OriginChapter 76
The story tells that the Great Sage Sun was inside the old demon's belly for a good while, and the demon lord fell to the ground without sound or breath. Thinking him dead if he spoke no more, he let his hand relax. The demon lord recovered his breath and called out, "Greatly Compassionate, Greatly Merciful, Great Sage Equal to Heaven Bodhisattva." When Pilgrim heard this, he said, "Son, don't waste your breath. Spare a few words and just call me Old Ancestor Sun." The demon, clinging to life, indeed called out, "Old Ancestor, Old Ancestor, it was my fault. Through a mistake and error I swallowed you, and now you turn around and harm me. I beg you, Great Sage, in your compassion, take pity on the desire of an ant to live; spare my life, and I vow to send your master safely over the mountain."
Though the Great Sage was a hero, he was also mindful of Tang Sanzang's progress. Seeing the demon's pitiful pleas, and being one who appreciates flattery, he turned to good intentions and called out, "Monster, I'll spare you. But how will you send my master across?" The old demon said, "I have no gold, silver, pearls, jade, agate, coral, crystal, amber, tortoiseshell, or any precious treasures to offer you. My three brothers will carry a sedan chair of fragrant rattan and carry your master over this mountain." Pilgrim laughed and said, "If you're going to carry us over in a sedan chair, that's better than treasures. Open your mouth, and I'll come out." The demon lord truly opened his mouth.
The third demon approached quietly and whispered to the old demon, "Elder Brother, when he comes out, bite down and chew the monkey to pieces, then swallow him down—then he won't be able to trouble you anymore."
Now Pilgrim heard this from inside, so he did not come out first but instead extended his Golden Cudgel to test them. The monster indeed bit down, and with a crunch, he shattered his own front teeth. Pilgrim withdrew his staff and said, "You vile monster! I spared your life and came out, yet you try to bite me and take my life. If I don't come out, I'll just torment you to death right here. I'm not coming out, I'm not coming out." The old demon complained to the third demon, "Brother, you're one of our own turning against one of our own. We should have asked him to come out properly, but you told me to bite him. I didn't bite him at all—instead I broke my own gums in pain. What's the meaning of this?"
When the third demon saw the old demon blaming him, he resorted to a provoking tactic and shouted sternly, "Sun Wukong, I've heard your name thunder like a crashing bolt—they say you displayed your might outside the Southern Heavenly Gate and showed your power beneath the Lingxiao Hall, and now on the Western Road you subdue demons and capture monsters. But it turns out you're nothing but a young monkey brat!" Pilgrim said, "Why do you call me a young brat?" The third monster said, "As the saying goes, 'A fine traveler is known across a thousand miles; his name is spread ten thousand leagues.' Come out and fight me—that would make you a true hero. But what kind of business is this, skulking inside a man's belly? If that's not a young brat, what is?"
When Pilgrim heard this, he thought to himself, "Right, right, right. If I were to tear his intestines and crush his liver and kill this monster now, what difficulty would there be? But truly it would ruin my reputation. Very well, very well. Open your mouth, and I'll come out to fight you. But this cave mouth is too narrow—it's no place to wield my weapon. We must go to an open space." When the third demon heard this, he immediately mustered all the great and small monsters—over thirty thousand in all, each bearing sharp weapons—and they formed a Three Powers battle formation outside the cave, waiting for Pilgrim to come out so they could attack together. The second demon helped the old demon out to the cave entrance and shouted, "Sun Wukong, come out, you hero! There's a battlefield here—come and fight!"
Inside the demon's belly, the Great Sage heard the cawing of crows, the chattering of magpies, the cries of cranes, and the sound of the wind—and knew this was a spacious place. But then he thought: "If I don't come out, I'll be breaking my word to him. But if I do come out, this demon has a human face but a beast's heart: he first said he'd send my master across to coax me out, then tried to bite me, and now he's deployed troops here. Very well, very well—I'll give him both a gain and a loss. I'll come out, but I'll leave a root behind in his belly." He then reached back, plucked a single hair from his tail, blew on it with immortal breath, and commanded, "Change!" It turned into a rope, as thin as a strand of hair but forty zhang long. When the rope was let out, it thickened in the wind. He tied one end around the monster's heart and liver in a slipknot—not tight when left alone, but painfully tight when pulled. Holding the other end, he laughed and said, "When I come out this time, if he sends my master across, fine. If not, and he starts a fight, I'll have no time to battle him—I'll just pull this rope, and it will be as if I'm still inside his belly."
