Chapter 32

The story tells that Tang Seng regained Sun Xingzhe, and master and disciple were of one heart and mind, traveling together to the West. Ever since saving the princess in the Baoxiang Kingdom, they had been seen off by the monarch and his subjects outside the west gate. There was no end to describing how they ate cold food and drank thirstily along the road, resting at night and traveling at dawn. Then it happened to be the season of late spring, at which time: Light wind blows the willows green like silk, the fine scenery is most worthy of a verse. Time urges the birds to sing, warmth bids the flowers bloom, fragrance covers the earth. In the begonia courtyard come a pair of swallows, this is precisely the time to appreciate spring. Red dust and purple pathways, silks and satins, string and wind instruments, playing *doucao* and passing the wine goblet. As the master and disciple were walking and appreciating the scenery, they saw another mountain blocking the way. Tang Seng said, "Disciples, be careful. Ahead we encounter a high mountain, I fear there are tigers and wolves blocking the way." Xingzhe said, "Master, those who have left the family do not speak the language of those who remain at home. Do you remember the words in the *Heart Sutra* by the Crow's Nest Monk: 'The mind has no hindrance; without hindrance, there is no terror, and one is far removed from inverted dream-thoughts'? It is only that: 'Sweeping away the dirt on the mind, washing clean the dust at the ears. Without enduring the suffering within suffering, one cannot be a person above persons.' You must not generate worries. As long as there is old Sun, even if the sky were to cave in, I can ensure everything is safe. What is there to fear of tigers and wolves?" The Elder reined back his horse and recited: That year I accepted the imperial decree to leave Chang'an, Thinking only of coming west to worship the Buddha's visage. In the Land of Relics, the golden image is brilliant; Within the pagoda, the jade hair-mark is speckled. Searching the world to its depths for nameless waters, Passing through every mountain in the human realm that no man reaches. Chasing waves layer upon layer, When shall I ever be able to make this body at leisure? Hearing this, Xingzhe laughed heartily and said, "If the Master wants your body at leisure, what difficult matter is there? Once the task is accomplished, all ties will cease, and all dharmas will be empty. At that time, naturally and spontaneously, is this not having the body at leisure?" Hearing this, the Elder had no choice but to be joyful and forget his sorrows. He slackened the reins and urged the Silver Dragon; he pulled the bit and hurried the Jade Dragon. When the master and disciple got up the mountain, it was exceedingly steep, truly towering. A fine mountain: Lofty and towering ridges, sharp and precipitous peaks. Below, winding deep ravines; beside, solitary steep cliffs. Below the winding deep ravines, one only hears the *hualala* sound of a playful python turning its body; beside the solitary steep cliffs, one only sees the *cülülü* sight of a tiger coming out of the forest swinging its tail. Looking up, the crests of the mountains jut out, piercing the blue firmament; turning the eyes to observe, the depths below the valleys border the azure heaven. Coming high up, it is like ladders and stools; walking low down, it is like trenches and pits. Truly it is a bizarre summit ridge, indeed it is a sheer precipice cliff. Upon the summit ridge, gatherers of herbs hesitate and fear to walk; before the precipice cliff, woodcutters cannot advance an inch. Badgers, sheep, wild horses shuttle back and forth in disorder; cunning hares and mountain oxen are like arrayed battle formations. The high mountains obscure the sun and hide the constellations, frequently encountering fierce beasts and pale wolves. The grassy paths are overgrown, making it difficult for horses to advance; how can one reach Thunder Sound to see the Buddha King? The Elder reined in his horse to view the mountain, right at the place where it was difficult to travel, when he saw upon a green grassy slope, standing still, a woodcutter. You ask how he was dressed: Wearing on his head an old blue felt hat, wearing on his body a rough black sackcloth garment. The old blue felt hat blocks out the smoke and covers the sun—truly a rare thing; the rough black sackcloth garment—to be joyful and forget sorrows is truly uncommon. Holding in his hand a steel axe sharpened bright, cutting withered firewood with the blade and binding it up tight. The spring scenery at the edge of the eaves: quiet and serene, the four seasons blend in harmony; the leisurely feelings outside the body: constantly the three stars are serene and faint. To old age he merely passes by in accordance with portion; what glory or disgrace could ever briefly concern his mountain? That woodcutter: Was just before the slope cutting withered firewood, Suddenly