Chapter 67: Saving the People of Tuoluo Steadies the Zen Nature; Escaping from Filth Clears the Taoist Mind
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
Rescued from the Serpent-Devil, the Chan Nature Is Stabilized; Free from Filth and Defilement, the Way Mind Is Purified
It is said that the Tang Monk and his three disciples, having escaped from Little Western Paradise, set off on their way in high spirits. After traveling for about a month, it was the season of deep spring when flowers were in bloom. They saw several gardens where the green leaves had formed a dense shade, and after another spell of wind and rain, dusk had fallen. The Tang Monk reined in his horse and said, “Disciple, it is getting late. Which road should we take to find lodging?” Sun Wukong laughed and replied, “Master, do not worry. If there is no place to borrow a night’s rest, the three of us all have some skills. Let Zhu Bajie cut grass, let Sha Heshang chop pine wood, and I, Old Sun, will work as a carpenter. We can put up a thatched shed right on the road, and it will serve well enough for half a year or a year. What are you in such a hurry for?” Zhu Bajie said, “Elder Brother, this place—how can anyone live here? The mountains are full of tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves; the ground is covered with ghosts, monsters, and goblins. Even in broad daylight it is hard to travel; how dare we stay the night in the dark?” Sun Wukong said, “You idiot, you get more useless by the day. It’s not that I, Old Sun, am boasting, but as long as this staff is in my hand, even if the sky falls, I can hold it up.”
As the master and disciples were discussing this, they suddenly saw a village not far off. Sun Wukong said, “Good, good—there is a place to stay.” The Tang Monk asked, “Where?” Sun Wukong pointed and said, “Isn’t there a house in that grove? Let us go borrow a night’s lodging there and set out again tomorrow morning.” The Tang Monk happily urged his horse forward. When they reached the gate of the village, he dismounted. They saw the wicker gate tightly shut. The Tang Monk knocked and said, “Open the gate! Open the gate!” Inside, an old man, leaning on a thornwood staff and wearing straw sandals, with a black scarf on his head and plain clothes, opened the gate and asked, “Who is making such a racket here?” The Tang Monk put his palms together before his chest, bowed, and said, “Old benefactor, I am a monk sent from the East Land of Tang to go to the Western Heaven to fetch scriptures. Having just arrived in this region and finding it late, I have come especially to your honorable residence to borrow a night’s lodging. I earnestly beg you to make it convenient.” The old man said, “Monk, if you want to go west, you cannot get through. This is Little Western Paradise. If you want to reach Great Western Paradise, the road is still very far. Not to mention the difficulties ahead—even this place alone is already hard to pass.” The Tang Monk asked, “Why is it hard to pass?” The old man pointed with his finger and said, “Thirty-odd li west of my village there is a Rare Persimmon Ditch, and the mountain there is called the Seven Perfections Mountain.” The Tang Monk asked, “What does ‘Seven Perfections’ mean?” The old man said, “This mountain range is eight hundred li long, and the whole mountain is covered with persimmon trees. In an old saying: ‘The persimmon tree has seven perfections: first, it prolongs life; second, it gives abundant shade; third, it has no bird nests; fourth, it breeds no insects; fifth, its frosted leaves are pleasing to the eye; sixth, its fruit is fine; seventh, its branches and leaves are luxuriant.’ Hence it is called Seven Perfections Mountain. This region of ours is vast and sparsely populated, and no one has ever walked into those deep mountains. Every year the ripe persimmons rot on the road, filling up a whole narrow stone alley, and then, after being fermented by rain, dew, frost, and snow through the summer, they turn into a stretch of filth. The local people commonly call it the ‘Rare Filth Ditch.’ Whenever the west wind blows, there is a stench—even a latrine pit could not be as foul. Now it is the depth of spring, and the southeast wind is strong, so you cannot smell it.” The Tang Monk felt troubled and said nothing.
