Chapter 32: A Merit Officer Brings Word at Flat-Topped Mountain; Zhu Bajie Meets Disaster in Lotus Cave

Now that Tripitaka had regained Sun Wukong, the master and disciples were of one mind and one spirit as they headed west together. After rescuing the princess of Baoxiang Kingdom, they were escorted out of the city to the western gate by the king and his ministers. There is no telling all the eating when hungry, drinking when thirsty, lodging by night, and traveling at dawn along the road.

It was now the season of spring in its third turn:

A light wind brushed the willows, green as silk; the fine scenery was worth setting down.
The season urged the birds to sing, the warmth coaxed flowers open, and fragrance lay everywhere.
On the begonia court the swallows came in pairs; it was the very time to enjoy spring.
Red dust and purple roads, embroidered robes and stringed instruments, games of grass and passing cups.

The master and disciples were moving along in the midst of this lovely scene when another mountain rose to block the road.

Tripitaka said, "Disciples, be careful. There is a high mountain ahead. I fear tigers, wolves, and other dangers may bar the way."

Wukong said, "Master, monks should not speak as laypeople do.

Do you remember what the monk at Crow-Nest wrote in the Heart Sutra? 'When the heart knows no hindrance, then there is no fear, and one is far from upside-down dreams.' Only remember this: 'Sweep away the dust on the heart; wash clean the dust at the ear. If you cannot endure suffering in suffering, you will never become one above the crowd.' Do not grow anxious. So long as Old Sun is here, even if the sky collapses, I can keep things safe. Why fear tigers and wolves?"

The elder drew his horse around and said,

I once received the imperial command and left Chang'an,
only to remember I had come west to bow before the Buddha.
Within the kingdom of relics, gold images shine;
in the pagoda there glitters the jade brows of the Buddha.
I have searched through the world for waters without a name,
and crossed every mountain that no one else has reached.
Layer upon layer of mist and waves surround me;
when will I ever be able to rest this body?

Wukong heard this and laughed. "If the master wants his body at rest, what is difficult about that? Once the work is done and all entanglements are set aside, all the laws are empty. At that time rest will come of itself. Would that not be true ease?"

The elder, hearing that, had no choice but to let joy drive out worry. He gathered the reins and urged the silver-black horse onward. As they climbed the mountain, it proved truly steep and rugged.

What a mountain it was:

Lofty ridges rose high and sheer peaks split the sky.
A deep stream curled below, and beside it stood lone cliffs and broken crags.
Where the ravine bent and wound, one only heard the hissing turn of a serpent in the water;
where the cliff stood alone and steep, one saw a tiger's tail cutting through the woods.
Looking up, the peaks jutted and pierced the blue heavens;
looking back, the valleys sank dark and close to the underworld.
Up was like climbing stairs or a ladder; down was like stepping over trenches and pits.
Truly they were strange mountain ridges and jagged walls of stone.
On the mountain top, herb-gatherers feared to go astray;
before the sheer cliffs, woodcutters could not take a single step.
Wild goats and horses rushed about in confusion; sly rabbits and mountain cattle scattered in formation.
The mountain shut out the sun and hid the stars. Now and then wild beasts and gray wolves appeared.
The grass paths blurred so badly the horses could not pass. How could one ever see Thunderclap and the Buddha King?

As the elder pulled up his horse to look at the mountain and wondered how to proceed, there on a green-sward slope stood a woodcutter. You should see how he was dressed:

On his head he wore an old blue felt hat; on his body a coarse black robe of furred cloth.
That old felt hat was rare indeed, good for shading smoke and sun alike;
that furred robe, free of worry and at ease, was something very unusual.
In his hand he held a steel axe, keen and newly sharpened, for cutting dry firewood.
Spring colors touched the eaves, and the four seasons were quietly blended there;
outside the body there was an easy mind, with the Three Stars always pale and calm.
At old age, one lives by what one has; what rank or disgrace could ever trouble the hill?

The woodcutter stood at the slope cutting rotten wood when he suddenly met the elder coming from the east.

He stopped his axe at the edge of the slope and came out of the woods.
He stepped briskly up the stone cliff.

He shouted at the elder in a stern voice, "Reverend going west, wait a moment. I have one thing to warn you about. This mountain has a pack of venomous demons and fierce monsters who specialize in eating travelers from east and west."