encountering the Elder coming from the east. Stopping the helve and halting the axe, he stepped out of the forest, Quickening his pace to bring his body onto the stone cliff. He raised his voice and shouted loudly to the Elder, saying, "You Elder advancing to the West, pause for a short while, I have a word to offer you: on this mountain there is a gang of poisonous demons and fierce monsters, who specialize in eating people like you going east and coming west." Hearing this, the Elder's soul flew away and his spirit scattered; trembling, he could not sit steadily in the carved saddle. He hastily turned his head and hurriedly called to his disciple, saying, "Did you hear that woodcutter report: 'On this mountain there are poisonous demons and fierce monsters'? Who dares to go and question him about it in detail?" Xingzhe said, "Master, rest assured, let old Sun go and ask him for the truth." Good Xingzhe, spreading his steps, went straight up the mountain, called out "Elder Brother" to the woodcutter, and gave a greeting. The woodcutter returned the bow and said, "Elder, for what reason have you come here?" Xingzhe said, "Not hiding it from Big Brother, we are dispatched from the Eastern Land to go to the Western Heaven to fetch the scriptures. The one on that horse is my master, and he is somewhat timid. Just now, thanks to your instruction, you said there are some poisonous demons and fierce monsters, therefore I have come to ask: is that demon a demon of how many years, and is the monster a monster of how many years? Is he an experienced hand, or is he a fledgling? I trouble Big Brother to speak honestly, so that I can have the mountain god and local deity escort him away to set out." Hearing this, the woodcutter looked up and laughed loudly, saying, "So you are a crazy monk." Xingzhe said, "I am not crazy, this is honest talk." The woodcutter said, "You say it is honest, then how do you dare speak of escorting him away to set out?" Xingzhe said, "You are thus inflating his prestige, speaking nonsense and blocking the road to report news; could it be you are related to him? If not relatives you are surely neighbors, if not neighbors you are surely friends." The woodcutter laughed and said, "You crazy, reckless monk, you are utterly unreasonable. I had good intentions and specially came to report it to you, teaching you to be on guard morning and evening as you walk the road, yet you turn around and blame it on me. To say nothing of whether I know the origin of the demons, even if I knew, what dare you do to escort him away? Where would you escort him?" Xingzhe said, "If it is a heavenly demon, I will escort him to the Jade Emperor; if it is an earthly demon, I will escort him to the Earthly Bureau. Those of the West belong to the Buddha, those of the East belong to the Sages; those of the North I will escort to Zhenwu, those of the South to the God of Fire. If it is a flood-dragon spirit, I will escort it to the Lord of the Sea; if it is a ghost spirit, I will escort it to King Yama. Each has its territory and direction. My old Sun is familiar with people everywhere, and will issue an official dispatch to escort them away flying through the night." That woodcutter could not help laughing a cold, haha laugh, and said, "You reckless, wet monk, you must be wandering about the world, having learned some magical arts of drawing talismans and spelling water, which are only good for driving away evil and binding ghosts, and yet you have not run into such a fierce and venomous monster yet." The Pilgrim said, "How can you tell he is venomous?" The woodcutter said, "This mountain is six hundred li across, named Flat-top Mountain. In the mountain there is a cave, named Lotus Cave. Inside the cave are two demon kings, who draw likenesses and portraits to capture monks, and copy names and inquire after surnames to eat Tang Monk. If you came from elsewhere, it would still be all right, but since you incur a 'Tang' character, don't even think of getting across, getting across." The Pilgrim said, "We are precisely from the Great Tang." The woodcutter said, "He is just about to eat you." The Pilgrim said, "Good fortune, good fortune. But I wonder how he eats people?" The woodcutter said, "How do you want him to eat you?" The Pilgrim said, "If he eats the head first, it is still some fun; if he eats the feet first, it will be troublesome." The woodcutter said, "What does it mean to eat the head first? What does it mean to eat the feet first?" The Pilgrim said, "You haven't experienced it yet. If he eats the head first, with one bite he will snap it off, and I will be dead already; no matter how he fries, roasts, boils, or stews, I won't feel any pain. If he eats the feet first, he gnaws the ankle, chews the shin, and when he reaches the waist-cutting bone, I still won't die in a hurry, so isn't that suffering bit by bit? This is why it is troublesome." The woodcutter said, "Monk, how does he have all that