第三十回
第三十回 邪魔侵正法 意马忆心猿
却说那怪把沙僧捆住，也不来杀他，也不曾打他，骂也不曾骂他一句，绰起钢刀，心中暗想道：“唐僧乃上邦人物，必知礼义，终不然我饶了他性命，又着他徒弟拿我不成？——噫！这多是我浑家有甚么书信到他那国里，走了风汛！等我去问他一问。”那怪陡起凶性，要杀公主。
却说那公主不知，梳妆方毕，移步前来。只见那怪怒目攒眉，咬牙切齿，那公主还陪笑脸迎道：“郎君有何事这等烦恼？”那怪咄的一声骂道：“你这狗心贱妇，全没人伦！我当初带你到此，更无半点儿说话。你穿的锦，戴的金，缺少东西我去寻。四时受用，每日情深。你怎么只想你父母，更无一点夫妇心？”那公主闻说，吓得跪倒在地，道：“郎君呵，你怎么今日说起这分离的话？”那怪道：“不知是我分离，是你分离哩！我把那唐僧拿来，算计要他受用，你怎么不先告过我，就放了他？原来是你暗地里修了书信，教他替你传寄，不然怎么这两个和尚又来打上我门，教还你回去？这不是你干的事？”公主道：“郎君，你差怪我了。我有甚书去？”老怪道：“你还强嘴哩！现拿住一个对头在此，却不是证见？”公主道：“是谁？”老妖道：“是唐僧第二个徒弟沙和尚。”原来人到了死处，谁肯认死，只得与他放赖。公主道：“郎君且息怒，我和你去问他一声。果然有书，就打死了，我也甘心，假若无书，却不枉杀了奴奴也？”那怪闻言，不容分说，抡开一只簸箕大小的蓝靛手，抓住那金枝玉叶的发万根，把公主揪上前，捽在地下，执着钢刀，却来审沙僧，咄的一声道：“沙和尚！你两个辄敢擅打上我们门来，可是这女子有书到他那国，国王教你们来的？”
沙僧已捆在那里，见妖精凶恶之甚，把公主掼倒在地，持刀要杀，他心中暗想道：“分明是他有书去。——救了我师父，此是莫大之恩。我若一口说出，他就把公主杀了，此却不是恩将仇报？罢！罢！罢！想老沙跟我师父一场，也没寸功报效，今日已此被缚，就将此性命与师父报了恩罢。”遂喝道：“那妖怪不要无礼！他有甚么书来，你这等枉他，要害他性命！我们来此问你要公主，有个缘故。只因你把我师父捉在洞中，我师父曾看见公主的模样动静。及至宝象国倒换关文，那皇帝将公主画影图形，前后访问。因将公主的形影，问我师父沿途可曾看见，我师父遂将公主说起。他故知是他儿女，赐了我等御酒，教我们来拿你，要他公主还宫。此情是实，何尝有甚书信？你要杀就杀了我老沙，不可枉害平人，大亏天理！”
那妖见沙僧说得雄壮，遂丢了刀，双手抱起公主道：“是我一时粗卤，多有冲撞，莫怪，莫怪。”遂与他挽了青丝，扶上宝髻，软款温柔，怡颜悦色，撮哄着他进去了，又请上坐陪礼。那公主是妇人家水性，见他错敬，遂回心转意道：“郎君呵，你若念夫妇的恩爱，可把那沙僧的绳子略放松些儿。”老妖闻言，即命小的们把沙僧解了绳子，锁在那里。沙僧见解缚锁住，立起来，心中暗喜道：“古人云：‘与人方便，自己方便。’我若不方便了他，他怎肯教把我松放松放？”
那老妖又教安排酒席，与公主陪礼压惊。吃酒到半酣，老妖忽的又换了一件鲜明的衣服，取了一口宝刀，佩在腰里，转过手，摸着公主道：“浑家，你且在家吃酒，看着两个孩儿，不要放了沙和尚。趁那唐僧在那国里，我也赶早儿去认认亲也。”公主道：“你认甚亲？”老妖道：“认你父王。我是他驸马，他是我丈人，怎么不去认认？”公主道：“你去不得。”老妖道：“怎么去不得？”公主道：“我父王不是马挣力战的江山，他本是祖宗遗留的社稷。自幼儿是太子登基，城门也不曾远出，没有见你这等凶汉。你这嘴脸相貌，生得丑陋，若见了他，恐怕吓了他，反为不美，却不如不去认的还好。”老妖道：“既如此说，我变个俊的儿去便罢。”公主道：“你试变来我看看。”
好怪物，他在那酒席间摇身一变，就变做一个俊俏之人。真个生得：
形容典雅，体段峥嵘。言语多官样，行藏[1]正妙龄。才如子建成诗易，貌似潘安掷果轻。头上戴一顶鹊尾冠，乌云敛伏；身上穿一件玉罗褶，广袖飘迎。足下乌靴花褶，腰间鸾带光明。丰神真是奇男子，耸壑轩昂美俊英。
公主见了，十分欢喜。那妖笑道：“浑家，可是变得好么？”公主道：“变得好！变得好！你这一进朝呵，我父王是亲不灭，一定着文武多官留你饮宴。倘吃酒中间，千千仔细，万万个小心，却莫要现出原嘴脸来。露出马脚，走了风汛，就不斯文了。”老怪道：“不消分付，自有道理。”
你看他纵云头，早到了宝象国，按落云光，行至朝门之外。对阁门大使道：“三驸马特来见驾，乞为转奏转奏。”那黄门奏事官来至白玉阶前，奏道：“万岁，有三驸马来见驾，现在朝门外听宣。”那国王正与唐僧叙话，忽听得三驸马，便问多官道：“寡人只有两个驸马，怎么又有个三驸马？”多官道：“三驸马，必定是妖怪来了。”国王道：“可好宣他进来？”那长老心惊道：“陛下，妖精啊，不精者不灵。他能知过去未来，他能腾云驾雾，宣他也进来，不宣他也进来，倒不如宣他进来，还省些口面[2]。”
国王准奏，叫宣，把怪宣至金阶。他一般的也舞蹈山呼的行礼。多官见他生得俊丽，也不敢认他是妖精。——他都是些肉眼凡胎，却当做好人。那国王见他耸壑昂霄，以为济世之梁栋，便问他：“驸马，你家在那里居住？是何方人氏？几时得我公主配合？怎么今日才来认亲？”那老妖叩头道：“主公，臣是城东碗子山波月庄人家。”国王道：“你那山离此处多远？”老妖道：“不远，只有三百里。”国王道：“三百里路，我公主如何得到那里，与你匹配？”那妖精巧语花言，虚情假意的答道：“主公，微臣自幼儿好习弓马，采猎为生。那十三年前，带领家童数十，放鹰逐犬，忽见一只斑斓猛虎，身驮着一个女子，往山坡下走。是微臣兜弓一箭，射倒猛虎，将女子带上本庄，把温水温汤灌醒，救了他性命。因问他是那里人家，他更不曾题‘公主’二字。早说是万岁的三公主，怎敢欺心，擅自配合？当得进上金殿，大小讨一个官职荣身。只因他说是民之女，才被微臣留在庄所。女貌郎才，两相情愿，故配合至此多年。当时配合之后，欲将那虎宰了，邀请诸亲，却是公主娘娘教且莫杀。其不杀之故，有几句言词道得甚好。说道：
托天托地成夫妇，无媒无证配婚姻。
前世赤绳曾系足，今将老虎做媒人。
臣因此言，故将虎解了索子，饶了他性命。那虎带着箭伤，跑蹄剪尾而去。不知他得了性命，在那山中修了这几年，炼体成精，专一迷人害人。臣闻得昔年也有几次取经的，都说是大唐来的唐僧，想是这虎害了唐僧，得了他文引[3]，变作那取经的模样，今在朝中哄骗主公。主公呵，那绣墩上坐的，正是那十三年前驮公主的猛虎，不是真正取经之人！”
你看那水性的君王，愚迷肉眼，不识妖精，转把他一片虚词，当了真实，道：“贤驸马，你怎的认得这和尚是驮公主的老虎？”那妖道：“主公，臣在山中，吃的是老虎，穿的也是老虎，与他同眠同起，怎么不认得？”国王道：“你既认得，可教他现出本相来看。”怪物道：“借半盏净水，臣就教他现了本相。”国王命官取水，递与驸马。那怪接水在手，纵起身来，走上前，使个“黑眼定身法”，念了咒语，将一口水望唐僧喷去，叫声：“变！”那长老的真身，隐在殿上，真个变作一只斑斓猛虎。此时君臣同眼观看，那只虎生得：
白额圆头，花身电目。四只蹄，挺直峥嵘；二十爪，钩弯锋利。锯牙包口，尖耳连眉。狞狰壮若大猫形，猛烈雄如黄犊样。刚须直直插银条，刺舌骍骍[4]喷恶气。果然是只猛斑斓，阵阵威风吹宝殿。
国王一见，魄散魂飞，唬得那多官尽皆躲避。有几个大胆的武将，领着将军、校尉一拥上前，使各项兵器乱砍。这一番，不是唐僧该有命不死，就是二十个僧人，也打为肉酱。此时幸有丁甲、揭谛、功曹、护教诸神，暗在半空中护佑，所以那些人兵器皆不能打伤。众臣嚷到天晚，才把那虎活活的捉了，用铁绳锁了，放在铁笼里，收于朝房之内。
那国王却传旨，教光禄寺大排筵宴，谢驸马救拔之恩。不然，险被那和尚害了。当晚众臣朝散，那妖魔进了银安殿。又选十八个宫娥彩女，吹弹歌舞，劝妖魔饮酒作乐。那怪物独坐上席，左右排列的，都是那艳质娇姿。你看他受用。饮酒至二更时分，醉将上来，忍不住胡为，跳起身，大笑一声，现了本相，陡发凶心，伸开簸箕大手，把一个弹琵琶的女子抓将过来，扢咋的把头咬了一口。吓得那十七个宫娥，没命的前后乱跑乱藏。你看那：