Tripitaka heard this and was so frightened that his soul nearly flew away. He could not sit steady in the saddle. He turned quickly and called to his disciples, "Did you hear the woodcutter report that this mountain has venomous demons and fierce monsters? Who dares go ask him more?"

Wukong said, "Master, be at ease. Let Old Sun go ask what is what."

The Great Sage strode up the mountain to the woodcutter and greeted him as "Brother." After the courtesy had been exchanged, he asked, "Brother, what reason brought you here?"

Wukong said, "To be honest, brother, we are monks sent by the Tang court to seek scriptures in the Western Heaven. The horse carries my master, and he is a little timid.

We have just heard your warning that this mountain has venomous demons and fierce monsters, so I have come to ask plainly: how many years have those demons been demons? How great is their skill? Are they seasoned hands or only young upstarts? Please speak truthfully so I can have the mountain god and the earth spirit escort them off at once."

The woodcutter, hearing this, laughed up at the sky. "So you are a wind-blown monk."

Wukong said, "I am no wind-blown monk. I am speaking the truth."

The woodcutter said, "If it is the truth, how can you talk about having them escorted away?"

Wukong said, "You are playing up their prestige and spouting nonsense to block the road. Are you perhaps related to them? If not kin, then neighbor. If not neighbor, then friend."

The woodcutter laughed. "You windy, reckless monk, you really do not make sense. I only meant well and came to warn you, so you could guard against them on the road morning and night. Instead you have turned around and pinned the blame on me.

Never mind that I do not even know their origin. Suppose I did know it - how exactly would you have them escorted away? Escorted where?"

Wukong said, "If they are heavenly demons, I would escort them to the Jade Emperor. If they are earth demons, I would escort them to the earth office. Those from the West go to the Buddha; those from the East go to the sages; those from the North to True Warrior; those from the South to the Fire Lord. If they are dragon spirits, I would send them to the sea lord. If they are ghostly pests, I would send them to King Yama. Every place has its proper direction. Old Sun has friends everywhere. I would issue a warrant and have them tied up and sent off overnight."

The woodcutter could not help laughing coldly. "You reckless monk, it sounds as if you have roamed around some borderlands and picked up a few talisman and water-casting tricks. Those may drive away spirits and bind ghosts, but you have not yet met a monster as harsh as this."

Wukong said, "How harsh is it?"

The woodcutter said, "This mountain stretches for some six hundred li and is called Flat-Topped Mountain. In the mountain there is a cave called Lotus Cave. Inside live two demons who have drawn pictures of monks and are set on catching them by name. If you come from anywhere else, that is one thing. But if you carry the word 'Tang' in your name, do not think you can pass. You will not pass."

Wukong said, "We are from the Tang Empire."

The woodcutter said, "Then they are exactly the ones who want to eat you."

Wukong said, "Fortune, fortune. But how do they eat people?"

The woodcutter said, "How would you like them to eat you?"

Wukong said, "If they eat the head first, that would actually be entertaining. If they eat the feet first, that would be troublesome."

The woodcutter said, "How is that?"

Wukong said, "You have never been through it. If they eat the head first, one bite and I am dead. Then let them stew, fry, or boil me; I would not feel a thing. But if they eat the feet first, gnaw the ankles, chew the calves, and work their way up to the waist, I would still be half alive and would suffer piece by piece. That is what makes it hard."

The woodcutter said, "Monk, they would not have that much trouble. They would simply seize you, cage you up, and steam you whole."

Wukong laughed. "That is even better. It would not hurt; I would only have to bear a little stuffy air."

The woodcutter said, "Monk, do not keep joking. That demon carries five treasures on his person, and his powers are huge. Even if you had a jade pillar that could hold up the sky or a golden beam that could bear the sea, you would still need to lose your head to get Tripitaka through."

Wukong said, "Lose my head? How many times?"

The woodcutter said, "Three or four times at least."

Wukong said, "No trouble, no trouble. In a single year we often lose our heads seven or eight hundred times. Three or four is easy enough. We can lose them and keep going."

The Great Sage truly had no fear at all. His whole heart was set only on protecting Tripitaka.

He shook off the woodcutter, turned back to the horse, and said, "Master, there is nothing much. There may be a little demon or two, but the people here are timid and have put it into your head. With me here, what do you fear? Go on, go on."

The elder, hearing this, could only go on in relief.