leisure time? He just captures you, ties you in a basket, and steams you whole to eat." The Pilgrim smiled and said, "This is even better, even better. It won't hurt, but I'll just suffer some stuffiness." The woodcutter said, "Monk, do not be glib. That monster has five treasures upon his person, and his divine powers are extremely great and vast. Even the pillar that props up the sky and the golden beam that supports the sea, if they are to escort the Tang monk, they are bound to faint a few times." The Pilgrim said, "Faint a few times?" The woodcutter said, "You must faint three or four times." The Pilgrim said, "No matter, no matter. In a year, we often faint seven or eight hundred times; these three or four faints are easy to faint, and once fainted they just pass by." That Great Sage, entirely without fear, had his heart set solely on protecting Tang Monk. Shaking off the woodcutter, he strode away and turned, going straight to the horse's head on the mountain slope, and said, "Master, nothing much. There is indeed some little demon or other, it's just that the people here are cowardly and take it to heart. With me here, why fear him? Let's walk, let's walk." Upon hearing this, the Elder had no choice but to set his mind at ease and follow along. As they walked along, the woodcutter was already gone. The Elder said, "How is it that the woodcutter who brought the news is suddenly gone?" Bajie said, "Our fortune is low, we ran into a ghost in broad daylight." The Pilgrim said, "I suppose he burrowed into the forest to look for firewood. Wait while I take a look." That Great Sage, opening his fiery eyes with golden pupils, gazed all over the mountains and across the ridges, but there was no trace. Suddenly raising his head to look up into the clouds, he saw that it was the Duty-caching God of the Day. He dashed up on a cloud, cursed him a few times as a "hairy ghost," and said, "Why did you not come and speak plainly when you had something to say, instead transforming yourself like that to make a fool of Old Sun?" Frightened, that Duty-caching God made a bow and said, "Great Sage, I came late to report the news, do not blame me, do not blame me. That monster truly possesses vast divine powers and myriad transformations. You need only watch your nimble maneuvers and exercise of divine mechanisms to carefully protect your Master; if you are even slightly negligent, don't even think about going to the Western Heaven." Hearing this, the Pilgrim scolded the Duty-caching God away, kept it deeply in his heart, lowered his cloud head, and came straight back to the mountain. He saw only the Elder advancing closely surrounded by Bajie and Wukong. Yet he thought to himself: "If I tell Master the exact words of the Duty-caching God, Master is of no use and will surely just cry; if I do not tell him the truth, stumbling blindly along with him as he goes—as the saying goes: 'Entering the reed marsh for the first time, you do not know its depth.' What if he is snatched away by the demons, wouldn't that require Old Sun to waste more effort? Let me just look after Bajie a bit and have him step forward first to fight a battle with that monster and see. If he can beat him, that will count as a merit for him; if he has no skills and is captured by the monster, it won't be too late for Old Sun to go and rescue him, and that will just right show off my skills and make me famous." Debating within himself and asking his own heart, he thought: "I only fear that Bajie will shirk and be unwilling to step forward, and Master also tends to shield his shortcomings. Let me rein him in a bit." That Great Sage, you see him put on an act, rubbing his eyes and rubbing out some tears. He walked straight ahead to meet his Master. Seeing this, Bajie hurriedly called out, "Friar Sha, put down the carrying pole, take out the luggage, and let the two of us split it up." Sha Monk said, "Second Brother, split what?" Bajie said, "Split it up and be done with it! You go back to Liusha River to be a monster, and Old Pig will go back to Gao Family Manor to yearn for his wife. We'll sell the white horse, buy a coffin, and see Master through his final days. Everyone disperse, and who's still going to the Western Heaven?" Hearing this from his horse, the Elder said, "This blunderbuss, just as we're walking, why are you spouting nonsense again?" Bajie said, "Your son is the one spouting nonsense. Didn't you see Sun Xingzhe crying as he came back over there? He is a hero who can drill through the sky and burrow into the earth, chop with axes, burn with fires, and go into cauldrons of boiling oil without fear; now he has put on a sorrowful hat and come crying tearfully—surely that mountain is steep and the monsters are fierce. How can soft and weak people like us go on?" The Elder said, "Stop your nonsense for a moment, let me ask him what he has to say." He asked, "Wukong, if you have something to discuss face to face, why are you grieving on your own? With such a crying-bag face, are you trying to frighten even a tiger?" The Pilgrim said, "Master, the reporter just now was the Duty-caching God. He said the monster is fierce and this place is hard to traverse. Truly the mountains are high and the roads steep, and we cannot advance. Let's go another day." Hearing this, the Elder was panic-stricken and fearful, and tugging at his tiger-skin skirt, he said, "Disciple, we have already walked three parts out of ten of the road, why do you speak words of retreat and regret?" The Pilgrim said, "I have not failed to give my utmost, but I only fear that the demons are many and our strength weak, and our traveling force is isolated. 