第二十七回

第二十七回 尸魔三戏唐三藏 圣僧恨逐美猴王

却说三藏师徒，次日天明，收拾前进。那镇元子与行者结为兄弟，两人情投意合，决不肯放，又安排管待，一连住了五六日。那长老自服了草还丹，真似脱胎换骨，神爽体健。他取经心重，那里肯淹留[1]？无已，遂行。

师徒别了上路，早见一座高山。三藏道：“徒弟，前面有山险峻，恐马不能前，大家须仔细仔细。”行者道：“师父放心，我等自然理会。”好猴王，他在那马前横担着棒，剖开山路，上了高崖，看不尽：

峰岩重叠，涧壑湾环。虎狼成阵走，麂鹿作群行。无数獐钻簇簇，满山狐兔聚丛丛。千尺大蟒，万丈长蛇。大蟒喷愁雾，长蛇吐怪风。道旁荆棘牵漫，岭上松楠秀丽。薜萝满目，芳草连天。影落沧溟北，云开斗柄南。万古寻含元气老，千峰巍列日光寒。

那长老马上心惊。孙大圣布施手段，舞着铁棒，哮吼一声，唬得那狼虫颠窜，虎豹奔逃。师徒们入此山，正行到嵯峨之处，三藏道：“悟空，我这一日，肚中饥了，你去那里化些斋吃。”行者陪笑道：“师父好不聪明。这等半山之中，前不巴村，后不着店，有钱也没买处，教往那里寻斋？”三藏心中不快，口里骂道：“你这猴子！想你在两界山，被如来压在石匣之内，口能言，足不能行，也亏我救你性命，摩顶受戒，做了我的徒弟。怎么不肯努力，常怀懒惰之心！”行者道：“弟子亦颇殷勤，何尝懒惰？”三藏道：“你既殷勤，何不化斋我吃？我肚饥怎行？况此地山岚瘴气，怎么得上雷音？”行者道：“师父休怪，少要言语。我知你尊性高傲，十分违慢了你，便要念那话儿咒。你下马稳坐，等我寻那里有人家处化斋去。”

行者将身一纵，跳上云端里，手搭凉篷，睁眼观看。可怜西方路甚是寂寞，更无庄堡人家，正是多逢树木，少见人烟去处。看多时，只见正南上有一座高山，那山向阳处，有一片鲜红的点子。行者按下云头道：“师父，有吃的了。”那长老问甚东西，行者道：“这里没人家化饭，那南山有一片红的，想必是熟透了的山桃，我去摘几个来你充饥。”三藏喜道：“出家人若有桃子吃，就为上分了！快去。”行者取了钵盂，纵起祥光，你看他筋斗幌幌，冷气嗖嗖，须臾间，奔南山摘桃不题。

却说常言有云：“山高必有怪，岭峻却生精。”果然这山上有一个妖精，孙大圣去时，惊动那怪。他在云端里，踏着阴风，看见长老坐在地下，他就不胜欢喜道：“造化！造化！几年家人都讲东土的唐和尚取‘大乘’，他本是金蝉子化身，十世修行的原体。有人吃他一块肉，长寿长生。真个今日到了。”那妖精上前就要拿他，只见长老左右手下有两员大将护持，不敢拢身。他说两员大将是谁？说是八戒、沙僧。八戒、沙僧虽没甚么大本事，然八戒是天蓬元帅，沙僧是卷帘大将。他的威气尚不曾泄，故不敢拢身。妖精说：“等我且戏他戏，看怎么说。”

好妖精，停下阴风，在那山凹里摇身一变，变做个月貌花容的女儿，说不尽那眉清目秀，齿白唇红，左手提着一个青砂罐儿，右手提着一个绿磁瓶儿，从西向东，径奔唐僧：

圣僧歇马在山岩，忽见裙钗女近前。

翠袖轻摇笼玉笋，湘裙斜拽显金莲。

汗流粉面花含露，尘拂蛾眉柳带烟。

仔细定睛观看处，看看行至到身边。

三藏见了，叫：“八戒，沙僧，悟空才说这里旷野无人，你看那里不走出一个人来了？”八戒道：“师父，你与沙僧坐着，等老猪去看看来。”那呆子放下钉钯，整整直裰，摆摆摇摇，充作个斯文气象，一直的面相迎。真个是远看未实，近看分明。那女子生得：

冰肌藏玉骨，衫领露酥胸。柳眉积翠黛，杏眼闪银星。月样容仪俏，天然性格清。体似燕藏柳，声如莺啭林。半放海棠笼晓日，才开芍药弄春晴。

那八戒见他生得俊俏，呆子就动了凡心，忍不住胡乱言语，叫道：“女菩萨，往那里去？手里提着是甚么东西？”——分明是个妖怪，他却不能认得。——那女子连声答应道：“长老，我这青罐里是香米饭，绿瓶里是炒面筋。特来此处无他故，因还誓愿要斋僧。”八戒闻言，满心欢喜，急抽身就跑了个猪颠风，报与三藏道：“师父！‘吉人自有天报’！师父饿了，教师兄去化斋，那猴子不知那里摘桃儿耍子去了。桃子吃多了，也有些嘈[2]人，又有些下坠。你看那不是个斋僧的来了？”唐僧不信道：“你这个夯货胡缠！我们走了这向，好人也不曾遇着一个，斋僧的从何而来！”八戒道：“师父，这不到了？”

三藏一见，连忙跳起身来，合掌当胸道：“女菩萨，你府上在何处住？是甚人家？有甚愿心，来此斋僧？”——分明是个妖精，那长老也不认得。——那妖精见唐僧问他来历，他立地就起个虚情，花言巧语，来赚哄道：“师父，此山叫做蛇回兽怕的白虎岭，正西下面是我家。我父母在堂，看经好善，广斋方上远近僧人；只因无子，求神作福，生了奴奴；欲扳门第，配嫁他人，又恐老来无倚，只得将奴招了一个女婿，养老送终。”三藏闻言道：“女菩萨，你语言差了。圣经云：‘父母在，不远游，游必有方。’你既有父母在堂，又与你招了女婿，——有愿心，教你男子还便也罢，怎么自家在山行走？又没个侍儿随从，这个是不遵妇道了。”那女子笑吟吟，忙陪俏语道：“师父，我丈夫在山北凹里，带几个客子[3]锄田。这是奴奴煮的午饭，送与那些人吃的。只为五黄六月，无人使唤，父母又年老，所以亲身来送。忽遇三位远来，却思父母好善，故将此饭斋僧。如不弃嫌，愿表芹献[4]。”三藏道：“善哉！善哉！我有徒弟摘果子去了，就来，我不敢吃。假如我和尚吃了你饭，你丈夫晓得骂你，却不罪坐贫僧也？”那女子见唐僧不肯吃，却又满面春生道：“师父呵，我父母斋僧，还是小可，我丈夫更是个善人，一生好的是修桥补路，爱老怜贫。但听见说这饭送与师父吃了，他与我夫妻情上，比寻常更是不同。”三藏也只是不吃。旁边子恼坏了八戒，那呆子努着嘴，口里埋怨道：“天下和尚也无数，不曾像我这个老和尚罢软[5]！现成的饭，三分儿倒不吃，只等那猴子来，做四分才吃！”他不容分说，一嘴把个罐子拱倒，就要动口。