Sun Wukong could not contain himself and called out loudly, “You old fellow, you are utterly unreasonable! We have come from afar to borrow lodging, and you start off with such words to scare us. Even if your house is too small to sleep in, we could crouch under a tree and get through the night. Why must you be so long-winded?” When the old man saw his ugly appearance, he shut his mouth, and with a start of fear, forced his courage, shouted once, and pointed with his thornwood staff, saying, “You fellow—bony face, sharp chin, protruding forehead, flat nose, sunken cheeks, hairy eyes and shaggy brows, you look like a consumptive ghost! You don’t know your place, and with that pointed mouth you dare to offend me, an old man?” Sun Wukong smiled and said, “Old sir, it turns out you have eyes but cannot see. You do not recognize this consumptive ghost of mine. The physiognomy book says: ‘A strange and odd appearance may hide fine jade in the stone.’ If you judge people by their looks and words, you will be completely mistaken. Though I am ugly, I do have some skills.” The old man said, “Where are you from? What is your surname and given name? What skills do you have?” Sun Wukong smiled and said, “My native home is in the Eastern Continent of Superior Body; I cultivated myself from youth at the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. I studied under the Patriarch on the Spirit Terrace Square Inch Mountain and learned martial arts that are quite complete: I can stir up the sea and subdue the dragon mother, and I am good at carrying mountains to chase the sun; in binding monsters and capturing demons I am called number one; moving stars and changing constellations frightens even ghosts and gods. My fame for stealing Heaven and turning the earth around is great—I am the Handsome Stone Monkey of infinite transformations.”
When the old man heard this, his anger turned to joy. He bowed and said, “Please, please come into my humble house to settle down.” So the four of them, leading the horse and carrying the luggage, all went inside. They saw thorny brambles laid on both sides. The second gate had walls built of brick and stone, and the top was also covered with thorns. Inside were three tiled rooms. The old man then pulled out chairs, seated them, and offered tea. He also ordered food to be prepared. Before long, a table was brought out, and on it were many things: wheat gluten, bean curd, taros, turnips, hot mustard, turnip greens, fragrant rice, and vinegar-cooked mallow soup. The master and disciples ate their fill.
After the meal, Zhu Bajie pulled Sun Wukong aside and said privately, “Elder Brother, this old fellow at first refused to let us stay, but now he sets out such a lavish vegetarian meal. Why?” Sun Wukong said, “How much is this worth? By tomorrow, he will have to send us off with ten kinds of fruit and ten kinds of vegetables.” Zhu Bajie said, “Have you no shame? With just a few big words, you’ve tricked him into giving us one meal. Tomorrow we’ll have to run off anyway. How could he possibly treat us and send us off?” Sun Wukong said, “Don’t be impatient. I have my own plan.”
Before long, dusk gradually deepened, and the old man called for a lamp to be lit. Sun Wukong bowed and asked, “May I ask your honorable surname, sir?” The old man said, “My surname is Li.” Sun Wukong said, “Then this place must be called Li Family Village?” The old man said, “No, this is called Camel Luo Village. There are over five hundred households living here. There are many other surnames; only I am surnamed Li.” Sun Wukong said, “Benefactor Li, what good intention does your house have that you have bestowed such a generous meal upon us?” The old man stood up and said, “Just now I heard you say you can catch demons. Well, we have a demon here. I trouble you to catch it for us, and there will be a heavy reward.” Sun Wukong immediately made a deep bow and said, “Thank you for the patronage.”
Zhu Bajie said, “Look at him stirring up trouble! The moment he hears about catching a demon, he gets more excited than if it were his own grandfather, and he bows in advance.” Sun Wukong said, “Worthy brother, you don’t understand. My bow is like paying a deposit; he won’t be able to hire anyone else now.” When the Tang Monk heard this, he said, “You monkey, you always act on your own authority. If that demon’s magic powers are vast and you cannot capture it, wouldn’t that make us monks guilty of lying?” Sun Wukong laughed and said, “Master, don’t be angry. Let me ask a few more questions.”
