As Tang Sanzang journeys west to fetch the scriptures, his eldest disciple Sun Wukong battles the King of Nanshan on Hidden Mist Mountain. Zhu Bajie calls for the Great Sage Sun to help, so Sun Wukong plucks a handful of monkey hairs from his body and turns each one into a copy of himself, all wielding staffs to confuse the enemy. After winning the battle, Sun Wukong gathers up the hairs, but one is left behind. Lost in the human world, that hair becomes a blessing and a curse, a master thief of the prosperous age who leaves his mark throughout the entire Tang dynasty.