只见那行者自南山顶上，摘了几个桃子，托着钵盂，一筋斗点将回来，睁火眼金睛观看，认得那女子是个妖精，放下钵盂，掣铁棒当头就打。唬得个长老用手扯住道：“悟空！你走将来打谁？”行者道：“师父，你面前这个女子，莫当做个好人。他是个妖精，要来骗你哩。”三藏道：“你这猴头，当时倒也有些眼力，今日如何乱道！这女菩萨有此善心，将这饭要斋我等，你怎么说他是个妖精？”行者笑道：“师父，你那里认得！老孙在水帘洞里做妖魔时，若想人肉吃，便是这等：或变金银，或变庄台，或变醉人，或变女色。有那等痴心的爱上我，我就迷他到洞里，尽意随心，或蒸或煮受用。吃不了，还要晒干了防天阴哩！师父，我若来迟，你定入他套子，遭他毒手！”那唐僧那里肯信，只说是个好人。行者道：“师父，我知道你了。你见他那等容貌，必然动了凡心。若果有此意，叫八戒伐几棵树来，沙僧寻些草来，我做木匠，就在这里搭个窝铺，你与他圆房成事，我们大家散了，却不是件事业？何必又跋踄，取甚经去！”那长老原是个软善的人，那里吃得他这句言语，羞得个光头彻耳通红。

三藏正在此羞惭，行者又发起性来，掣铁棒，望妖精劈脸一下。那怪物有些手段，使个“解尸法”，见行者棍子来时，他却抖擞精神，预先走了，把一个假尸首打死在地下。唬得个长老战战兢兢，口中作念道：“这猴着然无礼！屡劝不从，无故伤人性命！”行者道：“师父莫怪，你且来看看这罐子里是甚东西。”沙僧搀着长老，近前看时，那里是甚香米饭，却是一罐子拖尾巴的长蛆。也不是面筋，却是几个青蛙、癞虾蟆，满地乱跳。长老才有三分儿信了。怎禁猪八戒气不忿，在旁漏八分儿唆嘴[6]道：“师父，说起这个女子，他是此间农妇，因为送饭下田，路遇我等，却怎么栽他是个妖怪？哥哥的棍重，走将来试手打他一下，不期就打杀了，怕你念甚么《紧箍儿咒》，故意的使个障眼法儿，变做这等样东西，演幌你眼，使不念咒哩。”

三藏自此一言，就是晦气到了，果然信那呆子撺唆[7]，手中捻诀，口里念咒。行者就叫：“头疼！头疼！莫念！莫念！有话便说。”唐僧道：“有甚话说！出家人时时常要方便，念念不离善心，扫地恐伤蝼蚁命，爱惜飞蛾纱罩灯。你怎么步步行凶！打死这个无故平人，取将经来何用？你回去罢！”行者道：“师父，你教我回那里去？”唐僧道：“我不要你做徒弟。”行者道：“你不要我做徒弟，只怕你西天路去不成。”唐僧道：“我命在天，该那个妖精蒸了吃，就是煮了，也算不过。终不然，你救得我的大限？你快回去！”行者道：“师父，我回去便也罢了，只是不曾报得你的恩哩。”唐僧道：“我与你有甚恩？”那大圣闻言，连忙跪下叩头道：“老孙因大闹天宫，致下了伤身之难，被我佛压在两界山。幸观音菩萨与我受了戒行，幸师父救脱吾身，若不与你同上西天，显得我‘知恩不报非君子，万古千秋作骂名’。”原来这唐僧是个慈悯的圣僧，他见行者哀告，却也回心转意道：“既如此说，且饶你这一次。再休无礼。如若仍前作恶，这咒语颠倒就念二十遍！”行者道：“三十遍也由你，只是我不打人了。”却才伏侍唐僧上马，又将摘来桃子奉上，唐僧在马上也吃了几个，权且充饥。

却说那妖精脱命升空。原来行者那一棒不曾打杀妖精，妖精出神去了。他在那云端里咬牙切齿，暗恨行者道：“几年只闻得讲他手段，今日果然话不虚传。那唐僧已此不认得我，将要吃饭。若低头闻一闻儿，我就一把捞住，却不是我的人了？不期被他走来，弄破我这勾当，又几乎被他打了一棒。若饶了这个和尚，诚然是劳而无功也。我还下去戏他一戏。”

好妖精，按落阴云，在那前山坡下，摇身一变，变作个老妇人，年满八旬，手拄着一根弯头竹杖，一步一声的哭着走来。八戒见了，大惊道：“师父！不好了！那妈妈儿来寻人了！”唐僧道：“寻甚人？”八戒道：“师兄打杀的，定是他女儿。这个定是他娘寻将来了。”行者道：“兄弟莫要胡说！那女子十八岁，这老妇有八十岁，怎么六十多岁还生产？断乎是个假的！等老孙去看来。”好行者，拽开步，走近前观看，那怪物：

假变一婆婆，两鬓如冰雪。走路慢腾腾，行步虚怯怯。弱体瘦伶仃，脸如枯菜叶。颧骨望上翘，嘴唇往下别。老年不比少年时，满脸都是荷包折。

行者认得他是妖精，更不理论，举棒照头便打。那怪见棍子起时，依然抖擞，又出化了元神，脱真儿去了，把个假尸首又打死在山路之下。唐僧一见，惊下马来，睡在路旁，更无二话，只是把《紧箍儿咒》颠倒足足念了二十遍。可怜把个行者，头勒得似个亚腰儿[8]葫芦，十分疼痛难忍，滚将来哀告道：“师父莫念了！有甚话说了罢！”唐僧道：“有甚话说！出家人耳听善言，不堕地狱。我这般劝化你，你怎么只是行凶，把平人打死一个，又打死一个，此是何说？”行者道：“他是妖精。”唐僧道：“这个猴子胡说！就有这许多妖怪？你是个无心向善之辈，有意作恶之人。你去罢！”行者道：“师父又教我去？回去便也回去了，只是一件不相应[9]。”唐僧道：“你有甚么不相应处？”八戒道：“师父，他要和你分行李哩。跟着你做了这几年和尚，不成空着手回去？你把那包袱里的甚么旧褊衫，破帽子，分两件与他罢。”

