The demon wasn’t killed by Monkey King’s second strike. Standing in a cloud, he had to admire Monkey King for his ability. “What a clever monkey!” he said to himself. “I turned into a girl and an old woman, but he can recognize me so easily. These monks walked so quickly. If I don’t stop them, they will cross this mountain very soon. So long as they go forty miles more, they will be out of the sphere of my influence. And if Tang Monk is caught and eaten by others, I’ll be sneered at. I’d better go down and make fun of him once again.” This time the demon turned into an old man with white hair and beard. A walking stick in one hand, and a string of Buddhist pears in the other, the old one was walking with great difficulties and muttering the Buddhist ures.
Seeing this old man, Tang Monk was very happy. “Merciful Buddha!” he said. “West is really a wonderful land! The old man can hardly move his feet but he is still muttering the Buddhist ures.” “Master,” said Bajie. “Don’t praise him in such a hurry. That old man is actually a root of trouble.” “Why?” asked Tang Monk. “My brother killed both his daughter and his wife. This old man comes to look for them.” Said Bajie. “If we’re tangled with him, you must pay for life because of capital crime. As an accessory, I must be sent into exile. Even Sha Monk cannot escape punishment,” added Pig Bajie. “Only the monkey can take to his heels by means of camouflage. And if so, we three will bear the blame for the monkey.” “Damn you! What are you driveling about?” Monkey King asked. “Aren’t you afraid to make our master scared to death? Let me go and have a look.”
Monkey King hid his cudgel and stepped up. “Where are you going, grandpa?” Monkey King asked. “Why are you muttering the Buddhist ures while walking?” The demon underestimated Monkey King and pretended to be calm. “Master,” the demon said. “Our family has been living here for generations. I’m happy to do good works, particularly happy to offer monks with alms. I’m also keen on muttering the Buddhist ures. Yet, I’m doomed to have only a daughter but no sons at all. I married off my daughter and asked my son-in-law to live in my home. My son-in-law is working in our farmland. I asked my daughter to deliver lunch to him. But she hasn’t returned home. I’m afraid she was eaten by a tiger. I once asked my wife to come here to have a look. But she hasn’t returned home either. So I come here to look for them. If they really died, I can only collect their remains so as to bury them into graves.” “I’m the forefather of the tiger,” Laughing aloud, Monkey King said to the old man. “Why are you making a fool of me? You can deceive others. But I won’t be fooled by your tricks. I know you’re a demon!”
The demon had nothing to say offhand. Monkey King secretly took out his cudgel. “If I don’t strike him, it seems like he got the upper hand.” Monkey King stealthily thought. “But if I strike him, my master will mutter the incantation.” Thinking better of it, he said to himself, “If I don’t kill him, maybe he’ll take my master unawares. And if so, I’ll have to do my best to rescue him. I should kill him all the same. If my master mutters the incantation, I’ll try to soothe him. By virtue of my honeyed words, I can surely enable him to mollify his anger.” Monkey King muttered incantation and called over the local earth god and mountain god. “The demon played tricks on my master time and again.” Said Monkey King. “I’m going to get rid of him. I want you to be witnesses for me in the sky. Don’t go away.” This was the order of Monkey King! Who has the gut not to listen to him? These two gods were standing in the sky obediently. Waving his golden cudgel, Monkey King killed the demon with only one strike.
Seeing this on his horse, Tang Monk was scared to death without being able to speak. And Pig Bajie started to make irresponsible and sarcastic remarks. “The monkey is crazy!” said Bajie. “We walked only half day, but he already killed three people!” Just at the moment Tang Monk was going to mutter incantation, Monkey King stepped in front of the horse. “Master,” Monkey King said. “Don’t do that! Don’t do that! Look at his true colors.” Tang Monk looked at the ground and found a broken skeleton. “Wu Kong!” Tang Monk said in great surprise. “The old man turned into a skeleton immediately after his death. Why?” “He is a corpse demon.” Monkey King told his master. “He used to puzzle people and stir troubles with changeful tricks. But he can neither deceive me nor defeat me. I gave him only one strike and he died immediately and revealed his true self. On the skeleton’s back bones, there is a line of words: Madam White Bone. So this demon is female but not a male.” Hearing this, Tang Monk believed Monkey King. But Pig Bajie began to gossip again. “Master,” said Bajie. “The monkey’s strike was too heavy so the old man was killed at once. He’s afraid that you’ll mutter incantation, so he changed the old man’s dead body into a skeleton in order to cover up your eyes.”