宫娥悚惧，彩女忙惊。宫娥悚惧，一似雨打芙蓉笼夜雨；彩女忙惊，就如风吹芍药舞春风。捽碎琵琶顾命，跌伤琴瑟逃生。出门那分南北，离殿不管西东。磕损玉面，撞破娇容。人人逃命走，各各奔残生。
那些人出去，又不敢吆喝；夜深了，又不敢惊驾；都躲在那短墙檐下，战战兢兢不题。
却说那怪物坐在上面，自家斟酒。喝一盏，扳过人来，血淋淋的啃上两口。他在里面受用，外面人尽传道：“唐僧是个虎精！”乱传乱嚷，嚷到金亭馆驿。此时驿里无人，止有白马在槽上吃草吃料。他本是西海小龙王，因犯天条，锯角退鳞，变白马，驮唐僧往西方取经。忽闻人讲唐僧是个虎精，他也心中暗想道：“我师父分明是个好人，必然被怪把他变做虎精，害了师父。怎的好！怎的好！大师兄去得久了，八戒、沙僧又无音信！”他只捱到二更时分，万籁无声，却才跳将起来道：“我今若不救唐僧，这功果休矣！休矣！”他忍不住，顿绝缰绳，抖松鞍辔，急纵身，忙显化，依然化作龙，驾起乌云，直上九霄空里观看。有诗为证。诗曰：
三藏西来拜世尊，途中偏有恶妖氛。
今霄化虎灾难脱，白马垂缰[5]救主人。
小龙王在半空里，只见银安殿内灯烛辉煌。原来那八个满堂红[6]上，点着八根蜡烛。低下云头，仔细看处，那妖魔独自个在上面，逼法的饮酒吃人肉哩。小龙笑道：“这厮不济！走了马脚，识破风汛，匾秤铊了。吃人可是个长进的！却不知我的师父下落何如，倒遇着这个泼怪。且等我去戏他一戏。若得手，拿住妖精再救师父不迟。”
好龙王，他就摇身一变，也变做个宫娥，真个的身体轻盈，仪容娇媚。忙移步走入里面，对妖魔道声万福：“驸马呵，你莫伤我性命，我来替你把盏。”那妖道：“斟酒来。”小龙接过壶来，将酒斟在他盏中，酒比钟高出三五分来，更不漫出。这是小龙使的“逼水法”。那怪见了不识，心中喜道：“你有这般手段？”小龙道：“还斟得有几分高哩。”那怪道：“再斟上！再斟上！”他举着壶，只情斟，那酒只情高，就如十三层宝塔一般，尖尖满满，更不漫出些须。那怪物伸过嘴来，吃了一钟，扳着死人，吃了一口，道：“会唱么？”小龙道：“也略晓得些儿。”依腔韵唱了一个小曲，又奉了一钟。那怪道：“你会舞么？”小龙道：“也略晓得些儿，但只是素手[7]，舞得不好看。”那怪揭起衣服，解下腰间所佩宝刀，掣出鞘来，递与小龙。小龙接了刀，就留心，在那酒席前，上三下四，左五右六，丢开了花刀法。
那怪看得眼咤[8]，小龙丢了花字，望妖精劈一刀来。好怪物，侧身躲过，慌了手脚，举起一根满堂红，架住宝刀。那满堂红原是熟铁打造的，连柄有八九十斤。两个出了银安殿，小龙现了本相，却驾起云头，与那妖魔在那半空中相杀。这一场，黑地里好杀！怎见得：
那一个是碗子山生成的怪物，这个是西洋海罚下的真龙。一个放毫光，如喷白电；一个生锐气，如迸红云。一个好似白牙老象走人间，一个就如金爪狸猫飞下界。一个是擎天玉柱，一个是架海金梁。银龙飞舞，黄鬼翻腾。左右宝刀无怠慢，往来不歇满堂红。
他两个在云端里，战够八九回合，小龙的手软筋麻，老魔的身强力壮。小龙抵敌不住，飞起刀去，砍那妖怪，妖怪有接刀之法，一只手接了宝刀，一只手抛下满堂红便打，小龙措手不及，被他把后腿上着了一下。急慌慌按落云头，多亏了御水河救了性命，小龙一头钻下水去。那妖魔赶来寻他不见，执了宝刀，拿了满堂红，回上银安殿，照旧吃酒睡觉不题。
却说那小龙潜于水底，半个时辰听不见声息，方才咬着牙，忍着腿疼跳将起去，踏着乌云，径转馆驿，还变作依旧马匹，伏于槽下。可怜浑身是水，腿有伤痕。那时节：
意马心猿都失散，金公木母尽凋零。
黄婆伤损通分别，道义消疏怎得成！
且不言三藏逢灾，小龙败战。却说那猪八戒从离了沙僧，一头藏在草科里，拱了一个猪浑塘。这一觉，只睡到半夜时候才醒。醒来时，又不知是甚么去处，摸摸眼，定了神思，侧耳才听，噫！正是那山深无犬吠，野旷少鸡鸣。他见那星移斗转，约莫有三更时分，心中想道：“我要回救沙僧，诚然是‘单丝不线，孤掌难鸣’。……罢！罢！罢！我且进城去见了师父，奏准当今，再选些骁勇人马，助着老猪明日来救沙僧罢。”
那呆子急纵云头，径回城里，半霎时，到了馆驿。此时人静月明，两廊下寻不见师父，只见白马睡在那厢，浑身水湿，后腿有盘子大小一点青痕。八戒失惊道：“双晦气了！这亡人又不曾走路，怎么身上有汗，腿有青痕？想是歹人打劫师父，把马打坏了。”那白马认得是八戒，忽然口吐人言，叫声：“师兄！”这呆子吓了一跌，扒起来，往外要走，被那马探探身，一口咬住皂衣，道：“哥呵，你莫怕我。”八戒战兢兢的道：“兄弟，你怎么今日说起话来了？你但说话，必有大不祥之事。”小龙道：“你知师父有难么？”八戒道：“我不知。”小龙道：“你是不知！你与沙僧在皇帝面前弄了本事，思量拿倒妖魔，请功求赏，不想妖魔本领大，你们手段不济，禁他不过。好道着一个回来，说个信息是，却更不闻音。那妖精变做一个俊俏文人，撞入朝中，与皇帝认了亲眷。把我师父变作一个斑斓猛虎，见被众臣捉住，锁在朝房铁笼里面。我听得这般苦恼，心如刀割。你两日又不在不知，恐一时伤了性命，只得化龙身去救，不期到朝里，又寻不见师父。及到银安殿外，遇见妖精，我又变做个宫娥模样，哄那怪物。那怪叫我舞刀他看，遂尔留心，砍他两刀，早被他闪过，双手举个满堂红，把我战败。我又飞刀砍去，他又把刀接了，捽下满堂红，把我后腿上着了一下，故此钻在御水河，逃得性命。腿上青是他满堂红打的。”
八戒闻言道：“真个有这样事？”小龙道：“莫成我哄你了！”八戒道：“怎的好！怎的好！你可挣得动么？”小龙道：“我挣得动便怎的？”八戒道：“你挣得动，便挣下海去罢。把行李等老猪挑去高老庄上，回炉做女婿去呀。”小龙闻说，一口咬住他直裰子，那里肯放，止不住眼中滴泪道：“师兄呵！你千万休生懒惰！”八戒道：“不懒惰便怎么？沙兄弟已被他拿住，我是战不过他，不趁此散火，还等甚么？”
小龙沉吟半晌，又滴泪道：“师兄呵，莫说散火的话。若要救得师父，你只去请个人来。”八戒道：“教我请谁么？”小龙道：“你趁早儿驾云回上花果山，请大师兄孙行者来。他还有降妖的大法力，管教救了师父，也与你我报得这败阵之仇。”八戒道：“兄弟，另请一个儿便罢了，那猴子与我有些不睦。前者在白虎岭上，打杀了那白骨夫人，他怪我撺掇师父念《紧箍儿咒》。我也只当耍子，不想那老和尚当真的念起来，就把他赶逐回去。他不知怎么样的恼我，他也决不肯来。倘或言语上略不相对，他那哭丧棒又重，假若不知高低，捞上几下，我怎的活得成么？”小龙道：“他决不打你，他是个有仁有义的猴王。你见了他，且莫说师父有难，只说：‘师父想你哩。’把他哄将来。到此处，见这样个情节，他必然不忿，断乎要与那妖精比并，管情拿得那妖精，救得我师父。”八戒道：“也罢，也罢。你倒这等尽心，我若不去，显得我不尽心了。我这一去，果然行者肯来，我就与他一路来了；他若不来，你却也不要望我，我也不来了。”小龙道：“你去，你去！管情他来也。”
真个呆子收拾了钉钯，整束了直裰，跳将起去，踏着云，径往东来。这一回，也是唐僧有命，那呆子正遇顺风，撑起两个耳朵，好便似风篷一般，早过了东洋大海，按落云头，不觉的太阳星上，他却入山寻路。
正行之际，忽闻得有人言语。八戒仔细看时，原来是行者在山凹里，聚集群妖。他坐在一块石头崖上，面前有一千二百多猴子，分序排班，口称：“万岁！大圣爷爷！”八戒道：“且是好受用！且是好受用！怪道他不肯做和尚，只要来家哩！原来有这些好处，许大的家业，又有这多的小猴伏侍！若是老猪有这一座山场，也不做甚么和尚了。如今既到这里，却怎么好？必定要见他一见是。”那呆子有些怕他，又不敢明明的见他，却往草崖边，溜阿溜的，溜在那一千二三百猴子当中挤着，也跟那些猴子磕头。
不知孙大圣坐得高，眼又乖滑，看得他明白，便问：“那班部中乱拜的是个夷人[9]。是那里来的？拿上来！”说不了，那些小猴一窝风，把个八戒推将上来，按倒在地。行者道：“你是那里来的夷人？”八戒低着头道：“不敢，承问了。不是夷人，是熟人，熟人。”行者道：“我这大圣部下的群猴，都是一般模样。你这嘴脸生得各样[10]，相貌有些雷堆[11]，定是别处来的妖魔。既是别处来的，若要投我部下，先来递个脚色手本[12]，报了名字，我好留你在这随班点扎。若不留你，你敢在这里乱拜！”八戒低着头，拱着嘴道：“不羞！就拿出这副嘴脸来了！我和你兄弟也做了几年，又推认不得，说是甚么夷人！”行者笑道：“抬起头来我看。”那呆子把嘴往上一伸道：“你看么！你认不得我，好得认得嘴耶！”行者忍不住笑道：“猪八戒。”他听见一声叫，就一毂辘跳将起来道：“正是！正是！我是猪八戒！”他又思量道：“认得就好说话了。”
