Chapter 76: The Mind-Dwelling Demon Returns to Its Nature; Wood Mother Joins in Subduing the Monsters' True Forms

When the Great Sage Sun was inside the old demon's belly, he made some commotion for a while, and the demon fell to the ground in the dust, without sound or breath. If he said nothing, it was probably because he was dead, but then he moved his hands a little. The demon revived and called out, "Most merciful and compassionate Bodhisattva, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven." Pilgrim, hearing this, said, "Son, don't waste your breath. Use fewer words; just call me Grandpa Sun." The demon, clinging to life, indeed called out, "Grandpa, Grandpa, it was my fault. By a mistake and an error I swallowed you, and now you are harming me instead. I beg the Great Sage to be merciful, to pity the desire of a mayfly to live, spare my life, and I am willing to escort your master across the mountain." Although the Great Sage was a hero, he was very concerned about Tang Sanzang's progress. Seeing the demon's earnest plea, being someone who appreciated flattery, he also turned to good thoughts and called out, "Monster, I will spare you, but how will you send my master across?" The old demon said, "I have no gold, silver, pearls, jade, agate, coral, lapis lazuli, amber, or hawksbill turtle treasures to offer. My two brothers and I will carry a sedan chair made of sweet flag vines to send your master across this mountain." Pilgrim laughed and said, "If you're sending a sedan chair, that's better than asking for treasures. Open your mouth, and I'll come out." The demon truly opened his mouth. The third demon approached quietly and whispered to the old demon, "Big brother, when he comes out, bite down and chew the monkey to pieces, then swallow him, and he won't be able to harm us anymore."

But Pilgrim, hearing this from inside, did not come out immediately. Instead, he extended his golden-hooped rod to test him. The monster indeed bit down with a crack, shattering his own front teeth. Pilgrim pulled back his rod and said, "You wretched monster! I spare your life and come out, yet you try to bite me and kill me. I won't come out now; I'll just torment you to death alive. Not coming out, not coming out!" The old demon complained to the third demon, "Brother, you're harming your own family. It would have been better to let him out, but you told me to bite him. I didn't even bite him, and now my gums are in pain from the shattering. How did this happen?"

When the third demon saw the old demon blaming him, he devised a provocation and shouted loudly, "Sun Pilgrim, I've heard your name like thunder crashing in the ears, that you showed your might outside the Southern Heavenly Gate and displayed your power beneath the Hall of Miraculous Mist. Now on the road to the Western Heaven, you subdue demons and bind monsters, but it turns out you're nothing but a lowly monkey." Pilgrim said, "How am I lowly?" The third demon said, "'A good host keeps a guest for a thousand miles; a guest's fame spreads ten thousand miles.' Come out, and I'll fight you fair and square, and then you'll be a true hero. What kind of skill is it to act inside someone's belly? Isn't that the mark of a lowlife?" When Pilgrim heard this, he thought to himself, "Yes, yes, yes. If I now tear out his guts and smash his liver, killing this monster, what difficulty would there be? But it would truly ruin my reputation. Very well, very well. Open your mouth, and I'll come out to compete with you. But your cave entrance is narrow and cramped, not good for using my weapon; we must go to a wider place." When the third demon heard this, he immediately mustered all the large and small monsters, over thirty thousand in number, all holding sharp weapons, and they formed a battle formation of three lines outside the cave, waiting for Pilgrim to come out so they could attack together. The second demon helped the old demon out to the cave entrance and called out, "Sun Pilgrim, if you're a real man, come out. There's a battlefield here for a good fight."

