Believing the slander of Pig Bajie and expelling Monkey King, Tang Monk continued his journey with Bajie clearing the way and Sha Monk carrying the luggage. After crossing a big mountain named Mt. White Tiger, he found a dark stretch of pine forest. “Be careful, Disciples,” Tang Monk said. “It’s very hard for us to climb the rugged mountain path. Look at the forest! I’m afraid there’re some demons here.” “Don’t worry!” said Bajie. He asked Sha Monk to take the horse and he himself cleared the way with his rake and led his master into the pine forest. Calling a halt to progress, Tang Monk said, “Bajie, I’m very hungry. Go and look for something to eat.” “All right,” said Bajie. “Please get down from your horse and wait here.” Tang Monk got down from his horse. Sha Monk put down the luggage and took out a bowl and handed it to Bajie. “I’ll go now,” said Bajie. “Where’re you going?” ask the master. “Don’t bother yourself about it,” said Bajie to his master. “I’ll do my utmost to get back some food even if there is ice, I can get fire by drilling it, and even if there is snow, I can get oil by squeezing it.”
Walking a decade of miles away, Bajie didn’t find any villages. He was either disappointed or tired. “I’d better go back,” Bajie said to himself. But think better of it, he changed his mind. “No,” he murmured to himself. “If I go back so soon, my master won’t believe that I walked so long a way. Better have a sleep than go back in a hurry.” Putting down his rake, Pig Bajie dropped asleep before long. Sitting in the forest with his ears warming up and eyelids twitching, the master Tang Monk felt ill at ease. “Wujing,” Tang Monk asked Sha Monk. “Wuneng has gone so long a time. Why doesn’t he come?” “Master,” said Sha Monk. “Don’t be worried about him. As you know, my brother has a good appetite. He must be eating now. I think he’ll come back whenever he’s full.” “Yes, I know,” said the master. “But it’s getting dark. We should find a place to stay overnight.” “You’re right,” said Sha Monk. “Let me go and have a look.” “O.K.,” said Tang Monk. “It doesn’t matter whether he can find something to eat or not. The most important thing is that we should find a place to stay overnight as soon as possible.” His Buddhist monk’s crosier in hand, Sha Monk left immediately.
Sitting alone for a long time, Tang Monk felt very upset. Standing up and tying his horse to a tree, he began to go for a walk in the gloomy forest. There were many zigzag paths. Worse of all, he was much distracted and therefore lost his way. His two disciples went straight west, but he walked straight southward. Before long, he came out the forest. The terrain where he stood was lush from dusk dew, the air smelled of flowers or something else like incense. In the distance ahead, less than a half mile away, he could see brilliant golden glow crowning a low-lying hill. Wondering what it was, he was going to go have a look, but hesitated. Considered the matter, he was getting nowhere. Yet, think better, it was time to risk a little. Therefore, he walked straight ahead and came in front of a splendid building very soon. Scrutinizing, it was surprising that there was a pagoda with golden light glittering before his eyes.
Secretly thinking that there must be some monks in the pagoda who could help him, Tang Monk stepped in front of pagoda. Seeing a bamboo curtain hanging at a door, he pushed the door open and walked in. Raising his head, he found nothing but an ugly demon lying on his side in a stone bed. Green-faced, white-bucktoothed, red-haired and hawk-nosed, the demon’s head was just like that of a cow. Seeing this, Tang Monk was scared to death. He turned round and ran away without any hesitation. But it was too late. The demon was disturbed immediately. “Bodyguards!” cried the demon. “Go outside to see who’s there!” Opening the door and having a look, a little demon saw a shaven-headed monk. “Lord!” reported the little demon. “There’s a monk outside. Head is round. Face is big. Two large ears touch his shoulders. Skin is delicate and flesh must be tender. He’s really a good monk.” Hearing this, the demon laughed. “Great!” said the demon. “This is home delivery service. Catch him! Those who perform meritorious deeds will be rewarded.” Swarming forward, a surging crowd of little demons caught Tang Monk without any delay.
Carrying Tang Monk and putting him outside the door, one of the little demons made a report. “Lord,” said the little demon. “We’ve already caught the monk.” Looking at Tang Monk stealthily, the old demon found an elegant monk in him. “Such a good monk must be a man out of the common run. I cannot underestimate him.” The demon said to himself. “If I don’t show him a dignified and awe-inspiring look, how can I subdue him?” “Bring him here!” cried the old demon. “Yes, lord!” replied the little demon. Tang Monk was pushed in front of the demon immediately. “You monk!” asked the demon. “Where do you come from? Where’re you going? Tell me the truth!” Tang Monk told his whole story to the demon from the very beginning. Hearing this, the old demon laughed and said, “I think you’re an extraordinary man. As expected, I’m right. Time to look for you, you walk into my trap on your own accord. How can I let an opportunity slip?” he then cried to the little demons, “Tie the monk to that pole!”
