Chapter 47: The Holy Monk Hinders the Sky-Spanning River by Night; Metal and Wood Show Mercy and Save the Child

Now to return: the king leaned against the dragon couch, tears streaming like a fountain, and cried until night had fallen. Sun Wukong strode forward and shouted, "What is all this confusion and weeping for? The corpses of those Daoists are right here. One was a tiger, one a deer, and the Goat Spirit was an antelope. If you do not believe me, haul up the bones and look. What human being has a skull like that? They were mountain beasts that had turned into spirits and came here together to harm you. Seeing that your luck was still strong, they did not dare strike. If you had waited another two years, when your fortune had declined, they would have taken your life and your kingdom in a single sweep. It is lucky for you that we came early and cut down the monsters to save you. Why are you still crying? Hurry and issue our travel papers and send us on our way."

Only then did the king come to himself. The civil and military officers all said, "The dead bodies really are a white deer, a yellow tiger, and the bones in the oil cauldron are truly those of a goat. The holy monk's words cannot be ignored."

The king said, "Since it is so, I thank the holy monk. It is already late today." Then he ordered, "Grand Tutor, please take the holy monk to Zhiyuan Monastery. Tomorrow at dawn, set open court and have the Imperial Banquet Office prepare a clean vegetarian feast in repayment."

So they were escorted to the monastery and put up for the night. At the fifth watch the next morning, the king held court, gathered the ministers, and issued a decree: "At once publish a notice summoning monks. Post it at every gate and along every road." At the same time he set out a great banquet and rode in state to the front of Zhiyuan Monastery, where he invited Tripitaka and the others to join him in the eastern pavilion for the feast. There is no need to dwell on that here.

Now to those monks who had escaped death: when they heard the summons for monks, every one of them was overjoyed. They came into the city to find the Great Sage and hand over the hairs as thanks. After the elder had finished the banquet, the king exchanged the travel papers, and with the queen, the palace ladies, and the ranks of civil and military officers, escorted them out of the palace gate.

Only then did those monks kneel beside the road and cry out, "Great Sage Equal to Heaven, sir, we are the monks who escaped death on the sandbank.

We heard that you swept away the monsters and saved us, and then, when our king published a notice summoning monks, we came especially to hand over the hairs and give thanks for heaven's grace."

Wukong laughed. "How many of you have come?"

The monks said, "Five hundred, not one short."

Wukong gave himself a shake and gathered the hairs back into himself.

Then he said to the king and all the monks and lay people, "Those monks were truly let go by me. The carriage was also turned over by me with one pass through the narrow gate and one sweep through the spine. It was also I who beat those two Daoist fiends to death. Only after this day's destruction of evil do you know that the Buddhist gate has its own Way. From now on, you must never be careless or believe nonsense. I beg you to bring the Three Teachings into one: honor the monks, honor the Daoists, and also nurture men of talent. I will guarantee that your kingdom stands firm forever."

The king followed his advice and thanked him beyond measure. Then he sent Tripitaka out of the city.

So they went on, making scriptures of care and cultivating the one light with all their strength. They traveled by day and rested by night, drinking when thirsty and eating when hungry, until spring was gone and summer had run out, and autumn weather had come again. One day, as dusk was falling, Tripitaka pulled his horse to a stop and said, "Disciples, where shall we sleep tonight?"

Wukong said, "Master, a monk should not speak like a householder."

Tripitaka said, "What is wrong with the householder's way of speaking?"

Wukong said, "Householders at this hour are lying in warm beds with quilts over them, children in their arms and wives at their feet, sleeping at ease. How could monks like us manage that? We can only travel by moon and stars, eat the wind, sleep by the water, and keep going wherever there is a road, stopping only where there is none."

Bajie said, "Brother, you know only one side of it and not the other. These roads are steep and hard. I am carrying a heavy load, and it is truly difficult. We ought to find a place where I can sleep one good night and gather my strength, so that tomorrow I can shoulder the burden again. Otherwise, will you not wear me out?"

Wukong said, "Then let's walk a little farther by moonlight and stop only when we reach a place with people."

The master and disciples had no choice but to follow him.

Before long they heard the roar of rushing water.

Bajie said, "Well then, we have come to the end of the road."

Brother Sha said, "A stretch of water is blocking the way."