They had gone only a little way when the woodcutter had vanished.

Tripitaka said, "How did that warning woodcutter disappear so suddenly?"

Bajie said, "Our luck must be low. We have met a daytime ghost."

Wukong said, "Maybe he went into the woods to gather firewood. Let me take a look."

The Great Sage opened his fiery eyes and searched mountain and ridge from end to end, but no trace of him could be found. Then he raised his head and looked into the clouds, and there he saw the Merit Officer of the day. He leaped up on a cloud and chased after him, cursing him as a sneaking spirit.

"Why didn't you speak plainly? Why did you transform yourself and play tricks on Old Sun?"

The Merit Officer hastily bowed. "Great Sage, I came late with the warning. Do not blame me, do not blame me. That monster truly has vast powers and many transformations. Only if you are nimble and alert, and keep your divine wits moving, can you protect your master. If you are careless even a little, do not think the Western Heaven road can be traveled."

Wukong heard him out and sent the Merit Officer away with a sharp rebuke. He kept it firmly in mind, lowered his cloud, and returned to the mountain road.

There he saw Tripitaka, Bajie, and Brother Sha huddled together and moving ahead.

Wukong thought to himself, "If I tell Master exactly what the Merit Officer said, he is no good at this sort of thing and will surely start crying. If I do not tell him, and simply lead him onward while he is half-asleep, there is still the old saying: 'Once you enter the reeds, you do not know their depth.' If he is snatched by demons, I will only have more trouble. Let me first try Bajie. I will have him go out front and fight the monster once. If he can beat it, then the credit is his. If he has no skill and gets taken instead, then I can save him later. That will also let me show my own skill and make a name."

As he was thinking this through, he said to himself again, "I only fear Bajie is lazy and will not want to go out front, and Master has a soft spot for him. I will have to pin him down."

The Great Sage put on a show. He rubbed his eyes, worked out a little tear, and went ahead to meet his master.

Bajie saw him and cried, "Brother Sha, set down the baggage. Take out the luggage and let us split it up."

Brother Sha said, "Second Brother, split it for what?"

Bajie said, "Let us split it up and be done. You can go back to the Flowing Sand River and be a demon again; old Pig can go back to Gao Family Manor and wait for his wife. We will sell the white horse and buy a coffin to send Master off in style. Then the lot of us can break up and go home - what use is there in still going west?"

The elder, hearing this on horseback, said, "You blockhead, we are still walking and you are already spouting nonsense?"

Bajie said, "Your son is the one spouting nonsense. Do you not see Sun Wukong crying over there? He is a hero who can climb heaven, enter the earth, hack with axes, endure fire, and even go into an oil pot. Yet now he has a sorrowful cap on his head and tears running down his face. It must mean that the mountain is steep and the monsters fierce. For weak people like us, how can we possibly go on?"

Tripitaka said, "Stop talking nonsense. Let me ask him what he means."

He asked, "Wukong, if you have something to say, speak it plainly. Why are you so troubled? Are you putting on this crying face to frighten me?"

Wukong said, "Master, the Merit Officer who just brought the warning says the demons are fierce and the road here is hard. The mountain is truly high and the path truly steep. We had better wait and go another day."

When Tripitaka heard that, he grew terrified. He grabbed Wukong's tiger-skin skirt and said, "Disciple, we have only walked half the journey. Why are you talking like a man who wants to turn back?"

Wukong said, "I am not one to neglect the journey. I only fear the demons are many and our strength is weak, and we stand too much alone. Even if it is made of iron, how many nails can it be forged into?"

Tripitaka said, "Disciple, you speak reasonably. One man really cannot do it alone. As the military books say, the few cannot stand against the many. Here I still have Bajie and Brother Sha, both of them disciples. Use them as you please, whether as guards or assistants. If they work together to clear the mountain path and lead me over it, then would we not all attain right fruition?"

Wukong had twisted and turned only to draw these words out of the elder.

He wiped his tears and said, "Master, to get over this mountain, Zhu Bajie must agree to two things of mine before there is even a third of a chance. If he does not obey my words and cannot stand in for me, then not even half a chance is there."

Bajie said, "Brother, if you do not want to go, then let it all break up. Do not pin it on me."

Tripitaka said, "Disciple, ask your brother what he wants you to do."

The fool really did turn to Wukong and ask, "Brother, what work do you want me to do?"