Inside the demon's belly, the Great Sage heard the cawing of crows, the chattering of magpies, the cry of cranes, and the sound of the wind outside, and knew it was a spacious place. He thought, "If I don't go out, I'll break my word; if I do go out, this fiend has the face of a man but the heart of a beast: earlier he said he'd send my master, then tricked me out to bite me, and now he's deployed troops here. Very well, very well, I'll give him a solution that suits both sides: I'll go out, but I'll leave a root in his belly first." So he turned his hand, plucked a hair from his tail, blew on it with immortal breath, and said, "Change!" It turned into a rope, as thin as a hair, but forty fathoms long. The rope, as it was laid out, grew thicker in the wind. He tied one end around the demon's heart and liver, making a slipknot. The knot wouldn't tighten unless pulled, but when pulled tight, it caused pain. Holding the other end, he laughed and said, "When I go out, if he sends my master, fine; if not, and he starts a fight with weapons, I won't have time to spar with him; I'll just pull this rope, and it will be as if I were still in his belly." Then he shrank his body small and crawled out. When he reached the throat, he saw the demon's great square mouth wide open, with upper and lower teeth like rows of sharp blades. He suddenly thought, "Not good, not good. If I go out through the mouth and pull this rope, he'll be afraid of the pain and bite down, cutting it. I'll go out through a place without teeth." The Great Sage, clever as he was, guided the rope and crawled forward along the roof of the demon's mouth until he reached his nostrils. The old demon's nose itched, and he sneezed, "Ah-choo!" sending Pilgrim flying out.

When Pilgrim felt the wind, he straightened his waist, stretching to about thirty feet tall, holding the rope in one hand and his iron staff in the other. The demon, not knowing any better, saw him come out and raised his steel blade to slash at his face. The Great Sage parried with his iron staff in one hand. Then the second demon came at him with a spear, and the third with a halberd, attacking wildly from all sides. The Great Sage loosened the rope, put away his iron staff, and quickly leaped into the clouds to escape. He was afraid that the crowd of minor demons would surround him and make it hard to act. So he jumped out of their camp, landed on a bare mountain peak, and with both hands pulled the rope with all his might. The old demon felt a pain in his heart. In agony, he struggled upward, while the Great Sage pulled downward again. The minor demons, seeing this from afar, shouted in unison, "Great King, don't provoke him; let him go. This monkey is out of season: it's not yet Qingming, but he's flying a kite over there!" Hearing this, the Great Sage strained and gave a mighty tug. The old demon fell from the air with a whistling sound, like a spinning wheel, crashing into the dust and making a pit two feet deep in the hard yellow earth of the hillside.

Startled, the second and third demons together descended from the clouds, ran forward, grabbed the rope, knelt at the slope, and pleaded, "Great Sage, we thought you were a generous and broad-minded immortal, but who would have known you are a small-hearted and petty creature. We truly tricked you out to fight, not expecting you to have tied a rope around our elder brother's heart." Pilgrim laughed and said, "You bunch of fiendish demons, utterly rude. The first time you tricked me out to bite me, and this time you trick me out to array troops against me. With tens of thousands of demon soldiers fighting me alone, it doesn't make sense. I'll pull you away, pull you away to see my master." The demons kowtowed together and said, "Great Sage, be merciful, spare our lives, and we are willing to escort the venerable master across the mountain." Pilgrim laughed and said, "If you want to live, just take a knife and cut the rope." The old demon said, "O grandfather! Cutting the outside rope is fine, but the inside end is tied to my heart, and it's stuck in my throat, making me nauseous. What can be done?" Pilgrim said, "If that's the case, open your mouth, and let me go back in to untie the rope." The old demon panicked and said, "If you go in again, you won't come out, and that will be difficult, very difficult." Pilgrim said, "I have the skill to untie the inside knot from the outside. If I untie it, will you truly send my master?" The old demon said, "As soon as it's untied, we'll send him, and I dare not lie." The Great Sage, seeing that this was true, shook his body and withdrew the hair. The demon's heart no longer ached. This was the Great Sage Sun's deceptive technique: he had used the hair to bind the demon's heart, and when he withdrew it, the pain stopped. The three demons leaped up and thanked him, saying, "Great Sage, please return. Tell Tang Sanzang to pack his luggage, and we will come with the sedan chair to send him off." All the demons laid down their weapons and returned to their cave.