'Even if it is a piece of iron, how many nails can be hammered from it in the furnace?'" The Elder said, "Disciple, what you say is also reasonable; indeed a single person has a hard time. As the military books say: 'The few cannot enemy the many.' I still have Bajie and Sha Monk here, both of whom are disciples. I leave them to your command and employment, whether to serve as a defending general and helper, joining forces with one heart to sweep clean the mountain paths and lead me across the mountain, won't that all lead to the attainment of the Right Fruit?" That traveler's twisting and turning merely coaxed these few words out of the Elder. He wiped away his tears and said, "Master, if we wish to pass this mountain, Zhu Bajie must agree to two things of mine, and only then will there be a three-tenths chance of getting through; if he does not comply with my words and take my place, you needn't even think of passing by half a part." Bajie said, "Elder Brother, if we are not going, let us just break up and scatter. Do not drag me into this." The Elder said, "Disciple, go ahead and ask your brother, see what he tells you to do." The idiot truly spoke to Xingzhe, saying, "Brother, what sort of business are you telling me to do?" Xingzhe said, "The first thing is to attend to Master, and the second is to go patrol the mountain." Bajie said, "Attending to Master means sitting; going to patrol the mountain means walking. Surely you don't mean to make me sit for a while and then walk, walk for a while and then sit? How can one look after both places at once?" Xingzhe said, "I am not telling you to perform both simultaneously; just take on a single task and that is all." Bajie laughed again and said, "This can still be negotiated. I only wonder what attending to Master is like, and what patrolling the mountain is like? First explain it to me, and let me see which one suits me better before I go do it." Xingzhe said, "As for attending to Master: when Master needs to relieve himself, you wait upon him; when Master wants to walk, you support him; when Master wants to eat vegetarian food, you go beg for alms. If he goes the least bit hungry, you deserve a beating; if his complexion turns the least bit yellow, you deserve a beating; if his flesh wastes the least bit away, you deserve a beating." Bajie panicked and said, "This is difficult, difficult, difficult. Waiting upon and supporting him is no trouble at all; even if I had to carry him on my back without ever leaving his side, that would still be easy. But if you were to send me to beg for alms in the villages—out here on this Western road, they won't recognize that I am a monk who fetches scriptures, and will only think I'm a half-grown, stoutish boar that walked out of the mountains, and they'll gather a crowd around me with pitchforks and brooms to surround old Pig, take him home, slaughter him, and salt him down for the New Year. Wouldn't that be an accursed misfortune?" Xingzhe said, "Then go patrol the mountain." Bajie said, "What is patrolling the mountain like?" Xingzhe said, "You just enter this mountain, inquire how many demons there are, what this mountain is called, and what cave this is, so we can get past safely." Bajie said, "That's a small matter, old Pig will go patrol the mountain." That idiot then hitched up his skirts, braced his nine-tooth rake, and with a swagger strode straight into the deep mountains; full of high spirits, he rushed onto the main road. Xingzhe, standing by, could not help but let out a cold, sneering chuckle. The Elder scolded him, saying, "You rash monkey! You brothers have not the least bit of affection for one another, and always harbor jealousy in your hearts. You pull such simian tricks, putting on a pleasing facade with smooth words, and trick him into going off to patrol the mountain or whatever, only to laugh at him right here." Xingzhe said, "I am not laughing at him; this laughter of mine has flavor to it. Just watch this excursion of Zhu Bajie's—he will definitely not patrol the mountain, nor will he dare to face any demons; he will not know where to go hide for a while, and will just cook up some lie to fool us with." The Elder said, "How can you know him so well?" Xingzhe said, "I reckon he will be just like this. If you