Then he shrank his body to a tiny size and began crawling out. When he reached below the demon's throat, he saw the monster's great square mouth wide open, with steel-like teeth lined up like sharp blades. He suddenly thought, "Not good, not good. If I go out through his mouth pulling this rope, he'll feel the pain and bite down—won't he cut it? I'll go out where he has no teeth." The splendid Great Sage, holding the rope, crawled forward along his upper palate and into his nostril. The old demon's nose itched, and with a loud "Achoo!" he sneezed, shooting Pilgrim straight out.
When Pilgrim felt the wind, he arched his back and grew to about three zhang tall, one hand holding the rope and the other gripping his iron staff. The demon lord, not knowing any better, seeing him come out, raised his steel saber and slashed at his face. The Great Sage parried with his iron staff in one hand. Then the second demon attacked with a spear and the third with a halberd, all swarming in wildly. The Great Sage loosened the rope, put away his iron staff, and quickly leaped into the clouds and flew off. He was afraid that with so many little monsters surrounding him, it would be hard to act. He jumped outside their camp to an open mountain top, descended from the clouds, and with both hands pulled the rope with all his might—causing the old demon's heart to ache. In pain, the demon jerked upward, and the Great Sage pulled downward again. The assembled little monsters, seeing this from afar, shouted in unison, "Great King, don't provoke him—let him go. This monkey pays no heed to the seasons: it's not even Qingming yet, and he's flying kites!" Hearing this, the Great Sage gave another mighty tug. The old demon came spiraling down through the air like a spinning wheel and crashed into the dust, leaving a pit two chi deep in the hard, dead yellow earth beneath the slope.
In shock, the Second Monster and Third Monster together pressed down their cloud heads, stepped forward and took hold of the rope, knelt at the slope, and pleaded piteously: "Great Sage, we thought you were an immortal of vast tolerance and ocean-like generosity, but who knew you were of rat's belly and snail's gut? We truly did coax you out to have a bout with you, but never expected you to tie a rope around our elder brother's heart."
Pilgrim laughed and said, "You villainous demons, utterly discourteous. Last time you coaxed me out and bit me; this time you coax me out and lay out battle arrays against me. With these tens of thousands of demon soldiers attacking me alone, it is hardly reasonable. Drag them off, drag them off to see my master."
The monsters together kowtowed and said, "Great Sage, have mercy and spare our lives; we are willing to see the old master safely over the mountain."
Pilgrim laughed and said, "If you want your lives, just take a knife and cut the rope."
The elder demon said, "Grandfather! If I cut the outside part, the inside is tied around my heart, and in my throat it chokes and nauseates me — what am I to do?"
Pilgrim said, "If that's so, open your mouth, and I'll go in again and untie the rope from within."
The elder demon panicked and said, "If you go in again and refuse to come out, that would be hard, that would be hard."
Pilgrim said, "I have the ability to untie the rope from outside. If I untie it, will you truly see my master across?"
The elder demon said, "Once it is untied, we will see you across; we dare not break our word."
The Great Sage, ascertaining this was true, gave his body a shake and withdrew the fur. The monster's heart then stopped aching. This was Sun the Great Sage's trick: using a fur to bind the monster's heart; once the fur was withdrawn, the pain ceased. The three demons sprang up and thanked him, saying, "Great Sage, please return and inform Tang Sanzang to pack his belongings, and we will send a sedan chair to carry him across."
All the monsters laid down their weapons and returned to their cave.