Tripitaka asked, "How are we to cross?"

Bajie said, "Let me test it and see how deep it is."

Tripitaka said, "Wujing, do not talk nonsense. How could you test the depth of water?"

Bajie said, "Find me a pebble and toss it into the middle. If it splashes, the water is shallow. If it goes down with a gurgling sound, then it is deep."

Wukong said, "Go on and test it."

The fool found a stone and threw it into the water. It made only a deep bubbling sound and sank to the bottom.

"Deep, deep, deep," he said. "We cannot cross."

Tripitaka said, "You have tested the depth, but you do not know the width."

Bajie said, "That I do not know. I do not know."

Wukong said, "Let me take a look."

The Great Sage leaped up on his somersault cloud and stood in the sky, narrowing his eyes to look. What did he see?

The shining water soaked the moonlight, and a vast reflection floated up to heaven.
The spirit stream swallowed Mount Hua, and the long current ran through a hundred rivers.
One thousand layers of waves surged and rolled; ten thousand ridges of spray rose and fell.
No fisherman's lamp shone from the bank; on the sand, white egrets slept.
It seemed no longer a river at all, but a sea spread with no far shore in sight.

He quickly gathered in the cloud and came down by the bank.

"Master," he said, "it is broad, broad indeed. We cannot cross. Old Sun's fiery eyes can see a thousand li in the daytime and knows good from bad, and at night they can still see three or five hundred li. But now I cannot see the shore at all. How am I to judge its width?"

Tripitaka was so startled that he could not speak. Choked with tears, he said, "Disciples, what are we to do about this?"

Brother Sha said, "Master, do not cry. Look at the thing standing by the water's edge. Is that not a person?"

Wukong said, "It looks like a fisherman tending a net. Let me go ask him."

He took up his iron staff and ran the few steps to the front, only to see that it was not a person at all but a stone tablet. On it were three seal-script characters on the face and two lines of ten smaller characters beneath them:

Sky-Spanning River. Eight hundred li straight across, and from ancient times few have made the crossing.

Wukong called, "Master, come and look."

Tripitaka looked and wept. "Disciples, when I left Chang'an years ago, I only thought the road to the Western Heaven would be easy. Who knew there would be demons and mountains and such a long, hard stretch of water?"

Bajie said, "Master, listen. Is that the sound of drums and cymbals somewhere ahead? It sounds like a house holding a vegetarian rite. We might as well go there and beg a meal, ask where the ferry is, and cross in the morning."

Tripitaka listened from horseback and heard it plainly. "It is not Daoist music. It is surely our own Buddhist sort of ceremony. Let us go."

Wukong led the horse in front, and the four of them followed the sound. There was no proper road, only uneven ground running over the sandbank. Soon they saw a cluster of houses, perhaps four or five hundred in all, and all of them looked well kept.

It was a place:

with the road running by the mountain and the bank, and the stream close at hand.
At every door the brushwood gate was shut; in every courtyard the bamboo fence was closed.
On the sandbank white egrets slept in clean dreams; beyond the willows, their cries were thin and cold.
Flutes were silent, and the mortar sounds had lost their tune.
Red smartweed swayed its branches in the moonlight; yellow reeds fought the wind.
By the village path, dogs barked at sparse fences; at the ferry, an old fisherman slept in his boat.
Lamps were few, the human world was quiet, and a clear moon hung overhead like a mirror.
Then a breath of white-apple fragrance drifted over the water; it was only the west wind carrying it from the far bank.

Tripitaka dismounted. At the end of the road he saw one house with a banner set out before the gate, and inside there were lamps and candles blazing and the fragrance of incense thick in the air.

Tripitaka said, "Wukong, this place is different from the ravine by the river bank. Under a human roof, one can at least keep out the cold dew and sleep in peace. Let me go first to the gate and ask for lodging at the vegetarian house. If they are willing to keep us, I will call you. If not, do not be unruly. The three of you look so rough that you may frighten people and cause trouble, and then we will have nowhere to sleep."

Wukong said, "That makes sense. Master, please go first. We will wait here."

So the elder took off his bamboo hat, bared his head, shook out his narrow robe, leaned on his tin staff, and went straight to the gate. The door was half open. Tripitaka did not dare enter on his own. He stood there for a while, when an old man came out from within, beads at his throat and the Buddha's name on his lips, and moved to close the door.