行者道：“你不跟唐僧取经去，却来这里怎的？想是你冲撞了师父，师父也贬你回来了？有甚贬书，拿来我看。”八戒道：“不曾冲撞他。他也没甚么贬书，也不曾赶我。”行者道：“既无贬书，又不曾赶你，你来我这里怎的？”八戒道：“师父想你，着我来请你的。”行者道：“他也不请我，他也不想我。他那日对天发誓，亲笔写了贬书，怎么又肯想我，又肯着你远来请我？我断然也是不好去的。”八戒就地扯个谎，忙道：“委是想你！委是想你！”行者道：“他怎的想我来？”八戒道：“师父在马上正行，叫声‘徒弟’，我不曾听见，沙僧又推耳聋，师父就想起你来，说我们不济，说你还是个聪明伶利之人，常时声叫声应，问一答十。因这般想你，专专教我来请你的。万望你去走走，一则不孤[13]他仰望之心，二来也不负我远来之意。”行者闻言，跳下崖来，用手搀住八戒道：“贤弟，累你远来，且和我耍耍儿去。”八戒道：“哥呵，这个所在路远，恐师父盼望去迟，我不耍子了。”行者道：“你也是到此一场，看看我的山景何如。”那呆子不敢苦辞，只得随他走走。
二人携手相搀，概众小妖随后，上那花果山极巅之处。好山！自是那大圣回家，这几日，收拾得复旧如新。但见那：
青如削翠，高似摩云。周围有虎踞龙蟠，四面多猿啼鹤唳。朝出云封山顶，暮观日挂林间。流水潺潺鸣玉珮，涧泉滴滴奏瑶琴。山前有崖峰峭壁，山后有花木秾华。上连玉女洗头盆，下接天河分派水。乾坤结秀赛蓬莱，清浊育成真洞府。丹青妙笔画时难，仙子天机描不就。玲珑怪石石玲珑，玲珑结彩岭头峰。日影动千条紫艳，瑞气摇万道红霞。洞天福地人间有，遍山新树与新花。
八戒观之不尽，满心欢喜道：“哥啊，好去处！果然是天下第一名山！”行者道：“贤弟，可过得日子么？”八戒笑道：“你看师兄说的话。宝山乃洞天福地之处，怎么说度日之言也？”二人谈笑多时，下了山。只见路旁有几个小猴，捧着紫巍巍的葡萄，香喷喷的梨枣，黄森森的枇杷，红艳艳的杨梅，跪在路旁，叫道：“大圣爷爷，请进早膳。”行者笑道：“我猪弟食肠大，却不是以果子作膳的。——也罢，也罢，莫嫌菲薄，将就吃个儿当点心罢。”八戒道：“我虽食肠大，却也随乡入乡是。拿来，拿来，我也吃几个儿尝新。”
二人吃了果子，渐渐日高。那呆子恐怕误了救唐僧，只管催促道：“哥哥，师父在那里盼望我和你哩。望你和我早早儿去罢。”行者道：“贤弟，请你往水帘洞里去耍耍。”八戒坚辞道：“多感老兄盛意。奈何师父久等，不劳进洞罢。”行者道：“既如此，不敢久留，请就此处奉别。”八戒道：“哥哥，你不去了？”行者道：“我往那里去？我这里，天不收，地不管，自由自在，不耍子儿，做甚么和尚？我是不去，你自去罢。但上复唐僧：既赶退了，再莫想我。”呆子闻言，不敢苦逼，只恐逼发他性子，一时打上两棍。无奈，只得喏喏告辞，找路而去。
行者见他去了，即差两个溜撒的小猴，跟着八戒，听他说些甚么。真个那呆子下了山，不上三四里路，回头指着行者，口里骂道：“这个猴子，不做和尚，倒做妖怪！这个猢狲！我好意来请他，他却不去！——你不去便罢！”走几步，又骂几声。那两个小猴急跑回来报道：“大圣爷爷，那猪八戒不大老实。他走走儿，骂几声。”行者大怒，叫：“拿将来！”那众猴满地飞来赶上，把个八戒扛翻倒了，抓鬃扯耳，拉尾揪毛，捉将回去。毕竟不知怎么处治，性命死活若何，且听下回分解。
[1] 行藏：人的行迹、底细、来历。
[2] 口面：口舌、口角、纠纷。
[3] 文引：准予通行的文书。
[4] 骍（xīnɡ）骍：形容舌头的吞吐、翻转灵活的样子。
[5] 垂缰：相传前秦皇帝符坚大战中掉入山涧，其坐骑跪在涧边，垂下缰绳救出了主人。后世多用垂缰表达报恩的意思。
[6] 满堂红：铁制朱漆的蜡烛架。
[7] 素手：空手。
[8] 眼咤：眼花缭乱。
[9] 夷人：这里指外族人，生人。
[10] 各样：别样、特别、古怪。
[11] 雷堆：笨重、累赘。这里指不清爽。
[12] 脚色手本：又称“履历手本”，旧时拜见尊者时奉上的载有自己履历的名帖。
[13] 孤：意同“辜”，辜负。
CHAPTER 30. A deviant demon attacks the true Dharma; The Horse of the Will recalls Mind Monkey.
We were telling you about the fiend who, having had Sha Monk firmly bound, did not proceed to kill him or beat him. He did not, in fact, utter so much as an abusive word to his prisoner. Holding on to his scimitar, he thought to himself instead, “The Tang Monk is a man from a noble nation, who must know the meaning of propriety and righteousness. How could he possibly send his disciples to try to seize me, when it was I who spared his life in the first place? Aha! It has to be some sort of letter sent by that wife of mine back to her kingdom, and that’s how the news is leaked! Let me go ask her.” Turning savage all of a sudden, the monster wanted to kill the princess.
The princess, alas, was still in the dark about the whole matter. After putting on her makeup, she was walking along when she saw the fiend approaching with bulging eyes and knitted brows, fiercely grinding his teeth together. Smiling broadly, she said to him, “Husband, what’s bothering you so terribly?” “You filthy bitch!” cried the fiend. “You don’t have any regard for human relations! When I first brought you here, you didn’t utter half a word of protest. You had silk to wear and gold to put on; whatever you needed I went out to procure. You have been enjoying the goods of all four seasons and my deep affection every day. Why do you still think only of your parents, with no care at all for our marriage?” When the princess heard what he