行者闻言，气得暴跳道：“我把你这个孽嘴的夯货！老孙一向秉教沙门，更无一毫嫉妒之意，贪恋之心，怎么要分甚么行李？”唐僧道：“你既不嫉妒贪恋，如何不去？”行者道：“实不瞒师父说，老孙五百年前，居花果山水帘洞大展英雄之际，收降七十二洞邪魔，手下有四万七千群怪，头戴的是紫金冠，身穿的是赭黄袍，腰系的是蓝田带，足踏的是步云履，手执的是如意金箍棒，着实也曾为人。自从涅槃罪度[10]，削发秉正沙门，与你做了徒弟，把这个金箍儿勒在我头上，若回去，却也难见故乡人。师父果若不要我，把那个《松箍儿咒》念一念，退下这个箍子，交付与你，套在别人头上，我就快活相应了。也是跟你一场，莫不成这些人意儿[11]也没有了？”唐僧大惊道：“悟空，我当时只是菩萨暗受一卷儿《紧箍儿咒》，却没有甚么《松箍儿咒》。”行者道：“若无《松箍儿咒》，你还带我去走走罢。”长老又没奈何，道：“你且起来。我再饶你这一次，却不可再行凶了。”行者道：“再不敢了。再不敢了。”又伏侍师父上马，剖路前行。

却说那妖精，原来行者第二棍也不曾打杀他。那怪物在半空中，夸奖不尽道：“好个猴王，着然有眼！我那般变了去，他也还认得我。这些和尚，他去得快，若过此山，西下四十里，就不伏我所管了。若是被别处妖魔捞了去，好道就笑破他人口，使碎自家心。我还下去戏他一戏。”好妖怪，按耸阴风，在山坡下摇身一变，变做一个老公公，真个是：

白发如彭祖，苍髯赛寿星。

耳中鸣玉磬[12]，眼里幌金星。

手拄龙头拐，身穿鹤氅轻。

数珠掐在手，口诵南无经。

唐僧在马上见了，心中欢喜道：“阿弥陀佛！西方真是福地！那公公路也走不上来，逼法[13]的还念经哩。”八戒道：“师父，你且莫要夸奖，那个是祸的根哩。”唐僧道：“怎么是祸根？”八戒道：“行者打杀他的女儿，又打杀他的婆子，这个正是他的老儿寻将来了。我们若撞在他的怀里呵，师父，你便偿命，该个死罪；把老猪为从，问个充军；沙僧喝令，问个摆站[14]；那行者使个遁法走了，却不苦了我们三个顶缸？”

行者听见道：“这个呆根，这等胡说，可不唬了师父？等老孙再去看看。”他把棍藏在身边，走上前迎着怪物，叫声：“老官儿，往那里去？怎么又走路又念经？”那妖精错认了定盘星，把孙大圣也当做个等闲的，遂答道：“长老啊，我老汉祖居此地，一生好善斋僧，看经念佛。命里无儿，止生得一个小女，招了个女婿。今早送饭下田，想是遭逢虎口。老妻先来找寻，也不见回去，全然不知下落。老汉特来寻看。果然是伤残他命，也没奈何，将他骸骨收拾回去，安葬茔中。”行者笑道：“我是个做虎的祖宗，你怎么袖子里笼了个鬼儿来哄我？你瞒了诸人，瞒不过我！我认得你是个妖精！”那妖精唬得顿口无言。行者掣出棒来，自忖道：“若要不打他，显得他倒弄个风儿；若要打他，又怕师父念那话儿咒语。”又思量道：“不打杀他，他一时间抄空儿把师父捞去，却不又费心劳力去救他？……还打的是！就一棍子打杀他，师父念起那咒，常言道：‘虎毒不吃儿。’凭着我巧言花语，嘴伶舌便，哄他一哄，好道也罢了。”好大圣，念动咒语，叫当坊土地、本处山神道：“这妖精三番来戏弄我师父，这一番却要打杀他。你与我在半空中作证，不许走了。”众神听令，谁敢不从，都在云端里照应。那大圣棍起处，打倒妖魔，才断绝了灵光。

那唐僧在马上，又唬得战战兢兢，口不能言。八戒在旁边又笑道：“好行者！风发了！只行了半日路，倒打死三个人！”唐僧正要念咒，行者急到马前，叫道：“师父，莫念！莫念！你且来看看他的模样。”却是一堆粉骷髅在那里。唐僧大惊道：“悟空，这个人才死了，怎么就化作一堆骷髅？”行者道：“他是个潜灵作怪的僵尸，在此迷人败本；被我打杀，他就现了本相。他那脊梁上有一行字，叫做‘白骨夫人’。”唐僧闻说，倒也信了。怎禁那八戒旁边唆嘴道：“师父，他的手重棍凶，把人打死，只怕你念那话儿，故意变化这个模样，掩你的眼目哩！”唐僧果然耳软，又信了他，随复念起。行者禁不得疼痛，跪于路旁，只叫：“莫念！莫念！有话快说了罢！”唐僧道：“猴头！还有甚说话！出家人行善，如春园之草，不见其长，日有所增；行恶之人，如磨刀之石，不见其损，日有所亏。你在这荒郊野外，一连打死三人，还是无人检举，没有对头。倘到城市之中，人烟凑集之处，你拿了那哭丧棒，一时不知好歹，乱打起人来，撞出大祸，教我怎的脱身？你回去罢！”行者道：“师父错怪了我也。这厮分明是个妖魔，他实有心害你。我倒打死他，替你除了害，你却不认得，反信了那呆子谗言冷语，屡次逐我。常言道：‘事不过三。’我若不去，真是个下流无耻之徒。我去！我去！——去便去了，只是你手下无人。”唐僧发怒道：“这泼猴越发无礼！看起来，只你是人，那悟能、悟净就不是人？”

那大圣一闻得说他两个是人，止不住伤情凄惨，对唐僧道声：“苦啊！你那时节出了长安，有刘伯钦送你上路；到两界山，救我出来，投拜你为师，我曾穿古洞，入深林，擒魔捉怪，收八戒，得沙僧，吃尽千辛万苦；今日昧着惺惺使糊涂[15]，只教我回去，这才是‘鸟尽弓藏，狗烹兔死’！——罢！罢！罢！但只是多了那《紧箍儿咒》。”唐僧道：“我再不念了。”行者道：“这个难说。若到那毒魔苦难处不得脱身，八戒、沙僧救不得你，那时节想起我来，忍不住又念诵起来，就是十万里路，我的头也是疼的，假如再来见你，不如不作此意。”

唐僧见他言言语语，越添恼怒，滚鞍下马来，叫沙僧包袱内取出纸笔，即于涧下取水，石上磨墨，写了一纸贬书，递于行者道：“猴头！执此为照！再不要你做徒弟了！如再与你相见，我就堕了阿鼻地狱！”行者连忙接了贬书道：“师父，不消发誓，老孙去罢。”他将书折了，留在袖中，却又软款[16]唐僧道：“师父，我也是跟你一场，又蒙菩萨指教，今日半途而废，不曾成得功果。你请坐，受我一拜，我也去得放心。”唐僧转回身不睬，口里唧唧哝哝的道：“我是个好和尚，不受你歹人的礼！”大圣见他不睬，又使个身外法，把脑后毫毛拔了三根，吹口仙气，叫：“变！”即变了三个行者，连本身四个，四面围住师父下拜。那长老左右躲不脱，好道也受了一拜。