The old man said, “What more is there to ask?” Sun Wukong said, “In this honorable region, the terrain is level and peaceful, and there are many households living here. It is not a remote place. What demon would dare come to your high and mighty gate?” The old man said, “To tell you the truth, this place has been peaceful for a long time. Only three years ago, during the sixth month, a sudden wind arose. At that time, everyone was busy—some were threshing wheat on the threshing floor, some were transplanting rice seedlings in the fields—and they all panicked, thinking the weather had changed. But when the wind passed, there was a demon that ate up the cattle and horses people were grazing, devoured the pigs and sheep, swallowed chickens and geese whole, and when it met men or women, it ate them alive. Since then, it has come to harm us these past two years. Reverend Sir, if you have the skill to catch this demon and sweep this place clean, we will certainly reward you heavily and dare not treat you with disrespect.” Sun Wukong said, “This will be hard to catch.” Zhu Bajie said, “Truly hard, hard. We are traveling monks, borrowing a night’s lodging. Tomorrow we will be on our way. What demon are we going to catch?” The old man said, “So you are just monks who trick people for food. At first you boasted and talked big, saying you could change stars and move constellations, subdue demons and bind monsters. But when the matter comes up, you back out and say it’s hard to catch.”
Sun Wukong said, “Old man, catching the demon is easy enough, but the people in this place are not of one mind, which makes it hard.” The old man asked, “How do you see that their hearts are not united?” Sun Wukong replied, “The demon has been causing trouble for three years, and who knows how many lives it has harmed. I think that if each household were to contribute just one tael of silver, five hundred households could raise five hundred taels. Then, no matter where, you could hire a master to catch the demon. Why would you willingly endure its torment for three years?” The old man said, “If we’re talking about spending money, it’s truly shameful. Which family hasn’t spent three or five taels? The year before last, we went south of the mountain and found a monk. We invited him here to catch the demon, but he couldn’t win.” Sun Wukong asked, “How did that monk go about catching it?” The old man said, “That monk, draped in a cassock, first recited the Peacock Sutra, then chanted the Lotus Sutra. He burned incense in a censer and held a bell in his hand. While he was chanting, he disturbed the demon. Wind and clouds arose, and it came straight to the village. The monk fought the demon, and it was quite a sight: punch for punch, grab for grab. The monk held his ground, but he had no hair to hold. Soon the demon triumphed and went straight back to the mist and clouds. It turned out his scalp was scarred. When we went up to look, his bald head was beaten like a smashed melon.” The Pilgrim laughed and said, “So it seems you suffered a loss.” The old man replied, “He only lost his life, but we were the ones who truly suffered: we bought him a coffin and handled the funeral, and also gave some silver to his disciple. That disciple was still not satisfied and wanted to sue us, and the matter dragged on endlessly.”
The Pilgrim asked, “Did you invite anyone else to catch it after that?” The old man said, “Last year we invited a Daoist priest.” The Pilgrim asked, “How did that Daoist priest catch it?” The old man said, “That Daoist priest: Wearing a golden crown, clad in ritual robes. He struck the spirit tablet, and performed spells with talismanic water. He summoned divine generals and restrained the demon. Fierce winds rolled, black mists swirled. He immediately fought the demon, the two locked in combat. They fought until dark, and the demon returned to the clouds. The sky and earth cleared, and all of us gathered. We went out to look for the Daoist, but he had drowned in a mountain stream. When we fished him out and looked, he was like a drowned chicken!” The Pilgrim laughed and said, “So you suffered another loss.” The old man said, “He too only lost his life, and we spent quite a bit more money and grain.”