don't believe it, let me follow him to take a look and listen in: firstly, to assist his skills in subduing demons, and secondly, to see if he has a sincere heart for worshiping the Buddha?" The Elder said, "Good, good, good, but you must not go torment him." Xingzhe gave his assent, rushed straight up the mountain slope, shook his body, and transformed into a tiny midge. Indeed, he transformed with such lightness and skill, as you can see: With thin wings dancing in the wind needing no effort, its slender waist is as fine as a needle. Threading through rushes, brushing grasses, passing flower shades, it is swifter even than a shooting star. Its eyes gleam brightly, its hum is faint and dim. Among the insect kind it alone is smallest, graceful and poised with deep ingenuity. Passing many idle days resting in secluded forests, its whole body quite invisible, a thousand eyes could not find it. With a buzzing flutter it flew away, caught up with Bajie, and landed right on the root of the bristles behind his ear. That idiot just kept walking; how could he know someone was on his body? Having walked seven or eight li, he cast his rake aside, whipped his head around, pointed and gestured as he cursed at Tang Monk: "You spineless old monk, scheming Bimawen, soft-faced Sha Monk—they are all resting at ease, while you trick old Pig into wearing out his feet on the road. We are all journeying to fetch the scriptures, all hoping to attain the True Fruit, yet you alone send me to patrol what mountain? Hahaha! Knowing there are demons and staying out of their way by giving them a wide berth is still not even halfway enough, yet you tell me to go seek them out. Such foul luck! Where shall I go to sleep? I'll sleep for a while and then go back, giving vague, muddled answers and claiming I've patrolled the mountain, and that'll settle the account." That idiot, feeling temporarily lucky, hoisted his rake and walked again, until he saw a curve of red-grass slopes in a mountain hollow. He dove straight in, used his nine-tooth rake to make a pallet on the ground, curled up to sleep, stretched his waist out, and said, "Bliss! Even that Bimawen could never be as carefree as I am." As it turned out, Xingzhe was right there behind his earlobe, listening to every single sentence, and could not help flying up to tease him once more. He shook his body again and transformed into a woodpecker. As you can see: With a beak sharp and pointed, a glowing crimson; jade-green feathers bright and lustrous. A pair of steel claws sharp as nails. What harm if the belly is hungry when the forest is still? Most fond of withered, rotting branches, yet disdaining solitary, lonely old trees. Round eyes and darting tail possessing an alert nature. The splitting, pecking sound is worth hearing. This bird was neither too large nor too small; put on a scale, it would weigh but two or three liang. It had a red-copper beak and black-iron feet. With a rustling flutter it flew straight down. That idiot had dropped his head and was just sleeping soundly when he was pecked a sharp blow right on the lips. That idiot scrambled up in a panic, shouting in utter disorder, "There's a demon! There's a demon! It gave me a poke with a spear, my lips hurt so much!" He reached out to feel, and it was oozing blood. He said, "What bad luck! I haven't had any joyful occasion, so why have I hung red on my lips?" Looking at his blood-stained hand, he muttered incoherently as he looked around on both sides, yet saw no movement. He said, "There's no demon, so why did it poke me with a spear?" Suddenly raising his head to look up, he saw it was actually a woodpecker flying in midair. The idiot gnashed his teeth and cursed, "This wretch—it was enough that the Bimawen bullied me, but now you've come to bully me too. I understand. He certainly didn't recognize me as a human, and just took my mouth for a piece of black, rotten wood with bugs growing inside, looking for bugs to eat, and so he pecked me this one time. I'll just tuck my mouth into my chest to sleep." That idiot curled up and went right back to sleep. Xingzhe flew over again and pecked him once more behind the earlobe. The idiot scrambled up in a panic and said, "This wretch is disturbing me too fiercely. This must be its nest, where it lays eggs and raises fledglings, fearing that I would occupy it, and that is why it is making such a disturbance. Enough, enough, enough, I won't sleep here anymore." Hoisting his rake, he walked straight out of the red-grass slope to find his path and walk on. How could this fail to delight Sun Xingzhe to pieces, causing the Beautiful Monkey King to laugh himself over? Xingzhe said, "This lout opens his two big eyes wide, yet can't even recognize one of his own family." What a great Great Sage! He shook his body and made yet another change, transforming this time into a small cicada, and nailed himself right behind the idiot’s ear, never leaving his body. That idiot entered the