大圣跳起来，把身一抖，收上毫毛，却又分付沙僧道：“贤弟，你是个好人，却只要留心防着八戒言语[17]，途中更要仔细。倘一时有妖精拿住师父，你就说老孙是他大徒弟。西方毛怪，闻我的手段，不敢伤我师父。”唐僧道：“我是个好和尚，不题你这歹人的名字。你回去罢。”那大圣见长老三番两复，不肯转意回心，没奈何才去。你看他：

噙泪叩头辞长老，含悲留意嘱沙僧。

一头拭迸坡前草，两脚蹬翻地上藤。

上天下地如轮转，跨海飞山第一能。

顷刻之间不见影，霎时疾返旧途程。

你看他忍气别了师父，纵筋斗云，径回花果山水帘洞去了。独自个凄凄惨惨，忽闻得水声聒耳，大圣在那半空里看时，原来是东洋大海潮发的声响。一见了，又想起唐僧，止不住腮边泪坠，停云住步，良久方去。毕竟不知此去反复何如，且听下回分解。

[1] 淹留：长久滞留。

[2] 嘈：肠胃不适应，口冒酸水。

[3] 客子：佣工、客作。

[4] 芹献：馈赠、送人礼物。

[5] 罢（pí）软：没有主见、做事颠倒叫罢软。

[6] 漏八分儿唆嘴：漏八分儿，说话时故意留半句，但又能让人体会出意思。多用作挑拨离间等贬义。唆嘴，搬弄口舌。

[7] 撺唆：怂恿、调唆。

[8] 亚腰儿：形容中间细两头粗的样子。

[9] 不相应：不合适。

[10] 罪度：佛教用语，把有罪的人救度出来。

[11] 人意儿：人情，情意。

[12] 鸣玉磬：形容人年老耳鸣的样子。

[13] 逼法：自在无忧的样子。又见第三十回、第三十八回。

[14] 摆站：充配到指定的地方去服劳役。

[15] 昧着惺惺使糊涂：指内心清醒明白，表面却装糊涂。

[16] 软款：犹宛转、温柔。

[17] （diān）言语：花言巧语、胡说八道。

CHAPTER 27. The cadaver demon three times mocks Tripitaka Tang; The holy monk in spite banishes Handsome Monkey King.

We were telling you about Tripitaka and his disciples, who made preparations to leave the next morning. Our Master Zhenyuan, however, had become such a fast friend of Pilgrim since the two were made bond-brothers that he refused to let them leave. He gave orders instead that they should be feted for five or six days. Ever since he took the grass of the reverted cinnabar, the elder’s spirit had been strengthened and his body made healthier; he felt as if his entire physical frame had been renewed. As he was intent on acquiring the scriptures, he refused to stay, and so they departed.

After taking their leave, master and disciples took to the road and soon came upon a tall mountain. “Disciples,” said Tripitaka, “the mountain ahead appears to be rugged and steep, and I fear that the horse may not be able to proceed so easily. Every one of you should be careful.” “Have no fear, Master,” said Pilgrim. “We know how to take care of everything.” Dear Monkey King! He led the way; carrying his rod horizontally across both his shoulders, he opened up a mountain path and led them up to a tall cliff. They saw

Peaks and summits in rows;

Streams and canyons meandrous;

Tigers and wolves running in packs;

Deer and fallow deer walking in flocks;

Countless musks and boars massed together;

A mountain swarming with foxes and hares.

The huge python of a thousand feet;

The long snake of ten thousand feet.

The huge python blew out awful mists;

The long snake belched dreadful air.

By the road thorns and thistles sprawled unending;

On the peak pines and cedars grew resplendent.

Wild hemps and creepers filled their eyes;

Fragrant plants reached up to the sky.

Light descended from the northern pole;

Clouds parted at the south pole star.

Ten thousand fathoms of mountain holding old, primal breath;

A thousand peaks stood august in the cold sunlight.

The elder on the horse became fearful, but our Great Sage Sun was ready to show off his abilities. Wielding the iron rod, he let out such a fearful cry that wolves and serpents retreated, that tigers and leopards took flight. Master and disciples thus journeyed into the mountain. As they reached the summit, Tripitaka said, “Wukong, we’ve been traveling for almost a day, and I’m getting hungry. Go somewhere and beg some vegetarian food for me.” “Master, you aren’t very smart!” said Pilgrim, attempting to placate him with a smile. “We are in the middle of a mountain, with no village in sight ahead of us nor any inn behind us. Even if we had money, there’s no place for us to buy anything. Where do you want me to go to find vegetarian food?” Irritated, Tripitaka began to berate his disciple. “You ape!” he cried. “Don’t you remember what sort of condition you were in at the Mountain of Two Frontiers? Pinned down by Tathāgata in that stone box, you could move your mouth but not your feet, and you owed it to me for saving your life. Now that you have become my disciple by having your head touched and receiving the commandments, why are you not willing to exert yourself a bit more? Why are you always so lazy?” “Your disciple,” said Pilgrim, “has been rather diligent. Since when have I been lazy?” “If you are that diligent,” said Tripitaka, “why don’t you go and beg me some vegetarian food? How can I journey if I am hungry? Moreover, this mountain is filled with pestilential vapors, and if I become ill, how can I hope to reach Thunderclap?” “Master,” said Pilgrim, “please don’t get upset. No more words. I know that yours is a proud and haughty nature. A little offense and you will recite that little something spell! Dismount and rest awhile. Let me find out whether there’s any family for me to beg some vegetarian food.”

With a bound, Pilgrim leaped up to the edge of the clouds. Using his hand to shade his eyes, he peered all around. Alas! The journey to the West was a lonely journey, one with neither villages nor hamlets. There were abundant trees and shrubbery, but there was no sign of human habitation. Having looked around for some time, Pilgrim saw toward the south a tall mountain, where on the eastern slope there seemed to be some tiny specks of red. Lowering his cloud, Pilgrim said, “Master, there’s something to eat.” The elder asked what it was, and Pilgrim said, “There’s no household here for me to beg for rice. But there’s a stretch of red on a mountain south of here, and I suppose that must be ripe mountain peaches. Let me go and pick a few for you to eat.” Delighted, Tripitaka said, “For a person who has left the family to have peaches is already the highest blessing!” Pilgrim took the alms bowl and mounted the auspicious luminosity. Look at that brilliant somersault, with cold vapor trailing! In an instant, he was heading straight for the peaches on the south mountain, and we shall speak no more of him for the moment.

Now, the proverb says:

A tall mountain will always have monsters;

A rugged peak will always produce fiends.