said, she was so terror-stricken that she knelt on the ground at once. “Husband,” she said, “why are you speaking such words of separation today?” “I don’t know whether it’s you or I who wants separation!” said the fiend. “I caught the Tang Monk and wanted very much to enjoy him. Why did you promise him release before you even consulted me? The fact of the matter had to be that you wrote a letter in secret and asked him to deliver it for you. If it weren’t so, why did those two monks come fighting back to my door and demand your return? Didn’t you do all this?” “Husband, you wrong me,” said the princess. “Since when did I send any letter?” “Still trying to deny it, huh?” said the fiend. “I’ve caught someone here who’s going to be a witness.” “Who’s he?” asked the princess. The old fiend said, “Sha Monk, the second disciple1 of the Tang Monk.”
Now, no human person is likely to accept death willingly even if death is near. Determined to deny everything, the princess said, “Husband, calm yourself and let us go question him. If there were a letter, I would gladly let you beat me to death. But if there were no such letter, wouldn’t you have slain me unjustly?” When the fiend heard these words, he did not wait for further discussion. Stretching forth his indigo hand that had the size and shape of a winnow, he grabbed the princess by those ten thousand locks of long, lovely hair and pulled her all the way to the front. He threw her to the ground and then went forward, scimitar in hand, to question the prisoner. “Sha Monk,” he bellowed, “since the two of you dared fight up to our door, I ask you this: was it because this girl had sent a letter back to her country that the king told you to come?”
When the shackled Sha Monk saw how furious the monster was, hurling the princess to the ground and threatening to kill her with the scimitar, he thought to himself, “Of course she sent a letter. But she also saved my master, and that was an incomparably great favor. If I admitted it freely, he would kill the princess on the spot and that would have meant our repaying kindness with enmity. All right! All right! Old Sand, after all, has followed Master all this time and I haven’t made the merest of merit. Today, I’m already a bound captive here; I might as well offer my life to repay my master’s kindness.” He then shouted, “Monster, don’t you dare be unruly! What kind of letter did she send that made you want to accuse her and take her life? There was another reason for us to come to demand from you the princess. Because you had imprisoned my master in the cave, he had the chance to catch a glimpse of the princess, her looks and her gestures. By the time we reached the Precious Image Kingdom and had our travel rescript certified, the king was making all kinds of inquiry about the whereabouts of his daughter with a painted portrait of hers. He showed my master that portrait and asked us whether we had seen her on the way. When my master described the lady he saw at this place, the king knew it was his daughter. He bestowed on us his own imperial wine and commanded us to come here to take you captive and bring his princess back to the palace. This is the truth. Since when was there a letter? If you want to kill someone, you can kill old Sand! But don’t harm an innocent bystander and add to your sins!”