Startled, the elder joined his palms and called out, "Old benefactor, this poor monk offers you greetings."

The old man returned the salute. "You monk are late."

Tripitaka asked, "How so?"

The old man said, "Because you are late, there is nothing left. If you had come earlier, I could have given monks a full meal, three sheng of cooked rice, a bolt of white cloth, and ten copper coins. Why have you only come now?"

Tripitaka bent low. "Old benefactor, this poor monk is not coming for alms."

The old man said, "If not for alms, what business brings you here?"

Tripitaka said, "I am an envoy from Great Tang in the Eastern Land, traveling west to seek the scriptures. I have now reached your honorable district and the sky is already dark. I heard drums and cymbals from your house, so I came to ask for one night's lodging. At dawn I will be on my way."

The old man shook his hand. "Monk, do not tell a lie. From Great Tang in the Eastern Land to my poor place is fifty-four thousand li. How could you possibly come here alone?"

Tripitaka said, "Old benefactor, you see the matter exactly. But I have three little disciples who clear the road when there are mountains and bridge the water when there are rivers. They protect this poor monk, which is how I reached here."

The old man said, "If you have disciples, why did they not come with you?"

He then called, "Please, please. There is room in my house."

Tripitaka turned and called, "Disciples, come here."

Wukong was by nature hot-tempered, Bajie was rough from birth, and Brother Sha was also a blunt fellow. Hearing their master's call, they took the horse and the luggage and rushed in like a gust of wind without asking what sort of place it was.

The old man saw them and fell flat on the ground, crying, "Demons have come! Demons have come!"

Tripitaka helped him up. "Do not be afraid. They are not demons. They are my disciples."

The old man trembled and said, "Such a handsome master, and yet you found disciples that look like this."

Tripitaka said, "Though their faces are not graceful, they can subdue dragons and tigers and catch monsters and demons."

The old man half believed him and half did not, but he supported Tripitaka and led him in slowly.

As for those three savage fellows, they burst into the main hall, tied up the horse, and dropped the luggage. Inside the hall a few monks had been chanting sutras. Bajie stared with his long snout and shouted, "What sutra are you chanting?"

The monks heard the question and all looked up at once:

Looking at the strangers, they saw a long mouth and huge ears;
a thick body and broad back, a voice like thunder cracking.
The Pilgrim and Brother Sha were even uglier to behold.
Among the monks in the hall, none was not frightened.
The senior monk was still chanting, and the leader told him to stop.
There was no thought for the bell or the chime; even the Buddha images were left behind.
At once the lamps were blown out, and the light scattered in an instant.
Stumbling and scrambling, they could not even cross the threshold.
Their heads knocked together like a toppled rack of gourds.
A fair and clean ritual hall was turned into one great laughingstock.

The three brothers saw them tumble and scramble and clapped their hands, roaring with laughter. The monks grew even more afraid. They knocked their heads on the floor and ran for their lives.

Tripitaka helped the old man into the hall. The lamps had all been blown out, and the three of them were still laughing. Tripitaka scolded them, "You wretches are truly unruly. Every morning I teach you, and every day I remind you. The old saying goes, 'If one is not taught and yet is good, how can he not be a sage? If one is taught and then is good, how can he not be worthy? If one is taught and still bad, how can he not be a fool?' You behave like this in a savage and lawless way. You burst through the door without the least sense of place, frightened the old benefactor, scattered the chanting monks, and ruined a perfectly good gathering. Are you not causing me to commit a sin?"

He spoke until they dared not answer.

Only then did the old man believe they were truly his disciples. He quickly turned and bowed. "My lord, it is nothing serious. We had only just blown out the lamps and ended the floral offering. The Buddhist rite was almost over."

Bajie said, "Since it is settled, bring out the full feast and give us wine and food so we can eat and sleep."

The old man called, "Light the lamps, light the lamps."

The household heard this and grew all the more alarmed. "There were sutras being chanted in the hall, with so many incense candles. Why are we lighting lamps now?"

A few servants came out to look. The hall was pitch dark. They lit torches and lanterns and came crowding in. Then they looked up and saw Bajie and Brother Sha. Terrified, they dropped the torches, turned around, and shut the inner door at once. They shouted inward, "Demons have come! Demons have come!"