Swarming forward, several little demons pushed Tang Monk and tied him to a large pole named Soul-setting Pole. With a knife in hand, the old demon asked Tang Monk, “How many people together with you? I don’t think you dare to go take the Buddhist ures by yourself.” Seeing the gleaming knife, Tang Monk shivered terribly and told the truth immediately. “Lord,” said the monk. “I have two disciples, Pig Bajie and Sha Monk. They go look for alms in the forest. I also have a luggage and a white horse. We left them in the forest.” “Great!” exclaimed the old demon. “Two disciples. But totally three, if including you. And totally four, if including the horse. That’s enough for us to have a meal!” “Let us to catch them,” said the little demons. “Don’t go out,” said the old demon. “Close the front door. His two disciples will certainly look for their master when they come back with alms. If they cannot find him in the original place, they will come here. In this case, we can catch them easily.” The little demons closed the door accordingly.
Walking more than ten miles away, Sha Monk found no villages at all. He stood on a high place and had a look. Suddenly, he heard someone speaking in thick of growth of weeds. Poking in the weeds with his crosier and looking down, it was surprising that Pig Bajie was talking in his sleep. Seizing one of his large ears, Sha Monk waked him up. “You silly pig!” cried Sha Monk. “Our master asks you to look for alms, but you’re sleeping here.” Utterly confused, Pig Bajie murmured, “What time is it, brother?” “Get up!” said Sha Monk. “It doesn’t matter whether you find something or not. Our master asks us to go back immediately and find a place to stay overnight.” Dazed with the bowl in one hand and his rake in the other, Pig Bajie went back together with Sha Monk. But nowhere could they find their master, Sha Monk began to complain. “It’s only because you don’t come back early that our master disappeared,” said Sha Monk. “He must be caught by some demons.” “Don’t talk rot!” said Pig Bajie. “This forest is a quiet and tasteful place. There shouldn’t be any demons here! Maybe our master feels disquieted and unhappy because of sitting alone for so long a time and has a walk for relaxation. Let’s go look for him.” Leading the horse and carrying the luggage, these two disciples walked out of the forest to look for their master.
Walking for a while, they couldn’t find their master but saw rays of golden light right ahead. “Brother!” said Pig Bajie to Sha Monk. “Just have a look. That bright one must be a pagoda. Our master is really lucky. He must be having a delicious meal now. Hurry up! Let’s go share the meal with our master.” “No hurry!” said Sha Monk. “We cannot rush to a conclusion whether it’s a good or evil omen. Let’s go have a look first.” Coming in front of the pagoda, they found the door closed. There was a slab of white jade above the door with the words: Wave Moon Cave of Mt. Bowl. “Brother!” exclaimed Sha Monk. “It’s not a pagoda but a cave for demons. Our master is not likely to be here.” “Don’t be afraid, brother.” Pig Bajie encouraged Sha Monk. “You just tie the horse to a tree and keep an eye on our luggage. Let me go make some inquiries.” Highly raising his rake, Pig Bajie stepped in front of the door. “Open the door! Open the door!” cried Bajie.
A little demon opened the door but drew back immediately on seeing the ugly and ferocious appearance of the two strangers. “Lord!” the little demon reported to the old one. “Home delivery service is coming!” “What sort of home delivery service?” asked the old demon. “Two monks outside,” the little demon explained. “One has a long mouth and two large ears. The other has a look of misfortune. They’re calling at the door.” “Pig Bajie and Sha Monk!” happily said the old demon. “They’re looking for their master. How can they come to our door? Now that they look ugly and ferocious, we’d better not to slight them.” Then he shouted, “get me my armor!” Putting on his armor with a knife in hand and going into battle, the old demon came out of the door.
Waiting at the door, Pig Bajie and Sha Monk suddenly saw a ferocious demon coming with a murderous look. “You stupid monks!” the demon shouted. “Why are you calling at my door?” “My son!” cried Pig Bajie. “How can it be that you don’t recognize me? I’m your father! The Great Tang Dynasty ordered me to go take the Buddhist ures from the western Holy Land. My master Tang Monk is the brother of the emperor of Tang Dynasty. If he is here, you’d better set him free at once lest I strike you with my rake. The demon laughed, saying, “That’s right! There’s indeed a Tang Monk in my home. I never slight him and am serving him with steamed buns with human flesh stuffing. Would you please eat some, too?”
Stupid Pig Bajie was really going to enter the door and get some buns to eat. But Sha Monk stopped him immediately. “Brother!” Sha Monk said. “The demon is making a fool of you. And further, have you ever had an idea to eat buns with human flesh stuffing?” At the hint of Sha Monk, did Pig Bajie suddenly see the light and strike the demon in his face with his rake. Dodging about, the demon met the attack of Pig Bajie flexibly. All of a sudden, both of them jumped into the sky fighting against each other fiercely. Seeing this, Sha Monk put aside the white horse and luggage and entered the fight. Two brave monks and a vicious demon were having a ferocious battle in the clouds. After several decades of rounds, it was still hard to decide which side would win the battle.