The Great Sage put away the rope and went straight back to the eastern side of the mountain. From afar he saw Tang Sanzang lying on the ground, thrashing and weeping bitterly, while Zhu Bajie and Sha Seng had untied the bundle and divided the luggage into several portions, busily apportioning the goods. The Pilgrim sighed to himself and said, “No need to say more—this must be Bajie telling the Master that I was eaten by the demon, and the Master, unable to bear losing me, is weeping bitterly. That blockhead, however, is dividing the belongings to break up the company. Hah! I wonder if that’s the case? Let me call out to him and see.” He descended his cloud and called out, “Master.” When Sha Seng heard this, he reproached Bajie, saying, “You’re like a coffin base—the ruin of others. Eldest Brother isn’t dead, yet you claimed he was, and here you are doing this sort of thing. Hasn’t he been called back?” Bajie said, “I clearly saw him swallowed in one gulp by the demon. Perhaps it’s an unlucky day, and the monkey’s spirit has come to show itself.” The Pilgrim came up to him, seized Bajie by the face, and gave him a slap that sent him staggering, saying, “Blockhead! What spirit would I show?” The blockhead covered his face and said, “Elder Brother, you were indeed eaten by that monster. How—how have you come back to life?” The Pilgrim said, “Like you, a useless milksop? He swallowed me, and I grabbed his guts, squeezed his lungs, and strung this rope through his heart, pulling until he could bear the pain no longer. One by one they kowtowed and begged for mercy, and only then did I spare their lives. Now they’re carrying a sedan chair to see my Master across the mountain.” When Sanzang heard this, he scrambled to his feet, bowed to the Pilgrim, and said, “Disciple, you have worked hard. If I had trusted Wuneng’s words, I would already be dead.” The Pilgrim raised his fist and struck Bajie, cursing, “This chaff-eating blockhead is utterly lazy and not at all like a man. Master, do not be angry; that demon will soon come to see you off.” Sha Seng also felt ashamed, quickly covering it up, and they packed the luggage, fastened the saddle, and waited on the road. Let us leave this for now.

Meanwhile, the three demon chiefs led their horde of imps back to the cave. The second demon said, “Elder Brother, I thought this Sun Xingzhe was some nine-headed, eight-tailed creature, but he’s just a little monkey. You should not have swallowed him. If you had fought him, how could he have prevailed against you? With these tens of thousands of imps in the cave, even spitting could drown him. But you took him into your belly, and he used his magic to make you suffer—how could you dare to match him? What he said just now about escorting Tang Sanzang was all pretense; it was truly for the sake of saving your life, Elder Brother, that we tricked him out. He will certainly not see us off.” The old demon said, “Worthy Brother, what is your reason for not seeing him off?” The second demon said, “Give me three thousand little imps, draw up the battle formation, and I have the skill to capture this monkey head.” The old demon said, “Never mind three thousand; you may command the whole camp. As long as you capture him, we will all share the credit.”

So the second demon mustered three thousand little imps and went straight to the roadside, where he drew up the battle formation. He sent a blue-flag messenger back and forth to report, saying, “Sun Xingzhe, come out quickly and fight with me, the Second Great King.” When Bajie heard this, he laughed and said, “Elder Brother, the saying goes, ‘Lies cannot fool the locals.’ You’ve come to play tricks and deceive: you said the demon had surrendered and would carry a sedan chair to see the Master off, yet now he comes to challenge us—why is that?” The Pilgrim said, “The old demon has already been subdued by me and dares not show his head; even hearing the word ‘Sun’ gives him a headache. This must be the second demon, unwilling to see us off, who has come to challenge us. I tell you, Brother, these demons are three brothers, and they value brotherhood so much; we brothers are also three—do we not have any sense of brotherhood? I have already subdued the great demon; now that the second demon has come out, you could fight a battle with him—that wouldn’t be amiss.” Bajie said, “What’s there to fear? Let me go and fight a round.” The Pilgrim said, “If you’re going, then go.” Bajie laughed and said, “Elder Brother, if I go, lend me that rope to use.” The Pilgrim said, “What do you want it for? You’ve no skill to drill into his belly or tie it around his heart—what use is it to you?” Bajie said, “I want to tie it around my waist as a life-saving rope. You and Sha Seng hold the other end, and let me go out to fight him. If I think I can win, you loosen the rope and I’ll capture him; if I’m losing, you pull me back, so he doesn’t drag me away.” The Pilgrim laughed to himself and thought, “I’ll have some fun with this blockhead.” He tied the rope around Bajie’s waist and urged him into battle.