In this mountain there was indeed a monster-spirit, who was disturbed by the Great Sage Sun’s departure. Treading dark wind, she came through the clouds and found the elder sitting on the ground. “What luck! What luck!” she said, unable to contain her delight. “For several years my relatives have been talking about a Tang Monk from the Land of the East going to fetch the Great Vehicle. He is actually the incarnation of the Gold Cicada, and he has the original body that has gone through the process of self-cultivation during ten previous existences. If a man eats a piece of his flesh, his age will be immeasurably lengthened. So, this monk has at last arrived today!” The monster was about to go down to seize Tripitaka when she saw two great warriors standing guard on either side of the elder, and that stopped her from drawing near. Now, who could these warriors be, you ask? They were, of course, Eight Rules and Sha Monk. Eight Rules and Sha Monk, you see, might not have great abilities, but after all, Eight Rules was the Marshal of Heavenly Reeds and Sha Monk was the Great Curtain-Raising Captain. Their authority had not been completely eroded, and that was why the monster dared not approach them. Instead, the monster said to herself, “Let me make fun of them a bit, and see what happens.”

Dear monster! She lowered her dark wind into the field of the mountain, and, with one shake of her body, she changed into a girl with a face like the moon and features like flowers. One cannot begin to describe the bright eyes and the elegant brows, the white teeth and the red lips. Holding in her left hand a blue sandstone pot and in her right a green porcelain vase, she walked from west to east, heading straight for the Tang Monk.

The sage monk resting his horse on the cliff

Saw all at once a young girl drawing near:

Slender hands hugged by gently swaying green sleeves;

Tiny feet exposed beneath a skirt of Hunan silk.

Perspiring her face seemed flower bedewed;

Dust grazed her moth-brows like willows held by mist.

And as he stared intently with his eyes,

She seemed to be walking right up to his side.

When Tripitaka saw her, he called out, “Eight Rules, Sha Monk, just now Wukong said that this is an uninhabited region. But isn’t that a human being who is walking over there?” “Master,” said Eight Rules, “you sit here with Sha Monk. Let old Hog go take a look.” Putting down his muckrake and pulling down his shirt, our Idiot tried to affect the airs of a gentleman and went to meet her face to face. Well, it was as the proverb says:

You can’t determine the truth from afar.

You can see clearly when you go near.

The girl’s appearance was something to behold!

Ice-white skin hides jadelike bones;

Her collar reveals a milk-white bosom.

Willow brows gather dark green hues;

Almond eyes shine like silver stars.

Her features like the moon are coy;

Her natural disposition is pure.

Her body’s like the willow-nested swallow;

Her voice’s like the woods’ singing oriole.

A half-opened haitong1 caressed by the morning sun.

A newly bloomed peony displaying her charm.

When Idiot saw how pretty she was, his worldly mind was aroused and he could not refrain from babbling. “Lady Bodhisattva!” he cried. “Where are you going? What’s that you are holding in your hands?” This was clearly a fiend, but he could not recognize her! The girl immediately answered him, saying, “Elder, what I have in the blue pot is fragrant rice made from wine cakes, and there’s fried wheat gluten in the green vase. I came here for no other reason than to redeem my vow of feeding monks.” When Eight Rules heard these words, he was very pleased. Spinning around, he ran like a hog maddened by plague to report to Tripitaka, crying, “Master! ‘The good man will have Heaven’s reward!’ Because you are hungry, you ask Elder Brother to go beg for some vegetarian food. But we really don’t know where that ape has gone to pick his peaches and have his fun! If you eat too many peaches, you are liable to feel a bit stuffed and gaseous anyway! Take a look instead. Isn’t that someone coming to feed the monks?” “Coolie, you’re just clowning!” said an unbelieving Tang Monk. “We’ve been traveling all this time and we haven’t even run into a healthy person! Where is this person who’s coming to feed the monks?” “Master,” said Eight Rules, “isn’t this the one?”

When Tripitaka saw the girl, he jumped up and folded his hands. “Lady Bodhisattva,” he said, “where is your home? What sort of family is yours? What kind of vow have you made that you have to come here to feed the monks?” This was clearly a fiend, but our elder could not recognize her either! When that monster heard the Tang Monk asking after her background, she at once resorted to falsehood. With clever, specious words, she tried to deceive her interrogator, saying, “Master, this mountain, which turns back serpents and frightens wild beasts, bears the name of White Tiger. My home is located due west of here. My parents, still living, are frequent readers of sūtras and keen on doing good works. They have fed liberally the monks who come to us from near and far. Because my parents had no son, they prayed to the gods, and I was born. They would have liked to marry me off to a noble family, but, wary of helplessness in their old age, they took in a son-in-law instead, so that they would be cared for in life and death.” Hearing this, Tripitaka said, “Lady Bodhisattva, your speech is rather improper! The sage classic says, ‘While father and mother are alive, one does not travel abroad; or if one does, goes only to a proper destination.’2 If your parents are still living, and if they have taken in a husband for you, then your man should have been the one sent to redeem your vow. Why do you walk about the mountain all by yourself? You don’t even have an attendant to accompany you. That’s not very becoming of a woman!”

Smiling broadly, the girl quickly tried to placate him with more clever words. “Master,” she said, “my husband is at the northern fold of this mountain, leading a few workers to plow the fields. This happens to be the lunch I prepared for them to eat. Since now is the busy season of farm work, we have no servants; and as my parents are getting old, I have to run the errand myself. Meeting you three distant travelers is quite by accident, but when I think of my parents’ inclination to do good deeds, I would like very much to use this rice as food for monks. If you don’t regard this as unworthy of you, please accept this modest offering.”

“My goodness! My goodness!” said Tripitaka. “I have a disciple who has gone to pick some fruits, and he’s due back any moment. I dare not eat. For if I, a monk, were to eat your rice, your husband would scold you when he learns of it. Will it then not be the fault of this poor monk?” When that girl saw the Tang Monk refuse to take the food, she smiled even more seductively and said, “O Master! My parents, who love to feed the monks, are not even as zealous as my husband. For his entire life is devoted to the construction of bridges and the repairing of roads, in reverence for the aged and pity for the poor. If he heard that the rice was given to feed Master, his affection for me, his wife, would increase manyfold.” Tripitaka, however, simply refused to eat, and Eight Rules on one side became utterly exasperated. Pouting, our Idiot grumbled to himself, “There are countless priests in the world, but none is more wishy-washy than this old priest of ours! Here’s ready-made rice, and three portions to boot! But he will not eat it. He has to wait for that monkey’s return and the rice divided into four portions before he’ll eat.” Without permitting further discussion, he pushed over the pot with one shove of his snout and was about to begin.

Look at our Pilgrim! Having picked several peaches from the mountain peak in the south, he came hurtling back with a single somersault, holding the alms bowl in his hand. When he opened wide his fiery eyes and diamond pupils to take a look, he recognized that the girl was a monster. He put down the bowl, pulled out his iron rod, and was about to bring it down hard on the monster’s head. The elder was so aghast that he pulled his disciple back with his hands. “Wukong,” he cried, “whom have you come back to hit?”

