Chapter 7 Take on Pig Monster as the second disciple
1.
One day at dusk, they found a small village. When they entered the village, a little boy was walking in a hurry. “Where are you going?” Monkey King seized the boy by his arm and asked. “Can you tell me the name of this village?” “This is Gaolaozhuang Village,” said the boy impatiently. “Let me go!” “Tell me why you’re in such a hurry.” Monkey King said. “If you don’t tell me the truth, I don’t let you go.” “O.K..” The boy could do nothing but tell him the whole story. “I’m a servant of Gao family. Mr. Gao has a daughter. She is already twenty years old but she hasn’t got married yet. Three years ago, she was occupied by a monster. Locked in a small house in the backyard, the girl was not allowed to see her parents. Mr. Gao asked me to look for a capable man to subdue the monster. I met with several monks but none of them is capable to subdue the monster.” “It’s lucky for you to meet me,” said Monkey King. “I don’t need your money. I’m willing to tell you the truth that we come from the Great East Land of Tang Dynasty and my master is the brother of the emperor. According to the emperor’s order, we’re going west to take the Buddhist ures. Go back and tell your master that we can tame the monster. “ At the beginning, the boy didn’t believe. “This is no joke!” said the boy. “If you cannot subdue the monster, my master will severely punish me.” “Take us to you home.” Monkey King told him. “We won’t hold things up. ” Unable to turn Monkey King away, the boy could not but show them the way to Gao family.
Mr. Gao warmly welcomed Tang Monk and Monkey King. “The boy told me,” said the old man. “you come from the Great East Land. ” “That’s right.” Tang Monk said. “By order of the emperor, we’re going west to take the Buddhist ures. It’s getting dark and we’re going to find a place to stay overnight.” “Oh,” Said the old man. “But why did the boy tell me that you can subdue the monster?” “Our main purpose is to find a place to stay overnight.” Said Monkey King. “But I’m willing to catch several monsters to divert myself from boredom. How many monsters are there in your family?” “My god!” cried the old man. “Only one monster son-in-law is enough for me!” “Tell me the story,” Monkey King said to the old man, “about his appearance, his capability and so on. In a word, tell me everything about him so as for me to subdue him.” “All the people in this village didn’t know anything about monsters before,” said the old man. “I have only three daughters but no sons. The first two got married several years ago. Only the third one still remained single for a long period after her sisters’ marriage. I wanted to find a son-in-law who was willing to join our family.” Mr. Gao said continuously. “Three years ago, a man came to me. His appearance wasn’t ugly. He said his family name was Zhu, namely Pig. His parents died and he had no brothers and sisters. He said he was willing to join my family as my son-in-law. Thinking he was free from care, I accepted him as my son-in-law. At the beginning, he worked very hard. He went away in the evening and came back at daybreak. I didn’t think too much about all these. Only one thing made me quite unhappy. He could change his face!”
“How did he change?” Monkey King asked. “At the beginning, he was only a black fat man.” Mr. Gao said. “Before long, he changed into a dull man with a long mouth and two large ears. And there is also a handful of bristles at the back of his head. His skin is terribly rough. His head and face look like the ones of a pig. Moreover, he is a big-eater. He can eat up nearly a hundred cakes only for breakfast. It ’s lucky that he only likes to eat vegetables. If he likes meat and wine, what I have will definitely be eaten up by him no more than half year!” “He’s a capable man,” said Tang Monk, “so he has a good appetite.” “Eating is only a trifling thing,” said the old man. “The most terrible thing is that he has some black arts. Whenever he comes back, there must be a great disorder with sands flying and stones rolling. Neither our family nor our neighbors can live in peace and order. He locked my daughter in the small house in our backyard. I cannot meet my daughter for nearly half year without knowing anything about her life and death.” Mr. Gao said continuously. “I know he is a monster. So I ask my boy servant to look for a capable man to subdue the monster.” “It’s easy!” said Monkey King. “You may rest assured. I’ll subdue the monster for you this evening.” “Excellent!” the old man exclaimed. Mr. Gao showed the way to the backyard. Monkey King opened the door and asked the old man to take his daughter away. He himself waited for the pig monster in the small house.