Tang Monk weeping in the cave, a beautiful young woman was walking out. “Master, where do you come from?” asked she. “Why are you tied in here? ” Secretly looking at the woman, he found that she was about thirty years old. “Madam,” said Tang Monk. “No need to ask. Now that I’ve fallen into your hands, you can eat me to your heart’s content.” “I don’t eat human flesh,” said the woman. “My home is in the west, three hundred miles away. There’s a country named the Treasured Elephant Kingdom. I’m the third princess of the king. My name is Baihuaxiu. It means that my beautiful face makes hundreds of flowers feel shy. I was blown here by a gust of evil wind thirteen years ago when I was enjoying the glorious full moon in the evening of the Mid-autumn Festival on August the fifteenth. As the demon’s wife, I’ve been living here for thirteen years and I’ve got two sons. I miss my parents very much, but I cannot get any news from them.” Asked the woman, “Where do you come from? Why are you caught by the demon?”
“I’m a monk of the Great Tang Dynasty,” replied Tang Monk. “The emperor sent me to the western Holy Land to take the Buddhist ure. I was caught unexpectedly by the demon when I was having a walk in the forest. The demon is going to steam and eat my two disciples and me.” Hearing this, the princess was smiling and said, “Don’t worry. Now that you’re going to take the Buddhist ure, I must save you.” The princess said continuously. “The Elephant Kingdom is a country you must go through when you go westward. Please take a letter of mine to my parents. I ’ll do my best to persuade the demon into setting you free.” “Please rest assured,” Tang Monk. “So long as you can save me, I’m willing to take your letter to your parents.” The princess wrote a letter and then untied Tang Monk and handed the letter to him. “Please wait here,” saying this, she walked out.
Knitting the brows and hitting upon a brilliant idea, the princess walked out the cave and saw Pig Bajie and Sha Monk fighting fiercely with the yellow-robe demon in the sky. “My dear,” cried the princess. Hearing her words, the demon put Pig Bajie and Sha Monk aside and came down to the ground immediately. “What’s the matter?” he asked. ` “I had a dream just now and saw a god in golden helmet and amour,” she replied. “What sort of god in golden helmet and amour?” the demon asked. “Why did he come here?”
“I once secretly made a vow to gods in my childhood,” said the princess. “I would frequently give alms to monks if I could marry a good husband. But I’ve never mentioned this matter since I married you. The god in golden helmet and amour came to urge me to redeem my vow to gods. So I came to tell you immediately. Unexpectedly I found a monk tied to the pole. Please consider my vow and set him free. I don’t know whether you will agree.” “Honey!” said the demon. “You’re oversensitive. It’s only a trifling matter. So long as I want to eat a man, I can get a one easily. As for this monk, you just set him free.” Tang Monk and Bajie and Sha Monk met happily and left there to go westward at once.
Walking 299 miles westward, the master and his two disciples came to the Treasured Elephant Kingdom. Tang Monk told his two disciples to stay in a hotel and he himself went to see the king. After telling the whole story to the king, Tang Monk handed the princess’s letter to him. Reading this letter, the king was very sorrowful and asked Tang Monk to subdue the demon to save his daughter. “I’m sorry I can’t, Your Majesty,” said Tang Monk. “But my two disciples can.” “Oh, why don’t you ask them to see me?” asked the king. “I’m afraid that they’ll scare you because they’re extremely ugly,” said Tang Monk. “Now they stay in a hotel.” “How can they scare me?” said the king. “Ask them to come here.” At the beginning, the king was really scared to death. But Tang Monk made a good explanation which enabled the king to pull himself together. “Who can subdue the demon?” asked the king. “I can,” Pig Bajie said first. “How?” asked the king. “I can change myself into many things,” replied Bajie. “Let me have a look,” said the king. “What do you want to see?” asked Bajie. “Change into a big one,” said the king. In deed, Pig Bajie can change himself into thirty-six different things. Muttering an incantation, he said, “Grow!” Before his voice died away, he already turned himself into a big man, nearly ninety feet long. “All right,” said the king. “Change back to your original look. You can go now.” Tang Monk asked Sha Monk to go with Bajie so as to help him whenever necessary.
Leaving the Treasured Elephant Country, Pig Bajie and Sha Monk came back to the cave before long. Without saying anything, Pig Bajie struck the door with his rake. The little demon keeping the door ran immediately to make a report to the yellow-robe demon. “Lord!” reported the little demon. “The long-mouth-lagre-ear monk came back and smashed our door open.” “They must Pig Bajie and Sha Monk,” said the demon. “I already set their master free. Why do they come back and dare to smash our door?” “They probably forgot something and come back to take them,” said the little demon. “Nonsense!” cried the old demon. “Even if they’ve really forgotten something, they can’t go so far as to smash our door open. They must have some reasons.” Running out immediately, the demon asked, “I’ve already set your master free. Why do you come here again?” “What a pretty mess you have done!” shouted Bajie. “What do you mean?” asked the demon. “You took the third princess of the Treasured Elephant Kingdom to your cave and forced her to be your wife. Thirteen years have already passed. You should return her back now. I come here by order of the king to catch you.” Bajie then ordered, “Go in and tie yourself lest I do it for you!” Flying into a rage, the demon struck Bajie without saying anything. Fighting nearly ten rounds, Bajie could barely parry the demon’s blows without the strength to hit back. “Brother,” Bajie called Sha Monk. “Come and help me. I’m going to relieve myself.” Bajie took to his heels immediately without waiting for Sha Monk to say anything. Bajie fell into a deep sleep before long in the weeds. Sha Monk could do nothing but go to battle in haste. The demon found Bajie disappeared and began fighting Sha Monk furiously. Fighting only a few rounds, the demon got Sha Monk unawares. The demon only threw Sha Monk into his cave and did nothing to him.
