How the Monkey King escaped the underworld - Shunan Teng

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: SF Huang

In the depths of their underwater kingdom,

在深處的海底王國裡，

the mighty Dragon Lords quaked with fear.

強大的龍王因為恐懼而顫抖。

Before them pranced Sun Wukong, the Monkey King.

美猴王孫悟空在他們面前昂首闊步。

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

這位傳奇的麻煩製造者 是從石頭裡蹦出來的，

學過法術，

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

現在正在揮舞著龍王最珍貴的武器。

This magical staff,

這支金箍棒

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

原本的尺寸大到 可以測量大洪水的深度，

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

現在美猴王一觸碰它， 它便順從美猴王的旨意縮小了。

Terrified of this bewildering power,

龍王被這種神奇的力量給嚇壞了，

the Dragons graciously allowed Sun Wukong to keep the staff.

因此大方地讓孫悟空留著金箍棒。

The Monkey King stowed the weapon away,

美猴王把這件武器收起來，

and gleefully sped back to his kingdom to show this treasure

歡欣地快速返回他的王國，

向他部族的猴子戰士展示他的寶物。

to his tribe of warrior monkeys.

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

在奢華地慶祝後，

孫悟空陷入沉睡。

But just as he began to dream,

但，美猴王才剛開始作夢，

the Monkey King quickly realized two things.

很快地就了解到兩件事。

The first was that this was no ordinary slumber.

第一，這不是一般的睡眠。

The second was that he wasn’t alone.

第二，除了他還有別人在。

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

突然，他發現自己落入了 兩個可怕身影的魔掌中。

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

一開始，美猴王並不知道 抓他的人是何方神聖。

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

但他們把孫悟空拖向他們的城門，

Sun Wukong realized his deathly predicament.

孫悟空便知道 他的處境非常危險了。

These were soul collectors tasked with transporting mortals

他們是收集靈魂者黑白無常，

負責把人運送到死亡的國度。

to the Realm of the Dead.

This was the domain of the Death Lords,

這是閻羅王的地盤，

who mercilessly sorted souls and designed gruesome punishments.

閻羅王會無情地將靈魂分類， 決定給予何種可怕的懲罰。

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

而死人的王國現在就在他眼前。

He could see the Death Lord’s palaces,

他能看見閻羅王的地府，

and the fabled bridge across the river Nai He.

以及傳說中的奈何橋。

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

掌管奈何橋的是一位老女人， 她會給符合資格的靈魂送上一碗湯。

After drinking, the spirits forgot their previous life,

喝下去之後，靈魂就會忘卻前世，

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

再送回世界以新的外表開始過生活。

Further below were the souls not worthy of reincarnation.

在這之下的則是無法轉世的靈魂。

In this twisting maze of chambers,

在這迂迴複雜滿是房室的迷宮中，

unfortunate spirits endured endless rooms of punishment—

不幸的靈魂要在一間又一間的 房間中承受無盡的懲罰——

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

從銳利鋒刃做成的刀山，

到血池和滾燙的油鍋。

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

但孫悟空並不打算 要去受折磨或轉世。

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

當黑白無常試圖拖他進門，

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

美猴王揮出他的金箍棒， 掙脫他們的魔掌。

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

他的助攻喊殺聲以及武器 發出的鏗鏘聲響徹整個地府。

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

感受到騷動後， 十位閻羅王突然襲擊他。

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

但他們從來沒有見過 會如此抵抗的凡人靈魂。

What was this unusual creature?

這不尋常的生物到底是什麼？

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

他是凡人、是神——或是其他？

The Lords consulted the Book of Death and Life—

閻羅王們決定去查生死簿——

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

上面記載了所有生靈的死期。

Not knowing what category this strange being was under,

因為不知道這奇怪的生物 是屬於哪個類別，

the Death Lords struggled to find Sun Wukong at first;

閻羅王們剛開始無法 找到孫悟空的名字；

but the Monkey King knew just where to look.

但美猴王很清楚知道要找哪裡。

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

不幸的是，簿上的記錄 確認了閻羅王所說的——

Sun Wukong was scheduled to die this very night.

孫悟空的死期正是今晚。

But the Monkey King was not afraid.

但美猴王並不害怕。

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

在他追尋智慧和力量的旅途上，

in his quest for wisdom and power.

他早就違抗過命運不知多少次了。

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

他過去的造反讓他取得了 許多能力，包括轉變形體、

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

乘雲高速行進，

及用法術和武術來管理他的部族。

In this crisis, he saw yet another opportunity.

在這場危機中， 他又看見了另一個機會。

With a flash of his nimble fingers,

美猴王靈活的手指快速一動，

the Monkey King struck his own name from the Book.

便將自己的名字從生死簿中刪除。

Before the Death Lords could respond,

在閻羅王反應過來之前，

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

他找到了族人的名字， 並將這些名字通通刪掉。

Liberated from the bonds of death,

脫離了死亡的束縛，

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

孫悟空便開始一路殺出地府。

He deftly defeated endless swarms of angry spirits—

他敏捷熟練地打敗了 一群又一群憤怒的靈魂——

before tripping on his way out of the kingdom.

一路殺出這個王國。

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

就在要到地面之前，

孫悟空突然在他的床上醒來。

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

一開始，美猴王以為這段旅程是個夢，

but the Monkey King felt his new immortality surging

但他感受到一股新的不死能量，

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

從頭頂到尾巴在體內奔騰。

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

他發出勝利的吶喊，

同時叫醒他的戰士們， 分享他最新的冒險——

and commence another round of celebration.

接著又開始一輪的慶祝。