After the father and the daughter left, Monkey King turned himself into Miss Gao, a perfect beauty. Not long before, a wind began blowing. The wind was really strong with sands flying and stones rolling. The wind finished very soon and a monster appeared in the sky. The monster was extremely ugly. His face black, hair short, mouth long and ears large. The color of his clothes was quite peculiar, seemly black, but in fact not black, seemly blue, but in fact not blue. “So it’s you!” stealthily laughed Monkey King. Neither welcoming him nor asking him, Monkey King pretended to be ill and lay in bed groaning constantly. Not knowing the truth, the monster entered the room and held Monkey King firmly and wanted to kiss him. “How should you have the gut to kiss me!” Monkey King secretly laughed again. Holding the monster by the long mouth, Monkey King lightly pushed the monster away first and then forcibly stroke him down from the bed. Rising to his feet, the monster leaned over the bed. “Sister, why are you angry with me today?” the monster asked. “Could it be said that I’m late today?” “I’m not angry,” said Monkey King. “Now that you’re not angry with me,” said the monster, “why did you strike me down?” “You just cannot enter into my feelings,” said Monkey King. “You only want to kiss me but do not pay any attention to my health. I’m sick today. Otherwise, I’ll open the door to wait for you as usual.” Monkey King said continuously. “You may take off your clothes and go to bed first.”
Without knowing the true story, the monster really took off his clothes and went to bed first. Taking this opportunity, Monkey King sneaked into the bath room. The monster waited quite a long moment but Monkey King still didn’t appear. “Sister,” the monster cried out. “Where’re you? Take off your dress and go to bed quickly!” “I’m coming. But really down on my luck!” Monkey King sighed. “You’re angry with me?” asked the monster. “Why down on your luck?” The monster said. “Ever since I joined your family, I’ve never had a meal without paying for it. I’ve done a lot of work, such as building walls and houses, planting wheat and rice, tilling land and harvesting, and so on so forth. Moreover, I also do my best to make you satisfied by offering you new dresses, beautiful jewelries, fresh vegetables and fruits and various kinds of delicious food. How can you say it’s really down on your luck?” “That isn’t where the question arises.” Said Monkey King. “The real problem is that my parents often hit or swear at me.” “Why?” asked the monster. “They think our marriage made our family quite disgraced,” said Monkey King. “Because you’re too ugly, our relatives and friends have broken off all relations with us. Worse of all, you come and go quite mysteriously. They even don’t know your names and where you live. Therefore they simmer with rage.” “I’m really a little ugly,” said the monster. “But it’s quite easy for me to become handsome. But I have given notice beforehand. It’s only after their approval that they took on me as their son-in-law. Why do they say this sort of things?” the monster added. “To tell you the truth, I live in Yunjian Cave of Mt. Fuling. My second name is Zhu (Pig). My whole name is Zhu Ganglie. It’s named according to my appearance of pig. If they ask you again, you can tell them like this.”
“This guy is really honest,” Monkey King laughed stealthily. “I don’t put him to torture and he confesses his guilt so willingly. Now that I know his name and where he lives, I’ll find him whatever happens.” “They want to ask a magician to catch you,” Monkey King told him. “Do sleep! Don’t pay any attention to them!” said the monster. “I can change my tactics. And I also have a nine-tooth rake. Who cares a magician, a monk or Taoist? Even if your father is so devout that he can call over a god from the heaven, he can do nothing to me!” “You father-in-law wants to ask Monkey King to help them catch you.” Monkey King said to the monster. Hearing the two words of Monkey King, the monster was somewhat scared. “Now that you say like this, I’d better leave here. But it’s too bad that we cannot be a couple any longer.” “Why are you leaving?” asked Monkey King. “You don’t know that dirty monkey is a little bit capable,” said the monster. “I’m afraid I can’t win. If so, it’ll make me disgraced. That’ s too bad.” Putting on his clothes and opening the door, the monster was going to leave. But his way was blocked by Monkey King. Firmly seizing the monster by collar, Monkey King stroked himself in face and showed his true colors. “You dirty demon! Where are you going?” cried out Monkey King. “Raise your head and see who I am?” Scrutinizing, the monster found a monkey before him. It’s just the Monkey King whom he backbit just now. Scared to death, the monster changed into golden light and left. Monkey King rushed forward and followed him closely. “Where are you going?” Monkey cried. “Flying up to the sky or going into the ground, no matter where you go, I’ll catch you definitely!”