deep mountains, and after walking another four or five li, he saw three four-square blue stones the size of a tabletop in a mountain recess. The idiot put down his rake, made a deep bow with hands folded before the stones, and the Great Sage smiled to himself, thinking: "This idiot, the stones are neither people, nor can they speak, nor can they return a courtesy. Why bow to them like that? Isn't this an absurd account?" Originally, that idiot was treating the stones as Tripitaka, Friar Sand, and the Great Sage, practicing for them right there. He said: "When I go back and see Master, if he asks if there are demons, I will say there are demons. If he asks what kind of mountain it is, if I say it was pinched from mud, made of earth, beaten from tin, cast from bronze, steamed from dough, pasted from paper, or drawn with a brush, they will see that I am an idiot and, upon hearing such words, will call me even more of an idiot. I will simply say it is a stone mountain. If he asks what kind of cave, I will also just say a stone cave. If he asks what kind of gate, I will say it is an iron-plated gate studded with nails. If he asks how far inside it goes, I will just say there are three layers upon entering. If he searches all the more and asks how many nails are on the gate, I will just say old Pig's heart was flustered and I didn't remember clearly. Once these fabrications are settled here, I'll fool that Bimawen." Having concocted this, the idiot dragged his rake and headed straight back along his original path. How could the Great Sage, being behind his ear, not hear everything clearly? Seeing him return, the Great Sage immediately flapped his wings to return ahead of time, restored his original form, and saw the Master. The Master said: "Wukong, you have come back. Why is Wuneng not seen returning?" The Great Sage smiled and said: "He is fabricating lies over there, and will be coming shortly." The Elder said: "His two ears cover his eyes, and he is a foolish person. What kind of lies could he fabricate? It must be you who concocted some ghostly talk to frame him." The Great Sage said: "Master, you are always just this partial. This is a matter with matching testimonies." He told how [the idiot] had burrowed into the grass to sleep, been woken up by a woodpecker, made bows to the stones, and fabricated things like a stone mountain, a stone cave, an iron-plated gate, and the existence of demons, stating them all in advance. When he finished speaking, not long after, that idiot came walking up. Fearing he would forget his lies, he walked with his head down, rehearsing them in his mouth. The Great Sage gave a shout and said: "Idiot, what are you reciting?" Bajie lifted his ears to look and said: "Have I reached our destination?" The idiot stepped forward and knelt down. The Elder helped him up and said: "Disciple, you've had a hard time." Bajie said: "Indeed. For those who walk and climb mountains, this is the hardest thing." The Elder said: "Were there demons?" Bajie said: "There are demons, there are demons, a whole pile of demons!" The Elder said: "How did they send you on your way?" Bajie said: "They called me Old Ancestor Pig and Maternal Grandfather Pig, prepared some flour soup and vegetarian food, and made me eat a full meal, saying they would beat drums and fly flags to send us across the mountain." The Great Sage said: "He must have fallen asleep in the grass and is speaking dream talk." Hearing this, the idiot shrank in terror by two inches and said: "Oh Grandpa! How could he know when I fell asleep?" The Great Sage stepped forward, grabbed him by the scruff, and said: "Come over here, let me ask you." The idiot panicked again and said tremblingly: "Asking is fine, why grab and pull?" The Great Sage said: "What kind of mountain is it?" Bajie said: "It's a stone mountain." "What kind of cave?" He said: "It's a stone cave." "What kind of gate?" He said: "It's an iron-plated gate studded with nails." "How far is it inside?" He said: "There are three layers upon entering." The Great Sage said: "You don't need to say anymore. I remember the second half quite clearly, and fearing Master might not believe it, let me speak it for you." Bajie said: "What a face on you! You didn't even go, what do you know that you want to speak for me?" The Great Sage smiled and said: "'How many nails are on the gate? Just say old Pig's heart was flustered and I didn't remember clearly.' Is that so?" That idiot immediately knelt down in a panic. The Great Sage said: "You made bows to the stones, treating them as the three of us, and had a back-and-forth question and answer with them, is that so? And you also said: 'Wait until I get my lies nicely arranged, to fool that Bimawen.' Is that so?" That idiot kowtowed repeatedly and said: "Elder Brother, when I went to patrol the mountain, could it be you followed me to listen?" The Great Sage scolded: "I take you for a chaff-stuffed, good-for-nothing brute! With such a crucial