007 The land of darkness

Sun Wukong put his hand on the iron pillar.

He felt it move.

"Hmm," he thought. "This piece of iron really is magical.

I bet it will do whatever I want it to do."

"Smaller!" commanded Wukong.

The pillar shrank!

Soon it was just a little taller than Wukong.

He picked it up and swung it around.

"This is a perfect weapon for me," he said.

"I can't believe he can lift it!" said the Dragon Queen.

Wukong made the bar even smaller.

Soon it was no bigger than a pin.

He placed it inside his ear.

"I've got what I want," said Wukong. "Good-bye."

He turned around and left.

"He was very rude," said the Dragon Queen.

The Dragon King clenched his fists.

"I'm going to report him to the Jade Emperor!"

Back home, the others were amazed by Wukong's new weapon.

"Nobody will ever attack us again!" declared Wukong.

The monkeys and apes cheered.

They held a big feast that lasted until late at night.

Wukong went to bed happy.

But as he fell asleep, two spirits grabbed him.

"What are you doing?" asked Wukong.

"Let go of me!"

He kicked and struggled as the spirits dragged him out of his cave.

They walked toward a dark and creepy city.

A sign on the entrance gate said "Land of Darkness."

"The Land of Darkness?" cried Wukong.

"That's where people go when they die.

I'm supposed to live forever!"

He yanked his arms free.

"Grow!" he cried.

His iron bar quickly grew.

Whap! He knocked out the first spirit.

Crack! He knocked out the second spirit.

Wukong stomped into the Land of Darkness.

He headed toward the Palace of Darkness.

As he went, he swung his iron bar back and forth.

Demons and ghosts fled.

A tall spirit stepped out of the palace.

"What's going on out here?" the spirit asked.

"Who are you?" asked Wukong.

"I am the Judge of the Dead," said the spirit.

"Why are you causing all this trouble?"

"I want to know why I was brought here," said Wukong.

"Tell me now!"

The judge held up his hands.

"If you were brought here, it means your time on Earth is over."

"Nonsense!" yelled Wukong. "I'm going to live forever!"

The judge looked nervous.

"Let's check the Directory," he said.

"The Directory contains the name and age of every creature on Earth.

It says when each creature will die."

Inside the palace the judge opened a large book.

"What is your name?" he asked.

Wukong told him.

The judge flipped through the pages.

"Here it is," said the judge.

"It says 'Sun Wukong.

Born from a stone three hundred years ago. Died today.'"

Wukong shook his head.

"No. I'm going to live forever."

"The Directory isn't wrong," said the judge.

"You'll have to stay here now."

Wukong raised his iron bar and glared at the judge.

"Give me that book!"

The judge hesitated.

"I can't give it to—"

"Now!" said Wukong.

Shaking, the judge handed the book to Wukong.

Wukong plucked two of his hairs and blew on them.

They turned into a brush and a jar of ink.

He drew a line through his name.

"You can't do that!" said the judge.

"Yes, I can," said Wukong.

Next, Wukong found the names of all the other monkeys and apes.

He crossed out their names too.

"Now I really will live forever," said Wukong.

"And so will all of my subjects!"