The blockhead raised his rake and ran up the cliff, shouting, “Demon, come out and fight with your Pig Ancestor.” The blue-flag messenger quickly reported, “Great King, a monk with a long snout and big ears has come.” The second demon came out of camp and, upon seeing Bajie, without a word, thrust his spear straight at his face. The blockhead raised his rake and met him. They clashed before the slope, but after no more than seven or eight exchanges, the blockhead’s hands grew weak, and he could not hold his own against the demon. He hastily turned his head and called out, “Elder Brother, it’s bad! Pull the life-saving rope, pull the life-saving rope!” When the Great Sage heard this, he instead let the rope go slack and tossed it away. The blockhead, defeated, turned and fled. Now, the rope trailing behind him was not noticeable at first, but when he turned back, because it was loose, it tripped him up. He stumbled and fell once, then got up and fell again. At first he fell head over heels, then he landed face-first in the dirt. The demon caught up, opened his snout like a flood dragon, and coiled it around Bajie, carrying him off in victory back to the cave. All the imps sang triumphal songs and crowded back.

When Sanzang saw this from below the slope, he grew angry with the Pilgrim and said, “Wukong, no wonder Wuneng cursed you to death—it’s clear you brothers have no love for each other, only envy and spite. He told you to pull the life-saving rope, but you didn’t pull it; instead, you threw the rope away. Now that he’s been captured, what are we to do?” The Pilgrim laughed and said, “Master, you are too partial and too biased. Enough! When I, Old Sun, was taken, you showed no concern at all—as if I were something not worth caring about. Now that this blockhead has been caught, you blame me. Let him suffer a bit of hardship; that will show him the difficulty of the quest for scriptures.” Sanzang said, “Disciple, when you went, how could I not be concerned? But I thought, with your shape-shifting ability, you would surely not come to harm. That blockhead is coarse and clumsy, and he cannot dodge. This time, little good and much ill will come of it. You should go and rescue him.” The Pilgrim said, “Master, do not reproach me. Let me go and rescue him.”

He swiftly leaped up and hurried to the mountain, secretly nursing a grudge: “This blockhead cursed me to death; I won’t give him an easy time. Let me follow and see how the demon deals with him, let him suffer a while, then I’ll go and rescue him.” He made a hand seal, recited the true spell, shook himself, and transformed into a tiny cicada. He flew over and alighted on Bajie’s ear, accompanying the demon into the cave. The second demon led his three thousand little imps, with much fanfare, to the cave entrance and halted. He took Bajie inside and said, “Elder Brother, I’ve captured one.” The old demon said, “Bring him here and let me see.” He loosened his snout, threw Bajie down, and said, “Isn’t this him?” The old demon said, “This fellow is useless.” When Bajie heard this, he said, “Great King, if he’s useless, let him go and catch the useful one instead.” The third demon said, “Though he’s useless, he’s still Tang Sanzang’s disciple, Zhu Bajie. Tie him up and send him to the pond in the back to soak. Once the hair is soaked off, slit open his belly, salt him, and dry him in the sun. When it’s cloudy, we’ll have him with wine.” Bajie was greatly alarmed and said, “Enough, enough! I’ve run into a demon who sells salted goods.” All the imps set to work, tying the blockhead hand and foot, then carried him to the pond and tossed him in the middle before returning.