Being too credulous, Tang Monk believed Pig Bajie’s words and began to mutter incantation. Suffering from a terrible headache, Monkey King knelt down. “Don’t mutter incantation! Don’t mutter incantation!” Monkey King cried. “Don’t hesitate to say what you want.” “Your wild monkey!” scolded Tang Monk. “You killed three people one after another. Thanks to the condition that we’re now in the wild mountains and there is no witness here. If we’re in a city, you’ll cause trouble. And if so, how can I get away?” Then the master added, “Go back!” “Master!” Monkey said. “You got it wrong. I should not be blamed. It’s really a female demon. She indeed wanted to eat you. I killed her and wiped out a disaster for you. But you cannot get a clear understanding about it. And worse of all, you should easily place trust in the dirty pig and want to drive me out time and again.” Monkey King said continuously. “It is well said that nothing can be repeated more than three times. Up to now, you ’ve already threatened to send me into exile three times. If I don’t leave, it’ll seem that I’m a shameless guy. I’ll go! I’ll go! You can rest assured that I won’t hang on and refuse to leave; however, you’ll have no helpers from now on.” Flying into a rage, Tang Monk said, “How can you say this sort of things? Could it be said that only you’re a man, but Bajie and Sha Monk are not?”
Hearing this, Monkey King was very disappointed but he could do nothing but decide to leave. “Master!” said Monkey King. “I’ve got nothing good but a hoop around my head ever since you took me as your disciple.” Monkey King added. “I’ m afraid you’ll call me back by muttering your incantation whenever you’ re caught by any demons and Pig Bajie and Sha Monk cannot rescue you. Although we’re a hundred thousand miles apart, I can still suffer from a terrible headache so long as you mutter incantation. So you’d better not to call me back again from now on.” Hearing his words, Tang Monk became angrier than ever before. Rolling down from the back of his horse, he asked Sha Monk to take out a pen and a piece of paper from his bundle. Tang Monk wrote an expelling order and handed it to Monkey King. “You dirty monkey!” said Tang Monk. “According to this order, I’ll never take you as my disciple! If I see you again, I’d rather go to the hell!” Taking the expelling order, Monkey King said, “Master, there’s no need for you to swear. I’ll go immediately.” Folding the order and putting it into his sleeve, Monkey added, “Master! Please sit down and accept my last kowtow.” Turning around, Tang Monk didn’t pay any attention to his disciple. “I’m a good monk,” murmured the master. “I cannot accept any kowtows from a bad guy!” Being given the cold shoulder, Monkey King changed his way to show respect to his master. He pull off three hairs from behind his head and blew them. “Change!” said Monkey King.
These three hairs turned into three little monkeys at once. Including himself, there’re altogether four monkeys who were kowtowing to Tang Monk from four directions. Now to the left and now to the right, Tang Monk tried to avoid his disciple but he just couldn’t. Having no alternative, Tang Monk had to accept his kowtow. Jumping up and having a jerk, Monkey King took back his hairs. “Brother,” Monkey King said to Sha Monk. “You’re a good man. Please watch out for any nonsense of Pig Bajie. Besides, you should be very cautious on the way to the west land. If our master is caught by any demons, you just say to them that Monkey King is his first disciple. No demons dare to do harms to our master because all the western demons know my magic capability.” “I’m a good monk,” said Tang Monk. “I don’t want to mention your dirty name. Go back quickly!” Tang Monk urging Monkey King to leave time and again, the poor monkey knew that his master wouldn’t be able to change his mind. He could not but leave. Feeling injured and resentful, Monkey King turned a somersault and came back to his Water-curtain Cave in Mt. Flower-fruit before long.