The Great Sage gathered up the rope and went straight back east of the mountain. From afar he saw Tang Sanzang lying on the ground, rolling and weeping bitterly, while Zhu Bajie and Sha Monk had undone the bundle and were dividing the luggage into shares. Pilgrim sighed to himself, "There is no need to speak of it — this must be Bajie telling the master that I was eaten by the demon, and the master, unable to bear losing me, weeps bitterly; while that fool is dividing the goods and preparing to scatter. Ah! But is that truly the case? Let me call out to him and see."
He dropped his cloud and called out, "Master."
When Sha Monk heard him, he reproached Bajie, saying, "You are a coffin base — good only for harming others. Elder Brother is not dead, yet you said he was dead and went about this business here. Now he has come calling, hasn't he?"
Bajie said, "I clearly saw him swallowed whole by the demon. Perhaps the day is inauspicious, and that ape has come to show his ghost."
Pilgrim came up to him, grabbed Bajie's face with one hand, and slapped him so that he staggered, saying, "You lout! What ghost am I showing?"
The fool covered his face and said, "Brother, that demon truly did eat you — how, how did you come back to life?"
Pilgrim said, "Like you, a worthless, good-for-nothing pus-bag? When he ate me, I grabbed his guts, squeezed his lungs, and used this rope to pierce through his heart and pull it so tight that he could not bear the pain. They all kowtowed and pleaded with me, and only then did I spare their lives. Now they are sending a sedan chair to carry my master across the mountain."
When Tripitaka heard this, he scrambled to his feet at once, bowed to Pilgrim, and said, "Disciple, you have wearied yourself greatly. If I had trusted Wuneng's words, I would have been done for."
Pilgrim swung his fist and struck Bajie, cursing, "You gluttonous fool, most negligent and utterly unworthy. Master, do not be angry — the demons will soon come to see you across."
Sha Monk, deeply ashamed, quickly covered up the matter, packed the luggage, cinched the horse's saddle, and they all waited by the wayside.
Now the three demon kings led their host of spirits back to the cave. The Second Monster said, "Brother, I had thought Sun Wukong was a nine-headed, eight-tailed creature, but he turned out to be such a tiny little monkey. You should not have swallowed him. If you had only fought him, how could he have prevailed against the likes of us? With these tens of thousands of demons in the cave, even our spittle could drown him. But you swallowed him into your belly, and then he worked his magic and made you suffer — how could you dare match him? Just now our talk of seeing Tang Sanzang across was all pretense, done only because your life was at stake. We coaxed him out, but we certainly will not see him across."
The elder demon said, "Virtuous younger brother, why will you not see him across?"
The Second Monster said, "Give me three thousand lesser demons, and I will lay out battle arrays. I have the skill to capture that monkey."
The elder demon said, "Not to mention three thousand — take the whole camp if you wish, but if you capture him, we shall all share the merit."
So the Second Monster mustered three thousand lesser demons and went straight to the roadside to form ranks. He had a banner-bearer go back and forth relaying the challenge: "Sun Wukong, come out early and do battle with my Second Great King."
When Bajie heard this, he laughed and said, "Brother, as the saying goes: 'Lies don't deceive the villagers.' Now he comes with empty tricks and ghostly games — how can he say the demon was subdued and would send a sedan chair to carry the master across, and then come calling for battle? Why is that?"
Pilgrim said, "The elder demon has already been subdued by me and dares not show his face; even hearing the word 'Sun' gives him a headache. This must be the Second Demon, unwilling to see us across, hence he calls for battle. I say, brothers, these demons have three brothers, and such brotherly loyalty; we too are three brothers — do we lack any loyalty? I have already subdued the Great Demon; now that the Second Demon comes out, it would not be amiss for you to fight him a bout."
Bajie said, "Why should I fear him? Let me go and fight a battle with him."
Pilgrim said, "If you want to go, then go."
Bajie laughed and said, "Brother, I will go, but lend me that rope to use."
Pilgrim said, "What do you want it for? You have no skill to bore into his belly, nor to tie it around his heart — what use have you for it?"