The Great Sage flew up to look. The blockhead lay with his limbs pointing to the sky, his snout pouting, half floating and half sinking, making puffing sounds with his mouth—truly a ridiculous sight, like a large black lotus pod after the frost in the eighth or ninth month, its seeds fallen out. When the Great Sage saw his appearance, he felt both hatred and pity for him and said, “What’s to be done? He’s still a man of the Dragon Flower Assembly. But I hate how he’s always dividing the luggage and breaking up the company, and urging the Master to recite the Tight-Band Spell to torment me. The other day I heard Sha Seng say that he’s saved some private money. I wonder if it’s true? Let me scare him a bit and see.”

The Great Sage, flying close to his ear, disguised his voice and called out, "Zhu Wuneng, Zhu Wuneng." Eight Rules was startled and said, "How unlucky! This 'Wuneng' was given to me by Guanyin Bodhisattva, and since I joined Tang Sanzang, I've also been called Eight Rules. How does anyone here know my name Wuneng?" The idiot couldn't help but ask, "Who is calling my ordained name?" Pilgrim said, "It's me." The idiot said, "Who are you?" Pilgrim said, "I am an official summoning souls." The idiot, panicking, said, "Officer, where do you come from?" Pilgrim said, "I was sent by King Yama of the Fifth Court to summon you." The idiot said, "Officer, go back first and reply to King Yama for me. He and my elder brother Sun Wukong are on good terms. Let him grant me one day's grace, and come to summon me tomorrow." Pilgrim said, "Nonsense. 'If Yama decrees death at the third watch, who dares keep a man till the fourth?' Come along with me now, or I'll have to put the rope on you and drag you." The idiot said, "Officer, isn't there a way to show some kindness? Look at this face of mine—do I still hope to live? Death is certain, but just wait one day, until this captures my masters and me together, then we'll meet and settle accounts all at once." Pilgrim laughed to himself and said, "Very well. My warrant lists thirty people, all around here. If I wait to gather them all before adding you, that will take a day's delay. Do you have any travel money? Give me some." Eight Rules said, "Pity me! As a monk, where would I have any travel money?" Pilgrim said, "If you have no travel money, then put on the rope and follow me." The idiot, panicking, said, "Officer, don't put it on. I know this rope of yours is called the Life-Chasing Rope; once it's on, you're done for. I have some, but not much." Pilgrim said, "Where is it? Bring it out quickly." Eight Rules said, "Pity, pity! Since I became a monk, some faithful households have given alms to monks. Seeing my big appetite, they gave me a bit more money than the others. I saved it up here, and it came to five maces of silver. As it was hard to keep, I went to town a few days ago and found a silversmith to melt it into one piece. But he was so wicked, he stole a few candareens from me, leaving only four maces and six candareens in one lump. Take it." Pilgrim laughed to himself and said, "This idiot doesn't even have pants to wear, so where does he hide it? Hey! Where's your silver?" Eight Rules said, "It's stuffed in my left ear hole. I'm tied up and can't get it myself—you go get it."

When Pilgrim heard this, he reached into the ear hole and pulled it out. It was indeed a saddle-shaped piece of silver, weighing fully four maces and five or six candareens. Holding it in his hand, he couldn't help but let out a loud laugh. The idiot recognized Pilgrim's voice and cursed wildly in the water, "That damned Bi Ma Wen! In such a bitter plight, you still come to swindle money out of me." Pilgrim laughed again and said, "You worthless wretch! Old Monkey has protected the master through untold hardships, and yet you've been hoarding private savings." Eight Rules said, "Shameless! What private savings are these? They were scraped from between my teeth. I didn't even buy food with them, but saved them to buy cloth for a piece of clothing. And you scare me into giving them up. Give me a share." Pilgrim said, "Not half a share will I give you." Eight Rules cursed, "Since I've given you my life-ransom money, at least you should rescue me." Pilgrim said, "Don't worry. Let me save you." He hid the silver, revealed his true form, drew his iron rod, hooked the idiot over, grabbed him by the feet, hauled him up, and untied the rope. Eight Rules jumped up, took off his clothes, wrung them dry, shook them out, and put them on dripping wet, saying, "Elder Brother, let's go out the back door." Pilgrim said, "Going out the back door—is that any improvement? Let's go up through the front gate." Eight Rules said, "My feet are numb from being tied; I can't run." Pilgrim said, "Follow me quickly."