Wukong took up a torch, lit the candles, pulled over a carved chair, and invited Tripitaka to sit. His brothers sat on either side, and the old man sat in front. While they were seating themselves, another old man came out from inside, leaning on a cane, and said, "What evil spirit comes to my house in the black of night?"

The old man in front hurried up and met him at the screen door. "Brother, do not shout. They are not evil spirits. They are arhat monks from Great Tang in the Eastern Land. Though their disciples look fierce, they are truly men whose faces are bad but whose hearts are good."

Only then did the second old man lower his cane and pay respects to the four of them. When the bowing was done, he also sat in front and called, "Tea, tea. Arrange the vegetarian meal."

He called several times, but the servants trembled and did not dare approach.

Bajie could not hold back. He asked, "Old man, why are there attendants coming and going on both sides of the house?"

The old man said, "I am telling them to bring the feast and attend the lords."

Bajie asked, "How many people serve you?"

"Eight," said the old man.

Bajie said, "And who do those eight serve?"

"They serve your four lordships."

Bajie said, "Then the white-faced master needs only one servant, the hairy thunder-mouth two, the unlucky-faced one needs eight, and I would need twenty servants before it would be enough."

The old man said, "If that is so, then your stomach must be rather large."

Bajie said, "I make do."

The old man said, "There are people, there are."

With much confusion and bustle, thirty or forty servants were finally called out.

As the monk and the old men spoke back and forth, the crowd began to lose its fear. A table was set on the upper side and Tripitaka was seated there. Three more tables were placed along the sides for the three disciples, and a fourth table was set before the two old men. First came vegetarian fruit and dishes, then rice, then noodles, then snacks and soup, all arranged neatly.

Tripitaka lifted his chopsticks and first recited a sutra of blessing over the meal. Bajie, both because he was in a hurry to swallow and because he was hungry, could not wait for the elder to finish. He took up a red-lacquered wooden bowl and slapped a bowl of white rice down into his mouth in one gulp.

One of the servants said, "That lord really is thoughtless. He did not wrap the rice in a bun - how did he gobble it up so fast and not even dirty his clothes?"

Bajie laughed. "I did not wrap it. I ate it."

The servant said, "You did not even raise your mouth, so how did you eat it?"

Bajie said, "You youngsters are the ones telling lies. It is plain as day that I ate it. If you do not believe me, I will eat another bowl for you to see."

The servants brought another bowl and handed it to him. The fool shook it once and emptied it into his mouth again.

The servants all said, "Great heavens! Your throat must be made of ground brick. It is so smooth and slippery."

Tripitaka had not yet finished one round of scripture when Bajie had already eaten five or six bowls. Only then did they all take up their chopsticks and eat their fill. The fool did not care whether it was rice or noodles, fruit or snacks; he only scooped and gulped and kept shouting, "More rice! More rice!" But gradually there was nothing left to bring.

Wukong called out, "Brother, eat a little less. It would still be better than starving in the mountain hollow. A half-full belly is good enough."

Bajie said, "Look at you. As the saying goes, 'If a monk is not fed to fullness, he may as well be buried alive.'"

Wukong told the others, "Take away the dishes and stop paying attention to him."

The two old men bent low and said, "To tell the truth, my lords, in daytime we can manage it without fear. If a huge-eating elder like this one came in broad daylight, we could feed a hundred people. It is only that the evening has come, and after clearing away the remains of the feast we can only steam one shi of noodle rice, five dou of rice, and a few tables of vegetarian dishes. We are supposed to invite a few neighbors and the monks to share the blessing. Who knew that when your noble company arrived, you would frighten the monks away and even the neighbors would not dare come. We have therefore offered everything to you.

If you are still not full, we can have more steamed."

Bajie said, "Steam more, steam more."

After that they cleared away the dishes and tables.

Tripitaka rose, thanked them for the vegetarian offering, and then asked, "Old benefactor, what is your surname?"

The old man said, "My surname is Chen."

Tripitaka joined his hands. "Then we are of the same clan."

The old man said, "My lord also bears the surname Chen?"

Tripitaka said, "Yes. My family name in the lay world is Chen as well. Please tell me, what sort of vegetarian rite was just held here?"

Bajie laughed. "Master, why ask him? Do you not already know? It must have been a green-sprouts feast, a peace feast, or a closing feast."