“Tang Monk is an honest monk. Now that I set him free, he cannot return evil for good by sending his disciples to fight me.” The demon thought stealthily. “It must be that my woman sent a letter to her parents and leaked information. Let me ask her.” The demon angrily asked the princess, but she refused to admit that it was true. “Why do you refuse to admit?” asked the demon. “Here is a witness.” “Who is the witness?” asked the princess. “Sha Monk, the second disciple of Tang Monk!” said the demon. “Let’s go and ask him,” said the princess. “If there is really a letter, I’d rather die!” Taking the princess to Sha Monk, the demon asked, “Sha Monk! Why do you come here with desperate daring? It’s because that this woman gave a letter to her parents and they sent you here, isn’t it?” Sha Monk thought, “My master was rescued by the princess. If I admit the truth, the demon must kill the princess. This is to return evil for good. I ’d rather die than do this sort of things.” “Don’t talk rot, you demon!” cried Sha Monk. “There isn’t any letters at all. Don’t wrong the princess.” Sha Monk said continuously, “It’s only because that the king showed the picture of his daughter to my master and my master found your wife and the princess very much alike. And my master therefore mentioned this matter and the king sent us here to catch you. There’s nothing to do with your wife. If you want to kill someone, you just kill me.”
On his words, the demon said sorry to the princess at once. In order to make the princess happy, the demon gave her a delicious meal. After eating and drinking, the demon put on a new suit of clothes. “Honey!” said the demon. “I’m going to the Treasured Elephant Country.” “Why!” asked the woman. “I want to see my parents-in-law.” “You cannot go!” said the princess. “Why not?” asked the demon. “Your look is too ugly,” said the princess. “You may scare them to death.” “Never mind,” said the demon. “I can change myself into a handsome young man.” “Let me have a look,” said the woman. While drinking wine, the demon wavered a little and turned into a handsome young scholar immediately. “All right?” the demon asked. “Excellent!” the princess pretended to be very happy and concerned with him. “But you must be careful lest you show your true colors.” “You may rest assured,” said the demon. “I’ll go now.” “Wish you success!” the princess expressed an insincere wish.
Riding clouds, the demon came to the Treasured Elephant Kingdom before long. He stood outside the palace and asked the guard to make a report. “I’m the third son-in-law of your king.” The demon said to the guard. “ Please go and let His Majesty know.” Hearing this, the guard entered the palace at once. “Your Majesty, your third son-in-law comes to see you,” reported the guard. The king was talking with Tang Monk. Hearing this, he felt puzzled. “I have only two sons-in-law,” said the king. “How can I have the third one?” “This one must be demon,” said the guard. “Your Majesty,” said Tang Monk. “Now that he’s a demon, he will surely come in no matter you invite him or not. You’d better let him in so as to avoid a lot of talking.” Stepping in front of the king, the demon knelt down immediately. The demon wormed himself into the king’s confidence hands down with his handsome look and elegant manner. “Where do you live, my dear son-in-law? ” asked the king. “How did you marry my daughter? Why do you come to see me so late?” “Your Majesty,” the demon kowtowed to the king. “I live in Moon-wave Village in Mt. Bowl to the west of this town.” “How far?” asked the king. “Not very far,” replied the demon. “It’s just three hundred miles from here.” “Three hundred miles?” said the king. “How could my daughter go there to marry you?”
“Your Majesty,” said the demon. “I’ve been fond of riding and hunting ever since my childhood. One day when I was thirteen, I found a tiger with a girl on its back running down a hill. I shoot an arrow and the tiger was badly wounded and fell down. I saved the girl and took her home. The girl said that she was willing to marry me so as to repay me for my kindness. She only told me she was a country girl so I married her. She didn’t mention she was a princess. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have the guts to marry a princess.” The demon said continuously. “After wedding, I was going to kill the tiger and make a tiger-meat banquet to entertain my guests. But she didn’t agree with me. So I set the tiger free.” “It’s so kind of you,” praised the king. “But the tiger didn’t change its nature,” added the demon. “After several years’ training, it’s already turned into a tiger demon. It’s good at puzzling and hurting people.” The demon said continuously. “I heard that there were quite a few monks coming from the Great Tang Dynasty but they were all eaten by the tiger demon. The demon often wears a monk robe and hurts people.” Pointing at Tang Monk, the demon said, “Just look at the monk over there, Your Majesty. He is the very tiger that seized and occupied your princess thirteen years ago!”