“Master,” said Pilgrim, “don’t regard this girl in front of you as a good person. She’s a monster, and she has come to deceive you.”

“Monkey,” said Tripitaka, “you used to possess a measure of true discernment. How is it that you are talking nonsense today? This Lady Bodhisattva is so kind that she wants to feed me with her rice. Why do you say that she’s a monster?”

“Master,” said Pilgrim with a laugh, “how could you know about this? When I was a monster back at the Water-Curtain Cave, I would act like this if I wanted to eat human flesh. I would change myself into gold or silver, a lonely building, a harmless drunk, or a beautiful woman. Anyone feeble-minded enough to be attracted by me I would lure back to the cave. There I would enjoy him as I pleased, by steaming or boiling. If I couldn’t finish him off in one meal, I would dry the leftovers in the sun to keep for rainy days. Master, if I had returned a little later, you would have fallen into her trap and been harmed by her.” That Tang Monk, however, simply refused to believe these words; he kept saying instead that the woman was a good person.

“Master,” said Pilgrim, “I think I know what’s happening. Your worldly mind must have been aroused by the sight of this woman’s beauty. If you do have the desire, why not ask Eight Rules to cut some timber and Sha Monk to find us some grass. I’ll be the carpenter and build you a little hut right here where you can consummate the affair with her. We can each go our own way then. Wouldn’t that be the thing to do? Why bother to undertake such a long journey to fetch the scriptures?” The elder, you see, was a rather tame and gentle person. He was so embarrassed by these few words that his whole bald head turned red from ear to ear.

As Tripitaka was struck dumb by his shame, Pilgrim’s temper flared again. Wielding his iron rod, he aimed it at the monster’s face and delivered a terrific blow. The fiend, however, had a few tricks of her own. She knew the magic of Releasing the Corpse.3 When she saw Pilgrim’s rod coming at her, she roused her spirit and left, leaving behind the corpse of her body struck dead on the ground. Shaking with horror, the elder mumbled, “This ape is so unruly, so obdurate! Despite my repeated pleadings, he still takes human life without cause.” “Don’t be offended, Master,” said Pilgrim, “just come see for yourself what kind of things are in the pot.” Sha Monk led the elder near to take a look. The fragrant rice made from wine cakes was nowhere to be found; there was instead a potful of large maggots with long tails. There was no fried wheat gluten either, but a few frogs and ugly toads were hopping all over the place. The elder was about to think that there might be thirty percent truthfulness in Pilgrim’s words, but Eight Rules would not let his own resentment subside. He began to cast aspersions on his companion, saying, “Master, this woman, come to think of it, happens to be a farm girl of this area. Because she had to take some lunch to the fields, she met us on the way. How could she be deemed a monster? That rod of Elder Brother is quite heavy, you know. He came back and wanted to try his hand on her, not anticipating that one blow would kill her. He’s afraid that you might recite that so-called Tight-Fillet Spell, and that’s why he’s using some sort of magic to hoodwink you. It’s he who has caused these things to appear, just to befuddle you so that you won’t recite the spell.”

This single speech of Eight Rules, alas, spelled disaster for Tripitaka! Believing the slanderous suasion of our Idiot, he made the magic sign with his hand and recited the spell. At once Pilgrim began to scream, “My head! My head! Stop reciting! Stop reciting! If you’ve got something to say, say it.” “What do I have to say?” asked the Tang Monk. “Those who have left the family must defer to people every time, must cherish kindness in every thought. They must

Keep ants out of harm’s way when they sweep the floor,

And put shades on lamps for the love of moths.

And you, you practice violence with every step! Since you have beaten to death this innocent commoner, what good would it do even if you were to go acquire the scriptures? You might as well go back.” “Master,” said Pilgrim, “where do you want me to go back to?” The Tang Monk said, “I don’t want you as my disciple.” “If you don’t want me as your disciple,” said Pilgrim, “I fear that you may not make it on your way to the Western Heaven.” “My life is in the care of Heaven,” said the Tang Monk. “If it’s ordained that I should be food for the monster, even if I were to be steamed or boiled, it’s all right with me. Furthermore, do you think really that you have the power to deliver me from the great limit? Go back quickly!” “Master,” said Pilgrim, “it’s all right for me to go back, but I have not yet repaid your kindness.” “What kindness have I shown you?” asked the Tang Monk. When the Great Sage heard this, he knelt down immediately and kowtowed, saying, “Because old Monkey brought great disruption to the Celestial Palace, he incurred for himself the fatal ordeal of being clamped by Buddha beneath the Mountain of Two Frontiers. I was indebted to the Bodhisattva Guanyin who gave me the commandments, and to Master who gave me freedom. If I don’t go up to the Western Heaven with you, it will mean that I

Knowing kindness without repaying am no princely man.

Mine will be forever an infamous name.”

Now the Tang Monk, after all, is a compassionate holy monk. When he saw Pilgrim pleading so piteously with him, he changed his mind and said, “In that case, I’ll forgive you this time. Don’t you dare be unruly again. If you work violence again as before, I’ll recite this spell over and over twenty times.” “You may recite it thirty times,” said Pilgrim, “but I won’t hit anyone again.” Helping the Tang Monk to mount the horse, he then presented the peaches that he picked. The Tang Monk indeed ate a few of the peaches on the horse to relieve his hunger momentarily.

We now tell you about the monster who escaped by rising into the sky. That one blow of Pilgrim’s rod, you see, did not kill her, for she fled by sending away her spirit. Standing on top of the clouds, she gnashed her teeth at Pilgrim, saying spitefully to herself, “The last few years I have heard nothing but people talking about his abilities, but I’ve discovered today that his is not a false reputation. Already deceived by me, the Tang Monk was about to eat the rice. If he had just lowered his head and taken one whiff of it, I would have grabbed him and he would have been all mine. Little did I anticipate that this other fellow would return and bust up my business. What’s more, I almost received a blow from his rod. If I had let this monk get away, I would have labored in vain. I’m going back down there to make fun of him once more.”

Dear monster! Lowering the direction of her dark cloud, she dropped into the fold of the mountain further ahead and changed with one shake of her body into a woman eighty years old, having in her hands a bamboo cane with a curved handle. She headed toward the pilgrims, weeping each step of the way. When Eight Rules saw her, he was horrified. “Master,” he said, “it’s terrible! That old Mama approaching us is looking for someone.” “Looking for whom?” asked the Tang Monk. Eight Rules said, “The girl slain by Elder Brother has to be the daughter. This one must be the mother looking for her.” “Stop talking nonsense, Brother,” said Pilgrim. “That girl was about eighteen, but this woman is at least eighty. How could she still bear children when she was sixty-some years old? She’s a fake! Let old Monkey go have a look.” Dear Pilgrim! In big strides he walked forward to look at the monster, who

Changed falsely into an old dame,

With temples white as snow.