When the fiend heard how heroically Sha Monk had spoken, he threw away his scimitar and lifted the princess up with both his hands, saying, “I was quite rough with you just now, and I must have offended you deeply. Please forgive me!” He helped her straighten her hair again and reset the bejeweled ornaments with great tenderness and amiability, hugging her and teasing her as they walked inside. He then asked her to take a seat in the middle of the chamber and apologized again. The princess, after all, was a rather fickle woman; when she saw how penitent he became, she, too, had a change of heart. “Husband,” she said, “if you have regard for our love, please loosen those ropes on Sha Monk a little.” When the old fiend heard that, he ordered the little ones to untie Sha Monk and lock him up instead. After he was freed and locked up, Sha Monk stood up, secretly pleased and thinking to himself, “The ancients said, ‘Kindness to others is really kindness to oneself.’ If I were not kind to her, she wouldn’t make him untie me, would she?”
The old fiend, meanwhile, asked also for wine and food to be served as a means of making further amends to the princess and calming her fears. After drinking until they were half tipsy, the old fiend suddenly changed into a brightly colored robe and girded a sword on his waist. “Mistress,” he said, caressing the princess with his hand, “you stay home and drink some more. Look after our two kids and don’t let Sha Monk get away. While the Tang Monk is still in the kingdom, I’m going there to get acquainted with my kin.” “To get acquainted with what kin?” asked the princess. “Your Father King,” said the old fiend. “I’m his imperial son-in-law and he’s my father-in-law. Why shouldn’t I go and get acquainted?”
The princess said, “You can’t go.” “Why not?” said the old fiend. The princess said, “My Father King did not win his empire by might on horseback; he inherited it from his ancestors. Since he ascended his throne in his youth, he hasn’t even left the gate of the city. We have no violent men with looks so savage and gruesome as yours. If you meet him, you might scare him and that wouldn’t be a good thing. It’s better that you not go to get acquainted.” “If you put it like that,” said the old fiend, “let me change into a handsome fellow and go there.” “Change and let me look at you first,” said the princess.
Dear monster! Right before the dining table, he shook his body once and changed into a very comely person. Truly he had
Most elegant features
And a rugged physique.
He spoke like a mandarin
And moved with the grace of youth.
Gifted as Zijian2 he could rhyme with ease;
He looked like Pan An3 when they tossed him fruits.
He put on his head a crow-tail cap,
His hair gathered in smoothly;
And wore on his body a lined, white silk robe
With wide, billowy sleeves.
Beneath his feet were patterned black boots;
Around his waist shone the five-colored belt.
He had the true bearing of a striking man:
Handsome, tall, dignified, and full of strength.
The princess was most pleased by what she saw. “Mistress,” said that fiend laughing, “is it a good transformation?” “Marvelous! Marvelous!” said the princess. “Just remember this: once you enter the court, many officials, both civil and military, will no doubt invite you to banquets, since it’s my Father King’s policy never to reject any relatives. You must be extra careful when you drink not to reveal your original appearance. For once you show yourself in your true form, you don’t look that civilized.” “No need for all that instruction,” said the old fiend. “I know what to do.”
Look at him. He mounted the clouds and soon arrived at the Precious Image Kingdom. Lowering their direction, he went before the court and said to the guardian of the gate, “The third imperial son-in-law came especially to seek an audience with the Throne. Please report this for me.” The Custodian of the Yellow Gate went before the white jade steps and made the report, saying, “Your Majesty, the third imperial son-in-law has come to seek an audience with the Throne. He is outside the gate of the court and awaits your summons.” The king was just conversing with the Tang Monk; when he heard of the third imperial son-in-law, he asked his ministers, “We have only two sons-in-law. How is it that there is a third?” “The third imperial son-in-law,” said several of the ministers, “must be that monster.” “Shall we summon him in?” asked the king. Already apprehensive, the elder said, “Your Majesty, it’s a monster-spirit! If he’s not a spirit, he will not be intelligent. He must know the future and the past, for he is able to mount the clouds and ride the mists. He’ll come when you summon him, but even if you did not, he would come in anyway. You might as well summon him in so that we might be spared any kind of hassle.”
The king gave his consent and ordered the fiend be summoned before the golden steps. He, too, went through an elaborate performance of court ritual to pay homage to the king. When all the officials saw how handsome he was, they dared not consider him a monster-spirit; being of fleshly eyes and mortal stock, they regarded him as a good man instead. When the king saw how lofty and dignified he appeared, he also thought that this was a man of distinguished abilities, fit to govern the world. “Son-in-law,” he said, “where is your home? What region are you from? When did you marry our princess? Why did you wait until today before coming to be recognized as our kin?”
“My lord,” said the old fiend, kowtowing, “your subject comes from a household east of this city, in the Current-Moon Cave of the Casserole Mountain.” The king asked, “How far is your mountain from our place?” “Not far,” replied the old fiend, “only about three hundred miles.” “Three hundred miles,” said the king. “How could our princess possibly get there to marry you?”
With clever words and the intent to deceive, the monster-spirit replied, “My lord, your subject has been fond of archery and riding since his youth, for I earn my livelihood by hunting. Thirteen years ago, I led scores of houseboys up to the mountain, and we were just sending out our hawks and hounds when we saw a large, striped tiger. It was going down the slope of the mountain carrying a young girl. It was your subject who shot the tiger with a single arrow and brought the girl back to our village, where she was revived with some warm liquids. When I questioned her about her home after saving her life, she never mentioned the word ‘princess.’ Had she declared that she was the third princess of your Majesty, would I dare be so insolent as to marry her without your consent? I would have tried to enter the golden palace and seek some kind of appointment, however lowly, in order to be worthy of her. Because she claimed, however, that she was a girl from some peasant household, your subject asked her to remain in my village. We seemed to be ideally suited for each other, and we were both willing; that’s why we’ve been married for these thirteen years. After our wedding, I was about to slaughter the tiger and use it to fete the relatives. The princess, however, requested me not to do so, and she put her reason aptly in these poetic lines:
Heaven and Earth made us husband and wife;
With no broker or witness we were wed.
Red threads4 did bind our feet in previous lives:
That’s why the tiger is our go-between.
Because of what she said, your subject untied the tiger and spared its life. Claws flailing and tail wagging, it ran away still carrying the arrow wound. Little did I anticipate that after a few years, the tiger thus spared managed to become a spirit in the mountain through self-cultivation, bent on seducing and hurting people. Some years ago, your subject had heard of several scripture pilgrims, all priests sent by the Great Tang. The tiger, I think, must have taken their lives; he probably got hold of the travel documents and changed into one of their forms to come here to deceive my lord. My lord, the person sitting on that brocaded cushion over there is none other than the tiger which carried away the princess thirteen years ago. He is not a real scripture pilgrim.”
Look at that capricious ruler! His foolish, undiscerning eyes of the flesh could not recognize the monster-spirit; instead, he regarded that entire specious speech to be the truth. “Worthy son-in-law,” he said, “how could you tell that this monk is a tiger, the one which carried away our princess?” “My lord,” said the fiend, “what your subject feeds on in the mountain are tigers; what he wears are also tigers. I sleep with them and rise with them. How could I not recognize them?” “In that case,” said the king, “make him appear in his true form.” The fiendish creature said, “Please give me half a cup of clean water, and your subject will make him appear in his true form.” The king ordered an official to fetch the water for the imperial son-in-law. Taking the cup in his hand, the fiend got up and went forward to exercise the Dim-Eyes, Still-Body Magic. He recited a spell and spat a mouthful of water on the Tang Monk, crying, “Change!” The true body of the elder at once became invisible; what everyone saw in the palace was a ferocious striped tiger instead. In those worldly eyes of the king and his subjects, the tiger truly had
A white brow and a round head,
A striped body and lightning eyes.