place, I told you to go patrol the mountain, but you went to sleep instead. If the woodpecker hadn't pecked you awake, you'd still be sleeping there. And once pecked awake, you weave such a huge lie—doesn't this delay important matters? Quickly stick out your shin, and I'll give you five staff blows to remember it by." Bajie panicked and said: "That mourning-staff is heavy; a brush against the skin causes it to collapse, a twist causes the tendons to break! If you hit me five times, I'll be dead." The Great Sage said: "You're afraid of a beating, yet why do you tell lies?" Bajie said: "Brother, just let me off this once, and I will never dare do it again." The Great Sage said: "One time means three blows." Bajie said: "Oh Grandpa! I can't endure even half a blow." With no other recourse, the idiot grabbed the Master and said: "Please put in a good word for me for convenience's sake." The Elder said: "Wukong said you were fabricating lies, and I still didn't believe it. Now it has indeed turned out this way, and you truly deserve a beating. But since we have few people to spare for crossing the mountain right now, Wukong, spare him for the time being until we get across the mountain. You can beat him then." The Great Sage said: "As the ancients say: 'To comply with the words and feelings of parents is called great filial piety.' Since Master says not to beat you, I will spare you for now. You go back and patrol the mountain with him again; if you tell lies again and delay matters, I will certainly not spare you a single stroke." The idiot had no choice but to climb up and go again. Watch him dash out onto the highway, where suspicions give birth to wicked ghosts; every single step made him suspect it was the Great Sage transformed and following closely behind him, so whenever he saw a thing, he suspected it was the Great Sage. After walking seven or eight li, he saw a tiger running past from a mountain slope. He wasn't even afraid, and raising his nail-rake said: "Elder Brother has come to listen to lies? This time I'm not making any up." As he walked further, the mountain wind blew fiercely, and with a *whoosh*, it knocked down a withered tree that rolled right up before him. Once more he stamped his feet and beat his chest, saying: "Oh brother, why must this start? The moment I said I wouldn't make up lies anymore, what tree are you transforming into to hit people?" Walking further still, he saw an old white-necked crow right overhead caw-cawing a few times in succession. Again he said: "Brother, aren't you ashamed? Aren't you ashamed? I said I wouldn't make them up, so I'm not making them up, but why keep transforming into an old crow? Did you come to listen?" Originally, this time the Great Sage had not followed him at all, but over there he frightened and startled himself, randomly suspecting and guessing, so wherever he went he suspected the Great Sage was trailing him. Let the idiot remain terrified and suspicious for now. Now speaking of that mountain, it was called Pingding Mountain, and that cave was called Lotus Cave. There were two fiends in the cave: one called King Ginjiao, and the other King Yinjiao. Ginjiao sat upright and said to Yinjiao, "Brother, how long has it been since we patrolled the mountain?" Yinjiao said, "It has been half a month." Ginjiao said, "Brother, go and patrol with me today." Yinjiao said, "What is the point of patrolling the mountain today?" Ginjiao said, "You do not know. I recently heard that the Tang Dynasty of the Eastern Land has dispatched a royal brother, Elder Tang, to go to the West to worship the Buddha. A party of four souls in all, called Sun Xingzhe, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Heshang, with five in all including the horse. Look where he is, and capture him and bring him to me." Yinjiao said, "When we want to eat people, where do we not net a few? Let this monk go where he arrives." Ginjiao said, "You do not understand. When I formerly left the Heavenly Realm, I often heard people say: Elder Tang is the Golden Cicada Elder descended to the mortal realm, a good man of ten lives of cultivation, his single point of primordial yang entirely unspilled. If someone eats his flesh, he will prolong his years and attain longevity." Yinjiao said, "If eating his flesh can indeed prolong his years and attain longevity, why do we sit in meditation, why do we establish merit, why do we refine the dragon and the tiger, and why do we match the female and the male? We ought simply to eat him and be done with it. Wait for me to go and take him." Ginjiao said, "Brother, you are somewhat hasty; do not be in a hurry just yet. If you walk out the door, regardless of good or bad, and simply take whichever monk you come across, supposing it is not Elder Tang, that would hardly be a gentleman's deed. I remember his appearance; I once had his master and disciples sketched in a likeness and drawn in a form. You can take this along, and whenever you