The old man said, "No, no."

Tripitaka asked again, "Then what was it exactly?"

The old man said, "It was a prearranged funeral feast."

Bajie laughed until he nearly fell over. "Old sir, you have no eye for people. We are kings of lying and bridge-building trickery. How can you use that sort of lie to fool me? Monks surely know the names of their rites. There are only prearranged deposit feasts and prearranged repayment feasts. Where is there any such thing as a prearranged funeral feast? Your household has not had a death, so why perform a funeral feast?"

Wukong heard this and was secretly delighted. "This fool is getting a little clever too. - Old sir, you said it wrong. Why is it called a prearranged funeral feast?"

The two old men bowed. "You are all seeking scriptures. How did you happen to stray from the proper road and come to our place?"

Wukong said, "We were on the proper road, but a stretch of water blocked us and we could not cross. Then we heard drums and cymbals, so we came to your honored house to ask for lodging."

The old man said, "When you came to the water's edge, did you see anything?"

Wukong said, "Only a stone tablet with the three characters Sky-Spanning River on it, and below that the ten characters, 'Eight hundred li straight across, and few have made the crossing since ancient times.' Nothing else."

The old man said, "If you had gone a little farther up the bank, only about a li away from the tablet, you would have seen a temple to the Great King of Divine Response. Did you not see it?"

Wukong said, "We did not. Please tell me, what does 'Divine Response' mean?"

The two old men both lowered their heads and wept.

"My lord," they said, "that Great King:

by his response, brings temples to life in one direction, and by his spirit, blesses the common people for a thousand li.
Year after year he sends sweet rain to the village; season after season he drops auspicious clouds upon the fields."

Wukong said, "Sweet rain and auspicious clouds are good things. Why then are you so sorrowful and troubled?"

The old man stamped his foot and beat his chest, then gave a great groan. "My lord, though there is much grace, there is also grievance. Though he is merciful, he still harms us. He wants to eat boy and girl children, so he is no bright and upright god."

Wukong said, "He wants to eat boys and girls?"

"Exactly so," said the old man.

Wukong said, "Then it must be your household's turn this year?"

The old man said, "This year it is indeed our turn. There are a hundred households living here. This place belongs to Chenjia Village under Yuanhui County in the Kingdom of Chechi. The village is called Chen Family Village. The Great King holds his sacrifice once every year. He requires one boy child, one girl child, and pigs, sheep, and sacrificial wine. After he eats the offering, he guarantees us wind and timely rain, and a good harvest. If we do not make the sacrifice, he brings disaster upon us."

Wukong asked, "How many sons does your household have?"

The old man beat his chest. "Alas, alas! Do not speak of sons. It shames us. This is my younger brother, named Chen Qing. I am called Chen Cheng.

I am sixty-three this year, and he is fifty-eight, and we have had a hard time with children. I did not even have a son at fifty, so my friends urged me to take a concubine. In the end I found one, and she bore me a daughter, now just eight years old. Her name is One-Tally Gold."

Bajie said, "What a precious name. Why call her One-Tally Gold?"

The old man said, "Because I had no easy time raising children. I built bridges and repaired roads, erected temples and pagodas, and gave vegetarian offerings to monks. I kept a ledger of every expense, whether three taels here or five there. In the year she was born, I happened to use thirty catties of gold. Thirty catties make one tally, so she was called One-Tally Gold."

Wukong asked, "And the other one's son?"

The old man said, "My brother has a son too, also a late child, and he is seven this year. His name is Chen Guobao."

Wukong asked, "Why was he given that name?"

The old man said, "We keep offerings for Lord Guan in the house. Because we prayed under Lord Guan's shrine and got this son, we named him Guobao, 'Guard the Treasure'. Between my brother and me we are already more than a hundred and twenty years old, and these are the only two children we have. This year's sacrifice has fallen to our house, and we dare not fail to provide it. Father and child are hard to part from one another, so we have first prepared a ritual to carry the child safely to the next world. That is why it is called a prearranged funeral feast."

Tripitaka could not keep back his tears. "This is exactly what the ancients meant when they said, 'When the apricots ripen, the green plums fall. Heaven is especially cruel to those without sons.'"

Wukong laughed. "Let me ask one more thing. Old sir, how large is your estate?"