“Really?” the king felt surprised. “Absolutely!” said the demon. “If you don’t believe, I can make him to show his true colors.” “How can you do it?” asked the king. “Give me half cup of water,” replied the demon. Half cup of water was given to him at once. Stepping forward with the cup in hand, applying a body-fixing method and muttering an evil incantation secretly, the demon sprinkled some water onto Tang Monk’s body. “Change!” the demon cried. Tang Monk really turned into a tiger immediately. Scared to death, the king fell down onto the ground. And some guards chopped the tiger with knives. Thanks to the secret protect of several gods hiding themselves in the clouds, Tang Monk wasn’t hurt at all. The guards could do nothing but put the tiger into an iron cage.
The king gave an order to entertain his third son-in-law with a grand banquet. The demon was given not only delicious food and drink but also eighteen dancing girls. At the second watch of the night, the demon became dead drunk. Mad with a wild joy, the demon jumped up and broke into a laugh and showed his true colors immediately. He reached out a large paw and snatched a girl and began to gnaw at her. Scared out of their wits, the other seventeen girls ran away. While the demon eating the dancing girl, many people were talking about Tang Monk’s being a tiger demon. The rumor spread everywhere before long. And Tang Monk’s white horse also heard of it. “It must be a demon that changed my master into a tiger,” thought the white horse. “What can I do? Monkey King left long ago. And there’s no news about Pig Bajie and Sha Monk.” He could do nothing but stall for time. “No delay,” he said to himself. “It’s time for me to rescue my master!” Biting off the reins, the white horse jumped into the sky and showed his true colors, the little white dragon.
Looking down, the little white dragon found the demon eating the dancing girl. “This must be the very demon that did harm to my master.” The white dragon thought. “Let me go down and tease him.” Down to the ground, he turned himself into a beautiful dancing girl and stepped up. “Please don’t do harm to me,” said the girl. “Let me pour you a cup of wine.” “Excellent!” said the demon. Drinking for a while, the demon asked, “Can you dance for me?” “Sure,” replied the girl. “But I like dancing with a sword.” Hearing this, the demon took out a sword from under his clothes and handed it to her. Her beautiful dance made the demon dazzled. While continuing her dance, the girl suddenly stabbed at the demon by surprise. Only at this moment, did the demon understand what had happened. And the girl showed her true colors. One was a demon. The other was a dragon. They began to fight in the sky without saying anything. After eight or nine rounds, the little white dragon was gradually unable to hold his own. The demon furiously struck the dragon in his left hind leg. Going down without any delay, the little dragon escaped into a river below. Waiting some time, he heard nothing and came out of the river. Riding the clouds, he came back into the stable and turned himself into a white horse again.
Pig Bajie waked up in the weeds at midnight. He wanted to go rescue Sha Monk but he was afraid he didn’t have the ability. He felt he’d better go back to town first. By doing this way, he could not only see his master but also ask help from the king. If the king was willing to dispatch some fighters to rescue Sha Monk, that would be fine. Riding the clouds, Bajie came to town before long. He entered the hotel but he couldn’t find Tang Monk. Then, he went directly to the stable. To his surprise, he found the white horse sleeping on the ground with its whole body soaked to the skin. And its wounded left hind leg aroused his special vigilance. “No one used the horse, but he was sweating all over. Especially he was wounded in his left hind leg. Why?” Bajie wondered. “Some evil doers must have robbed my master and hurt his horse.” The white horse recognized Pig Bajie and spoke to him with human language. “My brother!” said the horse. Scared to death, Bajie was going to run away. But the horse opened his mouth and snatched the clothes of Bajie. “Don’t be afraid, brother,” said the horse. Terribly shivering, Bajie asked, “Why are you speaking with human language today? Now that you speak human language, there must be something unlucky.” “Do you know that our master has met with a disaster?” The white horse asked. “Don’t know,” replied Bajie. The white horse told the whole story to Bajie. “How can we rescue our master?” asked Bajie.
Thinking over for a while, the white horse encouraged Pig Bajie to ask help from Monkey King. “I don’t think the monkey will come now that he was driven away by our master.” Bajie added, “Worse of all, the monkey may strike me with his dammed stick. If so, I’ll be finished.” “No, I don’t think so,” said the horse. “Monkey King is very honest. When you see him, you’d better not to tell him about our master’s dangerous situation. You only say that our master misses him. So long as you can trick him into coming, the problem will be settled. When he comes here, we’ll tell him the truth. Monkey King will surely do his best to subdue the demon and rescue our master.” “O.K.,” said Bajie. Parting with the white horse, Pig Bajie rode the clouds and came to Mt. Flower-fruit before long.