Its four huge paws
Were straight and rugged;
Its twenty claws
Were hooklike and sharp.
Sawlike teeth filled its mouth;
Pointed ears joined its eyebrows.
Savage, it bore the form of a big cat;
Raging, it had the shape of a brown steer.
Steel hairs stood rigidly like silver strips;
A red tongue, daggerlike, belched nasty air.
It was indeed a striped, ferocious thing,
Blasting the palace with its awesome breaths.
When the king saw it, his soul melted and his spirit fled, while many of his subjects were frightened into hiding. A few courageous military officials led the captains and guards to rush forward and began hacking away with their weapons. If it had not been for the fact that the Tang Monk this time was not yet fated to die, even twenty monks would have been reduced to minced meat. Fortunately, he had at this time the secret protection of Light and Darkness, the Guardians, the Sentinels, and the Protectors of the Faith in the air. For that reason, the weapons of those people could not harm him. The chaos in the palace lasted until evening, when the officials decided to capture the tiger alive and lock it up with chains before placing it in an iron cage. It was then stored in one of the palace chambers.
The king then gave the decree that the Court of Imperial Entertainments prepare a huge banquet to thank the imperial son-in-law for saving him from the monk. After the officials retired from court, the demon entered that evening into the Silver Peace Hall, where eighteen young palace ladies attended him; they sang, danced, and poured his wine for him. Sitting all by himself at the head table, he had on both sides of him all those lovely beauties. Look at him drink and enjoy! By about the hour of the second watch, he got drunk and could no longer refrain from mischief. Leaping up all of a sudden, he laughed hysterically for a moment and changed back into his original form. He grew violent then and grabbed one of the girls playing the pipa5 with that big winnowlike hand of his. With a crunch, he bit off her head. The other seventeen palace girls were so terrified that they dashed madly for hiding and shelter. Look at them:
The palace ladies panicked;
The maids-of-honor took fright—
The palace ladies panicked
Like rain-struck hibiscus bearing the night rain.
The maids-of-honor took fright
Like wind-blown peonia dancing in the spring wind.
They smashed their pipas, eager to live;
They broke their zithers, fleeing for life.
They dashed out the doors, not knowing north or south!
They quit the main hall, flying both east and west!
They scraped their jadelike features;
They bruised their lovely faces.
Every one scrambled for her life;
Each person darted for safety.
Those people ran out, but they dared not even scream or holler for fear of disturbing the Throne so late at night. Quaking and shaking, they sought to hide beneath the eaves of the low palace wall and we shall speak no more of them.
We tell you now about that fiendish creature who sat in the hall, pouring wine and drinking all by himself. After draining a glass, he would haul the bloody corpse near him and take a couple of bites. As he was thus enjoying himself inside, the people outside the palace began to spread a wild rumor that the Tang Monk was a monster-spirit. All the hubbub soon reached the Golden Lodge post-house. At that time, there was no one at the post-house except the white horse, which was consuming hay and feed in the stall. He was originally the dragon prince of the Western Ocean, you recall, but because of past offense against Heaven, his horns were sawed off and his scales were shorn. He was changed into the white horse so that he could carry the Tang Monk to acquire scriptures in the West. When he suddenly heard people saying that the Tang Monk was a tiger spirit, he thought to himself, “My master is definitely a true man. It had to be that fiend who changed him into a tiger spirit in order to harm him. What’s to be done? What’s to be done? Big Brother is long gone, and there is no news from either Sha Monk or Eight Rules.” He waited until it was about the second watch, and then he said to himself, “If I don’t try to rescue the Tang Monk now, this merit will be undone. Finished!” No longer able to contain himself, he bit through the reins and shook off the saddle; all at once he changed himself once more into a dragon and mounted the dark clouds to rise into the air. We have a testimonial poem for him, and the poem says:
The priest goes West to seek the World-Honored One,
Though foul and fiendish vapors clog the way.
Tonight he’s a tiger, what hopeless ordeal!
The white horse drops reins his master to save.
In midair the young dragon prince saw that the Silver Peace Hall was aglow with lights, for there were eight huge candelabra standing inside with all their candles lit. As he lowered the direction of his clouds, he looked carefully and saw the monster seated alone at the head table and gorging himself with wine and human flesh. “What a worthless fellow!” said the dragon with a laugh. “He has shown his hand! He’s revealed himself! It’s not very smart, is it, to eat people! Since I don’t know the where-abouts of Master and I have only this lawless demon before me, I might as well go down there and have some fun with him. If I succeed, I might be able to catch the monster-spirit first and then rescue my master.”
Dear dragon prince! With one shake of his body, he changed himself into a palace maid, truly slender of body and seductive in appearance. She walked swiftly inside and bowed to the demon, saying, “Imperial son-in-law, please don’t hurt me. I came to pour wine for you.” “Pour then,” said the fiend. Taking up the wine pot, the little dragon began pouring until the wine was about half an inch higher than the rim of the goblet, but the wine did not spill. This was, in fact, the Magic of Water Restriction used by the little dragon, though the fiend did not know it even when he saw it. “What uncanny ability you have,” he said, highly pleased. The little dragon said, “I can pour and make it go even higher.” “Pour some more! Pour some more!” cried the fiend. The little dragon took the pot and kept on pouring, until the wine rose like a pagoda of thirteen layers with a pointed top; not a drop of it was spilled. The fiendish creature stuck out his mouth and finished a whole goblet before he picked up the carcass and took another bite. Then he said, “You know how to sing?” “A little,” said the little dragon, who selected a tune and sang it before presenting another goblet of wine to the fiend. “You know how to dance?” said the monster. The little dragon said, “A little also, but I’m empty-handed, and the dance won’t be attractive.” Lifting up his robe, the fiend unbuckled the sword he wore on his waist and pulled the blade out of the sheath. The little dragon took the sword from him and began to dance in front of the dining table; wielding the sword up and down, left and right, she created intricate patterns of movement.
Waiting until the fiend was completely dazzled by the dance, the little dragon suddenly broke the steps and slashed him with the sword. Dear monster! He lunged sideways and the blow barely missed him; the next thrust of the dragon was met by a candelabrum made of wrought iron and weighing about eighty or ninety pounds, which the monster picked up in a hurry. The two of them left the Silver Peace Palace as the little dragon changed back to his original form to do battle with the fiend in midair. This battle in the darkness was something! “How was it?” you ask.
This one was a monster born and formed on Casserole Mount;
That one was a chastised true dragon of the Western Ocean.
This one gave off bright light
Like white lightning;
That one belched out potent air
Like bursting red cloud.
This one seemed a white-tusked elephant let loose among mankind;
That one seemed a golden-clawed wild cat flown down to earth.
This one was a jade pillar propping up Heaven;
That one was a golden beam bridging the seas.
The silver dragon flew and danced;
The yellow demon flipped and flopped.
The precious sword, left and right, did not slow down;
The candelabrum, back and forth, went on and on.
After the two of them had fought at the edge of the clouds for about eight or nine rounds, the little dragon’s hand grew weak and his limbs turned numb. The old demon, after all, was strong and powerful; when the little dragon found that he could no longer withstand his adversary, he aimed the sword at the monster and threw it at him. The monster, however, was not unprepared for this desperate move; with one hand, he caught the blade, and with the other, he hurled the candelabrum at the little dragon. Unnerved, the dragon did not duck fast enough and one of his hind legs was struck by it. Hastily he dropped down from the clouds, and it was his luck that the imperial moat was there to save his life. Chased by the demon, the little dragon dove headfirst into the water and all at once became invisible. Whereupon the demon took the sword and picked up the candelabrum to go back to the Silver Peace Palace; there he drank as before till he fell asleep, and we shall speak no more of him for the moment.