The Pilgrim said, “No matter, no matter. Let me catch it for you.” The old man said, “If you truly have the skill to catch it, I’ll invite a few village elders to write you a contract: if you win, you can ask for whatever silver you want as a reward, not a cent less; if you suffer a loss, don’t come and cheat us—each follows his fate.” The Pilgrim laughed and said, “This old man has been cheated before and is scared. We’re not that kind of people. Go quickly and invite the elders.” The old man was overjoyed and instructed his servants to invite several neighbors, cousins, relatives, and friends—eight or nine elders in all—who all came to meet them. When they saw Tang Sanzang and heard about catching the demon, they were all delighted. The elders asked, “Which of your disciples is going to catch it?” The Pilgrim bowed and said, “It’s me, the little monk.” The elders were alarmed and said, “No, no. That demon has vast magical powers and a huge body. You, venerable sir, are thin and small—you wouldn’t even fill the gaps between its teeth.” The Pilgrim laughed and said, “Elders, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Small as I am, I’m sturdy—I’m like ‘one who has eaten knife-grinding water, with refinement inside.’” Hearing this, the elders had to comply and said, “Venerable sir, if you catch the demon, how much reward do you want?” The Pilgrim said, “Why talk about reward? As the saying goes: ‘Speaking of gold dazzles the eyes, speaking of silver sounds foolish, speaking of copper coins smells rank.’ We are monks who accumulate virtue and definitely do not want money.” The elders said, “If that’s the case, you are high monks who have taken the precepts. Since you don’t want money, how can we let you toil for nothing? We all make a living from fish and fields. If you truly subdue the demon and clear the area, each of our families will give you two acres of good land, totaling a thousand acres, all in one place. You and your master can build a monastery there, meditate and practice Zen—it would be better than wandering everywhere.” The Pilgrim laughed again and said, “That’s even worse. Once you take land, you have to raise horses, serve as corvée labor, pay grain taxes, and can’t sleep at dusk or rest at dawn—it would really wear a person out.” The elders said, “You don’t want anything at all, so what can we use to reward you?” The Pilgrim said, “For us monks, a cup of tea and a meal are reward enough.” The elders said happily, “That’s easy. But how will you catch it?” The Pilgrim said, “If it comes, I’ll catch it.” The elders said, “That demon is enormous: it touches the sky above and the earth below; when it comes, it brings wind, and when it leaves, it brings fog. How can you get near it?” The Pilgrim laughed and said, “If we’re talking about demons that summon wind and ride clouds, I’d treat them like grandchildren; if we’re talking about a huge body, I have the skill to beat it.”
Just as they were speaking, they heard a whistling wind. The eight or nine elders were so terrified they trembled and said, “This monk has a crow’s mouth—speak of the demon, and the demon comes!” Old Li opened the side door and called to the several relatives and Tang Sanzang, “Come in, come in, the demon is coming!” Zhu Bajie was also frightened and wanted to go in, and Sha Wujing wanted to go in too. Sun Wukong grabbed them both with his hands and said, “You two are so unreasonable. How can monks not distinguish between inside and outside? Stand still, don’t move, and come with me to the courtyard to see what kind of demon this is.” Zhu Bajie said, “Elder brother, these people have experienced this before—when the wind blows, the demon comes. They all go hide, and we have no relation to them, don’t know them, and aren’t old friends—why should we go see it?” But Sun Wukong was strong and wouldn’t listen to reason; he dragged them into the courtyard and made them stand there. The wind grew even stronger. A fine wind: It uproots trees, destroys forests, troubling tigers and wolves; it churns rivers and seas, stirring waves, frightening ghosts and spirits. It overturns the three peaks of Mount Huashan and lifts the four great continents of the world. Every household in the village shuts its doors, all the children hide their heads. Black clouds roll thickly, covering the stars; lamps have no light, and the land is dark everywhere. Zhu Bajie was so scared he trembled, fell to the ground, and buried his snout in the soil, as if nailed down. Sha Wujing covered his face, unable to open his eyes. Sun Wukong, recognizing the demon by the wind, saw in an instant that after the wind passed, two faint lights appeared in midair. He lowered his head and called out, “Brothers, the wind has passed. Get up and look.” The idiot pulled his snout out, shook off the dust, looked up at the sky, and saw the two lights. He suddenly laughed and said, “Funny, funny—so this is a proper demon, I should make friends with it.” Sha Wujing said, “It’s so dark, and we haven’t even met face to face—how do you know if it’s good or bad?” Zhu Bajie said, “The ancients said: ‘If you travel at night, use a candle; without a candle, stop.’ Look—it’s carrying a pair of lanterns to light the way—it must be a good one.” Sha Wujing said, “You’re mistaken. Those aren’t lanterns; they’re the demon’s two bright eyes.” The idiot shrank three inches in fear and said, “Heavens! If its eyes are that big, how big must its mouth be?” Sun Wukong said, “Don’t be afraid, worthy brothers. You two protect the master while I go up and ask it what it wants, and see what kind of demon it is.” Zhu Bajie said, “Elder brother, don’t give us away.”