Wukong said, "First, watch over Master. Second, go scout the mountain."

Bajie said, "Watching over Master means sitting. Scouting the mountain means walking.

Am I supposed to sit a while and then walk a while, and walk a while and then sit? How can I keep watch in both places?"

Wukong said, "I am not asking you to do both at once. Just take on one of the two and that will do."

Bajie laughed. "That is manageable. But what exactly counts as watching over Master, and what exactly counts as scouting the mountain? Explain it to me first, and I will try to do the one that suits me better."

Wukong said, "Watching over Master means this: when Master needs to relieve himself, you attend him. When Master needs to travel, you support him. When Master needs vegetarian food, you beg for alms. If he grows a little thin, you are to be beaten. If his face turns a little yellow, you are to be beaten. If his body grows a little gaunt, you are to be beaten."

Bajie panicked. "That is hard, hard, hard.

Attending him and supporting him is no trouble. Even carrying him on your back would be easy enough. But if you send me into the countryside to beg for food, on this western road no one will know I am a scripture monk. They will only think I am some half-grown fat pig that has wandered out of the hills. A bunch of people will come at me with forks and rakes and brooms, pin me down, drag me home, slaughter me, salt me, and save me for New Year's. That would surely bring a plague on us."

Wukong said, "Then go scout the mountain."

Bajie said, "What is scouting the mountain?"

Wukong said, "Go into this mountain and find out how many demons there are, what sort of mountain this is, and what sort of cave they live in, so we can pass through."

Bajie said, "That is a small matter. Old Pig will scout the mountain."

The fool straightened his robe, planted his nine-toothed rake, and strode into the deep mountain, swaggering on the broad road with great spirit.

Wukong stood nearby and could not help laughing coldly.

Tripitaka cursed him. "You filthy monkey! You have no affection for your brothers at all and are forever jealous. What is the use of your fox-bright schemes and your honeyed words, sending him off to scout the mountain while you stand here laughing at him?"

Wukong said, "I am not laughing at him. There is a meaning in my laugh. You will see that Zhu Bajie, once he is gone, will certainly not scout the mountain at all. He will not dare face the demons. He will probably hide somewhere for half a while and then make up a lie to fool us."

Tripitaka said, "How do you know that?"

Wukong said, "I can tell. If you do not believe me, let me follow him and watch. For one thing, I can help him with his demon-subduing skill; for another, I can see whether he is truly sincere in worshiping Buddha."

Tripitaka said, "Good, good, good. Only do not go tormenting him."

Wukong agreed and hurried after him up the slope. He changed his shape and turned into a tiny cicada.

He was truly a neat little transformation:

Thin wings beat the wind without effort;
his waist was needle-slender and small.
He passed through grasses and flowers as though through shade,
swift as a falling star, yet swifter still.
His eyes shone clear; his voice was faint and thin.
Among insects he was the smallest, yet he was clever and steady.
In lonely woods he sometimes rested on quiet days;
no one could see his body, and no one could find him with a thousand eyes.

With a buzz of wings he flew on and caught up to Bajie, sticking himself on the bristle behind Bajie's ears.

The fool just kept walking and never knew there was someone on him.

After seven or eight li, he threw down the rake, turned his head toward Tripitaka, and pointed and ranted:

"That weak old monk, that troublesome Horse-Farm Keeper, that soft-faced Brother Sha - they are all free and easy, while they send me, old Pig, trudging along the road.

We are all seeking scriptures and should be hoping for the same fruition, yet I alone am sent to scout some mountain. Ha ha ha. If I knew there were demons, I would hide from them, and that would still not be enough. Yet they make me go find them. What bad luck.

I may as well go sleep somewhere. After a good sleep I will go back and give them a vague answer, saying I have scouted the mountain, and that will settle it."

The fool was lucky for a moment. He carried his rake and went on until he saw a patch of red grass on a hollowed slope.

He ducked into it, flung down his rake, and lay belly-up on the ground. He stretched his waist and said, "Comfortable. Even if Horse-Farm Keeper were here, he could not be as free as I am."

Wukong had heard every word at his ear and could not hold back. He flew up and played a trick on him again.

He changed himself into a woodpecker.