The two old men said, "We have a fair amount. There are forty or fifty qing of irrigated land, sixty or seventy qing of dry land, and eighty or ninety grazing fields. There are two or three hundred water buffaloes, twenty or thirty donkeys and horses, and countless pigs, sheep, chickens, and geese. We also have old grain we cannot finish eating and clothes we cannot wear out. Our family wealth and holdings are not small."

Wukong said, "With an estate like that, it was no wonder you were able to save it up."

The old man said, "How do you know it was saved?"

Wukong said, "If you have such property, how can you bear to sacrifice your own flesh and blood? For fifty taels of silver you could buy a boy. For one hundred taels you could buy a girl. Add up the total and it would not even reach two hundred taels. Then you could keep your own descendants. Would that not be better?"

The two old men wept. "My lord, you do not understand. That Great King is truly responsive. He often comes and goes among our houses."

Wukong said, "When he comes and goes, what does he look like? How tall is he?"

The two old men said, "You cannot see his form. You only smell a burst of fragrance, and then you know that the Great King has come. At once we all burn incense by the bushel and, old and young alike, bow down as soon as we see the wind. He knows every matter in our households, whether large or small, and he remembers the year and month of our births. He only wants true sons and true daughters, and then he is satisfied. Not to mention that you could not buy such a pair for two or three hundred taels - even if you had several thousand taels, you still could not find children exactly alike in year and month."

Wukong said, "So that is how it is. Very well, very well. Then bring out your son and let me have a look."

Chen Qing hurried inside and brought out Guobao, setting him in the hall before the lamps. The child did not know life from death. He had fruit tucked in both sleeves and was dancing and munching away for fun.

Wukong saw him, silently muttered a spell, and changed himself into the very image of Guobao.

The two children took one another by the hand and danced before the lamps.

The old man was so startled that he hurried down to kneel. Tripitaka said, "Do not do this, benefactor. Do not do this."

The old man said, "Just now this lord spoke. How did he suddenly change into a child like mine? He called and the other answered, he moved and the other moved too. This is wearing down our life spans. Please show your true form. Please show your true form."

Wukong wiped his face and revealed his original body.

The old man knelt before him. "My lord, so you have such ability."

Wukong laughed. "Does he look like your son?"

The old man said, "He looks like him, looks like him. Truly the same face, the same voice, the same clothing, the same height."

Wukong said, "You have not looked carefully. Bring in a scale and weigh him. Is he the same weight?"

The old man said, "Yes, yes, yes. He weighs the same."

Wukong said, "Then can he be offered in sacrifice?"

The old man said, "Wonderful, wonderful. He will do perfectly."

Wukong said, "I will now save this child and leave your incense-burning descendants behind. I will go in his place and be offered to the Great King."

Chen Qing knelt and knocked his head. "If my lord truly saves him with such mercy, I will present one thousand taels of silver to the Tang master for travel money to the Western Heaven."

Wukong said, "And do you not thank Old Sun?"

The old man said, "If you replace him in the offering, there will be no need to thank you."

Wukong said, "Why would there be no need?"

The old man said, "The Great King will eat you."

Wukong said, "Will he dare eat me?"

The old man said, "If he does not eat you, then he will surely think you smell too fishy."

Wukong laughed. "Let Heaven decide. If he eats me, it will mean my life was short. If he does not, then it will be my good fortune. I will go and make the sacrifice for you."

Chen Qing kept kowtowing and promised five hundred taels of silver. But Chen Cheng did not bow and did not thank him. He only leaned against the screen door and cried bitterly.

Wukong knew what was in his heart, so he stepped forward and pulled him up. "Old brother, you do not promise me anything and you do not thank me. Is it because you cannot bear to part with your daughter?"

Chen Cheng then knelt and said, "Yes, I cannot bear it. I am deeply grateful for your great kindness in saving my nephew. That alone is enough. But I have no son and only this one daughter. Even if I die, she will cry most bitterly for me. How can I bear to lose her?"

Wukong said, "Go quickly and steam five dou of rice, then prepare some good vegetarian dishes for my long-snouted brother to eat. Let him change into your daughter. The two of us brothers will go together to make the offering. Since we are going to do good, we might as well save the lives of both your children. What do you say?"