The good Pilgrim leaped into the air with a whistle, grasped his iron staff, and shouted loudly, “Slow down, slow down, I’m here.” When the demon saw him, it stopped its body and brandished a long spear wildly. The Pilgrim assumed a stance and asked, “What demon are you, from where? What spirit?” The demon did not answer at all, just kept waving its spear. The Pilgrim asked again, and again it did not answer, only waving its spear. The Pilgrim laughed to himself and said, “Probably deaf and mute. Don’t move—watch my staff.” The demon was unafraid and wildly waved its spear to block. In midair, they went back and forth, up and down, fighting until the third watch without either winning or losing. Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing watched clearly from Li’s courtyard. The demon only waved its spear to parry, without even a hint of attacking. Sun Wukong’s staff never left the demon’s head. Zhu Bajie laughed and said, “Sha Wujing, you stay here and protect the master. Let old Pig go help and fight, so that monkey doesn’t take all the credit and get the first cup of wine.”
The idiot immediately leaped into the clouds, caught up, and struck. The monster countered with a spear, and the two spears clashed like flying snakes and lightning. Bajie praised, "This fiend has fine spear technique! It’s not a mountain-back spear, nor a silk-wound spear; it’s not a horse-family spear either, but what’s called a soft-handled spear." Pilgrim said, "Idiot, don’t talk nonsense. Where is there any soft-handled spear?" Bajie replied, "Look—he uses the spear tip to fend us off, but I don’t see the handle; I don’t know where it’s hidden." Pilgrim said, "Maybe it is a soft-handled spear. But this monster can’t speak yet, so it probably hasn’t entered the human path; its yin energy is still heavy. I fear when dawn comes and yang energy thrives, it will surely flee. When it does, we must catch up and not let it go." Bajie said, "Right, right."
They fought for a long time, and before they knew it, the east grew light. The monster dared not linger in the fight; it turned and fled. Pilgrim and Bajie chased together, when suddenly a foul, filthy stench assailed them. It turned out to be the Persimmon Dung Gully of Seven Perfections Mountain. Bajie said, "Which household is cleaning out its latrine? Whew! The stench is unbearable." Pilgrim, pinching his nose, shouted, "Hurry and chase the fiend! Hurry and chase the fiend!" The monster dashed over the mountain and revealed its true form: a huge red-scaled python. Behold:
Its eyes shot forth the morning stars, its nose sprayed the dawn mist. Dense rows of teeth were like steel swords, curved claws like golden hooks. On its head was a fleshy horn, seeming to be pieced together from a thousand pieces of agate; its body was clad in red scales, like ten thousand patches of rouge piled up. Coiled on the ground, it was mistaken for a brocade quilt; flying through the air, it was wrongly thought a rainbow. Where it rested, a rank smell rose to heaven; when it moved, red clouds enveloped its body. Huge as it was, people on both sides could not see east from west; long as it was, it spanned a mountain from north to south.
Bajie said, "So it’s just a long snake like this. If it were to eat people, it would take five hundred at a meal and still not be full." Pilgrim said, "That soft-handled spear was its two forked tongues. We’ll take advantage while its body is soft and strike from behind." This Bajie leaped forward, raised his rake, and struck. The monster burrowed headfirst into a cave, leaving seven or eight feet of its tail outside. Bajie put down his rake, grabbed hold, and said, "Got it! Got it!" He pulled with all his might, but couldn’t budge it a hair. Pilgrim laughed and said, "Idiot, let it go and let it in. I have a plan—don’t pull the snake backward like that." Bajie really let go, and the monster slithered inside. Bajie grumbled, "If I hadn’t let go just now, half its body would already be ours. Now that it’s shrunk back in, how can we get it out? Isn’t this like having no snake to handle?" Pilgrim said, "This creature’s body is huge, and the cave is narrow. It can’t turn around; it must have gone straight in and will have a back exit. You go quickly to the back exit and block it, while I strike at the front."