Bajie said, "I want to tie it around my waist as a life-saving cord. You and Sha Monk hold the other end, let me go out and do battle with him. If I judge I can win, then loosen it and I'll capture him; if I lose to him, pull me back and don't let him drag me away."
Pilgrim secretly laughed and thought, "Let me tease this fool a bit." So he tied the rope around Bajie's waist and tricked him into going to battle.
The fool raised his rake and ran up the mountain cliff, shouting, "Demon, come out and fight with your Pig Ancestor!"
The banner-bearer quickly reported, "Great King, a long-snouted, big-eared monk has come."
The Second Monster came out of camp, and upon seeing Bajie, without further words, thrust his spear straight at his face. The fool raised his rake and met him. The two engaged on the slope, but before seven or eight rounds were done, the fool's hands went weak and he could not withstand the demon. He hastily turned his head and called out, "Elder Brother, not good! Pull the life-saving cord, pull the life-saving cord!"
On this side, when the Great Sage heard this, he instead loosened the rope and threw it out. The fool, defeated, turned and ran. Now the rope dragged along as he ran, and he did not notice it; but when he turned back, because it was loose, it tripped him up. He stumbled and fell, and as he got up, he fell again. At first he only reeled, but later he fell face-first into the dirt. The demon caught up, flicked out his nose, and like a flood dragon, coiled it around Bajie in one sweep, then returned to the cave in triumph. All the demons sang victory songs and swarmed back together.
Below the slope, Sanzang saw this and again became annoyed with the Pilgrim, saying, "Wukong, no wonder Wuneng cursed you to die—it turns out that you brothers have no affection for each other at all, but harbor nothing but mutual jealousy and envy. He said that, telling you to pull the life-saving rope—why did you not pull it, but instead threw the rope away? Now he has been harmed by them—what is to be done?" The Pilgrim laughed and said, "Master, you are too partial and too biased. Enough—when I was taken away, you did not worry in the least, thinking of me as nothing but a life to be thrown away. But now that this blockhead has just been captured, you blame me. Let him also suffer some hardship, so that he may see how difficult the journey to fetch the scriptures is." Sanzang said, "Disciple, when you went, did I not worry? I thought that since you know transformations, you would certainly not be harmed. But that blockhead is clumsy and does not know how to leap or shift—this time he will have little good fortune and much danger. You should go and save him." The Pilgrim said, "Master, do not complain—wait for me to go and save him."
He quickly leaped up and rushed to the mountain, secretly thinking with hatred: "This blockhead cursed me to death—I will not give him a happy time. Let me first follow and see how that demon disposes of him, let him suffer some torment, and then I will go to rescue him." He then made a hand seal, recited the true spell, shook his body, and changed into a cicada-like insect, flying over and perching on Bajie's ear root, accompanying the demon into the cave. The second demon led three thousand lesser imps, making a great din with drums and gongs, and halted at the cave entrance. He himself took Bajie inside and said, "Elder brother, I have captured one." The elder demon said, "Bring him for me to see." He loosened his nose, threw Bajie down, and said, "Is this not one?" The elder demon said, "This fellow is useless." Hearing this, Bajie said, "Great King, if he is useless, set him free and go catch a useful one." The third demon said, "Although he is useless, he is still the Tang Monk's disciple, Zhu Bajie. Tie him up and send him to the pond at the back to soak. After his hair has fallen off, split open his belly, salt him, dry him in the sun, and when it is overcast, use him to go with wine." Bajie was greatly startled and said, "Oh no, oh no—I have run into a demon who peddles pickled meat." All the imps set to work together, tied the blockhead up with his four limbs drawn together like a horse's hooves, carried him on their shoulders, brought him to the pond's edge, shoved him into the middle, and all turned back.
The Great Sage flew up and looked—the blockhead was lying with his four limbs up in the air, his snout poking out, half-floating and half-sinking, puffing and blowing from his mouth, truly most amusing to see: he looked like a big black lotus seed pod that had lost its seeds after frost in the eighth or ninth month. When the Great Sage saw his face, he both resented him and pitied him, saying, "What is to be done? He too is one of the company at the Dragon Flower Assembly. But I only resent that he is always ready to divide the baggage and break up the group, and that he is forever urging Master to recite the Tightening Band spell against me. The other day I heard Sha Seng say that he had saved up some private money—I wonder if it is true? Let me give him a fright."