His iron beak was sharp and red; his green wings were bright and shining.
His steel claws were as keen as nails.
If the forest was still, hunger did not matter.
He loved rotten stumps and old dead wood,
and hated lonely old trees standing all by themselves.
His round eyes rolled, and his tail split wide; his cries were good to hear.
This little bird was neither too large nor too small:
on the scales he weighed only two or three ounces.

Red-copper beak, black-iron feet, he flashed down with a single wingbeat and pecked Bajie right on the lip.

The fool was so frightened that he sprang up, shouting wildly, "A demon! A demon! Something pierced me with a spear. My mouth hurts badly!"

He touched it with his hand and drew blood.

"What bad luck," he said. "I have not had any good news, so why is there a red mark on my mouth?"

He stared at his bloody hand and muttered on and on, looking both ways but seeing nothing.

"There is no demon, so why did something spear me?"

He looked up at last and saw only a woodpecker flying in the air.

Bajie cursed him through clenched teeth. "That little dead thing, Horse-Farm Keeper is bad enough, and now you are bullying me too. I know what it is. You must not even count me as a person. You only think my mouth is a rotten tree stump with worms inside, and you are pecking out the worms for food. That is why you pecked me like that. Very well, I will tuck my mouth under my coat and sleep."

The fool lay down again.

Wukong came flapping back and pecked him once more behind the ear.

Bajie panicked, jumped up, and cried, "That dead thing is really troubling me. This must be his nest. He is laying eggs and rearing chicks, and he is afraid I will take over, so he keeps harassing me. Enough, enough. I will not sleep here."

He picked up his rake and left the red grass slope, searching for the road and moving on.

Old Sun was so pleased he nearly laughed himself to death.

Wukong said, "This blockhead has both eyes wide open and still cannot recognize his own people."

The Great Sage changed again and once more turned into a tiny cicada, sticking himself behind Bajie's ear and not leaving his side.

Bajie went deeper into the mountain. After another four or five li he saw, in a hollow, three square blue stones about the size of a tabletop.

The fool set down his rake and bowed three times to the stones.

Wukong laughed inwardly. "This fool is bowing to stones. Stones are not people. They cannot speak, and they cannot return a bow. What is this nonsense?"

It turned out that Bajie was using the stones as stand-ins for Tripitaka, Sha Wujing, and Wukong. He was rehearsing his lies to them.

He muttered, "When I go back and Master asks whether there are demons, I will say yes, there are demons. If he asks what sort of mountain it is, and I say it is one made of mud, or earth, or tin, or bronze, or dough, or paper, or painted with ink, they will see I am stupid. So I will say it is a stone mountain. If he asks what sort of cave it is, I will say it is a stone cave. If he asks what sort of gate it has, I will say it is an iron-leaf gate nailed down tight. If he asks how far in it goes, I will say there are three layers inside. If he asks how many nails are on the gate, I will say old Pig was in such a hurry that I cannot remember clearly. There, the lie is made. I can go back and fool Horse-Farm Keeper."

The fool had made up his tale and was dragging his rake back onto the road.

How could he know that Wukong had heard everything behind his ears?

When Wukong saw him coming back, he flew ahead on both wings, returned to his true form, and met his master.

Tripitaka asked, "Wukong, you are back. Why do we not see Wuneng coming back?"

Wukong laughed. "He is still making up lies. He should be back soon enough."

The elder said, "He is a fool with his ears over his eyes. What sort of lie could he make? Are you making some false story to frame him?"

Wukong said, "Master, you are always shielding his faults. This is a case of words to ask and answer."

So he described how Bajie had lain in the grass asleep, been pecked awake by the woodpecker, bowed to the stones, and then made up a story about a stone mountain, a stone cave, an iron-leaf gate, and demons.

He had hardly finished when Bajie came back.

He was afraid he might forget the lie, so he kept his head down and repeated it to himself under his breath.

Wukong shouted, "Idiot, what are you mumbling?"

Bajie lifted his ears and looked. "Have I reached the destination already?"

He came forward and knelt.

Tripitaka lifted him up. "Disciple, you have worked hard."

Bajie said, "Exactly so. People who travel and people who climb mountains are the ones who suffer first."

Tripitaka asked, "Did you see any demons?"

Bajie said, "Yes, there were demons - a whole pile of them!"

Tripitaka asked, "How did they send you back?"

Bajie said, "They called me their Pig Ancestor, their Pig Grandfather, arranged some plain noodle soup and vegetarian dishes, let me eat my fill, and said they would beat drums and escort us over the mountain."