The idiot indeed ran like smoke over the mountain, and sure enough, he saw a hole. He stopped and took his stand. Before he could steady himself, Pilgrim at the front poked inside with his staff. The monster, feeling the pain, shot straight out the back exit. Bajie, caught off guard, was knocked flat by its tail, unable to get up, lying on the ground enduring the pain. Pilgrim, seeing nothing in the cave, ran over with his staff, shouting to chase the fiend. When Bajie heard the shout, he felt ashamed, bore the pain, scrambled up, and flailed wildly with his rake. Pilgrim laughed and said, "The fiend’s gone—why are you still flailing?" Bajie said, "Old Hog is beating the grass to rouse the snake." Pilgrim said, "You live idiot, hurry and give chase."
The two chased across a mountain stream and saw the monster coiled up, raising its head and opening its huge mouth to swallow Bajie. Bajie, terrified, backed off. Pilgrim, instead, charged forward and was swallowed in one gulp. Bajie beat his chest and stamped his feet, crying out, "Elder Brother, you’re done for!" Pilgrim, inside the fiend’s belly, propped up his iron staff and said, "Bajie, don’t worry. I’ll have it make a bridge for you to see." The monster arched its back, looking just like a rainbow in the east. Bajie said, "Though it looks like a bridge, no one would dare walk it." Pilgrim said, "I’ll have it turn into a boat for you to see." Inside, he used his staff to push against the belly. The monster pressed its belly to the ground and raised its head, like a Gànbǎo boat. Bajie said, "Though it looks like a boat, it has no mast or sail, so it can’t use the wind." Pilgrim said, "Get out of the way, and I’ll have it make some wind for you." He then thrust his iron staff out through the monster’s back, some five or seven tens of feet long, like a mast. The creature, enduring the pain, charged forward with all its might, faster than if it had wind, rushing back along its original path, down the mountain, for over twenty miles, until it collapsed in the dust, unable to move, and died with a groan. Bajie caught up and struck wildly with his rake again. Pilgrim, having pierced a great hole through the monster, crawled out and said, "Idiot, it’s dead—why are you still striking it?" Bajie said, "Elder Brother, don’t you know that Old Hog has always loved beating dead snakes?" So he put away his weapon, grabbed the tail, and dragged it back.
Now, Old Man Li of Camel Luo Village and the others said to Tang Sanzang, "Those two disciples of yours haven’t returned all night; they must have lost their lives." Sanzang said, "It’s certainly no trouble. Let’s go out and see." In a moment, they saw Pilgrim and Bajie dragging a huge python, shouting and yelling as they came. The people were overjoyed. The entire village, old and young, men and women, all came to kneel and say, "Venerable Sir, this is the very fiend that has been harming people here. Now, thanks to your magical powers in slaying the demon and removing the evil, we folk can live in peace."
Everyone was deeply grateful, inviting them east and west, each offering thanks. The were detained for five or seven days, and only after bitter refusals were they allowed to leave. Seeing that they wanted neither money nor goods, the villagers prepared dry provisions and fruits, rode mules and horses, with colorful flags and flowers, to see them off. Among the five hundred households, seven or eight hundred people came to send them off.
Along the way, they were joyful, and soon they reached the entrance of the Persimmon Dung Gully on Seven Perfections Mountain. Sanzang, smelling the foul stench and seeing the road blocked, said, "Wukong, how can we get through like this?" Pilgrim, pinching his nose, said, "This is indeed difficult." When Sanzang saw Pilgrim say it was difficult, tears fell from his eyes. Old Man Li and the others stepped forward and said, "Venerable Sir, do not be anxious. We have escorted you here and have already discussed it: your disciple has subdued the fiend for us and rid our village of its calamity. We have each prepared with sincere hearts to open another good road to see you through." Pilgrim laughed and said, "Old man, what you say doesn’t hold water. You just said this mountain road is eight hundred miles long. You’re not the divine troops of Yu the Great—how could you open a mountain and cut a road? If we want my master to get through, we’ll have to exert ourselves; none of you can manage it." Sanzang dismounted and said, "Wukong, how do we exert ourselves?" Pilgrim laughed and said, "For now, crossing the mountain is hard; if we talk about opening another road, it’s even harder. We must still go through the old gully, but I’m only afraid no one will provide meals." Old Man Li said, "Elder, what are you saying? No matter how long you four tarry, we can support you all. How can you say no one will provide meals?" Pilgrim said, "If that’s the case, then go and prepare two piculs of cooked rice, and make some steamed cakes and buns. Let my long-snouted monk eat his fill, then turn into a big pig and root open the old road. My master will ride on the horse, and we’ll support him—I guarantee we’ll get through."