Seizing his large ear, several little monkeys pushed Pig Bajie to the mouth of the cave. Bajie told the whole story to Monkey King who refused to follow him. Bajie could do nothing but leave. Yet he was taken back into the cave. Sitting on a high rock, Monkey King scolded, “You stupid pig demon! I don’t mind if you leave, but you abused me. Why?” Kneeling on the ground, Bajie said, “Brother, I didn’t abuse you. If I did, my tongue will be bitten by myself. I only said that I’ll go back and make a report to our master if you don’t go back. How can I have the guts to abuse you?” “How can you hide anything from me?” said Monkey King. “So long as I pull my left ear upward, I can hear anybody speaking even beyond the farthest limits of the sky. And if I pull my right ear downward, I’ll know that the tenth generation of the Nether King is doing accounts with the judge. You were abusing me while walking a moment ago. How could I fail to hear you?” “Brother!”said Pig Bajie. “I know you harbor no good intention at all. You must have changed yourself into something peculiar and then followed me to listen.” “My little monkeys!” Monkey King cried. “Bring over a big stick. Strike him forty times first as a gift of meeting me. Then I’ll give him a good beating with my golden cudgel as a souvenir of sending him off!”
Hurriedly kowtowing to Monkey King, Bajie begged pardon, “Brother! Let me off this time in view of our good feelings with our master.” “Our master is too kindhearted,” Monkey King said with a touch of irony. “If you don’t like to consider our feelings with our master, please think over Goddess of Mercy.” Pig Bajie said continuously. “Forgive me, please!” Bajie mentioning Goddess of Mercy, Monkey King changed his attitude. “Now that you mention Goddess of Mercy, I don’t want to strike you,” said Monkey King. “But you must tell me the truth. You’re not allowed to hide anything from me.” Monkey Kind added, “I guess that that Tang Monk must have met with an accident and but you came here to make a fool of me.” “Brother,” said Bajie, “no accident at all. Our master really misses you very much.” “You stupid pig!” Monkey King said. “You still obstinately refuse to tell me the truth! Although I’ve come back to my Water-certain Cave, my heart still follows the Buddhist ures taker. I know full well that he is doomed to meet with accidents one after another all the way. You’d better tell me at once lest you suffer beating.” Pig Bajie could do nothing but tell Monkey King the whole story.
“You stupid pig!” scolded Monkey King. “When parting with you, I told you repeatedly that whenever our master is caught by a demon, you should tell him that Monkey King is his first disciple. Why don’t you listen to me?” Bajie thought to himself, “Goading someone into action is better than asking. Let me goad him.” He said, “Brother, it was all right when I didn’t mention your name, but the more I mentioned your name, the more the demon ran wild!” “What did you say?” asked Monkey King. “I said,” Pig Bajie told him, “ ‘you dirty demon! Don’t be so rude! Don’t hurt my master! I have a big brother, his name is Monkey King. He possesses enormous ability. He’s good at subduing demons and monsters. If he comes here, you’re doomed to die without any places to bury your dead body!’ But the demon got angrier than ever before and abused you, ‘What sort of Monkey King? How can I be afraid of him? If he dares to come, I’ll tear off his skin, draw out his sinews, bite his bones and eat his heart! Even if he’s too thin, I can still mince him and fry him in oil!’ ” Hearing this, Monkey King burst into anger with his hands wildly scratching his head and shouted, “Who has the guts to abuse me like this?” “Brother!” Bajie said.“Don’t be so angry. It’s the demon in yellow robe. I only imitate his words for you.” “My good brother,” said Monkey King to Pig Bajie, “stand up. Now that the demon abused me behind the back, I’ll go with you to subdue him definitely! But I’ll come back immediately after killing him.” “Of course!” said Bajie. “So long as you can avenge yourself on the demon, you can do whatever you want. Stay with our master or come back, it completely depends on you.”
Monkey King and Pig Bajie, riding clouds, went westward and saw the golden-glow-crowned pagoda before long. “That’s the Yellow-robe Demon’s home.” Said Bajie. “Sha Monk is still in it” “You just stay in the sky,” said Monkey King. “Let me go down have a look in order to fight against the demon.” “Don’t go down,” said Bajie. “The demon isn’t at home.” “I know,” said Monkey King. Monkey King went down and came in front of the demon’s cave. He found two boys playing happily. One was nearly ten years old, the other eight or nine. Without saying anything, Monkey King seized the two boys and lifted them from the ground. The boys cried. Greatly startled, a little demon ran inside to make a report to the princess. “Madam,” reported the little demon. “Damn it! Your two sons were taken away by someone I don’t know!” These two boys were the sons of the princess and the demon. Hearing this, the princess hurriedly came out of the cave and found Monkey King standing on a high rock with her two sons in hands. Just at the moment Monkey King was going to throw the kids down, the princess cried out. “What’s the matter with you, man?” the princess shouted. “Why do you take my sons away?” she said continuously. “Their father is very fierce. In case of any mishap, he doesn’t let it go like that!” “You don’t know me?” asked Monkey King. “I’m Monkey King, the first disciple of Tang Monk. One of my brothers is in your cave. So long as you set him free, I’ll return your sons to you. Exchange your two kids for my one brother. It’s quite worthwhile for you to do this.”