Closely following the fire light, Monkey King came to a mountain. He found the fire light changing into the monster entering the cave and then came out again with a rake in hand. “You stupid demon!” Monkey King asked. “How do you know my name? Tell me the truth. I’ll spare your life.” The monster told Monkey King that he was once the Tianpeng General in Heaven Palace. One day he was drunk and harassed the fairy Chang E. According to the heavenly laws, he should be killed. Thanks to God Er Lang who interceded for him, he was only knocked by a hammer two thousand times and then driven out of Heaven Palace and down to the Mt. Fuling. Only because of being wrongly reborn in a pigsty, did he become a pig-like monster. Hearing this, Monkey King said, “So it’s you, General Tianpeng! No wonder you know about me.” “Then why are you here, Monkey King?” asked the monster. Monkey King told his own story to the monster. Knowing Monkey King came here to help Tang Monk to take the Buddhist ures, the monster was quite excited and threw his rake onto the ground.
“Where is the man who is going to take the Buddhist ures? Why didn’t you mention him?” the monster complained. “If you told me the truth, I wouldn’t offend you at all.” The monster asked Monkey King to take him to see Tang Monk. “Why do you want to see him?” Monkey King asked. “Guanyin Bodhisattva also asked me to go along with the man who was going west to take the Buddhist ures.” The monster said to Monkey King. “I don’t believe. I’m afraid maybe you’re cheating me.” Monkey King said. “If you really want to help Tang Monk to take the Buddhist ures, do you dare to swear to the sky? If you dare, I’ll take you to see my master.” The monster knelt down immediately and kowtowed to the sky repeatedly. “Merciful Buddha!” said the monster. “If I am not devout, I’d rather be struck to death by thunderbolt!” Seeing the monster really dared to swear, Monkey King goaded the monster into taking further action. “Now that you’re really devout,” said Monkey King, “do you dare to burn down the place where you live?” Hearing this, the monster burned away the mountain cave at once with wild grass and tree branches. “I’m completely free from care now!” said the monster. “Hurry up! Let’ s go!” “Give me you rake!” said Monkey King. The monster picked the rake from the ground and gave it to Monkey King. Then Monkey King took off a hair and blew it. The hair turned into a rope immediately. Monkey Kink tied the monster with this rope. “Hurry up!” Monkey King said with his hand firmly holding the monster by one of his large ears. “Too painful!” cried the monster.
Before long, they came to the village and entered the house of Gao Family and told the whole story to Tang Monk who was very delighted. “I’m willing to go west to take the Buddhist ures.” The monster told Tang Monk. “Now that you want to be my disciple,” said Tang Monk, “I’d like to give you a Buddhist name.” “I’ve already had one, Master!” said the monster. “Goddess of Mercy named me Zhu (Pig) Wuneng.” “That’s good,” said Tang Monk. “Goddess of Mercy also asked me to give up eight things including meat, wine, sex and five vegetables with stingy smell such as scallion, garlic, onion, leek and turnip. I’ve never eaten them ever since I entered Gao Family. Can I eat them from now on?” “No!” Tang Monk said. “Moreover, I want to give you another name according to these eight ‘give up’. All right, your another name is Bajie, namely, eight-giving-up.” The monster happily accepted this name. So the pig monster was named not only Zhu (Pig) Wuneng, but also Zhu (Pig) Bajie. So, up to then, Tang Monk had already had two disciples. The master and his two disciples and the little white horse continued their long and hard journey without any delay.