The Great Sage, wielding his iron rod with all his skill, fought his way out. The idiot, enduring the numbness, had to follow him closely. At the second gate, leaning against it, was his own rake. He stepped forward, pushed aside the little demons, grabbed it, and wildly struck out ahead, breaking through three or four gates with Pilgrim, killing who knows how many little demons. When the old demon heard this, he said to the second demon, "What fine captures we made! Look—Sun Pilgrim has rescued Zhu Eight Rules and is wounding the little demons at the gates." The second demon leaped up, grabbed his spear, and rushed out the gate, shouting loudly, "You cursed macaque! How dare you show such disrespect and slight us?" When the Great Sage heard this, he stopped and responded. The monster, without another word, thrust his spear forward. Pilgrim, being an expert, was not flustered; he drew his iron rod and met him head-on. Outside the cave gate, the two fought a fine battle:

The yellow-tusked elephant, transformed to human guise,

Befriended the lion king as brothers under the skies.

At the great demon's urging, they joined in one design,

To plot and eat the Tang Monk with their crafty design.

The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, vast in magic might,

Aided the righteous, quelled the evil, and sought to end the sprite.

Eight Rules, powerless, fell into their vicious snare;

Wukong came to rescue him and led him out with care.

The demon king pursued them, fierce and bold in fight;

Spear and rod clashed, each displaying their full might.

One spear came like a python through the forest glade;

This rod rose like a dragon from the sea's cascade.

The dragon left the sea, clouds and mists to raise;

The python through the trees, in fog and haze.

All for the Tang Monk, in bitter strife they stood,

Hateful and relentless, with no touch of good.

When Eight Rules saw the Great Sage battling the monster, he stood on a hilltop with his rake propped up, not joining the fight, just staring blankly. The monster, seeing how heavy Pilgrim's rod was and that his moves left no opening, blocked the rod with his spear, flung out his trunk, and tried to coil around him. Pilgrim knew his trick; he held his gold-banded rod horizontally and raised it high. The monster's trunk coiled around his waist and hips, but missed his hands. Watch him—he twirled his rod like a toy on the monster's snout. When Eight Rules saw this, he beat his chest and said, "Hey! That monster's out of luck. When he coiled me, the clumsy one, my hands were caught too, and I couldn't move. But when he coils the slippery one, he leaves his hands free. With that rod in both hands, he only needs to stick it up the nose—once it's in, the nostrils will ache and drip with snot—how can the monster hold him?"

Pilgrim hadn't thought of this, but Eight Rules taught him. He shook the rod, making it small as a chicken egg and over ten feet long, and truly stuck it up the monster's nostril. The monster, terrified, gave a whoosh and flung his trunk away. Pilgrim switched his grip, grabbed it hard, and pulled forward with force. The monster, in pain, followed his hand and stepped along. Only then did Eight Rules dare to come close, raising his rake to strike at the monster's crotch. Pilgrim said, "No, no! The rake's tines are sharp; you might break the skin and draw blood. If the master sees it, he'll say we harmed a living being. Just turn the handle around and hit him."

Indeed, the idiot raised the rake handle and, with every step, gave a blow. Pilgrim led the monster by the trunk, like two elephant keepers, down to the slope. There they saw Sanzang staring intently, and when he saw them coming noisily, he called out, "Wujing, look—what is Wukong leading?" Sha Monk saw it and laughed, saying, "Master, the eldest senior disciple is pulling the monster by the nose. It's really quite amusing." Sanzang said, "Well done! Well done! Such a huge monster, with such a long nose. Ask him: if he willingly escorts us across the mountain, we may spare him and not harm his life." Sha Monk quickly leaped forward and called out loudly, "The master says: if the monster truly escorts the master across the mountain, we are not to harm his life." When the monster heard this, he quickly knelt down and answered with a muffled sound. It turned out that Pilgrim was pinching his nose, making it sore, just like a bad cold. He cried out, "Lord Tang, if you spare my life, I will immediately have a sedan chair brought to escort you." Pilgrim said, "My master and I are all about easy victory. As you say, I'll spare your life for now. Bring the sedan chair quickly. If you change your mind again, when I catch you, I won't spare you." The monster, released, kowtowed and left. Pilgrim and Eight Rules went to see Tang Sanzang and told him the whole story in detail. Eight Rules was deeply ashamed and spread his clothes on the slope to dry, waiting.