Hearing this, the princess went inside, ordered the little demons to walk away, and released Sha Monk immediately. “Princess,” Sha Monk said. “Don’t release me. If the demon comes back and finds me disappear, he’ll put you to trouble. “ “Master,” said the princess. “You’re my benefactor. You gave my letter to my father and I was rescued. I’ve been looking for an opportunity to set you free. Unexpectedly, your brother Monkey King has come. He’s standing outside the cave. It’s he that asks me to set you free.” Alas! The name of Monkey King simply made Sha Monk mad! He ran outside without any delay. “Brother!” making a salute to Monkey King, Sha Monk said, “this is really that happy events always happen unexpectedly. Save me, please!” “You’re really a time-serving monk!” Monkey King laughed. “Did you speak well of me when our master muttered Incantation of the Golden Hoop? You only know how to talk glibly.” He then scolded, “Now that you want to safeguard our master, why don’t you go westward but stay here?” “Brother,” said Sha Monk. “no need to say anymore. You’re a gentleman. A gentleman is tolerant and always forgives past misdeeds. I’m willing to concede defeat. Please save me!” “Come up here!” Monkey King said to Sa Monk. Sha Monk jumped onto the rock at once.
Seeing Sha Monk walking out of the cave, Pig Bajie came down to the ground from the clouds. “Brother,” said Bajie. “How are you doing?” “Where do you come from?” Sha Monk asked. “I went to town last night,” said Bajie, “and met our white horse. He told me that our master met with an accident. The yellow-robe demon took our master away and turned him into a white tiger with a witchcraft. The white horse discussed this matter with me and let me come to ask help from our big brother Wu Kong.” “Stupid!” said Monkey King. “No time to go over the old days. Let’s return from the digression to our topic. You two take the two boys, go to the Elephant State, and goad the yellow-robe demon into coming back. I stay here and wait to fight him.” “Brother,” asked Sha Monk. “How can we goad him?” “You stand in the clouds and throw the boys onto the ground in front of the palace.” Monkey King said. “If someone asks, you just say they’re the yellow-robe demon’s sons. The demon will come back so long as he hears your words. I can fight him here without entering town. If I fight him in town, there must be an earthshaking battle. The imperial court and the common people will be startled. I don’t like this.”
“Brother,” Pig Bajie laughed. “you only know to incite us to do evil.” “What does it mean?” asked Monkey King. “These two kids are already scared to death,” said Bajie. “If we throw them onto the ground from the clouds, they’ll die doubtlessly. How can the demon let us go unpunished? He’ll definitely force us to pay with life. In the end, we two will run into trouble and you’ll be considered innocent. Worse of all, we even cannot find any eyewitnesses.” “Never mind,” said Monkey King. “If the demon tangles with you, you can entice him to come back. Here is a wide world. I can fight him here at my command.” “Right,” Sha Monk said. “Rather reasonable! Let’s go.” Carrying the two boys, they left without any delay. Entering the cave, Monkey King told the princess about their scheme to rescue her and asked her to hide herself so as to evade harms, if any. Then Monkey King turned himself into the look of the princess and waited for the demon.
Pig Bajie and Sha Monk came to the Treasured Elephant Kingdom. They threw the two kids from the sky onto the ground before the steps to the palace with their heads badly battered. “It’s terrible!” cried the people in the palace. “Two kids were thrown down from the sky.” “These are the sons of the yellow-robe demon,” said Bajie. “Sha Monk and I took them here from the demon’s cave.” Hearing someone shouting and mentioning his name, the demon waked up. He raised his head and found Pig Bajie and Sha Monk in the sky. “Pig Bajie comes here. It’s unworthy of feeling strange,” the demon wondered. “But how can Sha Monk come here now that I’ve already tied him at my home? How can my wife set him free? How can my sons fall into their hands?” The demon doubted if Pig Bajie was goading him to fight. He was afraid he couldn’t win because he was dead drunk. Moreover, he didn’t believe these two kids were really his sons. He wanted to go home to make sure. Thinking of this, the demon went home immediately without saying good-bye to the king.
Back at home, he was firmly seized by the false princess who was in fact Monkey King. The demon didn’t recognize Monkey King. The false princess cried sorrowfully. “What’s the matter with you, my honey?” asked the demon. “You went to town last night. But why don’t you come early?” the false princess complained. “Pig Bajie and Sha Monk took our sons to town this morning. They said they were going to let our sons to see their grandparents. How can I have the heart to let the two demons to take our sons away? How can I be anything but worried and heartbroken?” “According to what you said,” the demon said, “it seems that those two kids are really our sons!” “Absolutely!” said the false princess. “Our sons already died.” The demon said to his false wife. “They cannot be alive again. The only thing I can do is to avenge our sons’ death upon the monk. Don’t cry. How do you feel now?” “My heart is paining,” said the false princess. “Never mind,” said the demon. “I have a treasured object. So long as you put it on the painful place, you’ll be all right at once. But be careful. You can only touch the object lightly. You mustn’t flick it with your thumb. Categorically no! Otherwise I’ll show my true colors.” On hearing this, Monkey King chuckled secretly.