The splendid Great Sage flew close to his ear, put on a false voice, and called out, "Zhu Wuneng, Zhu Wuneng." Bajie was flustered and said, "How unlucky—this name Wuneng was given by Guanyin Bodhisattva; since I followed Tang Monk, I have also been called Bajie—how does anyone here know my formal name?" The blockhead could not help asking, "Who is calling my formal name?" The Pilgrim said, "It is I." The blockhead said, "Who are you?" The Pilgrim said, "I am the Hook-Soul Officer." The blockhead was alarmed and said, "Officer, where do you come from?" The Pilgrim said, "I was sent by King Yama of the Fifth Court to hook you." The blockhead said, "Officer, you go back and report to King Yama that he and my elder brother Sun Wukong are on very good terms—tell him to let me have one more day, and come to hook me tomorrow." The Pilgrim said, "Nonsense. 'When Yama decrees death at the third watch, who dares keep a man till the fourth?' Come with me now, lest you be fitted with a rope and dragged away." The blockhead said, "Officer, is there no way to be accommodating? Look at this face of mine—I still want to live. Death is certain, but wait just one day—when this demon has captured my masters as well, we can all meet and then settle the account together." The Pilgrim chuckled to himself and said, "Very well. On my list there are thirty people, all around this area—I will summon them to take your place, and then you will have a day's delay. Do you have any travel money? Give some to me." Bajie said, "How pitiful—what travel money would a monk have?" The Pilgrim said, "If you have no travel money, I will just rope you and take you along with me." The blockhead was panicked and said, "Officer, do not rope me. I know this rope of yours is called the Life-Chasing Rope—once it is on, one stops breathing. I have, I have—I have a little, but not much." The Pilgrim said, "Where is it? Bring it out quickly." Bajie said, "Pitiful, pitiful. Since I became a monk, up to now, when some devout families offer alms to monks and see that I have a large appetite, they give me a bit more donation money than the others—I took it and saved it here, and in bits and pieces I have five qian of silver. Because it was hard to keep tidy, I went to town and asked a silversmith to melt it into one piece, but he was unconscionable and stole a few fen from me, so it came to only four qian six fen in one lump. Take it." The Pilgrim laughed to himself, "This blockhead does not even have pants to wear—where could he have hidden it? Hey! Where is your silver?" Bajie said, "It is stuffed in my left ear hole. I am tied up and cannot get it—take it yourself."
Hearing this, the Pilgrim reached into the ear cavity and fished it out—it was indeed a lump of silver shaped like a saddle, weighing fully four qian five or six fen. Holding it in his hand, he could not help letting out a loud "Ha ha!" laugh. The blockhead recognized the Pilgrim's voice and, in the water, cursed wildly, "Heaven-damned弼马温 (Stable Monkey), when I am in such misery, you still come to extort money from me." The Pilgrim laughed again and said, "You good-for-nothing—I, Old Sun, have protected Master through untold hardships, yet you have saved up private money." Bajie said, "Shame on you! What private money is this? It is all scraped from my teeth—I could not bear to spend it on food, so I saved it to buy a piece of cloth for clothes, and now you have scared it out of me. Give me back a part." The Pilgrim said, "Not half a bit will I give you." Bajie cursed, "Let you have the ransom money, but at least you should get me out of here." The Pilgrim said, "Do not get anxious—I will save you." He hid the silver, revealed his true form, seized his iron staff, pulled the blockhead toward him with it, lifted him by the feet, dragged him up, and untied the ropes. Bajie jumped up, took off his clothes, wrung out the water, shook them, and put them back on damp and dripping, saying, "Elder brother, let us leave by the back door." The Pilgrim said, "Leaving by the back door—is that the way to improve yourself? We will go out by the front gate." Bajie said, "My feet are numb from being tied—I cannot run." The Pilgrim said, "Follow me quickly."