encounter a monk, use this to verify it." He further named this person and that name, explaining them one by one. Yinjiao obtained the likeness and knew the names, and immediately went out of the cave, mustered thirty lesser demons, and came to the mountain to patrol. Now speaking of Bajie, his fortune was clumsy. Just as he was walking along, he happened to bump right into the swarm of demons, who blocked him directly in front and said, "What kind of person are you, coming from there?" The idiot only then raised his head, flicked his ears, and seeing they were some sort of demons, he panicked, and thought secretly in his heart, "If I say I am a monk fetching the scriptures, they will net me away." He merely said he was a passerby. The lesser demon reported back, "Great King, it is a passerby." Among those thirty lesser demons, there were some who recognized him and some who did not. Beside them, someone listened and pointed, speaking thus, "Great King, this monk looks just like the likeness of Zhu Bajie in this picture." He called to hang up the portrait of the spirit. Bajie saw it, and startled, said, "No wonder I have had no spirit these days! So it is that they have passed my spirit image down here!" The lesser demon propped it up with a spear, and Yinjiao pointed with his finger and said, "This one riding the white horse is Tang Seng, and this one with the hairy face is Sun Xingzhe..." Hearing this, Bajie said, "City God, it would be fine if I were left out, but I offer a pig's head and three sacrificial beasts, and twenty-four shares of pure offerings." He muttered incessantly in his mouth, doing nothing but making vows. That fiend said again, "This dark and tall one is Sha Heshang, and this long-snouted, big-eared one is Zhu Bajie." Hearing himself spoken of, the idiot panicked so much that he tucked his snout into his bosom and hid it. The fiend called out, "Monk, stretch out your snout." Bajie said, "It is a congenital illness; it cannot stretch out." That fiend ordered the lesser demons to use hooks to hook it out. Bajie panicked so much that he stretched out his snout and said, "What petty behavior! Is this not it? If you want to look, just look; why hook it?" The fiend recognized that it was Bajie, drew his precious sword, stepped forward, and hacked at him. This idiot raised his nail-rake to press it down and said, "My child, be not discourteous; look at the rake!" The fiend laughed and said, "This monk became a monk midway along the road." Bajie said, "Good child, you have some spiritual sensitivity. How did you know so quickly that your old老爷 became a monk midway?" The fiend said, "Since you can wield this rake, you must have been turning the earth in someone's garden and stole this rake from them." Bajie said, "My child, how would you recognize your old老爷's rake? I am not like those rakes for turning the earth. This is: Forged with giant teeth like a dragon's claws, Adorned with embedded gold like a tiger's shape. When it meets a rival, a chilling wind is scattered; When it encounters a clash, fierce flames are born. It can help Tang Seng dispel obstacles, And capture fiends on the Western Journey's road. Whirling like smoke and mist to cover sun and moon, Wielded so dark clouds dim the Dipper and stars. It can level Mount Tai till tigers are terrified, And overturn the sea till the Old Dragon is startled. Even if you fiends have your methods and means, One rake will leave nine bloody holes." Hearing this, the fiend was not about to give way. Wielding his seven-star sword and unfurling his stances, he engaged Bajie in a duel back and forth amid the mountain for twenty bouts, with no split in victory or defeat. Bajie grew fierce, welcoming him with a desperate disregard for his life. The fiend saw him shaking his ears, spitting sticky saliva, dancing the nail-rake, and shouting and clamoring with his mouth, and he also felt somewhat frightened. He promptly turned his head to hail the lesser demons to take action all at once. If it were one against one, it would actually have been fine. When he saw those lesser demons swarming up together, he lost his footing and panicked. Unable to block and parry, he lost the battle, turned his head, and ran. As it happened, the path was uneven and he had not looked closely; suddenly he was tripped by a kudzu vine and stumbled. Struggling up just as he began to run again, he was tripped by a lesser demon lying asleep on the ground who grabbed him by the heel, and with a plop he took a tumble eating dog-shit. He was caught up by the crowd and pinned down, grabbed by the mane, tugged by the ears, pulled by the feet, dragged by the tail, and shouldered and carried off as they captured him and went back into the cave. Well! Exactly as: A body full of demonic fate is hard to extinguish, Ten thousand kinds of calamities arising are not easily removed. We simply do not know what Bajie's fate will be like; Just listen to the exposition in the next chapter.