“This demon is really honest.” Monkey King thought. “I don’t put him to torture, but he makes a confession so easily. When he takes out his treasured object, I’ll flick it to see what sort of demon he is.” Leading Monkey King to the depth of the cave, the demon spat something round like an egg. Monkey King took it over. He deliberately touched it lightly and then flicked it heavily. The demon was flustered at once. He reached out his hand and wanted to take it back. But Monkey King already swallowed it. Clenching his fists, the demon was going to fight but was stopped by Monkey King. The false princess wiped her face and showed her true colors. “You demon! Don’t be so rude.” Monkey King said. “Look! Do you know me?” “My honey!” exclaimed the demon. “Why do you show me such an ugly face?” “Shut up! Who is your honey?” Monkey King shouted. “How can you be unable to recognize your ancestry?”
The demon suddenly saw the light. “You look familiar as if I saw you somewhere before.” The demon said. “I don’t fight you,” said Monkey King. “Think it over carefully.” “Although you look familiar, but I still cannot recognize you.” The demon asked, “Who are you? What on earth is the matter? Where do you hide my wife? Why do you come to my home and get my treasured object by cheating? What a curse you are!” “I don’t think you know me,” said Monkey King. “Listen! I am the first disciple of Tang Monk. My name is Sun Wukong, the famous Monkey King! I was your ancestry five hundred years ago.” “Don’t boast wildly!” the demon said. “When I caught Tang Monk, I only saw his two disciples. Their names are Pig Bajie and Sha Monk. Nobody mentioned anything about you. You must be a demon and come here to cheat me.” “I didn’t go with them, so you didn’t see me.” Monkey King explained. “Why?” asked the demon. “ Because I was driven back home by my master.” Monkey King told his story to the demon. “The reason is that I killed too many demons but my master has no the heart to see it.” “You really have no sense of shame.” The demon said sarcastically. “Now that you were driven back, how can you have the cheek to go back to him?” “You wild demon! How can you know,” Monkey King said, “so long as Tang Monk is my master one day, I’ll treat him as my father for my whole life. There is no overnight hatred between masters and disciples. I know he wrongly treated me. I don’t complain. Now that you’re going to hurt him, how can I look on with folded arms?” “According to your words,” the demon said, “you’re going to fight me.” “Right,” said Monkey King. “Let’s go outside,” said the demon. “There’s no enough room for us to fight in the cave.”
The demon called his henchmen together. Monkey King pulled out his golden cudgel. “Change!” Monkey King said. Monkey King immediately turned himself into a new one with three heads and six arms. Then he waved his golden cudgel and three more appeared. Monkey King, with three heads, six arms and three golden cudgels, fought furiously as if a tiger ran into a flock of sheep. But it was surprising that he found the demon’s fighting skills more superior than his estimation. “Now that he said I looked familiar,” Monkey King thought secretly, “ most probably he is not an ordinary one. Maybe he comes from the heaven. I’ d better go there and make some inquiries.” On thinking this, he jumped into the sky and came to the heaven before long. He told the whole story to the King of Heaven. After an investigation, the truth was out. The demon was Kui Mu Lang Star. He went down to the earth thirteen days ago. But one day in the heaven was equal to one year on the earth. According to this sort of calculation, he had been living on the earth just for thirteen years. Finally the King of Heaven issued an order to call him back to the heaven.
Back to the heaven, the demon knelt down before the King of Heaven. “Your Majesty,” said the demon. “I beg your pardon. The princess of the Treasured Elephant Country is not an ordinary woman. She was the Jade Girl of heaven and going to commit adultery with me. I was afraid this would smear the heaven and refused her. So she went down to the earth and had herself reborn in the Treasured Elephant Kingdom as the third princess of the king. It was because I didn’t forget the old feelings with her that I changed myself into a demon and went down to the earth. Then I occupied a cave in Mt. Bowl and took her there. We’ve been living there as a couple for thirteen years.” Hearing this, the King of Heaven issued an order to punish him severely. Monkey King was very happy and parted with the King of Heaven. He went back to the cave and told the princess the whole story. Pig Bjie and Sha Monk came down from the sky. These three agreed to send the princess back and rescue their master. They came to the palace before long. Learning the fact, the king asked someone to take over the tiger. Monkey King sprinkled some clear water onto the tiger and muttered incantation.
“Change!” Monkey King cried. The tiger turned back into Tang Monk immediately. “Where do you come from, Wu Kong?” Tang Monk asked. Sha Monk gave full details of the matter. On hearing this, Tang Monk could hardly sit still and stood up quickly. “Wu Kong!” Tang Monk thanked his disciple. “But for your help, I couldn’t turn back into myself.” “Don’t say this,” said Monkey King. “Let’s go take the Buddhist ures as soon as possible.” “That’s right,” said the master. Hearing this, the king was deeply moved and entertained them with a grand banquet. After that, the master and his three disciples parted with the king and set out without delay.