The second demon, trembling with fear, returned to the cave. Before he even arrived, some junior demons had already reported to the elder and third demons that the second demon had been dragged away by the Great Sage, gripping his nose. The elder demon, terrified, was just leading the third demon and their forces out when they saw the second demon returning alone. They brought him back inside and asked the reason for his release. The second demon recounted everything the elder said about Tripitaka's compassion and benevolence. They all looked at each other, not daring to speak. The second demon asked, "Brother, will you send Tang Sanzang off?" The elder demon replied, "Brother, what are you saying? Sun the Novice is a monkey who widely practices benevolence and righteousness. Before, when he was in my belly, if he had wanted to kill me, he could have slain a thousand of me with ease. Just now, when he grabbed your nose, if he had dragged you away without letting go, he would only have had to pinch your nose tip to cause great distress. Quickly prepare to send him off." The third demon laughed and said, "Send, send, send." The elder demon said, "Worthy brother, your words sound like you're making a bet. If you won't send him, the two of us will go."

The three demons then laughed and said, "Elder brothers above: if that monk does not let us send him off, and we just let it slide like this, that would be his good fortune; but if he wants us to send him, he doesn't know he's falling right into my plan of luring the tiger down the mountain." The elder demon asked, "What is 'luring the tiger down the mountain'?" The third demon said, "Now, we must muster all the demons in the cave: out of ten thousand, select a thousand; out of a thousand, select a hundred; out of a hundred, select sixteen; then select another thirty." The elder demon asked, "Why do we need both sixteen and thirty?" The third demon said, "We need thirty who are skilled in cooking. Give them fine rice, fine flour, bamboo shoots, tea buds, shiitake mushrooms, straw mushrooms, tofu, and gluten cakes, and have them set up shelters twenty or thirty li away, preparing tea and meals to entertain Tang Sanzang." The elder demon asked, "And what are the sixteen for?" The third demon said, "Let eight carry the sedan chair, and eight clear the way with shouts. We brothers will accompany them for a stretch. From here, heading west for over four hundred li, we reach my city, where I have reinforcements waiting. If we reach the city... we'll do it this way, so that master and disciples cannot support each other. To capture Tang Sanzang, the success all depends on these sixteen." The elder demon, overjoyed, was like a drunkard just sobering up, or a man waking from a dream. He said, "Good, good, good!" He immediately mustered all the demons, first selecting thirty and giving them the items; then selecting sixteen to carry a sedan chair made of fragrant rattan. Together, they left the cave. He also instructed the demons: "None of you are to wander idly on the mountain: Sun the Novice is a suspicious monkey; if he sees you coming and going, he will become suspicious and see through this plan."