We tell you instead about the little dragon, who hid himself at the bottom of the moat. When he did not hear a sound after half an hour, he gritted his teeth to endure the pain in his leg and leaped up. Treading the dark clouds, he returned to the post-house where he changed once more into a horse and lay down in the stall. He looked pitiful indeed—completely soaked and wounded on his leg! At this time,
Horse of the Will and Ape of the Mind are all dispersed;
Metal Squire and Wood Mother are both scattered;
Yellow Dame is wounded, from every one divorced;
With reason and right so parted, what can be achieved?
Let us say no more about how Tripitaka met disaster and the little dragon encountered defeat. We tell you instead about that Zhu Eight Rules, who, since abandoning Sha Monk, stuck his head deep into the bushes and lay there like a hog snoozing in a pool of mud. The nap, in fact, lasted till the middle of the night, and only at that time did he awake. When he became conscious, he did not even know where he was at first; only after he rubbed his eyes and collected his thoughts a little did he manage to cock his ears to listen to whatever might be happening. Well, what happened was that
This deep mountain had no dog barking;
These spacious wilds lacked even cock crowing.
Looking up at the stars, he figured that it was about the hour of the third watch and he thought to himself, “I would like to try to rescue Sha Monk, but
One silk fiber is no thread;
A single hand cannot clap!
Okay! Okay! Let me go back and see Master first. If I could persuade the king to give me some more help, old Hog would return to rescue Sha Monk tomorrow.”
Idiot mounted the clouds quickly and went back to the city; in a little while, he reached the post-house. The moon was bright and people had become quiet at this time, but he searched the corridors in vain to find any trace of his master. All he saw was the white horse lying there: his whole body was soaked and on one of his hind legs was the mark of a bruise about the size of a pan. “This is doubly unfortunate!” said Eight Rules, greatly startled. “This loser hasn’t traveled. Why is he sweating like that, and with a bruise on his leg? It must be that some evil men have robbed our master, wounding the horse in the process.”
The white horse recognized that it was Eight Rules; assuming human speech suddenly, he called out: “Elder Brother!” Idiot was so shaken that he fell on the ground. Pulling himself up, he was about to dash outside when the white horse caught hold of the monk’s robe by his teeth, saying again, “Elder Brother, don’t be afraid of me.”
“Brother,” said Eight Rules, still shaking, “why are you talking today? When you talk like that, it has to mean that some great misfortune is about to befall us.” The little dragon said, “Did you know that Master had landed in a terrible ordeal?” “No, I didn’t,” said Eight Rules.
The little dragon said, “Of course, you didn’t! You and Sha Monk were flaunting your abilities before the king, thinking that you could capture the demon and be rewarded for your merit. You didn’t expect that the demon was so powerful and you were the ones no doubt who were beaten. At least one of you could have returned to give us the news, but there was not one word from either of you. That monster-spirit had changed himself into a handsome scholar and broken into the court to present himself to the king as an imperial relative. Our master was changed by him into a ferocious striped tiger, who was then taken captive by the officials and locked up in an iron cage in one of the palace chambers. When I heard how Master suffered, my heart felt as if it had been stabbed by a sword. But you were gone for nearly two days, and I was afraid that any further delay might mean that Master would be killed. So I had no choice but to change back into my dragon body to go and try to rescue him. When I reached the court, I couldn’t find Master, but I met the monster in the Silver Peace Palace. I changed into the form of a palace maid, trying to deceive him. He asked me to do a sword dance, during which I tried to slash him. He escaped my blow and defeated me instead with a candelabrum. I tried desperately to hit him when I threw the sword at him, but he caught it instead and gave me a blow on my hind leg with that candelabrum. I dived into the imperial moat and saved my life; the bruise on my leg was caused by the candelabrum.”
When Eight Rules heard these words, he said, “Is that all true?” “You think I’m deceiving you?” said the little dragon. Eight Rules asked, “What are we going to do? What are we going to do? Can you move at all?” “If I can,” said the little dragon, “what then?” “If you can move at all,” said Eight Rules, “move into the ocean then. Old Hog will pole the luggage back to the Old Gao Village to pick up my wife again.” When the little dragon heard this, he clamped his mouth onto Eight Rules’s shirt and refused to let go. As tears fell from his eyes, he said, “Elder Brother, you mustn’t become indolent.” “Why not?” said Eight Rules. “Brother Sha has already been caught by him, and I can’t beat him. If we don’t scatter now, what are we waiting for?” The little dragon thought for some time before he spoke again, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Elder Brother, don’t mention the word scatter. If you want to save Master, you have to go and ask a person to come here.” “Who is that?” asked Eight Rules. The little dragon said, “You’d better hurry and mount the clouds to go to the Flower-Fruit Mountain, so that you can invite our Big Brother, Pilgrim Sun, to come back. Most certainly he has dharma power great enough to subdue this fiend and rescue Master, avenging at the same time the shame of our defeat.”
“Brother,” said Eight Rules, “let me go ask someone else. That monkey and I are not on the best of terms, you know. When he killed that Lady White Bone back there on the White Tiger Ridge, he was mad at me already for wheedling Master into reciting the Tight-Fillet Spell. I was just being frivolous, and I didn’t think that the old priest would really recite it and even banish him. I don’t know how he hates me now, and I’m certain also that he won’t come back. Suppose we have a little argument then: that funeral staff of his is pretty heavy, you know. If he doesn’t know any better at that moment and gives me a few strokes, you think I’ll be able to live?” The little dragon said, “He won’t hit you, because he is a kind and just Monkey King. When you see him, don’t say that Master is in peril; just tell him that Master is thinking of him and deceive him into coming. When he gets here and sees what’s happening, he will not get mad. He will want most certainly to have it out with the monster-spirit instead. Then the demon will surely be caught and Master will be saved.” “All right, all right!” said Eight Rules. “You are so dedicated. If I don’t go, it’ll mean that I’m not dedicated. I’ll go, and if indeed Pilgrim consents to come, I’ll return with him. But if he is unwilling, then don’t expect me, because I won’t be coming back either.” “Go! Go!” said the little dragon. “He will certainly come.”
Idiot indeed put away his muckrake and straightened his shirt. He leaped up and mounted the clouds, heading straight toward the East. It so happened that the Tang Monk was not yet fated to die. The wind was blowing in the right direction; all Idiot had to do was to stick up his huge ears, and he sped across the Eastern Ocean as if sails were hoisted on him. The sun was just rising when he dropped from the clouds to find his way in the mountain. As he was walking, he heard someone talking. He took another careful look and found Pilgrim sitting on a huge boulder in a mountain valley. Before him some one thousand and two hundred monkeys lined up in ranks, all shouting, “Long live our Father Great Sage!” Eight Rules said, “What pleasures! What pleasures! No wonder he doesn’t want to be a monk and wants only to come home! Look at all these goodies! Such a huge household, and so many little monkeys to serve him! If old Hog has a large farm like this, I’m not going to be a monk either. Since I’ve arrived, what shall I do? I suppose I’ll have to see him.”