Bajie heard this and was shocked. "Brother, if you mean to show off, do not drag me into it. You do not care whether I live or die."

Wukong said, "Good brother, as the saying goes, 'No one eats a meal for nothing.' We came through your gate and enjoyed your generous feast. You are still shouting that you have not eaten enough, and now you will not help a household in distress?"

Bajie said, "Brother, I do not know how to do transformations."

Wukong said, "You can change into thirty-six things. How can you say you do not know?"

Tripitaka called out, "Wujing, your elder brother is right. This is the proper thing to do. As the saying goes, 'To save one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda.' It is both a way to repay their kindness and to accumulate hidden merit. Besides, the night is cool and nothing is happening. Go on and fool around with your brother."

Bajie said, "Listen to what the master says. I can change into a mountain, a tree, a stone, a lame elephant, a water buffalo, or a fat man, yes. But changing into a little girl is somewhat difficult."

Wukong said, "Old brother, do not believe him. Bring out your young lady and let me see her."

Chen Cheng hurried inside and brought out One-Tally Gold, who came into the hall. The women and concubines, the old and the young, all came out from inside and out, bowed to the ground, and begged him to save the child.

The girl wore a flowered golden-tasseled circlet of eight treasures on her head; a red silk jacket with yellow flash; over that, a blue-green satin cloak with a checkered collar; a bright red patterned skirt at the waist; a pair of pale-red silk shoes with frog heads on her feet; and two little pair of gold-embroidered knee pants. She was also eating fruit.

Wukong said, "Bajie, this is the girl. Hurry and change into her so we can make the offering."

Bajie said, "Brother, how can I change into someone so small and pretty?"

Wukong shouted, "Make it quick. Do not invite a beating."

Bajie was frightened. "Brother, do not hit me. Let me change and you can see."

The fool muttered a spell, shook his head a few times, and cried, "Change!"

He truly changed, but only his face resembled a girl's; his belly was still large and clumsy, and he looked all wrong.

Wukong laughed. "Change again."

Bajie said, "Hit me if you like. I cannot change any further."

Wukong said, "Do you mean a girl's head and a monk's body? That is neither fish nor fowl. How could that be acceptable? Stand up straight."

He blew him a mouthful of immortal breath, and at once Bajie's body changed to match the child.

Then Wukong told the two old men, "Take your honored family and your son and daughter inside. Do not get them mixed up. In a little while my brother and I will slip in as if we were lazy guests, and we will be hard to recognize. Give him the good fruit to eat and do not let him cry out. If the Great King notices the wind has changed, he will know something is up. Let the two of us go play our part."

The Great Sage gave his orders to Brother Sha to protect Tripitaka. "I will transform into Chen Guobao, and Bajie will transform into One-Tally Gold."

The two of them were soon ready, and then they asked, "How is the offering made? Are we tied up and carried in? Are we steamed and sent over? Are we cooked and chopped up?"

Bajie said, "Brother, do not torment me. I have no such talent."

The old man said, "Not at all, not at all. We only need two red-lacquered sacrificial trays. Please sit in the trays and set them on the table. Let two young men carry a table on each side, and the trays will be borne up to the temple."

Wukong said, "Good, good, good. Bring out the trays and let us try them."

The old man immediately brought out two red-lacquered trays. Wukong and Bajie sat in them.

Four young men lifted up the two tables and carried them out into the courtyard, then brought them back and set them down in the hall.

Wukong laughed. "Bajie, if we can stroll around like this, we are monks who have risen to the upper shelf."

Bajie said, "If they carry us away and then carry us back, and keep carrying us till dawn, I am not afraid. It is only that once we get to the temple, they are going to eat us. That is not a game."

Wukong said, "Just watch me. If they are going to eat me, you can slip away."

Bajie said, "But who knows how they will eat us? If they eat the boy first, then I can run. If they eat the girl first, then what?"

The old man said, "In all the years we have made this sacrifice, there are brave fellows who hide behind the temple or under the offering table. They say the Great King always eats the boy first and the girl afterward."

Bajie said, "Good fortune, good fortune."

While the brothers were talking, they heard drums and gongs booming outside, lanterns shining everywhere, and all the villagers opening the front gate and calling, "Bring out the boy and girl!"

The old man wept. The four young men carried the two of them out.

As for what became of their lives, that must wait for the next chapter.