She walked ever so slowly

With steps both small and sluggish.

Her frail body was most slender;

Her face, a leaf dried and wilted.

Her cheek bones jutted upward;

Her lips curled downward and out.

Old age is not quite like the time of youth:

The whole face is wrinkled like lotus leaves.

Recognizing the monster, Pilgrim did not even bother to wait for any discussion; he lifted up the rod and struck at the head at once. When the monster saw the uplifted rod, she again exercised her magic and her spirit rose into the air, leaving behind once more the corpse of her body struck dead beside the road. The sight so frightened the Tang Monk that he fell from his horse. Lying on the road, he did not speak another word except to recite the Tight-Fillet Spell back and forth exactly twenty times. Alas, poor Pilgrim’s head was reduced to an hourglass-shaped gourd! As the pain was truly unbearable, he had to roll up to the Tang Monk and plead, “Master, please don’t recite anymore. Say what you have to say.”

“What’s there to say?” asked the Tang Monk. “Those who have left the family will listen to the words of virtue to avoid falling into Hell. I have tried my best to enlighten you with admonition. Why do you persist in doing violence? You have beaten to death one commoner after another. How do you explain this?”

“She’s a monster,” said Pilgrim. The Tang Monk said, “This monkey is babbling nonsense. You tell me that there are that many monsters! You are a person lacking any will to do good, one who is only bent on evil. You’d better go.”

“Master,” said Pilgrim, “are you sending me away again? All right, I’ll go back. But there’s something which I find disagreeable.” “What do you find disagreeable?” asked the Tang monk. “Master,” said Eight Rules, “he wants you to divide up the luggage with him! You think he wants to go back empty-handed after following you as a monk all this time? Why don’t you see whether you have any old shirt or tattered hat in your wrap there and give him a couple of pieces.”

When Pilgrim heard these words, he became so incensed that he jumped up and down, crying, “You loud-mouthed overstuffed coolie! Ever since old Monkey embraced the teachings of complete poverty, he has never displayed the least bit of envy or greed. What are you talking about, dividing up the luggage?”

“If you show neither envy nor greed,” said the Tang Monk, “why don’t you leave?” “To tell you the truth, Master,” said Pilgrim, “when old Monkey lived at the Water-Curtain Cave of the Flower-Fruit Mountain five hundred years ago, he was hero enough to receive the submission of the demons of seventy-two caves and to command forty-seven thousand little fiends. I was quite a man then—wearing on my head a purple gold cap, putting on my body a red and yellow robe, tying around my waist a jade belt, having on my feet a pair of cloud-treading shoes, and holding in my hands the compliant golden-hooped rod. But ever since Nirvāṇa delivered me from my sins, when with my hair shorn I took the vow of complete poverty and followed you as your disciple, I had this gold fillet clamped on my head. If I go back like this, I can’t face the folks at home. If Master doesn’t want me anymore, please recite the Loose-Fillet Spell so that I may get rid of this thing from my head and return it to you. I’ll find that most pleasant and agreeable then. After all, I have followed you all this time; surely you would not deny me this bit of human kindness!”

Greatly startled, the Tang Monk said, “Wukong, I only received the Tight-Fillet Spell in secret from the Bodhisattva. There was no Loose-Fillet Spell.” “If there was no Loose-Fillet Spell,” said Pilgrim, “then you’d better still take me along.” The elder had no alternative but to say, “You’d better get up. I’ll forgive you one more time, but you must not do violence again.” “I won’t dare do so,” said Pilgrim, “I won’t dare do so.” He helped his master to mount up once more and then led the way forward.

We now tell you about that monster who, you see, had not been killed by Pilgrim’s second blow either. In midair, the fiend could not refrain from praising her opponent, saying, “Marvelous Monkey King! What perception! He could recognize me even when I had changed into that form! These monks are moving on rather quickly; another forty miles westward beyond the mountain and they will leave my domain. If some demons or fiends of another region pick them up, people would laugh till their mouths crack up, and I would eat my heart out! I’ll go down and make fun of them one more time.” Dear Monster! Lowering the dark wind again into the fold of the mountain, she shook her body and changed herself into an old man. Truly he had

Flowing white hair like Pengzu’s,4

And beard more frosty than the Age Star’s.

A jade stone5 rang in his ears,

And gold stars flashed in his eyes.

Holding a curved dragon-head cane,

He wore a light crane’s-down cloak.

Grasping in his hands some beads,

He chanted a Buddhist sūtra.

When the Tang Monk on his horse saw this old man, he was very pleased. “Amitābha!” he cried. “The West is truly a blessed region! This dear old man can hardly walk, but he still wants to recite the sūtras!” “Master,” said Eight Rules, “stop praising him. He’s the root of disaster!” “What do you mean the root of disaster?” said the Tang Monk. Eight Rules said, “Elder Brother killed his daughter as well as his wife, and now you see this old man groping his way here. If we run smack into him, Master, you’ll pay with your life since you are guilty of death. Old Hog is your follower, so he’ll be banished to serve in the army; Sha Monk carries out your orders, so he’ll be sentenced to hard labor. But our Elder Brother, of course, will use some kind of escape magic to get away. Now, won’t that leave the three of us here to take the blame for him?”

Hearing this, Pilgrim said, “This root of idiocy! Won’t this kind of absurdity alarm our master? Let old Monkey go and have another look.” He put away his rod and went forward to meet the fiend. “Aged Sir,” he called, “where are you going? Why are you walking and reciting a sūtra as well?” Our monster this time somehow misread, as it were, the balance of the steelyard, and she thought that Great Sage Sun was after all an ordinary fellow. Hence she said, “Elder, this old man has lived here for generations. My whole life is devoted to doing good and feeding the monks, to reading scriptures and chanting sūtras. Fate did not give me a boy, and I had only a girl, for whom I took in a son-in-law. This morning she went off to take rice down to the fields, and we fear that she might have been made food for the tiger instead. My old wife went searching for her, but she, too, did not return. In fact, I have absolutely no idea what has happened to them. That’s why this old man came seeking to see if they have been harmed in any way. If so, I have little alternative but to take back their bones and have them buried properly on our ancestral site.”

“I’m the ancestor in pulling pranks!” said Pilgrim, laughing. “How dare you sneak up on me and try to deceive me with something up your sleeve? You can’t fool me. I can see that you are a monster.” The monster was so startled that she could not utter another word. Wielding his rod, Pilgrim was about to strike, but he said to himself: “If I don’t hit her, she’s going to pull some trick again, but if I hit her, I fear that Master will recite that spell again.” He thought to himself some more: “But if I don’t kill her, she can grab Master the moment she has the opportunity, and then I’ll have to make all that effort to save him. I’d better strike! One blow will kill her, but Master will surely recite that spell. Well, the proverb says: ‘Even the vicious tiger will not devour its own.’ I’ll have to use my eloquence, my dexterous tongue, to convince him, that’s all.” Dear Great Sage! He recited a spell himself and summoned the local spirit and the mountain god, saying to them, “This monster made fun of my master three times. This time I’m going to make sure I’ll kill her, but you must stand guard in the air. Don’t let her get away.” When the deities heard this command, neither dared disobey it, and they both stood guard on the edge of the clouds. Our Great Sage lifted up his rod and struck down the demon, whose spiritual light was extinguished only then.