The splendid Great Sage swept his iron staff through a series of moves and fought his way out. The blockhead endured the numbness and had to follow him. He saw that his rake was leaning against the second gate—he stepped forward, shoved the lesser imps aside, snatched it up, and began ramming it about wildly ahead, and together with the Pilgrim they fought through three or four layers of gates, killing who knows how many lesser imps. The elder demon heard this and said to the second demon, "Good capture, good capture—look, Sun Wukong has rescued Zhu Bajie and wounded our little imps at the gates." The second demon leaped up at once, seized his spear, and rushed out of the gate, shouting loudly, "You vile ape, how dare you act so insolently and show such contempt for us?" The Great Sage heard him, stopped, and stood his ground. The monster gave no chance for talk but thrust with his spear; the Pilgrim, being a master, was not flustered but raised his iron staff to meet him head-on. The two of them, outside the cave gate, engaged in a fine fight:
The yellow-tusked old elephant transformed into human form, and sworn brotherhood with the Lion King as elder and younger. Because the Great Demon had acted as mediator, they united in heart to scheme for eating Tang Sanzang. The Great Sage Equal to Heaven had vast supernatural powers, aiding the righteous and eliminating evil, bent on destroying the fiend. Bajie, incapable, fell to the venomous hand, but Wukong rescued him and went out the gate. The demon king caught up and displayed his heroic might; spear and staff clashed, each showing his ability. That one’s spear came like a serpent threading the forest; this one’s staff rose like a dragon emerging from the sea. The dragon left the sea gate amid swirling clouds; the serpent threaded the forest trees amid rolling mist. Calculating, it was all for the Tang monk; they fought bitterly and relentlessly, utterly devoid of mercy.
Now Bajie, seeing the Great Sage engaged with the fiend, stood on the mountain crag with his rake upright, not coming to help, merely staring blankly. The fiend, seeing that the staff of the Pilgrim was heavy and that he displayed every skill without flaw, parried with his spear, then flicked open his trunk to coil around him. The Pilgrim knew his trick; with both hands he raised his golden-hooped staff horizontally and lifted it upward. The fiend’s trunk coiled around his waist and hips, but did not grip his hands. You see him with both hands playfully twirling his staff on the fiend’s snout. When Bajie saw this, he pounded his chest and said: “Eh! That fiend has bad luck. When he coiled this crude fellow of mine, he wrapped up even my hands so I couldn’t move; but with that slippery one, he didn’t wrap his hands. He has both hands holding the staff; he only needs to stick it into the nostril—the hole will hurt and run with tears, so how could he hold him fast?”
The Pilgrim had not originally intended this, but Bajie taught him. He then shook his staff, making it small as a chicken egg but over a zhang long, and truly thrust it into his nostril. The fiend, terrified, with a rushing sound released his trunk. The Pilgrim turned his hand, grabbed it firmly, and with all his strength pulled forward. The fiend, nursing the pain, followed his hand and came step by step. Only then did Bajie dare approach; he raised his rake and wildly raked at the fiend’s crotch. The Pilgrim said: “No good, no good. Those rake teeth are sharp; if you break the skin and blood flows, when Master sees it he will again say we harm life. Only use the handle to beat him.”
So the dolt indeed raised the rake handle, and at each step he struck once; the Pilgrim led the trunk: just like two elephant keepers, they led him down the slope. There they saw Sanzang staring fixedly, and when he saw the two of them coming noisily and boisterously, he called out: “Wujing, look—what is Wukong leading?” When Sha Wujing saw it, he laughed and said: “Master, the elder senior brother is pulling the fiend by the nose—how delightful!” Sanzang said: “Goodness! Goodness! Such a huge fiend, such a long nose. You should ask him: if he willingly and happily escorts us across the mountain, we may spare him, and not harm his life.” Sha Wujing hurriedly ran forward and called out loudly: “Master says: if the monster truly escorts Master across the mountain, he says not to harm his life.” When the monster heard this, he promptly knelt and answered with a muffled voice. For he was being pulled by the nose and it was pinched shut, just like a heavy cold. He called out: “Lord Tang, if you will spare my life, I will immediately have a sedan chair brought to carry you.” The Pilgrim said: “We master and disciples are all of the kind-conquering sort; according to your words, we will spare your life for now. Quickly bring the sedan chair. If you change your mind again, when we catch you we will never spare you again.” The monster, freed from the grip, kowtowed and left. The Pilgrim went with Bajie to see Tang Sanzang and recounted everything. Bajie was utterly ashamed; he spread their clothes to dry on the slope and waited—but we shall say no more of this.
