Tapi sang Raja Kera tidak gentar.

This was far from the first time he’d defied destiny

Ini bukan pertama kalinya dia menentang takdir

in his quest for wisdom and power.

dalam perjalanan mencari kearifan dan kekuatan.

His past rebellions had earned him the power to transfigure his body,

Pemberontakannya di masa lalu memberinya kekuatan untuk berubah wujud,

ride clouds at dizzying speeds, and govern his tribe with magic and martial arts.

menaiki awan kencang, dan memimpin sukunya dengan sihir dan ilmu bela diri.

In this crisis, he saw yet another opportunity.

Dia kembali melihat celah dalam krisis ini.

With a flash of his nimble fingers,

Dengan jari-jemarinya yang gesit,

the Monkey King struck his own name from the Book.

si Raja Kera membuang namanya dari Kitab.

Before the Death Lords could respond,

Sebelum para Raja Neraka bereaksi,

he found the names of his monkey tribe and swept them away as well.

dia menemukan dan membuang pula nama para kera di sukunya.

Liberated from the bonds of death,

Terbebas dari belenggu kematian,

Sun Wukong began to battle his way out of the underworld.

Sun Wukong mulai berjuang keluar dari alam baka.

He deftly defeated endless swarms of angry spirits—

Dengan gesit dia mengalahkan kawanan arwah murka tanpa henti—

before tripping on his way out of the kingdom.

sebelum tersandung keluar kerajaan.

Just before he hit the ground, Sun Wukong suddenly awoke in his bed.

Tepat sebelum menghantam bumi, Sun Wukong terbangun di ranjangnya.

At first he thought the journey might have been a dream,

Tadinya dia mengira petualangannya itu hanya mimpi,

but the Monkey King felt his new immortality surging

namun si Raja Kera merasakan kekekalan baru meruak

from the top of his head to the tip of his tail.

dari ujung kepala hingga ujung ekornya.

With a cry of triumph, he woke his warriors to share his latest adventure—

Dia berseru, membangunkan para prajuritnya untuk bercerita—

and commence another round of celebration.

dan kembali berpesta pora.