The Tang Monk on the horse was again so horrified by what he saw that he could not even utter a word, but Eight Rules on one side snickered and said, “Dear Pilgrim! His delirium is acting up again! He has journeyed for only half a day and he has slaughtered three persons!” The Tang Monk was about to recite the spell when Pilgrim dashed up to the horse, crying, “Master! Don’t recite! Don’t recite! Just come and take a look at how she looks now.” There was in front of them a pile of flour-white skeletal bones. “Wukong,” said the Tang Monk, greatly shaken, “this person has just died. How could she change all at once into a skeleton?” Pilgrim said, “She’s a demonic and pernicious cadaver, out to seduce and harm people. When she was killed by me, she revealed her true form. You can see for yourself that there’s a row of characters on her spine; she’s called ‘LadyWhiteBone.’”

When the Tang Monk heard what he said, he was about to believe him, but Eight Rules would not desist from slander. “Master,” said he, “his hand’s heavy and his rod’s vicious. He has beaten someone to death, but, fearing your recital, he deliberately changed her into something like this just to befuddle you.” Indeed a shilly-shally person, the Tang Monk believed Eight Rules once more and started his recital. Unable to bear the pain, Pilgrim could only kneel beside the road and cry, “Don’t recite! Don’t recite! If you have something to say, say it quickly.” “Monkey head!” said the Tang Monk. “What’s there to say? The virtuous deeds of those having left the family should be like grass in a garden of spring: though their growth is invisible, they multiply daily. But he who practices evil is like a whetstone: though its ruin is invisible, it diminishes daily. You manage to get away even after beating to death altogether three persons only because there’s no one here to oppose you, to take you to task in these desolate wilds. But suppose we get to a crowded city and you suddenly start hitting people regardless of good or ill with that mourning staff of yours, how would I be able to go free from that kind of great misfortune caused by you? You’d better go back.”

“Master,” said Pilgrim, “you have really wronged me. This is undeniably a monstrous spirit, bent on hurting you. I have helped you to ward off danger by killing her, but you can’t see it. You believe instead those sarcastic and slanderous remarks of Idiot to such an extent that you try to get rid of me several times. The proverb says, ‘Nothing can occur three times’! If I don’t leave you, I’ll be a base and shameless fellow. I’ll go! I’ll go! It’s no big deal, in fact, for me to leave, but then you will have no man to serve you.” Turning angry, the Tang Monk said, “This brazen ape is becoming even more unruly. So you think that you are the only man around here? Wuneng and Wujing, they are not men?”

When the Great Sage heard this statement about the other two disciples, he was so deeply hurt that he could not but say to the Tang Monk, “O misery! Think of the time when Liu Boqin was your companion as you left Chang’an. After you delivered me from the Mountain of Two Frontiers and made me your disciple, I penetrated ancient caves and invaded deep forests to capture demons and defeat monsters. I was the one who, having experienced countless difficulties, subdued Eight Rules and acquired Sha Monk. Today, ‘banishing Wisdom just to court Folly,’ you want me to go back. That’s how it is:

When the birds vanish,

The bow is hidden;

When the hares perish,

The hounds are eaten.6

All right! All right! There’s only one thing left for us to settle, and that’s the Tight-Fillet Spell.” The Tang Monk said, “I won’t recite that again.”

“That’s hard to say,” said Pilgrim. “For when the time comes for you to face those treacherous demons and bitter ordeals, and when you, because Eight Rules and Sha Monk cannot rescue you, think of me and cannot stop yourself from reciting it, I’ll have a headache even if I’m one hundred thousand miles away. I’ll have to come back to see you, so why don’t you let this matter drop now.”

When the Tang Monk saw that Pilgrim was so long-winded, he became angrier than ever. Rolling down from his horse, he told Sha Monk to take out paper and brush from one of the wraps. Fetching some water from a brook nearby and rubbing out some ink with an ink-slab on a rock, he wrote at once a letter of banishment. Handing it over to Pilgrim, he said, “Monkey head! Take this as a certificate. I’ll never want you as a disciple. If I ever consent to see you again, let me fall into the Avīci Hell!”7 Taking the letter of banishment, Pilgrim said quickly, “Master, no need to swear. Old Monkey will leave.” He folded up the letter and put it in his sleeve. Attempting once more to placate the Tang Monk, he said, “Master, after all, I have followed you for all this time because of the Bodhisattva’s instructions. Today I have to quit in midjourney and am not able to attain the meritorious fruit. Please take a seat and let me bow to you, so that I can leave in peace.” Tang Monk turned his back and refused to reply, mumbling only, “I’m a good priest, and I won’t take the salutation of an evil man like you!” When the Great Sage saw that the Tang Monk refused to answer, he resorted to the magic of the Body beyond the Body. Pulling three pieces of hair from the back of his head, he blew on them a magic breath and cried, “Change!” They changed at once into three Pilgrims, who along with himself surrounded the master on all four sides. The master tried to turn left and right, but he was unable to dodge anymore and had to receive a bow from one of them.

Jumping up, the Great Sage shook his body and retrieved his hair. Then he gave the following instructions to Sha Monk, saying, “Worthy Brother, you are a good man. Do be careful, however, that you don’t listen to the foolish nonsense of Eight Rules. You must also exercise caution on the journey. If there should be a time when a monster catches hold of Master, you just say that old Monkey happens to be his senior disciple. When those clumsy fiends of the West get wind of my abilities, they’ll not dare to harm my master.” “I’m a good priest,” said the Tang Monk, “and I’ll never mention the name of an evil man like you. Go back.” When the Great Sage saw that the elder simply refused to change his mind, he had no alternative but to leave. Look at him:

In tears he kowtowed to part with the priest;

In grief he took care to instruct Sha Monk.

He used his head to dig up the meadow’s grass

And both feet to kick up the ground’s rattan.

Like a wheel spinning he entered Heav’n and Earth,

Most able to overleap mountains and seas.

All at once he completely disappeared;

In no time he left on the way he came.

Look at him! He suppressed his outrage and took leave of his master by mounting the cloud-somersault to head straight for the Water-Curtain Cave of the Flower-Fruit Mountain. As he was traveling, alone and dejected, he suddenly heard the roar of water. The Great Sage paused in midair to look and discovered that it was the high tide of the Great Eastern Ocean. The moment he saw this, he thought of the Tang Monk and could not restrain the tears from rolling down his cheeks. He stopped his cloud and stayed there for a long time before proceeding. We do not know what will happen to him as he goes away; let’s listen to the explanation in the next chapter.