Wukong said, "You were probably asleep in the grass and speaking dream talk."

Bajie, hearing that, shrank by two inches in fright.

"Heavens!" he cried. "How could you know I was asleep?"

Wukong stepped forward and grabbed him by the sleeve. "Come here and let me ask you."

Bajie panicked again. Trembling, he said, "Ask away, just do not grab me."

Wukong said, "What mountain was it?"

Bajie said, "A stone mountain."

"What cave?"

"A stone cave."

"What kind of gate?"

"A nailed iron-leaf gate."

"How far inside?"

"There are three layers inside."

Wukong said, "You need not go on. The last half I remember perfectly. I am afraid Master will not believe you, so I will say it for you.

How many nails were on the gate? You said, Old Pig was in such a hurry that I cannot remember clearly. Is that right?"

The fool hurriedly knelt.

Wukong said, "You bowed to stones and treated them as the three of us, asking and answering them one by one. Is that right? And did you not say, Once I have made up my lie, I will fool Horse-Farm Keeper with it? Is that right?"

Bajie kowtowed all the while. "Brother, when I went to scout the mountain, were you not following me to listen?"

Wukong cursed him. "You bag-of-bran blockhead! On such an important errand I sent you to scout the mountain, and you went to sleep. If the woodpecker had not pecked you awake, you would still be sleeping there. And once you were awake, you made up such a great lie. Would that not spoil the whole business? Hurry up and stretch out your ankle for me. I will give you five blows as a reminder."

Bajie was frightened. "That crying-club of yours is heavy. If it merely brushes my skin, it will flatten it; if it twists, it will strain the sinews. If you strike five times, I will be dead."

Wukong said, "If you fear a beating, why did you make up lies?"

Bajie said, "Brother, only this once. I will never dare again."

Wukong said, "Then one round means three blows."

Bajie cried, "Heavens! Even half a blow I could not take."

The fool had no choice, so he grabbed Tripitaka and begged for help.

Tripitaka said, "Wukong, I did not believe you when you said he made up lies, but now it is true. He deserves a beating. But we still need hands to help us over the mountain. Wukong, spare him for now and beat him after we have passed the mountain."

Wukong said, "As the ancients say, to heed one's parents' feelings is called great filial piety. Since Master says no beating, I will spare you for now. But if you go scouting the mountain again and lie to us or spoil the task, I will not spare you even once."

The fool had no choice but to get up and go again.

You should see him running onto the road, with a guilty conscience making ghosts in his own mind. At every step he thought Wukong might have transformed himself and followed him, so whenever he saw anything he imagined it was Wukong.

After seven or eight li he saw a tiger running across the slope, but he was not afraid. He raised his rake and said, "Brother, did you come to listen to my lies? I am not making them this time."

Then he went on and a mountain wind came up fierce and strong. With a whoosh a dead tree was blown over and rolled to his feet. Bajie stamped and beat his chest. "Brother, what is this now? I have only just said I would not make up lies, and now you have turned into a tree to frighten me?"

He went a little farther and saw a white-necked old crow calling overhead.

Bajie said, "Brother, do not shame me, do not shame me. I said I would not make it up, so why do you keep turning into a crow? Are you coming to listen?"

In truth, Wukong was not following him this time. Bajie only frightened himself and guessed wildly, imagining Wukong on his back all the while.

We need not follow his astonishment further.

This mountain was called Flat-Topped Mountain, and the cave was called Lotus Cave. In the cave lived two demons: one called the Gold-Corner King, the other the Silver-Corner King.

The Gold-Corner King was sitting in the cave when he said to the Silver-Corner King, "Brother, how long has it been since we went mountain scouting?"

The Silver-Corner King said, "Half a month."

The Gold-Corner King said, "Brother, go scout with me today."

The Silver-Corner King said, "What is there to scout today?"

The Gold-Corner King said, "Do you not know? We have lately heard that the Tang monk from the East Country has been sent by the Tang Empire to worship Buddha in the Western Heaven. He travels with four attendants and five mouths if you count the horse. Their names are Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and the horse.

You should go and bring him here for us."

The Silver-Corner King said, "If we want to eat people, we should catch a few. But this monk has only just arrived there. Let him go."