Bajie heard this and said, "Elder Brother, you all want to stay clean—why make Old Hog stink?" Sanzang said, "Wuneng, if you truly have the skill to root open the gully and lead me across the mountain, I’ll record this as your first merit." Bajie laughed and said, "Master above, and all you donors here, don’t laugh. Old Hog originally has thirty-six transformations. If you talk about changing into light, dainty, flying things, I truly can’t; but if you talk about changing into mountains, trees, rocks, mounds, mangy elephants, pigs, water buffalo, or camels, I can do all of them. Only, when my body grows big, my belly grows even bigger. I must eat my fill before I can do the job." The people said, "We have things, we have things! We’ve all brought dry provisions, fruits, baked cakes, and buns here, originally to open the mountain to see you off. For now, take them all and enjoy them as you wish. When you’ve transformed and set to work, we’ll send someone back to cook more food." Bajie was overjoyed, took off his black robe, dropped his nine-toothed rake, and said to the crowd, "Don’t laugh—watch Old Hog do this stinking job."
The good idiot, making a hand seal and shaking his body, changed into a big pig. Truly:
Its mouth was long, its hair short, and its body half-fat, having fed on medicinal sprouts in the mountains since youth.
Its black face and round eyes were like the sun and moon, its round head and large ears resembled a plantain leaf.
It had cultivated firm bones to match Heaven’s lifespan, and refined its coarse hide to be tougher than iron.
With a snuffling nasal voice it roared and cried, and its throat rumbled with spitting and howling.
Its four white hooves stood a thousand feet high, and its sword-like mane and long body stretched a hundred spans.
Though men had seen fat pigs in the world, never before had they seen such a ancient boar demon.
Tripitaka and the others all praised together, admiring the Heavenly Reaper’s great magical powers.
When Sun Wukong saw Zhu Bajie transformed like this, he ordered those who had come to see them off to quickly gather the dry rations and other things into one place, and told Bajie to enjoy them. That idiot, without distinguishing raw from cooked, gobbled it all down in one gulp, then went ahead to clear the path.
Wukong told Sha Monk to take off his shoes and properly carry the load, and asked the master to sit steadily in the carved saddle. He also took off his shoes and instructed the people to return: "If you have any goodwill, quickly send some food to give my younger brother strength."
Among the seven or eight hundred people seeing them off, most had mules or horses, and they sped back to the village to cook; three hundred more, on foot, stood at the foot of the mountain watching them from afar. It turned out that from the village to the mountain was over thirty li, and after they returned to fetch the food, there was another thirty li back, so the round trip was about a hundred li. By then, the master and disciples had already traveled far.
The people, unwilling to part, urged their mules and horses on, entered the ravine, and traveled all night, catching up only the next day. They called out: "Master, who seeks the scriptures, go slowly, go slowly! We have brought food."
The elder, hearing this, thanked them profusely and said, "Truly these are men of good faith." He told Bajie to stop and eat some more food to strengthen his spirit. That idiot, after clearing the path for two days, was just then feeling hungry. The crowd brought no less than seven or eight piculs of food, and he, not caring whether it was rice or noodles, gathered it all and swallowed it down in one gulp. After a hearty meal, he went ahead to clear the path again.
Tripitaka, Wukong, and Sha Monk thanked the people, parted from them, and said their farewells. Truly:
The guests of Tuoluo Village returned home,
As Bajie opened the mountain and passed through the ravine.
Tripitaka’s sincere heart was upheld by divine power,
Wukong’s magic manifested, and the demon’s might waned.
The thousand-year-old rotten persimmons were cleared today,
The Seven Ultimate Alley was thus opened.
All the six desires and worldly passions were cut away,
Safe and unhindered, they bowed before the Lotus Throne.
On this journey, who knows how many more miles there are, and what monsters they might yet encounter? Listen to the explanation in the next chapter.