Now the second demon, trembling with fear, returned to the cave. Before he arrived, the little demons had already reported to the elder demon and the third demon that the second demon had been taken away by the Pilgrim by the nose. The elder demon was terrified and, with the third demon, led the host out just as they saw the second demon returning alone. They welcomed him in and asked the reason for his release. The second demon told the whole assembly of Sanzang’s words of compassion and kind-conquering. One and all looked at each other in dismay and dared not speak. The second demon said: “Brother, shall we see the Tang monk off?” The elder demon said: “Brother, what are you saying? Sun Wukong is a monkey who spreads benevolence and righteousness: first he was inside my belly, and if he had wished to harm my life, he could have killed a thousand of me; just now he seized your nose, and if he had pulled you away and not released you, he would only have to pinch the tip of your nose to cause great shame. Quickly make arrangements to see him off.” The third demon laughed and said: “See him off, see him off, see him off.” The elder demon said: “Venerable younger brother, your words sound like you are still angry. If you won’t send him off, then we two elder brothers will go.”
The third demon laughed again and said: “Elder brothers above: if the monk does not want us to see him off, and we just let him pass like this, that is still his good fortune; but if he wants us to send him off, then he may well fall right into my plan of ‘luring the tiger away from the mountain.’” The elder monster said: “What is ‘luring the tiger away from the mountain’?” The third monster said: “Now we should muster all the demons in the cave, select a thousand from ten thousand, a hundred from a thousand, sixteen from a hundred, and also choose thirty.” The elder monster said: “Why do we need both sixteen and thirty?” The third monster said: “We need thirty who are skilled in cooking, and give them fine rice, fine flour, bamboo shoots, tea sprouts, fragrant mushrooms, ordinary mushrooms, bean curd, and gluten, and have them set up a shelter twenty or thirty li away, arrange tea and meals, and attend to Tang Sanzang.” The elder monster said: “And what use are the sixteen?” The third monster said: “Eight will carry the sedan, eight will clear the road and shout. We brothers will accompany him left and right, seeing him off for a stretch. Four hundred li to the west from here is my city; I have relief troops ready there. When we reach the city wall … thus and so, we will make it so that master and disciples cannot attend to each other, head to tail. To capture Tang Sanzang, all depends on these sixteen for success.” When the elder monster heard this, he was overjoyed; truly it was like waking from a drunken stupor, like awakening from a dream. He said: “Good! Good! Good!” He immediately mustered all the demons, first selected thirty and gave them the provisions; then selected sixteen and had them carry a sedan chair of fragrant rattan. Together they went out the gate. He also commanded all the demons: “None of you are allowed to roam idly up the mountain: Sun Wukong is a suspicious monkey; if he sees you coming and going, he will surely grow wary and see through this plan.”
The elder monster then led the host to the side of the great road and called out loudly: “Lord Tang, today does not run afoul of the Red Sand star; please, lord, cross the mountain early.” When Sanzang heard this, he said: “Wukong, who is calling me?” The Pilgrim pointed and said: “Over there are the fiends that old Sun subdued, bringing a sedan chair to see you off.” Sanzang pressed his palms together and faced heaven, saying: “Goodness! Goodness! Were it not for my worthy disciple’s such ability, how could I ever get through?” He then went straight forward, saluted the demons and said: “I am much obliged for your kindness; when I, your disciple, return east to Chang’an with the scriptures, I shall proclaim the fruits of goodness.” The demons all kowtowed and said: “Please, lord, ascend the sedan chair.” Now Sanzang had mortal eyes and ordinary flesh and did not know it was a plot. The Great Sage, moreover, was a Golden Immortal of the Supreme Ultimate, of loyal and upright nature; he merely thought it was the result of his captures and releases, having subdued the fiends—how could he anticipate that they all had other schemes? So he did not examine closely, but followed his master’s wishes. He ordered Bajie to put the luggage on the horse, with Sha Wujing following closely. He himself took his iron staff and cleared the way ahead, looking out for good or ill. The eight lifted the sedan chair, the eight called out in turn as they cleared the road, and the three fiends supported the carrying poles. Master sat happily and properly in the sedan chair. They ascended the high mountain and proceeded along the main road.