But Idiot was in truth afraid of Pilgrim, and he dared not show himself openly. Sliding down the grassy meadow, he crawled stealthily into the midst of those thousand-odd monkeys and began to kowtow also along with them. He had no idea how high the Great Sage was sitting and how sharp his vision was. Having seen everything all at once, the Monkey King asked, “Who is that barbarian in the ranks who’s bowing in such a confused manner? Where does he come from? Bring him up here!” Hardly had he finished speaking when the little monkeys, like a swarm of bees, pushed Eight Rules to the front and pressed him to the ground. Pilgrim said, “Barbarian, where did you come from?” “I dare not accept the honor of your questioning me,” said Eight Rules, his head lowered. “I’m no barbarian, I’m an acquaintance.”
Pilgrim said, “All the monkeys under the command of the Great Sage here have similar features, not like that lubberly face of yours. You must be some fiendish demon from another region. If so, and if you want to be a subject of mine, you should have first presented us with your name and the particulars of your age and antecedents on a card so that I can take your roll when you are assigned to our ranks here. But you haven’t even done that, and you dare kneel here to bow to me?” With his head and snout lowered, Eight Rules said, “Oh, for shame! I’ll show you my face! I have been a brother of yours now for a few years, and you still claim that you don’t recognize me, calling me some kind of barbarian!” “Raise your head and let me have a look,” said Pilgrim with a chuckle. Sticking his snout upward, Idiot said, “Look! Even if you can’t recognize me, you can at least recognize this snout of mine!” Pilgrim could not refrain from laughing and saying, “Zhu Eight Rules.” As soon as he heard this, he jumped up, crying, “Yes! Yes! I am Zhu Eight Rules.” He thought to himself also, “If he recognizes me, then it’s easier to speak.”
Pilgrim said, “Why aren’t you accompanying the Tang Monk to go fetch scriptures? Why are you here? Could it be that you, too, have offended Master and he banished you also? Do you have any letter of banishment? Let me see it.” “I didn’t offend him,” said Eight Rules, “and he didn’t give me any letter of banishment. Nor did he dismiss me.” “If there’s no letter and he didn’t dismiss you, why are you here?” asked Pilgrim. Eight Rules replied, “Master has been thinking of you; he told me to come and invite you to go back.”
“He didn’t think of me, nor did he invite me,” said Pilgrim. “He swore to Heaven that day and he wrote the letter of banishment himself. How could he think of me and ask me to go back? I definitely will not go back.” Eight Rules lied conveniently, saying, “He really did think of you! He really did think of you!” “What made him think of me?” asked Pilgrim. Eight Rules said, “As Master was riding on the horse, he called out at one point, ‘Disciple.’ I didn’t hear him, and Sha Monk claimed that he was somewhat deaf! Master at once thought of you, saying that we were worthless and that only you were smart and alert enough to answer once you were called, to give ten replies to one question. That’s how he thought of you, and he has sent me specially to ask you to go back. Please do so, at least for the sake of his expectation and for the sake of my having traveled all this distance.”
When Pilgrim heard these words, he jumped down from the boulder. Taking the hand of Eight Rules, he said, “Worthy Brother, sorry that you have to travel such a great distance to come. Let’s you and I go and have some fun.” “Elder Brother,” said Eight Rules, “this place is quite far away, and I fear that Master might be kept waiting. I don’t want to play.” Pilgrim said, “After all, this is your first time here. Take a look at least at my mountain scenery.” Idiot dared not persist in his refusal and had to walk away with him.
The two of them proceeded hand in hand, while the little monsters followed behind to go up to the highest spot on the Flower-Fruit Mountain. Marvelous mountain! Ever since the Great Sage’s homecoming, it had been completely made new by his labor these few days. You see the mountain
Green as carved jade,
Tall like a cloud-scraper.
All around are tigers crouched and dragons coiled;
On four sides are frequent calls of apes and cranes.
At dawn the clouds blockade the summit;
At dusk the sun is poised above the forest.
The flowing stream murmurs like tingling girdle-jade;
The brook sounds drop by drop a psaltery note.
Before the mountain are ridges and tall cliffs;
Behind the mountain are flowers and dense woods.
It touches the jade-girl’s hair-washing bowl above;
It joins a branch of Heaven’s River down below.
This cosmos-formed beauty surpasses Penglai,
A true cave-mansion born of primal breaths.
Even master artists find it hard to sketch,
Nor can wise immortals depict it all.
Like openworks carved finely fantastic rocks
In fantastic colors soar up at the top.
The sun moves in a thousand purple rays;
Auspicious air forms countless strands of red mist.
A cave-heaven, a blessed place among mankind:
A mountain full of fresh blossoms and fresh trees.
Delighted by the endless splendor of the scenery, Eight Rules said, “Elder Brother, what a lovely place! Truly the number one mountain in the whole world!” “Worthy Brother,” said Pilgrim, “think you can pass the time here?” “Look at the way Elder Brother talks!” chuckled Eight Rules. “This precious mountain is a cave-heaven, a land of blessing. How could you say ‘pass the time’?” The two of them chatted amiably for a long time before descending from the peak. They met on the way several little monkeys, all holding purple grapes, fragrant pears, bright golden loquats, and dark red strawberries. Kneeling by the road, they cried, “Father Great Sage, please have some breakfast.” “My Brother Zhu,” said Pilgrim, laughing, “has a huge appetite, and he doesn’t take fruits for breakfast. Nonetheless, please don’t be offended by such trifles; use them as snacks and take a few.” Eight Rules said, “Though I have a huge appetite, I do as the natives do anywhere. Yes, by all means bring them up here. I’ll try a few for taste.”
The two of them ate the fruits, and the sun was fast rising high. Afraid that there might not be enough time to save the Tang Monk, Idiot tried to urge his companion to leave, saying, “Elder Brother, Master is waiting for us. Please hurry and go.” “Worthy Brother,” said Pilgrim, “I’m inviting you to have some fun with me at the Water-Curtain Cave.” Eight Rules at once declined, saying, “I appreciate your kind thoughts, Old Brother, but Master has waited for a long time already. There’s really no need for us to enter the cave.” “In that case,” said Pilgrim, “I dare not detain you. I’ll say good-bye right here.” “Elder Brother,” said Eight Rules, “aren’t you going with me?” Pilgrim said, “Go where? This place of mine is neither governed by Heaven nor controlled by Earth. I’m completely free here. Why shouldn’t I enjoy this? Why should I become a monk again? I will not go. You have to go back by yourself. And please tell the Tang Monk that once he has dismissed me, don’t ever think of me again.” When Idiot heard these words, he dared not press any further, for he was afraid that Pilgrim’s temper might flare and he would then receive a couple of strokes from the rod. He had no alternative but to take leave meekly and find his way back.
When Pilgrim saw him leave, he ordered two agile little monkeys to follow him and to find out what he was going to say. Indeed, when that Idiot descended the mountain, he did not cover more than three or four miles before he turned around and pointed his finger at the direction of Pilgrim. “You ape,” he cried, “you don’t want to be a priest! You choose to be a monster instead. What an ape! I came here with good intentions to ask him to go back, but he refused. All right! If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to!” He took a few steps and began his castigations again. The two little monkeys ran back to report, “Father Great Sage, that Zhu Eight Rules is rather sneaky! He’s ranting at you as he walks away.” Pilgrim grew angry and shouted, “Seize him!” All the little monkeys rushed after Eight Rules and pushed him to the ground. Clutching at his mane and tugging at his ears, pulling his tail and grabbing his hair, they hauled him bodily back to the cave. We do not know how he will be treated or what will happen to him; let’s listen to the explanation in the next chapter.