The Gold-Corner King said, "You do not understand. When I was still in heaven, I often heard people say that Tripitaka was the reincarnation of the Great Elder Golden Cicada, a good man who had cultivated for ten lifetimes without leaking a drop of primal yang. Whoever ate his flesh could live forever.

If eating him gives long life, why do we sit in meditation and build merit, refine dragon and tiger, balance male and female? We ought simply to catch him and eat him.

Go and fetch him."

The Silver-Corner King said, "Brother, you are impatient. Do not be in such a hurry. If you go out the gate and catch any monk at all, and then find he is not Tripitaka, that would be shameful. I remember his face. I once had his party painted into a picture and sketched into a portrait. Take it with you. When you meet a monk, compare him to this likeness."

He also named each person and who he was.

The Silver-Corner King took the portrait, learned the names, and went out, calling up thirty little demons to scout the mountain.

Meanwhile Bajie was in a bad run of luck. As he was walking, he happened to bump into the demon scouts head-on, and they blocked his way.

"Who goes there?" they demanded.

The fool lifted his head and, with his ears flopping, saw a batch of demons. He panicked and thought, "If I tell them I am a scripture monk, they will catch me."

So he only said he was a road traveler.

The little demons reported back, "Great King, he is a road traveler."

Among the thirty little demons there were some who recognized him and some who did not. One who had heard the description said, "Great King, this monk looks like the Zhu Bajie in the portrait."

So they hung up the portrait.

Bajie saw it and cried out in alarm. "No wonder I have been feeling low these days. So they have carried my portrait around with them."

The demons pointed with spears and fingers. The Silver-Corner King said, "The one on the white horse is Tripitaka, and the hairy-faced one is Sun Wukong."

Bajie heard that and muttered, "City gods, never mind if I am not there. Offer a pig's head and three sacrificial meats, and make the Taoist fast for twenty-four divisions."

He kept muttering prayers and promises.

The monster said again, "The tall black one is Sha Wujing, and the long-snouted, big-eared one is Zhu Bajie."

When the fool heard his own name, he was so frightened that he tucked his snout under his coat to hide it.

The monster shouted, "Monk, stretch out your mouth."

Bajie said, "It is a birth defect. I cannot stretch it out."

The monster ordered a little demon to hook it out.

Bajie was so frightened he stretched his mouth out and said, "What bad manners. There it is. If you want to look, just look. Why hook it?"

The monster recognized him as Bajie, drew his treasured saber, and stepped forward to hack at him.

The fool raised his rake and held the blow off. "Son, do not be rude. Taste this rake!"

The monster laughed. "This monk took the monastic tonsure late in life."

Bajie said, "Good son, you have some wit. How do you know Old Pig came to religion late?"

The monster said, "The way you use that rake shows it must have been stolen from some man's garden bed."

Bajie said, "My son, what do you know of Old Pig's rake? It is not a field rake. It is this:

Its great teeth were cast to look like dragon claws,
and the fittings were golden, tiger-shaped and bright.
When it meets an enemy, cold winds scatter;
when it locks with a foe, flames seem to rise.
It can clear the road for Tripitaka and catch demons on the western road.
When it turns, mist and haze hide the sun and moon;
when it moves, cloudy darkness covers the stars.
Even if it levels Mount Tai, tigers would fear it;
even if it overturns the sea, dragons would shudder.
No matter how skillful the demon is, one rake will make nine bloody holes.

The monster was not willing to yield.

He wielded a seven-star sword and, taking every opening, fought Bajie back and forth for twenty rounds in the mountain, without a winner. Bajie then worked himself into a fury and met him as though he meant to die.

The monster saw Bajie tugging at his ears, spitting sticky saliva, and waving his rake while shouting and bawling, and he grew afraid too. He turned and called to the little demons, and they all rushed in together.

If it had been one-on-one, that would still have been manageable. But when he saw the little demons all come at once, he panicked and could not defend himself. He was defeated and turned to run.

He had not studied the road carefully and tripped over a vine, stumbling hard. He got up and ran again, only for a little demon to lie down in the road, grab his heel, and send him sprawling into the dirt a second time.

The whole gang caught him and pinned him down, grabbing his mane, ears, feet, and tail, then dragging and carrying him off into the cave.

Alas!

One body of demon-formation is hard to wipe away;
a thousand sorts of disaster are not easy to clear.

But how Bajie's life turned out, that must wait for the next chapter.