On this journey, who could know that amid joy sorrow would come again? The sutra says: “When the zenith of prosperity is reached, adversity is born.” The time and fate met with the Grand Duke of Tai, and also the stars of Mourning Gate and Attendant Doom. That gang of demons attended to him with one heart and mind, left and right, diligent morning and evening. After traveling thirty li they offered a vegetarian meal; at fifty li another meal; before evening they asked him to rest, and along the way everything was orderly. Three meals a day to his full satisfaction; a good night’s rest, and a fine place to stay.
After traveling westward for over four hundred li, they suddenly saw a city close at hand. The Great Sage raised his iron staff; when he was only a li from the palanquin, he caught sight of the city and was so startled that he fell over and could not scramble up. You ask how it was that he, usually so bold, could be terrified at this sight? It turned out that he saw within the city many evil vapors. They were:
Thronging and clustering, demons and monsters—
At all four gates were wolf-spirits.
The spotted tiger was chief steward,
The white-faced fierce bear was commander-in-chief.
The fork-antlered deer conveyed documents and orders,
The clever foxes walked the roads.
A thousand-chi python coiled around the city,
A myriad-zhang serpent occupied the thoroughfares.
Below the towers, grey wolves called out orders;
Before the terrace, striped leopards spoke with human voices.
Banners waved and drums beat—all were fiends;
Patrols and sentry posts were all mountain spirits.
Cunning rabbits opened doors to ply their trade;
Wild boars shouldered loads to go about their business.
In former years this was a kingdom of the Heavenly Court;
Now it has become a city of wolves and tigers.
Just as the Great Sage was in dread, he heard a wind whistling behind his ear. Whirling around, he saw that it was the third demon, who with both hands raised a painted halberd with a square blade and struck at the Great Sage's head. The Great Sage hastily turned over, scrambled up, and met him face-to-face with his Golden Cudgel. The two of them, each burning with rage and panting with anger, exchanged not a word; gritting their teeth, each was bent on battle. Meanwhile the old demon chief gave the order, raised his steel saber, and slashed at Bajie. Bajie, startled, dropped the horse, swung his rake, and lunged forward, wildly thrusting. The second demon wielded his long spear and thrust it at Sha Seng; Sha Seng raised his Demon-Subduing Staff and spread his stance to parry. Thus the three demon lords and the three monks, one against one, fought a desperate, life-or-death struggle on the mountaintop.
Now the sixteen lesser demons, obeying the orders, each did his part: they seized the white horse and the luggage, and with a rush they lifted the palanquin with Sanzang and carried him straight to the city gate, crying loudly, "Great King, by your masterful plan, we have captured Tang Sanzang!" All the large and small demons on the city walls ran down and threw open the city gates. They ordered each camp to furl banners and muffle drums, and forbade any shouting or beating of gongs. They said, "The Great King gave orders earlier that Tang Sanzang must not be frightened. He cannot withstand terror; once frightened, his flesh turns sour and he is no good for eating." All the demons, delighted and overjoyed, invited Sanzang in, bowing and bending their backs to welcome the honored monk. They carried Tang Sanzang in his palanquin up to the Golden Bell Hall, seated him in the center, and on one side served tea and food while bustling about him on both sides. The elder, dazed and confused, looked around and saw no familiar face.
If you do not know what became of his life, listen to the explanation in the next chapter.