The elder demon then led the crowd to the side of the main road and called out loudly, "Lord Tang, today is not an inauspicious day; please, sir, cross the mountain early." Tripitaka heard this and asked, "Wukong, who is calling me?" The Great Sage pointed and said, "Over there, it's the demons I subdued, carrying a sedan chair to see you off." Tripitaka pressed his palms together and looked up to heaven, saying, "Excellent! Excellent! If not for my worthy disciple's abilities, how could I cross?" He stepped forward directly, bowed to the demons, and said, "Thank you all for your great kindness. When I, your disciple, return east to Chang'an after obtaining the scriptures, I will surely spread word of this good deed." The demons kowtowed and said, "Please, sir, ascend the sedan chair." Now, Tripitaka, with his mortal eyes and ordinary flesh, did not recognize the scheme. The Great Sage, Sun the Novice, was a Taiyi Golden Immortal, by nature loyal and upright; he only thought this was the merit of capturing and releasing, subduing the demons, and never suspected they had ulterior motives. He did not examine things carefully, simply following his master's wishes. He ordered Eight Rules to load the luggage onto the horse and follow closely with Sha Monk. He himself, wielding his iron staff, cleared the way ahead, observing omens of good or ill. Eight demons lifted the sedan chair, eight demons shouted in unison to clear the path, and the three demon chiefs supported the sedan poles. Master, joyful and content, sat upright in the sedan chair. They ascended the high mountain and proceeded along the main road.

On this journey, little did they know that joy would soon give way to sorrow. As the sutra says: "When good fortune reaches its peak, misfortune arises." When times meet, it is the Grand Duke's year of calamity, and they happened upon the stars of mourning and disaster. That band of demons, united in heart, attended on all sides, serving diligently from morning till night. Every thirty li they offered a meal, every fifty li another repast; before dark they would invite rest, with everything orderly along the way. Three meals a day, content and satisfied; a fine night's rest, in a pleasant place to lodge.

After traveling over four hundred li westward, they suddenly saw a city drawing near. The Great Sage raised his iron staff; when he was still a li away from the sedan chair, the sight of the city so frightened him that he fell flat on his face, struggling to get up. You may ask: how could someone so bold be scared by this sight? It was because he could see a mass of baleful energy rising from the city. Truly:

Thick and dense, all were demons and fiends; the four city gates were all wolf spirits.

Striped tigers served as commanders; white-faced male leopards acted as generals.

Fork-horned deer relayed orders and led the way; clever foxes walked the streets.

Thousand-foot pythons coiled around the city; ten-thousand-yard long snakes occupied the roads.

Under the towers, gray wolves shouted commands; before the platforms, spotted leopards spoke in human voices.

They waved flags and beat drums—all were monsters; the night watch and patrols were all mountain spirits.

Cunning rabbits opened shops for trade; wild boars carried loads and plied their trades.

What was once a heavenly dynasty's kingdom was now turned into a city of tigers and wolves.

As the Great Sage was trembling with fear, he heard the sound of wind behind his ear. He quickly turned his head to look. It was the third demon chief, holding a halberd with a painted shaft and a square blade in both hands, striking at the Great Sage's head. The Great Sage hastily turned over and scrambled to his feet, meeting the blow with his golden-banded staff. The two of them, each harboring rage, were panting with anger and spoke not a word; gritting their teeth, each sought victory or defeat. Then the elder demon chief gave orders, raised his steel blade, and hacked at Eight Rules; Eight Rules, in panic, abandoned the horse, swung his rake, and charged forward in a wild assault. The second demon chief, brandishing his long spear, thrust at Sha Monk; Sha Monk used his demon-subduing staff to parry and block. Three demon chiefs and three monks, one against one, fought desperately on the mountain peak, risking their lives.

The sixteen junior demons, following their orders, each exerted their skills: they seized the white horse and the luggage, swarmed around Tripitaka, lifted the sedan chair, and went straight to the city wall, shouting loudly, "Your Majesty the Great King! Your plan has succeeded! We have captured Tang Sanzang!" The countless demons, large and small, on the city walls all ran down and flung open the city gates. They ordered all camps to furl their banners and silence their drums, forbidding any shouting or gong-beating, saying, "The Great King gave orders earlier: do not frighten Tang Sanzang. If he is scared, his flesh will turn sour and won't taste good." All the demons welcomed Tripitaka with joy, bowing low and bending their backs to greet the honored monk. They carried Tripitaka in the sedan chair up to the main hall of the golden palace, seated him in the center, and offered him tea and food on all sides, surrounding him left and right. The elder, dazed and confused, looked around but saw no familiar face.

Whether his life will be spared, listen to the explanation in the next chapter.