Court of the Yellow Robed Demon

**Court of the Yellow Robed Demon** is the fifth episode of Season 4 and the thirty-ninth episode overall of *Monkie Kid*.

## Synopsis

When our heroes are scattered to different memories, Mei is captured by a powerful demon, and her family sword is broken!

## Plot

Having saved Pigsy, the Monkie Kids take a break in the chapter they found him and discuss about their relations with the pilgrims. MK mentioned his hopes to meet his ancestors, while Mei brings up her belief that MK is Monkey King's son once again, which irritates MK. Tang agrees with Mei and mentions the mysterious inheritance of the pilgrims' powers by the Monkie Kids. Tang highlights a detail that despite Monkey King being the sole surviving pilgrim, MK has somehow inherited all of his powers, suggesting that they could indeed be father and son. Disregarding the matter, MK proposes heading to Flower Fruit Mountain, as that is where he witnessed Monkey King and his magic stone in his visions. The purpose would be to talk to Monkey King and ascertain whether he is indeed MK's father or not. They're suddenly interrupted by the protective curse. Tang's cheat sheet is whisked away by the wind. In the midst of their escape attempt, the curse targets MK, prompting Mei to defend against the attack using the Dragon Blade, only to have the curse shatter the blade into pieces. The team accidentally get split up to separate chapters.

Mei is captured by a group of guards who serve a demon named Kui Mulang. Tang teleports away from the chapter he landed in and searches through random chapters for the others. In his castle, Kui Mulang tells Mei a tale of who he is and his intentions, ending it by letting her know her chi seems deliciously spicy. Unamused, Mei attacks but is trapped by him and locked away with someone else. Unfortunately, she realizes how useless he is when he wouldn't try to help her break them out. This leads them to share their differences on how to handle such situations.

Elsewhere, Tang finds Mo in a memory located at Camel Ridge. He overhears The Brotherhood and Macaque argue over whether they should get rid of Monkey King and discovers that Azure Lion is among them.

At midnight, Kui Mulang prepares to sacrifice Ao Lie and Mei. Ao Lie is brought before him first and Mei grows desperate when he refuses to move. Deciding to take things in her own hands, she breaks free, reforges her Dragon Blade, and blocks Kui Mulang in time. They clash at each other and she succeeds in defeating him. But when Kui Mulang comes back at her in his wolf form, Ao Lie runs forward and blocks him with a shield. Tang then slides in and teleports Mei away while Ao Lie takes care of Kui Mulang and destroys his castle completely.

In the chapter he landed in, MK wakes up to see an Acolyte approach him and ask if he is ready to meet the Master.

## Features

### Characters

**Main:**

* Ao Lie (**memory**)
* Mei
* Tang

**Supporting:**

* Acolyte (**memory**)
* Ao Bing (**memory**)
* Azure Lion (**memory**)
* Chang'e (**memory**)
* Jade Maiden (**illustration**)
* Emperor (**memory**)
* Lady Bone Demon (**memory**)
* Macaque (**memory**)
* Mayor (**memory**)
* MK
* Mo
* Monkey King (**vision**)
* Ne Zha (**memory**)
* Peng (**memory**)
* Pigsy
* Sandy (**pictured**)
* Sha Wujing (**pictured**)
* Tang Sanzang (**pictured**)
* Village Women (**memory**)
* Yellowtusk (**memory**)
* Zhu Bajie (**pictured**)

**Antagonists:**

* Ink Demons
	+ Ink Macaque
	+ Ink Ne Zha
	+ Ink Peng
	+ Ink Yellowtusk
* Kui Mulang (**memory**)
* Kui Mulang's guards (**memory**)
* Protective curse

### Locations

* China (**memory**)
	+ Camel Ridge
	+ Flowing Sand River
	+ Kui Mulang's castle
		- Kui Mulang's stable
	+ Temple of the Tilted Moon and Three Stars
	+ Kingdom of Women

### Objects

* Armillary Sash (**memory**)
* Dragon Blade
* Khakkhara
* Rake
* Universal Ring (**memory**)

### Abilities

* Dracokinesis
* Shapeshifting

### Species

* Alligators (**memory**)
* Cats
* Deities (**memory**)
* Dragons (**memory**)
* Demons
	+ Ink Demons
* Humans
* Mystic Monkeys (**memory**)
* Pigs

### Mentioned

* Jade Emperor
* Master Subodhi
* Scroll of Memory

## Names in other languages

 **Mandarin** | 神秘的”朋友”​​​ | Translates to **Mysterious 'Friend'**.

## Trivia

* During production, the title of this episode was "*White Horse Dragon*"
* Tang's encounter with the village woman after being mistakenly teleported references an arc from *Journey to the West*, where Tang Sanzang became pregnant after drinking water from the Child-and-Mother River.
* A younger Ne Zha also appears during Tang's travels, he's seen fighting the Dragon of the East's son, Ao Bing. This particular legend doesn't originate from *Journey to the West*, as it comes from another novel; *Investiture of the Gods*.
	+ A younger Chang'e, departing to the moon, also cameos.
* This episode partially adapts Chapter 30 of *Journey to the West*.
	+ Kui Mulang's line "*Beauty first*" is perhaps referencing the White Horse Dragon disguising himself as a palace maid to trick and kill the demon in the same chapter.
	+ Despite Ao Lie's fight with Kui Mulang seemingly framing him as victorious, in *Journey to the West* he lost the battle, was terribly injured, and had to hide in the palace moat for safety, though this fight was directly after Ao Lie had tried to kill Kui Mulang, as he was not captured in the book.

## Errors

* Ao Lie's hands are in front of him at the beginning of the ritual but when Kui Mulang brings him forth, they are behind him.

## Characters' roles

### Protagonists

* Mei is the main protagonist of this episode.
	+ She saved Ao Lie from Kui Mulang.
* Ao Lie and Tang are supporting protagonists of this episode.
	+ Ao Lie indirectly helped Mei reforge her Dragon Blade and held Kui Mulang long enough for Mei and Tang to escape.
	+ Tang jumped into different chapters to find the other Monkie Kids. He found Mo and overheard important info in Camel Ridge, before finding Mei and teleporting her away to safety.

### Antagonists

* Kui Mulang is the main antagonist of this episode.
	+ He captured Ao Lie and Mei to devour their souls and prolong his life.
* The protective curse served as the secondary antagonist.
	+ It shattered Mei's Dragon Blade and caused the Monkie Kids to accidentally split up into different chapters.
* Kui Mulang's fiends served as a villainous faction.
	+ They captured Mei on the orders of Kui Mulang and brought her to his den.

## References

1. ↑ Roku - Court of the Yellow Robed Demon
2. ↑ Foo, Donavan (October 2023). Kui Mulang Character Design Art.
3. ↑ *Journey to the West, Volume 3, Chapter 53* (Anthony C. Yu translation, Revised Edition)
4. ↑ *Journey to the West, Volume 2, Chapter 30* (Anthony C. Yu translation, Revised Edition)
5. ↑ "*Dear dragon prince! With one shake of his body, he changed himself into a palace maid, truly slender of body and seductive in appearance(...) Waiting until the fiend was completely dazzled by the dance, the little dragon suddenly broke the steps and slashed him with the sword.*"
6. ↑ "*Unnerved, the dragon did not duck fast enough and one of his hind legs was struck by it. Hastily he dropped down from the clouds, and it was his luck that the imperial moat was there to save his life*"